Hey everyone! I'm still shocked at the response this story has gotten! That's why I would like to thank Myomi-chan for the friendly push to go for it and publish this fic! Thanks Myomi!

So this chapter is dedicated to the super awesome writer that is Myomi-chan! If you're a fan of Naruto and enjoy reading awesome fics with great plots and awesome writing style check out her stories! They're awesome; I'm her beta so trust me I know!

That said, ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I don't own bleach; I wish I did though cos if I did I'd know what happened to Grimmjow, does anyone know whether he died or not? It's pretty unclear…they just sorta left him there in the desert in hueco mundo…oh well. – Shrug –

…...

10: 00 am.

That's what the clock on the wall read when Rukia glanced at it on her way out of the bathroom. She had excused herself to the bathroom to calm down and regain her composure after her breakdown. For the better part of 30 minutes she cried, before putting her foot down and refusing to cry any more, she was after all a Kuchiki. And she knew that tears would solve nothing. So with resolve steeled, she stood and slowly opened the tap in the tiny sink, splashing some on her face, which was really hot from all the crying she had done.

She stared at her reflection for a bit, taking in her slightly reddened eyes, the slightly pink nose from the tissues and her pink cheeks from the tears. She frowned at herself, 'that is so not what a Kuchiki is supposed to look like; Nii-sama would have a fit if he saw me like this. That's it! No more weakness, I'm Kuchiki Rukia, I will not let this beat me, and I will endure this and survive…'

'And by that you mean Ichigo-sama will save you… again?' a calm voice, slightly dripping with sarcasm, interrupted her thoughts. 'Sode No Shirayuki…?' she asked with surprise 'when did you- wait what's that supposed to mean? Ichigo does not always save me! And since when do you call the baka Ichigo-sama?!'. She only got a giggle that sounded like wind chimes for a response before the zanpaktou faded back to the recesses of her mind again.

'What's with her?'. With a start Rukia realized what her sword had just done. She felt lighter somehow, like part of the burden had been lifted from her shoulders. That lightness she felt and the jab were her sword's way of telling her that she didn't have to face it alone, that she was right there with her through it all, and so were her friends. She clutched her hands together at her chest and smiled fondly as she felt her Sode No Shirayuki's reiatsu wash over her warmly as if in embrace. 'We are after all…one.' She said with a smile. Rukia smiled again, and walked out of the bathroom after washing and drying her face. As she walked down the corridor towards the back room of Urahara Shoten, she was pretty much back to normal, more or less anyways.

She slid back the door and walked in with a calm expression on her face, not surprised to find Yoiruichi Shihoin there as well. She entered the room and calmly moved to sit across from the pair, whose eyes followed her as she crossed the threshold and sat down.

"Are you feeling better Kuchiki?", asked Yoiruichi.

"Hai", she responded with a small mile.

Relief showed on both faces, even as the shopkeeper pulled out his fan to cover his face. "Say Kuchiki-san, what time are you going to meet Kurosaki-san, I'm sure he has already….sensed…your spirit pressure." He said drawing out the word on purpose as his eyes glinted mischievously.

-5 minutes later on the roofs of karakura-

'That was weird', she thought to herself as she shunpoed from roof to roof, she shuddered, and not because of the breeze, as she remembered the weird look Yoiruichi and Urahara shared after his 'comment'. She shuddered again when she remembered the sly grins and chuckles the two shared after she walked out of the room.

Her heart beat sped up when Karakura High came into view, and it had nothing to do with the speed she was moving at. She swallowed involuntarily, 'I can do this…", she muttered to herself, ' I can do this…I can do this'.

She sped up, chanting the mantra to herself again and again.

…

The bell rang signaling the end of third period, the students of class 2-A started chatting animatedly as soon as the sensei left the room. Orihime immediately went to Ishida's desk and the two started chatting about something related to the sewing club they were both part of. Meanwhile, on the other side of the classroom, Keigo was loudly telling Ichigo, Chad and Mizuiro about the TV show he had been watching the previous night. Ichigo was pretty much ignoring him and staring into space with his back to the window as he reclined in his chair. Chad was standing behind him being…Chad, and Mizuiro was sitting on top of a desk opposite them, smiling good naturedly, as Keigo proceeded to wave his arms around, practically becoming a blur, as he tried to get Ichigo's attention.

" I-CHI-GOOOO! ARE YOU LISTENING TO M-OMMPH!".

"No,", he replied flatly, not even aware of the fact that he had just hit Keigo in the face. The latter proceeded to wail on the floor about how he was always being ignored, but immediately shot up to point an accusing finger at his friends who had carried on conversing without acknowledging his, to him, obvious pain.

"Y-you see?!." He shouted accusingly, "Always ignore, ignore, ignore! Are you all going to ignore what just happened?!"

"Calm down, Asano-san," Mizuiro said calmly with a pleasant smile on his face.

"E-EH! What's with the formalities, Mizuiro?!, I thought we were friends?!" he cried, exaggerated tears forming again.

"Of course we are…Asano-san." Came the friendly reply.

"NOOOOOO!" he wailed throwing his arms up in his despair.

Ichigo was just about to pound Keigo's face in again in annoyance, but his fist froze in midair when he sensed the familiar spirit pressure behind him, followed by the familiar, "Oi."

Time seemed to slow down, as Ichigo slowly turned to face the widow, where Rukia was standing with one foot on the window sill.

"R-Rukia.." he mumbled, she smiled as the breeze gently blew her hair and school skirt around.

"Hey," she replied softly. "R-Rukia.." he mumbled again incoherently. At this Ishida and Orihime shared a knowing glance and smiled, but unfortunately, Rukia didn't seem to share their sense of humor, as she proceeded to slam her fist down on the carrot top's head.

"Pervert!", she snarled at him as her fist shook with fury in front of her blazing eyes.

"W-WHAT THE- What was that for midge- did you just call me a pervert?! What the hell for?!" he shouted as he rubbed his now swollen and throbbing head.

"You were looking up my skirt weren't you? That's why your eyes glazed over, and you just kept mumbling my name like an idiot, you were practically drooling, SUKEBE!", she spat, pointing her finger at his face accusingly. His eyes crossed as he looked at her accusing finger with mounting frustration, before slapping it away and exploding in her face.

"The hell I was, who do you think I am Kon?! I was just surprised to see you, why the hell do you always come through the window anyways, cant you use a door like a normal person for once", he paused as a smirk appeared on his face, "then again, you are not a normal person are ya?...midget.", he sneered down at her in a condescending tone.

By this time, Orihime and Ishida had already rejoined the other teens and they were all watching as Rukia and Ichigo spat insult after insult at each other.

"Kurosaki-kun sure seems happy to see Kuchiki-san,", Orihime commented as she sweat-dropped. The others murmured their agreement and nodded, as Ishida pushed up his glasses and smirked.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen Kurosaki this happy since Kuchiki-san left last month." The others once again murmured and nodded their agreement. Keigo who seemed to have been contemplating something, suddenly pondered aloud.

"Hey, when did Rukia-san get here? I didn't see her come in; did she use the window again? How does she do that? We're like on the third floor!". When no one responded to his questions, he turned to his friends again, he was dismayed to see them nodding and chuckling about something he had obviously missed. "Guys?! Why are you all nodding and smiling?!" he cried in a panicked voice, "guys what'd I miss?! Why am I always being left out of everything?! WHYYYYYYY?!".

Luckily, the teacher chose this exact moment to walk back into the classroom, or Keigo would have lost most of his teeth as Ichigo was just about to pound his face in from his boiling rage.

"Shut up Asano! Kurosaki! You and your girlfriend can continue your little lovers spat after my class is over….eh? Kuchiki? Is that you?", she asked adjusting her glasses, making the sunlight reflect off them menacingly, she grinned darkly, "You have been absent for a month! You have a lot of catching up to do, so I suggest less time with your boyfriend and more hitting the books! Got it?!" after Rukia nodded vigorously and sweat dropped, the teacher smiled menacingly, glasses gleaming darkly and turned to face the rest of the class.

"Alright back to your desks you punks!", she shouted, then smirked with pride when the students fearfully returned to their desks. "Open your math books to page 186!" she shouted turning to scribble down various formulae on the blackboard

Ichigo growled in frustration as he flipped his math book open, overhearing the murmured complaints of his classmates.

"What? She's letting her off the hook? But she was absent for a month!"

"Yeah and she just showed up in the middle of the day!"

"Yeah I got a week's detention just for missing a day!"

"Ichigo's posse always gets special treatment! It's not fair!"

Ichigo growled again when he saw the object of his frustration smirking at him. 'Stupid midget!', he thought angrily.

…

When the final bell rang signaling the end of the school day, multiple sighs of relief were heard throughout the classroom.

"Alright punks! Don't forget your essay assignments for your Shakespeare lesson in English literature are due next week Friday! Make sure they are done! I don't want any excuses!" the teacher shouted as she walked out of the classroom.

"Unless you're Ichigo or a friend of his…" a guy muttered resentfully as he walked out of the classroom.

"Kurosaki-kun.." Orihime called as she walked to his desk, "may I talk to you for a second?"

Rukia looked up curiously and was about to say something when Ishida popped up by her side, causing her to jump slightly, "Ah, Kuchiki-san, could I get your advice on something?", before she could respond he had already grabbed her arm and was dragging her across the class and out into the hall and away from Ichigo and Orihime.

"What is it Inoue?", he asked eyeing the door Ishida and Rukia had disappeared through curiously.

"Oh don't worry about Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki-kun, Ishi- Uryuu-kun is just distracting her so I can tell you something important about the surprise party later tonight." She said smiling knowingly.

Ichigo was going to snap and say he wasn't worried about the midget- which he wasn't mind you- he was just curious, but he chose to keep his mouth shut, and instead asked, "What about the party?".

"Well, Karin-chan called me a few minutes ago to say that she and Yuzu-chan hadn't finished setting up for the party yet, so we need you to keep her busy and away from your house until we can finish setting up everything."

"What? Why me?"

"Well, Uryuu-kun and I have to finish setting up the decorations and we need Sado-kun for difficult-to-reach places, and Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan are still setting up the snacks and drinks and-"

"Okay, okay I get it, but how am I supposed to keep the midget away from the house till everything's ready?"

"Kurosaki-kuuuun…" Orihime said in a warning tone..

"H-Hai, hai, she's not a midget," Ichigo said chuckling nervously as he sweat dropped. 'Sheesh', he thought to himself.

…...

Yeah decided to leave this one intact too! There's a certain feel for this fic that I'm going for that…. Oh never mind, just enjoy reading!

Please review!

Chelty-chan.