"Don't you…want to go home?"

Chapter 11 ― Together

"So what are you going to do? You can't force her to stay here if she doesn't want to, you know. You can't make her do anything she doesn't want. What if she decides she wants to go back with me?"

Byakuya was set to kill. And if Kurosaki didn't stop the damn onslaught of questions well then…the noble man hoped his sister wouldn't hold him responsible for any actions he might be forced to take. The orange-haired man had been following Byakuya around the sixth division all day, trying to talk. And Byakuya, for the first time in ever, wished Ichigo would just go to Rukia and be with her. One would think Ichigo would want to be with Rukia, considering what had happened the night before. But no. The younger Soul Reaper had decided that following Byakuya around and annoying the hell out of him was a better course to take.

Damn the laws that prevented Byakuya from killing the orange-haired man.

"If Rukia decides she'd rather go home with you then stay here, then of course I can't deny her." Byakuya said as calmly as he could manage. "Now that she's in a more coherent state, I can't deny her what she wants. If she chooses she would rather return to the world of the living, then no one can stop her. Now, Kurosaki, if you would be so kind…get the hell off my division."

Ichigo, satisfied with Byakuya's answer, finally left. Byakuya sighed impatiently. He'd thought the man would never leave.

"There you are." Rukia looked around as Ichigo's voice reached her ears. She had been sitting outside her room, staring out the small pond the porch overlooked. Her mind was completely muddled. She was trying to sort out everything the last twenty-four hours had thrown at her. It wasn't working.

"Ichigo…"

The orange-haired man sat down next to Rukia. He wanted so badly to hold her…but the way she looked right now, he wasn't sure how she would handle it.

"What've you been up to?" She asked him after a minute. "I haven't seen you since this morning."

"I went to have a chat with your brother." He said simply, deciding not to throw in the fact that he had been stalking Byakuya since the two had left the house, aiming to drive him insane (and succeeding, if he did say so himself).

"I hope you didn't bother him too much." Rukia said, a chastising tone taking over her voice.

"Of course I didn't." He said airily. "Anyways, enough about me. What've you been up to all day? Been lonely?"

Renji, no longer having to play as a caretaker for Rukia, had finally been allowed to return to his post at the sixth division. Ichigo had a feeling he was a little disappointed by this. That small fact really pissed Ichigo off.

"Not too much." Rukia shrugged. "I actually like being alone better, right now. I needed some time alone, to think."

"I can imagine." Ichigo said in a low voice. To give his arms something to do, he crossed them over his chest.

"So tell me what's going on back home."

Ichigo smiled, noticing how she referred to the living world as home. "Oh, you know, same old…there's a few stories, but they're long―"

"You going anywhere?"

Ichigo scowled. "All right…good point. Uryu and Orihime got married."

"That's no surprise."

"They have a son. He's about a year younger than Kaien." Rukia, Ichigo noticed, winced at the name. He ignored it. "His name's Souken, you know, after Uryu's grandfather. Kid's got Uryu's brains, that's for sure. He's in the same grade as Kaien ― he skipped a grade. And he's still top of his class."

"That's Uryu's son all right."

"In a nutshell." Ichigo laughed. "Karin and Chad hooked up."

Rukia nearly fell off the porch. "Karin and Chad?" She repeated in disbelief. "Are we talking about the same people I know?"

Ichigo laughed shortly. "That was my first reaction too. I wasn't overly thrilled about it ― you know, stopping to consider the age difference and everything. But he makes her happy, so…" Ichigo shrugged. "I guess I can deal with it. Yuzu's still the responsible little nurse-maid, she's living on her own now but she still works at the clinic. Dad's trying to convince her to stop working so much and find a boyfriend, but…she won't hear it. You know how responsible she is."

Rukia laughed a little. Ichigo knew they were both avoiding the most important topic, and he knew she liked it that way. He kept going. "Tatsuki's still dutifully single as well. She had a boyfriend, but he bailed when he found out she was pregnant. Great guy. I offered to kick his ass for her, but she said if she wanted to do, she could do it just fine on her own. Her kid just turned eight. Girl named Emi."

"Tatsuki deserves better than that." Rukia said in a low voice. Ichigo nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. But her and Orihime are still each other's rocks, so she's dealt okay. And of course she's still got everyone else." Ichigo shrugged. "Let's see, who else…Keigo finally got a girlfriend."

"About time." Rukia said, remembering how the hyperactive boy had made a habit of hitting on her whenever he got the chance. Ichigo laughed at that.

"You aren't kidding. We were all happy, and I guess they're really serious. So it's all okay for him."

It wasn't so okay for Ichigo. He'd run out of people to tell her about. Luckily, she made the next topic easy to touch on.

"And…Kaien?"

Ichigo sighed. "He's…great. More than great, really. He's amazing. He asks a lot of questions, of course, any kid his age would. And they're always about you. And somehow, even with everything I ― and everyone else for that matter ― told him, he still believed you were alive. I wish I'd had his optimism. I would have come for you a lot sooner."

The bitter note in his voice was too much for Rukia to ignore. "Ichigo―"

"I just can't believe they'd do that. I can't believe they would just hide this from me ― I don't know what's stopping me from going and hacking everyone to bits."

"I am." Rukia said firmly, resting her hand on his clenched fist. "No hacking everyone to bits."

"Not even a little?" Ichigo asked, sounding a little disappointed.

"No. Not even a little." Rukia said, smiling despite himself. Ichigo look very let down by this.

"All right, all right, I won't hack anyone. What about slice and dice, can I do that?" Rukia wasted no time in slapping Ichigo as hard as she could over the head.

"No bodily harm of any kind. Understand?"

"Well, you're certainly no less merciful then you used to be." Ichigo grumbled, rubbing his head. "All right, all right, no bodily harm of any kind, I promise. Can I at least hold a grudge?"

"If you must." Rukia sighed, pretending to sound annoyed. "Hold a grudge until your hair turns gray ― and trust me, we're counting down the days."

"Very funny."

Ichigo was enjoying this. This was okay, this was normal. This was what he was used to. This nitpicky, insulting conversation-like discussion they always had. This wasn't touching upon uncomfortable topics that made both of them want to run for the hill. It felt so nice.

His only wish was that it could last.

"Come on." Rukia jumped up suddenly, surprising Ichigo. Where had the burst of energy come from. "Let's go."

She grabbed his hand and dragged him up. "Go…where?"

"Thirteenth division. Last time I was there I didn't make a good impression. I need to make up for it."

"O…kay…"

And he allowed himself to be hauled to the thirteenth division. Kiyone, who was standing outside the entrance, looked up in surprise. Her face split into a grin.

"Rukia!" She sprang forward, wrapping the raven-haired woman in a tight hug. "I heard about…oh I'm so happy you finally remember!"

"­W-What?" Rukia stuttered out. "Who told you?"

"Isane!"

"Who told her?"

"Lieutenant Matsumoto."

"Who told her?"

"Lieutenant Hinamori."

"Who told―"

"Lieutenant Kira, who was told by Lieutenant Abarai." Sentarou had just come outside as well. "Kiyone stop suffocating her."

Rukia quickly traced the line back. Isane, Rangiku, Momo, Izuru, Renji. Rukia made a mental note to kill the last one.

"Big-mouth."

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing."

The visit to the thirteenth division was a great idea, if Rukia did say so herself. It didn't take long for Kiyone's excitement spread quicker than wild fire, and before long even people who didn't know Rukia were happy to see her. Ichigo was pleased to see the smile that crossed Rukia's face as she chatter casually with Kiyone, Sentarou, and even her captain, who had been overjoyed to find out one of his best subordinates was back to herself ― more or less. Ichigo stood off to the side, watching the members of Squad Thirteen and their reunion, happier then he could ever remember being.

"I didn't know you were so popular." Ichigo said with a laugh as they left the division almost three hours later. The sun was setting now.

"There are many layers to me you'll never understand." Rukia said, a hint of her old confidence back in place. Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Please." Ichigo scoffed. "I've never met anyone more obvious than you in my entire life."

"You just think you know me, Ichigo."

The banter was light, playful, normal for the two of them. They were once again avoiding topics they knew needed to be discussed, but they didn't want to. Neither of them were ready for it.

"I don't think she's ready for that Ichigo. Give her time why don't you?"

"She's had five years. How much more time does she need?"

"Would you stop throwing that in my face? Anyways, have you even stopped to consider what she wants?"

"Why wouldn't she want to go home?"

Rukia felt an odd sense of déjà vu come over her as stopped short of a corner. Ichigo's and Renji's voices were drifting towards her. Why were they always talking about her?

"It's just common sense Renji. Use your head."

"Use your head ya carrot-topped freak." Renji shot back. "Everyone in the living world thinks she's dead for God's sake. Who would want to go back and deal with that? Honestly, I'd want to stay."

"That's 'cause you're a coward. Rukia's not like that. She'll go back and face her demons."

He had so much confidence in her. Too much. Rukia couldn't deal with it. She turned and took off in the direction she had come from, not wanting Renji and Ichigo to find her spying.

"That's 'cause you're a coward. Rukia's not like that."

But wasn't she? She wasn't sure she could bring herself to go back to the living world, to face everyone, to explain where she had been, why she was still alive, why she hadn't come home and why she had caused everyone so much pain. She didn't want to have to deal with it. She couldn't tell Ichigo that though. She couldn't stay behind.

Not again.

And yet…she couldn't go home.

I am like that, she thought as she closed the door to her room and slid down against it, burying her face in her knees. I'm just a coward.

"Been hiding in here all day, huh?"

Rukia looked up from the window she had been staring out. Despite the fact her eyes had been locked on the sky, she hadn't realized the sun was setting.

"So what's so interesting about the sky?" Ichigo asked, sitting next to Rukia on the floor. He was smiling. She couldn't bring herself to return it. "All right…you look like someone just ran over your cat. What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She looked back out the window. Ichigo could tell she was lying, but disregarded it for the moment.

"So…if you're up for it, the idiots decided to open up the gate to the living world tomorrow. If you want to wait though…"

Rukia sighed. What could she say?

"Ichigo…about that…"

"What?"

"It's just that…I don't―"

"Don't you want to go home?"

His voice was cautious, but Rukia heard the hurt buried deep inside it.

"More than anything." She whispered, her voice cracking. "But how can I? How can I go back now? It's been so long…how can I go back?"

Ichigo watched her for a minute, then stepped forward and wrapped his large arms around her small body.

"You know you're wanted." He whispered into her ear. "Never think that you're not. You can go home whenever you want. We'll take it easy. One step at a time. And when you're ready…we can go home together."

Rukia shivered, despite the fact it was quite warm, and reached up, her hand gripping his robes.

"Together."

Author's Note - So...next chapter...epilogue...review please - Sam