So hey guys! I am back XD. When you review I get motivated and update fast lovelies. It is so nice to read what you have in mind. And replying to you of course.

Rukia's POV

I turned around in a flash, my hand flying to where Sode no Shirayuki's sheath hung on my hip, generally. But thankfully, I had changed so I wasn't able to draw out the sword. I really had no idea why his voice provoked that reaction from me. What was wrong with me? It wasn't like I could fight him even if I had to, which I was praying would never happen, but the instant I heard his voice it triggered my hand to fall back and search for the weapon.

His eyes betrayed no sign that he had registered the movement, but it was obvious he had. Kuchiki Byakuya never missed anything.

I gazed into his stormy grey eyes, an endeavor I had never been able to get right in these past years. I don't know what was fueling me but right now I felt like I could take on Aizen bare handed. Was it my anger? Hurt? Jealousy? Lack of sleep? Or plain adrenaline? I had no idea.

"I am sorry. I did not trespass into your garden deliberately. Looks like sleep has addled my mind.", I took a step back. A way to ask for dismissal.

He just stood there, needless to say, emotionlessly. His hair was free of the kensieken. He was wearing a silk kimono that was obviously his night apparel. I scoffed. He had too much of money and knew how to waste it while millions out there had to go without food everyday. This lifestyle did not make me feel better about myself, it only disgusted me to think that some people had so much while so many out there did not even have the basic necessities.

I looked at him, wondering if he knew what it was to go to sleep empty-stomach for so many nights that it is easier to count the nights that you had had food. I was a bit disoriented as well, by his appearance. Right now, he looked like a…..human.Not a spotless brand ambassador of celestial grandeur. Something you are worthy to touch.

"This is your house, Rukia. Taking a stroll won't be called trespassing."

This time I scoffed physically. I knew how inappropriate that was but I just couldn't help it. My house? Some part of me was suffering with a terribly strong urge to grimace at the possibility. I had never known I was harboring such a lot of hate for these Mansion walls but tonight it was like an unknown vault, filled with disgust and horror, was unlocked and allowed to flood my mind. Everything seemed so fake all of a sudden I was pretty sure the next moment I would wake up to the familiar smell of dirty shacks in Renji's arms, out on the streets again. And I won't really mind either.

Except there was one memory I didn't want to leave behind. That idiot Ichigo.

Though I was perfectly aware of the fact that I had most probably lost him already.

"My house? Were it left to me, I would refer to it as a cage."

He gazed at me steadily for about thirty second more then, stepped outside. "It is highly unfortunate you have come to look at this place in such a light." He started walking towards me and I was sure that he could hear my heart thumping like a malfunctioning engine. He passed me and went to sit under the same tree I was admiring minutes ago. He pulled one leg up to his chest and rested his arm on his knee.

He looked so different from his usual impeccable self that now I was sure I was dreaming. His posture was relaxed and his hair tousled enough to make him seem human. Something physically present, and not just a fantasy of the unknown. Then, a miracle happened.

He sighed.

My eyes bulged out till I was afraid they were going to fall out of their sockets. I felt like scratching my hair, but checked myself in time. If I was confused minutes ago, then I was riding a rollercoaster down the road of perplexity now. I felt like running around in circles, flapping my arms screaming 'What the fuck?' but I retained the last amount of my sanity and refrained from doing so.

"Do you not like it here, Rukia?"

I walked over to where he was and sat down next to him, all the while trying to stop my limbs somehow. But they seemed to have a mind of their own. His cherry blossom scent washed over me and I inhaled deeply. "I was under the illusion that I did."

"And what caused those illusions to snap tonight?"

I answered without thinking. "The knowledge that I am unwanted here."

"You might have been so in the past but you aren't anymore. You are more than a fulfilled promise to me, you are someone I want to see every morning after I wake up and that can't be changed by anything now."

I scoffed again. "It seems to me that you have mastered the fine art of lying, Kuchiki taichou."

"That happened about a century ago. But I have to admit, that I have mastered the fine art of registering the burning turmoil of emotions in me and channeling them into one stream so that I can express them now."

I turned to him only to find him gazing serenely at the moon. Before I could respond he asked another question. "Do you like it?"

"What?"

"The moon. Do you like it?"

I thought of my zanpakuto, Sode no Shirayuki and how the crystal clear snow of hers always reminded me of the majesty of the moon. A small smile made its way on my lips.

"I love it."

"Does it bother you, that I do too?"

I turned to him in a flash, the second meaning of his words had not gone unnoticed. His grey eyes betrayed warmth I could not relate with him. They seemed so tender it sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach. He had angled his back so he was sitting against the tree while also being able to look at me. Now I knew I was dreaming. If he didn't look totally breath taking generally, he did, now. I loved how his eyes were flooding with affection. For me.

I didn't register me draw my knees to my chest, but I was glad I had a place to hide my face in. "I don't know.", I whispered in my clothes.

I felt his arms wrap around my waist as he pulled me into his lap. His lips abraded my hair and I was angled so I was breathing in the crisp white of his shirt. He caught my chin and made me look at him. I saw a small pink dart out and lick his thin lips. Slowly, he started leaning down towards me till we were inches away from each other. I felt his lips brush mine, checking if I was alright with it. But my damned mind had gone off its hinges. It just didn't react. It was like he had intoxicated me or something. I leaned up and clasped my mouth around his.

I don't know why but my super-slow mind chose that instance to rush back in time. My eyes opened wide.

This was wrong on so many levels. There was nothing about it that won't be branded as wrong. But then, I wondered why it felt so right…

I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest as I abandoned all attempts to think. I just let him draw me into the rhythm. I noticed how his lips felt so soft but so tough all the same and seemed to carry the same cherry blossom scent. I inhaled deeply, allowing it to cloud my mind and pull me away from reality.

I felt a strong burning in my lungs and I knew I needed to pull apart. I placed a small hand on his chest and he immediately drew back. He looked at me, in what I can only call a totally to-die-for manner, his lips parted and his breath escaping him in soft draws. Some strands of his hair fell across his face and made him look all the more good.

I never knew anything other than Chappy could have me fangirling but he certainly did.

I smiled softly as I got up from his lap, my legs suddenly feeling woozy. He stood up, looking nothing like he did moments ago. He was the perfect image of Kuchiki perfection. "I hope you decide soon enough. I have waited for way too long Rukia, to tell you this and I don't think I want to wait any longer for your reply."

He turned and walked off, leaving me staring behind me. I chuckled softly. Whatever happens, our staring games were never going to end.

Ichigo's POV

I looked out of the window, amazed at how the moon managed to remind me, every single time, of that annoying evil monkey midget. I sighed as I felt another pang hurt my chest. Why did she have to make me feel this way? Why did she have to bring me back to life only to push me out of hers? Why?

I wanted to go to Soul Society and tear that bastard's heart out of his chest. He had never even been there for her. Hell, he was her brother but he put her out for execution and actually came to escort her to death. Yet, he managed to steal her from me. What was it? His good looks? His money? His status? Rukia never struck me as a greedy bitch but I couldn't help but think along those lines. What else could it be?

I had no idea what I was going to do now. Dad had noticed how my aura seemed darker and Ishida had actually asked me if something had happened and that was just in about 24 hours. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get that image out of my mind. I grabbed the clock from my nightstand and threw it at the floor, watching it shatter into pieces. This was the seventh thing I had broken and I was nowhere next to done.

I felt like screaming, all to fill the silence. The room was so isolated it bit me in the butt. Her presence lingered everywhere. The closet belonged to her and I could almost see her stuff lying behind the draw. She was a sister to Karin and a daughter to Isshin. She was the world to me.

'Ichigo.'

Zangetsu called from deep within my inner world.

'What, old man?'

'Pull it together, lad. You are acting like a love-struck teenager.'

'If you look at it the way I am looking at it, that's just what I am.'

'You are looking at it the wrong way then.'

'Do you really think I need that shit right now?'

'Yes.'

I sighed. This wasn't getting over anytime soon.

'Yeah, so, tell me.'

'You need to get over her. Its not like you could ever get her.'

I scowled. 'Why?'

'She is a death-Goddess Ichigo, and you are just a human. This was not even a possibility.'

'Why didn't you tell me that while I was falling for her?'

'You realized how you were all over her yesterday itself, Ichigo.'

I just groaned. 'Look I will try my best, okay? But I don't promise anything.'

Pleased with that, he left my mind alone. And the emptiness was back to torture me. I sighed but did not let my mind wander over to her again. I grabbed my coat. I didn't know what I had in mind but I couldn't stay here any longer.

*TIME SKIP*

I was at the one place I shouldn't be at.

At the house of Inoue.

I knocked on the door, and waited patiently. She was most probably asleep. I cursed my rotten brains. What was I thinking? Minutes later, the door opened to reveal a groggy looking brunette. She was wearing a nightgown and had her hair in a bun.

"Kurosaki-kun?", she yawned softly.

"Eh, Inoue.", I scratched the back of my head. She caught my hand and pulled me inside, letting the door fall back in the frame with a dull thud. She escorted me to the living room where I sat down on a couch.

"Would you like to eat anything?"

My panic switches were immediately turned on, and my hands flew up, palms out, automatically. '"Don't bother. I have had my fill." I stroked my stomach.

"It won't be a bother in the least.", she chirped up and started to bee-line for the kitchen.

"No!", I grabbed her hand. "I came to talk to you not to eat."

Her cheeks colored and I started on my abusive mental rant again. Unlike what people seemed to think, I was perfectly aware of her obsession over me. But it was futile. Or had seemed so. Now, it looked like it was worth it.

She came to sit by me, timidly. Then, she did something totally senseless. She perked up and started sniffing the air around me. Her brows scrunched in confusion and I wondered why.

She sat back and stared at me with a horrified expression on her face. "Kurosaki-kun, you are drunk!", she exclaimed. Oh, man!

"Yeah, well, I…. um, kind of, am." I started rubbing the back of my neck again. It was suddenly so prickly!

I surveyed her form and my breath hitched. Why had I never noticed it before that she was so….sizeable. My eyes lingered where they shouldn't and she started fidgeting a bit. I looked back up to her face. She was so beautiful. I leaned forward and caught hold of her hair clasp, pulling her hair free. I smirked at how she jumped up at my actions. "You are looking good." My voice was not left untouched by the alcohol. I leaned towards her face till we were inches away. My hand came to rest on her thigh and started stroking it softly. She stiffened then sighed and leaned her face forward anticipating the kiss I was about to land. I cupped her cheek and fitted my lips to hers as my fingers started snaking under her skirt.

She moaned and leaned her head back as I forced her down on the couch. My hand left her cheek and tangled in her hair, pulling her head closer to mine. I was about to fall down on her when an image flashed in my mind.

Rukia.

I removed myself from over her, the effect of alcohol undertaken by the drug of love. I grabbed the coat that I had tossed off who knows when and started out of the house. The brunette called for me from behind my back and I turned to find her sitting up on the couch, her brows knitted together in confusion. "Did I do something wrong?" Her face was filled with hurt and grief and she looked incredibly close to tears.

A pang hurt my chest and whatever expression I had been making earlier turned into a grimace. "No, Inoue. It isn't your fault. Its just that…we are wrong."

She looked down at her hands and two tears steadily fell from her eyes. "Is is because of Rukia-san?"

I could hear the sobs quivering her voice and I was at her side immediately. I placed my hands on her knees only to find her skirt already soaked by her tears. I cursed myself, mentally. I knew exactly how she must feel. To have someone you love in the arms of another. And what hurt me worse was the woman I had put her through all this pain was never mine to be.

Tears started springing up to my eyes and in a long, long while, I just didn't care.

"Yes and no." I hung my head, not wanting to let her see the obvious tears.

She glanced up but I did not face her. She grabbed my chin gently and pulled my face up. She rested her forehead against mine, so that the tears that dripped down her eyes flowed down my cheeks, merging with my own.

She didn't need me to explain. She knew perfectly well what I meant. Her eyes were filled with understanding ….and pain. I felt her hand cover my own. "No strings attached, but just for tonight, let me make you forget Kurosaki-kun." With that she closed the distance between us.

Done! That incident with Inoue wasn't planned. It just came up. I am sorry for any mistakes you may find. I have been overly cautious but I am sure there are going to be many. :(

JoTerry: Yeah mine does too. Every single time I think of it. But it will get better surely? *sweat drops*