Back again! As a response to chapter 1-2 reviewers; you each get...a box of cookies!! Available this chapter: double-chocolate cookies! Mmmmm...I could really go for one of those, but I must resist! Remember...they are for the reviewers... Before things get out of control, I'll start the next chapter! Enjoy!

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Chapter Four

A lone tear escaped as she walked up the stairs after him. "Ichigo..."

Ichigo led Rukia to his room. She dropped her bag near his bedroom door so she wouldn't forget it on her way out. He watched her do the same as Inoue. She wandered from the miscellaneous objects resting on his desk to the pictures on the wall. First she looked at the picture of Tatsuki holding a young Ichigo's hand, proudly showing off a metal hanging at her neck. She smiled.

"Who's this?" she asked pointing at the picture. She looked over at him sitting on his bed.

"An old friend," he responded shrugging his shoulders.

"Old?" Rukia asked, cocking her head to the side slightly.

"Yeah, she moved away. I haven't seen her in 4 years," he told her. She let out a soft, "Ahh" before returning to her exploring. She too noticed that Ichigo's mother wasn't in many of the pictures, only the ones when he looked about 7. She assumed that she had died shortly after that. She wanted to ask, but she knew she shouldn't.

Rukia moved on to his closet. She opened it up and saw a small dresser sitting inside. She hopped up and sat on the edge of it. She swung her legs slowly and looked up smiling. Ichigo froze. Her smile was beautiful.

He didn't know why but he smiled back. It was Rukia's turn to freeze. Did he just smile? If so, she loved it.

'You know, you should smile more often. It looks better then you frowning all the time," she commented, making her face into a frown.

"Shut up," he mumbled.

He heard Rukia gasp. Looking up quickly he saw her holding an old stuffed animal.

"He's is soo cute!" she squealed. She hugged it tightly to her chest. If it had been alive it would be crying and gasping for breath.

"You can have it," he told her. "It's an old stuffed animal my mom gave to me when I was really young."

She saw him visibly sadden at the mention of his mom. She couldn't take it from him. It was something his mom gave to him.

"No I can't take it from you," she said resting it back on the dresser.

"Please," he said quietly. "I want you to."

Rukia stayed silent. She still felt like it was wrong, but she took it back into her arms. She hugged it again, softer this time.

"Thank you," she said softly. She hopped off the dresser and leaped onto him to give him a hug. The impact made Ichigo fall off the back of the bed. They rolled a little, putting them in an awkward position. Neither of them moved.

"Ichigo!" Isshin yelled joyfully as he entered his room. "Your sisters are stay at a friends to...nigh...t..."

Ichigo blushed as he realized the position they were caught in. He was lying on top of Rukia. He blushed deeply and jumped off her. Rukia, also blushing, leapt up and ran over to the side of Isshin.

"It's not what it looked like!" they both yelled.

"I see what's going on," Isshin said slyly. He wiped a finger across the tips of his nose casually as he turned and walked out of the room. "I'll leave you two alone. Just come downstairs when you're done. Don't make too much noise."

"Dad!" Ichigo yelled. "It was nothing! We just..."

Rukia burst out into laughter beside him. Ichigo turned sharply, "What's so funny?"

"That was soo awkward!" she said. "I can't believe you dad actually thought..."

Her laughter must have been highly contagious because soon he was laughing lightly. Rukia didn't want to stop in fear that he too would stop. The sound of his laughing was the first happy thing she had heard out of him. She was afraid that if she stopped, that she would never have the chance to hear it again.

Ichigo soon stopped laughing and watched her continue, "You laugh a lot," he commented.

Rukia stopped, fearing she had let it go on too long. She looked down hiding her blush, "Yeah. Laughing is good. You should laugh more often."

"What else should I do more often?" he asked her, letting out a small chuckle.

Rukia looked up and smiled at him. "Just smile, laugh, and be happy."

"Alright," he said. He knew fully that the next day at school he would go back to his normal, depressing self. He would also be in even worse trouble for spending time with Rukia.

The phone rang and Ichigo's eyes fell upon it. "Dad! Phone!" he yelled downstairs to his dad.

"Get off your lazy ass and get it yourself for once. Some of us are actually working!" they heard him reply. Along with his voice was the sound of the TV.

Ichigo turned and walked toward the phone, mumbling the whole way, "You're not even working you idiot. You'd think you could turn down the TV or something...lazy ass..."

Rukia laughed at his little conversation with himself. She watched him pick up the phone.

"Hello?" he asked politely. She saw him tense.

"Stay away from her or else your little sisters will pay, you little shit," Ichigo heard come from the other end.

Ichigo hung up the phone quickly. He put his hands on the desk in front of him. He shut his eyes tightly. He had to get her out of there or else his family would be in danger. He felt a soft hand on his arm. He jumped slightly at the contact, but looked up to see Rukia looking at him worried.

"Ichigo, what's wrong?" she asked him. Her hand was still on his shoulder. He pushed it off lightly, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

"Nothing. Hang up call," he lied. "Listen I have some homework to do."

"We can do it together. We have all the same classes," she stated.

"No I need to do it alone," he said sadly. He really didn't want her to leave but once again he was forced to kick a friend out of his life. Too bad, he really, really liked this girl too.

"Oh, ok. I see," Rukia said, a little hurt. She didn't let it show though. He was kicking her out. She wondered what she had done wrong. She was about to walk out when Ichigo called her name.

"Yeah?" she said turning her head in his direction.

"You forgot this," he said throwing the stuffed rabbit at her. "It's name is Chappy."

Rukia caught is without a problem. She looked at it then back at him. She saw a sad look in his eyes. Something was wrong.

"Ichi--" she began.

"You should go," he interrupted. He walked her to the front door. He watched as she walked out the door. She looked back at him.

"Look, Rukia I'm sorry but we can't talk again. I'm sorry but I don't have a choice," he said as he shut the door. Rukia watched the door shut. She turned and held Chappy close to her. It was possibly the only thing she would have to remember the nice side of him. The happy side. The side she loved to see.

Ichigo walked back upstairs and got into the shower. Once again he had time alone to think. Why is it that everytime I get a new friend, Aizen and the others force them out of my life? I can't talk to Rukia again though. It's for my family... he thought, trying to convince himself. He watched the soapy suds drip off his hand. They washed down the drain. Kind of reminded him of his own life. He knew, sooner or later, he would end up dead.

He got out and wrapped the towel around his waist, like he did everytime. He walked across the hall and into his room.

"Rukia?" he questioned when he saw the short girl reaching down for her bag. She jumped and swung around losing her balance. He reached out and caught her. He watched as she opened her eyes slowly. She leapt off of him with a big blush.

Wow... Rukia thought looking at Ichigo's bare chest. He clearly had a six pack. He was incredibly fit. Thought came to her head, causing her to blush even more. She covered her face and turned around. She felt his warmth wash over her as he leant over her.

"Rukia are you alright? You're looking a little flushed," he asked concerned. He reached out, causing his muscles to flex. Rukia blushed even more. He put a soft, gentle hand on her forehead. "Damn, feels like your burning up."

"No, no, no," she said waving a dismissive hand toward him. "I'm fine, it's just a little hot in here." A little?

"Are you sure?" Ichigo said taking another step toward her. "It feels fine to me."

"Yeah, yeah," she said waving both hands now. She took a couple steps back. He was close enough now so she could see the full details on his chest. Sure he was amazingly fit but there were scars placed all over it. She saw a big bruise where Aizen had kicked him earlier. She flinched. She reached out to touch it lightly. She looked up to see Ichigo's brown eyes staring down at her. She removed her hand and mumbled a "Sorry."

"Do-does it hurt?" she asked dejectedly.

"Nah. I'm used to it," he said, poking it.

"Don't do that!" she said pulling his hand away.

"Okay, okay, calm down," he said showing her that his hands were no where near his chest. She once again looked at his chest and this time a certain scar caught her attention. It looked worse than the others did. It was slightly reddened, and looked like it was deeper then the other scars.

Ichigo saw what she was looking at and explained, "I was stabbed in grade 8."

Rukia looked up at him once again in shock.

"It's no big deal. I'm here aren't I?' he said coolly.

"Yeah," Rukia mumbled. She hadn't really realized how tall Ichigo was until now. She looked back down, still embarrassed.

"Uh, could you step out for a minute so I can get dressed?" he said rubbing the back of his neck.

Rukia blushed even deeper, "Uh, yeah...sure...I'll...I'll just go."

"Thanks," he said as he shut the door behind her. He got dressed quickly and leapt down the stairs. He saw Rukia standing by the front door waiting. She turned around to look at him. He could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes. He must have been imagining it. He walked toward the front door when something hard rammed into his back. He fell to the ground.

"Dad!?" he yelled, rubbing his sore back. He looked up to see Isshin standing over him, waving a finger like he was disciplining a child.

"You were prepared...once again," he said looking away. "You're growing weak, son."

Ichigo just stood up and continued to the door to where Rukia was waiting, laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" he said hotly.

"Oh, nothing," she said covering her mouth with a hand.

"Why did you come back anyway?" he questioned.

She turned around to show him her bookbag, "Forgot my bag."

"Ahh," he said in understanding.

They stood looking at each other for a moment before Ichigo looked away, turning a light pink. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye Ichigo. It was fun," she said as she walked out once again.

Aizen's threat came floating back through his head, "Stay away from her or else your little sisters will pay, you little shit..."

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That was kind of long. But I really enjoyed writing this chapter! Remember double-chocolate cookies are available at the moment. All reviewers will receive one! Next chapter; MILK! Thank you for reading. Now push the little purple button on the bottom left corner of your Internet Explorer screen, and write something nice!

Eva-miko