I don't own Bleach.


The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok
I miss you


Very early the next morning, Rukia got out of bed and walked to the living room. Ichigo was lying on the couch still asleep, snoring lightly. She smiled before continuing on to the kitchen to attempt and make him breakfast. She didn't want him to think that she always had to order something (though she usually did have to).

She got to the fridge, opened the door, and bent over to see if she had any eggs before her idea fully processed in her mind. Wait…she thought. Why do I want to make him breakfast? That's something that married couples do…he can eat nothing for all I care!

She stood up and slammed the refrigerator door shut. She heard a rustle from behind her and turned around to find that the orange-haired man sitting up on the couch.

"What did the fridge ever to do you?" he questioned sarcastically.

"Ah, shut up," she replied. She walked away from it and sat up on the counter again. She still wore her pajamas, Ichigo noticed; a pair of cotton-black sleeping pants and a t-shirt that was two sizes too big for her that read "Karakura Football."

"You played football?" Ichigo asked, nodding to her shirt.

She laughed. "No…my friend, Renji did."

Ichigo stiffened. "Renji Abarai?" he asked. She nodded. "But that guy tried to kill the Rukia I know! Why would you be friends with a guy like that?"

She smiled. "He was my friend when I was just a kid. I used to live in an orphanage until my brother, Byakuya, adopted me. Renji went to a foster home and shockingly that year at school we had the same classes together. And yes, in the book he did try to kill Rukia, but because he was confused and didn't know what to do. Here, he did the same thing to me once."

She looked away and he saw that she didn't really want to talk about it. "What's for breakfast?" he asked attempting to change the subject. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"We'll grab a bagel or something on the way to work. There a café down the street." She jumped off the counter and over to a coffee machine. She got a pack of coffee powder out of cupboard above her. She put it in the coffee maker and then started it up. "Do you like coffee?" she asked while making.

"If I was fifteen, I'd say no," Ichigo gold her. "But that was seven years ago. After everything I've been through, coffee is like medicine."

After his last statement Rukia spun around and stared. "What do you mean everything you've been through? What do you mean seven years ago? You save the character, Rukia Kuchiki, when you're fifteen. Are you saying you've fought the Arrancar and all you other enemies already?"

Ichigo looked away, clearly confused at his own statement

"I—don't ... know." He said slowly. Ichigo looked to the ground.

Rukia took a deep breath and smiled slightly. "Ah, don't worry about it. We'll just ask Urahara about it when we get to the shop."

Ichigo nodded still staring at the ground. Rukia didn't pressure him; she knew him better than anyone. She knew that he wouldn't want to talk about something that he didn't know about. He hated not knowing something and he was too stubborn to ask.

"Why don't you go take a shower and I'll go pick up a few pairs of jeans and a couple t-shirts for you at the superstore down the street."

He nodded and started heading back to the bathroom before stopping and turning around to face her. "Do you need to know my size or something?"

She smiled. "I'm the one who thought you up. Remember? I know everything about you."

Then, Rukia turned around, grabbed her bag and was out the door. Ichigo shook his head and rubbed his temple before heading off to the bathroom.

This Rukia knew everything about him. She knew his personality, his reasons, his weaknesses, strengths, everything. Yet, he knew nothing about her. Come to think of it, he knew hardly anything about the Rukia Kuchiki in his own world.

He walked to the bathroom and undressed. He found a towel and started the shower. As the hot water ran down his face and back, he decided. He was going to learn as much as he could about this Rukia Kuchiki; maybe, when he got back, he would understand his own Rukia better.

They were sitting in the back room of the Shoten. Ichigo and Rukia were on one side of a low-setting table, Urahara on the other. They were all sitting cross-legged and their hands placed in their laps.

They had explained their story and all their questions. How did Ichigo get here? How do we get him back? How did Kon get here if Rukia didn't read him out of the book? Where are you from, Urahara? Is there a real Soul Society? How come Ichigo has no knowledge of other than going to the Soul Society to save Rukia, but he's twenty-two?

Urahara held up his hands in defense. "Calm down, guys," he said coolly. "I'll explain as much as I can. First, Kon, since his reason is obvious." He stared at Ichigo and Rukia, just daring them to say something. When they didn't, he continued. "When you read the hollows and Ichigo out of BLEACH, Rukia, you left the book unfinished, unread.

"A book, many authors like to say, should read itself off the page. You, Rukia, in doing so, literally, have made it into a passageway to our world. Kon got here, because he thought of Ichigo and what he was doing … he must have also been near my shop in the book."

"So you're saying that anything could come out of the book if they just think about me?" Ichigo asked.

"Precisely," Urahara held up his index finger to emphasize his point. "But they have to be in the underground training arena or the place in the Soul Society, on the other side of the portal. This shouldn't harm either of you unless … "

"Unless what?" Rukia asked.

"Unless the Soul Society finds out about it. They'll come and try to take Ichigo away, like they took the character, Rukia Kuchiki. That brings me to the next question. Ichigo, though twenty-two years old and been through everything, even things you haven't written, Rukia, he must have lost part of his memory on his way here."

Rukia could almost feel her head spinning. "What about the Soul Society? Are you from the book or are you from … you know, somewhere real?"

He smiled. "Indeed, I am not the Urahara Kisuke from the book BLEACH. The one who went away, Ichigo, indeed go somewhere for the time being. But he should return. You're his favorite apprentice after all." Urahara winked.

"So there's a real Soul Society?" Rukia asked.

Urahara didn't respond right away. Instead, he looked off toward the door in which led out to the bookstore. He looked back at Rukia, his eyes hidden by his green and white striped hat. "Yes, Rukia, there is a real Soul Society."

Her breath caught. Around her, the room started to spin. She brought her hands up to her head and held them there for a long time before finally feeling as if she could breathe again.

Ichigo looked over to her. Her face was paler than it usually was; her breaths were coming out in little gasps, like she was suffocating.

"Rukia … " he was about to lift a hand on her shoulder, when she turned to him. "Rukia, are you … "

Tears filled her eyes. Like wildfire, her eyes became very angry. She turned back to Urahara. "All those people!" she yelled. "They're all real? Byakuya, Renji, Momo, Hitsugaya…all of them? Are they all Soul Reapers?!"

"Rukia," Urahara said quietly. "It isn't my place to answer that."

"Why?!" Rukia yelled. She stood up and roughly brushed away the tears that were on the corners of her eyes. "This can't be true … I made up the story! You just told me about the place! I thought of Ichigo, Orihime, Ishida, Tatsuki, Chad, Renji…and you're telling me that they're all Soul Reapers!?"

"No," Urahara replied. "All I'm saying is that there is a place called the Soul Society. I'm not saying who lives there … I'm not saying anything."

Rukia got up and backed away. "I'm going to open the store." She started to turn away and at that moment, Ichigo was up. He grabbed her wrist which made her stop. "Ichigo … let me open the store, okay? I don't want to talk right now."

His eyes softened and he stared at the back of her head. "Rukia," he said. "I know that this is hard for you. I can see it. But I want you to know, none of this is your fault. Though I haven't known you for very long, I know you. You'll blame yourself, because that's what you do."

He smiled. "We'll figure this out. I promise."

She turned around and he let go of her wrist. They stood there for a moment just looking at each other, until she broke the silence with one word. "Together?"

He grabbed her hand and shook it. "Together."

Later on that day was the first time Rukia had to fight against a hollow. Ichigo and Rukia had been working in the shop, after taking a lunch break, and they heard a cry in the distance.

They were on their way to the back to ask Urahara if they could leave when he was suddenly at the doorway, beckoning them to leave. "Go on, I've got this place covered."

Without a second thought, Ichigo and Rukia were out the door and on their way to the hollow. "Ichigo," Rukia asked while the turned a corner, toward the direction of the yelling. "How are we going to get me in my shinigami form?"

He searched one of his pockets of the jeans that she got him that morning. He pulled out a read glove and smirked at her, "I got you covered."

They saw the hollow just up ahead and Rukia stopped. Ichigo slipped on the glove and hit her on her chest, before her body fell limply to the ground as she appeared shinigami robe and all.

The hollow was flimsy and it took three minutes to defeat it. Rukia felt as if she had done this before. She felt as if she had done this forever. After the hollow was exterminated, Ichigo and Rukia walked back, Rukia adjusting in her tight, red, short-sleeved t-shirt and black and white striped skirt.

"That an interesting outfit you have on," Ichigo noticed as she pulled her hair up in a ponytail."

She looked up at him and smiled. "Really?" she asked. "I thought so too, when I bought it."

They reached the Shoten and walked inside. Ichigo let Rukia in first and watched as she walked past him. He still marveled at the fact that she was so different and yet the same to the Rukia he had grown to care for in only two months. When she was a good distance away, he watched again as she reached the counter and leaned over it. She was holding a book and talking about it like she had already read; answering what seemed to be a question from a customer.

Ichigo eyes softened.

After the customer bought the book and the other items she purchased, the woman walked toward the door and past Ichigo thanking him for holding the door for her.

Rukia looked over to him and smiled, holding her hand up slightly before turning back toward the store. He shook his head, trying to escape the thoughts that kept entering his mind.

What would it feel like if I took that red shirt off? What would it feel like to touch her skin? Or to feel her hair? What would it be like to take her out to dinner or to hold her hand?

He shook his head harder this time and tried to escape the thoughts. This was Rukia he was talking about…Rukia! Chappi-loving, annoying, freaking Rukia! He shouldn't think like this!

Or should he?

After all, thoughts like these had entered his mind briefly before Rukia left…

Wait, Ichigo thought. What the hell is wrong with me?! Remember Chappi equals Rukia. Annoying equals Rukia. She's a woman who's incredibly short and punches extremely hard! Stop thinking about her!

And yet, the battle raged on in his head long after he went to bed that evening.


A/N: Sorry about the end … I know it's not that good. Anyway, please review! I love to hear from you guys!


Chapter Preview:

"Well, that's odd," Rukia said. "You don't think…could it be someone else? Like a shinigami from the book? Do you think the Soul Society found out?"