Ichigo stood there silent; his eyes were downcast as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. Rukia watched with concern as she felt bad for him. A sudden surge of Reiatsu flew into the air. Rukia felt it and froze.

'What was that?' She thought to herself. It was so intense that she could not move after sensing it. Ichigo cough lightly, which snapped Rukia out of her thoughts. She walked over to him and reached out to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder as he turned his head to her hand.

"Ichigo… I'm sorry." She said again. "I see you as like my friend." She whispered. There was a moment of silence before Ichigo lightly sighed. He placed a hand on hers and looked up with a smile.

"It's OK." He said. "I always said to myself, 'If you don't try, then you will regret it later.'" Rukia gave him a weak smile as she patted him on the shoulder. He let go of her hand and it fell back to her side. Ichigo ruffled up his hair as he let out a sigh.

"I'm hungry." He said randomly. "Let's go get something to eat." Rukia smiled as she nodded. Ichigo let her out of the room. As he walked out he grabbed a small green ball and placed it in his pocket. He closed the door behind him and walked down the stairs.

Rukia got her shoes on and was about to head out the door before Ichigo called out to her. When she turned around, there was a jacket hurling right at her. It hit her in her face, which caused her to lose her balance and almost fall. She grabbed it off her face and gave him a menacing look as she clenched her fist.

"What was that for?" She asked as she put on the jacket.

"It's raining outside dopey." He said as he put on his jacket. After she zipped up her coat, they both headed out. Rukia and Ichigo ran down the street through the rain until they stopped at a small restaurant. Ichigo led her in, almost making her trip over herself. A sense of bewilderment filled her thoughts as she looked around the place.

It was a cozy little gourmet place. Ichigo walked over to a table and sat down, calling out to Rukia to sit also. She walked over to his table and sat across from him.

"Where are we?" She asked, still looking around the place, trying to find something that could help her identify the place.

"It's a little diner type place that I like to go to by myself." He said. "It's where I go when I want to grab a light snack and think to myself about things without being interrupted."

"But you can do that at home." Rukia said. Ichigo scoffed at the statement.

"I've got you in my closet and my father constantly sneaking up on me and trying his hidden attacks on me everyday. Here, I can relax and enjoy the silence." He had a smile on his face that is not normally seen on his lips. Rukia was wondering what was going with him.

After telling him that she didn't feel the same way, she felt that sudden surge of Reiatsu fill the room. It was so strong, that it sent chills up her spine. She was so scared that her hand started to tremble. Her thoughts were interrupted again by the waitress.

"Hey Ichigo, welcome back." She said cheerfully. Ichigo looked up at said his hello to her.

"Who's this? Your sister?" She asked. Rukia looked up at her wondering how she could mistake her for Ichigo's sister.

"Nah." He chuckled lightly. "It's a friend from school. I ran into her while coming here and asked if she wanted to come along." He said. The two talked for another minute before she finally took their order. After she took their orders, she bowed as she walked back to the kitchen and gave the order to the cook. A moment later she came out with two cups of tea for them. Ichigo thanked her as he took a sip of it.

Rukia's head was filled with questions. What was that large Reiatsu she felt earlier? Why is Ichigo acting all happy and cheerful, even after I said I didn't feel the same way? Why is being so nice? There were just too many questions and she had to get them out.

"Ichigo…" She began. "I need to ask you something." He looked her right in the eyes as he continued to sip his tea.

"What are you doing?" She asked. Ichigo gave her a weird look as he put down his tea.

"What are you talking about?" He asked. 'That was weird.' He thought to himself.

"What are you doing?" She repeated herself. "You just got rejected by the girl you had feelings for and now you're acting like it never happened. And that reiat-"

"Enough." His sudden outburst startled Rukia and even the waitress. She poked her head out from the curtain that leads to the kitchen. Ichigo slammed his tea onto the table. He had a distant look on his face. His eyes were no longer on Rukia.

"I'm sor-"

"Don't…" He said. There was a sudden surge of Reiatsu in the air. Rukia felt that same Reiatsu when they were in Ichigo's room. She started to tremble lightly as Ichigo sat still. His eyes focused down towards the ground. His face no longer had a happy expression on it. It was now grave looking and serious. He put his hand over his face as he turned his head to look away.

"Oh Ichigo…" Ichigo suddenly began to tremble. His hand began to shake uncontrollably. Rukia became worried. Ichigo jumped out of his seat causing it to fall on the ground with a loud crash. He then fell to his knees as he started breathing heavily. Rukia started to sense a strong Reiatsu grow within him. It grew stronger than before.

"Come on!"

The waitress ran out to see what was going on. The cook also ran out to see what the commotion was. A couple sitting at the other side of the restaurant stood up and began to look. They were the only other people in there.

Rukia quickly got out of her chair and rushed to his side. She bent down and placed a hand on his back. Suddenly he jumped into the air and stared straight into her eyes. There was a look of horror in his eyes. He began to back away from Rukia as she looked on with great concern.

Just then Ichigo ran out of the restaurant and down the road. Rukia quickly got to her feet and ran outside. She looked down the road, but she could not see him. She couldn't sense his Reiatsu either. It was almost as though he vanished into thin air.

"He's gone." A voice said. She turned around and almost fell backwards in disbelief.

"You won't find him anywhere near here."

"You're…Isshin!"