(A/N: Well, I've been getting a lot of requests to update, so I updated earlier than I usually do. I'm so happy to hear that a lot of people like my story! I honestly didn't think it'd be this good! Well, this is a warning. This chapter isn't as good as the rest, I kinda had a writers block. So I apologize if its suckish)

"You...? What do you want?! Why are you doing this to me?!" Kaien-sensei screamed. He clenched his fists, staring at Sora with such anger.

"Oh sweet, sweet naive little Kaien...." She cooed. Sora put a loose strand of blue hair behind her ears, raising a perfect eyebrow.

Kaien looked at her angrily.

She began to speak....rather scream. "I am the strongest...I am the one who deserves Takaikizu...I am the one who deserves Mr. Kuchiki's respect! You wanna know why?! Huh?!" She screamed, getting closer to him until her snarling mouth was in front of his face.

Kaien just studied her face. She took that as a yes and said, "Because it was MY father who won the war! MY father killed YOURS! That's why!! My father won the damn war!!"

His face just filled with surprise, devastation, and then anger. When he spoke his voice wavered with such resentment toward Sora, "...You? ...You? It was you? Your family killed...mine?"

She just smirked, "That's right...I deserve the respect!"

Kaien-sensei cursed at her, cursed multiple times. I was surprised...how...he was taking this. I felt...terrible. He ran over to her, took her neck, and ran to the opposite wall and slammed her into it. "You...MONSTER!"

Kaien grabbed his sword and took it to her neck. "You might regret this..." she kicked him in the stomach, causing him to fall over, drop his sword, and spit up. Literally...throw up. How hard was her kick? Just how strong was she?

Suddenly someone ran inside...it was Ichigo, "Kaien! Are you all right?" Ichigo ran over to him and helped him up, scanning Kaien's pained face. He looked over at Sora, "You...you caused all this..."

She smirked, "Do you honestly think I could do all this by myself?"

Ichigo narrowed his eyes, "Then...who did you bring?"

She laughed, "The Arrancar. The war isn't over my friend, it only just begun. We will avenge all the people you killed! The Arrancar will avenge everyone!" And in a flash...she disappeared.

I was astonished at all that just happened in a matter of a few seconds. My entire body was numb.

I looked at Kaien-sensei who refused to return my gaze. I was scared. I wanted protection. Shuichi and Misa were hiding behind Ichigo's legs, like hopeless little children.

All of a sudden a wall broke down, on fire. We forgot all about it: the flames! They were caving in on us.

"Everyone," the lovely velvet voice of Kaien-sensei said, "Follow me," He walked over to the opposite side of the wall that broke down and kicked it as hard as possible. Due to the flames, it was already weakened and fell down. He took my and Hitsugaya's hands and started to run in his incredible speed, Ichigo following behind.

We ran to the front gate, and stood in front of the horses that the enemies rode here on.

"Get on!" He screamed at me. I stepped up and sat on the horse, followed by Hitsugaya. Then he jumped up in front of us and looked behind at Ichigo.

"Follow my trail!" he screamed to him. On top of Ichigo's horse, he nodded.

Then he looked at me and smiled, "Hold on...ok?"

I nodded, feeling helpless when I couldn't help but cry. All of this happened so fast, too fast for me to fully comprehend.

With a whip of his horse he started to ride out of the town, out of my home. I just took in everything that happened...just realized what occurred. I hoped this was a terribly vivid nightmare. I shook my head, refusing to believe this. "No!!" I screamed, "No!!" I screamed once more as we ran into the forest, and disappeared from the town.

That night sleep wasn't an option. No one, not one person was even lying down, forgetting about the fact that it was 1:00 a.m. We were camping in the forest, everyone was silent, and the only thing breaking it was the chirps of the crickets and the occasional flutter of a bird's wing. A "ney!" from our horses brought everyone's heads up and then back down again. Everybody was leaning against a tree they chose to lean upon and looked down at the green grass swaying by the wind. The moon seemed to shine brighter, as if feeling sorry for the terrible nightmare that happened. I was lost in my own thought. I wanted to just run over and hug Kaien-sensei, cry in his chest, but i didn't do it. I didn't want to disturb him. He didn't seem to be in a good mood. Well of course no one was.

Ichigo seemed to break the unbearable silence, "Everyone." he said. Everyone slowly turned their heads toward him. "I'd just like to say," he stood up. "This isn't the end of us. The town may be burned, along with our pride, but we won't let those stupid 'Arrancar' cut us down. If no one else will show them what we're made of, we will. Are you with me? Is anyone with me?" he said.

A small smirk appeared on Kaien-sensei's face, he was looking down at the grass, his sword leaning on his shoulder, one knee up. You couldn't see his beautiful eyes, for his hair was covering it. The scene made my heart skip a beat.

He stood up and said," You have a way with words, and you know what...I'm with you."

Ichigo looked at us and smiled. All of a sudden Kaien-sensei's face just dropped his smile, his hair covering his eyes once more. He fell to his knees, and then to his hands, squeezing the grass. Suddenly there were dew drops on them...no...wait...they were tears...? Kaien-sensei was crying again?

"Why...?" His quivering voice said. "Why did this happen to me? Why me? It's my fault! That damn Sora wanted me! Not the village...why?" He said his voice shaky.

I walked over to him. I needed to comfort him, I felt so sorry for him. Just the look on his face made my heart sink to my stomach.

"Listen Kaien-sensei," I stared. "This might be the end, or it might be the beginning. Who knows what new paths this could open for us? The village is gone, the people are gone, but we're still here. Who knows what we could find? New doors have just opened for us, look on the bright side, the positive side, not the negative." He looked up at me, surprised by my words, at this point my arm was around him and when my skin touched him, it sent a tingle all throughout my body. And what an alluring tingle it was…

"Rukia," he said his voice soft. I looked at him with wanting eyes, curious eyes. His voice was deep and low, a different tone, something that made me...blush. "You're...absolutely right." He looked at me and gave me one of those smiles, but it wasn't fake...it was real. "It's just...I've seen all this before, and i never wanted to see it again...but i did...i just let it get to me...let Sora get to me...and...I will open those new doors to see what journeys we can find."

Later that night the stars shined bright in the sky. Everyone was asleep around a campfire we made, everyone that is but me and Kaien-sensei. Well...I was acting like I was asleep; he was leaning against a tree, one knee up, his hand resting on it. He was looking up at the sky, and his sword was leaning beside him. Another "ney!" from one of our horses escaped it's mouth. That brought Kaien-sensei's head up to look at it. He smiled and then walked over to him, "Hey boy..." he said, "Did you lose your home, too?" The horse just "ney'd" again.

Kaien-sensei chuckled, "Yeah...me, too.... You know what...I need'a name you. Hmm...you were pretty fast out there today...how 'bout...Bullet? Do you like that?" The horse seemed to nod.
Kaien-sensei laughed, "Ok then! Bullet it is! Ichigo still needs to name his..." He was stroking Bullet's fur. How nice he was...I sighed--oops! That was a mistake! Kaien-sensei looked over at me and raised an eyebrow. I turned around quickly to hide my face.

"Seems as though someone is awake...right, Rukia?" I blushed, feeling hot now. Dang it...I thought. He walked over and squatted down to look at me, "I know you're awake..." His low voice said into my ear. It was so beautiful, so gorgeous, so…sexy. I smiled and then stood up. Laughing and scratching the back of my head, "You caught me..." I felt like an idiot.

"Yes...I did." he said.

He looked at me and smiled, "You need to get some sleep, Rukia."

I pouted, "I'm not tired, you need to get some sleep, too, sensei...."

Kaien merely smirked, his face so beautiful in the moonlight. A whoosh of the wind ran through the trees, whispering in our ears. Silence took over us for a mere second until I broke it.

"Sensei..." I started, a question buzzing through my mind. He extended a hand and i took it. We both walked over to two trees.

"Yes?" he asked, looking at me as we leaned against the trees, right next to each other.

"How was your sensei like?" I asked.

He smiled and then sighed, "He was...nice i guess. I looked up to him a lot."

"What happened?"

"One day his wife died...he was so devastated he ran away and never came back....I never saw him since."

"What was his name?"

"Eiri."

I smiled, "Oh...I'm sorry..."

"It's fine...so...what about you?"

I looked at him confusedly. "Whaddya mean?"

"How's your sensei like?"

I blushed, and giggled nervously. How was i supposed to answer that? Oh, he's cute, funny, strong, and I'm totally in love with him! No way am I gonna say that...I thought.

"Well..." I started.

Kaien-sensei laughed, "Boring? Unpleasent?"

My jaw dropped. "No way! He's funny...smart...strong...fun to be around...comforting..." I said, looking the other way when saying everything.

Kaien-sensei, when i looked at him, looked surprised. His eyes wide, his face in shock. "Really...?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Wow...he must be really cool," he joked. I laughed

"Eiri-sensei was like that..."

I looked down and nodded.

He stood up and brushed his pants off. "Well," he said. He extended a hand and i took it. He pulled me up, but didn't let go. He started walking, clutching my hand. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"You'll see." He seated me on top of Bullet.

"Why do i always have to see? Why can't you ever tell me?" I asked.

He laughed and then got on top of Bullet, flashing me that stunning smile that always made my heart skip beats like a broken CD.

"Hold on tight!" I put my arms around his waist, and, indeed did hold tight. I loved this position; I didn't ever want to leave.

Bullet rode off into the night, galloping, making Kaien-sensei and I go up and down along with him. I smiled; the wind was pushing against our faces. I felt like we were flying, I loved what we were doing. The soft galloping was like a lullaby against Kaien-sensei's back.

I closed my eyes and then a moment later opened them, realizing i just took a nap. I was now in a meadow, surrounded by trees, forming a circular room-like place. The grass was soft, and moist, almost a neon green color. I was resting on Kaien-sensei's lap who was on a log. The trees above opened a patch that let in light from the full moon, also allowing us to see the bright stars.

The scent smelled like...actual forest. Like nature. Like life. I took it in…realizing how relaxed I was, so at peace and at home.

"How long was i out?" I asked him softly.

I looked up to see him smiling down at me, "Only a half hour."

"Oh..."

I sat up, positioning myself up right on the log, now sitting beside Kiyoshi-sensei...instead of on his lap. I blushed...I couldn't help myself.

He looked at me, flashing that warm smile I love so dearly.

Then everything happened in a moment. The thing that would make me act so differently for days onward.

My heart pounded against my chest so hard it hurt. I blushed so fiercely it looked unhealthy. I swore I was about to wet myself. A knot tied in my stomach, it felt like rope. Why was this happening? Kaien-sensei was leaning towards me...like...a kiss. I thought about leaning in, too. But what if i messed up? What if i didnt tilt my head to the side and we would bang noses? What if I faint? What if i puke? What if i did a mix of both? I felt so retarded. But i decided to lean in, too. And right when we were about to touch lips, he stopped. So i stopped. He opened his eyes, his eyes wide. He was blushing, too. And i could've sworn I heard a racing heartbeat. "Um..." he stuttered, his voice sounded dry. "I--uh--let's um...get back to campsite...." I just nodded, i couldn't speak.

WE WERE ACTUALLY ABOUT TO KISS! I was so ecstatic! Did that mean he liked me, too? I didn't know, but i was overjoyed. We were now riding on Bullet back to campsite. He didn't look at me ever since we were about to touch lips. And the entire ride back to the others, he was blushing and looked paranoid.

We finally reached the others, and he didn't help me down. He just walked over to his little bed that he made--of leaves. He lied down, and faced the opposite direction of me. As if i could blame him...

But that little incident was the one thing that allowed me to get some sleep. I felt so happy that it almost happened, even if it didn't. A smile was placed on my lips never leaving my mouth. I sighed in happiness, Was this what love felt like?

(A/N: Sorry, had to put some goofiness in there after all the drama. How was it? Good? Bad? A mix of both? C'mon, push that green button and tell me =) )

P.S. for all of u who dont know what Arrancar are, start watching Bleach! But i guess in my story you can just think of it as an organization, alrighty? :)