Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the characters! Thanks to CrystalRaindrop007 for Beta'ing!

Our prints in blood, I'll hold your hand. You fell, I smiled, I'll help you stand.

Before The Rain — VII

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise as Ichigo's soft lips caressed her own. It was a strange feeling . . . nothing like she had imagined. Her whole body was warm, and her hands were trembling as she brought them up to tangle her fingers in his hair. She didn't quite know what she was doing, but she began to kiss him back, her eyes sliding closed as he moved his hands off of her face to rest them on her hips. Sensing that he wasn't doing anything wrong, Ichigo tilted his head to the side and deepened the kiss by running his tongue across her lips, asking for entrance.

Before she had fully grasped what was happening in the first place, Ichigo pulled back, resting his forehead against hers as they gasped for breath. Rukia was flushed and trembling as his arms moved around her waist. He smirked.

"Understand now?" he asked softly, reaching one of his hands up to run his thumb across her cheek.

Still breathing hard, Rukia took her hands from his hair and leaned them on his chest. She turned her had to the side, biting her lip as she tried to hold back tears.

"Rukia?" Ichigo asked, worry clouding his voice as he reached out his hand to touch her face. She jerked away from him and turned away, wrapping her arms around her stomach. Her whole body was shaking as she tried to keep sobs from escaping.

"S-sorry, Ichigo. I can't . . . I can't . . ."

"Can't what?" Ichigo asked, walking over and placing his hand on her shoulder. She flinched and jerked her arm out of his grip.

She didn't answer, so Ichigo repeated his question, this time with a little more force than necessary. He didn't realize how harshly he had said it until Rukia turned around and, with her fists clenched in front of her and tears streaming down her face, yelled,

"Dammit! This! I can't do this! I can't . . . I can't love you! I'm getting married soon! Please, Ichigo . . . God, please . . . don't make this any harder for me than you have to. I don't . . . can't love you!" she said, her gaze falling to the garden ground beneath her. "Please . . . just leave me alone."

Ichigo looked shocked at her outburst. His usual scowl was replaced by a look of hurt as he watched Rukia shake in front of him. Before he realized what he was doing, he walked forward and pulled Rukia into his arms. She struggled against him for a minute, but then broke down crying, her knees shaking beneath her. If it weren't for Ichigo's strong arms holding her up, she would have fallen to the ground.

She laid her head on his chest and let her tears soak through his shirt. He didn't say a word as he held her and let her cry. She had a million emotions running through her, and she wasn't sure which to act on, so she just let everything loose and cried in his arms.

Finally, she pulled back and turned around again, wiping away the remainder of her tears with the back of her hand. She didn't look Ichigo in the face as she said,

"Thank you, Ichigo. And . . . goodbye."

Without another word, she began running off. But before she could go five steps, Ichigo darted out and grabbed her arm, holding her in place. When she turned around, the look on his face surprised her, and maybe even scared her a little. When he spoke, she felt the tears return.

"Look, Rukia. You can run away, but it isn't going to help. You can keep running, but that won't hide you from the world. Eventually, you are going to find yourself in a position where you can no longer run, and it is going to take a lot of courage to break through that." Ichigo paused and took a breath, slightly happy to see that Rukia was no longer struggling against him. He continued, "Rukia . . . I like you, but I don't know if it's love. It might be and it might not be, but when I kissed you . . . I felt like everything in my world had melted away except you. You were the only thing that mattered. And it felt as if the rain inside me had stopped."

"I-Ichigo . . ."

Rukia's eyes were wide and she was now relaxed in Ichigo's grip. She turned to face him more, her eyes still shining with unshed tears.

"Let me finish. I almost never say something so profound, so . . ."

Ichigo took a deep breath and let his hard grip on Rukia's arm relax a little.

"I think I might love you Rukia. I know it sounds crazy; we've only known each other for about a week and a half . . . but I think I started falling in love with you the minute I helped you up when you fell. I've never met anyone quite like you. You're smart . . . you're kind . . . and you're beautiful. Your drawings suck, and you act like a boy sometimes . . . but you're . . . well, you. I don't think I could ever imagine you any other way. You're special and you're not to be wasted on some man who doesn't love you and who only married you for the sake of some stupid tradition. You need to choose who you love and who you don't. No one can choose that for you. And to hell with your brother and that damn tradition. If you go through with this and get married to a man who doesn't love you . . . or even know you, your life will be ruined and I don't want to see that happen. I really don't, Rukia. I want to see you happy, even if that means away from me and away from here. I just want you to be happy, and I don't think that will happen in this stupid arranged marriage."

Ichigo stopped and took a breath. He looked down at Rukia. She was staring at the ground, her raven hair falling over her violet eyes.

"You . . . you think I'm beautiful?" she asked quietly.

Ichigo turned a deep shade of red and began stuttering.

"Ah . . . w-well, yeah, of course, I mean . . . " he trailed off and ran a hand through his orange hair, breathing out deeply into the night air. He could see his cold breath in the light coming from the porch of the castle.

"No one has ever told me that," Rukia said slowly. Then, smirking, she punched him in the arm. "And no one tells me my drawing suck unless they like getting hurt."

Ichigo rubbed the sore spot on his arm, growling but smiling at the same time. His face then turned serious again.

"Rukia . . . don't let your brother run your life. Be happy."

She smiled and nodded.

"I'll try. But I don't think I can stop it. The wedding will take place," she said sadly. "I don't want to be married . . . because I like you, too, Ichigo."

She was cut off as Ichigo leaned down to kiss her again. She didn't even pause this time and let him deepen the kiss without a second thought. She moaned as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Her hands were tangled in his hair again to hold him down at her level and his own hands were on the back of her head, holding her her body flush against his.

"Oh . . . Ichigo . . . "

Ichigo smirked as his lips left her mouth and began trailing down her neck. She bent her head back with a moan as his lips and tongue moistened her soft skin.

"The hell?!"

Ichigo and Rukia jumped apart.

Turning his gaze to see Renji standing on the pathway leading up to the castle, Ichigo gasped. Renji was frowning, and, if looks could kill, Ichigo would be six feet under. Rukia was blushing like mad, and as Renji began stomping toward the two, Ichigo stood in front of her protectively and glared at Renji.

"Rukia, what the hell are you doing out here freaking makin' out with this damn slave?" Renji exploded, shoving past a surprised Ichigo and grabbing Rukia's collar tightly. Her small hands flew up to try and break free of Renji's grip, but she was no match for him and he had soon lifted her several inches off of the ground.

Ichigo, once he was past his initial surprise, reacted by kicking his foot out and tripping Renji. The red-head fell to the ground, and Ichigo caught Rukia before her feet even touched the dirt.

"Leave her the hell alone!" he snapped. "If you want to pick on someone, you tattooed freak, pick on me." Ichigo was growling and his brown eyes were alight with anger as he placed Rukia behind him. Renji smirked, and the light from the porch reflected off of his sunglasses as he ran toward Ichigo. But before his fist could make contact with flesh, Renji's hand was grabbed by a third person.

The anger in Ichigo's eyes were replaced by fear as he saw Byakuya standing there, looking at him. His face was calm, showing no sign of emotion. Rukia stood two feet behind Ichigo, her eyes wide as she watched the scene unfold before her.

"Kurosaki."

The voice was just as void of emotion as the expression on his face. Ichigo clenched his eyes shut as Byakuya's voice echoed throughout the garden.

"This is your last chance. You have been caught in fight after fight with Abarai, and now I find you violating my sister right before she is to be married."

Ichigo's mouth moved to form words, but nothing came out. He finally just let his eyes fall to the ground.

Yuzu . . .

He had to remember her. And what could happen to her if he did anything.

"Nii-sama!" Rukia yelled, moving forward. She was stopped by Ichigo's arm, and she looked up, surprised, into his face. He was scowling again, and the anger and sadness inside of him seemed to flow around his body as his downcast eyes leveled with Byakuya's. He didn't speak for a second, but then said,

"Rukia, stay out of this. I will take whatever punishment is intended for me. Walk away. Walk away and don't look back. Ever."

Byakuya made a brief bow before the guards suddenly appeared before them.

"Take him away. He is to be given level three punishment for violating Princess Kuchiki before her marriage is to take place. After his punishment, he is to be sent to work in the fields."

And, without another word, Byakuya grabbed Rukia harshly by the arm and took her inside the house, not casting one look back at Ichigo, who was being hauled by three different guards.

A lone tear slipped down Rukia's face as she looked down at her feet, not glancing back as Ichigo screamed out into the night.

Ichigo forced himself not to scream as the whip came down upon his back again. He could feel the lashing of the leather against his skin, and he could feel his warm, thick blood flowing down his back as the whip made contact again and again.

"Yo, slave!"

Ichigo looked up to see a young man, grinning madly, staring down at him. The man had dark black hair and for some reason, had a large scar running down the side of his face. He was a guard that Ichigo didn't know too well, but he knew that the guard hated him.

"Kuchiki-sama told us level three punishment, but did ya know . . . this is level one."

He laughed as the whip made contact with Ichigo's skin again.

Ichigo knew that, of course. Level three barely ever even drew blood. He had been subjected to it several times before when working for Aizen, but he knew that, this time, level one was what he deserved. Byakuya had been kind when giving him level three; being found touching the princess in the way that he had could even earn you a death sentence if you were a simple slave.

Soon, he was thrown roughly back into the stall he had grown to know so well throughout his first week and a half here; before he was moved to the stables.

Laying there in the straw, with his blood pouring out of his back, Ichigo winced and tried to sit up. His back was stinging like fire and he wanted nothing more than to escape the pain. The physical pain . . . and the emotional pain. He shouldn't have done that . . . he shouldn't have did that to Rukia. He shouldn't have told her how he felt, because now he had hurt her, too.

Rukia . . . walk away. Walk away and don't look back. Ever . . .

Ichigo finally made it to his knees. He held out his hands in front of him, and reached out to gently touch the cut on his hand. It was the cut he had given himself in order to put his print beside Rukia's on that rock.

He smiled despite the pain.

Just a few hours ago . . . it seemed like a lifetime.

It seemed like it was forever and forever ago that Rukia's soft lips had been upon his and her small, fragile hands had been tangled in his hair as she kissed him. Like him, it had been her first kiss, and neither of them had known quite what they had been doing . . . but still, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever experienced in his life.

With this to dwell on, Ichigo fell back into the straw and let sleep come over him.

"I thought more of you."

Those five simple words cut into Rukia like a sword. She looked down at her feet, slightly ashamed. Her brother was sitting across from her, holding a cup of tea that Yuzu had brought out to him only seconds before. Renji, who had followed Rukia and Byakuya into the house, was in the other room, having to have been led out by guards because he was still fuming over what he'd seen.

"Rukia, your marriage is to take place in two months. You are not to even look at that slave again. If you are found with him, he will be either sold or sentenced to death. He is causing you pain and he violated you before your marriage."

Rukia, moving her eyes to look at Byakuya said,

"But, Nii-sama! I'm partly to blame! I didn't stop him!" she said, her violet eyes glowing with sadness.

"Why? Why didn't you?"

Rukia couldn't think of an answer. Her mouth moved to make words, but nothing came out. Finally, she answered truthfully.

"Because . . . Because I think I love him."

Her voice was quiet. She spoke slowly and clearly, not wanting to have to repeat herself. If Byakuya was shocked, he didn't show it. He simply stood to his feet and said,

"I see."

And then left the room.

Rukia stood, too, and walked out of the den before running up to her own room. Renji, who had been waiting for her to come out, tried to follow her, but she had slammed her door before he was even half-way up the stairs. She walked over to her bed and laid down, reaching over to the nightstand and grabbing her drawing pad. She had something she wanted to remember forever, and to sketch it into existence would be the only way it could live.

Slowly, her fingers stroked the pencil across the paper. A ghost of a smile came to her face as she began to draw him, scowling but still managing to smile, like he always did. Next, she began to sketch herself in, but soon found her fingers shaking and her eyes blinking away tears.

Unable to keep her fingers steady in order to draw, she put the pad of paper down on her desk and put her head in her hands.

Why did it have to be like this? Why did she have to ever meet Ichigo? If she hadn't . . . she would have probably been married and considered herself happy, but his words cut into her and reminded her that she could never be happy with someone she didn't love.

And as she laid down on her bed, facing away from the picture that she knew would never again come alive, she didn't cry. She held her tears in, and tried to forget about him.

But his face was already completely sketched, and his hands were tangled in her hair as he kissed her. The only thing completely missing from the picture . . .

. . . was her.

Well, there it is. And Ichigo didn't get hurt by her . . . but I'd say he's in a fair amount of pain. Whatcha think?

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