Author's Note: Last Chapter of the second arc and it's the last day of 2020, too! I started this story with a cautious feeling and I am more than happy to know that this story has its pro and cons to my life as well. :3 Some people might have disliked the progress between the 1st arc and 2nd arc but their reviews brought me enlightenment all the same and I am thankful for that. :3 I have never expected people to like this story because it was too different from Bleach but looking at the followers, reviews and favorites, I couldn't feel more happier. :3 Thank You r all the support and I have an announcement: Judging from the pace I am writing, this arc won't end in 5 arcs. :3 Whether it be good or bad depends on your thinking since we are already halfway through. (Well, almost. XD) This arc has quite a few emotional scenes for me and I enjoyed myself writing in Ichigo's Point Of View. It's always a joy knowing different people's POV and writing them. :3 Enjoy the Chapter! :3

renee18 - I am really thankful for your PM. Without your PM, I might not have been able to pick up the chapters that I have left behind. :3 We shall see if Ichigo beats Ginjo to a bloody pulp. :3 Challenge Accepted and Completed! :3 It feels like a great finish to 2020 and here's to hoping that there will be a great 2021 ahead! :3

Guest - I know right? My Rukia~ T_T

I own neither Bleach nor its characters. :3


Ichigo swung the crowbar at Ginjo's head. Dropping to the ground, Ginjo scrambled for a knife that laid in a pool of Rukia's blood. Circling each other, it was as though they were 2 lions fighting for their prey with Rukia's body between them. "Come on." Ichigo taunted. "Come on, you French Bastard! Come at me. This has been your motive from the start, hasn't it?!" Ginjo made the first move and dove towards Ichigo. Ichigo sidestepped while dodging his blade as he swung his crowbar at Ginjo once again. A sickening crunch was heard as the metal connected with Ginjo's flank. He grunted, falling to his hands and knees. Ichigo gazed over at Rukia and tried to see if she was either moving or breathing.

"You took everything from me!" Ginjo shouted, pushing himself to his feet and successfully snapping Ichigo out of his thoughts. "Why?!"

Ichigo's fists tightened around the crowbar, preparing for his next attack. "Why not?"

Ichigo knew there wasn't a single answer that could have made Ginjo feel better about the situation. This had all started because he had slept with Setsuna. Ichigo had slept with Setsuna because he could, because he hadn't cared about reprucussions or retribution at that point of time, because he had been wrong. "You already had everything!" Ginjo shouted, charging as he did so. Ichigo wasn't fast enough to dodge this time round as Ginjo's shoulder crashed into him, knocking Ichigo to the ground and Ichigo hissed as a sharp pain sliced across his upper arm. Legs kicking and fists flew as they fought for dominance Finally, Ichigo had managed to pin Ginjo beneath him and pushed himself up such that he was sitting on his chest. Throwing his right fist onto his face, Ichigo allowed his fury and pain to wash over him as he punched Ginjo time and again. Eventually, Ginjo stopped fighting and moving altogether.

As he was about to land the final punch in, he gazed up, catching sight of Rukia and his fists stopped mid-air. Been down this path too many a time, Ichigo knew that anger wouldn't have made this situation any better.


"...You always have a chance to redo everything each morning. Each day, you can choose again, whether it be a new path, a good friend, a partner or love. My advice to you is to keep making that choice. If you do, you will conquer every obstacle you encounter, no matter what path you choose to take. May you always choose love."


His knuckles covering in blood with both Ginjo's and his own, he stood and stepped over Ginjo's unmoving body. Staggering across the warehouse ground, he dropped to his knees beside Rukia's body. Rukia laid on the floor, nearly naked and her arms twisted behind her in a terrible angle. Quickly pulling at the ropes that had bound Rukia to the beam Ginjo had tied her to, he heard sirens in the distance as he gathered Rukia into his lap. "Late..." Ichigo muttered brokenly. "You are too fucking late..." With shaking hands, he brushed the stray bang of hair away from Rukia's face and sobbed. When was the last time he had cried? When was the last time his heart had hurt this badly? For years, Ichigo had locked the pain deep inside him, not allowing anybody to get close to his heart but... Ichigo slowly pressed his cheek to Rukia's, waiting and hoping to feel her breath on his skin. It had came but it was too fucking faint and Ichigo knew that he was losing Rukia. "I'm sorry..." Ichigo whispered brokenly, rocking Rukia back and forth. "I'm so sorry, Rukia..." As the sirens grew louder, Ichigo held Rukia against his chest, hoping that Rukia's eyes would open and tell her it was all just a fucking joke to scare him.


"...You always have a chance to redo everything each morning. Each day, you can choose again, whether it be a new path, a good friend, a partner or love. My advice to you is to keep making that choice. If you do, you will conquer every obstacle you encounter, no matter what path you choose to take. May you always choose love."


"I choose again..." Ichigo whispered. "I choose you." A small line had appeared between Rukia's eyes. Ichigo blinked, not believing what he was seeing. "R-Rukia...?"

Slowly, Rukia's eyes opened. "Y-Y-You came..."

Ichigo kissed her forehead. "Of course, my angel."

Rukia's eyes widened just then, her gaze full of terror. Ichigo looked over his shoulders just on time to see Ginjo standing behind him, the crowbar in his hands and aiming straight for his head.


"Ichigo!" Rukia screamed as Ginjo swung the crowbar towards Ichigo's head. A loud bang rang through the warehouse with finality before Ginjo froze, his eyes rolling back in his head and crumpling to the floor.

"It's okay..." Ichigo said. "You are safe. You are safe, I got you."

They were surrounded instantly with dogs barking, people yelling and sirens blaring. Rukia's eyes grew heavy once more, sounds and images had became fragmented and blurred together. There were strong hands that had tightened around her body and lifted her. The last voice she heard before blackness filled her vision was Ichigo reassuring her.

"I'm here."


As Ginjo dropped to the floor beside them, police swarmed into the warehouse with guns raised. Ichigo stayed on the ground, clutching Rukia in his arms. "D-Don't leave me..." She spoke, eyelids drooping shut once more.

"Stay with me, Rukia..." Ichigo begged.

"Don't leave me..."

"I'm here..." Ichigo promised. "I'm here..."

"Kurosaki-San." Ichigo blinked, looking to the side and saw a police officer kneeling beside him. "Are you hurt, Kurosaki-San?" Ichigo shook his head, confused by the question. The police officer reached out and pressed 2 fingers against Rukia's throat. "We need to let the paramedics look at your wife."

Ichigo nodded his head. "Please."

"You have to let her go now, Kurosaki-San."

"I promised that I would stay with her."

"Kurosaki-San, I'm afraid that isn't possible. You -- "

Ichigo had stopped listening at that point of time and pushed himself to his feet. Ichigo could clearly see the ambulance waiting just outside the warehouse. "You are going to be okay." Ichigo whispered before walking towards the ambulance. "We are almost there..."

Paramedics jumping out of the back of the ambulance, all of them had ran towards Ichigo with a stretcher. "We will take care of it from here, Kurosaki-San."

"You need to let go of her now, Kurosaki-San."

"I need to stay with her."

"You can stay with her, Kurosaki-San, but you need to put her on the stretch now. If you want us to help her, you need to let go." Ichigo relented and laid Rukia on the stretcher. Almost instantly, she was whisked away by the paramedics and loaded into the back of the ambulance. "Come on, Kurosaki-San, you too." Ichigo followed after them and climbed into the back of the ambulance, sitting on the bench. The back doors of the ambulance shut and the sirens had started to blare louder than ever. One of Rukia's hand, the one that was closest to Ichigo's had hung off the stretcher. Reaching out, Ichigo grabbed said hand and winded Rukia's cold fingers through his. "She's going to be okay, Kurosaki-San." One paramedic had told him while squeezing his shoulder in a comforting way.

"You don't know that." Ichigo snapped while gripping Rukia's hand tightly as though Rukia was his only lifeline.

"I know that we will do everything we can for her and I know that she will be very upset if you won't allow us to take care of you too." Shutting up, Ichigo allowed the paramedic to take care of his arms, hands and head. "Is there someone you should call?"

Fuck. In his hurry to save Rukia, he had forgotten the ones who were really worried for her. "Yes." Fishing his phone put of his pocket, he found Isshin's number and pressed 'Call'. "Old man?"

Isshin had picked up on the first ring. "Ichigo." His tone had contained a certain kind of reverence.

"I'm here, old man and... I'm okay."

A moment of silence was heard from Isshin's side, the only question that had mattered. "Rukia?"

Fresh tears brimmed in his eyes. "I don't know."

"It's okay, son. Everything will be okay."

"We are on the way to the hospital." Ichigo informed Isshin.

"We are coming and we will meet you there." The line went dead as the sirens continued wailing. The paramedic taking the phone from his hands, Ichigo laid back on the stretcher and allowed his eyes to close, sending a prayer. "Please..." Ichigo muttered. "Just let her be okay... Let Rukia... Be okay..."


Waking up to a beeping noise, Rukia winced as bright and sterile light filled her vision. She could see that she was in a hospital room but how had she gotten here in the first place? As if on cue, all of the memories came rushing back. Worried about Ichigo, she moved to throw back the hospital blankets only to find out that she couldn't. Noticing that something was gripping her hand, she looked down and found Ichigo sitting on her bedside, asleep with one arm cradling his head whereas his other hand had held Rukia's. She smiled, Ichigo was here and he had stayed. Reaching out her other hand, Rukia ran her fingers through his orange hair. This small movement had caused Ichigo to jolt upright, his eyes frantically searching the room until they had landed on Rukia. "You are awake."

"I'm awake." Rukia repeated his words with a smile.

Ichigo jumped up, throwing his arms around Rukia, causing her to wince as pain ran down her back. "It's so good to hear your voice."

Rukia couldn't help but giggle. "Since when do you say things like that?"

"I thought I had fucking lost you, Rukia." He glared at Rukia, not believing she had the audacity to joke around.

Rukia simply smiled in response. "That's more like it."

"How do you feel? Do you need the nurse? I should call the nurse." Ichigo stood, reaching for the emergency button on the wall.

"I'm okay." Rukia told Ichigo. "Calm down." Wavering for a moment, Ichigo slowly sank back to his chair, deciding to believe Rukia for now. "Ichigo." Rukia called out as her gaze travelled down to her lap. "What happened?" Was Rukia ready to know the truth? If she was honest was herself, she was fucking scared to know what had happened on the warehouse. Still, she would rather know the truth than be left wondering the rest of her life and imagine the worst. Ichigo cleared his throat in response, having the decency to look uncomfortable. This wasn't the stuff they had normally talked about and Ichigo began to recite a list of medical words that Rukia hadn't understood. "Was I...?"

Ichigo's eyes grew wide, understanding what Rukia was asking. "You are still a virgin."

A sudden weight had lifted from Rukia's shoulders. Ginjo hadn't succeeded, she hadn't gotten raped. "Ginjo?"

"Dead." Ichigo replied, not looking the least bit sorry at all. "Shot by the police."

Rukia nodded, hoping the touch of sorrow that had fallen over her at the news hadn't shown on her face. Ginjo had done terrible things, Rukia couldn't deny that but... She knew that Ginjo had done those terrible things out of pain. Ginjo had lost the love of his life and his career all at once, people had done far worse for much less. "Were you hurt, Ichigo?" Judging by the wrinkled shirt and the scruff on his jaw, Rukia could tell that Ichigo hadn't been home recently.

"Just a few scrapes and bruises." He dismissed them as though they were nothing and reached out for Rukia's hand again, holding it in his. "I was fucking terrified, Rukia."

"I'm here." Rukia lifted her free hand to his cheek, caressing it gently. "I'm here because of you and I don't know how to thank you."

"Seeing you smile again is more thanks that I could ever hoped for." Lifting Rukia's hands to his lips, Ichigo placed a delicate kiss on her knuckles. "There are some people outside who will be very happy to see you awake."

Rukia raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Here and now?"

"Are you up for it?"

Rukia smiled. "Of course."

Standing and crossing the room, Ichigo disappeared out the door and returned a moment later with a whole crowd of people on tow. Ukitake, Isshin, Yumichika, Shuuhei and Ino piled into the hospital room all at once. "Sweet Pea." Ukitake said, rushing to Rukia's side as fast as he could. His bright eyes were swimming with tears as Rukia reached for Ukitake and held tightly to his large hand, giggling. "Didn't think you could get rid of me that easy, did you?"

Ino had came next with her arms around Rukia's shoulders as best as she could with all the monitors and tubes surrounding her. "Don't you ever do that again!"

"I'm so sorry I ruined your wedding." Rukia told Ino while squeezing back.

"Don't even start with all that!" Ino said harshly.

"But -- "

"I said don't, I'm just happy to have my best friend back."

They stayed a while longer whilst laughing and bickering amongst themselves. Rukia leaned back against the hospital bed as she watched her loved ones. At that moment, she had felt like the luckiest girl in the world since she was getting a second chance and a fresh start after all. She would get to see a new morning and another after that, she would get to see Shuuhei and Ino's children and watch Yumichika possibly fall in love. Most importantly, Ichigo would be by her side, as promised.


Later that day, there was a knock on the door of her hospital room. Rukia briefly wondered who it was seeing that her family had already left, Ichigo gone home for a shower and nurses don't normally knock when checking up on their patient. "Hello?" The door inched open and Toshiro poked his head into the room. "Hey.'"

Rukia smiled and pushed herself upright on the hospital bed. "It's so good to see you!"

"Really?" One of Toshiro's eyebrows shot up. Shutting the door behind him, Toshiro stepped up to the end of the bed. He was carrying something large and square, wrapped in brown packing paper.

"Of course." Rukia told Toshiro, her tone full of confusion. "Why wouldn't I be happy to see you?"

"Because you getting kidnapped was all my fault?"

Rukia's heart ached. "Is that what you really think?"

Toshiro lowered his gaze. "If I hadn't sold your painting to that awful Frenchman, none of this would have happened, I was completely selfish."

"You had no way of knowing what would happen, Toshiro. I understand the feeling of doing desperate things when money gets tight. I forgive you for selling the painting but Ginjo would have found a way to get to me one way or another, this wasn't your fault."

"Well, I made you a new painting, a better one." Toshiro said, lifting up the package. He rested it on the foot of the bed and ripped off the packing paper.

Rukia gasped and covered her mouth before smiling proudly. "You have outdone yourself."

The painting was not as fantastical as Toshiro's usual style yet not as obscure as the angel and the knight as well. Instead, there was a couple dancing in the middle of a busy street.


A few days later, Rukia was discharged from the hospital. Ichigo, for some reason, was adamant about being the one picking Rukia up, refusing to let Rukia walk the distance where Ikkaku was waiting for her. Instead, Ichigo had pushed Rukia through the halls and outside in a wheelchair. Ichigo had been borderline overprotective for the last few days, even more so than usual. Yet, everytime he had fussed over Rukia's feet getting cold or a nurse not fluffing her pillows, those 3 little words blossomed in Rukia's heart once again. She couldn't remember much of the night that she was kidnapped, but she had known a particular fact: Ichigo had came for her and had saved her from Ginjo. It was the most selfless and bravest thing that anyone had done for her. Though Ichigo hadn't said those words out loud, Rukia knew that the feeling was mutual, Ichigo had proven it that night and every day since as he sat by her side in the hospital. "Good to see you again, Kurosaki-San." Ikkaku said, holding the back door of the car open for Rukia.

"It's good to see you too, Ikkaku." Rukia smiled and accepted Ichigo's hand as she stood from the wheelchair and slid into the backseat of the car.

Climbing in next to Rukia, Ichigo reached for Rukia's hand, allowing their intertwined fingers lay on the open middle seat between them. "Are you excited to get home?"

Rukia beamed in response. Ichigo and her, they had a home together. Rukia had belonged somewhere, had belonged to someone. It had seemed impossible at the start. After everything they had been through, how far they had came, Ichigo and her were still together. Ukitake was healthy, her family restaurant was no longer in debt and Ino was happy, it was all that Rukia could have hoped for. "More than you can imagine."

Pulling up to a stop outside the building, Ichigo helped Rukia inside and through the lobby to the elevator. As the elevator doors slid open, Ichigo stepped forward only to be stopped as their still-linked hands grew between them. Rukia froze in response, both feet firmly planted on the elevator. "Everything okay, Rukia?" Ichigo frowned.

Rukia smiled, tears brimming in her eyes. "It's just-- "

In the elevator, the old world remained, a past filled with hurt. One step away was Ichigo, an impossible future, one that beckoned to and waited for Rukia, if only she was brave enough to seize it. She was balanced carefully on the edge of the cliff and all that was left to do was jump. Closing her eyes, she thought of the words that she had said on Ino's wedding.


"...You always have a chance to redo everything each morning. Each day, you can choose again, whether it be a new path, a good friend, a partner or love. My advice to you is to keep making that choice. If you do, you will conquer every obstacle you encounter, no matter what path you choose to take. May you always choose love."


Opening her eyes, she smiled at Ichigo lovingly. "I love you."


Author's Note: Well, it would be bad if I choose to end the story here, wouldn't it? *Pouts* But... The point is perfect to end it with, with both of them loving each other~ But of course, I would have to display their problems in the next arc. One major problem has always been constant in their relationship, just that it isn't known to Rukia, with her being a virgin and all. It's time to go back to the drawing board and write my Chapters! :3 See all of you in the 3rd arc! :3