She cried. Every single night, or so it seemed, the muffled sound of her sobs came from Ichigo's closet.

He couldn't sleep. Every single night, or so it seemed, his eyes stayed open, and his fists clenched beneath his sheets.

It wasn't because of the noise that he remained conscious. He was a heavy sleeper; his eyes shut immediately when his head hit the pillow, and he stayed that way until the shrill screech of his alarm clock signaled morning.

Except on those nights.

On those nights, Ichigo lay in bed, trying in vain to ignore it, to shut out the pain that Rukia was obviously feeling. He didn't dare to shut his eyes, knowing that her weeping would follow him there, intertwining into the fabric of his dreams, staining it black with misery.

On the first night that this had happened, Ichigo had shot out of bed immediately, roused by her cries. He had thrown open the door, taking in Rukia's shuddering form, her tear stained cheeks. She was still asleep, it seemed, so Ichigo gently scooped her into his arms, leaning down to her ear and repeatedly whispering her name.

Nothing changed.

A sense of panic rose in Ichigo; for one, she was still crying, two, there were other occupants in this house, and Ichigo wouldn't want them to wake up. He nervously backed towards his bed, still holding her, and sat down, awkwardly laying her head on his bare shoulder. He shifted slightly so she now sat in his lap, fingers curled at his chest. He then wrapped his arms around her quivering body, drawing her close to him. He gently stroked her back, the droplets from her eyes running down his spine.

If anything, her crying became worse. She trembled, sobs wracking her limp body. Ichigo tightened his hold on her, caressing her raven locks.

After about ten minutes of this, she parted her lips, and Ichigo wondered if she was finally awake.

No. Her eyes remained shut, but she whispered something. Ichigo couldn't hear her, so he leaned down, pulling her closer so she straddled him.

Lips right by his ear, she breathed, "Kaien...Kaien-dono..."

Ichigo pulled away, arms loosening slightly as her eyes flew open. Her pupils were gray and unfocussed, but she was staring right at him. Her gaze fell, and she looked at their hands, laying right by each other.

" You're..." she whispered. Ichigo strained to listen.

Her eyes shot back up to his. " YOU'RE NOT KAIEN-DONO‼" she yelled.

Ichigo felt his heart shatter as she stood, running back to the closet. She slammed the door behind her, leaving Ichigo sitting on his bed, arms still extended.

Every night, or so it seemed, Rukia's sobbing came from Ichigo's closet.

Every night, or so it seemed, Ichigo couldn't do anything.


(AN) Yay! One review, a favorite, and an alert! I wasn't expecting anything! Thank you!