I do not own Bleach.

Rukia could feel something soft falling against her skin. The warmth of the sun was soaking her skin, leaving behind a feeling of lethargy. She forced her eyes to open slowly. The blurriness became a sharp focus. Soft pale pink petals were falling from the tree above, settling amongst the grass and all over her. Cherry blossoms, she thought. I've never seen them look so beautiful before.

Staring at them lovingly fall made her heart release all the angst governing it. For a moment she could forget about her reality. But being in this world, what exactly, was her reality? She couldn't remember. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She stretched out her arms, unable to bring herself to think about anything but the way she felt right now.

Only to stiffen abruptly when she saw movement at the periphery of her vision. She sat up quickly, expecting to find some form of danger. The last thing she expected to see was Ichigo sleeping, a look of serenity on his face. His hair was slightly longer than usual, the wind blowing it over his eyes. He looked older, more mature. He twitched his nose and mumbled something.

Rukia smiled and reached out, trying to smooth his hair back over his forehead. Her hand shimmered as it went through him. A small smile formed on his face and he muttered her name on a sigh. Something thumped in the region of her heart and she snatched her hand back. Why had she done that? Why had she just touched him like that without question? Despite the fact that she hadn't physically touched him the intent had been there all the same. What was Ichigo even doing here?

A soft sigh from behind her had her stumbling around blindly. She was only slightly surprised to see herself there lying on the grass beside Ichigo. It was an odd feeling, watching herself sleep like that. She looked so…peaceful. No lines of strain bracketed her face. Her lips were even curved slightly upward in a smile. She looked happy. Rukia felt a smile pulling the corners of her mouth up.

She got to her knees and studied their surroundings. Rolling grass stretched for miles on end, their blades bending to the wind's silent tune. There was nothing but hilly territory. Trees occupied all the hills as far as she could see, most of them cherry blossoms, others towering oak giants. It was the most beautiful place Rukia had seen in a long time. She wondered where they were. This didn't look like Soul Society to her.

"Rukia," Ichigo mumbled again.

Her eyes dropped to him, at the hand now lying across his heart. And her eyes bugged. She couldn't take her gaze off the thin band of gold around his second last finger. With jerky movements she swivelled her gaze to her supine form, eyes straying to her left hand and could do nothing but stare at the matching band of gold on her finger. Her ring had a deep amethyst gemstone in the middle and it was surrounded by tiny diamonds. It was stunning.

To her consternation she felt her eyes tear up. The amethyst matched the colour of her eyes perfectly. It was as if this had been made for her. She slid her gaze to Ichigo and smiled. He had gotten it for her. Unexplainable feelings thundered through her and she knew. She had known all along, she just hadn't put a name to it. Hadn't wanted to put a name to it. She hadn't wanted things to change between them.

Her smile faded as she remembered that this was only a dream. She reached out and tried to touch that symbol of eternity but her fingers ghosted through it. She tried again, her hand hovering over the amethyst. She would remember this dream the best out of all that she had had so far. She bent her head slowly and hovered her lips directly over Ichigo's forehead.

"Arigatou," she whispered. "Ichigo."

"Little one…" the sinister voice whispered, merging with the breeze.

"No, go away," Rukia said, shaking her head and clapping her hands over her ears. "I want to stay here a little longer."

"If you don't wake up now, little one, you will be stuck there forever…"

"I…I..."

And suddenly she was yanked violently away from the dream, gasping awake as the shadowed man pulled a syringe out of her chest. For a minute she couldn't remember where she was or what she had been doing. Her blood pounded in her veins and her skin felt overly sensitive to the sheets she was lying on.

"What…what did you do?" she gasped out.

The shadowed man laughed. "It's just a little adrenalin. I can't have you lost in these visions, little one. At least, not yet. Not until I have what I'm after."

Rukia was struggling to breathe. She wasn't in pain. She was just so weak. She couldn't for the life of her move any part of her body. Her chest lifted shallowly with the little breath she could get in.

"Relax, little one. I won't let you die just yet. You're too valuable. The kick is that you don't even know it."

The shadowed man helped her to lean back against the pillows. He picked up a steaming bowl from the table next to the bed and dipped the spoon in. He blew on it softly and then lifted it up to her lips. Up until then Rukia hadn't realised how hungry she'd been. She gulped down the soup in no time.

"More?" the man asked, amusement in his voice.

A blush heated her cheeks and she nodded once. Another bowl was brought in but this time she was strong enough to feed herself. She felt much better after the second bowl and could even flex her toes and fingers.

"Water?" the man asked, holding a glass out.

She grabbed that and downed it too. Then slowly lowered the glass and stared at the man. "Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Hagiwara Ryou."

"What are you after?"

"You wouldn't understand, little one."

"Try me."

"No."

"What do you need me for? And why me?"

The man, Hagiwara, looked at her. "I suppose you've been worrying yourself crazy over all the dreams you've been having."

Rukia looked away. "It wasn't the most pleasant of dreams." She quietly flexed her fist. She was hoping to distract him enough to gain back her strength and escape. "How did you know?"

"Little one," Hagiwara chuckled. "I knew about this for a very long time. Unfortunate for you, and fortunate for me, you have been chosen to host the Shiryoku."

"The what?"

Hagiwara had finally gotten her full attention. What was he talking about? She hadn't given her consent to host anything else besides the hogyoku. He must be mistaking her for someone else.

"You must be mistaken," she started. "And I have a name too."

"Oh I know who you are, Kuchiki Rukia. I know all about you. Ironic, that somebody suspected of being a nobody actually turned into a somebody. And an important somebody at that."

"What are you going on about?" Rukia asked, her temper starting to rise.

"Let me explain to you, little one. The Shiryoku infuses the hose with visions."

"Visions?"

"Of the future."

Rukia's horror dawned bright and quick. The future? Then everything she had seen up until now was the result of the Shiryoku? She thought back to the night she had had the nightmare about the genocide in Seireitei. That would really happen? That was in their future? Bile rose up in her throat.

"No, you're lying. No one would create such an abomination."

"I beg to differ. You've seen the proof of it. You knew there was something off about those dreams."

Rukia's brain was struggling to focus, her mind darting through memories. "But, wait, the dream I had about my childhood was in the past. Your theory is full of holes, Hagiwara."

Hagiwara grinned. "No, that actually fits into my plans. I was hoping the hogyoku would modify the Shiryoku's properties. You gave me all the proof I needed a few weeks ago. I've been watching you for a very long time, little one. I've been waiting patiently all this time for Urahara Kisuke to do something stupid. Like infuse your body with the hogyoku. He didn't disappoint."

"Wait, you want me to see the past? Why?"

Hagiwara smiled. "That is none of your concern. All you need to do is be a good girl and go to sleep."

"Never," Rukia said. "I will not reveal what I see in my dreams to the likes of you."

"Oh?" Hagiwara clicked his tongue. "I've been the epitome of kindness to you, little one. Why must you be so difficult? I was hoping it wouldn't come to this but you've left me with no other choice." In a louder voice he said, "Bring them in."

The door across the room opened and three forms were shoved in. They were all handcuffed with magic suppressers. Three forms…three? Rukia's eyes widened in horror as Ishida Uryu, Yasutora Sado, and Inoue Orihime came into view. Inoue was crying silently, her tears making Rukia's heart clench.

"Kisama, your beef is with me. Let them go," she shouted, sitting up in the bed. "Hadou no sanju ichi: Shakkahou!"

A bright red light of energy shot out of Rukia's palm and headed straight for Hagiwara. Without much effort he moved his head to the side, dodging the kido attack. He clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes at her.

"Why did you have to do that, little one? I wasn't going to hurt your friends but you leave me with no choice. I will torture them if you don't reveal all aspects of your visions to me. Is that understood?"

"Kuchiki-san," she heard Inoue whisper.

Rukia gritted her teeth. In her current predicament she couldn't do anything to help them. She was still as weak as she had been when she was recovering her Shinigami powers. Making a move now was unthinkable. She didn't know what Hagiwara had planned for the trio except to use them to keep her in line. The situation had gotten very dangerous very quickly.

She thought back to her dream, vision, she corrected herself, of her and Ichigo lying under the cherry blossoms. She wondered what he was doing right now. She could smell his scent in the room, as strong as ever. She inhaled deeply. No, she couldn't rely on Ichigo to get her out of this. No one probably knew where she was. Who knew how long it would take them to find her. She had to play this right, or Ishida, Sado and Inoue would end up dead because of her.

"Fine," she said in a low voice. "You win." For now, she amended silently.

Hagiwara laughed. "Excellent. Take them away."

Rukia glared at him. "Is what you're looking for so important that you would risk the lives of others?"

"Of course." There wasn't any hesitation behind his answer. "By the way, you came with this. I thought it might be another incentive to help you put your perspectives in order."

Hagiwara tossed a jacket at her and it fell across her lap. She stared down at it. "This isn't mine," she said. She rubbed the material between her fingers. A stronger wave of Ichigo's scent hit her and she dropped the jacket like it was a hot potato. "This is Ichigo's jacket."

"It is. You were holding onto it so tightly when I first brought you here. I thought it had some sentimental value to you but you didn't question me about it. In fact, I don't think you realised you pulled it through."

"But what has this got to do with me putting my perspectives in order?"

Hagiwara laughed, a low evil chuckle that sent chills up Rukia's spine. "Little one, if you fail to cooperate with me, this jacket will be the last token you'll ever have of Kurosaki Ichigo."

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