Mmm... about three weeks before an update... I'd like to think that I'm getting better. It's not another month in a half or so, right? Mkay, I'll go with it being a wee bit better.

Well I must say, THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!! That last chapter was definitely my highest reviewed before an update. Especially since this update came earlier than the others!! You guys are amazing and I love you all!!

Here you go, the chapter most of ya have been waiting for!! Enjoy!!

Disclaimer: Do the math...

"Here you go, Shirayuki." said Rukia, as she placed a bowl full of carrots in front of her precious pet.

The white ball of fluff nodded her head in happiness and immediately dug in.

Rukia smiled and leaned against the counter that she had placed her rabbit on. Her eyes moved to look out the window in front of them to see the lightning.

Byakuya listened to the thunder as he made his way next to her with a glass of water in his hand. "Sounds like someone up there is having a full out war."

His baby sister giggled and glanced at her brother. "And the rain is clear blood?"

He shrugged. "You never know."

She shook her head and stared up into the black sky. "You and your dry sense of humor..."

Brother and sister thought the same thing at that time. It had rained... the day Hisana died...

A scratching noise brought them out of their daze and attentions onto the little bunny.

Shirayuki had stopped eating, lifted her two front paws onto the windowsill, and then fully lifted herself up to the glass. She turned towards the Kuchiki siblings and pointed to the glass with her paw.

Both of them blinked.... then again.... just once more.... before they looked at the spot that she was pointing to on the glass.

"What is it, Shirayuki?" Rukia asked curiously. She moved her face closer to the rabbit, only to have her tap the window three times.

"Is something out there?"

Her little marshmallow nodded and turned back to the window herself.

Rukia leaned in even closer. "What do you see?" Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness outside and eventually narrowed in on a bent figure. "Who..."

"Looks like Kurosaki."

She shot her brother a look, to see his arms crossed, staring out with them, and as stoic as ever.

The Kuchiki heiress brought her attention back to said Kurosaki Ichigo. His form was bent over, hands held in his hair, and head down. The rain was coming down so hard, that one would believe it was holding him like that.

Shirayuki pressed her nose to the glass. Oh, Ichi-sama... what's wrong with you...?

A shadow wasn't hovering over her anymore, so she looked up to find her owner gone. She looked over at Byakuya instead, to see him close his eyes and sigh.

"Don't worry... she's going to get him..." He opened his eyes and looked down at the bunny. "... which I'm sure, is something that you've wanted?" His eyebrow went up when he saw the small gleam of hope in her eyes.

She twitched her nose and then turned her attention back to her clearly upset savior. Please help him, Ruki-sama...

Rukia vainly sloshed through her flooded backyard with her umbrella, to get to the soaked carrot-top. I swear, you idiot... you better have a damn good reason to be out here like this!

As she approached, she noticed that all of the food was washed off of him by the rain, but he didn't seem to be aware of her presence. Her steps halted in front of him. He still didn't show any signs of noticing.

She blew the hair out of her face and brought her umbrella over them, hoping that the sudden stop of rain-contact, will bring her his attention.

It didn't.

Rukia bent forward and gave a soft gasp. His face was scrunched up in pain... his fingers were holding onto his scalp for dear life... he seemed to had stopped breathing... and his eyes... his eyes were completely glazed over and... dead.

She slowly brought her hand up to his shoulder, only to have caught him utterly off-guard. His head had shot up towards her and his lungs started to re-collect much needed oxygen.

Her eyes watched as his widened when she touched his forehead.

Ichigo seemed to have noticed his state and shot back from her hand.

Her face showed a little hurt and she softened her eyes. "You know... you're going to get sick if you stay out here any longer..."

His scowl was back and turned his head to the side. "That's fine..."

He heard her sigh and felt her sit herself next to him. His eyes still stayed turned in the opposite direction of hers, nonetheless.

It was an awkward silence, but he noted that she still held the umbrella over him.

When his eyes quickly darted to the side to steal a glance, he saw that she was starting to get wet, since the rain was at a slight angle.

The silence went on until he couldn't take it anymore. "Aren't you going to get sick if you stay out here any longer?"

"That's fine..." she said, nonchalantly.

He scoffed and another ten minutes of silence went by.

"Do you want to know... why I wanted to be gone by that last elimination...?" he asked.

Rukia jumped slightly at his gentle voice, but recomposed herself quickly. She shrugged. "You don't have to tell me anything... what you want, is your business... not mine..."

It was quiet for another five minutes. The rain, lightning, and thunder, eased by only a small amount.

"It's because... tomorrow... is the anniversary of... my mom's death..."

The dark-haired girl's eyes widened as she turned her full attention to Ichigo.

"Every year, we'd visit her grave..."

His head was no longer turned away from her, but directed straight. She could tell though, that his mind was starting to wander away from the present.

"Ichigo..."

"We were walking home from the karate dojo that I attended... and I had wanted to take a different route home... so that we could pass by the carnival that was in town..."

Nine year old Kurosaki Ichigo, happily walked down the streets of Karakura Town with his beautiful mother. Their hands were connected as he hummed a merry tune.

His head snapped over at the music that was echoing from the carnival.

"Mom, look! There it is!" he exclaimed.

She looked over as well and gave him a small, "Mhmm."

"We're going to go before it leaves, right?"

Kurosaki Masaki gently squeezed his hand and replied, "Most definitely."

"I wanna go on the ferris wheel with you!"

His mother smiled. "We will."

"And then the scrambler?"

"Yes."

Little Ichigo jumped up and down in joy. "And then round and round on the merry-go-round?!"

Her smile got brighter. "Until we puke up all of our guts!"

"When can we go?!"

"We'll all go tomorrow, okay?"

He grinned and nodded his head in excitement. "I wanna ride all the rides with you!!"

Masaki laughed. "You will, sweetie."

Police sirens could be heard in the background, but they paid no mind.

"We can get cotton candy! I'll bet Yuzu and Karin would love that!! But then dad, on the other hand..."

"Yes, your dad... like he needs any more sugar in his system..."

Mother and son shared a hearty laugh.

"I never noticed that the sirens were coming from the next street..." Ichigo's eyes remained unfocused as he continued to stare straight ahead.

Rukia held her breath.

The worst, she knew, was to be heard soon.

Too engulfed in his own thoughts, he obliviously turned the corner.

"Ichigo!!"she screamed.

Headlights were shining directly in his eyes and he let out a cry of surprise.

Within a second, Masaki grabbed him and threw him up in the air.

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeechhhhh!

"I didn't know what had happened. One minute, I was in the air... the next..."

His butt landed on something hard.

Instinct had him leaning back on his hands, while his legs were slightly bent before him.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a long river of thick blood. It was just slowly flowing down the street.

Amber orbs traced his gaze from the blood to his legs, to see that he was sitting on top of the hood of a car.

His hands and clothes were splattered with blood, but the crimson red, liquid wasn't coming from him...

The little boy turned to his left and was met with...

Those wide amber pools, grew and were overcome with horror.

His mother... his lovely mother... was...

He turned around to see, that he was sitting on top of the hood of a truck... that was currently pinning his mother to a brick wall...

Ichigo had bent forward to lean his elbows against his knees, again. His hands folded themselves together.

Rukia didn't realize that her hand had slowly made its way up to cover her mouth. The shock of what had happened, made her grasp on the umbrella slip. The freed object, then danced along with the rain.

Masaki's upper half, was bent over and laid on top of the hood with him. The rest... he could just tell, was simply crushed.

Ichigo slowly crawled closer to his mother's form until he was in her encircling arms.

"M-Mom?" he asked in a shaky voice.

No answer.

He gently shook her shoulder. "Mommy...?"

He heard the screeches of the police cars stopping behind him. Their voices were fuzzy as they went to arrest the driver. One was calling for an ambulance, while the other...

His little hand hesitantly pushed her hair away from her face.

Her once sparkling eyes... the ones that went perfectly with her smile... the ones that comforted him when he was scared or upset... were opened by nearly a millimeter... and were completely... lifeless...

Tears started to fill his eyes as he stared at her pale face.

Rain drops hit them.

"Oh... my... God..." that other policeman gasped. He saw the waterfall of blood that was draining from the woman's body and the large indentation that the truck had made with her and the wall.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

The little boy became hysterical as he kept shaking his mother and patting her blood-stained cheek.

"Please, wake up!! Wake up, mommy!! WAKE UP!!! PLEASE, MOM!?!" He wanted her eyes to shine with life once more.

Young Ichigo's tears were uncontrollable and it seemed that the rain felt his pain, as it began to pour. It started to wash the river of blood into a nearby sewer as the little boy cried.

The officer placed a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't notice. He did however, cling onto his mother when he felt the officer attempt to pull him away.

It was breaking the man's heart to hear and see the child slowly die inside.

The poor thing was holding his mother's face lovingly and begging for her to wake up. Quietly repeating that he loved her... that she can't leave him... that he'd take back all of his carnival wishes, if she'd just open her eyes... to wake up and tell him that everything was going to be all right...

When the ambulance arrived though, both officers had to take him off of her; making him scream bloody murder... which wasn't too far off...

Little Ichigo fought hard... from kicking... to scratching... to punching... to biting... all while his cries held extreme agony...

He eventually won and raced to his mother's side on the stretcher.

They had placed a white sheet over her, knowing that nothing could be done, but he reached under the covers for her hand, nonetheless.

His knees gave out the minute he found her wrist, but kept a firm grasp on it. He pressed his burning eyes to her knuckles and continued to plead, "M-Mommy... this is a bad d-dream, right? It's not real, r-right? You're sleeping w-with daddy in the next room a-and every-t-thing is all right, right? R-Right, mommy?!"

Deep down though, he knew it was all a nightmare come true... and that it wasn't about to go away any time soon...

She noticed that his voice was shaking along with his body.

Tears had formed in her eyes through it all, but was rinsed by the rain. It wasn't pouring anymore though... it just calmed a bit.

They were both soaked, but none of it mattered. The only thing that mattered, was...

"The paramedics said that she had died on the spot... that upon impact... her spinal cord snapped... her ribs broke and... pierced her organs, including her heart... and blood... it just wouldn't stop..." His face was hidden behind his hands as he continued. "The bastard that was driving... was completely drunk off his ass... he was attempting to out-drive the cops..."

It was silent as she tried to stop her tears. So that's why he disappeared at the carnival... it brought back painful memories... she didn't just die... she was killed...

"I could've done something..."

"What could you have done?" she asked softly.

Ichigo's hand left his face and ran itself through his wet hair. "Something... anything!"

"There was noth—

He suddenly shot up from his seat and began to pace. "I could've just stuck to the route we usually took! I could've taken my time leaving the dojo! I could've—

"Ichigo, listen to yourself!" she reasoned. She couldn't believe that he was blaming himself.

Rukia got up and stood in his way of taking another step. "How... can anyone... possibly imagine that such an outcome could occur?" Her eyes were boring deeply into his.

"If I had paid more attention to the sirens... I would've known... that they were just a turn away..." He bent his head down, while his voice screamed defeat. "Dammit, my name's suppose to mean 'he who protects'! What good is that, when I couldn't even protect my mom?!"

The young heiress couldn't handle it anymore. She quickly lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his torso, her face pressed into his rock hard chest.

Surprisingly enough, his arms went to wrap around her shoulders. She felt his cheek land softly on her head. His body was trembling, as was hers.

During the next minute, his knees gave out and brought them both down to the dirt. They didn't care, though.

Rukia gently cradled his head against her chest and his hold around her waist was strong.

He was mumbling into her shirt, but she heard him clear enough. "If I couldn't protect her... then I... should've gone with her..."

Her fingers gripped his hair tighter as she softly said, "Fool... stop talking nonsense..."

The cold rain continued to sprinkle down, but their embrace kept them warm and sheltered from it all.

The Next Morning

Ichigo kept his pillow over his head when he heard Renji's alarm going off. The damn thing was so loud that it had the capability to wake the dead. He heard the red head shift quickly in his bed and slammed his fist down on the off button.

"Damn clock... damn hangover... damn party..." Renji's grumbling went on for a few more minutes before he slipped off his bed and onto his feet.

He sluggishly slid over to Ichigo's bed and tapped his shoulder. "Hey... wake up..."

Course, strawberry didn't move.

Renji's eyebrows scrunched together as he full on shook his shoulder. "Yo! Wake up..."

There was a slight progress. Ichigo tightened his grip on his pillow and pulled the rest of his covers over his head.

A vein popped on Renji's head. Both of his hands violently shook the stubborn man. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake—

Ichigo shot straight up in his bed and screamed, "What?!?!"

Renji quickly covered his ears and winced in pain. "Not so loud! Hangover!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Stop whining. You were the idiot that drank too much last night..."

"Yeah, yeah..." he waved off. "Anyways, you're awake now..."

The pineapple stared aimlessly at the side of Ichigo's bed for a moment before turning back around and climbing into his bed.

Confusion was quickly replaced by fury as Ichigo watched. "And...?!"

He could see Renji wince at the volume, then turned around to face him. "What do you mean 'and?'?"

"Why the hell am I awake and you're back in bed?" He looked at the red digits of the digital clock. "Don't you have a date to go on?"

Renji smirked. "Nope, but you do... and you're going to be late if you don't hurry..."

The orange head blinked a couple of times before his famous scowl reappeared. "What are you talking about?"

"Rukia caught me last night before I went to bed... well, more like before I went to puke in the bathroom... but anyway, she asked me if it would be okay with me, to switch our date to tomorrow." He then let out a long, lazy yawn. "So technically, it's your's and Ichimaru's date day..."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Why would she do that?"

"Easy..." Renji chuckled and turned so that his back faced Ichigo. "Best for last, my friend. Now, shoo!" His hand had appeared from under the covers to emphasize his last word.

The twenty-three year old stayed in bed for five minutes longer, contemplating. He remembered that she had seen him at his most vulnerable the night before. Half the things he did and said... he wasn't even sure why he had.

Well, in any case... it was rude to keep a girl waiting...

Ichigo was slowly descending the steps as he saw Rukia wait at the front doors.

His once-over observation registered her white, knee-length sundress with a lavender sash around the waist and bowed perfectly. Her heels matched with her sash and her outfit was complete with the beautiful butterfly necklace that she had worn on the first meeting.

She turned at the sound of his steps.

Her eyes noticed his defined abs, pressing against his red wife beater. His black, short sleeve dress shirt was completely unbuttoned and comfy blue jeans hung around his slim waist. A black and red watch dangled from his left wrist and his black and white sneakers pulled it all together.

Rukia smiled when he finally reached her. "Good morning."

"Mornin'." His hand came up to scratch at his orange locks. "So what are we doing today?"

She turned her back to open the doors and walked out, singing, "You'll—see..."

He reluctantly followed.

Upon reaching the limo, she stopped abruptly and turned to flash him a big grin.

Ichigo's scowl was up in no time. "What?" he asked cautiously.

The limo driver had opened their door and stepped aside as Rukia bent in to retrieve something. When she emerged, she held up a piece of cloth.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Uh..."

Before he knew it, she quickly yanked him down to her level by his collar. She then proceeded to blindfold him with the cloth.

"What are you doing?" He went to take it off, but was slapped by her tiny hand.

"Keep it on! It's a surprise and you're not going to ruin it!" She then dragged him into the limo, accidentally causing him to bump his head off the top of the car, due to his temporary blindness.

Course, he was mumbling curses as she apologized, but it was all good. It was a quiet ride, since it was still a little awkward due to the night before. He didn't quite know what to say.

Ichigo did however, know that he didn't have to say much of anything when he felt some weight fall onto his shoulder.

"Hey, midget..." he whispered.

No answer.

He resisted the small tugging of his mouth. "Stupid..." Her luscious scent drifted up his nose and soon, he followed suit.

The driver looked in his rear view mirror and smiled. His boss was asleep against her date and though her date was blindfolded, he could tell that he was too, considering his head was tilted slightly back.

His gloved hand reached over to the radio and turned it to a different channel. Soon, soft instrumental music floated peacefully throughout the car.

"Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki-san... we're here." said the driver.

Rukia slowly opened her eyes and stretched out her arms, while Ichigo rolled his neck to unleash the kinks.

They both stepped out of the limo and breathed in the fresh air. It was very sunny and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Ichigo's hand went up to his blindfold, only to be slapped again. "Will you stop that?!"

"Not yet!"

The sounds of paper and plastic rubbing together rung through his ears as he heard her say, "Thanks" to the driver. There was then a strong scent in the air.

She took his hand and started dragging him straight up a hill.

"You're doing this again? I swear if you make me hit something a—

"Oh, quit your whining. It'll be off soon enough."

Fifteen minutes of walking passed and Ichigo felt them come to a stop. He could hear the ruffling of Rukia's dress as she moved behind him and pushed him forward.

"Now... you can take it off..." she whispered.

His hands slowly came up to the knot behind his head and undid it. A large breeze came by and swept the cloth away, revealing his surprise.

What stood in front of him... was a traditional stone monument, with the three most familiar words engraved into it...

"Kurosaki Family Grave..." he softly read.

Ichigo quickly turned around to see Rukia gently smiling at him with a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

He was at a loss of words and as degrading as it may seem, he stuttered, "W-What... is...i-is this w-why you... you changed the—

She nodded before he could finish.

"But...why would you..." he trailed off.

Rukia took a couple of steps forward so that she was only a few inches away from him. "Ichigo... who am I... to keep you away from wanting to visit your mother?" She playfully tilted her head to the side. "Exactly how heartless, do you think I am?"

He just stared at her like she had five heads. He couldn't believe it. She had listened to his pain... comforted him on his weakest day of the year... she had switched the day of their date, just so he could continue his anniversary tradition and even kept it a surprise. Like hell, did he even have the slightest hint!

Her giggling brought him out of his small daze and turned him around to see her on her knees in front of his mother's grave.

She placed the colorful bouquet of flowers on the stand, pressed her hands together, and bowed her head. A small prayer passed through her lips as her eyes were closed in concentration.

Ichigo refuses to admit it out loud, but in the sun... elegantly sitting in front of the grave in her white dress... she looked amazingly angelic.

Soon enough, she was on her feet and turned to give him a smile.

A breeze flew around and hugged him close. One that felt so familiarly warm to him, that he was losing his grasp on reality. His eyes closed for a moment, before reopening and rewarding her with a small one of his own.

She gasped. It wasn't a smirk... it wasn't a tease... it was... a genuine small, but true, smile. So in all honesty... it took her breath away...

Ichigo took a step closer to her and gently said, "Thanks..."

Rukia stared into his chocolaty, amber eyes and slowly found his hand. She then felt herself being pulled onto the tips of her toes by an unnatural force.

He began to bend forward as well, so she wouldn't have to strain so much.

Her mouth was a centimeter away from his ear as she whispered, "You're welcome..." and gave him a small peck to his cheek.

His eyes were half-lidded as his mouth hovered over the outlines of her cheekbone, her nose, then up to her forehead, softly resting at her temple.

Her eyes had closed for his exploration. He smelt heavenly and she enjoyed the moments when his neck would lightly collide with her nose. Her mouth would unintentionally open, giving him small kisses in the process, sending chills down his spine.

Ichigo pulled away and looked down at the still dazed Rukia. His free hand made his way up to push her stubborn bang away from her face and behind her ear. His calloused fingers then rested there, while his thumb grazed her cheek, as he stared at her face. Mom... I know you're around and watching... I really misjudged this one... didn't I?

The wind blew around a couple of leaves and pushed him closer to her.

Rukia slowly opened her eyes and met his stare. She felt her face heat up uncontrollably, making him smirk and raise a brow in amusement.

She blinked a couple of times and quickly shot herself a few steps away from him, slightly fuming in embarrassment.

The Kuchiki heiress could hear him lightly snickering behind her, causing her face to boil. She then turned around and crossed her arms. "Stop that!"

Upon seeing her completely red face, he exploded into a full blown laugh.

That only fueled her embarrassment, no matter how cute he sounds. She stomped herself right in front of him and placed her pointer finger to his chest. "I said stop laughing at me!!"

He only uncharacteristically continued.

"Stop!!!" she whined, as she began slamming her fists against his muscular chest.

His laughter finally died down to some simple chuckles and he took her tiny hands into his own large ones. "You know..."

She stopped her struggling and glared at him.

He finally calmed and held his smirk. "I wasn't laughing at you..."

The wind blew in a circle around them, pushing them together encouragingly.

"Well... maybe I was..."

She slapped his chest and his smile grew. "... but... it was just because you were cute..."

Rukia's eyes widened and she felt her face heat up again at his words. "I can't believe you actually gave me a compliment of your own free will..." she mumbled.

"I compliment you of my own will all the time."

Her glare was back. "'Midget', 'shorty', 'shrimp', and 'Rotwood' are not compliments..."

He shrugged. "Sure they are. You just always take them as insults."

"They are not!"

Ichigo laughed softly. "Well you 'compliment' me the same way, so we're even..."

Rukia thought about it for a second. "So... you think I'm cute?"

Ichigo looked away, an embarrassed scowl on his face. "Well... um..." He cleared his throat. "You're not bad..." His moment of sanity was back and couldn't believe he actually said it out loud before. It's not a good idea to take it back now, either...

She smiled and closed her eyes. The him that I met is back...

Her eyes opened again to see the side of his face. She smirked. "Well, you're not bad yourself, strawberry."

A blush crept onto his cheeks as well and she giggled. He looked adorable with the small amount of pink on his face.

His head jerk back down to her and she smiled up at him. "Now, we're even."

He rolled his eyes and then noticed that he still kept his hands over hers, which were lain over his heart. They were so small and soft, he felt. Her sparkling orbs were the most beautiful shade of violet that he had ever seen, especially for eyes.

His gaze then flickered to her pink lips.

She watched him in anticipation. The organ under her palm was beating as hard and fast as hers. She felt his one hand release itself from her imprisoned ones and moved to the small of her back. "Ichigo...?"

His head slowly began to descend as her eyelids did the same.

The breeze was circling around them again, much stronger but very supportive and excited.

Their lips were just a breath away from the other...

"IT'S A MIRACLE!! MY SON'S NOT GAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Their eyes snapped open, showing different emotions in each. One was filled with surprise; the other was filled with horror.

Needless to say, the wind was angry at the interruption as well.

Preview for the next chapter

"Hitsugaya-san, you have a telephone call." said the orange-haired secretary.

He raised his eyebrow. "Who is it?"

"They wouldn't say..."

He'ssssssss heeeerrrrreeeeeeee..... Mwahhahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Clearly, Masaki's not very happy about the timing either ^^.

So, I had so much fun writing this chapter! Ya'll got your first major IchiRuki chappie, sure you didn't get an official IchiRuki kiss, but you definitely got a whole lot of fluff! Course, I cried when I wrote Ichigo's past... cried again when I reread it... I'm weak, I know. It didn't seem as bad in my mind, but written down... woo! My imagination went wild, especially poor, small Ichi! But I hope you all liked my "Memories in the Rain" chapter!

Thanks for the support everyone! I'm probably going to work on a chapter of "Make My Fantasies Come True" since I've neglected it for my past couple of chapters of this fic, but no worries! I'm doing my best to get the next one up soon.... ish...

Well you know the drill and let's beat last chapter's record! Press that button and REVIEWWWWWWW PLEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Until next time =]