Hi... I haven't updated for months. I had computer trouble and other stuff kept coming up. Sorry.

Here's a quick recap of the last chapter.

Ichigo the Vaizard fought off Grimmjow, a psychotic stranger who tried to attack Rukia, thinking she was alone. He was led away by Tousen, who told Ichigo and Rukia that he was in charge of Grimmjow, a former criminal under rehab.

Glossary thing down below:

Shinigami-A term used by Vaizards referring to humans. Means 'Death God' (duh), as humans sin so much, their sins lead them to their death earlier than nescessary. Rukia, Hitsugaya, Ukitake, Byakuya, Renji, and all the others are Shinigami.

Vaizard-Alien species in story. According to the infamous Vaizard custom, a young Vaizard will only reach maturity after performing sexual intercourse (ok fine, have sex) but this story ain't a lemon. Ichigo is the only 'immatured' Vaizard left. He wanted to (beep) Rukia, but Rukia pwned him (refer to Prologue). Ichigo also uses this invisible gadget thingi that I HATE. It seems so childish yet it's absolutely nescessary for him to move around without getting spotted. So the next time you read about Ichigo going invisible (whoopee) bear in mind you're not the only one who hates it.

Arrancar-Enemy of Vaizards. They are trying to take over Earth, the Vaizard Station, and Planet Urahara Shoten, but the Vaizards are keeping them at bay so everything's fine so far.

Chappy-HERO OF THE STORY. WOOT!

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It was Saturday morning.

Rukia laid in bed, pondering on yesterday's events.

This man named Grimmjow, abnormally strong, literally kicked down her front door yesterday and declared that he 'wants' her. Ichigo protected her, and fought with him until he bled.

Rukia felt it so strange that Ichigo, explaining days before that Vaizards are able to control their emotions, would be so mad at Grimmjow and completely lose his temper like that.

Did he change in this few days he had stayed with her? It seemed so, when she first met him he was no doubt a proper Vaizard.

Ichigo and Grimmjow would had killed each other if Tousen-san didn't show up, thought Rukia. So he worked as some sort of guardian for former criminals under rehabilitation, he must be extremely good at it for people to trust a blind man with such a job.

And Ichigo...

Rukia subconsciously smiled as the orange-haired alien flashed through her mind.

He looked so miserable thinking at he had hurt her like Grimmjow, when the two was so different.

"Hey Ichigo. You awake yet?"

No reply.

Rukia turned her head towards the closet. "Ichigo."

He still didn't answer her. Strange, as he was a light sleeper being a Vaizard.

The petite girl got up and went in front of the cupboard. She rapped sharply on the wood.

"Wake up."

There was no sound at all from within and a weird feeling appeared in Rukia's guts.

She pulled the door open and gasped.

Ichigo was gone.

Rukia searched the room for the skull badge but it was in vain. In fact, the last she remember seeing it was in ichigo's hand.

He left me?! He said he wouldn't!!

But there was no absolutely trace of Ichigo, and the frantic search for him that ensued proved fruitless.

Gasping back emotions she couldn't well explain, Rukia sat on her bed where Ichigo often sat, and gazed blankly at her room.

It just seemed so empty without him.

And she just couldn't see where he could have gone, except back to his Vaizard people.

Rukia felt her lower lip trembling and let her feelings show by kicking the closet door.

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"That was surprisingly easy." Ichigo muttered.

He strolled along the streets of Karakura Town, a bored, don't-care look on his face. With his selection of clothes (he imitated the lead character from Rukia's manga) he looked exactly like a normal teenager.

The alien's intention is to get back to Rukia as soon as possible after his visit to Sereitei High, so that Grimmjow couldn't get a chance to disturb her again, but for some inexplictable reason...

He was lost.

He, Ichigo, a Vaizard, was lost.

But of course he wouldn't admit it.

The orange-haired alien chose a direction at the crossroad and took it after careful consideration. It turned out to be the wrong one, however, since he came to a field soon. A few teenagers were playing a strange game with a black and white ball.

Ichigo cursed and turned back. Suddenly he heard a whizzing sound heading in his direction. With his superior Vaizard reflexes, he spun around and caught the soccer ball as calmly as he would be reading a book.

"Wow!!" said a girl. "Cool reflexes!!"

She came over to Ichigo, who was bearing his usual scowl mixed with a little bemusement for the ball he was still holding.

"Hey, care for a game? I could use a little competition, the guys' are losing by too many." the girl said, sticking her hands in her pockets and grinned at him.

Ichigo looked at her. She had short raven hair and seemed like a tomboy. And according to the books he read, tomboys do not enjoy feminine activities and instead, prefer sports.

Then he considered her offer. He knew he had lots of time before Byakuya went to work, and Grimmjow wouldn't appear if Byakuya was around. If he accepted, he could get an early start accoustoming to earth activities and learn the social habits of Rukia's age group, thus making what he was about to attempt on Monday so much easier.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" he replied, giving her the strange ball back. "Only could you explain to me the way of this game? I am afraid I am not familiar with the rules that comes with it."

Confusion passed over the girl's face. "Er... sure."

"Is something wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"No... it's just that ...um, almost everybody knows how to play soccer." she said, tapping the ball.

"I just moved here. People from my old home don't play soccer." he said truthfully, and hoped that she'd buy that.

She did. Lucky for him.

"Oh, I'm Tatsuki, by the way." she said, as they walked to the guys she was with.

"I'm Ichigo."

"Ichigo?" Tatsuki said questioningly. "Doesn't that mean strawberry?"

"He who protects."

"Oh." she grinned her tomboyish smile at him. "Cool."

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"Stupid Ichigo!!"

Rukia growled curses at the empty closet and smacked it, hurting herself.

The petite girl had searched the whole house just in case he was hiding somewhere, invisible, but she didn't find anything. She couldn't think of why he would ignore her calls if he really was hiding, anyway.

Maybe he went out and fought Grimmjow!!

Rukia's eyes widened but she knew it wasn't it... she had glimpsed Grimmjow in the window of the house opposite, great irritation on his face as if someone was lecturing him and he could barely control himself not to strangle that someone. Apparently her guess was correct, since he had looked over his shoulder and started yelling in response to the lecture.

Sighing, she opened Ichigo's closet door and wondered if she should tidy up the pillows and blankets, since Ichigo is gone now. But she quickly rejected the idea. She just didn't like admitting the thought of never seeing the orange-haired Vaizard again.

Rukia leaned on the blankets and sulked. The soft fabric rubbed against her pale cheeks, and she sniffed delicately.

It smelled like Ichigo.

She buried her head in the material and inhaled, letting the lingering frangance of the Vaizard comfort her.

Ichigo you idiot.

Rukia closed her eyes and let her breath out.

She climbed into the closet and shut the door like how Ichigo used to, after they say their goodnights, and hours later, after he wakes up to use the bathroom, or when she uses it, and he'll open the door to see what's she doing.

The raven-haired girl shut herself in the darkness and laid back on the pillow. She could feel a depression in the blankets and pillow, printed by Ichigo's body. And now she laid in it, comparing the vast difference in their body sizes.

The closet doesn't fit Ichigo in length, so he sleeps either with his legs propped up against the closet wall or curled up.

Rukia fitted perfectly in the closet, but she curled up her legs to match Ichigo, and pressed her head against the pillow, making the most of what she has left of him.

Then she fell asleep, escaping to her dreams.

The afternoon slipped away, and soon the Chappy-ized room was filled with red and orange light.

Rukia, who got a headache from excess sleep, opened the closet door and groaned.

The orange light from sundown looked too much like the orange on Ichigo's head, so she left the room, not planning to return until the orange light gave way to darkness.

Never in a thousand years would she admit to herself why the bright orange hurt her so, though.

She was surprised by Byakuya's presence in the living room. Wasn't he supposed to be at work? Seemingly he had never left the house this morning. Rukia decided not to ask why.

But avoiding conversation was not on Byakuya's mind. "Rukia."

The petite girl stopped dead in her tracks, and her heart gave a nervous lurch, as it always do when Byakuya addresses her.

"Yes, Nii-sama?"

His eyes surveyed her, and as usual, she felt like he was x-raying her.

"Did anything happen yesterday when I was not around?"

And Rukia felt like her heart stopped.

How did he know? If he hinted that he knew, does this mean he knows parts of it already? So Nii-sama knows about Grimmjow? What about Tousen?

What about Ichigo??

"Did anything happen? Like what?" She hurriedly put on a confused expression, not so well as she'd like though. Byakuya narrowed his eyes before she could finish her sentence.

For a minute it looked like the elegant man was going to say something, but then he stood up and giving her a last penetrating stare, he left the living room.

It was only after hearing his study's door close when Rukia let out her breath. Her nii-sama can be so scary sometimes.

She turned on the TV and surfed for something interesting, at a low volume, of course. She didn't want to disturb Byakuya.

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For dinner they had delivery from the fanciest restaurant in town.

They were regular customers, and Byakuya thought nothing of ordering the most expensive dishes. Rukia, however, always felt a little awkward. There was a time when she didn't eat so lavishly.

Rukia winced when Byakuya told her not to touch smoked salmon as it was "not up to standard". She didn't think it had tasted any different.

After cleaning up, Rukia went back to her bedroom and took out her sketchpad.

She doodled and sketched and drew, but the silence in the room was unbearable.

Her own Chappy characters mocked her as she created them. At every slight sound she jumped, her own mind tricking her into thinking that Ichigo had returned.

"Damn you, Ichigo." muttered Rukia bitterly.

Suddenly there was this tapping sound.

Rukia turned around warily, thinking it was another false alarm.

Then she saw Ichigo's face at the window.

So what else could she do? Of course, given her position, and she being alone in a room in silence on a cold dark night, and suddenly the pale face of her Vaizard pressed against the frosted glass of her window...

"AAAaaaaAAAAAaaaaAAAAHHH!!" Rukia shrieked, falling backwards on her chair.

She crashed down to the carpeted floor but quickly stumbled to her feet.

"What are you doing?" she whispered, even though Byakuya couldn't hear them as the door was soundproof.

Ichigo mouthed something but she couldn't hear him.

"The window is stuck, it can't be opened." Rukia said, going closer and gesturing.

She heard a distant "what?" from Ichigo. She leaned in, inches from the glass and said loudly, "The window is stuck!! You need to use the front door!!"

There was no response as the petite girl realised that Ichigo was staring at her. And then she realised she was too close to Ichigo's face. Too close.

Only the glass was between them, otherwise they would be close enough to...

Well... close enough to kiss.

Rukia blushed furiously and pulled away.

She grabbed her sketchpad and Sode no Shirayuki, her best pen.

Outside, Ichigo was turning blue. His Vaizard suit, disguised as Earth attire couldn't protect his face from the cold wind. He groaned as he saw what Rukia was doing, the slight warmth the blush had given disappeared as he was filled with disgust.

A frowning orange haired chappy smiled as he flew down from the window and to the door. A raven haired, smaller chappy smiled and was greeting the orange-haired chappy at the door, a paw at the mouth, saying, "ssshhh."

Ichigo slammed his hand into his face.

Why can't that little midget just write a message like a normal person??

Rukia was gesturing frantically towards the door, then pointing at the orange haired chappy, then at Ichigo, then at the smaller chappy, then-

"Ok, ok!!" Ichigo scowled, climbing down the roof and avoiding the bare branches of the sakura tree. "Sheesh."

Inside, Rukia rushed down the stairs as quietly as possible and sneaked towards the door. Byakuya was in the living room, and in full view of the door.

Rukia was mentally gritting her teeth and pulling her hair and doing all mental acts of frustration when she saw Byakuya. Outwardly, she showed no sign of emotion. She had learned well from observing her brother.

So how was she going to pull this off?

"What is it, Rukia?" inquired Byakuya, not even looking at her. She gulped, and suddenly her mind became numb, and her body moved on it's own.

"I heard ... something... at the door." she said, her voice cracking. She turned and walked to the door, her legs moving automatically.

"Something?" Byakuya echoed, getting up. Rukia swung open the door and freezing air rushed in. There was nothing outside. Her eyes widened. Stupid strawberry!!

Then she felt Ichigo brush against her shoulder as he slipped in. She forgot about the invisibility function in her panic.

She closed the door. "Oh, I guess it's nothing."

"What did you hear?" inquired Byakuya in his smooth tone.

"...S-Scrapping."

"Scrapping." he repeated incredulously. An eyebrow was raised elegantly.

"Yeah." said Rukia, her eyes wide and defiant. "I thought it might be... something. Like a puppy... or something." She moved her rigid body away from the door. "Yeah."

Ichigo watched Rukia as she tried to walk casually while being watched by her millionaire brother. Or billionaire. The alien couldn't care less. But it fascinated him why Rukia was so darn scared of him.

After all, he was just a pretty guy with silky hair and long eyelashes.

Ichigo smirked and was just about to turn away when he saw that Byakuya was looking right at him.

What the-?

The Vaizard broke out in cold sweat and looked down at himself.

He was still invisible.

He looked at Byakuya again, but the elegant man had already turned his gaze away to Rukia.

"So... goodnight, Nii-sama!!" she said nervously.

The raven-haired girl ran up the stairs, the alien following closely behind.

Rukia closed the door and turned around.

"Ichigo?"

The said alien appeared in front of her. He was smirking despite the horrible weird feeling in his guts Byakuya gave him.

"Did you miss me?" he taunted, sitting down on the bed.

"What?? Of course not!!" Rukia replied automatically, her face reddening.

Ichigo was still smirking, but suddenly she saw a subtle wave of disappointment cross his face.

"Where were you?" demanded Rukia, her angry voice faltering a little.

"Around." he answered, flashing her a fresh smirk.

"Uh-huh. Could you be a little more specific?" Rukia looked him over. He was wearing a bright t-shirt that clashed horribly with his hair and jeans, looking strangely like the lead character from one of her manga. He probably did something with his skull badge, she remembered him telling her once that the badge had a function like that.

That familiar scene, Ichigo sitting on her bed, smirking as though he owned the world, was extremely comforting to Rukia. She couldn't even begin to describe how much it meant to her.

So she kicked him.

"OW!!" yelled Ichigo, holding his ankle. "What was that for, stupid midget?!"

Rukia stood over him, arms folded over her chest as Ichigo bent over in pain.

"Don't you ever leave me again." Rukia snarled. "You hear me?"

Ichigo blinked at her.

"Did you hear me??" she repeated, brows furrowed even more than Ichigo's.

"Alright..." he said, standing up and looking at her. "I won't leave you again."

Rukia bit her lip when the Vaizard's gaze didn't falter. "Promise?"

Ichigo smiled and ruffled her hair. "Yeah... I promise."

She scowled. "Not that I care or anything... just, you know."

Ichigo chuckled. "I know."

He turned to his closet and opened the door. "Oh well. I'm bushed. I'm turning in for the night."

Rukia looked at him curiously, wondering where he got the human terms like 'bushed'.

"So what did you do?" she asked, another attempt to get him to spill.

Ichigo smirked. "It's a surprise."

Then he closed the door, while Rukia started yelling about how he could keep his darn secrets to himself and she didn't need to know.

He sighed. His little shinigami can be so unladylike at times.

Sometimes he even wondered if she cared for him, by the way she acts.

Ichigo laid down, and stretched his sore legs. Vaizard stamina or not, wandering around trying to find Rukia's house for hours and hours after playing a vigorous 'soccer' game can be quite exhausting.

The Vaizard frowned. He had been trying so hard to find his way back to Rukia, only to find that she didn't miss him at all.

Or maybe she didn't mean that. He sighed and closed his eyes.

Maybe in this relationship, he was the only one that felt anything. Maybe she didn't feel anything for him at all. She did say she didn't miss him. Why would she lie?

Then he felt something tickling his cheek. He opened his eyes and saw what it was.

On his pillow, there it was.

A single strand of raven hair.

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A/N: wow I can't believe I updated. A short chapter, though. Oh well. Since Bleach is like, boring right now. I still continue reading the manga sometimes, just to see whether there will be an ichiruki ending.