OnigiriKami: Hey... been long since I updated... sorry I got extremely lazy, I had it almost finished already but I didn't get a chance to upload LOL sorry guys :[ I will be making the next chapter real soon :] so wait. This chapter is a bit short because I don't wanna spoil things too quick :P

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BLEACH

READ AND REVIEW PLEASE :]

Last Chapter

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW? YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Ichigo screamed at him. He didn't know the pain; he didn't know what it was like. This bastard didn't know what was like to love someone close to him.

He suddenly felt arms grabbing onto him, they were tucked under his pits and someone gave him a hard head lock, he turned his head around to see red hair. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"LET GO OF ME! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" Ichigo started thrashing in Renji's arms and kept wailing out loudly. He was going to kill this guy; he was going to kill someone who wasn't thankful for his mother, who was not thankful for his mother's love. A guy who was happy for his mother's death…

Cold water suddenly drenched Ichigo's face. Somehow, that cool liquid acted like a thing that calmed him down. He stopped struggling, and his wet locks hid his eyes, he was staring at the ground.

"Ahh, my life is finally perfect~" Ishida came walking into the living room; he looks at the figure lying on the couch. The smile on his face starts to disappear now as he saw the orange head. "Kurosaki… you're home early…"

Ichigo lay where he was with a pillow covering his face. He was wearing his uniform and Ishida could see that his shirt was soaked wet. Ichigo did not move or answer back at the bespectacled teen.

"Oi, can you hear—", Ishida was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. He shuffled through his back pocket of his jeans and found his phone. "Hello…? Who is this?" There was a few seconds of silence that passed by until Ishida took the phone off of his ear and held it over Ichigo's body. "Oi, someone is calling for you." He waited until Ichigo slowly picked up his body and gave a quizzical glance.

"Who?"

"I don't know, he just said to give it to you…"

Ichigo rolled his eyes a little, before snatching the phone off of Ishida's hand and placed it at his ear quickly. "Hello?" He said questioningly.

"Ichigo!"

...

That voice… That voice was so familiar to Ichigo. That deep tone of voice, that voice he hadn't heard in a long time… That voice that he never wanted to hear again, that worried, sad voice that belonged to the man that he had respect and disappointed.

Ichigo threw the phone to the ground strongly and broke in half.

"What the hell was that for?" Ishida yelled.

"Change your phone; don't let that person ever speak to me again." Ichigo commanded. He didn't want to hear that voice anymore; he had been avoiding that man for a long time, so long… so long that he couldn't remember his face…

"Well you didn't have to break my phone! I could've changed my number easily!" Ishida gave Ichigo a death glare. "Who was that man that you had to freak out like that?"

Ichigo gave him a quick glance, then turned around and lay down.

"HEY! Don't ignore me!"

"You know, they say that every sigh takes away your happiness?"

"Haahh…" Rukia sighed again. Renji had been looking at her curiously, all day after the incident in the restaurant; she had been acting like this. When they had gotten home, he saw that Rukia would look down and sigh at everything that came to her mind.

"Don't tell me… you're depressed over that orange delinquent?" Renji asked with a pointed finger and one eye squinted.

This comment had somehow snapped Rukia's attention awake when she heard about Renji talking about Ichigo, "What?"

Renji slapped his face in frustration, then shook his head, "Never mind, idiot."

"Ahh... I see." Renji gave jolt of surprise when Rukia accepted what he had just said.

"Oi… you're really out of it today…"

"Huh?"

"Never mind…" Renji said, and then he felt a strong vibration from his jacket that he was wearing. He brought it out and saw that he had gotten a text message. "Hey, watch the house while I'm gone. Ikkaku-san needs me for something…" 'Maybe a long, drunk lecture…' Renji thought, and then mentally sighed. He went to the front door and hunched down to grab his sneakers, put it on and tie it. "For food…" He finally tied the ribbon, "It's in the refrigerator, I'm not gonna be back for awhile cause of Ikkaku-san, so eat and," Renji glanced at the depressed petite girl, "cheer up, idiot!"

Rukia still laid her eyes on the carpeted floor and gave another sigh, which made Renji annoyed. He got up, opened the front door, and then slammed it hard. "Geez, that idiot, when I say to cheer up, she should reply with a 'thank you!'" Renji said, making his voice to imitate Rukia. "And then she should give me a smile to reassure me or something!" He said, grumbling and bickering some more. He stood where he was, and stared at the door that he just went out of. "Hmphf serves her right though, I told her to stay away from that guy…" He gave his shoulders a shrug and closed his eyes, "He is dangerous!"

Renji's face was suddenly hit by the front door, which sent his chin flying up in the air and causing him to fall backwards. He tried to regain his step but a piece of pebble just had to be in his way, so he tripped over it and fell on his tail bone. "AHHH!" He screamed in pain, the most worst part of your body to land on besides your head, was the tail bone. Renji rubbed his soar bone, which seemed like he was rubbing his behind, and gave a pained expression. He peered up to see that Rukia was the one who opened up the door. "You idiot! Why'd you have to open the door so hard?"

"Ah… sorry, Renji…" Rukia said, as if she had just realized what she had done. Renji could see that there was panic in her eyes first, but when she rested her eyes on him, her panicking eyes settled down to relieved ones. 'Was she gonna tell me something really important, that she had to panic?'

"What is it?"

"Renji…" Rukia whispered with a hint of awkwardness, "I… I have a favor to ask of you…" She finally said, then tried not to make eye contact. It was too weird for her to go to him, but she knew that he was the only one that could do it, considering how close he was to Ikkaku…

"Ehh? What is it?" Renji asked, now irritate by how Rukia was taking up his time. The more later he was, the more he was going to be lectured at by his senior. That bald man was very scary when he got mad; extremely scary that the thought of him getting pissed off made Renji's stomach whirl in pain.

"Well… that is…" She looked stubbornly at Renji, as if she couldn't believe she would be asking a favor from Renji. She was supposed to be independent, not this weakling that was asking for a help from one of the people that she admired. Also, he was the man that she owed to a lot… if it weren't for him, she would have ended up with the perverted pedophile…

"Hurry up!"

"I WANT YOU TO ASK IKKAKU FOR ICHIGO TO HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE!" Rukia burst out, getting frustrated at how Renji was beginning to get cranky. Her hands were clenched tight into balls and her eyes were shut. She was getting ready for screaming and nagging from Renji. Their relationship was almost seen as a mother and daughter… well except Renji wasn't a woman…

"And why should I do that for that bastard?" He snarled at the sound of his name. That guy had caused enough trouble for him.

"Renji… please…" Rukia said quietly now, as if her energy had gone away from the yelling. Her eyes drooped down and her eyebrows arched in a pained expression, "… please…"

"…" He could not believe that the person standing in front of him was actually Kuchiki Rukia. The strong, independent woman was disheveled to a begging little girl… all for that guy! It was a bit pathetic in his eyes… but… "Alright…" to make Rukia happy, he would go through any lengths.

"Thanks Renji—" Rukia was interrupted by Renji's fingers squeezing her cheeks and stretching them. "OWOWOWOWOW!"

"The only way you can repay me is if you cheer up!" Renji said and gave a final pinch at her cheeks. He let them go and saw that they were both bright red and a tear was coming from the corner of her eyes from the pain. "If all you can think of is him, then go do something to take your mind off of that guy." He then turned around to leave, "See ya." He waved his hand without turning.

"Hmphf!" Rukia pouted, and then started laughing to herself, "Acting all cool like that… doesn't fit him at all. Back then, he would be a loser and always looking at those dirty magazines." She gave another sigh, not a sigh of sadness, but a sigh that was like you were trapped in a very stinky locker and you felt refreshed by that clean air. A refreshed sigh.

"Maybe I should go there…" Rukia said her thoughts out loud. She then rubbed her cheeks a little, "Ahh that really hurt, I'm gonna kill Renji when he comes back!" 'Yeah… I shouldn't be depressed, live life to the fullest and keep moving forward… that's what I taught myself…' Rukia then gave a determined nod and straightened her posture more, she ran back into the house and brought a change of clothes, she was still in her uniform. She had pulled out a black vest that was attached together with a white collared shirt and some dark green cargo capri pants. She tied her hair up and wore a small manila side bag that had things that she needed in them. "Yosh! I'm ready." She slipped on some sandals.

'No use in staying home when all I think of is him…'

Rukia was now out of breath, she had been running the whole time, trying to make it in time at the town center. She was afraid if she was any later, she would miss the mysterious guitarist. She was betting that he would come at this time; it was the exact time that she had first met him. Rukia thought that since he came out back then, it would be his scheduled time to play at the town center.

She walked around in the middle, and saw the fountain in the middle spraying and exploding with water. There was glimmering of coins in the fountain and she smiled to see how many people made wishes on this one place. Rukia rummaged through her bag and pulled out a coin. She cupped it gently in her hands and closed her eyes lightly. She started whispering a little and after a few seconds, she opened her eyes and tossed it into the small pool of water in which she heard the plopping noise it had made which pleased her ears.

"Do you believe in miracles?"

Rukia whipped her head at the voice that had spoken behind her. She gave a surprised look at the man, then she started to blush a little. It was the guitarist… He was still in his same clothes, a hat on his head, and a hood draping his hat and the sides of his face. On the ground next to him was his guitar case. On his lap was his guitar sitting, and resting on his left arm. He sat on a very low circular wall that went around the fountain and which people used to sit on as a makeshift bench.

His face was still not visible, for his hat and hood covered his eyes and nose, only revealing his chin, which was extremely dirty. On the chin was a big smile plastered on it. "Do you believe in miracles?" He asked again.

"Miracles…" Rukia said, as if it was a new word and wanted to test out if it sounded right.

Miracles: that was such a beautiful yet strong word. Such a meaningful word that when heard, wanted to make you feel like you're worth something that made you happy. Something that made you feel meaningful and something that made you feel relieved. Yet, it was something that made you feel scared because miracles were a mystery.

"No."

She didn't believe in miracles. In her life, everything was only chance. Everything that had happened was always chance, it was either gain or lose something. Miracles? That word always made her laugh bitterly. After all she had been through… how could she believe in them?

"I see…" The man said, his tone of voice a bit disappointed, "Then why'd you throw that coin?"

"Well, only for fun!" Rukia said, and then she smiled to lift off the heavy feeling in the air. She didn't come here to be more depressed than how she was right now. "Is it alright… if you play a song for me right now?"

The homeless' smile slowly crawled back onto his face and he started to nod. He started strumming the strings of the chords that came out nicely into a song. The song that Rukia had heard, the song that had made Rukia smile so much too. Then she remembered what had happened back then. "Excuse me…" He stopped playing the song. "Back then… why did you kiss me?" Rukia yelled out.

"…" The man gave a smile again, then began to speak in a quiet voice, "Well, I don't know myself." His smile then began to increase. A vein started to pop on Rukia's forehead, that smile was so familiarly annoying… but she couldn't put it to which it belonged to…

"You… you seem familiar…" Rukia said, squinting her eyes in suspicion.

"Ehem…" He cleared his throat awkwardly. His tone of voice even sounded familiar.

…

"No…"

"What?"

"It can't be him…" Rukia went closer to the man that had always been covering most of his face. She saw that he froze, and then she ducked down, he still didn't move an inch. Rukia pushed away his hood a little and pulled over his cap an inch... '69' Then the man was pushed over to the other side of where he was. "IT IS YOU!"

"Ahh..." Hisagi groaned in pain, he rubbed the back of his head to feel a bump forming. The hat on him had slid up to expose his entire face and the hood fell off of him. "You caught me." He said, not mad at all about the bruising bump and smiled at Rukia. He could see that she was towering over him because he was still on the ground, and she gave him a long glare.

"What are you doing? Acting like a bum!" Rukia yelled at him. "You fraud! Are you trying to make fun of the people in poverty?"

"No, it was because it was fun-"

"You think it's funny?"

"No, that's not what I mean..." Hisagi said, he was getting a bit irritated by how she kept interrupting his explanations, "... it's fun... meeting kind hearted people..." He lowered his eyes and smiled. "Kind hearted people are pretty rare to find, coming from this era of new generations." Rukia started to blush, it meant that he thought she was kind hearted... which she didn't really think she was...

"H-How do you meet kind hearted people by dressing like a homeless?" Rukia asked, bewildered.

"Well, it was just for fun at first... I wanted to really escape my spoiled life sometimes and just play songs for random people!" Hisagi explained. "But as I kept playing, I met people that would give a crap about a bum... So basically, I met wonderful people!" Hisagi gave a smile. "But, when I met you... maybe it was weird, but I got interested in you, and out of nowhere I kissed you..." Hisagi said straight out and then started to laugh awkwardly. "Maybe it's love at first sight~"

'Ugg! That straight forwardness again...' Rukia groaned mentally, her cheeks were flushed red and it felt as if someone could grill something on them.

"You should try it."

"Hell no!"

"Suit yourself, but your missing out on life." Hisagi said, "Isn't it regretful to waste your life, when its full of things that you should look forward to?"

Wasting life, wasting time... Was that what Rukia was doing? Maybe... she didn't have any goals or motivation... She didn't know what she wanted to be when she grew up... This was a thing that haunted all teens her age: after school, after finishing all that tiring work from school... what'll happen next? Hisagi... made her think too much about her life. "I wouldn't know... because I've been living a life of regret..." Rukia whispered sadly when she came to a realization that she had nothing in her life that was enjoyable, nothing worthwhile... no miracles to wait for...

"Well," Hisagi said, "what if I make your life less regretful?"

"Hah!" Rukia started to cross her arms on her chest, "Such corny lines! No. Thank. You. I can live a less regretable life when I find the motivation to, I don't need your help." Rukia said, turning around to walk back home, "You just ruined my day again!" she stormed off, not wanting to look back, he had just made her more and more depressed and made her wonder things she didn't want to know, things she had been avoiding for a long time...

Her feet had gotten soar and under them blisters began to form. Each time she put pressure on them, it started to throb with burning pain. She limped a little as the pain started to increase, she was just a few more steps from her house. Before she could even take another step, she heard a long groan behind her, she whipped her head and saw a shadowy figure walking aimlessly to her direction. It was a man from the deep voice she heard of his singing. His voice sounded loopy and lazy, as if he was drunk...

Rukia stopped and went closer when she thought she saw the familiar looking bandanna wrapped around his head.

"Ohhh~~ My life is a draggggg~~" Came the terrible voice of Ganju. "Only if she stopped yelling at me~~ That old hagggg!" His eyes were a little droopy and he reeked of alcohol. He stared at the person in front of him and concentrated on her, for his mind was slowly processing things. "Oi, oi, oi... you're that bastard's girlfriend!" He said in a very drunk voice, his eyes still looking as if they were not awake. He went over to her and put his arm on her shoulder for support. "Where's he? I havta tell him somethin'!" Ganju started yelling angrily, "Cause of his orange hair... cause of that... I mistook him..."

"Oi!" Rukia panicked, Ganju had suddenly fallen asleep on her and now she was trying to keep him standing up. "Wake up!" She heard slight mumbles coming out of the bulky guy, "Ahh! Sucha crappy day today!" She turned her attention back to Ganju, "Oi, where's your house? I'll take you there!"

There was a silence, then Ganju started mumbling some address, it took Rukia a few tries to finally understand what he was saying. "Okay, I'm going to take you home, okay?" Rukia shouted as clearly as she could. She then began walking back from where she had just come from.

No way was she going to let him stay at her house.

"Huh?" The bald man in the stand said, his face full on disbelieve that his faithful coworker had even proposed this. Abarai Renji was facing him on his stool, he was starting to get nervous under the man's gaze. He knew already that this proposition would be rejected already, but he had asked anyway for his dear friend and his sister figure. "Say that one more time." Ikkaku said, still unwilling to believe what Renji had said.

"... How about... letting Kurosaki Ichigo have another chance...?" Renji said again hesitantly and forcefully gulped. "I know he did all that!" Renji said quickly as he saw the head employee breaking his chopsticks. "But, he's... a good guy..." Renji said with every word forced, "Well, at least that's what I heard..." He whispered the last bit.

"..." Ikkaku took a moment before he answered, "If these words are coming out of you, then I have no reason to suspect anything... Abarai, I've known you for quite a while now, and your honest... although you look like a punk." Ikkaku said, then sipped on his drink. "I'll give him another chance if he explains why he did all those things..."

Renji stared at Ikkaku with shock and respect. The man he had respected had acknowledged and respected him also! Of course anyone would be over joyed and happy that the person they admire would admire them back. He felt a certain pride for the man in front of him, his sharp tongue and strong faith in him was very admirable.

Renji gave a huge grin and bowed curtly, "Thank you, sir!"

"Oi, oi," Ikkaku sipped his drink again, "You're makin' me look like some kinda gang leader."

Rukia peered at the building before her, her eyes squinted at the extremely oddly shaped house. "What the..." She saw the two arms jutting out of the ground and holding up a red sign with black characters saying "Shiba Kuukaku".

"Oi! Are you a Shiba?" Rukia asked, shaking the drunk man that was half sleeping on her.

"I'm Shiba Ganju-sama! The greatest..." He drifted back to sleep.

Rukia gave a sigh, then heaved him up. She went to the weird house and knocked on the doors, which suddenly opened with two big men with traditional Chinese clothing. They stared at the petite girl before them with suspicion in their eyes and then a curious look after they saw that she was holding up a member of the Shiba clan. "I found him drunk near my place... I'm a friend..." Rukia said, trying not to get into any trouble.

The two men nodded their heads and made room for Rukia to pass through, they then entered and lead the way to a shoji*. They opened it and bowed their heads for Rukia to come in. She looked in to see a huge room with tatami* mats and in the middle was a woman. She had black tufts of hair coming out of her beanie and her jacket had one sleeve that was limply laid. She gave an intimidating look at Rukia.

"Who are you?"

"I'm just here to drop off this guy..." Rukia said awkwardly.

The woman stared at her some more before she finally said, "Follow me." Rukia did as what the lady said and followed her to another room. There was a futon already set up and Rukia pushed Ganju off of her, which made a loud slam. She straightened her back, which felt extremely refreshing. "I thought I was gonna die..." Rukia finally said.

"I'm Shiba Kuukaku." Kuukaku said after a long pause. She looked through her pocket to take out a cigarette, she placed it in her mouth without lighting it. "And this dumb ass right here, is my little brother." Kuukaku stared at her sibling and then shook her head in disapproval. "Pitiful..."

Rukia felt uncomfortable now. She looked around to get her mind off. She saw a small wooden wardrobe, the futon, and a wooden table. And there was a picture on top of the table. 'Nothing special.'

...

Wait.

Rukia jerked her head back to the picture frame, and she quickly moved towards it and snatched it. Her eyes were extremely wide, so wide that it looked as if her eyes might fall out. In that picture was that lady, Kuukaku, Ganju and...

"Kaien..."

'Ah, just when it couldn't get any worse...'

OnigiriKami: Dun Dun Dun! Cliffhanger :P sorryyyyyyyy... LOL so this chap was short...

*shoji: wooden sliding doors

*tatami: those old floor boards in traditional japanese houses

Might be busy for this summer, I'm gonna visit my relatives and start filming this project for Nameless Film Crew ahaha so I'll try updating real soon! Hisagi was the vagabond! OMG LOL

Next Chapter:

"Then... I'll make you believe in miracles!"

"How can you make me believe in them."

"Because... I lost all hope before, just like you."