A/N: This is my first ever Bleach fanfiction, so please tell me how I did. A little review would be nice. I own nothing from Bleach, and have only watched up to episode 106 (so far as when I wrote this story) so please tell me if I got anything wrong. I tried to keep the characters true to form, while leaving places where you could fill in what happened however you like. If you get confused just tell me and I'll try to clarify my thoughts behind what's going on here. And now that I'm rambling, let's get on with the story!
~*~
"Go to her. She needs you." the raven haired man said, his black clothing billowing around him from his perch on an oddly placed peg. "Follow your heart and you won't do wrong. Your heart and subconscious knows her needs better than you would ever believe."
The dream faded from his mind as the teenager woke to the sounds of badly suppressed sobs coming from his closet. Any normal person would have thought that the monster in their closet was having their sibling for a midnight snack, but Ichigo Kurosaki was not a normal person and the thing crying in his closet was not a monster. In fact her name was Rukia Kuchiki, and this was the first time Ichigo had ever had the misfortune of hearing her cry.
He slipped out of bed, the soft padding of his feet the only sound he made as he made his way across the room. Slowly he pulled open the closet door, so as not to startle the crying girl. AS he got the door opened as full as it would allow, the sobbing halted. "What is the meaning of this?" Rukia asked him sharply, rubbing her face in a way where if he was as unobservant as he usually was at this time of night he would think she was just rubbing the sleep away. "It's one o'clock at night, there's not a hollow within feeling distance and my phone isn't going off. So why have you decided to wake me up?"
"I know you better than that Rukia and you're the one that woke me up. What's wrong?" he asked, the usual snippy tone he used when he talked to her fading into caring at the last question.
If she detected the fading, she didn't show it. "Nothing. Now go back to bed." She said as she tried to shut the door and wipe her face of the tears that refused to quit at the same time.
"Ichigo slipped a hand in-between the door and the wall stopping it from shutting all the way and opened it back up. "That's a lie and I know you know I know that. Now come out here and talk to me or I'm going to come in there. If I'm going to be awoken by someone, I think I should be able to ask why."
"You just did, now go away, Kurosaki."
"Last name huh? So does that mean you're not coming out?"
"Just go away." Her voice broke as she turned away, shrinking into the corner farthest away from him, hoping that ignoring him would make him do what she asked. But Ichigo Kurosaki was nothing if not stubborn.
"Guess I'm coming in then." He said offhandedly. Finally he managed to get in the tight closet space, though it took a lot of maneuvering to be able to do it. He sat there cross-legged for a minute facing the shinigami who was still turned away from him, despite the jostling of her makeshift bed that barely fit in the little closet. After a few moments of silent observation he realized her shoulders were shaking with more suppressed sobs. "Rukia, come here." He said softly, leaning over and pulling her around into his arms and lap. She tried to fight his grip but wasn't able to gain much leverage in the tight closet and eventually she ended up sobbing into his neck.
For once, Ichigo could find nothing to say to the shinigami who had changed his life so dramatically. He wanted so badly to make everything better, but the words wouldn't come. How could he tell her everything was going to be alright when he had no idea what she was even crying about, for all he knew that might be an empty promise. What could be so bad as to make the hardened Kuchiki cry like that in the first place? He remembered what Zangetsu had told him, and realized if he couldn't find the words to say, it was because his subconscious was withholding them from him. He didn't fight it, and let the silence, broken only by the sobs, stretch on.
Presently he realized that his right hand was moving without his knowledge, rubbing up and down Rukia's back as his left remained clutching her shaking shoulders tightly. Slowly her sobs subsided as her breathing evened out as she slipped into peaceful slumber.
Realizing he was never going to make it out of that closet without waking her he settled into a more comfortable position. The closet space was much too small for him to really lay down so he settled for stretching out his legs and slowly and carefully shifting Rukia down so she was at least laying down with her head in his lap, in what he hoped was a comfortable position for her. He twisted his body around just enough so that his back was being supported by the corner just opposite of the door and tried to get comfortable. He fell asleep, stroking Rukia's head with his right hand, while his other made a sort of pillow for his head against the hard wall.
~*~
It was a very sore and quiet Ichigo who walked into school the next day with an equally quiet but irritated looking Rukia.
"Hello, Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san! Oh, my, gosh! What happened? You guys look tired, irritated, and in you're case sore, Kurosaki-sun!" Orihime said, running up to them.
Rukia was struggling to come up with an answer, Ichigo saw. "We just had a demon to face last night, is all." The words flew from his mouth without him even bidding them to come, once again proving that Zangetsu was right judging by the relieved look that crossed Rukia's face.
"I would've sensed a demon, if one was anywhere in my area, why didn't you call me? I could've come and helped, and you wouldn't be in pain right now Kurosaki-kun." Fear flashed through Rukia's eyes, at the thought of Orihime finding out.
"It wasn't the type of demon you are thinking of, Inoue-san. I didn't feel the need to call anyone else to help with something I hope I did a good job of handling on my own." It didn't seem like Ichigo was talking to Orihime any more, but more to Rukia. "And I'll gladly take this pain ten times over to help eradicate that demon. I'll do whatever it takes."
Rukia nodded her head slowly whilst staring at her shoes, not daring to make eye contact with either of them before she snapped her head up to grin at them both, all traces of irritation gone. "He did a very good job last night, though I think he deserves to live with his pain just a little bit longer before you heal him Inoue-san. Scaring me half to death this morning deserves a little punishment." She winked at Orihime before walking towards the classroom.
"Hey! I apologized at least!" Ichigo shouted to her retreating back, before chasing after her, leaving a baffled Orihime in his wake, wondering what had happened over the course of the last 10 hours.