Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach!
It was hard settling Rukia back in to his everyday life. She had no contact information and no I.D. and she was kept a 'Jane Doe,' living in the hospital until somebody arrived to claim her. Much to her dismay, nobody had come to take her home and none of her memories returned, not even when Ichigo presented her with a stuffed Chappy rabbit on her birthday. The only thing that Chappy sparked was her love for rabbits; she dubbed it cute and kept it with her at all times.
Finally, Ichigo talked with the hospital chief and got permission to take her home with him. "I'm your best friend, Rukia, it'll be fine," as he checked her out. "You can wear some of my clothes for now and Tatsuki and Orihime will come and take you shopping tomorrow. You probably don't remember them, but they're your friends, too," he said animatedly.
Rukia nodded and headed into the restroom to change out of her hospital gown into the clothes that Ichigo brought for her. She had to stifle a gasp when she dropped the gown and she could see a tattoo on her lower back. Way lower back. Her eyes widened as she tried to get a better look at it and then realized it was a strawberry permanently marked on her back. "The hell?" she mumbled as she instantly thought of her Ichigo.
The clothes were obviously big on her. The khaki shorts were practically like pants. As she buttoned up the white shirt, she stared at the grey jacket with a frown. It looked so familiar but she couldn't place it. She lifted it up and examined the crest on it and was surprised to see that the jacket was a part of a high school uniform. What she didn't know was that Ichigo purposefully gave her the jacket at an attempt to make her remember something and his plan worked.
"High school," she murmured as she slid the jacket on. A vague memory of the class came billowing into her mind along with faces that lacked names. Ichigo was among the crowd. "You and I went to high school together," Rukia said as she came out of the restroom.
Ichigo nodded, quite pleased that his little experiment worked. "You remembered," he answered softly. She nodded uneasily and took his hand as he led her out into the parking lot to his car.
She quietly fastened her seatbelt as Ichigo finished talking to one of the nurses and getting Rukia's medication. He shoved his keys into the ignition and drove off after announcing that he was taking the day off to help Rukia settle in. Rukia stared out the window as Ichigo pulled up into the driveway of a two-story house. The house was white with a black roof and a red door.
"This way," Ichigo said as she took her hand and led her onto the hardwood floors of the house. "Your room is here," he said, "My room is just across the hall so holler if you need me."
"Thanks, Kurosaki-san," she said as she walked in slowly and sat down on the bed.
The following day, Ichigo headed off to work and Tatsuki and Orihime came and took Rukia out. Rukia recognized them from her high school flashback and tried to be happy despite the awkward situation. Orihime told stories of their high school days, and was careful to leave out the Soul Society. They hung out, went shopping, and even managed to squeeze in a movie before Rukia was sent back home.
"You sure bought a lot," Ichigo said as he helped her carry her shopping bags into the house.
"Not really," Rukia answered as she tugged one of the bags from his hand. "This is for you, Kurosaki-san: she said as she held out a teddy bear to him. "I wanted to thank you for being so kind to me!"
Ichigo smiled and looked down at the beat. It was fuzzy and brown and held a heart in its paws. The bear was obviously one of those Valentine presents and he guessed that it was Tatsuki who suggested that she buy it. In conclusion of the shopping day, Ichigo was quite glad to see her wearing her usual dresses, showing that her sense of fashion hadn't changed the least bit.
Then the nightmares started.
Ichigo had woken up at three in the morning to loud shrieking. He hurried to Rukia's room and found her sobbing, screaming and thrashing around. Gently, Ichigo roused her from her sleep. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared at him with tearful eyes. Consolingly, he rested a hand on her shoulder and whispered incoherent nothings as Rukia clung to Ichigo tightly.
In cold sweat, Rukia whispered, "I killed you." Ichigo frowned, completely confused and wondered if she might have mistaken him for Kaien. "I killed you," she repeated. "I stabbed you with a sword. You were a monster."
"No, that wasn't me," Ichigo said calmly after realizing she was seeing Kaien. "It was Shiba Kaien. You saved him, Rukia. He wasn't himself at his last moments and he left his heart with you," he said to comfort her. For the rest of the night, Ichigo slept with Rukia in his arms around her protectively.
Unfortunately, the nightmares were consistently tormenting Rukia. She was too scared to sleep because she hated the sight of Kaien impaled on her sword. It was so horrific that she didn't even think of questioning why she had a sword or why Kaien was a monster. Every night, Ichigo would be woken up at the wee hours of the day by Rukia's screams. When he noticed how his presence calmed her nerves, he moved Rukia into his room to sleep and solved the nightmare problem. She slept well with a sense of security when Ichigo's arms were around her. (Also, the sleeping pills might have been some help).
Ichigo's life fell back into routine, even with Rukia living with him. It was almost like she had never left. However, he got careless and she almost got killed. Ichigo cursed himself for being so stupid and not realizing it sooner. Living in Karakura with the spiritual powers of a Shinigami was bound to attract hollows eventually. Ichigo was just surprised it wasn't sooner.
He had to perform a surgery that day and Rukia insisted that she would be fine home alone. Shortly before he returned, she decided to go to the store and buy some instant noodles. She left a note on the kitchen counter. He dropped his keys next to the note, read it quickly, and decided he would walk over to the store and meet her on the way.
On the way, something's spiritual pressure spiked and he realized it was a hollow's. Ichigo took off into a sprint and arrived at the park where Rukia was cornered by a hollow. Her face was white and she was shaking, eyes were wide and mouth agape. "Kurosaki-san!" she shrieked as she looked over to him. "Run, Kurosaki-san! There's a monster here!"
Ichigo panicked, quickly trying to think of what to do. If he had gone into his soul form, not only would he scare Rukia even more, but his movements would be clumsy. Ichigo hadn't been in his soul form for years now. He had quit being a Shinigami two years after Rukia didn't come back. Three years without using Zangetsu would make him a bit rusty, but he was stilling willing to risk it. He would risk anything to save Rukia.
Ichigo reached for his belt where he kept his badge. Even though he did quit, he always kept it on him in case a hollow decided to attack him one day. He forced his soul out of his body and then grasping Zangetsu, he sliced through the hollow and then turned to Rukia as she let out another shriek.
"Stay away," she warned warily, keeping distance between him and herself. "Who, no, what are you?" she demanded, trying to keep her calm.
"Rukia, it's just me," Ichigo said steadily, approaching her slowly. "Relax, I won't hurt you. I could never hurt you." He sheathed Zangetsu and showed her his empty hands to prove he was harmless.
"Like hell you aren't!" she shouted and eyed the sword on his back. "What the hell was that monster and why the hell do you have a sword?"
"You have one, too," Ichigo said. "Her name is Sode no Shirayuki. Don't you remember?"
"No, I don't!" she said, shaking her head vigorously. When she wasn't plagued by nightmares of Kaien, she had dreams with a voice calling to her. The voice had said its name was Sode no Shirayuki and Rukia had to wonder who Sode no Shirayuki was and how Ichigo knew about her. She told nobody about the mysterious voice.
"I'm a Shinigami, Rukia. You're one, too. You gave me the Shinigami powers to save my family," Ichigo said, hoping it would spark something.
"That's impossible," she answered, stepping back. "This is all impossible."
Growling in frustration, Ichigo grabbed his badge and thrust it right at Rukia's heart. She shrieked and he had expected to see her soul in Shinigami garments, but what emerged was her soul dressed up exactly like her 'gigai' with a chain connecting her to her body.
"What have you done?" she screamed as she looked at her body. She numbly pulled at the chain that connected herself to her body. "I must be dreaming."
Ichigo's mouth dropped open. "You're human, Rukia! How did this happen?"
"Kurosaki-san, what is going on?" she asked, eyes wide and mouth agape. "Why wouldn't I be human? Is this just a dream? Please say it is and wake me up already!"
"I don't know..." Ichigo said, trying to figure out how Rukia was human and not a Shinigami. "I'm sorry, Rukia," he said. "I'll get you back in your body and I'll explain everything. I'm not crazy and you're not either."
After he got Rukia back into her 'gigai,' he considered getting a memory modifier from Kisuke to blank everything. Instead, he calmly explained the situation. "So there's life after death? And these Shinigami help people?" Rukia repeated, just to get all her facts straight. Ichigo nodded, just giving her the basic facts. He left out Kaien, Aizen, and his fight against the Soul Society to save her from execution. "And I have a brother?" she asked. "Why hasn't he come get me yet?"
"He's busy," Ichigo said. "I don't even think he knows where you are. Byakuya is always flooded with paperwork and it's rare for him to leave the Soul Society."
"Still referring to me by my first name?"
Ichigo turned around instantly and felt Rukia grab his arm suddenly. "Byakuya," he said as he swallowed hard and held onto Rukia. "What are you doing here?"
Byakuya looked at the couple coldly and then his glance rested on Rukia. "I came here to take Rukia back home."