AN: Wow, it feels like ages since I've updated. Well, it has. Sorry…really, circumstances have blown up and yeah, I've been studying more than writing. The way it should be really, but it isn't the fun way. Thanks for reviewing my last chapter, and I hope this one is fulfilling. Now, just try to read the scenes carefully, because there is some parts where you are actually in the past. (sorta like the last few chapters) Well, anyway, I found some free time (amazing, isn't it), and I think I'll write the next chapter. By the way, it might be hard for you to actually get this chapter since I haven't updated in ages, so go read the previous one, just to refresh your memory.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

Return to no Home: Courting Memories (Part III)

"Where are your parents?"

The sun had gone down deeper, and the colour of the pavement turned a deep orange. The park was empty, except for two small figures – one on the swing, one standing before her.

The girl started crying. Again. The knuckles on her fist turned pale white as she gripped the swing. The orange haired kid didn't know what to do. He had made her smile – that was what his mum always did, right?

"It's getting late you know," he said, after a moment's deliberation. It was something his dad always said to him when he walked in to his room. The boy loved copying his dad's phrase.

"I have to go soon."

The girl didn't stop crying – in fact, it became louder. Did she want him to stay? But what would his parents think? The four year old shoved these thoughts out of his mind, as he thought of what his mother would do. That was it – his mother would definitely stop everything else and try and make the person stop crying.

The boy approached the girl slowly, cautiously. He reached out a small arm, and touched her shoulder gently.

"Are your parents gone?"

The girl gave a slight nod amidst her tears. "Nii-sama said…they couldn't come back… for us."

The small boy's eyes opened in shock, but he didn't say anything. His four-year-old mind was still trying to comprehend that parents would actually leave. Leave?

"…"

"I don't…I don't know what to say," said the boy, honestly at loss for words.

The girl shook her head. "I don't want to go home," she said softly, looking at the ground. "I'm lonely…" she whispered, but the boy heard her.

"No!"

The girl looked up from the swing surprised at his outburst. She even stopped crying. The boy looked surprised at his own outburst, but he continued by saying, "You're lonely, right?"

She looked at him hopelessly.

"You shouldn't be. Because…because…"

She continued to look at him, while the four-year-old searched for the right words in his limited vocabulary. Suddenly his face lit up.

"Because, you can have a home," he finished, sounding serious.

She looked at him, slightly confused.

"You can come to my place!" He beamed at her, even though she was looking at him like she didn't understand a word he said.

"Come on!" he exclaimed, extending his hand towards her.

"No."

She couldn't believe her ears. It was the fifth time she had asked. And she had waited an hour before she had asked. But Ichigo hadn't relented.

"But…"

"Rukia," his voice sounded pained, and she knew she would have to stop asking.

"I just wanted to know…about you. I told you…you know."

"Yeah."

She sighed. He wasn't going to give her a straight response. "Later?"

"Maybe." He didn't turn to look at her; he was still looking at the water.

"You better," she warned lowly, looking at the side of his face. He had really filled out after all these years. She had to admit, the scowling face Ichigo put on actually suited him. Even though, as a kid, when he smiled it was so cute, she couldn't imagine him smiling.

They sat in silence.

"It's getting late, you know."

"Mmm," was her reply. She smiled softly. Ichigo had always used to say that when they were small. But, she hadn't felt this much at peace for…well, a long time. At home she didn't feel peaceful, she felt lonely. Her brother was always out on business trips, and whenever he was home he was an ice-cold presence. Sure, she knew that deep down they loved each other, but he seemed to have a problem with expressing his emotions. Not that she could blame him. He had been very different before his wife had died.

"Meaning, we have to go home. Wouldn't your brother get worried?"

She twisted her face into a small smile. "He's not going to come home this weekend."

"Huh? You said that…"

"I said he was 'out', right? Well," she sighed before continuing, "Yeah, he's out. Out for the whole weekend."

"He lets you stay at home?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked dangerously.

"Not that way," he said, putting up his hands to defend himself. "I mean like, food, you being alone, and stuff like that."

"I can take care of myself. I've had to, since my parents died."

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry," he mumbled, not knowing why. She had already told him about her parent's deaths when they first had met.

An awkward silence passed between them.

"Well, uh, I should still get you home on time anyway," he said, scratching the back of his head.

She smiled softly to herself. He didn't seem the type to be like this. "Yeah," she replied, but didn't move.

Ichigo stood up, stretching. They must have sat on that bench for hours, he thought absentmindedly. Where had time gone? He looked down at the girl sitting down on the bench. The answer was her. He couldn't believe that he didn't notice the time going by when he was with her. He stopped himself from smiling, and scowled. Rukia had made no effort to move.

"Oi. Let's go already."

The girl shook her head. "I don't want to go home," she said softly, looking at the ground. "I'm lonely…" she whispered, but the boy heard her.

"I don't want to go home." Rukia added something else, but Ichigo didn't quite catch it.

Ichigo sighed. There was something familiar about the way she said 'I don't want to go home'. Before he could puzzle it out, he found his mouth forming the word before his brain registered.

"No."

The girl looked up from the swing surprised at his outburst. She even stopped crying. The boy looked surprised at his own outburst, but he continued by saying, "You're lonely, right?

Ichigo looked at his raven-haired friend meaningfully. "I know why you don't want to go home."

Rukia didn't look up from the ground.

"You're lonely."

Rukia didn't say anything, but she smiled inwardly. Ichigo never changed. Oh sure, he had changed since she had last seen him – he had developed some sort of 'tough' attitude, but she knew that inside, he was still the same boy that she had met in the park, all those years ago.

"Come on!" he exclaimed, extending his hand towards her.

Ichigo sighed once again, and put his hand out. "Come on."

She looked up slightly, when he extended his hand in front of her. Her first thoughts were, 'Is he for real?' When he didn't move his hand she grasped it, and he pulled her up off the bench. She felt his hand start to pull away, but she tightened her hold. Somehow it just felt right to hold his hand, even if nothing was happening between them.

He shot her a questioning glance.

She shrugged her bare shoulders in response. She was a girl; she didn't need to explain her actions. And she knew that he wouldn't pursue it either.

He looked away from her, and started walking. It was late afternoon, and this was the time when couples roamed the streets. Ichigo closed his eyes briefly. They would look just like any other couple, bar the fact that since Karakura was a small town most people would already know Rukia. And know that her boyfriend wasn't him. He sighed. Not like he cared what other people thought, but still…

"Rukia."

"Mmm?"

She looked up at him questioningly.

"Won't it be bad?"

"Huh?"

"You know, walking like this."

"You don't want to?"

"I didn't say that. But isn't it awkward? I mean the people…"

"I don't care."

And that was that. They walked down the quiet neighbourhood streets, ignoring the stares from random passers-by. He wasn't really uncomfortable with the staring; it was the feel of her small hand in his. It just…fit so perfectly, he mused.
But, he knew it didn't mean anything. Even though he hadn't talked to Rukia for years, he could still tell when she was feeling down. Now was one of those times. She just needed a friend, and that's what he would be. Just a friend. Just a friend that held her hand. Friends didn't do that, he scolded himself mentally. Jeez, she had a damn boyfriend anyway. But really, he couldn't look at her without noticing that she had grown into a very beautiful girl. He tried to quell those feelings because he knew it would probably escalate into something that he wouldn't have control over.

"You can't hurt her again."

"I know."

As they neared their houses he felt her hand stir. He let her go in front of his house.

"What now?" she asked him.

"You can come to my place!" He beamed at her, even though she was looking at him like she didn't understand a word he said.

Ichigo looked to the side, now knowing the words she had said minutes, years ago. She was lonely. He didn't want to admit it, and he probably never would, but he was lonely too.

"You can come to my place…" he said hesitatingly, "If you want," he hastily added. "I mean, I'm only doing some schoolwork…"

He didn't look at Rukia, so he missed her genuine smile.

"You're a nerd."

He turned to look at her, but her smile had already changed to amusement.

"Yeah. People at school don't know that though, so it's ok."

They had put their books away, and were sitting on the floor of his bedroom. She was sitting with her back against the closet, while he was sitting with his back against the bed. He was amazed at Rukia's attention span. Every few minutes he found himself looking at the girl that was his friend. Was his friend – they were probably friends now, but there was no way Ichigo was going to ask her such a lame question. He glanced at his clock. It read 9:00 PM.

"Ichigo," Rukia said, her voice measured.

"What?"

"What do you usually do on Saturday nights?"

"Oh. Not much."

She raised an eyebrow, as if expecting something else.

"What?" he asked her, slightly crossly.

"Nothing," she said, pointing her perfect nose in the air in a way that irritated Ichigo.

Oh God, he thought, she probably wants me to remember something else. Damn. How did this girl expect him to remember every single detail about their friendship?

"I guess I better go then," she said, looking to the side, her gaze bouncing off the walls off the room, looking at anywhere but him.

Ichigo pulled at his orange hair in frustration. What was it?

"Come on, mum! Can't I go already?"

The woman smiled. "Ok, its all ready now. Do you want me to come with you to her house?"

"No. I'm six years old now! I can do this myself."

The woman smiled again as she watched her son walk out the front door. She leant on the doorframe to watch him walk all the way from their house to the next-door neighbour's house. She gasped quietly as two strong hands encircled her body from behind.

"Are you sure its ok?" said a low voice behind her.

"Yes, dear. I already talked to Rukia-chan's older brother. He doesn't mind at all."

"He doesn't? She will be sleeping over -"

"He doesn't. Now be quiet, and watch your son ask a girl on her first date."

"This is the first 'First date' I've heard of where the girl gets to sleepover in the same –"

"Just watch," said the woman, cutting off her husband.

The two adults stood there, and watched in amusement, as the older brother of the household opened. They laughed quietly as they saw their son casually ask if his friend was available.

"He doesn't seem intimidated at all," whispered the woman.

"I wasn't intimidated when I asked your parents on our first date," the man whispered back.

"You weren't six."

"He's my boy."

"No. He's a lot more braver than you."

The two adults fell back into amused silence when a pretty, six-year-old girl walked up to the doorway. Their casual son didn't seem so casual anymore, as he delivered his request to her. They smiled together when the girl answered his request with an excited 'yes', and ran back into the house.

Ichigo stood in the bathroom, closing his eyes, and breathing in deep, long breaths. This is not happening at all, he said to himself softly, even though he knew that he was totally wrong. After taking an extra long breath, he walked down the hallway, but before he opened his door, he looked over his shoulder.

10:01 PM

Exhaling once more, he opened the door to his bedroom.

AN: …and saw a shinigami! Named Rukia! Lol, right, um yeah, hope you guys like this new update, I know, I know, I haven't updated in like 6 million years, but I tried to make this one as satisfying as possible. Oh, I know you want the to see the next chapter. Well, review me, and I'll give you guys the honour. Anyway, I suppose you guys can see what's happening here anyway...muahaha, and I think you like it...