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Chapter 7: Another Obstacle:

After leaving the clinic, Ichigo traveled over to Urahara's shop. Outside, Urahara was waiting for him. He figured that Ichigo would eventually come. A smile came upon his face. "Ichigo! Ready to go?"

Ichigo stopped in front of him. "Yeah." he replied.

"Sure about not taking the others? There's no telling what kind of world Rukia's in or how dangerous it is." Urahara did point out something important but it didn't matter to Ichigo if he didn't know. After facing everything he had since he met Rukia, he felt like that there wasn't anything that he couldn't handle. He was mainly focus on making sure that Rukia was okay. "Don't worry about it." Ichigo assured him.

Urahara waved his hand in front of him. He could see that Ichigo was anxious in going. "All right. All right."

Ichigo placed his hands in his pockets. "How did you find out where Rukia was?" he asked curious.

Urahara looked back at him. He had managed to do a little searching on his own before Ichigo had come to see him. "Well there are a lot of worlds out there. It wasn't easy but I caught what seemed like a little bit of Rukia's spiritual pressure and a trail of that seems very faint but it's the best we can go on right now. Good luck Ichigo." Urahara smiled a little more. "I know if there's anyone who can bring her back, you can."

Ichigo walked forward toward Urahara. He was ready for what he had to do next. Urahara turned around and led him into the shop. Inside, Yoruichi stood up, her arms crossed as she walked up to Ichigo. Ichigo looked over at her as he went by. Tessai, Ururu, and Jinta were near the back, watching what was going on. Urahara turned to Ichigo one more time. "Are you sure about going alone on this?" There was the same serious expression on Ichigo's face. He didn't answer so Urahara took it as a yes. "All right then." Urahara stood on the side of the door that blocked the portal. The door slid over toward him, revealing the portal behind. "Just walk through here. This is where we think Rukia might be."

Ichigo nodded and walked forward. Without hesitation, he ended inside and the door had slid closed behind him. The others watched the door, hoping that Ichigo wasn't getting himself into trouble but then Urahara spoke, figuring that everyone would be worried about him. "He'll be fine." He hoped that Ichigo would find Rukia so that they could work things out between them.

Rukia walked toward the edge, nearby a river that was flowing downstream. She looked down at the crystal blue water as she held her clothes in her hands. There were a lot of trees and green grass around her. It was peaceful since there were only the sounds of nature around. Rukia sighed as she looked down. It seemed like it was a place that no one would find her and there were signs of no one being there. It would give her time to think about what she should do next. Thoughts of if she could go back to the Soul Society kept crossing her mind. She didn't think it was a good idea to reveal her face this soon after what happened at the mansion. She shook her head as she closed her eyes, trying to block the thoughts from crossing her mind.

She removed the white robe that she had on and stepped into the clear water. The water had felt somewhat cold to the touch but after a few seconds, it was easy to settle in. Rukia closed her eyes as she stayed in the water. She had managed to keep her mind clear about what was going on. Her tensions and worries started to fade away. The water had felt pleasant against her skin. Minutes later, she stepped out of the water back on to the grassy shore where her things were lying. She grabbed one of the towels and started rubbing the side of her face. It seemed as soon as she stepped out of the water, her mind had gone back to Ichigo. She had begun to wonder how he was doing since she had left him.

She placed the towel down beside her afterwards. As she leaned down to pick up her robe, a dark figure began walking toward her through the forest. Before Rukia could react, the mysterious figure grabbed her wrist. Once Rukia glanced up at the figure, her eyes had widened. She could recognize the slick brown hair that hung behind his head, the white robes, and the evil smile on his face. "Rukia. It has been a while since I've seen you."

"Aizen." Rukia whispered. Then, she clutched her teeth as an angry expression came across her face. "Ichigo should have killed you!"

Aizen closed his eyes as he chuckled a little under his breath. He opened his eyes and stared down at her. "What are you doing out here alone?"

Rukia growled. "I could ask you the same thing." she replied.

Aizen stared up and down at her, noticing her still drenched body which made Rukia appear disgusted. "Does anyone else know you're out here?" Rukia didn't answer. She thought about lying and saying that someone did know but she knew it would make no difference to Aizen. Aizen took her silence as a no. He smiled, amused. "Well then, maybe you can join me since all of your friends have killed everything I've created and the two soul reapers I was with." Rukia started struggling to pull her arm away but he had a tight grip on her. "Neither one of us have to be alone anymore." Secretly, Rukia started to worry. She had to try and find a way to fight against him.

Later, Ichigo landed in the same place where Rukia was staying. He looked around the crowded forest before he started walking around. He walked until he came to the edge nearby the river. He could sense that someone was there. He searched around but seen no sign of Rukia. He sighed as he looked down. Then, his eyes opened a little, surprised. Below his feet, he saw a white robe lying on the ground. He picked it up, observing it. It seemed that maybe Rukia was there but left before he could get to her.

Ichigo returned back to Urahara's shop through the portal he came through before. His head was pointed toward the ground. Frowns had started to come on everyone's faces as they could see Ichigo wasn't happy and Rukia wasn't with him. They weren't sure if she had refused to come back or if she wasn't there. Urahara and Yoruichi looked down and seen Rukia's white robe in his hand. Urahara turned to face him. "What happened?"

Ichigo stopped in front of him and looked up. "I don't know. I went and this was all I could find."

Urahara looked at the white robe. "Well. I can sense Rukia's spiritual pressure. Tell you what. I'll go back to that place you just went and see if I could tell what happened." Urahara walked passed him to the portal. Ichigo decided to stay behind in the shop until Urahara could find out what was going on.

In the world that Rukia was in, Urahara walked around to the spot where Rukia was last. He looked around on the ground but there was nothing else that Rukia had left behind. After standing there for a minute, a frown came upon his face. He could sense something wasn't right.

Thanks for reading. It was a short chapter. As always, let me know if you liked it.