Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, the characters, or the song Far Away by Nickelback.


This time, This place,
Misused, Mistakes.
Too long, Too late,
Who was I to make you wait?


Far Away — Chapter Seven

December 29th, 2002 — Soul Society, Rukongai — 8:00 AM

"Wouldn't becoming Shinigami make life even more dangerous than living here in Rukongai?"

Misa's bright, green eyes were questioning as she tilted her head to the side and bit her lip. Before her sat Ichigo; his hands were clasped together tightly, and he had just finished telling both Ishida-san and Misa where he and Rukia were going when she was well enough, and what they would be doing.

Ichigo sighed.

"I... I want to become a Shinigami to protect her. And to make life better for the both of us. I don't want to live where we have to steal to stay alive, and where we fear dying from the extreme cold every winter. If... we become Shinigami, we can live in Seireitei. Sure, it'll be hard and dangerous, but I want the power to protect the people important to me."

Misa smiled.

"That sounds reasonable. I guess... we won't see you again after you leave?"

Ichigo shrugged, then smirked. "Oh, and Misa-san."

"Hmm?"

"I noticed that, during our trip, you got hungry and needed to eat."

Misa's eyes grew wide and Ichigo's smirk grew. He pointed a finger at her and Ishida-san laughed as Misa gaped, trying to find words to deny what Ichigo was about to accuse her of. When she finally opened her mouth and began to speak, to was too late.

"Ah ha! I knew it! You have to eat because you have spiritual power, as well!"

Misa just pouted.

"Why are you trying to hide it?" Ichigo asked, still smirking at his accomplishment.

"Because I don't want people to know. My father knows, and that's all. Tell anyone, and I'll kill you," she threatened, her eyes sparkling.

Ichigo blinked a few times, and was just about to reply to Misa's rather evil threat when the shuffling of small, soft footsteps reached his ears. He turned around in his chair to see Rukia blinking sleepily at them. Her hair was a mess, and her small, pale body was still wrapped in the thick, white robe that Ishida-san had given her.

"Mmm... " she muttered, waving and walking in. She stared at the three occupants of the room, her violet eyes glancing from one blank face to the next. Finally, Ichigo jumped up from his chair and walked over, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"You should be resting," he said, frowning at her as she shook her head.

"I'm fine," she whispered, managing a tiny smile that said something along the lines of try-and-force-me-back-to-bed-and-die.

Ichigo sighed.

"Fine, then. At least sit down."

He refused to let her take the wooden chair and almost had to force her into the big, fluffy one he'd just vacated. She finally dropped into it, her legs giving out beneath her. Her tired eyes smiled as she continued to look around; she was more than surprised when she finally registered that it was Misa, the shoe-shop girl, who was sitting across from her and offering a smile and a tiny wave.

"... Misa-Misa?" she asked, her voice quiet and laced with sleepiness.

Ichigo cut in before Misa could speak. "Her father's a doctor, but he couldn't do enough to heal you. Misa helped me get you here, to Ishida-san. She's the one who healed you."

"... Oh," Rukia said, curling into the corner of the chair as she turned her gaze to the older woman. "Thank you very much, Ishida-san."

Said woman smiled and nodded before standing to her feet. She announced happily, her gaze going from one teen to another, "Looks like we need another cup of tea," before walking into the kitchen. She didn't know why, but the air in the living room was suddenly tense; she suspected some sort of rivalry going on between the girls.

Silence fell over the room, only an occasional yawn from Rukia or a cough from Ichigo breaking it. Misa noticed that Rukia's eyes never left her; she smirked, stood to her feet and began walking out of the room.

As she passed by Rukia, she leaned down and whispered,

"I'm not after him, you know."

Rukia's eyes widened as Misa walked the rest of the way out of the room.

"I'll leave you two alone for a bit; you probably want to talk... but don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

She laughed and grinned as she walked into the kitchen. The voices of the happy teenage girl and Ishida-san were clear from where both Ichigo and Rukia awkwardly. Rukia played with the threads of the blanket that she'd just pulled over her shivering form.

"Um..."

Ichigo didn't quite know what to say. He had a million things he wanted to say, but didn't know which to say first, or if he should even say anything in the first place. He wanted to ask how she was feeling, if she was really all right. He wanted to ask if he could see the place she was injured; he didn't fully believe she was really, truly healed, that maybe this was just a dream, and he'd wake up into the cold, painful nightmare he'd lived through the last few days.

And he wanted to say, I love you, but he couldn't do that, either.

"Ichigo?"

"Hmm?"

His head snapped up, and he was more than surprised when his arms were filled with the soft, warm body of his best friend. She closed her eyes and he wrapped his arms around her small waist, holding her close as she laid her head on his shoulder. Their breathing was soft, and Ichigo was glad he had been standing up as he held her even closer.

"I though you were going to die," he whispered, his amber eyes clenching shut as he tried to hold back the tears he'd been holding back the whole time he'd slowly watched Rukia waste away, unable to do a thing. "I thought... I thought... God, I thought you were going to leave me..."

Rukia didn't move as she whispered, "I'm sorry, Ichigo."

A single, lone tear slipped unnoticed down his cheek as he buried his face in her hair.

"It's fine, stupid. Just... don't do that to me ever again. Please."

Rukia smiled into his jacket. She closed her own eyes and didn't let go; she wanted to stay in the safety of his arms forever, and he didn't mind holding her there. So, neither of them moved for what seemed forever. When Ichigo finally did pull back, he noticed the tears in Rukia's eyes.

"Whatcha crying for?" he asked, a frown on his face; he gently brushed the tears away, anyway.

"I'm not crying," Rukia insisted, hastily reaching up to wipe new tears away; Ichigo gave her an amused look as he stared into her moist, violet eyes. He gently took her hands into his and a small blush rose to her cheeks; she'd blame it on the cold later.

"I'm gonna become strong," he said, his eyebrows creased as he gripped her small, pale fingers tighter. "I promise I'll never let you get hurt like that again. But, by the way, that doesn't mean you can test that promise by doing something stupid!" he added, a grin on his lips as he finally released her hands.

Rukia stuck her tongue out at him as he sat down on the couch; she sat beside him and laid her head back on the soft material.

"Mmm... so sleepy."

Her violet eyes closed slowly and Ichigo found himself smiling at her. As her breathing slowed and finally became soft with sleep, he leaned down and gently pressed his lips to her forehead in a gentle kiss.

He was pulling back, still smiling, when Misa walked into the room.

"I saw that."

"Shut up," he snapped, blushing.

December 29th, 2002 — 7:11 PM

Ichigo sighed and paced around the room. Rukia was sleeping again, and Ishida-san had said that, as soon as Rukia was awake and had been fed something, they could leave if they wanted to.

"If it's all right, could I stay until the storm dies down?" Misa asked, turning and smiling gently at the older woman. "I don't know if I can make it home in these weather conditions."

Ishida-san nodded quickly. "Of course, Misa-san!" Then, she smiled. "We would love to have some company around for a few days," she said happily. Then, she turned to Ichigo. "Won't you and Rukia-san stay for a while, as well? I'm sure she could use the extra time to recover. Even though I healed her body completely, she is still weak."

Ichigo grinned.

"Well, in about six hours, you'll see what I mean by 'we should leave as soon as possible'. Rukia's impossible to manage when she's cooped up. She has to be outside, even if it is fifty degrees below zero, and right now, it's nowhere near that. She needs room to move around."

"From what I saw when I met her," Misa said, laughing, "she sure does have spirit in her."

Ichigo simply nodded.

"Yeah, she sure does."

"..."

"..."

"You love her."

"Do not."

He was still in the habit of denying Misa's statement every time; even though he'd admitted it to himself that he was in love with Rukia, he would never let Misa win.

But Misa didn't want to give in.

"Yes, you do."

"Do not!"

"Then why did you kiss her?"

"On the forehead."

"So what? It was still lip to skin contact. I doubt in the years that you've known her, that you've ever done anything like that," she said smugly, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes dancing with amusement. Ichigo opened and closed his mouth a few times before snapping it shut again. When he finally did speak, his voice was low and he grumbled out only a few words.

"... well, no I haven't ..."

"Ah ha! I knew it! See, Rukia-san being in such a bad position and almost dying made you realize that you love her!"

Ichigo growled.

"And what if I do!"

"..."

Misa blinked a few times, surprise on her face; she'd never even dreamed of him actually caving in.

"Y-you do?"

A small, almost unnoticeable blush had spread across his cheeks. "I didn't say that," he grumbled, wrapping his arms around himself. "Not exactly..."

Slowly but surely a large smile broke out on Misa's face.

"Oooh, I win! Now you have to tell her, 'cause you promised you'd do it!"

Ichigo was actually pouting as he dropped down on the chair beside him. His long legs hung over the end and his orange hair was sticking everywhere as he continued to stick his bottom lip out. Misa was having far too much fun, and she couldn't stop smiling.

"I don't wanna. If you want her to know, you tell her," Ichigo protested.

"But I'm not in love with her. You are."

Misa laughed and the two continued to argue. Ishida-san smiled at the two, not breaking into the conversation, and no one noticed the small, raven-haired girl slowly climbing out of the bed in the other room. She sleepily ran her fists over her eyes and yawned as she walked to the door; she could hear voices now instead of just mummers, and Ishida-san had gone into the kitchen to grab more tea.

"So... what are you going to say, Kurosaki-kun?"

Hearing Misa's voice, Rukia paused at the doorway and peaked around the edge; she could see Misa sitting on the couch and Ichigo on the chair. Only his legs, which flopped over the side, and his bright orange hair, which was sticking everywhere, could be seen from her point of view, though.

"... I love you."

Her heart clenching painfully, Rukia turned around quickly and walked back to her bed, not wanting to hear anymore of Ichigo and Misa's conversation. Her hands were shaking as she tried to hold back tears, and as she climbed under her blanket, she felt a single, lone tear make it's way down her cheek.

"... I love you."

Rukia choked back a sob. His words had been uttered to another girl, and not her. But why should they have been? She was his friend, and only his friend. Why would he feel anything for her beyond that? He wouldn't, and she'd just have to accept that, even if Ichigo did love Misa.

But the pain in her heart as she heard the two other teenagers laughing happily in the other room...

... was worse than any pain she'd ever felt.


Oooh, now that Ichigo's got his head on straight and finally admitted that he loves Rukia (Out loud) Rukia overheard something wrong and thinks he loves Misa! Am I evil, or am I evil?

Oh! And FF finally has their polls option up! Yay! I put one in my profile, to see which kinds of stories people seem to like best (Using my own stories for reference) so I have an idea what I should do with my next one. Please vote!

Please Review, too! (Sorry I didn't reply to the last ones; I was too busy writing! I figured some people might like a chapter better than a reply, and I only had time for one, and not both! Sooooory!)