Thanks to: UzumakiShadow, falconrukichi, SomethingInTheWater, the-azian 1028, White Moon Black Sun, AnimeLover 8797, and Anim3 Lov3r.

Falconrukichi: No, Rukia did not make the kimono herself. I doubt she has that kind of patience for handicrafts. :) She had servants help with most of the intricate work.

Anim3 Lov3r: Thanks for the feedback. You're the second person to have said that I'm keeping everything in character. You're right, fics like that are hard to find. I find it very easy to relate to Ichigo and Rukia and the relationship itself. I hope you all continue to review. It gives me a positive outlook on my abilities as a writer and gives me the inspiration necessary to keep the chapters coming.


It had been a debate between a satin weave (rinzu) or a traditional silk (chirimen) for the fabric of the kimono. Everyone agreed that silk was the ideal fabric and so it was decided. The material was jet black, but the sleeves were both embroidered with crests of red fabric that was very time consuming to produce and required great skill.

In order to save precious time and energy, the craftsmen, and Rukia herself, picked the silk thread from old kimono and rewove it into a new textile in the width of a heko obi for a men's kimono, using a recycling weaving method called saki-ori.

The sode (sleeve) weren't that long and were designed to reach at least to the wrist. Rukia needed help with the haori, which was a beige color rather than the maroon she'd opting for. Byakuya stood by and gave recommendations, but never interfered with the work of the servants or Rukia herself. She was overall grateful for his guidance; he had, after all, been the one to help her decide that the obi be of the same material as the kimono. In the end of all of it, they chose simple tabi and zori for the footwear, and it was done.

Rukia had begun to lose grip of her nerve as Christmas drew closer. Her apprehension that maybe all or just one thing wasn't right with the kimono festered, and even worse-the fear that the very gift she'd worked so hard on would be turned down. She had already discussed with Orihime and the others about what they would be getting Ichigo as well. Uryu had joked rather seriously that he was going to get Ichigo a sewing kit and force him to learn the wonders of handicrafts, but in the end resigned to making him a new pair of gloves to replace the former that he'd lost. Around the time that the Kurosaki family had disclosed that they were going to be going on vacation, Ichigo and company

gathered together to exchange gifts before they went their separate ways for the holidays. Rukia refused to open hers until Christmas; it wouldn't be quite as magical if she opened them now. However, she did agree to give Ichigo the present she'd gotten him on that exact day. His friends had all piled into the living room with boxes and gift bags scattered left and right, swapping their contributions while watching the others' expression of awe and gratitude. Rukia had excused herself at that time to go leave the room.

The kimono had been folded neatly into a special box and pressed so that it wouldn't wrinkle when it was removed from its confines. The dog tags had been placed inside, as well. Rukia had wanted to hide it in a place of room temperature without moisture, so she had chosen Yuzu's closet as its safe harbor. Karin and Yuzu's closet was jammed pack full of miscellaneous items that defied wonder because they only shared one closet and needed it for their clothes and belongings. A net brimming with soccer balls from Karin sat in one corner, with other sports gear carelessly tossed elsewhere. The other side was stacked with boxes of sewing items belonging to Yuzu.

On the other hand, Rukia had decided maybe it wasn't such a good idea to place a valuable kimono in their closet, and had changed her mind at the last second.

So, she had reluctantly used the storage closet downstairs where the Kurosaki family kept their extra summer and winter clothing in boxes.

Rukia felt alarm shoot straight through her when she noticed that the box was missing. She crawled up onto shelves, went through other boxes, but to no avail.

Yuzu, Karin, and even Isshin said they hadn't been in there and that they hadn't touched the box she described. Rukia was devastated. And there was no time at all to make another. It was just too late. Rukia didn't go back; she couldn't. She couldn't bear to face Ichigo. She gave the Kurosaki family a random excuse about some emergency and fled the house. Evening followed, but she didn't go back. Rukia stayed overnight at Urahara's. The imbecilic shopkeeper tried to coax a response out of her, but she snapped at him in her stimulated paranoia and just told him that she was on duty, even though he knew she wasn't. Later on, Rukia would tell Ichigo a day from now that something had happened in Soul Society, and she had been called out on short notice by her captain. The orange-haired, short-tempered substitute Soul Reaper wouldn't believe her, and, feeling hurt that she had left him like that without asking his help, would tell her that was a load of bull-shit.

"Screw you, Ichigo! I'm not your babysitter! You can't expect me to drag you along with me whenever something comes up!" she shouted, anger flaring. "Stop acting like a child and be a man!"

"I am!" he screamed.

"THEN ACT LIKE IT!" she screamed louder. Their fury was almost visible in the frigid temperatures. They were standing out in the schoolyard, arguing again. Everyone was inside because it was too cold to eat outside. Rukia felt so burnt out from all the energy she was expending on him she thought she was going to break down and cry.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You were perfectly fine the other day, and then you just jump up and disappear without telling me that you're going, and when you do come back, a day later, you sell me this bullshit about going to Soul Society for something you won't even tell me about!" Rukia flung herself around to face him, just as she was about to walk away from the mess they'd started.

"It...is...NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" She turned back around, shaking with rage that she wanted in dire to express through physical violence, and began to walk off.

Ichigo just ran right up behind her and grabbed her by the back of her jacket, hauling her right off the ground.

"After all the trouble we went through for you, I would think you'd have at least an ounce of respect just to thank Inoue and the others for what they did for you!" he spat.

"But no, you just leave at the drop of a hat like that, and for what? Soul Society! I don't care if it was Byakuya, Rukia, you-" Rukia punched him...hard. She landed with ease in the snow as he toppled back into the white slush on the ground. "Don't you dare talk to me like that," she hissed. "I very well did thank Inoue and the others! In fact, I went to their homes after I came back to apologize for the inconvenience-"

"And what about me! I didn't see you waltzing up to my house today just to say how sorry you were," he growled, sitting up and pressing his hand over his nose, which was bleeding copiously.

"I thought I'd give you a little time to cool down. I figured you'd be pissed off-"

"You're damn right, I'm pissed off!" he barked. "You didn't even stay long enough so we could exchange gifts..." Rukia's shoulders slumped, her anger fading just as fast as it had come.

"I know, but...I'd rather wait until Christmas." She blushed softly as Ichigo placed a hand on her head, his free hand attempting to stave off the flow of blood from his nose.

"Sorry about that..." she said, gesturing to his injury. He laughed.

"Fucking hurts like hell, but I've had worse. I'll be fine. 'Sides...it'd take a lot more than a midget like you to put me down." Rukia playfully elbowed him in the side and giggled as they both walked back, side by side, to class.

The tension between them dissolved for awhile, but when Rukia continued to search the house and didn't find the kimono, she began to lose hope. By the time Christmas came, Rukia had not only misplaced the most important gift in the world to her best friend, but she had also indirectly destroyed the gift that Ichigo himself had gotten her.

The strain on their relationship now was enormous, if not suffocating. Ichigo wasn't just wounded anymore; he was angry because he believed that he bore no significance whatsoever to her. That was anything but the truth. Even if she did have the gift, the words they had said to one another had made her think.

Just what did Ichigo mean to her?