**Sorry, the chapter was temporarily deleted! I'm investigating on the not sending of the update emails, and so far, there are readers who didn't get the message sent to them. And this has happened with many other peoples' stories as well. This delay glitch happens often apparently, and it seems like it's always my luck whenever this happens, oh well.**

Anyways, this chapter is mostly Rukia-centric and not very exciting, but it shows how much Rukia's past means to her. So enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 2: Getting Passed the Past

Rukia exhaled deeply as she scraped the image of him out of her head, unaware of how tight she was squeezing her coffee cup. She reminisced to last night when she had a talk with Tatsuki on the phone about him and the orange haired buffoon she had the misfortune to work with. She didn't understand what made her troubled about it! Sure, they looked alike, but other than that, there was no relation. She thought she had gotten over the similarities between Ichigo and him last week anyways, but apparently not. She hated being bothered by trivial things like this and if it weren't for Tatsuki's advice, she would have ripped her hair out of her head.

Last Night…

Tatsuki breathed heavily over the phone, most likely working out. "So? How's work with you know who?" she asked as she kicked a dummy, the sound echoing throughout the dojo.

"Don't get me started on him. He orders me around like I'm his maid or something and he always thinks everything I do is wrong. It's annoying! And we always argue about one thing or another," complained Rukia, playing with her cupped ramen. She scowled at the noodles and picked at them like a child would their vegetables. "He's beyond irritating, 'Get me a coffee, would ya? Can you go get my files from the Ishida for me? Can you hand me that book?' he says. Asswipe."

The other woman laughed, "That bad? Well, how are you dealing with the other side of him? You know, his resemblance to 'the douchebag who must not be named?'"

Rukia stopped fiddling with her noodles, and blinked a couple of times. She blankly stared at the TV, not paying attention to the show that was running. Her scowl never left her face as she thought, shuffling around in her fuzzy pajamas on her living room couch. "I was okay with it for the first week, but as much as I hate to admit it, I still see him sometimes even though I keep telling myself they're different people. I only see a little flicker of him though, but usually afterwards, my temper gets the best of me and I start an argument with Ichigo. Arguing with him makes me forget." It was pretty much the only way she could communicate with him; it "hid" the real her and took her mind off of the "douchebag who must not be named."

"This might sound like I've gone crazy, but maybe you should befriend Kurosaki. If he becomes your friend, you'll be able to see the differences being him and him. You'll see him as Kurosaki Ichigo, not the asswipe." Due to the lack of sound created by air and movement, Rukia guessed that Tatsuki was probably standing still with her arms crossed. "Just give it a try, you might be surprised at the results. And he doesn't seem that bad. If befriending doesn't work, focus on his orange hair or something and force yourself to forget. It helps me."

The short haired woman thought for a minute, considering Tatsuki's idea. She placed her cupped ramen on the coffee table in the middle of the living room and leaned back onto her couch, taking the phone from between her cheek and shoulder. "Do we even have time to become friends? The hospital is a 'professional work zone.' And you know me, Tatsuki, I have trouble making friends," said Rukia, crossing her arms. "And what you mean 'he doesn't seem that bad?'"

Tatsuki's laugh could be heard on the other side, "You're being childish. If you haven't noticed, most co-workers befriend each other in less than ten minutes! Stop avoiding what you don't like. And the only reason you find him irritating is because you won't give him a chance to be himself, and you're hiding your real self too. Arguing isn't going to last forever you know. Just face the facts," she said, serious. "Well, anyways, I go to go! Oyasumi! And remember what I said."

End…

Rukia yawned, waiting as the workers at the café readied her order. She didn't understand, last week, she was full of confidence with working with the orange haired man, but over the weekend, her confidence melted. She groaned at her supposed helplessness, "Fuck… I sound like I'm from some sort of angst-y drama." She brushed her fingers through her hair and leaned her cheek on her elbow that was resting on the counter.

"Sorry to say, hon', but you also look like you're from an angst-y drama too!" said a female voice from behind her.

She turned to come face to face with huge breasts, each the size of her head, if not bigger. And I thought Orihime's boobs were huge, thought Rukia, backing up at the sudden meeting with the woman's breasts, not believing they were naturally that big.

Shaking away her surprise, she looked up to get a look at the other woman's face and found herself staring at pretty strawberry blonde woman staring back at her with a playful smile.

The woman blinked at her surprised expression before laughing, "Oops! Forgot to introduce myself!" She cleared her throat, "Hi! I'm Matsumoto Rangiku from division ten! Nice to meet you!"

Rukia stared at her before remembering her manners, "Ah, yes, I remember seeing you walking with Hitsugaya-sensei. Nice to meet you, Matsumoto-san! I'm Kuchiki Rukia." She brought out her hand and Rangiku held it with both her hands, shaking it happily.

Could she be a more "adult-like" version of Orihime? They both had big breasts, but Rangiku's were bigger. They were both fairly bubbly too, but Orihime was more high- school-girl bubbly, if that made sense.

"You're so tiny and adorable!" The buxom woman abruptly brought the petite woman into a big hug, shoving her head in between her rather large gifts. "So much cuter than that bitch, Senna!" Rangiku said, half happily, ending spitefully.

Rukia raised one of her brows, Ichigo's ex-girlfriend? She was really curious now, what was it that compelled people to bring up the topic of Ichigo's ex-girlfriend around her anyways? It had nothing to do with her, so how come people mentioned Senna when they talked to her? "Ichigo's ex-girlfriend?"

"Yeah, that bitch. Personally, I hate her. We went to college together and we've had some issues with each other." Rangiku grimaced just talking about Senna. When one of the café workers asked her what she wanted, she let go of Rukia and her darkened face turned to one of pleasant happiness, "Could I get a tall vanilla bean frappuccino with cinnamon on the top? And a green tea with cream and splenda, same size?" The worker nodded and began readying her drinks as another worker came up and placed a different coffee on the counter.

Noticing that it was the coffee meant for Ichigo, Rukia picked it up and slipped it in a paper sleeve, along with her own drink. "I was just wondering, how come people always mention this, Senna-san, whenever they see me? I remember Momo raving about it the first time I saw her here. She said something about not talking to him about her or some crap like that."

Rangiku's ears perked up, "You don't know? Ichigo and Senna used to be the couple of Seireitei hospital! But for some unfortunate reasons, for Ichigo anyways, they broke up and he's been a little lost since then. I don't see what he sees in Senna anyways. All I see is a skank who stole my boyfriend in college!" She dug her nails into the counter and growled.

"Ano, Matsumoto-san, we're in public. You can't go around looking murderous like that," said Rukia, trying to calm down the other woman.

"Well, let me just tell you something Rukia-chan. If you have any hopes of getting together with Ichigo, get rid of them. He's apparently a one woman man and it'd take a lot to get him to be interested in any other women," said Rangiku, moving her face closer to Rukia's, making the smaller woman blink.

"I'm far from interested," said Rukia plainly, backing up. "If anything, I'd like to avoid him. But that's not the point! I have no interest in him or his ex-girlfriend."

"That's good then! I can tell we'll be great friends!" exclaimed the strawberry blonde, turning away from her and handing the cashier some money. "If you ever need relationship helps, stop by the tenth division when you have time!"

She grinned one last time before making her way towards the exit waving behind her, "See ya' later, hon'!"

Rukia awkwardly waved back, shrugging after the other woman left. "What was all that about?" Even after that strange talk, or whatever it was, she still didn't know why people brought up the subject of something that wasn't even her business! Who cared if the orange haired buffoon was a lost puppy? It had nothing to do with her.

She inhaled deeply, thinking of her day to come.

Prancing into the office, she feigned a smile, placing a bag of donuts and a cup of coffee on Ichigo's desk, "Here's your breakfast, your majesty. Enjoy," she said, with a pinch of sarcasm and genuine "friendliness."

Ichigo eyed her suspiciously, obvious finding her behavior a bit out of the ordinary. The sarcasm was normal, but the "friendliness" certainly was now. What's up with her? he thought, raising one of his eyebrows. Figuring she was mocking him, he decided to play along, "Why thank you, my humble servant. You may leave now as your services are no longer needed." He smirked when he noticed the corners of her mouth twitching downwards.

Rukia cleared her throat, managing to control her annoyance. She simmered down her sarcastic sweetness, and attempted to talk in the manner she would someone she didn't know, attempting to act friendly. "So, what do we have on our schedule today? If I recall, we're going on our weekly rounds?" she asked politely.

Ichigo nodded, still suspicious.

Usually it wasn't considered weird when someone asked something of him politely without yelling, but this was Kuchiki Rukia, the stubborn, loud mouth she-devil he was forced to cooperate with. If she talked normally, there would be at least one form of insult within the sentence.

He closed the folder he had on his desk and observed her from his peripheral vision. Deciding that maybe she was just a little peppy because she had a date last night –despite his unbelieving that she was capable of dating anyone-, he left her be. He mentally shrugged to himself, I'll just wait and see what she wants from me later, he thought, closing the folder he was working on.

She smiled politely and walked over to her desk, organizing the papers on it. While she looked quite happy on the outside, she was far from "lively" on the inside. That ass, I try to act nice and he gives me a weird look! He really must be foreign to kind people, she thought, metaphorically slapping the weird look off his face. She sat down and began her usual paper work, using humming as a façade for her real thoughts.

Occasionally she would catch Ichigo looking at her strangely, like she was some kind of weird animal at a zoo. She tried ignoring it at first, but failed when he grimaced at her humming. What was with this guy that pissed her off so much? Oh, right, everything about him pissed her off.

"What are you looking at? Am I so 'radiant' that you have to grimace?" asked Rukia sarcastically, crossing her arms, feeling the urge to piss him off.

"You're as radiant as a crow, I'll let ya' know. And I was cringing at your deafening humming, not your 'beauty' like you probably thought I was in your head. It was killing my ears," he said.

He could already feel a headache coming that would last the whole day, and he hadn't even been at work for an hour! It was all because of this irritable woman he had only recently met who didn't know how to shut her trap. Usually the only people capable of getting him this close to murder was Ishida, his own father and occasionally Renji, but he knew them well so it didn't bother him. This woman on the other hand, he had just met, and she was already bombing at his protective wall!

He wasn't sure whether to be thankful that he didn't get a horny woman as an assistant or disturbed at the thought of not making it out alive without having to fight the "malicious tiger" known as Kuchiki Rukia.

She glared at him, "Why thank you for the comments, they're always appreciated," she said with fake sugariness coating her tone, even making her herself want to vomit. So much for making friends… she thought with the tiniest, tiniest drop of disappointment. "I'm sure your 'extravagant' handsomeness wins you many hearts; care to share some advice, Kurosaki-kun?" she said with the same amount of sugary goodness.

Ichigo opened his mouth but closed it again, choosing his words carefully. "I'm not going to waste my breath giving you advice. No matter how hard you try, you'll never get a boyfriend. You're the type that argues, is stuck up, stubborn, annoying and headstrong," retorted Ichigo, "And guys, including myself, don't like that in a women. Including women who bring up fatuous topics to try and aggravate people."

"How insulting, I wasn't aware you were capable of such wording," she tapped her fingers on her desk coolly as a guise of showing she wasn't the least affected by what he said, which she wasn't. She casually drank her slightly warm coffee that she had left on her desk, practically downing it in one gulp. "Just so you know, I don't want a boyfriend anyways. My beliefs are set on that the male gender is good for nothing and worthless."

"Sexist, much?" he snickered, shoving a folder in a drawer. "And actually, it's not that I dislike all women like that. I just don't like you in particular," he said, tapping his pen on the desk. He was itching to tip her coffee cup over as she drank in hopes that she would spill it all over her white dress shirt and doctor's jacket. Now that would be a good laugh.

"Oh, don't worry, the feeling's mutual." Rukia scowled and looked up at him one more time, "And when you've met up with betraying asswipes, you tend to despise the opposite gender. But you wouldn't understand; you've had girlfriends who have actually loved you."

Ichigo widened his eyes slightly at her bitter tone that, strangely enough, seemed as though it wasn't directed towards him but at something or someone else in particular.

Finding that the "conversation" was over, he turned back to his work and jotted down some notes onto a sticky note about avoiding the short raven haired she-devil for the rest of the day in fear of getting decapitated.

Relieved that he didn't reply, Rukia picked out her favorite pen from the Chappy tin pen holder resting on her desk, and made an effort to prevent herself from pulling out her hair.

How could she have said something rather personal and corny? She was really close to saying something way more personal than she would have liked to share! Thinking about what she said, "But you wouldn't understand; you've had girlfriends who have actually loved you," she inwardly groaned at how stupid and dramatic she sounded, slightly embarrassed to have said such a thing. Why did she have to mix private life crap with work?

Metaphorically slapping herself in the face, she attempted to straighten herself out. No more of this… no more arguing. I need to concentrate on work. I'll apologize like any other person would later and be on my way… yeah, I'll do that.

After coming back from her rounds with the orange haired demon, she made it first priority to visit the fifth division as Momo had suggested several times that she come from their meetings at the café.

It was currently their lunch break and she suddenly felt the need to talk over some lunch; it was a casual setting and she still got the "help" she needed. Either it was bubbly Rangiku, her stoic brother-in-law or peppy Momo. And out of the three, she picked Momo. The girl specialized in mental health after all, and that's what she needed relief in.

She stood hesitantly in front of the office Momo shared with "Aizen-sensei" -as the girl called him- and suddenly noticed something she had not before. Why must we share offices anyways? I'll admit, the offices are pretty damn big, but come on. Some people like privacy… not that they're going to do anything unsuitably wrong.

She scrunched her eyebrows up at the thought, and shook her head, shaking her out of her ridiculous thoughts. She then proceeded to lift her arm to knock on the office door, but stopped when someone from behind spoke up.

"Excuse me, do you need something?" asked a man from behind her.

She turned and met with a rather tall man with brown hair and glasses. She guessed that this was "Aizen-sensei," the guy Momo talked about often.

"Ah, yes, I do. I'm looking for Momo. Do you happen to know where she is, Aizen-sensei?" she asked politely.

"Not at the moment. She must be out getting lunch. Is there something you needed?"

"Well, she offered that I get some counseling from her." She shrugged casually, feeling slightly embarrassed for having told him she needed counseling. Matter-of-factly, she didn't know why she told him in the first place, she could have just said it was nothing and walked away. Maybe it was the kind atmosphere he brought about, or it was his eyes she deemed rather trusting.

"Ah, I see. Then would you like to get some counseling from me instead until she comes back?" he asked, his face still keeping its benevolent expression.

Rukia considered his offer, tapping her fingers against her thigh in thought. He seems nice, and I'm sure he won't tell anyone if I let something personal slip. He is a psychiatrist, she reasoned with herself. "If that's fine with you, then I'd really appreciate it."

Aizen nodded his head and led her away from the office, "Counseling is for everyone, so of course it's okay." He brought her to a different room; a rather warming room with paintings of the ocean and landscapes scattered on the wall. There was one armchair in the middle with a loveseat facing directly in front of it. The only thing separating the two was a coffee table that had a small shiny black box in the middle of it, filled with different colored rocks and water.

Doesn't this seem like the typical therapist setting?

He led her inside, and politely gestured for her to sit.

"Ano… not to be rude, I would like to request if you could talk to me as just another person and not as a psychiatrist or a therapist? I find it more comfortable to keep things casual," she said, laughing nervously.

"That's fine, anything that helps you," he said, sitting himself down in the arm chair. "So, what is it that you wanted to talk about today?"

She nodded her head and smiled as a silent "thank you." She leaned back against the loveseat and sat with her hands neatly together, "This might be a little confusing, but I'll try to explain it as best as I can.

"Let's say there was this man from my past who put a very negative impact on my life, and there's this other man I just met and have to work with. The two men look very similar that I can't help by see some of the man from the past in the man I just met, and it makes me rather angry just thinking about the man from the past, which then leads me to starting an argument with the man I just met because of my sudden turn in mood. What's worse is that we don't get along to begin with, so the arguments just get worse. I thought I had gotten over the similarities between Kai- the man from the past and the man now when I first started working with him, but I guess not." She fidgeted with her hands, and almost growled at her slip up.

Aizen nodded his head, "Why does this man from the past affect how you act with the man now?"

She was silent for a moment, thinking about it, "I… I guess it's from their appearance. They just look so similar. The man now reminds me of the past and when I think of the past, I get very angry. It's really childish, but I can't help it. Sometimes, arguing with the man now helps me forget about the man from the past. It's the only way for me to communicate with him."

"Is it the only way? If you think it is, then try befriending him to show that bickering is not the only way, and is never necessary."

"I have already tried, I suppose, and it failed. We just ended up in another argument where I said some personal things." She cringed, remembering her previous idiotic actions. "I also have trouble making friends, so that doesn't help either."

Aizen stayed silent afterwards, most likely thinking of what to say.

"I understand Kurosaki-san can be a bit difficult sometimes, but usually everything he says shouldn't be taken to heart. He never means it, he's a kind person and I think you should try to learn more about the real him instead of hiding yourself behind this façade. Arguing will do no good.

"If it helps, try saying his name after or before every other sentence when you're talking to him, not so much that it would be strange though. Doing this should help you acknowledge that you're talking to Kurosaki Ichigo, not the other man. And every time the thought of this man from the past pops up, suppress it down and ignore it at all costs. Tell yourself this is the present, and your only main concern is the present. Concentrate on your job, and your family and friends, nothing of the past should be a concern. The more you tell yourself this, the easier it becomes before you completely forget about him."

Rukia at first didn't notice that he had mentioned Ichigo's name, but once she did, she questioned it in her head, but soon remembered that he was one of the lead doctors and knew all the assistants of each department.

Though she hated the idea of having to take the advice of a psychiatrist to deal with her problems, she had to admit that his ideas weren't at all bad and she even considered doing them. They weren't completely crazy like the ideas Orihime had given her, or as vague as the ones Tatsuki told her to do.

"I see, and setting that aside, Ichigo and I don't really get along in the first place-"

"Settle with a truce," said Aizen before Rukia could finish, assuring her with a smile.

She nodded, wondering how he could answer everything so calmly and how she actually acknowledged everything he told her. "That seems plausible for us to do," she checked her watch and lifted her head, "thank you for listening. I must go now, have a nice day! Tell Momo I said hi, please!"

She waved and left the office, heading directly towards the elevator.

I love how I can't figure out my own life, it's laughable. Like Sana-nee always said, 'others' opinions influence your actions more than you know.'

"That woman's crazy!" said Ichigo, practically throwing his hands in the air. "She's bipolar, I swear! One moment she's all weird and silent, and the next she's yelling in your face! It's like she's purposely starting a fight with me!"

Uryu shrugged, "I don't see what's wrong with that," he said, pouring himself a cup of tea.

"Are you crazy? This woman doesn't act normal! She's a bitch and gets all mad without having to be that mad! It's like she's a guy in a woman's body!"

"And what's bad about that? You want her to be the typical woman who flirts with you and giggles? And just so you know, you aren't the nicest person in the world," said Uryu, organizing some papers into a cabinet.

The orange hair man glared at Uryu, and leaned on his desk, "I know I'm not the nicest, but I'm sure I'm not that intolerable that someone would get angry just by looking at me. And that's what she does!"

The other man lifted his glasses and sighed, "I wouldn't blame her. Just by looking at you, I want to punch you in the face. And plus, you can be really obstinate that someone would get angry." He looked at Ichigo straight in the eye, "Ever since you broke up with your girlfriend, you've been giving everyone the cold shoulder. And you always look like someone crapped on your shoes or something, so don't think she's the only one who's moody."

Ichigo was silent after that, allowing Uryu to continue, "And you never know, she could be PMS-ing or something? Everyone has problems of their own, and she's probably dealing with some problems right now, so don't think you're the only one. Think about it, every time you get troubled by something, the stick in your ass shoves higher."

"You're an asshole, you know that?" said Ichigo, half-smirking, half-glaring.

"Glad to be one," Uryu gave him a hint of a smile, "and are you sure you're not PMS-ing?"

"Go to hell," said Ichigo jokingly, walking towards the office door. "See ya' later, Ishida. Don't forget to give me those files, I need them."

"I'm not as forgetful as you, Kurosaki," the dark haired man smirked. "Now get the hell out of my office."

Rukia finished her coloring, looking proudly at her masterpiece of deformed bunnies and bears, waiting for her "office buddy." She didn't want to look like she was actually waiting for him, so she got out her sketchbook and started doodling. It would have been better if she filled out her paperwork, but she had too much on her mind to concentrate on that.

For right now, her first priority was to make a truce with the orange haired thing. For some reason, after talking to Aizen, she suddenly felt motivated and confident. She shrugged it off as him being a psychiatrist, but she knew his advice made sense, not that she would admit it. She hated even taking advice from her own friends!

Hearing the door open, she turned, seeing the person whom she waited for. He walked in and dropped something off at his desk before grabbing a manila folder from the cabinet and moving towards her desk.

"Uh, I got those records you needed," he said, handing the folder to her.

She took it, and placed it on her desk, "Thanks," she said awkwardly, thinking of a way to propose her idea. "Ano… I just wanted to say that since we have to work together for quite awhile, I think that we should act professional as we were not before, Ichigo. We shouldn't be arguing or acting childish like we have for the past week… okay, we can argue but not as much. So, truce?" she stuck out her hand and trying to ignore his dumbfounded face.

Ichigo looked at her face before looking down at her hand. His eyes flickered back and forth as she stood, trying to keep her annoyance down to a minimum.

Just take my fucking hand! It's not that hard.

After what felt like years, he finally took her hand and shook it. "That just saved me a lot of work," he said, making her raise her brow in confusion. He quickly glanced to the side when something caught his eye. What was that he saw? A sketch book filled with nasty bunny drawings and crappy colorings on her desk!

The only way he could tell it was her who drew the drawings was from her chicken-scratch handwriting on the sides.

Bursting out laughing, he walked over to her desk, and picked up her sketchbook, "What the hell is this supposed to be?" He pointed to a drawing and laughed harder at how deformed it was, "Is that a cockroach?"

"No! That's a dog, you dumbass! Can't you see the ears and tail?" defended Rukia, her eye twitching.

"That is not a dog!" Ichigo said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Since you said we have to act mature and not childish, these shit drawings have to go! I'm not being caught dead with these anywhere near my desk! Not even a hundred kilometers!"

Without even a second after hearing what he said, Rukia snapped her arm and pointed to the office door. "Get the fuck out."

"Make me," he said, smirking.

"Go to hell, Kurosaki," she spat, her fingers twitching.

"Gladly."

A/N: This chapter wasn't exciting was it? It's fairly important though, it's supposed to signify how much Rukia's past rattles her. And sorry if she was a little OOC...

Anyways, the next chapter is when the story really starts! So look out for more drama and lurve!

I was asking for ideas and situations, but I thought of some and everything seems plausible, so thanks to anyone who tried!

Anyways, boring or moderate? I wrote it several times so I tell me what you thought it of it!

Reviews/opinions are appreciated!