Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Chapter 14

After the fated kiss, the couple stepped back from one another. Their glazes revealed mild shock, but neither one regretted their actions.

"So…" Rukia began as she searched for words.

"Yeah, that just happened, butterfly, and I don't think there is any going back from there." Ichigo told her as the grip around her waist tightened.

A smile graced Rukia's lips. "I wouldn't want it to, Ichigo, because I think that kiss was a long overdue." She said with a laugh.

The carrot top starred at her in astonishment for a minute as he thought about those words. He knew he felt that way about her, but he didn't realize that she was feeling the same thing. Yet in the back of his mind, Dracul was laughing like an evil genius. He realized that one of them needed to take the next step, but both of idiots were avoiding the elephant in the room for far too long. His little interference was what they needed to give them a push in the right direction.

"So where do we go from here, butterfly?" He asked with confidence. He knew where he wanted this to go, but he wasn't sure if Rukia was ready for it.

Rukia laughed heartily, and Ichigo just looked at her like he was plum confused. "I think everything will stay the same, strawberry, well except for some perks, like kissing.

Agreeing whole heartedly with her, Ichigo pulled Rukia closer. "So, I guess we can start right now." He said slyly.

Just as he lowered his head to capture Rukia's lips, her stomach let out a loud grumble. A blush crossed Rukia's cheeks, but Ichigo just laughed. "I guess that's a no then." He said.

Wiggling out of Ichigo's arms, Rukia said, "I'm sorry, Ichigo, but I am human. We have to eat." She told him with a smile on her lips. "But we can continue this later." She promised, and Ichigo was going to hold her to it.

Under the bright, starry night on the roof of the castle, Rukia forcefully pulled Ichigo closer to her. His smell was intoxicating.

"Butterfly, this is dangerous." He warned her. Rukia's unique scent was driving him crazy; yet, he withheld his urges to claim her as his mate.

"Ichigo, I wouldn't be here if I didn't think it was safe." She told the lust induced vampire with a smile.

"You know he's been harder to control lately. What if Dracul takes over again and turns you? How would you handle that?" The carrot top asked, eager to hear her answer.

"Then, I would gladly accept it if it meant spending eternity with you, strawberry, so stop worrying." Rukia scolded him.

Rukia wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. The moment their lips touched, sparks flew all around them. Heat flowed over both of their bodies as their hands roamed over one another.

Everything around them seemed to stop until a loud shout interrupted the couple. "Kurosaki! Leave her alone! This was not part of our agreement!"

Rukia turned to see a familiar white-haired male, but she couldn't place he.

"I told you she was mine from the beginning! All I promised was to protect her, and that's exactly what I have been doing ever since that day, Toshiro." Ichigo growled at the man standing before them now.

How did he get so close in a blink of an eye? Is he a vampire as well?

"Rukia, do something! Are you going to let our parents' death be in vain?" Toshiro yelled at the petite woman in front of him; yet, she just looked as confused as the last time he confronted her. He took a step towards Rukia, reaching out towards her, but Ichigo pushed Rukia behind him. The orange haired vampire was not giving his little mate up to anyone.

"Leave us alone, Toshiro. You are not welcomed here anymore." Ichigo growled.

"I would ask Rukia what she wants, Kurosaki. After all we share the same parents." Toshiro responded.

"Parents?" A dazed Rukia stuttered as she tried to recall anyone other than Byakuya being her father, but she couldn't. "You have the wrong person. I've never knew my real family. The only thing I know about them is that they left me in Byakuya and Hisana Kuchiki's care, but she died before I even knew her."

"Our parents died for us! You have to remember them! You need your powers to stop what's coming." Toshiro pleaded with the petite female, who was peeking around Ichigo. She just wanted to shove Ichigo out of the way so she could take to this Toshiro person more, but Ichigo kept blocking her path.

Suddenly, a pounding in Rukia's head burst with great pressure as a white mist gathered around her, blocking her from the vision of the two men. "Please, just leave us alone!" Rukia commanded towards the direction that she thought Toshiro was in.

When Rukia opened her eyes, she was in a field of white snow. No one else was around her.

"Remember who you are…" A female voice whispered in her ear.

Rukia whirled around to see if anyone was there, but nothing greeted her but air. "I don't know who you are, but I do know who I am. I am Rukia Kuchiki. Daughter of Byakuya Kuchiki." The petite woman told the voice as the area around her begin to freeze solid. It seemed the voice didn't like Rukia's answer.

"But you are so much more, darling Rukia. Why settle for being ordinary?" It asked her.

"You're right. I am more than just Rukia Kuchiki. I am also the companion to The Dark Lord Dracul so I suggest you quit messing with my head demon and leave my dreams. Dracul doesn't tolerate insolence well." Rukia growled as she searched around for her attacker, but all she found was a frozen waste land.

"I would be impress if you could do that feat. How can you kill something that's already dead, my dear?" The voice whispered to the petite woman.

"There's always a way to kill one of you." Rukia replied. She didn't believe the voice for one minute. The demon would not win.

"Do you even know who or what I am? If not, how are you supposed to kill me?" It asked Rukia in a smug voice.

"I'll go through every known scenario to kill you, and if that fails, then I will think of something else!" Rukia promised.

"You understand so little, young one, but that was expected. I had hoped your time with Dracul would make this easier."

"Why can't you just leave me alone!"

"Because I am always with you. I am in your blood, darling. We are one in the same, so let this hostility between us vanish!" The voice told Rukia. The petite woman felt like someone placed hands on her shoulders, but she couldn't see them.

Instantly, Rukia shrugged away growling, "We are not the same!" The petite woman couldn't understand what this voice meant, but she knew that she didn't like its implication.

Silence greeted Rukia for a moment before she heard, "Fine. I'll let Toshiro deal with you for now, but you have to realize who you are sooner or later." The voice promised her before she was sent into a whirling vortex of snow.

Rukia woke up in a sweat. She glanced over at her side to see Ichigo starring at her intently. "Are you okay? I heard you yelling in your sleep?"

Tears pooled in violet eyes. "I don't know, Ichigo. Everything seemed so real." Rukia whispered as Ichigo sat on the bed and pulled the petite woman to him.

"When you are ready to talk about it, I am here for you." The vampire told his captive, who snuggled up closer to him.

"Ichigo, have you ever felt like you were meant for something more. Rather someone telling you in your dreams that you are more than you appear?" Rukia asked quietly.

"Can you tell me about who's saying these things to you in your dreams?" He asked her gently.

"A white-haired man called Toshiro and some voice in a field of snow." Ichigo knew immediately who Rukia was talking about. "The man said that he was my brother, but the voice said that I was the same as her."

"Did the voice tell you anything else?" He asked curiously. This was a new development in Rukia's closely monitored case. Ichigo wondered if this could be Shirayuki trying to contact her daughter or some from of her power trying to get her to acknowledge it.

"Not really. I spent most of the dream arguing with her, but the man said that I had powers… Ichigo, do you think I'm crazy?" Rukia asked quietly.

"No, butterfly. I think there are things that will be explained in time." He told her carefully. If Toshiro was making an appearance in Rukia's dreams now, then that meant the man wasn't too far behind. Maybe he found out what he wanted to, or maybe he was going to try to claim Rukia.

'That'll happen over our dead body.' Dracul responded.

'I agree. She isn't going anywhere.' Ichigo replied.

Rukia squeezed him tighter as if she knew what the duo was thinking. "Ichigo, could this be the man you warned me about? Maybe I do need to go stay with Rangiku if he can get in my mind… what if he made me hurt you?"

"Don't worry butterfly, mind control isn't the Jailer's gift. I just think this is more about your past than mine. All those memories that you can't recall are going to come back soon, and I think that's partly my fault." Ichigo told her in a whisper.

"Then I'll stay here with you. That's all that matters. You'll be here to help me get through the darkness. You could have a chance to be my light." Rukia told him as she tilted up her head for a kiss.

The vampire responded whole heartily with passion, but what drove him this time was the fact that he never was anyone's light before. To be a light in the massive wave of darkness surrounding him and the castle hid any light; yet, the petite woman in his arms saw it. She was truly amazing.

Rukia spent the next few her days wondering around the castle in a daze. Ichigo followed her sometimes while others he created a dog to keep her company. He couldn't understand why Rukia was acting like this, but he had a clue. When Ichigo wasn't busy addressing anything that the Jailer did.

Ichigo looked through his creations eyes to see Rukia headed towards one of the hidden rooms. She seemed to be walking mindlessly, especially after she ran into a candelabra on the walls and the woman didn't flinch.

He whooshed to Rukia's side instantly stopping three feet in front of her, but she just walked into him never once looking up.

"Rukia…" The carrot top called out, yet she ignored him. Once again, he tried "Butterfly?" The raven-haired woman still ignored him. Sensing that this could get bad, he sent the summoned dog to fetch Uryuu while he transported them to Rukia's room.

Taking a leap of faith, Ichigo placed his hands over Rukia's eyes and forced her into a light sleep, which seemed to stop her moving about. Ichigo remained by Rukia's side until Uryuu appeared before him.

"What's wrong, Dracul?"

"I honestly don't know, Uryuu. It seems that Toshiro is messing with Rukia's mind or her inner power is trying to unlock itself. These are the only two things that I can piece together."

"Are you sure?" Uryuu asked worriedly. There wasn't much for the alp to do if Rukia's powers were the case.

"No, but Rukia had a disturbing dream that featured her brother and an inner voice telling her that she and the voice are one in the same, so what the hell am I supposed to think? Why would the god of winter come after his sister when she doesn't even know or want her power? She is happy here with me!" Ichigo roared.

Curiously, Uryuu asked, "Is that you or Rukia talking, sir?"

"Both of us, Uyruu. We made tremendous progress in our relationship. We've been close enough that I was going to ask her to be my mate!"

"Could it be the Jailer?"

"He doesn't even know what Rukia looks like! I have been placed automatic glamour on her if she goes outside without me. I was even getting Mayrui to make her a sword."

"Did the mad wizard come see her then? You know how he likes to hide and watch how his experiments plays out." Uryuu suggested, but Ichigo shook his head.

"No. Nemu was with us at the time, and Rukia was with Grimmjow. She doesn't even know either one of them were here because I made she that she was busy with the way that she's been acting. I couldn't stand if it was some other force trying to take her away from me."

"Then I guess we eliminated all the suspects, the only answer is the most probable which would be Toshiro, or even Rukia herself. You did say her powers activated even more over the last few fights between you and Grimmjow."

"But they have been dormant lately, so I wasn't overly concerned." Ichigo replied.

Uryuu scratched his head then sighed. "My lord, you have to tell Rukia about her history then. This simple solution may clear everything up. Toshiro and her inner powers may be satisfied with Rukia knowing the truth, and she can do as she pleases."

"Instead of that, how about you just slip something in her dreams that keep her from wondering around." Ichigo told Uryuu who shook his head grimly.

"I can, but I am not sure that it would work as well as you hope. If it is her powers awakening, then you will have to have a talk with her and try to contact Toshiro. He may be the only one who can help her. He's the only one who understands the shift of power between being human and the gods' powers."

Dracul swiped books and a vase off of Rukia's table, but the items just righted themselves instantly.

"Why does everything have to be so complicated?" He asked his friend.

"Because you fell in love with a goddess who doesn't know she's a goddess."

Thank you for reading, reviewing, following, and favoritng!

Bleach Power: Thank you for all your reviews, dear! I hope you had a wonderful New Year. Yes! You will be seeing more people shortly as these chapters pick up.

Thank you for reading, reviewing, following, and favoritng!

Bleach Power: Thank you for all your reviews, dear! I hope you had a wonderful New Year. Yes! You will be seeing more people shortly as these chapters pick up.