A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! You guys are the best! Longest chapter so far so please drop a review and let me know what you think! ;) Have fun reading!

Rukia glared at the handsome man in front of her angrily. Great, first she had been scared out of her wits in fear that the man was going to kill her here and now although the man was not going to kill her, Rukia knew that she was going to freeze to death anyway.

"Are you not a staff here? Why do you not have the key?" the man asked irritably.

Rukia rolled her eyes. "It's only my second day here, alright? I didn't even know there was a freezer in the basement!"

The man fell silent as he seemed to be looking around the freezer room, as though looking for something.

"What are you looking for?" asked Rukia.

"For any vents or windows." replied the man. "Then you can climb through and unlock the door for me to get out."

"Me?" scoffed Rukia. "Why not you?"

The man raised his eyebrows. "If you had not noticed, you are far smaller than me. I highly doubt there would be a vent or a window big enough of me to crawl through."

Rukia felt herself redden at her own silliness as she stared at the man. She hadn't noticed it before but this man was really tall and had a nice built. He wasn't overly muscled or too thin. He was just… just nice.

"What?" the man asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Rukia looked up. Had she said anything out loud?

"You said just nice." the man said.

Rukia tore her gaze away from the man's body. "D-Did I? You must have heard wrongly. I didn't say anything."

The man finally stopped searching and leaned against some stacked boxes.

"We are stuck." he said. "What time will your colleagues be down here?"

Rukia pondered for a moment before answering, "Maybe tomorrow. Miyo only comes down to bring the stocks upstairs before the club opens."

The man did not answer but Rukia could see the tension in his eyes.

"So in other words, we are going to die." replied Rukia as she glared at the man again. "This is all your fault!"

The man ignored her as he frowned. He suddenly took out his mobile phone from his pocket but after staring at the screen, his frown became deeper as he muttered, "Just as I thought."

"What?" asked Rukia irritably.

"There is no signal here." explained the man. "Let us just hope that your friends will come down and look for you."

Rukia nodded and sighed. Her head was throbbing more violently than ever as she sat on the floor across the man. Rukia drew her knees to her chin as she hugged herself. It was getting colder as she shivered in her tight dress. She looked up at the man who was still standing up but he seemed to be deep in thought as his eyes lay transfixed at nothing in particular. Rukia decided to ignore him as she shut her eyes. Maybe sleeping will make her feel better and maybe the next time she wakes up, someone will be here to open the door. Eight more hours to go before the first staff arrives. This shouldn't be too hard.

Rukia opened her eyes as her teeth chattered. The first thing she noticed was that a blazer was draped over her like a blanket. How long had she slept? Frowning, Rukia looked up to realise that the man had given her his blazer and he was not pacing around the room.

"What time is it?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Three-thirty." replied the man as he continued pacing about.

Rukia stood up and handed him his blazer. "Thanks, you didn't have to do this."

"Take it. I do not wish to spend another few hours with a corpse after you freeze to death."

Rukia resisted the urge to pounce at him and give him a good thrashing. What was wrong with this man? The man seemed adamant on his decision so Rukia wrapped the blazer around herself again. The blazer smelled expensive and there was a tinge of cherry blossoms. Rukia sat back down as she stared at the man who was still pacing about.

"Why are you walking around?" she asked.

"To generate more heat." The man replied.

Rukia nodded as she stared at the room. She was hungry but there was no food here. All there was were wine. She hated drinking wine and she remembered the first time she drank wine was at her high school graduation. Ichigo had cajoled her into drinking and she had. She ended up feeling so warm and drunk that Ichigo had to carry her back home.

"Do you like wine?" asked Rukia suddenly.

The man seemed slightly surprised that she seems to be striking a conversation with him but he replied anyway.

"Only decent ones."

Rukia nodded. "I don't like them. They make me all warm and stupid."

"Stupid?" repeated the man who seemed amused.

"Like drunk." replied Rukia as she wrinkled her nose. "And they smell funny."

Rukia looked at the man as he suddenly grabbed a bottle of wine from the shelf and handed it to Rukia.

"Drink up." He ordered.

"What? Didn't I tell you I hate wine?" asked Rukia.

The man pulled the cork out of the bottle with a pop and handed it to Rukia.

"This will help stimulate the blood flow which will cause us to get warmer." He said as he pulled out the cork of another bottle for himself.

Rukia knew that he was right. This might be their only chance of surviving. Pinching her nose, she took a swig and gulped down the liquid. One mouthful, two mouthful, three and then four. This should be enough, right? One quarter of the bottle was gone and Rukia looked up at the man. He seemed to be enjoying it slowly.

"So is this considered decent wine?" asked Rukia as she drank again.

"I guess." He replied. "I have had better."

They lapsed into silence again as they drank. Twenty minutes seem to have past as Rukia felt her whole body getting warmer. She seemed to be getting a little dizzy too.

"Hey, this really works." She called out to him. "I'm getting warmer."

The man looked her way but did not reply as he continued to drink.

Rukia felt her head getting lighter as the throbbing vanished. The whole room seem to be spinning slightly but she felt better. It doesn't seem as cold anymore and her headache was almost gone.

"Hey, what's your name? I'm Rukia. Kuro…Hitoshi Rukia." She drawled as she smiled stupidly at him.

"Kuchiki Byakuya." He replied.

"Kuchiki Byakuya…" she repeated as she nodded slowly.

Rukia didn't know what she was saying anymore but she could hear her mouth doing all the talking. The room was swaying more than ever.

"I don't feel too good, Kuchiki Byakuya…" she said as she let her head fall into her hands.

She heard him walk over and she looked up. He was facing her, a smile threatening to form on his serious face.

"Are you drunk already, Kurohitoshi Rukia?" he asked.

Rukia frowned at him and pouted. "I'm Hitoshi Rukia. Not Kurohitoshi. Why are you giving me such a weird family name?"

The man finally let out a soft chuckle.

"Kuchiki Byakuya… How old are you?" asked Rukia as she drank another mouthful of wine.

"Twenty-six." Byakuya replied.

"And how did you get so rich?" she asked as she closed her eyes.

"Why are you asking me so many questions?" she heard him reply.

"I'm bored and I want to talk…" Rukia replied.

"I am not going to entertain you."

Byakuya glanced at his watch as he paced around the freezer room. It was four-thirty in the morning. He was cold and very annoyed. Jaegerjaquez must have thought that he decided to blow him off and Byakuya do not need the extra enemy. He wasn't exactly friends with Jaegerjaquez but he was a good business partner.

"Kuchiki Byakuya, your turn…"

His attention went back to the drunk girl as he sighed. It had been one hour and she had forced him to make conversation with her. He didn't want to answer her at first but Byakuya was afraid that she might just fall asleep and never wake up. It was not like he cared for her but she did save him once after all. She had requested that they took turns asking each other questions about themselves.

"Your turn, Kuchiki Byakuya!" she repeated, half shouting and looking very annoyed.

Byakuya could not believe it. Nobody had shouted at him like this before but he could not deny that he find himself amused at her.

"Fine." Byakuya finally replied. "What is your favourite food?"

The girl, whose name seemed to be Rukia, pondered for a moment before replying.

"Oh, rice dumplings!" she shouted excitedly. "Oh wait, I change it to eggs."

"Your turn." replied Byakuya in a bored tone.

Rukia seemed to not have heard him as she continued to ramble on.

"But I really like cucumber too. Oh, this is such a tough question. Fine, I'll pick eggs! Okay, let me think of my next question for you."

Byakuya ignored the drunk girl as he curled and uncurled his fingers. His fingers were turning blue and he noticed that Rukia's fingers were already blue. Her lips were starting to turn blue and for a moment, Byakuya felt a flicker of worry for her. Will she be able to make it? She was so petite. Rukia seemed to be thinking of her next question as she closed her eyes, her lips mumbling incoherent words.

"Rukia." called out Byakuya as he walked over to her.

"Mmm?" she opened her eyes sleepily as her head rested against the concrete wall behind her.

"Wake up. You should not fall asleep." reminded Byakuya as he sat down next to her.

She didn't seem to have heard him as Byakuya gave her a nudge with his elbow but instead, Rukia's head suddenly tilted to her right and landed right on his shoulder. It was at that moment when Byakuya stiffened. He didn't like unnecessary contact with people he wasn't familiar with. It was not that Byakuya hated the sudden contact with Rukia but the last time someone had put their head on his shoulders was… Sakuya. The painful memory brought a tug in Byakuya's heart but he quickly pushed it away.

"Wake up." He said to Rukia again.

"Please just let me lie like this…" she mumbled. "I don't feel too good."

Byakuya decided to let her as he sat, still as a statue next to her. It wasn't very nice for him to push her away when she actually looked like she was turning blue all over. He sat in silence as her breathing turned heavy. Byakuya felt her weight on his chest as she snuggled closer to him, probably seeking for that little bit of warmth she could find.

Again, Byakuya let her. If she wasn't on the verge of death, he would have pushed her away already. The feeling of her against him wasn't all that bad. He was slightly warmer now and at least she wasn't clinging on to him like some of the girls he had met.

"Byakuya?" he heard her mutter.

He turned to her but her eyes were still closed.

"What?" Byakuya replied.

"You have very pretty eyes." mumbled Rukia.

As soon as Byakuya heard those words, an image of a little girl in a train formed in his mind.
"You have very pretty eyes." The girl had said. It was a distant memory and Byakuya had not thought of it until now. Byakuya knew that there had been many compliments about his eyes since he was young so why did he just have that sudden flash of image of that little girl from the train?

It wasn't before long when Byakuya felt his eyelids growing heavier as the girl snuggled closer to him, the sweet smell of her hair under his nose lulling him to sleep.

Byakuya heard voices as he snapped his eyes open. The cold stung his skin as he checked his watch. It was five-thirty. He was asleep for almost an hour. The voices grew louder as he turned to Rukia and shake her. Her shoulders were so cold that Byakuya almost recoiled at the contact.

"Wake up. Someone is here." said Byakuya as he heard the loud thunk of the freezer lock.

The door opened to reveal a busty lady Byakuya recognised. She seemed to be one of the hostesses from the club. Her face turned pale as she rushed towards Rukia who was still unconscious.

"What happened?" she asked frantically. "How is she?"

Byakuya turned towards Rukia, put his hands under her, scooped her up in his arms as he hurried out of the freezer.

"We were locked in for hours. We need to get her to the hospital now." replied Byakuya quickly as he made his way up the stairs with the lady following closely behind.

"I'll call an ambulance now." The woman said as she took out her cell phone from her pocket.

Byakuya proceeded to walk out of the back door as the winter wind hit him.

"Where are you taking her? It's too cold to wait outside!" the woman shouted as she ran to keep up with him.

"It will be faster if I drive her there." replied Byakuya as he opened the passenger side of the door and put Rukia in. He proceeded to the driver's seat as the woman stared at him.

There was no more space for the woman to tag along as his car could only fit two. The woman understood the situation on hand immediately as she nodded.

"I'll meet you guys at the hospital then." she said as he got into his car.

Byakuya sped off as he turned the car's heater on to warm the unconscious girl. Was she still cold? He placed one of his hands on her fingers to check. She seemed to be warmer but she was still cold. Byakuya turned up the heater by one notch as he sped through the city.

It was ten minutes later when Byakuya arrived at a private hospital that was the nearest. A few nurses were at the foyer as Byakuya carried Rukia towards them. One of the nurses spotted him immediately and rushed forward with a wheelchair.

"What's wrong with her?" she asked as Byakuya laid Rukia on a sitting position on the wheelchair.

"Freezing and unconscious." replied Byakuya and the woman nodded, pointed Byakuya towards the reception hall before rushing off with Rukia.

"Please register there, sir!" she shouted as she ran, wheeling Rukia away.

Byakuya made his way over to the counter as a woman greeted him warmly.

"Hi. May I know your friend's name so I can register her in?" she asked.

"Hitoshi Rukia." replied Byakuya.

"Thank you. Please take a seat there and we'll inform you once she gets examined." The woman said politely.

Byakuya then made his way towards a couch and sat down. He didn't want to waste his time here but he needed to wait until the hostess friend of hers arrived. It was almost thirty minutes later when the woman from the reception hurried over.

"Sir, your friend is alright. The doctors have given her a jab and she's sleeping now."

Byakuya nodded. He reached into his pocket for his cell phone when he realised that it was not there. He must have left it in his blazer! The girl was still wearing his blazer when she was sent in. Byakuya's impatience grew as he approached the woman who had returned to the counter.

"Can I visit my friend?" he asked.

The woman shook her head. "I'm sorry but visiting hours are over unless you are an immediate family member of hers."

Byakuya considered for a moment. He needed his cell phone back and he could have said that he was her brother but the woman would want to check his identity card before letting him proceed. The different family names would give him away.

"I am her fiancé." Byakuya heard himself reply as the woman brightened.

"Oh, then it's no problem! Just hand me your identity card and I will register you down." The woman said and Byakuya handed it to her immediately.

The woman scrawled down his name on a piece of form and asked him to sign which he did.

"You make a beautiful couple." The woman said as she issued him a visitor's pass.

Ignoring the silly comment, Byakuya made his way to the room. It was on the third floor. He soon reached his destination and he opened the door to the room. She was sleeping soundly as Byakuya looked around for his blazer. Finally spotting it on a chair other with some of her belongings, he reached for it and quickly exited the room.

The murmuring of voices woke Rukia up from her slumber as she cracked open her eyes. She was in an unfamiliar room which looked expensive and she realised that her friends were peering down at her. Why had she been waking up in unfamiliar places these days?

Groaning, she sat up and one of her friends spoke up.

"Rukia, are you alright?" Kira asked as he handed her a glass of water.

Rukia accepted the water gratefully, drank it and answered, "I think so. What happened?"

"You were trapped in the freezer, remember?" Matsumoto replied worriedly. "Oh, Rukia, please tell me you still remember, don't tell me that you've lost your memory!"

Right. Of course she remembered. That man who had trapped both of them in there and she remembered drinking a lot of wine and talking to the man… But that was all she remembered. What was the man's name? She remembered that he had told her his name but Rukia couldn't seem to remember it now.

"Thanks for coming, guys." said Rukia as she smiled at them.

"Hey, no problem, we're glad you're okay." Shuuhei said with a bright smile.

Rukia noticed that someone was missing among them and before she could open her mouth to ask, Kira answered her immediately.

"Ichigo's coming. He's on his way."

Rukia nodded. She was about to settle in comfortably into her pillow when she noticed a slight tension between her friends. They seemed to be staring at her in a weird way.

"Guys, is everything okay?" asked Rukia as she sat up worriedly. "Did the doctor say something? Is something wrong with me? Am I going to die?"

"Of course not, silly!" said Matsumoto with a wave of her hand. "It's just that…"

"That?" probed Rukia.

Matsumoto was about to open her mouth to reply when the door slammed open with a frantic Icihgo running towards Rukia.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt? Any headaches?" Ichigo questioned in one breath as he stared at Rukia.

Rukia laughed. "I'm alright, not hurt with no more headaches."

Ichigo sighed with relief as he collapsed into the chair next to Rukia.

"So what were you going to say?" asked Rukia as she turned her attention back to Matsumoto who seemed to be fidgeting uncomfortably.

"W-Well, Rukia, how do you know Kuchiki Byakuya?" asked Matsumoto slowly. "Why were you trapped inside with him?"

Finally remembering his name, Rukia frowned.

"I just… just know him. He deals with Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and I met him in the club a few times. Why?"

Rukia noticed that Ichigo had tensed up and was staring at her intently while she answered.

"Rukia, do you know that he is the leader of a very big Yakuza group?" asked Kira.

Rukia knitted her eyebrows as she answered slowly, "No… I have suspicions that he was a member of the Yakuza but I don't really know much about him."

"Be careful, Rukia. He is not one to be trifled with." warned Kira. "He has too much money and power."

"Don't worry, I don't even think I'll be crossing paths with him again." replied Rukia.

"I hate that Kuchiki Byakuya." Ichigo said suddenly as he stood up angrily.

"We have always wanted to catch him but he's just too clever." chipped in Shuuhei with a scowl on his face.

"I wouldn't call that clever." replied Ichigo hotly. "He's sly and crafty. Definitely not clever."

"Still sounds like clever to me." piped in Matsumoto as Ichigo glared at her. "But you can't deny that he is really, really hot!"

Rukia groaned along with the boys but silently agreed with Matsumoto.

"Aren't you guys not supposed to see me?" asked Rukia. She had almost forgotten that Soifon Taichou had forbid her to hang out with her friends except for Matsumoto in case her cover gets blown.

"Don't worry, we have already obtained permission to come visit you. But only for today though, we told Soifon Taichou that you were in critical condition and had to come." replied Shuuhei cheekily as the rest of the group laughed.

Rukia smiled. "Thanks for risking your jobs for me but you guys better go now and continue with your work."

"Oh right, I almost forgot that you haven't answered our question, Rukia." said Kira thoughtfully. "Why were you trapped in the freezer with him?"

Matsumoto frowned. "That's right, Rukia, you have no business down at the basement so why were you there with him?"

Rukia could see all pairs of eyes scrutinizing her in the room as her throat went dry. What was she supposed to answer? If she were to tell them about the truth, someone named Ichimaru would come after her if word spreads out and Soifon Taichou might even think that she had achieved nothing but only trouble and might demote her.

"I… He… It was actually…" trailed off Rukia helplessly as everyone waited for her answer.

Just then, there was a knock on the door and the door opened and a figure stepped in.

It was almost eleven in the morning and Byakuya had gone home for a shower and had met up with Jaegerjaquez to sign the contract after he left the hospital. He was driving his way home when he noticed the identity card of Hitoshi Rukia on his dashboard. He had meant to return it to her yesterday before he entered the club but had forgotten about it. Making a turn to the hospital, he decided to do another good deed by paying her hospital bills. He didn't want to admit it but he was the one who had caused her to land in the hospital and Byakuya figured she won't be able to pay the bills of a private hospital.

He arrived at the hospital ten minutes later and made his way to the reception. The lady who had served him earlier was still there and beamed at him as he approached.

"You're back to see your fiancée!" she exclaimed delightedly.

Byakuya ignored the comment again as he took out his wallet. "I would like to pay for her hospital bills."

The lady nodded and handed Byakuya the receipt and Byakuya handed her a thick wad of cash.

"Is this enough to let her stay on for another few days if she needs it?" asked Byakuya.

The woman stared at the amount of money in front of her, slightly dazed. "Of course, sir! Don't worry, we'll get our best nurses and doctors to serve her if she needs anything."

Byakuya nodded and made his way to Rukia's room. Was she still asleep? He hoped not. Byakuya knocked and pushed the door open and stepped in to find four strangers including Hitoshi Rukia staring at him.

"K-Kuchiki Byakuya?" a man with blonde hair stuttered and Byakuya stared at him.

He was about to question the man on how he knew about him when the busty hostess from last night made her way over and smiled charmingly.

"I'm sorry. You have to pardon my brother here." she said as she pointed to the blonde man. "Rukia was telling us about you before so my brother was quite surprised when you stepped in."

"I see." replied Byakuya as he turned his attention to Rukia. "You left this inside your coat at my house the other day."

He retrieved her identity card from the breast pocket of his blazer and handed it to her. She seemed shocked to see him but stretched out her hand and took it anyway.

"Why were you in his house, Rukia?" demanded the man who had disturbing orange hair.

One look at this man and Byakuya decided he doesn't like him. He seemed rude and uncouth and he seemed to be angry with Rukia. Byakuya could feel that the orange haired man didn't seem to like him too much as he was staring at him now, his eyes full of anger and hatred.

Byakuya noticed that Rukia seemed to be in a spot as she struggled for an answer. There was a strange and heavy atmosphere in the room and it was quickly broken when the busty hostess interrupted them.

"I'm sorry about this, Kuchiki-san." she replied as she quickly pulled the orange haired man to her side. "He is… is Rukia's ex-boyfriend and still cares for her deeply therefore, he was acting a little crazy just now."

"Ex-boyfriend?" exclaimed Rukia as she stared at her friend.

"Yes yes, you broke up with him last month, remember?" smiled the hostess as she walked over to Rukia and pushed a drink towards her. "Drink more water, your mind still seems to be asleep!"

Byakuya watched as Rukia drank the glass of water dutifully as she continued to stare at the people in the room, her expression tensed. Is she alright? She seemed tensed and Byakuya felt a slight tinge of guilt. Was he the one to have caused her this much tension?

"Thank you for saving Rukia last night." continued the woman.

"It was nothing." replied Byakuya.

It was as though all of Rukia's friends were watching him carefully and Byakuya felt strange. Do these people know who he was? Did Rukia tell them anything?

"So, why were you trapped in the freezer with Rukia?" asked the hostess, a cheeky smile on her face. "And why was she in your house?"

Byakuya was stumped. What should he answer? He barely knew these people and he felt as though he was interrogated. But on the other hand, if this hostess knew about his identity, she would never dare to talk to him in this manner.

"You can ask Rukia about the details." replied Byakuya as he turned to Rukia. "I am sure she can answer all of them."

All eyes turned back to Rukia again as Byakuya resisted the urge to smile. It was amusing how flustered she gets when she's trying to come up with an answer.

"W-Well, I found his wallet when I was cleaning up one of the rooms in the club and saw his address. So I decided to drop by and return his wallet back to him personally." she replied uncertainly.

"That's all?" asked the hostess who seemed disappointed.

"That's all." Rukia replied.

"So what's the deal about the one with the freezer?" asked the blonde man.

"He wanted me to pick out the best wine for him. That's why we were down there." she replied.

Byakuya could not help but feel quite amazed with the girl in front of him. She had managed to lie to her friends without them suspecting and her lies were solid. There were nothing suspicious about her lies and it all seemed so innocent.

"You don't know anything about wine, why would he ask you?" argued the orange haired man.

Byakuya realised that he was right. Rukia had mentioned that she hated wine and knew nothing about it. So why would he ask her to pick wine for him?

This time, Rukia seemed dumbfounded as she staredat Byakuya helplessly. Deciding that she had done a good enough job in her condition, Byakuya decided to make things easier for her.

"Because she was the first waitress I saw. The rest were in the kitchen and seemed to be busy." replied Byakuya smoothly.

"Didn't she mention that she didn't know about wine?" retorted the orange haired man.

"It was my fault." replied Byakuya. "She did mention that but I dragged her down anyway."

"You don't seem like a gentleman if you drag a woman like this." muttered the orange haired man.

"I did not say I was one." replied Byakuya as the hostess tried to contain her laughter which resulted to a snort instead.

The orange haired man looked like he was about to pounce on Byakuya but Byakuya didn't care. Why was he being so nosey?

"Be nice, Ichigo." reprimanded Rukia suddenly. "Kuchiki-san did save me after all."

So his name was Ichigo. Byakuya felt a sense of satisfaction as Ichigo cursed under his breath as the blonde man patted him on his back.

The door of the room opened once again and a nurse bustled in with a tray on hand. She laid the tray in front of Rukia and turned to Byakuya, a twinkle in her eyes. Byakuya noticed that she was the nurse from the reception earlier on. He couldn't bear to hear another silly comment from her and decided to take the chance to slip away when she stopped him.

"Kuchiki-san, don't worry, your fiancée will be fine after some rest. See, we've prepared the healthiest food and rest assured that we have a chef cook them especially for her."

Byakuya could feel all the eyes on him at that instant as the room fell into a deathly silence. The orange haired man was the first one to break it.

"W-What?" he hollered as the blonde man and the other man with black hair leapt in front of him to keep him from pouncing on to Byakuya.

The nurse seem to notice that a brawl is about to start as she muttered an apology and scurried away.

Byakuya could see that Rukia was staring at him, utterly confused but she still remained silent. Deciding that he had enough for today, Byakuya turned to the orange haired man and gave him a sharp look.

"Hitoshi Rukia is not my fiancée. She has nothing to do with me. I merely stated that she was my fiancée to retrieve my phone that was in her room last night. It was past visitor's time to visit."

There was a loud sigh of relief from the blonde as he released his hold on the man whose named seemed to be Ichigo. Ichigo had his arms folded across his chest now as his lips formed a very thin, straight line.

"If there is nothing else, I should go." said Byakuya and he quickly left the room before anyone else could say another word.

As soon as Byakuya closed the door behind him, he could hear the harsh whispering start. Byakuya continued to walk away. He could not be bothered to waste his precious time again and it is not as though he would be seeing them ever again.

"I still can't believe you went to his house to return him his wallet!" whispered Kira anxiously, his eyes darting back and forth, from Rukia to the closed door.

Matsumoto's cheeky expression was now replaced with a serious one as she stared at Rukia. "Are you sure that is all to it, Rukia?"

Rukia avoided everyone's stares as she focused her attention on chewing the apple that was offered by the nurse with the tray earlier. She gave a small nod as she bit into it.

"Rukia," said Matsumoto slowly. "Is he by any chance the man you were talking about last night?"

Rukia froze immediately. She had forgotten that she had told Matsumoto about the incident but thankfully, the man's name and where he lives was left out.

"Of course not!" replied Rukia as she looked up. "Don't be silly. The man I was talking to you about is nothing like him."

"How so?" questioned Matsumoto.

"Well, he's short and… balding." answered Rukia slowly. "With loads of tattoos on his arms!"

"That is nothing like him." agreed Shuuhei as Kira nodded.

"Still kind of weird that you intended to return him his wallet but dropped yours instead at his place." muttered Matsumoto, who was staring at Rukia suspiciously.

Shuuhei laughed as he gave Matsumoto a playful push. "Come on, you're just jealous you're not in Rukia's shoes!"

His comment earned him a smack on his head by Matsumoto and Rukia turned her attention towards Ichigo who seemed to be staring out of the window, deep in thought.

"Hey, what are you brooding about?" Rukia called out to him.

Ichigo turned his head and gave her a smile which didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Nothing. I'm fine." He replied.

"I guess it's time we should go now and you should take some rest." said Matsumoto as she picked up her handbag from the armchair.

Rukia nodded, thanked them for visiting and soon the noisy bunch of friends left the room, leaving Rukia all alone in silence as she very soon after, drifted off to sleep.

"Thanks for the hard work, Rukia. I'll be leaving first." said Miyo as Rukia waved goodbye.

Rukia was discharged earlier the next morning and she was back at work tonight. She didn't want to delay her mission and furthermore, she was feeling fine. It was now four in the morning and Rukia locked up as Miyo got into her brother's car and left. Rukia sighed as she slipped the key into her pocket. Today was just another boring but busy day at the club, her target was not in and Matsumoto was not around either.

The wind howled as Rukia pulled her coat tighter as she walked across the carpark. The entire street was deserted as she stood by the side walk, waiting to chance upon a cab. It was almost ten minutes and Rukia was about to call for one when a car pulled to a stop in front of her.

Rukia looked up from her mobile phone as the door of the back seat opened and a tall figure stepped out.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Do you need a ride home?" the man said.

It was him. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. He was not standing right in front of her, smirking down. Rukia could feel her throat go dry. This was her target and now he had come right to her but flashes of their last encounter went through Rukia's mind. Should she take up the offer or refuse politely? Safety comes first, she finally decided. Rukia took a small step back and shook her head.

"Thanks for the offer but I can get home myself." She said politely.

Grimmjow cocked an eyebrow as he took a step forward. "Why? Are you afraid that I'm going to eat you up?"

Rukia was starting to panic but she tried to remain calm as she shook her head.

"Of course not, Sir. I would just prefer to head home myself."

Grimmjow smiled down at her, his eyes gleaming as Rukia took another step back. He suddenly made a grab for Rukia's arm and pulled her towards him.

"Do you think I was going to let you get away after the last time?" he whispered, his face a few inches away from hers.

Rukia's eyes widened as she tried to twist her arm free but his grip was too strong.

"Let me go!" shouted Rukia as she brought her knee into contact with Grimmjow's crotch.

The impact made her attacker wince in pain but not enough to let her go.

"You filthy bitch!" he yelled as he slapped her, hard on her right cheek.

Rukia's head snapped back from the impact and was about to fight him off when she felt him pulling her coat off and dragging her away.

Rukia could see that he had dumped her coat on the snowy pavement and was now dragging her into his car and she struggled and shouted as much as she could. It was useless. There was no one around to help her.

Grimmjow had now thrown her at the back seat as he crawled on top of her, his eyes blazing with anger and… lust. His driver seemed to comprehend what was happening as he quietly left the car and walked away.

"You, bitches who work in clubs are all the same. Every single one of you. Don't you want money? Here, take it!"

He reached into his pocket and took out a thick wad of cash and threw it on Rukia's face. Rukia tried to scramble free but he was much too strong for her. Rukia noticed that his eyes seem to gleam like a maniac and for the first time in her life, she was truly terrified. She could taste blood from her mouth and realised that it must have been caused by the slap earlier.

Grimmjow bent his head down and was nuzzling on her neck. He breathed in deeply and was now kissing her neck as Rukia resisted the urge to break down. Grimmjow snarled as he brought his face up to look at her.

"Aren't you scared?" he snarled. "Scream for me. I want to hear your screams."

Rukia bit her lips in an attempt to control her emotions. She would not let him have the satisfaction of hearing her pleas for help.

Blood was forming on her lips now and Grimmjow bent down and licked her lips.

"You do know how to excite me even if you're not screaming." He said as he tore her blouse apart.

Rukia knew that she was not supposed to react but as soon as she was exposed, she gave an anguish sob as she tried to push him away.

"S-Stop!" she shouted as she tried to push his roaming hands away.

Her bra was off next and she was now exposed from the top. Her cries were getting louder but Rukia didn't care. She wanted him to stop touching her and staring at her.

She soon felt her skirt gone and she was now clad only in her panties as one of his hand were on her thigh. His other hand was on her neck and as Rukia tried to scream and push him away, she could feel his grip on her neck tighten.

"I told you that you can't run away from me." he smirked as he slowly unbuttoned his pants.

A/N: Poor Rukia, isn't it? Well, review and I won't let her suffer too much. Hahahaha. Hope you enjoyed the chapter anyway! ;)