Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. It's property of Tite Kubo.

Author's Note: Hi! Another day, another prompt. This time, I have a direct continuation from yesterday's one-shot, so be sure to read that one before you read this one, just in case some things are not clear. I enjoyed writing this prompt much more yesterday's hehe. I also think I did a better job. But it's late and I didn't have the time to edit, so I'm sorry for any typos you find in here. If I have the time, I'll edit it again before posting tomorrow's prompt. Anyway, we'll continue with the hero motif and Rukia will give Ichigo the pep talk he needs.

As always, I wanna thank all of you for your continuous support. You guys rock!

Hope you like this story too!

See ya!

i'll catch you (if you fall)

Prompt: I see you fall to pieces like a hero

Summary: Rukia knows he's tired. She can see it in the way his eyes have lost all light. And she can't stand there and see how he ever so slowly falls to pieces. She won't allow it.

"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself." ─ Joseph Campbell

Something has changed.

And Rukia is not sure she likes it.

It all started a few weeks ago, when Ichigo had told her he didn't want her to go to Karakura that weekend, as they had agreed. That he wanted to visit her in the Seireitei instead.

At first, she had guessed he probably needed a distraction from college.

Seeing his Shinigami friends and hanging out with them would probably help with that.

Or maybe he wanted to train and go all out on their training grounds, instead of going to Urahara's shop.

Whatever the case, Rukia had accepted and the two had enjoyed a fun weekend.

They had hung out with Renji and the other lieutenants, and had very nearly gotten alcohol poison from the drinks Rangiku-san kept serving them.

They had also trained together, not unlike how they had done on the Soul King Palace, just this time around the fights had been lighthearted, since they had had nothing to worry about.

No Hollows, or traitors or evil beings.

Just them, training together.

And it had been truly an enjoyable time.

To be able to spend more time with Ichigo in her world.

To be able to show him around her favorite places.

To have him accompany her in her division.

To have dinner with him and her brother, like they were a family.

But as the weeks passed by, and Ichigo kept showing up in the Soul Society instead of letting her come to Karakura as usual, Rukia had felt in her guts that something was wrong.

And now she's quite sure that is the case.

As it turns out, Ichigo doesn't want her to go to Karakura.

In fact, it even seems he is avoiding his hometown.

Not only that, but now he's evading his Shinigami friends as well.

He no longer wants to go out with any of them, much less train.

Ichigo doesn't want to train with her either.

He can spend hours in the outskirts of her division training, not making contact with anybody.

It worries her.

Something must be terribly wrong for Ichigo to act this way.

She has never seen him like this before.

And every day that passes, something chips away at him.

He's not the same Ichigo she knew, and Rukia has to wonder when exactly things went downhill.

When exactly did he lose his spark?

She resolves this needs to end now.

Ichigo can't go on this path, not when there's still so much he needs to experience.

So she decides that the next time she sees him, she's going to have a serious talk with him.

An intervention, Ishida had called it once.

Once the weekend arrives, Rukia goes to meet him at the gate.

Ichigo looks even more lost than he had before.

Still, he manages to muster a smile for her.

It's painful.

That he has to pretend to be happy when he's clearly not.

And as it's been happening for weeks now, he immediately goes to the training grounds the moment they get to the 13th division.

Unbeknownst to him, Rukia hides her reiatsu and follows him.

There, she observes him.

She analyzes every movement, every fluctuation of his reiatsu.

Trying to decipher from his body language what is bothering him.

Rukia knows he's tired.

She can see it in the way his eyes have lost all light.

But there's something more in there.

A darkness, a persistent agony inside of him.

Ichigo's not right.

Something is eating him away.

And she can't stand there and see how he ever so slowly falls to pieces.

Rukia won't allow it.

So she decisively steps into the room and smacks his head with much less force than usual, but it is enough to make him notice her.

"Oi, Rukia! What the hell?!" Ichigo complains as he rubs his head, but his eyes don't return to normal.

She doesn't answer him. Instead, she sits down and commands him to follow her example.

Annoyed, he obeys her, grumbling about her aggressive tendencies.

"We need to talk." She announces, and if she had a better grasp of human culture, she would know that those words are not exactly the best terms to use, as it is proven by Ichigo's wide eyes.

"Why? Did I do something wrong?" Alarmed, he immediately asks, looking like a child about to get scolded.

Rukia shakes her head and softens her expression. "No, Ichigo. You didn't do something wrong. I'm just worried about you."

That doesn't help him at all.

"There's nothing to be worried about." He deflects the implied question about his well-being, but she's not buying it.

"Really? Then why do you look like as if you had just lost a fight?"

Indeed.

That's how Ichigo looks like.

Like every time he had lost a fight to a dangerous enemy.

Just a hundred times worse.

Because the fight he lost seems to be with himself.

Ichigo drops his head. "Is it that obvious?"

His voice sounds jaded, so defeated.

It is very unlike him.

And it frightens her.

Rukia gently takes his face in her hands and turns it towards her, wanting to find answers in his eyes. "Ichigo, what's wrong?"

"Do you… do you think I'm useless?" He questions her.

It takes her aback.

"No! Of course not!" She vehemently denies it. Then, something clicks. "Who told you that?"

"No one told me that."

"Ichigo."

Her voice leaves no room for denial.

He sighs before answering. "Inoue and Tatsuki said that you and I shouldn't see each other as you don't need me anymore."

"Oh Ichigo."

He turns away from her and Rukia's heart breaks.

She has some words for the meddling girls, but she saves them for another time.

Right now the only one that matters is Ichigo.

She hates it.

How he's falling apart right in front of her.

So Rukia does the only thing she can do.

She holds him tightly in her arms, and lets his head rest on her shoulder.

It is not something she would usually do, but it is what has to be done.

Ichigo holds her back and presses his face on the crook between her neck and shoulder.

"I don't think you're useless. But I don't go visit you just because you're useful to me or anything of the sort. You wanna know why I go to Karakura or why I like it when you come here?"

"Why?" He all but whispers.

"Because I want to." She replies. "I want to see you. I want to be around you. I want to know how you've been. I want to know about all the new things you've learned in your classes. I want to have fun with you. I want to train with you. I want to talk with you. I even want to bicker with you! I just… I want to be with you."

Rukia's earnest as she says this.

She has no reason to lie.

After all, this is what she had decided.

Ichigo pulls away and looks her in the eye. "You mean that?"

"Of course I do! Would I ever lie to you?"

He then brokenly laughs. "No, I know you wouldn't. Which is why I need you to answer honestly. Do you think I'm a hero?"

Rukia is dumbfounded by this.

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Because everyone thinks I am! They all treat me like a hero. Here, they hail me as one. They're all expecting me to save them. To never fail. But I did, Rukia… I failed so badly."

"What are you talking about?" She exclaims as she rubs his back, trying to sooth him.

"I didn't defeat Yhwach. Not really. He can come back at any moment. And no one gets it! I'm not a hero! I'm just some kid with a complex who doesn't want anyone to die, so I try, try, try to protect everyone, but when the world, hell, the universe needed me the most, I fucked up! And I can't even be happy because I'd risk Yhwach appearing again and destroying everything! So, Rukia, tell me, do you think I'm a hero?"

Suddenly Rukia's livid.

Enraged at all the people who had burdened Ichigo with their misplaced expectations.

At all the ones who had seen him as just a tool.

Someone to protect them and save them when they failed due to their own incompetence.

And she can't help but hate herself as well.

Because hadn't she given Ichigo power in the first place?

Hadn't she been the one to push him into this world where he felt like he needed to protect everyone?

If she had been stronger that night, he would have never been down this path and feeling like he was unworthy.

But Rukia also realizes that, sooner or later, Ichigo would have learned about his Shinigami ancestry.

His powers might have awaken on their own.

And he would have still fought to protect his loved ones.

Because that is part of who he is.

Even when he doesn't see himself as a hero, Rukia knows he is one.

Time and time again, he has put his very life on the line to do what is right.

And even when he thinks it is out of his own selfishness, he has sacrificed too much for it to be just that.

He risked everything for her, after all.

And not only for her, but for the whole world.

But Ichigo's not only a hero.

To her, he's so much more.

"Listen, Ichigo." She calls him and when she's sure she has his attention, she continues. "I do believe you are a hero, but," she emphasizes before he can interrupt her, "you're more than that."

How to describe him?

"You're kind and smart when you're not acting like an idiot."

He chuckles at that.

"You learn fast and you're always the first in line to help others.

You have your insecurities even when you pretend you don't.

You're such an amazing older brother, and you really love your sisters.

You're a good friend. You never leave anyone behind."

As she lists all of these reasons, Ichigo cannot stop himself from smiling, so she continues with her honest rant about all of his qualities.

She can't stop now.

"And even though you're a pain in the ass, I cannot imagine my life without you.

You've taught me so much about life, and I'll never be able to pay you back for everything you've done for me.

You're so warm, and proud, and perseverant, and just so good.

That's why I─

That's why I came back.

And that's why I want to be by your side.

So never let anyone tell you you're useless or unworthy.

Don't let them pressure into anything either.

And if they do, let me know and I'll teach them a lesson."

At the end of her speech, Ichigo blinks a couple of times before smiling so tenderly at her that her heart can't help but skip a beat.

"Thank you, Rukia. Really, thank you. You always make me feel better."

"Che. Somebody needs to keep you in shape, but physically and emotionally."

"Then I'm so glad it's you who's in charge." He replies as he traces her cheek with his fingers.

Rukia has to cough then.

"Anyway. I was watching you train earlier, and what a pitiful form that was! You need to train more!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"In fact, let's start right now!"

"Whatever you say, fukutaichō."

"That's Kuchiki-fukutaichō for you!"

A/N: So of course Rukia notices Ichigo's not acting like himself. Even though last chapter he decided to do better for Rukia and to stop lying to himself and accept his true feelings, that doesn't mean Ichigo's feeling okay. Especially since I feel after the war he probabyl felt like shit. He's not going to get better just in the blink of an eye. And what Orihime and Tatsuki implied last chapter really cut him deep. But thankfully Rukia decided to ask him what was the problem and cheer him up with some truths. She's being honest with him now too and can openly express her feelings much better. And you bet she's going to rip Inoue and Tatsuki a new one if they tell Ichigo lies again. They don't know what they're talking about. And also, if anyone tries to make Ichigo do everything by himself again, Rukia will be there to show them what's what lol.

She was seriously pissed but Ichigo is more important.

Also, she almost slipped up and blurted out an "I love you." But it's not time for that right now. You'll have to wait and see.

Anyway, hope you liked it!

See ya!