AN: Hey everyone! Got another chapter for ya'! I didn't really like how this turned out, so I'm sorry about that. Also, it was brought to my attention that I didn't do very good with the grammar/spelling (thanks for pointing it out by the way), and that I didn't proofread after I wrote, so I went back a tried to fix some of those, and I tried to a better job this time, but no promises. Those annoying mistakes just keep showing up .

Thank you all for the reviews and favorites/follows. They really mean a lot to me. And I made this chapter a better length, so I hope it makes up for the short ones!

Anyway, I hope you guys like it! Please let me know what you think!

*Abara means "surname" or "family name"*

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

I cannot sleep the whole night

The sound of the raindrops hitting on the window of my heart

The place that you left

I miss you so much

Ichigo stared out of the window of the class, his mind wandering back to his conversation with Rukia's brother. He had found it odd that he had offered to meet so easily, especially since the elder Kuchiki had moved to Tokyo, and even when in Karakura he had never even bothered to introduce himself to anyone. He knew he was probably being paranoid, but it all seemed strange to him. Ichigo rubbed a hand down his face. The entire situation with the butterfly was just too confusing.

Ichigo looked over as the door opened, revealing Ochi-sensei, her brown hair tied back into a ponytail.

"Okay class, take your seats," her voice broke through the clamor of the kids milling around the room. As they found their seats, Ichigo turned his attention back to the window.

"Now let's see… two missing and it seems Kurosaki's mind is elsewhere, but that's no big loss. Between the three of them, we're only missing about half a brain anyway!" Ochi-sensei said cheerfully, getting a chuckle from Uryuu. Ichigo glared at him, making him shut up quickly.

"Anyway, to start class today, we have a new transfer student to welcome. Come on in!"

The door opened again, this time revealing a tall, red haired teen with tattoos running across his forehead and down his neck, disappearing underneath the collar of his shirt. His long hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and a strip of white cloth was wrapped around his head.

"Yo," the kid said, looking across the room.

"Class, this is Abarai Renji. Please save your hellos for later, because I don't feel like wasting time with useless greetings! Abarai-san, you can take the seat next to Kurosaki there. The delinquent kid with the weird hair," Ochi-sensei said, pointing out the open seat.

Ichigo froze and looked over at the spot next to him. An image flashed in his mind of black hair and violet eyes, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest. It was almost as if he could still see Rukia sitting in the chair.

"Kurosaki, right? Nice to meet you."

Ichigo looked up as the new kid stuck his hand out. He glared at him, neither responding nor shaking his hand. As soon as this kid had been given Rukia's seat, Ichigo had disliked him. He knew it was dumb, but he couldn't help but feel like this kid was taking a little bit more of Rukia away from him. He turned back to look out of the window as he heard the red head sit.

"What's his problem?" Renji asked someone, not bothering to hide his comment from Ichigo.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Ichigo heard Orihime's voice reply. "He's just a bit sad right now. He's really a nice person once you get to know him!"

"Inoue! Are you distracting the new kid already?!" Ochi-sensei paused in her lecture to call out.

"N-no Ochi-sensei!" Orihime defended quickly, stumbling over her words.

"I told you to save your introductions for later."

"B-but Ochi-sensei-"

"No buts! Just save it for the lunch period!"

"Hai," Orihime mumbled.

"Sorry about that," Renji whispered back to her. Ichigo felt what little restraint he had snap, and he spun to look at the talkative new kid.

"Shut it, pineapple head! She just got in trouble because of you, and you keep on talking to her!" he hissed, glaring.

Renji glared right back. "I was trying to be nice, idiot!"

"No one needs you to be nice! They need you to shut the hel- ow! The hell?!"

Ichigo rubbed his temple, looking down at what had hit him. A piece of white chalk lay on top of his desk, rocking back and forth slightly. He looked up to find Ochi-sensei glaring at him.

"Now you're trying to distract him, Kurosaki?! Go back to staring out of the window! At least then you won't disrupt my lesson!"

Renji snickered slightly, earning a death glare from Ichigo. He was really starting to not like this tattooed freak. Grumbling, he turned back to the window, letting his mind wander again.

After class ended and the lunch bell rang, Ichigo stood quickly, packing his books into his bag. He looked up when two people approached. Two girls stood before him, both smiling warmly.

"Hey Ichigo. You still all depressed? It's been a year now. You would think that after that long you would have moved on," one of the girls said, her brown eyes glinting playfully.

"Tatsuki-chan! That's not nice!" the other girl whined, turning to her friend, grey eyes chastising. Tatsuki patted her friends orange hair like she was a pet.

"Don't worry about it, Orihime. It was just a joke," Tatsuki explained, causing the other girl to smile slightly.

Ichigo looked at them briefly before quickly walking around them and out of the door. The two girls watched him go, a mix of concern and disapproval in their eyes.

"Geez. That guy," Tatsuki mumbled, running a hand through her short black hair.

"I'm worried about Kurosaki-kun, Tatsuki-chan. I want the old Kurosaki-kun back," Orihime complained.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Ichigo will get through this funk he's in. If he could get out of it when his mother died, I'm sure he can pull through."

At that moment, a pair of hands wrapped themselves around Orihime's midriff, hugging right under her breasts.

"Yeah! Don't worry about him, Orihime! You should be smiling! I like my smiling Hime better than a frowning one!" a girl with dark red hair and glasses called out.

"Ch-Chizuru!" Orihime cried out, her face flushing at the sudden contact.

"Let go of her, you perverted little freak!" Tatsuki yelled, sending a punch into the red haired girl's face. "She is not yours!"

Chizuru fell to the ground, clutching her nose, but she recovered quickly, jumping back up to face her assailant.

"What, are you jealous that she accepts my affections over yours? My Hime would never like someone like you!"

"Affection my ass! It's more like sexual assault!" Tatsuki yelled back.

"Oh? Well maybe if you weren't so much like a guy she would let you do the same!"

"That's it!" Tatsuki dove at the other girl, trying to knock her to the floor, but Chizuru dodged. They soon began running around the room, Tatsuki using whatever she could get her hands on as a weapon.

Renji gawked at the scene, rubbing the back of his head. "Is it always like this?"

Orihime nodded. "Yup! We always have lots of fun!"

"This is fun?" Renji mumbled low enough for nobody to hear.

"So… what's that orange haired guy sad about?" Renji asked, side stepping to avoid a textbook launched by Tatsuki.

"One of our friends died a year ago, and he's still upset about it. He was the closest one to Rukia, so he is having a hard time moving on," Orihime said quietly, sympathy laced in her voice.

"You sound like you care about him."

Orihime looked toward the door Ichigo had walked out of. "Mmhmm. He has always been kind to me, so I don't like to see him like this. But I don't think there is anything I can do for him…" she trailed off, a sad smile on her face.

Renji looked towards the door as well, no emotion displayed on his face or in his eyes.

Rukia…

Chapter Three: Words of the Beloved

Ichigo stalked across the schoolyard, glaring at anyone who dared to make eye contact with him. He hadn't been able to concentrate on any of his school work because of that butterfly. He still had no idea what it could mean, but he knew what the necklace meant, and that was enough to make him curious. He fingered the silver chain that now hung around his neck with his own necklace.

Who the hell sent this to me?

As he walked, he noticed that two people were approaching him. The one approaching from his left was a well dressed, middle aged man. He seemed to be in a hurry, and Ichigo saw that he was looking straight at him. On the other side, he saw the new kid (What was his name? Abara* or something?) also walking towards him, his red hair like a beacon in the sunlight.

Ichigo had no urge to talk to the annoying teen, so he turned towards the guy in the suit. As he approached, the guy opened his mouth.

"Excuse me, but are you Kurosaki-san?"

Ichigo immediately became suspicious.

"Who wants to know?"

The man bowed slightly before looking back at him.

"I was sent by Kuchiki Byakuya to pick up Kurosaki Ichigo. You match the description given to me, so I assumed it must be you. I apologize if I was incorrect."

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. This guy was way too polite for his liking.

"No, you were right. But who told you what I looked like?"

"Kuchiki-sama ran a background check before sending me," the man stated, as if that was a standard thing to do for a guest.

"Oh, oka- he did what?!" Ichigo exclaimed, taken aback by this news.

"He performed a background check on you to assure that you had no criminal record," the man stated, confused as to why the boy seemed to take offense.

"Why would he think I would have a criminal record?! He doesn't even know me!"

"Which is why he wished to learn more about you before simply letting you into his home."

Ichigo scowled. He guessed it wasn't all that unusual for a rich company owner to not want any criminals near him, but still, did he just assume that Rukia would befriend a criminal?

"Okay. That makes sense I guess. So when do I get to meet the guy?" Ichigo asked.

"We shall leave immediately, if that is okay with you, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo looked over his shoulder to see that Renji had disappeared. What had he wanted? Ichigo turned back, shrugging. It wasn't like he really cared what the pineapple head wanted to talk to him for.

"Yeah, let's go."

Ichigo walked through the large halls of the Kuchiki mansion, gawking at the size and splendor of the building. It was like walking into a palace for a noble. He had always known that Rukia was well off, but he had never realized just how rich the Kuchiki family was. The man leading the way stopped in front of a door, motioning for Ichigo to do the same. The man knocked gently on the door.

"Bring him in."

Ichigo followed as the man walked through the door towards the cold voice that had spoken. He saw that the man who had spoken was a tall, stoic looking guy with long black hair and cold, grey eyes. The man was frowning at him, looking slightly displeased.

As Ichigo looked the man up and down, the man did the same to him. What he saw did not impress him. A scowling teen with orange hair and defiant, amber eyes stared back at him. His first thought was that this child looked like a delinquent, and that Rukia would have never befriended someone like him.

"Uh, hi. Kurosaki Ichigo," the orange haired boy said sticking his hand out.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," the man replied, looking at the outstretched hand as if it was covered in filth.

Ichigo frowned and let his hand fall back to his side. This guy was really stuck up, and it was starting o irritate him.

"What is it that you wished to discuss with me, boy?" Byakuya asked, taking a seat behind a mahogany desk.

Ichigo took the seat across from him, the look of displeasure that rose on Byakuya's face giving him unexpected satisfaction.

"What I asked on the phone was if Rukia ever liked butterflies when she was little. I never heard her talk about them, so I thought she might have said something about them to her brother," Ichigo stated, slouching back in the chair just to see what kind of reaction he could get out of this statue of a man.

Byakuya frowned at the boy's posture. It seemed like he was doing it on purpose, but Byakuya just assumed that maybe the boy was naturally disrespectful.

"I am sure that at some point in her life, she mentioned them. Most children do. I do not see why this has any importance," Byakuya replied sharply.

"To be honest, I don't either, but I received… something… that I think might be connected to Rukia, and it had to do with butterflies."

Byakuya froze. So this kid was not responsible for sending the butterfly, but he himself may have received something similar.

"Do you have this object?" Byakuya asked, not letting his surprise or impatience show.

"I… have part of it, but I do not have the biggest part. Why?"

Byakuya reached into one of the drawers in his desk and pulled out the frame with the papilio protenor in it. He looked down at it, then looked back up at the boy, trying to decide whether he could show him. He didn't see how it could harm the situation, so he handed the frame across the desk.

"Did the object resemble this?" He saw the boy's eyes widen slightly.

"You got one, too?!"

Byakuya sighed at the obviousness of the statement. "Yes. I was under the impression that you might be involved, but once you stated that you received one as well, I believed that it might be the same."

Ichigo looked down at the frame, flipping over to reveal the picture scrawled on the back.

"This looks like the picture's Rukia used to draw," Ichigo said quietly.

Byakuya nodded. "That is what I believe as well. The butterfly is one that Rukia claimed to be her favorite when she was younger."

Ichigo flipped the frame back over to look at the butterfly.

"Other than the picture, it's the exact same as the one I got," Ichigo said.

"You have a piece of the package sent to you, do you not?"

Ichigo nodded and reached under his shirt to pull out the moon necklace.

"This was taped to the back of mine," he stated.

Byakuya eyed the necklace, finding it extremely familiar. Then he remembered: Rukia had one exactly like that she never took off.

"I gave one of these to Rukia a few months before she died," Ichigo said, sorrow in his voice.

"I remember Rukia would not take it off, despite being told that it was not appropriate for business wear," Byakuya stated, earning a smirk from the boy.

"That sounds like her."

As soon as he finished saying that, the door opened to reveal a very nervous looking man holding two letters.

"Kuchiki-sama. I have a letter for you. It has no name or return address, just like the package."

"What is the other one?" Byakuya asked.

"It is a letter for Kurosaki-san. It is just like yours."

Byakuya and Ichigo glanced at each other. As far as they knew, no one but the Kuchiki household knew that Ichigo was here. Ichigo stood and took the letters, handing Byakuya his. They both looked down at the envelopes. Their names were written on their respective envelopes in neat hand writing. Other than that, there was nothing written on either one of them.

Byakuya opened his and pulled out the piece of paper inside. As he read the contents, Ichigo saw that his frown was getting deeper and deeper. Once finished, he put the paper back on the table and gestured to Ichigo's.

"Read it."

Ichigo opened his envelope and pulled the paper out, looking at the same neat hand writing that was on the outside.

To the one who never cared,

Oblivion is a sweet release

from the tangled game we played.

You never made emotions clear

other than the scowl plastered to your face.

I denied the truth for far too long,

never admitting what was inside.

Of all the ones in the world,

why did the one have to be you?

May your chest shatter before your end.

Ichigo looked up, confused.

"What the hell is this supposed to mean?"

Byakuya held out his hand.

"Let me see it, boy."

Ichigo gave it to him, picking Byakuya's up off the desk to scan it over. It was the same hand writing again.

To the one who never saw,

May my nonexistent smile light up your cold memories.

Perhaps the white teeth will make you take notice.

No amount of warmth could melt the ice in your soul.

Yet no matter how thick the frost,

you may find that pain will shatter it.

May you live out your few days

in the cold that you love so much.

The two looked at each other, knowing that they were both thinking something similar. There was no way that someone could have just written these and sent them, knowing that they would understand. The feelings expressed in both letters were too deep to be some random jotting. There was deep meaning behind the words, and they both knew whose feelings they represented. Someone had gone through a lot of trouble to figure out how they acted, and they had gone through even more to represent this person's feelings.

Rukia.

AN: I hope you guys liked it! So... I know there was no Rukia in this chapter, and that you all are wanting her, but trust me, that will come soon. Please feel free to review and let me know what you think. I'm also interested in what you guys think the story might be behind all of this ;).

Also, I am going to introduce another character in the next one that part of the story will revolve around, and I wanted to know who you would like for it to be: Toshiro, Gin or Urahara

Thanks!