I am SO SORRY for not updating as I said I would!!! My laptop had to be fixed, and it was the last week of school (YEEEEESSSSSS) and yeah! But enough of my lame exscuses. To make it up to you guys, I'm going to post TWO CHAPTERS at once!!! However, be aware they may be the last for somewhile, as I'm going on holiday.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! LOVE YOU ALL!!

JJ


I was very quiet on the drive back. Renji's words kept repeating themselves over and over in my head like a broken cassette tape. Subdued, I thanked Keigo for the 'wonderful' trip, and bid them goodnight. The lights were off, meaning my brother wasn't back yet.

Depressed and feeling anti-social, I sent him a text message:

KuchikiRukia: At home safe. Getting dinner ready.

And that was that. Unless Renji was a very convincing liar, the fact that Ichigo might be a shinigami opened a whole new world of possibilities.

If such a figure actually existed.

Throwing my phone carelessly onto my bedside cabinet, I crossed my legs and tried to think. Instead, my eyes closed and I fell asleep.

That night, I dreamt of him.

We were in a busy city square, but people passed through me like I wasn't there. Ichigo was facing me in his 'shinigami' costume, holding a tremendous cleaver in his hand.

"Ichigo!" I cried, and stretched out an arm. Yet, where my arm should have met flesh, it met only air. Shocked, I fell over. Ichigo was no longer there, replaced by a creature that looked like him, but with white hair, white skin and white robes. His eyes were black with topaz coloured pupils. He laughed, a high and evil sound, before fading away. And as he faded, so did the world around him, until I found myself falling in a deep crevice unescapable, and silence surmounted the screams I tried so hard to utter…

When I woke up, I was covered in sweat. My pyjamas clung to my skin and my hair was matted. Holding up my hands, I realized I was trembling all over. The clock on my bedside cabinet read two 'o' clock in the morning.

But it was impossible to return to the land of dreams after that nightmare. Instead, I knelt down on my bed and folded my arms upon my window's ledge, and watched the world around me awaken. My breath fogged up the glass, but what did I care? I only did it so I could rid my mind of the disturbing images I had captured. Worse yet, it was Sunday, meaning I would have to wait a whole twenty four hours or more until I could catch sight of his face.

But why did I care so much? A few days before, I would've rightly said that I couldn't have cared less if he had been pushed through a shredder and fed to a cat. But now, I doubted everything, even myself. I was worrying far more about it than I would if it had been someone else. But from the very first sight, I must admit that he had always held my attention. His brown eyes, his flaming orange hair, even his ever-present frown, as embarrassed as I was all of these features had caught my sight from that first glimpse.

At last, the time was six. Pattering downstairs, my brother was already finishing up breakfast. With one swift movement, he was at the door.

"I'll be back by seven." And with that, he had gone.

"Hai." I whispered to the air. Since I wasn't hungry, I lolled around, flicking around channels. An ad for strawberry dipping Pocky sticks appeared, and I switched the TV off prompt. The day was beautiful; a sweeping blue sky with faint streaks of white. On an impulse, I threw on a new blue dress with yellow flats, and a white cardigan. Closing the door behind me, I realised I didn't have the key. Oh well, I thought. I would stay out until it was time for my brother to return.

As I walked out onto the busy streets, I felt strangely exhilarating. The adrenaline rush in my veins was unmistakable as I realised I had the entire day to myself, to do whatever I wished. With my purse, I walked around the shops, and walked into a book store to buy myself the latest edition of 'Shonen Jump'. After a little more browsing, I also decided upon a green dress, and some black lace up boots. Just as I walked out the shop, I bumped into someone, scattering their bags everywhere.

"Rukia?"

A pair of brown eyes not unfamiliar stared at me.

"Oh! It's Hinamori!"

After having waved away my profuse of apologies, she told me what she had been doing whilst I hurriedly gathered her belongings and hung them back onto her arm.

"My parents weren't home, so I decided to do a little shopping!" She laughed.

I laughed along with her, simply because it felt good.

We began to walk slowly, going nowhere in particular.

As I caught sight of a clock, I noticed the time was already one in the afternoon.

"Are you hungry?" Hinamori asked.

"Not really!" I said hurriedly, although my stomach suddenly growled, arguing otherwise. "Uhh…" I always had a tendency to say no to food even when I needed it. Perhaps it was some subconscious body image pressure issue I had. It was embarrassing, and I felt very humiliated.

However, Hinamori only smiled and giggled. It wasn't out of malice, and I felt my cheeks cool. "Your stomach obviously thinks different." She said and pulled me to a nearby café.

"What did you buy?" Hinamori asked once we had sat down. Without asking for permission, she looked through my bags. I didn't mind. She raised an eyebrow at the weird choices of clothing, but kept her mouth shut. I was just about to invent some face-saving excuse when she pulled out the copy of Shonen Jump.

"You read this?" She asked.

"Just a little…you know, when you're bored." I hastily replied.

"No, it's ok! I mean, I've been dying to get it!" She prodded at the picture of Naruto on the front cover. "I love this manga!"

"You read Naruto too?"

"Yeah!"

She flipped through the pages, gasping when she read what had happened. "Oh!"

"What happened?" I asked, leaning over her shoulder.

"They've found Sasuke's hideout!"

"They've found him!"

"I wasn't very happy when I found out they had put Yamato in this mission and not Kakashi." Hinamori sighed with discontent.

"I would say you have a little thing for our copy ninja." I teased.

Hinamori coloured. "It's not that. It's just that he reminds me a lot of Toshiro-kun."

"I like Naruto." I said. "He's determined, a knucklehead, and very, very sweet. Sakura's lucky to have such a guy like her. I hope she knows it."

There was something about Naruto that made me admire him even more. His absurd hair colour, the warm eyes…and as I stared harder, I saw someone else.

I was feeling a whole lot better about, well, life in general after my encounter with Hinamori. After bidding her goodbye, I walked along the bridge to home. The horizon was beautiful; a semicircle of vibrant orange, scattering its colours on the rippling river. As the wind caressed my cheek, it whispered words of encouragement into my ears. For once I felt normal, and accepted.

Just as I was prepared to open the door, I remembered I didn't have a key.

Damn, I cursed. There was a spare key around the back, but I couldn't be bothered getting it, and neither did I care. Sitting myself on the sidewalk, I took out my copy of Shonen Jump and began to read.

"Hey."

Startled, I slammed the cover shut. With hesitant eyes, I saw that the person staring at me was no other than Kurosaki Ichigo.

So I was just feeling a little random, and I was running out of ideas for this chapter but I didn't want anything BIG to happen, so I thought: ok, maybe I can talk a little bit more about Hinamori. And since Bleach and Naruto are VERY similar, you know, I could include a little bit of it in here! I thought it worked. Kinda!

Reviews are very much appreciated. If you didn't like the Naruto-in-Bleach thing, please say so.

PS: Shonen Jump is a magazine which publishes excerpts of Naruto, Yugioh and lots of other manga's/anime's. Just in case you didn't know.