Hello! I'm back, and with a little warning this time. Ichigo is way OOC in the first part of this chapter, and while someone warned me about doing this, the same person also told me not to change anything unless I really wanted; I thought long and hard on this matter and in the end decided the scene needed to stay the way it is; there's a very good reason why Ichigo acts like that, and you'll find a clue of it in the third scene of the chapter, if that's not enough for you you might ask me in a review and I'll explain it better.

Changing Seasons

It had been a few months since the rather special couple had begun meeting every night during dreams, summer was nearing, less than a week away now. And this was the first night that instead of spending what time they had together sharing stories of their day and kissing every so often, the two had spent it in almost absolute silence, broken once in a while with a half-muffled sob, or some whispered words of comfort.

It was the night of the 16th of June, or really pre-dawn of the 17th by now; defiantly the worst night in the whole year for a certain former-shinigami. And yet, for the first time in his almost seventeen years of life, he wasn't alone.

It wasn't that he had no one else, more that he didn't want to bother others. He knew how sad everyone in his family was that night, how it was the only time Karin let herself cry, and Yuzu slept with her to prevent bad dreams. His father…Ichigo actually had no idea what he did those nights, but suspected he didn't even spend them in his room. Considering how much they were already suffering, even now, seven years after the tragedy; Ichigo didn't dare make it even harder on them. At first it was because he believed he was guilty, that he'd been the one to take their beloved mother away from the family, a part of him couldn't help but still feel that way; the rest of him however simply believed that he was meant to be the family protector, and not just because of his name, but because of the powers he used to possess, he'd to look after his family, not make things worse for them.

The young orange-haired man barely managed to strangle the cry that wanted to leave his lips.

"Sh…Ichigo…it's alright." She assured him, her fingers combing softly through his hair in a very soothing gesture.

"I'm…sorry…Ru…Rukia." Ichigo whispered in a hoarse voice. "I sho…shouldn't be bothering you with this…I shouldn't have come…"

"Don't you dare even think that Ichigo!" Rukia hissed at him, her hand on his cheek now. "I practically had to pull your soul to me." She shook her head and sighed. "There was just no way I would have let you be alone tonight. No way. I would even have gone to the Living World if it had become necessary."

"Rukia…" He didn't even know what to say to that.

"I don't know why you insist on spending this night on your own, suffering in silence." The violet-eyed shinigami half-admonished him. "They love you, you know? Karin, Yuzu, even Isshin, crazy as he might be. They care for you, they worry about you; they would love to help you if you just gave them the chance…"

"It's…already bad enough for them. I'm…not gonna…gonna make it worse…"

"You think it's not bad enough for them to see you suffer and not be able to do anything, because you won't let them?"

Ichigo didn't answer, he just closed his amber eyes before she could see the guilt that was filling them, not for the first time. But she just knew him too well.

"Ichigo, you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened." She whispered softly. "It wasn't your fault, but Grand Fisher's; and he doesn't even exist anymore, your father made sure of that. You know he doesn't blame you for what happened that night, how could you have made any difference? You were just a kid!" she shook her head. "You are the only one placing any blame on yourself Ichigo, and it's time you stop doing it." Something occurred to her then. "You think your mother would be happy if she saw you now? How do you think she would feel if she knew you were blaming yourself for something she did? She sacrificed herself for you, yes, but it was her decision to make. You placing blame on yourself lessens her right for a choice; and with this guilt you've placed on yourself holding you down, it kinda makes you having survived a moot point at times."

She knew she was being harsh, but it was high time he understood the truth, it was time he left the past where it belonged, behind, and moved on. The previous year she'd had too little information, now it was different, she wouldn't let him go through another anniversary suffering like this, she just loved him too much.

It took a few minutes more, but finally the tears subsided and, for the first time in the whole night, something close to a smile appeared on the young man's face.

"Thank you, Rukia." He whispered, bringing her hand to his lips to kiss.

"It was my turn to save you." She replied kissing his brow.

"Be there tomorrow?" He half-pleaded to her.

"Already planned to." She reassured him.

This time there was definitely a smile on his face, it was barely a minute twitch of the lips, but it was there.

The following morning the Kurosaki family arrived to the graveyard like every year. They cleaned the tomb, said their prayers, lightened some incense and arranged some flowers before sitting together for some lunch. The two girls purposefully arranged the picnic so some food would be on an empty side, for their visitor. Yuzu still couldn't see Rukia, but Karin and Isshin did, they were grateful for her visit and showed it by offering her some of their own lunch. If Ichigo noticed the extra food he didn't say anything.

In the early afternoon the girls went back to the tomb, where they began telling their mom everything they had done in the last year. Their father was a few feet away, sitting on some stone steps, having his annual smoke. Ichigo stood with his back laying against a tree, and right on his side: Rukia.

"Rukia…" He whispered in a very low voice. "Thank you for being here."

He couldn't see her, or even feel her. But he knew she was there. He wasn't stupid, he had noticed the extra food, and how it kept disappearing; besides, she'd said she would be there.

"You're welcome, Ichigo…" She whispered back, a hand briefly brushing his cheek.

And while he couldn't really feel her touch on his skin, he somehow felt it inside.

Without a single word more Ichigo suddenly moved from his position and to his sisters. He went to kneel right between them, an arm around each of their shoulders. Then he greeted his mom and swiftly began telling her of his year as well, Karin and Yuzu complimenting a story where they could.

"Thank you."

Rukia nearly jumped from her spot when she heard Isshin's voice suddenly right beside her.

"Isshin-san…" She couldn't believe she hadn't sensed him approaching. "I don't know…"

"What I'm talking about?" He finished for her. "I don't know what you did, or how you did it, but you've somehow given me my son back; given Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan their brother back. For that I thank you."

"I don't know how you can think I'm responsible for this." Rukia insisted. "I have barely come to the Transient World in months, and Ichigo certainly isn't able to see or hear me anymore. What makes you think I can have anything to do with this?"

"Like I said, I don't know the whats or hows, but I'm quite sure somehow you did it." Isshin insisted. "The reasons don't really matter. What matters is that we've got Ichigo back, finally, after seven years. I feared this day would never come…" he let out a muffled noise that in a lesser man would have been a sob. "Seeing him every year break down, never allowing any of us to offer any comfort…I know he believed himself to be responsible for Masaki's death, even after I insisted to him time and time again there was nothing he could have done. Today, for the first time, I can truly say I believe my son will get over this." He smiled very softly at the shinigami. "So let me say it again, thank you Rukia, you truly are like a daughter to me, I hope you know that."

"Thank you, Isshin-san, for accepting me into your family." She whispered back, her chest tight with a feeling she couldn't fully understand.

Unnoticeable to either of them Ichigo had briefly raised his head and turned around, one of his hands discretely reaching for his own chest for a moment before shaking his head and going back to spending some quality time with his sisters and mom.

.-.

It was months later, almost nearing the end of September now; it was also the first night since his 'miraculous recovery' that Ichigo had hardly eaten anything at dinner. His family had also noticed he seemed quite tense for some reason but long ago they had realized it was useless to ask, if Ichigo wanted to share a part of his life he would, no prodding needed; and at the same time, when he wanted to keep something private, nothing anyone said or did would change his mind; he was just too stubborn.

Of course Ichigo couldn't tell them he was too stressed out to eat, worried about someone he supposedly hadn't had any contact with for over half a year now.

As soon as he could he left the table and locked himself inside his room. There it took him almost half an hour, a very stressful half an hour to get his body relaxed enough to fall asleep.

The moment his feet touched the well-known white ground he hurried in the direction he somehow already knew his beloved was.

"Rukia!" He yelled as soon as he saw her. "Are you alright?"

She was sitting on a rock, right next to the edge of the frozen lake. Something Ichigo failed to notice as his feet touched the surface of the lake, still at a run…a second later he found himself laying on the icy surface, his head aching due to the impact.

"Ichigo!" Rukia called, shocked at his sudden arrival.

He accepted his help to get back on his feet, slow and careful so as not to slip again.

As soon as they were off the ice Ichigo ignored his own pounding headache, held her by the shoulders, and allowed his eyes to examine her up and down, as if searching for something.

"Ichigo, what's gotten into you?" Rukia asked, confused. "The way you're acting is so strange. And you just fell down and hit your head. Are you sure you are alright?"

"I'm fine Rukia." He almost snapped at her. "And I asked that question first."

"I'm alright, why shouldn't I be?" She was truly utterly confused.

"I know there was a fight today, and that you were injured." He explained, his eyes boring into hers. "I've spent the last eight hours waiting for a moment when I could meet you, to make sure you were alright."

"I already told you I'm ok." Rukia reassured him. "Hanatarou did an excellent job and I wasn't really hurt that badly to begin with." Something seemed to occur to her right then. "How do you even know there was a fight? You can't…"

"No, I still can't see or feel anything spiritual." Ichigo practically growled.

He had never felt as useless as he'd earlier in the afternoon, when he'd sensed his beloved fighting, and then the echo of the pain as she was wounded. It had been bad enough when he had lost his spiritual powers, when he had realized he could no longer help his friends fight the good fight, could no longer protect his sisters from the monsters he knew were out there; but his friends still had each other, and his sisters had their father to help. Feeling Rukia fighting, alone, and then get wounded…it was simply excruciating.

"Ichigo, listen to me." Rukia called his attention back from his brooding. "Answer me this, how did you know I was fighting, or that I got wounded?"

"I felt it." She answered her, a hand going to his chest. "In here."

Rukia's steeled gaze was enough to convince him to explain further.

"I had a free period." Ichigo explained. "In one of the few classes I don't share with the others. It occurred to me that we always meet in dreams, and I wondered if I could somehow reach you during the day. Insane as the idea might have been, I had quite some free time, so I gave it a try." He sighed. "I never did reach the Winter-scape, instead everything around me remained like a mix of white and black, with some red thrown in for good measure. I was going to give up and wake up again when I felt something, like a rush of adrenaline. Cold gusts of wind would sweep past me every so often, and the tension kept escalating, it didn't take long for me to guess what was going on. And then the pain, it went by fast, just like the wind, but it was enough for me to know you had been wounded. I wanted to do something, I felt so…impotent, just floating there, in the nothingness, knowing you were hurt and I couldn't help. And then I vaguely heard someone screaming my name and woke up."

Rukia's eyes were wide. Never, in the six months or so that had passed by since they had begun meeting in their dreams could she have imagined their link to be used in the way he had used it. For him to have been able to sense her while awake, mostly, and to be able to guess so accurately what had happened. It was simply shell-shocking.

"Listen to me Ichigo." She spoke seriously. "I don't want you to do that again, ever."

"Like hell I won't!" He flat out refused.

"Ichigo!" She yelled at him so he would pay attention. "Please, I don't want you to do it, not again. As grateful as I am for your worry, for your caring; I don't want to go into every battle wondering if you're feeling it, if I'm making you worry, or worse, hurt. It is one thing for us to meet at night, but another very different to have you subject yourself to unnecessary things."

"Not unnecessary." Ichigo refused. "I may no longer have the power to help you, to protect you, but I'll be damned if I won't at least be there in any way I can and make sure you're alright. Haven't you understood it already midget? I love you!"

"I do too Ichigo, more than you can imagine. And that's exactly why you shouldn't do this…" She didn't dare speak out her thoughts. "And yet at the same time I can't help but be happy; knowing that you'll always be with me, even if not physically. Does that make me selfish?"

"No, it doesn't."

His answer was so unexpected Rukia almost jumped.

"You, heard all that?" She asked in a very small voice, flushing with embarrassment.

"Yes I did." He admitted, with a half grin. "And there's nothing to be ashamed of. I too am happy to be able to connect with you, even if I'm too useless to help you."

"You're not useless, never." She insisted in a very strong voice. "This," she moved her hand to encircle them as well as their surroundings. "is enough."

"Good, because it's the best I can do at the time."

On the early morning Ichigo would wake to find a bigger than usual breakfast waiting for him, he would devour it gratefully, hungry after barely eating anything the previous day; and his family would just watch with small smiles, happy that whatever it was that had affected him the previous day had sorted itself out already. And life would go on.

.-.

Even though there was no obvious change in light in what Ichigo had long ago dubbed the Winter-scape, both him and Rukia could sense when dawn approached, as with it came their time to say their goodbyes and focus on getting back to their bodies.

Even after nearly nine months of constant meetings Ichigo wasn't fully sure of how everything worked, and he didn't care much to find out either. As far as he was concerned 'something' allowed the two of them to meet every night in some realm out of either of their worlds, a place where it didn't matter that he no longer had any spiritual power, or that she wasn't really living while he was, a place where only the fact that they loved each other mattered.

"Don't forget to go over to my house today." Ichigo reminded her. "I know you usually don't, because you don't see a reason, but you need to pick up your gift."

Rukia just nodded, taking a moment to kiss him one more time.

Then they were both gone.

Ichigo blinked a couple of times to get used to the clear light going through his bedroom window. From it he could see the snow-covered streets and gardens; they looked beautiful, and yet nothing could possibly compare to the beauty of the realm he had just left behind, though that could have probably been more because of the company he had while there than the place itself.

Breakfast was defiantly a disastrous affair in the Kurosaki home that morning, not that the former Shinigami had expected any less; when it came to his father everything seemed to end up being a disaster.

The four exchanged presents and then went their separate ways. Ichigo making sure to take a cup of hot cocoa and a piece of cake to his room, where he left both on his desk beside a small box wrapped in silvery-colored paper. He added beside it a note wishing Merry Christmas and then left the room to take a shower, his friends would be expecting him for lunch.

No more than a minute after Ichigo had left the room a new figure stepped inside delicately. Clad in the usual black shihakusho and with a cloak over it for good measure, Rukia smiled at the thoughtful objects placed on the desk. She ate the food happily, enjoying greatly Yuzu's cooking, especially after not having tasted it in months. Sensing the sisters still in the house she raised her voice just enough to tell them thank you, a message which she knew Karin would pass on to her twin.

As soon as she was done with the food Rukia put the little message inside her kosode and proceeded to open her present. She wished she could do it with Ichigo there, but she knew it was hard on him when something happened that reminded him what he had lost; and him seeing a present open itself would be quite obvious. What she saw inside was so beautiful, and so obviously heartfelt that she couldn't help let a few tears fall.

Her deep musings however were interrupted when the bedroom door opened and an Ichigo with his hair still damp and with nothing more than a towel around his waist stepped in.

Rukia immediately went as red as Renji's hair and began rushing to get out of there before Ichigo decided to begin getting dressed. She quickly brought a small wrapped parcel out of her sleeve, it had been altered by Urahara along with several others to be physical. She left it on the now otherwise empty desk, collected her own gift and made her way to the window in a rush. It was only in the last moment that she turned back around and softly kissed Ichigo in the lips, whispering a soft 'Merry Christmas' before shunpoing out of the room.

Several yards away Rukia couldn't help but chuckle softly, while still pretty flushed herself she could remember the way Ichigo had suddenly gone red himself, right before she had left the room. He had explained to her, how even with no spiritual senses he could feel something inside him when she touched him, it wasn't the actual touch, but more like what brought them together every night. She didn't fully understand his explanation, but then again hers wasn't the same situation as his; and yet, considering how he had blushed such a deep red, she was sure he'd realized in that moment she was there…this only made her blush even more.

"Kuchiki-san?" She heard someone call her.

It was unmistakably Orihime calling her, Rukia hadn't realized she had gotten all the way to her neighborhood already.

"Are you alright, Rukia-san?" Orihime asked, worried about her friend. "You look so red."

"I'm fine." Rukia reassured her. "It's just the cold."

"Very well." Orihime accepted the half-lie easily enough. "Merry Christmas then."

At that Orihime offered a wrapped gift to Rukia, which the shinigami accepted after producing one of her own for the russet-haired girl who was, without a doubt, one of her best friends.

The rest of the morning went by in the exact same way, as Rukia visited friends and exchanged presents with them. Finally leaving the last place when Ichigo arrived and the group all came together. No one said anything, tried to ask her to stay, they knew better.

It was still early afternoon but Rukia knew she had to get back, even though Christmas wasn't usually celebrated in Soul Society, those who had been on the Transient World long enough to learn about its traditions had wanted to get together and celebrate on their own.

Before going through the gate Rukia had to hand Urahara the several boxes of presents she had acquired so he could use one of his machines to make them spiritual. If he ever noticed there was one box more than there should have been he didn't ask.

Back in Seireitei everyone was waiting for her, since apparently she was the last to arrive; she handed to some of them like Hitsugaya, Matsumoto, Renji, etc. some gifts the others had sent them, and showed off those that had been given to her, except for one:

Two hearts, one made out of mother of pearl, the other out of black onyx, each with a small stone hanging from the middle of the heart: the first an amethyst, the second a topaz; and the two were bound through a length of red silk ribbon.

That same ribbon was in that moment wound around Rukia's neck, hidden beneath her kosode, with the hearts laying comfortably between her breasts, over her own heart.

.-.

It was the beginning of April, and it signified so many things…to most it was the obvious: the beginning of spring, as the beautiful sakura tree's bloomed, and also the beginning of a new school year; for two particular people there was something else that made that day even more special, a reason no one but each other was privy to.

"Kurosaki-kun!" A voice called.

"Orihime, we've known each other for so long, you can very well call me Ichigo, everyone else does." Ichigo pointed out to one of his best friends. "Unless you think Ishida wouldn't like it, I really don't want to end up with an arrow in my behind due to his jealousy…"

Ichigo chuckled at his own declaration, at the same time Orihime blushed slightly. It had been months since the young healer and the quincy had begun dating, and both would still blush at the slightest provocation, something Ichigo seemed to find extremely amusing. But aside from that, he was really happy for them, he knew at some point Orihime had had a crush on him, but he'd never been able to see her as anything more than a great friend, almost a sister. It was good to see her be happy with Uryuu, the same kind of happiness he was fortunate enough to know with his beloved shinigami…even if no one was privy to it.

"We were planning on going to a club tonight." Orihime remembered what she was saying.

"Sorry, I've got plans." Ichigo excused himself with a half-smile. "Maybe next time. You should go enjoy yourselves!"

Just a year before Orihime would have taken that statement as nothing more than an excuse that he was going to brood again; but then again, so much had changed in that year. Ichigo actually smiled now, not even before the whole Soul-Society debacle had he done that; Orihime wasn't sure what the reason was behind Ichigo's change, but she was grateful for it, they all were.

When Rukia first had left, when they had all seen just how depressed this made Ichigo, they had feared he would never be able to move on. It was more than just him having lost his shinigami powers, Uryuu had explained, drawing from his own experience, it was having lost a life he had chosen. Uryuu had been fortunate enough to have regained his powers, Ichigo, however, not so much. And yet Ichigo had somehow moved on, and not just regarding his loss of power, but also from the tragedy that had befallen his family so many years ago. Now he smiled, though not much, his usual scowl wasn't as pronounced as before, and he didn't seem to mind when Soul Society, shinigami, or their powers were brought up in some conversation.

Yes, whatever may have happened, whoever may have helped Ichigo move on, Orihime and everyone else were very grateful for it.

"Very well." She smiled. "Have a good day Ku…Ichigo."

The orange haired young man smiled and nodded as he watched his friend walk down the street, leaving him as the last person in the school.

There was a gentle breeze as a frigid touch reached into Ichigo's very soul.

"Hey," He whispered to the apparently empty air. "Ready?"

He didn't wait for an answer, he wouldn't have been able to hear it anyway. Instead he walked to one side of the school and began talking out loud, reminding himself and his unseen companion of the things they had gone through in that place.

Minutes later they left the school grounds, went through several streets before stopping at a nondescript corner, where he began talking once again.

The streets were mostly empty, and the few people passing by didn't pay any attention to the young man who, for all intents and purposes was talking to himself; and even if they had noticed he wouldn't have cared.

Truth is he wasn't talking to himself, even if not even he could actually see the person he was talking to. Rukia was standing right beside him, listening to his recount of their adventures, as they kept moving through the town at a slow pace. Every once in a while, when they hit on a rather hard memory (like the night she'd been taken away from him) she would slowly caress his face, or kiss him on the cheek, allowing her reiatsu to touch him, allowing his soul to know she was there even when his body would never sense her.

It was evening already when the couple arrived to their last destination, the Kurosaki home. It was empty right then, as the twins were spending the night at some friend's house, to celebrate their beginning of junior-high, while Isshin had his weekly 'reunion' of sorts with Urahara and the others, no one really knew what they did on those reunions, neither did they care to ask.

Ichigo opened the door to the house, and left it open what he judged was enough time for Rukia to walk inside as well; while she very well could have just gone through the door, he still acted like that when he knew she was there.

Yuzu had left some dinner in the fridge, knowing how hopeless her older brother was in the kitchen, thankfully there was enough for two.

"Lets eat together tonight." Ichigo spoke. "It's a special night, I promise not to care that I can't really see you."

The only answer he got were some glasses 'floating' to the table, to be joined by napkins, right as Ichigo served the reheated food on two plates and placed them on the table.

It was a somewhat disconcerting sight, to have the food disappeared into nothingness, it reminded Ichigo of a movie he'd watched once, about an invisible man. He actually chuckled. And even though he couldn't see Rukia, he imagined her confusion at his laughter, so he explained it out loud. He was laughing once again right as he finished, but this time more strongly, as he felt deep amusement fill him inside, far more than his own ever could.

Once they were done with dinner, the rather unorthodox couple retired to the teen's room, where he simply laid on the bed, moving to the very corner of it, right against the wall, a silent signal for his beloved to join him.

Laying together, it was no trouble to relax enough to allow their minds to reach a different plane, one where he no longer had to talk to the air, one where her touches were actually felt.

"Hey," He greeted her softly.

They found themselves laying in the snow, underneath the very same tree Ichigo had first seen exactly twelve months before.

"Happy anniversary midget." He added, giving her a quick peck on the lips.

"Happy anniversary to you too, fool." She quipped. "And is that what you call a kiss?"

For all answer he gathered her in his arms, pulling her body flush against his, as he kissed her long and passionately, enough for all thought to be erased from both of their minds.

They remained in that same position for an indeterminate amount of time, when suddenly Rukia noticed a very thoughtful expression on her beloved's face.

"What is it?" She asked.

But he didn't answer, instead he pulled both of them to their feet, stopping her with a finger to her soft lips when she almost spoke again. Once he made sure she was standing he dropped on one knee right before her and began talking before she could so much as gasp.

"Marry me." He said, his voice thick with feeling.

"What…?" She was too shocked to even think properly at the time.

"Not now, obviously." Ichigo began almost babbling. "We can't really marry each other when we live in different worlds, and I haven't had a chance to buy a ring yet. But I would really like it if you were to marry me, someday, when our waiting comes to an end, when we can finally be truly together, in the real world, whichever it ends up being."

Silence reigned for a while, could have been a minute or an hour. Until suddenly something wet touched Ichigo's cheek, at first he thought it had begun to snow, as it sometimes seemed to in that place, but as he raised his face he noticed those weren't snowflakes, but tears, his beloved was crying.

"Oh Rukia…" Ichigo called, deeply apologetic. "Don't cry, please. I know it was stupid of me to ask this right now. I've already made things hard enough, having you wait for me for a lifetime, I shouldn't try to extract any more promises from you, I…"

"You should shut up and wait for an answer." She demanded. "Though, you haven't really asked me yet."

"What?" Ichigo was so intent on getting her to stop crying he was suddenly lost at her words.

"Ask me Ichigo." She almost ordered. "And properly this time."

"Rukia, I love you, and I promise to keep loving you in this life and as many lives as there may be after this one, on and on till my soul no longer exists." He declared, voice full of feeling. "Would you do me the honor, of sharing that eternity with me as my wife?"

A deep passionate kiss, at the same time a lithe body crashed into him with enough strength to send them both into the snow once again was enough of a reply, at least, until a spoken one was given minutes later:

"Yes, I'll be your wife." She whispered against his lips. "It'll be my pleasure to share this life, and as many as may come by your side, Ichigo."

So, how did you like this? Because I truly hope you liked this. I decided to update today instead in tomorrow because, honestly, I'm not even sure if I'll get a chance to use my computer tomorrow. My parents and my siblings are dropping down for a visit and we'll likely spend the whole weekend going to places. So instead of doing my homework for this afternoon's class, I'm here working on my fic.

So, just one chapter left, the longest chapter of the whole fic. I briefly considered making the fic longer, using some ideas I got after reading chapter 424; but in the end decided that I have way too much work right now, both with school and a few fics I had already promised beforehand, I don't have time to end up with another WIP in my hands. So this'll be it. What I am considering doing is a sequel of sorts for this, another short fic, no more than five chapters, regarding how Ichigo does in the afterlife, and a more difinite epilogue to a few characters and pairings. Not so sure about that one yet, and even if I do it it might take a while.

So, the only thing left for now is the sneak-peak for next chapter. (and hey, give me enough reviews and I might be convinced to update even earlier this time!):

Rukia was standing before Capt. Ukitake, giving the daily report on patrols and squad training when suddenly a sharp pain took over her senses, making her knees fold underneath her and only a quick move of her arms prevented her from crashing fully into the ground.

'What's going on?' She asked herself.

Quickly the violet eyed shinigami began checking herself, nothing seemed to be wrong, and yet the pain just wouldn't go away; it took her several tries before she finally managed to push it to a corner of her mind, at the same time realizing what it meant.

"Ichigo!" She screamed as she jumped onto her feet.

.-.

"Go Rukia-san."

That was all she needed, a fraction of a second later she was gone.

Moving at speeds that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago, Rukia got to the Kuchiki estate in record time. She knew it would be far easier to use her position to order the servants to open their private Senkai gate than wait for the 12th Division to authorize her pass through the official one.

Time was running out, she had to hurry.

That and a hell of a lot more in Everlasting Bond's finale (and I'm not telling you the name of the chapter yet...you'll find out in due time).