"Rukia, Rukia wake up!"
"What?" Rukia mumbled, rubbing her eyes after being awakened by an exceedingly ugly stuffed animal in blue.
"Ichigo's missing."
"What?" She was fully alert now, despite the relaxing sounds of rain on the roof.
"I can't sense him either."
"Stay here, I think I know where he went." She jumped out the window and ran towards the river, towards the place where her mother was killed. "Damn it Ichigo, if something's happened to you…" Rukia stopped cold when she caught sight of him. "Ichigo…" she walked towards him slowly, not believing what she was seeing.
Ichigo
Her Ichigo
The one she'd always thought of as strong
The one who never showed his pain
The very same Ichigo which she had come to love
Was crying.
"Ichigo…" she said softly, reaching out for his shoulder slowly, tentatively, as though he were a vision that would disappear.
"Rukia?" He lifted his head slowly, tears evident in his voice and on his face. He'd been out here a while, crying in the rain. But that wasn't nearly as surprising as when she suddenly found herself held tight by two arms against the still-trembling body of her orange-haired guardian.
"Ichigo"
"Ssh, don't talk," his voice was steady now, even if his body wasn't. "Just stay here for a while, with me."
Rukia remained still for a moment, then hesitantly returned his emprace. She knew they would never speak of this, like all the other times, but she was happy. She never asked, he never told. He never cried before, never held her this tight before. He needed her now.
"Rukia…"
"Yes?"
"Don't ever... leave me again."
"I won't."
And around the corner, something like a duck in a blue raincoat silently slipped away.