(A/N): Hey guys! I'm sorry I didn't add an author's note to the last chapter. It was late and I was uploading it as I was brushing my teeth for bed so I left it at that. Anyway, I'm happy to see that this is getting popular! ^-^ It's really encouraging for my and gives me motivation to improve my writing.

In terms of news with this fic, I've edited the description slightly so that it reads better (even if I ran out of characters) and I'm currently searching for cover art (if anyone is an artist here and would like to help me out I'll offer a oneshot request or something.)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'm sorry for any painful waiting it may have caused.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Chapter Two

The short, tired girl leafed through the small roll of notes that she had left. The majority of the money that she had stolen had been sacrificed to The Soul Society, however, with her rent out of the way she was free to indulge in herself a little more than usual.

The last two nights had been completely miserable for Rukia. When it came to food, she had been able to gather a few half-edible scraps from the bins, but she knew she'd have to start stealing again soon.

The first night wasn't too bad, for she had been able to stay at the base of the gang. It wasn't comfortable with only a tattered mattress and a dozen others sleeping way too close for comfort, but at least it had been warm.

The following morning though, she'd had to head off on her own again. Rukia had been welcome to stay longer, but not only did she not get on with many of her fellow members, she hadn't wanted to show weakness. That meant that she'd hunted out a small nook in an alleyway, bundling in her hoodie to conserve body heat. Unfortunately, it had rained, washing away her slightly optimistic feelings and leaving her soaking all morning.
In order to cheer herself up, Rukia had opted to spend the day in town.

The toilets at the shopping centre provided her with the means to dry herself and freshen herself up. She figured that whilst she was here she could buy herself another set of clothes, therefore she was wandering up and down in search of a 'petite range' shop.

However, she'd soon became bored and slinked into a glasses shop. Rukia needed something interesting and entertaining to brighten the day, and who doesn't love trying on glasses? Her hands were clasped childishly behind her back as she strolled down the aisles, looking curiously at the glasses. There had to be a pair that would make her look completely ridiculous that would make her feel a little better.

She stopped suddenly, her converses squeaking slightly on the polished floor at the movement as she spotted the perfect pair. They were round with a tortoiseshell frame, at least the width of her finger, the frames seemingly magnifying the stands behind it. Anyone who had any taste would never dream of buying them. So, naturally, Rukia tried them on.

She flicked her pitch black hair out the way and grinned at her reflection in the mirror. The glasses were way too big for her face and made her look like an overgrown fly.

Her view was actually obscured due to the fact that they were glasses with an extreme prescription, which made everything extremely blurry for her. Though, as she went to take the frames off, she froze, seeing a figure behind her that stopped her heart as well as her hands. There was an unmistakable person behind her who had a very similar shock of orange hair. It couldn't be the boy she'd stolen from...could it?

"You!" a shout from the boy behind as he saw her, told her that it had to be.

Without stopping to think, Rukia bolted from the shop the way she had come, the ginger boy's yells ringing in her ears. As soon as she dived through the entrance of the shop, a caterwauling alarm went off from the shop, able to be heard from a large distance away. She knew from experience that the security of the shopping centre would be dropping to her like fleas to a dog anytime now. She pumped her limbs faster as she ran, her heart beating at a ragged pace.

She couldn't give up now, she had to escape from the ginger menace. It wasn't rare for her to run into someone she had thieved from, but she was normally more alert and could dodge out of their sight.

Looking for a place to escape, Rukia darted into the toilets, the door swinging shut behind her as she leapt through the window. As she tucked herself into a ball to make penance for the sill and the half closed lid, she hit her shin on the bottom of the window.

Hitting the gravel outside the centre and righting herself, panting heavily, she rubbed the feeling back into her stinging leg. She glanced left and right for somewhere safe to go. There were still sirens in the centre, so she knew she had to keep moving. But which way?

Making a split-second decision, she turned left abruptly, only to bump into a solid mass. Rukia stumbled backwards, dazed from the impact, before she was pushed into the red brick wall of the building. The action had winded her and her head had bounced off the wall, the accidentally-stolen glasses dropping to the ground, adding to the chaos as the glass smashed.

The person that she had bumped into had the scruff of her hoodie in his hand, keeping her in place. As Rukia blinked stars away, the angry expression of the ginger boy came into focus, his eyes flaming shards that seemed to cut into her, reminding her of her crimes. He was clad in thin, square frames that made her throat feel uncomfortably hot. Her heart beat painfully in her chest. This was the first time that she'd ever been caught.

"You stole my wallet!" he accused, almost growling with anger. His face was so close to hers that she could feel spit fly from him. She struggled against his hands with her own, but he was a lot stronger than she was so her actions were useless.

Rukia's heart begun to sink like the titanic, still thudding loudly in her temples. The security of the shopping centre wouldn't let them get away with this and with each moment trapped with this guy, the more likely she was going to get caught, maybe arrested. She didn't know if her pride could take getting caught by two people in one day. Not to mention The Soul Society would kill her, or worse.

"I didn't have a choice!" she spat back at the boy, still pushing against him. Her anger and panic had caused her to retaliate against him, as opposed to pulling off a dirty trick then running. He didn't seem to comprehend how much trouble she was in because he rolled his eyes distastefully.

"Everyone has a choice." He told her, like he was talking to an incompetent child or a lowly criminal. Rukia opened her mouth to argue once more, however froze at what she saw in her peripheral vision. The security team had found them.

The ginger guy turned to what she was staring at, his eyes widening as he understood. He brought a hand to the glasses he was still wearing, like it had only just occurred to him that he was in trouble too.

"Run!" Rukia shouted, with a strong push against him, the distracted boy let her go. She continued sprinting in the direction that she was headed beforehand, maps in her head forming obediently to alert her of the best hiding places nearby.

"I expect you to pay me back after this!" the guy continued from behind her. She rolled her eyes, starting to detest him, thinking that it was useless to start to explain to him that there was barely any money to return.

He was tailing her, she realized quickly, once she'd taken a series of turns. He was close to her as well, maybe running at the same speed had she not have had a head start.

Rukia felt a twinge of pity for the boy. Not only had he been pickpocketed, now he was being chased for stealing glasses by accident because he was chasing said pickpocketer. He must have been having a crazy couple of days since she had crashed into his world.

Remembering a spot she'd discovered several years ago and shaking off thoughts of the boy, Rukia took a sudden turn into a narrow alley. She'd used it a year ago, but was apparently smaller then, for now her shoulder scraped the walls. If she needed to turn things could get rough.

She could hear the ginger guy stumbling behind her, the uncomfortable twinge returning in her gut. Taking a breath whilst cursing herself internally for her weakness, she grabbed his wrist as he passed and pulled him into the entry way with her.

The alley was an even worse fit on the boy, who was cramped up like a jack in the box as the panted from the run. It was slightly cooler here due to the shadows, which cooled the sweat on their foreheads, slightly obscuring their view of each other. The short girl had to fight the urge to rest her head on his chest from exhaustion. It had been a while since she'd ran so fast for so long like that.

Regarding each other wearily, but staying silent-seemingly joining up to complete their escape, they listened to the security team run by and both breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"We got away," Rukia gasped through breaths. With her rear foot, she searched the ground behind her for the box that she remembered would help her climb onto the rooftops for an escape. Then she'd have to move to a different area of town to avoid ever seeing him again. He had proved to be pretty persistent so far, so he'd probably keep perusing her.

It was as though he had read her thoughts, as he encircled her wrist in his hand, holding her with so tight a grip that she had to bite her lip to stop a cry.

"The money. Now." He demanded. Rukia shook her head.

"There's only about two hundred yen left. It's not worth it." She tried to explain. Not mentioning that money was what she'd planned to spend on her dinner. She'd had enough of half empty takeaways.

"What the hell did you do with the rest of it?!" came the ever-angry response. She looked at her worn shoes almost sheepishly. How much could she tell him? Maybe if she indulged in him that she was homeless he'd take pity on her. Yet, her pride couldn't allow her to say that and she doubted he'd have any feelings other than hate for what she did.

Rukia carried on breathing heavily, pretending she was out of breath whilst trying to buy herself a few seconds to think. She sighed as she realized that she had no lies.

"It's...a long story." She admitted, chancing a glance at the ginger boy's face. His expression changed so that he was slightly less angry and a little more perplexed at the girl before him.

"Well considering I doubt I can get out of her, you should tell it." He said dryly, looking a lot less revenge crazed now. Rukia sighed irritably again, twisting herself so that she was leaning against the wall, the boy's hand still grasping her. She couldn't just come straight out about the Soul Society. She'd have to be careful and dodge around it.

It did cross her mind that she could just kick him in the never regions and run, but, she reasoned, this was the kind of person that would follow her.
Coupled with this, she suddenly felt rather heavy. Rukia came to the conclusion that she was actually very stressed lately. Lately, she had been like a leaf in the breeze, having no control or options left but to be steered along by someone else. Her heart was still racing but more than anything, she wanted to rest somewhere. There was a huge weight pressing down on her and Rukia felt the sudden need to indulge in someone. An disgruntled, ginger teenager would have to do. She wouldn't tell him all of it, just a little to lighten to lighten her burden.

"I'm...running with the wrong crowd." She spoke carefully, not wanting to give too much away. The Soul Society was on a strictly need-to-know basis, she wasn't about to jeopardize her position. The boy seemed to relax a little though he still watched her with narrow eyes, silently telling her to continue.

"They told me to get some money," Rukia continued, her voice getting stronger as she developed her story. "I needed to myself, for food."

He surveyed her once more, taking in her even more grimy appearance, then he raised an eyebrow.

"That's your excuse?" he asked in a low voice. It was the quietest she'd ever heard him speak. She fixed him with a stony glare in response.

"I know it was wrong but it was my only choice, okay? I wouldn't expect you to understand." Rukia snapped, finally gathering the courage to pull her wrist away, though she could still feel his touch, like a ghost was there. She felt a lot better by exposing those few facts and the yelling had helped relieve some of her tension. Now it was time to leave and hope he didn't find her again.

"Are you coping okay?" the boy questioned behind her. He didn't seem particularly concerned, but she was still shocked. It had been a long time since someone bothered to ask her that.

The child within her wanted to turn back, hug him and sob for hours, building up a false hope that he would make everything better. The adult in her just wanted to get away to some peace and quiet.

"I have to go," she muttered, dodging the question for fear she'd say 'no' and spill her guts out. She climbed onto the wooden crate, which gave a questionable groan underneath her. There was a moment of silence before the boy spoke again.

"Who are you?" he said, continuing his interview of the mysterious thief. He probably meant what gang she was in and where she came from, but as Rukia turned back she gave a small smile.

"I'm Rukia," she said. Then she watched carefully as a smirk appeared on the boy's features as he gathered how she had just replied.

"The name's Ichigo."

Before he could ask another personal question, Rukia had swung herself onto the roof tops and was darting for safety. Ichigo…she thought to herself. A fitting name for such vibrant hair.

(A/N): It's me again! I just wanted to say thank you so much for the reviews-I love reading them and I'm so sorry I don't reply. It's normally because I don't socialize with humans very often and would send you an essay for just saying you liked it.

To conclude, please keep telling me your thoughts, I'll keep writing and we'll all have fun together!