December 5, 1611

9:00 PM

Rukia looked out the window of her room, relishing the beauty of the brilliant colors being cast by the setting sun. The lights of the lanterns illuminating the streets of Edo twinkled like stars on the grounds around the palace, casting shadows of the pedestrians who were returning to their homes after their day's work had been finished. It was only around three hours until the time that Ichigo had promised he would come back to her room. She knew that she had to treasure the moments she was able to spend with him while she could, because one of them could very well be the last time she would ever see him.

She hated to think about it, but it was a cruel reality that gnawed at her every second of every day. It seemed strange that how most people would wish to be born into royalty, she wished she hadn't been. All Rukia wanted to be at that moment was a normal person, no one special, and with Ichigo. Saying Ichigo's name around Renji was surmount to taking the lord's name in vain, and at any mention of the orange-haired man, Renji would literally go up the wall.

Earlier, just for fun, Rukia had actually tried to hold a conversation with the tattooed man that centered around Ichigo, which resulted in the disgruntled individual nearly kicking a hole into the wall of her room. Renji, who must have caught onto the petite girl's joke, had sent the deadliest of death glares in her direction before exiting the room, muttering several swear words that he must have come up with on the spot.

But the fact that Renji had been so enraged by the very thought of her falling in love with Ichigo had made Rukia a little worried. She didn't want to think that he was jealous, and since there was no way that he would ever admit to being even the smallest bit jealous, she truly had no way of knowing for sure. The idea of the tattooed man being jealous made Rukia giggle, but she new that, jealous or not, Renji was going to make it a point to hunt Ichigo down.

A light knock from her door turned her attention from the window and to the opposite side of the room. "Come in."

Renji opened the door, looking down at the floor. His face had lost its mischievous, almost child-like look, and had been replaced by a much more serious and somber expression. His refusal to make eye contact with Rukia had already begun to slightly worry the girl, who had quickly noticed the man's strange behavior. She looked up at him, a small feeling of nervous apprehension settling in the pit of her stomach. "Renji, what is it?" She asked, dreading the answer.

The tattooed man looked up briefly, instantly regretting what he was about to do. He was already beginning to feel horrible for something he hadn't even done yet. But the words of Aizen rang clearly in his head, "Tell her that he's dead. Make her believe that he's dead, and make sure that she suffers for ever even considering choosing him over me." God, he knew how much it would hurt her; and what was even worse, he knew that it was a lie. He knew for a fact that Ichigo wasn't dead; just the closest thing to it. Aizen had informed him about what he had done to him. Out of what he realized had been sympathy, Renji had snuck Ichigo to a doctor's house a few miles outside of town. The doctor, who was a woman named Unohana Retsu, had solemnly informed the tattooed man that Ichigo was probably not going to last past the next day.

"Aizen," Renji knew that he couldn't tell Rukia that Ichigo was dead. He could already see her pained expression, and could feel her heart shatter into a million pieces that no form of love, kindness, or compassion could ever repair. "Aizen found Ichigo, and took him to the underground chamber beneath the solder's quarters, and-" He cut himself off, both because of the shocked expression on the petite girl's face and because of the vivid memory of Ichigo's mangled and bloodied body lying on the stone floor. "God, he was a mess. I…I swear I would have done something to warn him if I had known that Aizen was here."

"Wh-What happened to him?" Rukia knew very well what happened to him. The chamber that Renji had spoken of had been used as a torture and interrogation room during the sieges of the city, and occasionally used as a "punishment room" for convicted criminals, using the tunnel connected to the prison in the center of the town. She shuddered just thinking about the pain Ichigo must have had to endure, and without any kind of medical attention until Renji had taken him to the doctor.

"I-I really don't know," Renji rubbed his face, trying to force the gruesome memory into the back of his mind. "But God, whatever Aizen did to him must've been real sick and twisted. Kurosaki had gashes on his shoulder and back, and a horrible wound on his chest. I-I took him to a doctor a few miles outside of town, but he's not doing well."

"How bad is he?" Rukia asked, preparing for the worst, but silently praying for the best.

"I…I'm sorry, Rukia, but," Renji swallowed the lump in his throat before continuing, "Doctor Unohana said that he probably won't make it past tomorrow morning. The wounds…the wounds really screwed up his lungs and ribs, and from what Ichigo told me, the guards beat the hell out of him once they dumped him in his cell. Most of his ribs are broken, and his lungs have been penetrated in several places. Christ, he was laying in a puddle of vomit and blood when I found him." Renji hesitantly looked as the shocked and startled Rukia, who only looked back at him in complete disbelief. "I…I can take you to him, if you want."

"Y-yes…" Rukia was in complete shock; her mind was a whirlwind of terror and disbelief. She couldn't even begin to think about how horrible Ichigo must have looked. The image of his torn apart body, lying in a mix of body fluids and upchuck, staring at the wall of his cell with dead, empty eyes forced itself into her head as she followed Renji out of the back door of the palace and to a wagon, that she presumed would take them to Ichigo.

The trip was one of the longest Rukia had ever taken, the suspense of what she would have to face once she and Renji had reached their destination only made the trip slower, the minutes seeming like hours. They were both silent, knowing that no type of conversation would make the trip go any faster, or make anyone's dread die down. Rukia pulled the large black coat Renji had given her tighter over her shoulders, shuddering against the cold winter wind. "Thank you."

Rukia's voice was so quiet that Renji had initially thought he had been hearing things, which was probable, since he had not gotten any sleep since the night before. "What?"

"Th-Thank you." Rukia whispered again, looking down at her feet. "I know you don't care very much for Ichigo, but thank you for helping him.

Renji gave a small smile before turning his eyes back to the snow-covered road.

Truthfully, Rukia was extremely thankful for Renji's unexpected act of kindness. She would never had expected, at least not after the fit he had thrown, for him to go out of his way and save Ichigo. "Do you…do you really think that Ichigo will…" Rukia was unable to finish the sentence, the thought of the last word making her want to vomit.

Renji's eyes became distant again, concentration on the tiny dots of light that marked the small farmhouses that resided around Edo. "It…it's difficult to say." He sighed deeply, his breath forming in a visible mist before his face. "It would be hard to survive the beating he got. I…" He looked down at Rukia, sadness glistening within his crimson eyes, before finishing solemnly, "I'm sorry, but I wouldn't count on him surviving. Not for very long, anyways."

For the second time that day, Rukia's heart sunk even deeper into her gut, if it were even possible. The words, though spoken before, crashed down on her like a huge building. The worst she had ever seen Ichigo had been after he had protected her from the men that had attacked them, and even seeing him like that had been hard for her to swallow. She shuddered just thinking about how he must have felt, in so much pain and agony, and with no way to dull it. "I don't think I ever told him that I loved him."

"Hmm?" Renji looked down at her, her words having been lost in the wind before reaching his ear.

"He always told me that he loved me. All the time, he'd say it. But I…I don't think I ever said it back. Out of all those times Ichigo told me, I…I…" Rukia choked on her tears, leaning against Renji for support. "Please, you have to get me there soon. I…I need to tell him that I love him."

"The house is right up here. He'll be alive when we get there, I know it. He told me…" Renji looked back up at the house, trying to gauge whether or not he should tell Rukia, "He told me that he wouldn't die until he'd been able to say goodbye to you. And that he loves you. He made me promise to tell you that, in case he did die. But, no, he's still alive. He's waiting for you."

As Renji halted the wagon in front of the small house, Rukia jumped out of the seat and ran to wards the door, knocking on it frantically in terror-educed anticipation of what awaited her. Before the petite girl was able to knock again, a pale woman with her hair braded in front of her opened the door, looking slightly surprised by the late-night commotion. "Kuchiki-san. Abarai-san." She nodded politely at them as she addressed their names.

"Unohana-san." Renji nodded breathlessly, needing a moment to catch his breath after running to the house to keep Rukia from barreling right through the door as soon as the doctor had opened it. "Is he…?"

"Kurosaki-san? Yes, he is alive." Unohana grimly added, "But barely."

"Please, Unohana-san," Rukia pleaded, her voice showing how desperate she was to reach Ichigo in his dying moments. "Could I please see him?"

Unohana was about to say no, worrying about what kind of effect seeing Ichigo in the condition he was in would have on the petite girl. But she changed her mind when she saw Renji nod from behind Rukia, signaling that it would be alright. "Are you sure, Kuchiki-san?" She sighed as the petite girl nodded hurriedly, and stepped out of the doorway for them to enter. "He's in the back room. Please be quiet, though. Kurosaki-san is sleeping."

Rukia rushed past the doctor and stopped at the closed door leading to the back room. She pressed her palms against the wooden door, gently pushing it open. She peaked her head in, careful not to make the floorboards creak under her weight. She looked around the room until her gaze fell upon a motionless body laying on a wooden bloodstained table in the center of the room. Blood dripped off of the table and onto the ground, seeping through the floorboards.

Cautiously, Rukia approached the table, stepping around the puddles of blood that dotted the floor. She reached out and touched Ichigo's bloodied face, shocked by how cold it felt. Bandages loosely encompassed his torso, red liquid seeping trough in several areas. Holding back her tears, she leaned forward and softly kissed his forehead. She felt his brow shift beneath her lips as he opened his eyes, his voice low and scratchy. "R-Rukia? That you?"

Forcing a small smile, Rukia pulled back and began stroking Ichigo's hair, afraid that even the slightest touch would cause him some form of extreme pain. She saw him give a pained smile, wincing as he shifted around on the table. His amber eyes were dull and completely lifeless, glassed over in intense pain. He coughed violently, gripping the petite girl's hand as he body writhed on the table, agonizing spasms of pain shooting through his body. He laid back down, shutting his eyes before opening them again, and spoke softly, noticing the tears in Rukia's eyes, "Wh-" Another cough erupted from his mouth, cutting his sentence off. "What're ya crying for?"

"You're such an idiot, you know that?" Rukia watched as Ichigo smiled, blood beginning to bubble up in his throat and trickle from his slightly parted lips. The petite girl used her sleeve to wipe the blood from his face, gently cradling his bruised head. He looked up at her, his mouth forming words that were cut off by a pained groan. Rukia moved away, suspecting that her touching him was the reason he was in pain, but stopped when he grabbed hold of her sleeve, keeping her in place.

"N-No." He choked out, his eyes shut, "Stay with me. P-Please…I've got something to tell you."

Rukia stayed in place, continuing to run her fingers comfortingly through his hair. She bent down and kissed him again, letting her forehead gently press against his. "Ichigo, I…I'm sorry that I've never said that I love you."

"Y-You…you think I didn't know that? Th…That you love me?" Ichigo gave a small laugh, a grin betraying the intense waves of pain that shot through his body. "I knew by…by the way you looked at me…when I told you…that I loved you." His grin turned into a smile when he jokingly added, "And when you were watching me bathe in the lake the second day on our way here."

Rukia laughed, a tear falling down her face. Ichigo gave her a sympathetic look before reaching a bloodied hand up and cupping her face, using his thumb to wipe the tear off of her face. "C'mon, Rukia." He sighed, shutting his eyes, "I'm not worth crying over. Y-You should be happy. You won't have to put…up with me anymore."

"No, don't say that." Rukia pleaded, taking a hold of Ichigo's hand before reassuring, "You'll be fine."

Ichigo shook his head, his eyes shut and his mouth moving to form words, despite the fact that it hurt to simply talk. "I…I can't last much longer. You know that, and so do I. And…and I just want you to know-"

"Ichigo, please-" Rukia begged, holding his hand tighter.

"That from the moment I first saw you, there…there was something that I admired. Might've been the way you kicked me between the legs when we hadn't known each other for more than two minutes. But, j-just know…that meeting you….was the best thing that has happened to me. I don't regret…even a second…of time I spent with you." Ichigo groaned in pain before continuing, "And thank…thank you for being here. 'Cause seeing your face…before I die…now I know I can rest in peace."

"No, Ichigo." Rukia sobbed lightly, burying her face into the crook of his neck. "You're talking like you're going to die. Like I'm never going to see you again."

"I really don't want to die, Rukia." Ichigo's grin had vanished completely, being replaced by a sorrowful expression of knowledge that his death was quickly approaching. "I'm…I'm still trying to keep on living, but I only got so much fight in me, ya know?"

"You're going to be alright, Ichigo. You're going to be fine." Rukia murmured against his forehead, even though she really didn't believe the words herself. She watched several emotions flash across his bloodied face, most being pained and mournful, before he opened his amber eyes and looked back up at her. She leaned down and gently kissed him on the lips, tears freely falling from her eyes and onto the man's face. She was afraid to pull back, fearing that he'd slip away if she broke the contact with him. But when she felt him no longer kissing back, and his hand go limp in hers, she whimpered in a nearly inaudible voice, "Ichigo?"

Unohana walked up and placed her fingers on the side of his neck, checking for even the faintest sign of a pulse. After moments of searching, the woman shut her eyes and solemnly shook her head. "I'm sorry, Kuchiki-san."

"I-Ichigo?" Rukia repeated his name over and over, hoping for even the smallest reply, the slightest twitch of muscle or eyelid. She cupped his cold face, wiping the blood that had stained his skin off with her thumbs. His face had gone pale and cold, the familiar warmth that had once comforted her had become lost, being replaced by the chill of death. She sobbed openly, pressing her face into the bloodstained cloth on his chest, doubting that the bandages would be able to soak up all of her tears. Rukia put her ear against Ichigo's motionless chest, hoping for one last sign that he might be alive.

She heard no heartbeat.