Golden amber eyes studied the man in front of her, he was tall, broad shouldered and very pale, with white spiky hair and golden eyes that glinted every time he gave a maniacal smile, which was all the time. The most astonishing fact about him was the fact that he was remarkably similar to Ichigo, if Ichigo ever became crazy that is.

"Your name?" she asked with a clipped end as he smirked at her "Not important, hollow will do"

She narrowed her eyes "Hollow? Well whatever, I don't give a damn who you are, just tell me if you can do the job"

He leaned forward and said "Bringing Rukia Kurosaki to you? Piece of cake"

"It's Rukia Kuchiki!" she hissed and popped a vein when he arrogantly cocked an eyebrow "No, It's Rukia Kurosaki" he emphasized making her even more pissed.

"Enough! I just want that bitch!" she snapped aggressively.

"Easy there babe, I will get her, have my men tail her now and get her when she's alone" he said glancing down at the photograph in his hand, that had the said girl in it "But- I need the-"

"I know! I have the money!"

"Ok then, that does it all" he replied grinning and turning to go, he paused halfway "One more thing, Do you need her the way she is or...?"

"I just want her alive, you can do anything to her for all I care"

His face split into a menacing grin and he ran a finger down the photo, with a disgusting leer "Excellent, bet she's as tight as she looks...must be a sucker too..."

"Why don't you find out and tell me?" she said, with a bittersweet smile on her face that suddenly turned cold "Break her"

"With pleasure"

-x-

Ichigo watched with a raised eyebrow and amusement, his wife humming a happy tune as she whisked eggs in a large bowl held firmly in her small hands. She wore her apron snug around her, with her hair bundled up, revealing her slender creamy neck, amber eyes feasting upon it.

He tore his gaze away from it and asked "What are you so happy about?"

She jumped in surprise and turned, ceasing her whisking and staring at him with wide violet apprehensive eyes "Why are you sneaking around?"

Ichigo scoffed "I am not sneaking around my own house, if you weren't having opera in here, you would've heard me"

She rolled her eyes and turned back to the eggs "I was not having an opera in here"

"Whatever floats your boat midget" he said making his way to her side, pulling open a cabinet and taking out the cutlery for breakfast. He placed them on the table "Why are you so happy anyways?"

She just shook her head but continued smiling as she poured the eggs onto the pan "No reason"

He looked at her stirring, uncharacteristic happiness on her face. He headed for the open window to close it but stopped when he heard a yell from behind.

"What?" he asked in exasperated confusion as Rukia came skittering towards him and popped herself in front of him and the window "Don't you dare close the window!"

"Why?" he asked and she grabbed his arm and pulled him next to her, both of them facing the open window "Because you fool, its September"

He gave her a blank look and she rolled her eyes but continued nonetheless "It's fall"

Ah, that explains it.

"So that means winter is coming soon!" she exclaimed. She reached out a hand in the air and closed her eyes "I love this weather, so crisp, so pleasant, so warm...so beautiful"

Ichigo had his eyes glued to her "Yeah" he agreed softly and watched her open her eyes to look at him "So beautiful"

He didn't know how long they stood there staring at each other, lost, inching closer to each other, her lids dropping, his lips parting-until the smell of something burning broke the spell. Rukia quickly hurried to the stove and turned off the flame and Ichigo surveyed the eggs "They're burnt"

"No, they aren't" she said poking her spatula at it "They just became slightly darker"

"Slightly?" he asked surveying the dark brown food "I don't think so"

"Oh shut up" she said and they both fell into the familiar territory of bickering, content.

-x-

From: Ichigo Kurosaki

You thieving fiend! How dare you take my phone?!

Ichigo slid out Rukia's buzzing phone discreetly, holding it in front of his open laptop and looked at the message from Ichigo Kurosaki, he smirked at the message and sent a reply

From: Rukia Kuchiki

I should ask you that midget.

He probably shouldn't have done that, since Rukia was most likely, typing hard and trying to damage his phone right now.

From: Ichigo Kurosaki

Don't call me midget, you strawberry!

Ichigo smirked to himself and typed in his reply, After breakfast that morning they both had taken each other's phone without realizing it and had discovered it when their respective classes had begun.

From: Rukia Kuchiki

Whatever midget, I have to go, unlike you, I do pay attention in class.

He glanced at his professor and looked down when he felt his phone vibrate.

From: Ichigo Kurosaki

Oh? Then how come you replied instantaneously when I first texted?

Ichigo could actually picture her all smug.

From: Rukia Kuchiki

Well, your messages were like your shortness, demanding attention.

He knew from the silence of the phone that followed that she was mad, he would apologize to her after class, so he didn't let it worry him.

After Class, he headed for Rukia but stopped when he heard her phone ringing. Dr. Shirayuki it said.

He turned into a less populated corridor and answered the phone, his curiosity getting the best of him "Hello?"

There was a pause on the other end then "...Is this Rukia Kuchiki's phone?"

"Yes" said Ichigo frowning at the crisp and clear voice of the woman "Who is this?" he asked not bothering to sound polite.

"Ah, you must be Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia's so-called husband, right?"

"How did yo-?"

"I am Rukia's Psychiatrist, Dr. Shirayuki"

Ichigo was taken aback "Why does she have a psychiatrist?!"

There was another pause "Perhaps I could talk to you, not over the phone..."

Ichigo was seriously confused and he decided to find out more about this "Fine"

He hung up after she told him she was in Tokyo and they could talk through a video call, his mind was racing with questions when he found Rukia but he held it in.

"How dare you talk to m-! Ichigo...Are you alright?" asked Rukia seeing him deep in though fumbling with his phone.

"Huh? Uh yeah, I am fine" he said without looking at her "Sorry, but I have to go now"

He left her confused as he made his way home, deciding on skipping his last class. He made sure that Rukia wasn't coming home anytime soon.

After reaching home, he set up his laptop connection and waited. The call connected to the number she had given in and a woman appeared on the screen. She had pale skin and white hair pulled back in a bun and was dressed in a white suit.

"Ichigo Kurosaki" she said scrutinizing him with cool blue eyes "Is Rukia there?"

"Of course not" he said leaning towards the laptop "Start talking"

"About why Rukia has a psychiatrist? I think she should tell you that"

Ichigo scowled and glared at her "I want to know beforehand"

"I have the duty of maintaining the privacy of my patient"

"I am her husband!" exploded Ichigo "her friend! I care about her! And just want to know what happened when she left" he mumbled the last part.

There was a moment of silence and she finally spoke "Rukia became my patient ten days after she turned seventeen, her father searched for the top psychiatrists and had contacted me, he told me his daughter had been mute for six months and had stopped eating completely, after she had been admitted in the hospital he contacted me. I went to see her and saw that she looked nothing like the photo of her I had seen, she was half her earlier weight, was pale and her face held no emotion"

Ichigo stiffened, his heart clenched as his brain replaced a picture of a smiling Rukia, he had seen minutes ago with the person the doctor was describing.

"I started talking to her every day from then on, she had stopped going to school then and her one close friend, Renji was away on something important and couldn't be reached"

"Renji doesn't know about this?" he croaked and she shook her head and continued.

"Rukia started responding to my talks two months later when I talked to her about her childhood in Karakura, I focused on this and she started opening up to me" she paused and looked at me.

"What?"

"I guess I have to thank you for that" she said and Ichigo averted his eyes "all of her stories had you in them"

"She didn't have many friends at her school but I managed to find some things about her state and then I finally got her to speaking about it. I am sure you know Rukia's crazy about art" Ichigo nodded "Well, there was this famous painter who had come to her school once, his name was Kaien Shiba and Rukia was in love with his work. She somehow managed to ask him to tutor her and he agreed when he saw her potential. She respected him and they became very close and he even introduced her to his fiancé, Miyako"

She shifted in her chair and continued "But Miyako was not a good person, and Rukia found that out the hard way. There had been this masterpiece Kaien had been working on and he had disclosed it only to Rukia and Miyako, it would sell for millions that was sure and had a unique art style. Miyako wanted the money out of it and thus framed Rukia to look like she had stolen it, Kaien found out and believed her and insulted Rukia in front of a huge gathering at an art event. Rukia tried denying but he didn't believe her"

Ichigo clenched his hand and imagined strangling that asshole. That bastard.

"When the truth finally came out by a witness, Kaien had gone after Rukia who had left the event. It had been raining heavily that day and Rukia had wandered aimlessly until she had no idea where she was, she then encountered a group of men in the alley she was in and was in so much shock that she didn't even realize what was going to happen. Kaien had come in then and tried saving her but one of the men reacted and pulled the trigger on him. By the time help came, it was too late for him"

Ichigo processed all this, anger, sadness, horror, running amok through him. Rukia had to go through all this? She didn't deserve for any of this to happen.

"Rukia blames herself for everything" she stated "Any death of a person close to her kills her, she thinks her presence in someone's life is bad for them"

Ichigo remembered her after her second nightmare where she called herself a murderer, he nodded and watched her speak.

"It's post-traumatic stress, she also suffers from nightmares, sometimes they are mild, sometimes they are extreme. She told me her nightmares had increased a lot in the past week and that's why I had called her"

Ichigo opened his mouth but she cut him off with a smile and explained "That is not bad actually, it means that she is going to be perfectly fine soon, as long as nothing bad happens"

"You sure?"

"Yes"

Ichigo let out a breath of relief and she continued "I just want you to be with her until she's fine"

Ichigo nodded "Thanks doc...for telling me all this"

She just nodded and the call ended. He plopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling, his mind filled with all their moments together. In her house, In his house, the garden, the school, that was the past filled with her and now she still existed in his present, their moments filled in their house now.

He heard his door open and was sure it was her but he made no move to get up.

"Ichigo?" came her voice "Are you Ok?"

Her face appeared above him, concerned at his behavior, he wanted to laugh, she was worried about him when she had so much to worry about herself.

"Ichigo!" she exclaimed when he stared at her quietly. He found her wrist and in one tug pulled her down, on top of him. She landed with a squeal and stared at him as he wrapped his arms around her waist "Rukia..."

"What?" she asked softly, her hands resting on his chest. "Our house...What will happen to it?" after it's all over he continued in his head.

Something flashed across her eyes "I don't know..." She traced his lips with her fingers, moving them over his cheeks, his nose and his closed eyes "I don't know..."

He didn't want to see an end, every cell in his body rejected it. He wanted to be with her, always.

"I have to tell you something"

She looked at him silently as he turned them over, with him on top. He looked her straight in the eye "I-"

A blast of shrill ringing broke through the mood and Rukia's eyes widened as she gasped "Dad!"

She pushed him off of her and bolted off the bed, fumbling for her phone inside her pocket, "Dad" she stated as a greeting and shot Ichigo a look when he rolled his eyes, she turned around and left the room to talk to him and Ichigo punched his pillow with annoyance, cursing Byakuya.

-x-

Two weeks had gone by since Ichigo had talked to Shirayuki and two weeks since he had tried telling her how he felt about her. He had tried numerous times since then but something always got in the way.

He kicked the stand of his bike and waited on it for Rukia, who he had to drop off at the orphanage. He had to hurry since he had a class late today because of a guest lecturer who couldn't stay till morning. He glanced at the sky and the uncharacteristic thick clouds for this season, it looked like it was going to rain. He heard a slight rustling and his neck snapped and turned to look at the shadow he just saw behind the tree in front of his house but found nothing there, he let it go and turned his attention back to the opening door.

Rukia emerged from it, dressed in her jeans and a jacket. She slid behind him without a word and he started the engine. After reaching there, he watched her get down and told her "Remember to c-"

"-all Renji and tell him to pick me up and to not even think about coming alone" she said smiling at him "I know Ichigo. You told this to me a hundred times since morning"

Ichigo shifted his weight and grumbled "Do you have to go today?"

"Ichigo, enough" she stated "I'll be perfectly fine without you picking me up in this 'deserted wasteland'" she said using his words to describe the place.

He shifted with discomfort and glanced up at the sky again, Rukia followed his gaze and her eyes went blank "I will be fine Ichigo" she said and turned around and walked away from him. He watched her go and he regretted acknowledging the weather. Didn't Kaien die when it was raining?

-x-

"Are you ok Rukia?" asked Kon and Rukia turned her gaze on him and forced a smile on her face "Yeah, I am fine"

"You seem...distracted" he stated, swinging his legs on front of him as he looked at her with worried childish eyes.

She laughed, the sound of which even she didn't believe "It's nothing, don't worry about it. Now are you done?"

Rukia was teaching him the basics of drawing, he begged her to teach him and she relented. He turned back his attention on the paper in front of him, nodding lightly.

Rukia sighed, and looked at the window again, the clouds were going to start pouring any minute. Ichigo's voice sounded in her head. She felt uneasy because of the weather and had wanted to stay at home but her promise to Kon to teach him brought her out.

She was going to leave in half an hour anyway, so she might as well as call Renji. She pulled out her phone and frowned when she saw no signal reaching her phone. She then asked for the orphanage's phone but was told that all lines were down.

She went back to Kon and was sure the line would be back up soon. When she left Kon volunteered to drop her off at the front door but she just laughed and told him to stay inside.

She tried calling Renji again but found no connection this time, Mr. Sasakibe informed her of a telephone booth a block from here that usually had connection. She had thanked him and hurried down, the chill in the air causing goosebumps against her skin. She quickly walked and found the booth but again there was no connection. Why the heck did her house have to be so far?!

Deciding to head back to the orphanage, she went out but the deserted roads and the weather had her reeling back to that day.

She froze when a clap of thunder boomed and a drop of water hit her hand and following it was the pitter patter of a million water drops hitting the earth underneath her.

Why did it have to rain now? Why did the orphanage have to be in the middle of nowhere? Why was she stupid to come here alone? Why did she feel so helpless in the damn rain? Why couldn't she even move now?

The rational part of her brain would have told her it was because of her PTS and to run back to the orphanage but her brain had shut down and she felt nothing but the cold water hitting her drenched body.

She heard a splash and laughter in front of her through the water's haze she made out a figure approaching and her heart clenched painfully with relief when she saw Ichigo's spiky hair come into view, but panic filled her when she saw the maniacal grin on the man's face.

Oh god.

-x-

Ichigo had a bad feeling.

He glanced at his watch, which read 11:30 PM. He fidgeted in his chair and felt horribly restless even though his surroundings were peaceful, with just the Professor talking while someone occasionally asked a question.

Who in the right mind would keep a lecture this hour? He cursed himself for coming and the thought of skipping it like Grimmjow crossed his mind.

Ichigo couldn't concentrate at all and glanced at the time again, he then glanced at the window his eyes staring at the thick clouds that were threatening to burst with rain.

Maybe it was just the weather making him uneasy.

He hated the rain, despised it. He had lost his mother and Hisana because of a heavy downpour and it made him want to scream every time. Nothing ever good happened to him when it rained.

His mind turned his attention on Rukia, who should be home by now. He slid his phone out and stared at its dark screen. He needed to call her, needed to hear her voice, he wanted to rest easy from this foreboding feeling and only she could make that happen.

Rukia had always teased him that he had the instincts of a mother hen, or any mother animal for the matter because when he had a bad feeling, he was always right.

After another restless fifteen minutes, he snapped when he couldn't take it anymore and quickly left the hall, switching his phone back on and hitting his speed dial as he made his way out.

"The number you are trying to call, can't be reached right now, please call later"

He frowned and stared at his phone and tried again a couple of more times, his speed increasing.

He called Renji and he answered on the fourth ring "Hello?"

"It's Ichigo, Did you pick up Rukia?"

"Huh? Pick her up? From where?"

Ichigo froze, his heart dropped. "She didn't call you?"

"No, what's goin-"

"I'll talk to you later" he hung up and broke into a run, his feet hitting the marble with loud thuds, his blood ran cold when he heard a deep rumble of thunder followed by the pitter patter of rain hitting the ground.

He ran straight outside into the cold downpour, not giving a damn about his drenched clothes. His fingers hit speed dial again and he cursed when he heard no response. He reached his bike and kicked the stand, and gunned the engine. His grip tightened on the handlebars as he broke the speed limit, he desperately prayed for his feelings to be wrong.

But then again, they never were.

-x-

The elating relief she felt at seeing him came crashing down as the man stepped closer, he was not Ichigo. "Lost are you babe?" the man asked with a leer, he was not and Rukia found four other men behind him "Is your phone not working?"

How did he know!? Rukia forced her body to take a step back and then she forced herself to move, she whipped around but crashed into another person behind her who grabbed her wrist and twisted them behind her back. She cried in pain as her hands nearly came apart.

"I almost feel sorry for you" the man cooed from behind but his voice just held amusement at her expression. He appeared in front of her and slid his hand under her hair, grabbing a fistful of it and yanking it down, forcing her face up. She was sure he almost took out half of her in that move. She couldn't move with her head and hands under tight grip, she gathered all her power and let out a blood curdling scream, asking for help but the voice barely left the area, the rain drowning out her voice. They just laughed at her helplessness

A hand slipped under her shirt and squeezed her painfully and she tried kicking but in vain, a hand clamped down on her mouth stopping her from screaming "Oh you'll be screaming alright, soon I promise"

Her jacket was ripped off of her, teeth biting her shoulder. She closed her eyes, that were blurry from tears flowing from it and tried imagining it was Ichigo touching her instead but it was near impossible when in comparison to his loving soft touches and the roughness she was facing now. She realized what was going to happen to her and that made the tears flow faster, there was no Kaien to help her this time. She hated herself for wishing there to be someone there to help her but how could she? They would die if they ever helped her. She deserved this for being who she was. She thought of Ichigo finding her and how disgusted he would be and succumbed to her fate.

She felt nails rake across her arms, tearing the skin, she felt numb and everything was turning black in front of her eyes. Dimly she heard the revving of an engine and her eyes turned to him "Get the fuck away from her!"

He stood there drenched in water, his face twisted into a snarl, his eyes livid and blazing with rage, he looked like a feral animal ready to kill.

Rukia would have cried out with happiness if not for the hand over her mouth but a part of her wanted to scream at him to run, she would die if anything happened to him.

"Why? You wanna a piece of this whore too?" asked the white haired man and found his face smashed the next second.

He screamed and attacked the men, ripping them away from her. She fell to the ground and gasped for air. Ichigo moved with lightning speed, and had the four of the men down in a flash. The white haired man proved to be tougher than the rest but Ichigo had him down too, he kept punching him repeatedly, his hands crimson and eyes still possessed with rage "You bastard! I am going to kill you!"

Rukia whimpered, her head was spinning and she felt like she was freezing. The next second she knew, she was in Ichigo's arms, he looked at her with the same cold eyes and Rukia snapped her eyes shut and clung to him, her hands nearly tearing apart his shirt from her shaking "I-Ichigo!" she cried, wanting to have him back "Please!"

She felt his arms tighten around but she did not look up, her face was buried in his wet shirt and she felt the solid seat of his bike under her and cool wind hitting the back of her head. After what felt like hours, she felt him walk and snarl at someone to get them a room, the man quickly gave him a card and after a few minutes Rukia found herself in a hotel room. She finally looked up at Ichigo and tears started pouring down her cheeks when she saw him look at her so lovingly, with warm amber eyes. She buried her face in his shirt again and tears racked her body as she starting mumbling through tears "I am s-so sorry, I-Ichigo," she repeated again and again, until he pulled her back and cradled her face with his stand "Stop Rukia, you have nothing to apologize for"

"B-But I am horrible I-Ichigo, I am so selfish, W-What if they got you like K-Kaien?!"

She didn't realize Ichigo was not supposed to know who he was but he shook his head nonetheless "Rukia you are not selfish, you hear? Nothing will happen to me, I promise"

"I feel so dirty!" she gasped clawing at her arms "Their touches were n-not like yours Ichigo" she whispered and winced when her fingers found her bleeding arm

Ichigo growled at her words and at the cut and got up to look for something to fix her but she held onto him "Ichigo" she whimpered pulling him down and her lips found him and she melted against him, she felt hot tears pour down again as his mouth moved against hers. He pulled back to let her breathe, foreheads resting together.

Without another word he scooped her up and opened the door of the bathroom, climbing in with her in the tub, he opened the shower and Rukia gasped as the warm water hit their cold clothed bodies. "Rukia" he murmured, his lips moving along her shoulder, erasing anyone else's touches, she held onto him as he kissed, after sometime they climbed out of the tub and Ichigo held her close as he thought of something she could wear. Their home was too far and that's why he had brought them here instead.

"Rukia, I'll go buy some clothes" he said gently to her pale face, she shook her head "No, don't go. Please"

"You'll fall sick in these clothes Rukia" he tried again buy she shook her head stubbornly and pointed at the blanket on the bed "That will do"

His eyes became wide as Rukia started pulling her wet clothing of right in front of him, her shirt fell to the floor, he averted his eyes to the floor but found a hand cupping his cheek, he stared into those deep eyes "I want you Ichigo"

Ichigo's heart stopped at her words and his mouth attacked hers a second later, he pushed her back until her knees hit the bed and he pushed her down with him on top, he wrenched off her jeans with his lips still on hers and her undergarments soon followed and without even looking down at her he pulled the blanket and wrapped it around her tight and snug, she looked at him with daze and confusion "Ichigo?"

Ichigo swallowed hard "You don't want this Rukia, you are not thinking straight right now"

He pulled off his shirt and pants and climbed in next to her, in just his boxers. He wrapped his arms around her blanket clad body, kissing the top of her head.

"Ichigo, I have to tell you something" mumbled Rukia against his bare chest, he just squeezed her, knowing what she was going to say and said "You don't have to now, we have all the time in the world"

"Thank you" she murmured in an exhausted voice. Ichigo smiled and looked at the dark wall as he said "Rukia?"

"Hm?"

"I lik-"

He stopped and looked down when a soft snore reached his ears, he smiled and just pulled her closer, like he said, they had all the time in the world.

A/N: Sooooo, what did you guys think about this? The next chapters are the ones I have been dying to write from the start, it will be a hell of an emotional rollercoaster ;)

My vacation is officially over now that my sister is gone and the high of shopping and partying has drained out of me, and to top that with already piling studies, we have this event to organize, and the people who are supposed to perform a dance are driving me crazy :|

Leave me a review so that I get a boost to deal with them!

Cheers