Hello! I've had such a great time writing the last chapter but as sallythedestroyerofworlds23 said, 'now comes the good part'. ;D (I think... =x) haha anyway, yes, time for the action to start. Let's get the chapter started!

"Inoue-san, Inoue-san! Please open the door! It's me, Ishida! Inoue-san!"

Ishida continued banging Inoue's front door, all the while making out annoyed sounds on the other side. "Inoue-san!"

"Go away!" he heard, finally relieved she was at least talking to him. "Ishida-kun, leave me alone! I want to be alone!"

"But I can hear someone there! Inoue-san, I was just here to check up on you. Are you alright?" Ishida asked, perspiring slightly. He heard a shuffle and the door opened a crack. He gave a relieved smile at her.

"See? I'm fine." She whispered. Though he couldn't see it, he could feel something odd coming from her. How opaque her eyes were and how pale her skin was.

"Are you sure?" he asked, asking her. Inoue shrugged.

"Do you see me sick?" she retorted. "Anyway, there's nothing I can't handle. I'm just feeling under the-"

"Inoue!"

Ishida turned and faced Rukia, getting out of the taxi, rushing towards him. "Hold the door, Ishida!" she shouted. Panicking, Ishida jerked the door and banged Inoue's head by accident. Screaming painfully, she backed off, leaving the door wide open.

"Inoue-san! I'm so sorry!" he stuttered. Rukia went past him and inside the house. Ichigo followed closely behind and Ishida along as well. His calm facade broke seeing the condition she was living in.

The house smelled musty, it looked as if it had been hit by a tornado; cushions everywhere, some shredded to pieces. Tables upturned and lamps broken. Inoue was sitting in the corner of the living room, mumbling. Rukia went over to her and gripped her shoulders.

"Inoue," she whispered, "are you... alright?"

"Thief..." the redhead whispered. Rukia edged closer. "THIEF!" she shrieked, pushing Rukia off. The smaller girl tumbled backwards and Ishida caught her from behind.

"Inoue!" Ichigo said brashly, advancing towards the girl clad in a dirty white dress and uncombed hair tangling her fingers. Her head was bowed and her body was shaking.

Rukia held out an arm, preventing him from going any further. Ishida helped her up and she moved towards Inoue carefully, taking every step as slowly as possible. "Inoue," she began, her voice clear and slow, "I know deep down this isn't you. It's him, isn't it? He got to you," she whispered, glancing at Ichigo. Relieved to find realisation dawning onto him, she continued to move closer to her friend. "Inoue listen to me, he's not real. He's here just to mess up your head, just to use you to get to me."

"Because that's just it; isn't it? It's all about you, it's always been!" she said, her voice like seeping acid. "It was never about anyone. It was always about you. I tried, Kuchiki-san, I tried so very hard to make sure I was a good friend. I never took anything for granted when I was with you. I treated you like my own sister! I trusted you and I knew you'd do the same for me," she said. "But I was wrong. You never did tell me your secrets, you never wanted to confide in me when I tried hard to prove to you I was trustworthy. And then the best part was how you went behind my back and took the one thing... the one thing that I've ever wanted to myself. You took him," she suddenly pointed to Ichigo, "away from me!" she shrieked.

Shocked at the sudden outburst, Rukia ran forward and tackled Inoue. No matter how hard Inoue tried to push Rukia away from her, the dark-haired beauty kept on holding on to her friend. "Inoue listen to me! I know I wasn't a very good friend; I never was and I'm sorry! But please come back, please! You're so much stronger than him. Come back! Please!" Rukia's voice cracked, her eyes watered up and she choked back a sob.

A sudden burst of wind threw her backwards. Ichigo lunged towards her, catching her before she fell to the ground.

The floor began to shake and the whole house began to come alive.

Pots and pans were clanking and banging. Drawers burst open and the contents flew out, hitting the walls. Knives, forks and spoons shot towards them and they ducked just in time.

"Inoue-san!" Ishida shouted. The other two followed his gaze and were shocked to see Inoue rise up three feet from the ground, her eyes opaque and her mouth foaming. "Inoue!" Rukia shouted, making a move towards her but Ichigo caught her arms and held her back.

"Go! It's me he wants! HEY YOU! YOU KNOW THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED RIGHT? WELL COME AND GET ME! I'M RIGHT HERE, YOU ASSHOLE!" Rukia shouted to the air. She thrashed and writhed in Ichigo's arms but he refused to let go.

"Ishida, try and get Inoue down from there!" Ichigo shouted through the uncontrollable wind surrounding them. Just a little bit more and they could've lost their footing. The wind was so strong, Ichigo couldn't see which was where but all he knew and all he needed to know was that Rukia was still in his arms and this... thing... hadn't gotten to her yet.

He had deliberated on whether to believe her or not. But after five minutes of her story, he finally realised that it was the truth. Maybe, just maybe, those dreams he had been having about Senna were all his doing. Maybe he just wanted to prove what he could do.

Bring up your worst memories and turn them against you. Making them eat you up from the inside. Ichigo almost believed it once.

But he wouldn't anymore.

Ishida seemed to be succeeding. He managed to catch one of Inoue's legs and was tugging her down. She seemed to be unconscious and her head was starting to loll from side to side. "Hold on, Inoue-san!" Ishida shouted and with a final tug, managed to get her to the ground. She landed in his arms and immediately, almost immediately, the wind vanished.

The things that have been caught in the gust of wind fell abruptly, making loud noises. Ishida shielded them both with a table, as heavy furniture began tumbling down from the roof.

Inoue was totally out but Ishida could feel a pulse. Sighing in relief, he couldn't help to smile a little. Even though her face was pale white and her skin ice cold, there was some sort of hope for him when he heard her shallow breathing.

"Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki, we're okay!" he called and looked up from the table. "Kuchiki-san? Kurosaki?" he called but they were nowhere to be seen. Leaving Inoue on the ground gently, he set off to look for them in the messed up house.

He couldn't find them. Worry gripped his throat like a vice. Where were they and were they okay?

He heard a tiny cough and decided to put them aside for a while. Inoue needed medical help and as he carried her to a taxi cab, he just hoped that wherever they are, at least they were together.

"Where are we?" Ichigo asked, getting up from the dusty ground. He smelled something unpleasant; a musty odour lingering in the air. Rukia tugged on his t-shirt. Unconsciously, he gripped her hand and helped her up, though, not letting go when she had regained her balance. His amber eyes glanced to the side. It was almost too dark to see anything but he could make out solid earth from where he was standing. "Rukia, any idea?" he asked, looking down at her. She glanced up at him and shook her head. He clenched his teeth and tightened the grip on her dainty hand. "Then stay close." He whispered and began walking.

As they began trudging on the damp, solid earth, Rukia couldn't help feeling all tingly at the back of her neck. Blame it on the cold wind if she would but there wasn't any wind blowing there; it was almost too stuffy here but it didn't make sense. They were in open air – that she could make out – and it was almost impossible to see anything. Shouldn't there be moonlight shining? The more they walked, the more Rukia felt uneasy. This wasn't normal; it wasn't at all. It was as if they were trapped in an artificial setting, forced to walk around in endless circles. But somehow, at the back of her mind, something was telling her where to go. It was pushing its way towards the front of her head. It was her instinct, telling her what to do. And right now, it was manoeuvring her to turn left. "Ichigo, turn left." She whispered but the orange head didn't seem to hear and so she pulled his hand forcefully and entered the little alley on the left.

"Oi!" Ichigo hissed angrily, rubbing on his sore arm. For such a small person, Rukia had unimaginable strength. "What-?"

"I know this place." She said suddenly when they had appeared in a sort of clearing. She casted a quick look around and saw nothing but a small, run-down building, grimy-looking windows and walls with old paint peeling off. "I know this place." She whispered again and pushed his hand aside.

"Ruki-" Ichigo said before making haste to follow her. "Where are we?" he asked, catching up. Rukia shook her head, dragging her hand along the dirty walls and stopping at a particular door three quarter metres from their previous spot. Without waiting for him to reach to her, she yanked the door open and a wave of an unpleasant odour stung her nostrils. Ichigo flew his arm on his face and asked what the hell that smell was. She replied nothing except the mere shaking of her head. "Rukia," he said warningly when she stepped forward. "Oi, don't go in there!" he hissed, trying to pull her back without bringing his arm down. But she wasn't listening.

"Ichigo," she said when she stood at the mouth of the opening. "I know this place now." She said, looking up and around. "Come on!" she said and broke into a run. Flabbergasted, Ichigo quickly ran to catch up with her. He ignored the smell that was coming from the area which was pretty hard considering it was burning his nostrils and making his eyes water. "Hurry!" she called, going further down and making a sharp turn to the right. He almost missed the staircase when he had followed suit. Regaining his balance, he dashed down the stairs, still following the pint-sized midget.

Rukia was breathing in short puffs of breaths, trying so hard to concentrate without letting the smell getting to her. She knew this place all too well. That alley they were in was no ordinary alley. If it wasn't so bloody dark, she could have made out all the patterns, all the lines that were there, all the memories came flooding back into her. When she had seen the little turning she knew immediately where they were. And when she had found the run-down building, a cold shiver had run down her spine. She knew they were in trouble.

And as she opened the door after descending the stairs, she knew, oh man, she finally knew that this was going to be hell.

They were back in her childhood.

In a literal sense, it wasn't possible but this was the place she had grown up in. This was where she had met Renji and the others. Renji.

"Rukia, next time, warn me about the fucking stairs." Ichigo muttered, panting slightly. He casted a look around the bare room. "Where are we?" he asked.

"My old home." She whispered. He threw a sharp glance at her.

"What?" he asked sharply. She nodded and walked back towards him.

"This was where I met Renji. Remember when I told you about him?" she asked and he nodded. Rukia gripped his t-shirt. "This was where I had lived with him and the others. And that alley... was where I'd escaped and left him behind." She whispered, realisation dawning. She turned away. "This was where I had found a family for the first time and there was where I had lost it." She said and her body grew limp. Ichigo had to hold her by the arms to stop her from sliding down the floor.

"Rukia, get a grip." He said sternly. "Why are we here?" he asked. Rukia shrugged, breaking away from his grip.

"I don't know. I don't know why he brought me here. This place... I never came here again. I haven't been here for seven years."

"It was a wonder why you never bothered to check up on me."

Both teens froze. Rukia's heart turned ice cold. She must be dreaming; that couldn't be...

"Show yourself!" Ichigo shouted towards the dark room. "Come out, you bastard!" he shouted. Rukia's mouth had gone dry and her eyes widened increasingly.

"Look at that; she can't even remember me." The voice said roughly. "Typical. She'd always been a dunderhead."

Rukia was repeating to herself; no, this isn't him, this is just a nightmare, an illusion, a trick, a dream! Don't fall for it Rukia. Don't. But Ichigo was already trying to look for the source of the voice. "Damn it." He hissed, looking around. "It's so dark here, I can't see anything. Rukia you okay?"

"Well how about I turn on the lights for you, then." The voice said sarcastically and a flip of the switch was heard. Immediately the whole room was lighted by an incandescent light. "Yo," the man said, holding up a hand. Rukia couldn't anymore. Be it a dream, a nightmare or real, she couldn't take it anymore. As she spun, she met... face-to-face with a familiar red-headed person with arched eyebrows, a tall, built body and those brown eyes. "It's been a while, Rukia."

I LOVE EACH AND EVERY REVIEWER I HAD FOR THE LAST CHAPTER. SO sorry for not replying your yummy reviews (I know I don't do it often but I really really want to now. :D)

Sallythedestroyerofworlds23: I'm looking forward to making more scenes like that. There's no such thing as 'too much ichiruki.' Haha. Thank you!

GoranR: stay tuned and you'll get an epic battle with the bogeyman! Thanks!

Shnizlefritz: I hope this was long enough for you. :D

NoviceStar: Why thank you. I hope this was long enough. :D

Falconrukichi: I MISS YOU TOO! Haha. Haven't heard from u for a while. Yeah, terrible isn't it? Well, I think that's what Ichigo would do, don't you? ;) thanks!

Deadpoolhulk: naw, that's just mean! But then again, you just read my mind! Haha. Thank you for reviewing!

Mini-Minah: I updated! :D thank you thank you!

Blackbloodbaby: GO RUKIA! ICHIGO LOVES YOU ALREADY! YES HE DOES VERY MUCH NOW WHY CAN'T THEY JUST REALISE THAT? D: D: haha. *dies of having-to-wait-really-long-for-ichiruki-to-be-canon.* :c )

HESE! : yeah, of course I'm continuing this story! And it's so good to hear from you. Where were you? fuufuu, don't bring out the evil laughter yet my friend. I HAVE COME WITH A SPEEDY(?) UPDATE. ;D

SPECIAL THANKS TO: Amehoshi141. BECAUSE YOU, MY LOVELY, TOOK THE TIME TO READ AND REVIEW EVERY CHAPTER IN MY STORY. YOU SPECIFICALLY SAID WHAT YOU LIKED (AND SOMETIMES DIDN'T) IN MY CHAPTERS. And that's all I have ever wanted. you are awe-freaking-some.