Author's Note: Heyyyyy lovelies! This shall be one of my longer, if not longest Author's Note! I just want to thank all of you for your continuous support for my story. Writing this fic started as just a form of distressing hobby for me, but now it has really become a source of happiness as I read your reviews and receive emails alerting me of a new follower/favourite. I am really grateful to have such wonderful readers/reviewers like you people, because I know I'm not the best writer but the fact that you guys always leave such nice reviews really gave me a lot of encouragement. Also, because I am really terrible at updating, and you guys are just the most patient people ever! I REALLY HONESTLY FREAKING LOVE YOU PEOPLE. THANK YOU SO FKING MUCH!

So this is the last chapter, and as much as I am sad to see my first multi-chapter fic come to an end, I feel so fortunate to have found such lovely people (and friends) like you guys. Like mentioned in my previous note, I would continue writing when I have the time. Be it one-shots or a new multi-chapter fic.

OKAY, now to thank the special people! Thank you theenglishgirl, DeviantHollow23, flyaway2fanfictionland, XDPirateLover1XD, Aletheya, RawrxRandomxNerd17, purplepam(mmmm), RukiaYoukuMaSaHi, deathbyheart, Nati Hallow, DinieLuvYunho, thyme spirit, ichiruki497, , and some guests. AND ALSO, SPECIAL THANK YOUS TO falconrukichi, Pandorrah, curio cherry, Indie07, and Anime Angel, because you guys reviewed for almost every chapter and its so nice to read your reviews every time I update. Thank you for sticking with me.

Alright, enough of my nonsensical ramblings.

DISCLAIMER: Bleach belongs to the almighty sensei Kubo.

Morning sunrays shone right into his face causing Ichigo to squint a little as he starts to wake up. He rubbed his eyes and yawned before turning to his side; a small smile crept on his face when his gaze fell on his closet. He suddenly stopped himself. Waitaminit! Did he always act like such an idiot when it comes to Rukia? He sat up and shook his head widely. Fuck, I'm losing it. Looking at the time on his clock, he quickly grabbed his school uniform and headed to the bathroom.

"GOOD MORNING ICHIGOOOOOOOO~~~~!" Isshin greeted his son with his signature flying-kick-attempt-gone-wrong which Ichigo dodges effortlessly causing Isshin to fly across the corridor with his face flat on the ground. "Morning, dad."

"Where's Rukia?" The teen asked Karin and Yuzu as he stepped into the dining room for breakfast. Does she have a knack for disappearing on him now? Again?

"Good morning to you too." Karin snapped with sarcasm. "She left early. Said she needed to take care of some things."

"Oh." Ichigo answered with an almost disappointed tone before grabbing a couple of toasts and stuffing them into a zip-lock bag. "I'm off." He announced as he left. "By-" Isshin's attempt at saying goodbye was rudely cut-off by the slamming of the front door. "It's almost as if I don't have a son and a third daughter anymore. Why do they always have to leave so early?"

"Obviously to get away from you." Karin scoffed.

"I demand a refund!"

"I'm sorry, Miss. But I don't do refunds."

Rukia slammed her fists on the counter before yelling at the shopkeeper. "DON'T "MISS" ME! You tricked me into buying the highest grade and most expensive one, but yet, it failed me. I want a refund."

Said shopkeeper hid his face behind his old, worn-out fan and let out a few nervous giggles before replying, "Oh please, even the best things can malfunction once in awhile." Seeing that Rukia glared at him with the mention of "once in awhile" he quickly salvaged the conversation (and his life) by adding, "but I'm sure, like really sure, it won't EVER happen again. Ever." To add to his apparent sincerity, the man gestured a little cross above his heart with his fingers.

Feeling her veins threatening to burst at any moment, she spoke icily, "How can you be so sure? I want my refund!"

"Oh come on, Kuchiki-san, it's just a small little fever. Nothing big that my gigai or you can't handle. You don't have to make such a big fuss about it."

"It shouldn't be able to fall sick in the first place!"

"Could it be that it wasn't my gigai's problem, but that someone was too weak?" Urahara Kisuke replied with his fan, once again, modestly covering his mouth as he let out a few "Ohohoho"s.

With that, Rukia couldn't hold her anger any longer as she reached out and pulled Kisuke by his shirt over the counter to yell into his face. "EXCUSE ME? WEAK?" After successfully scaring the daylights out of the shopkeeper with her high-pitch scream, she narrowed her eyes and demanded, "You will give me that refund, or at least, get me a new gigai before I, personally, tear down this stupid shop with my bare hands."

"A-a-a-ah… Hai…" Kisuke stammered in agreement. Satisfied, Rukia lets go of him and started walking towards the exit. While reaching out to slide the door open, she stopped and turned back to a very pale Kisuke. "You better have it ready by the end of the week." With that, she left.

"You just let her have her way like THAT? And you were calling her weak. PFFT!" Jinta sneered at Kisuke from behind after Rukia left.

"Have her look at you with those eyes and you'll see. Of all the things she could have inherited from her brother," Kisuke sighed.

Snickering at his employer/guardian/stupid-head, Jinta crawled over to the window just in time to watch Rukia leaving the front yard and walking towards the direction of Karakura High. "I still don't see it."

"Huh?"

"There must be something attractive about her, but I still don't see it. Either that, or stupid-berry-head is just plain crazy."

"Hmmmmm." Kisuke replied with a smirk and a hand below his chin, as if deep in thoughts. "I'm not so sure about that. But what I DO know is that someone has some restocking to do… HMMMM?"

Rukia walked into the classroom right on-the-dot, she strutted over to her seat and settled down, getting herself ready for class. She looked fairly calm and happy as she basked in her glory over her little triumph back at the shop.

Ichigo, on the other hand, was not so cheerful. There he was, staring so intensely at the raven-haired girl, you would think that she might just spontaneously combust under the scrutiny of his amber hues. His mind was in a state of frenzy as multiple thoughts flew around his head, "Where was she? What did she need to take care of? Did she meet someone? WHO THE HELL IS THAT SOMEONE? What the fuck is she so happy about? Fucking Haruka-kun*. Better not let me see you in school. Or I'm gonna go bankai on your ass. Stupid motherfu- She's looking at me! Shit. Act normal. ACT NORMAL! What do I normally do?"

Rukia raised an eyebrow when she saw the orange-head quickly turned away from her to look at the blackboard with his face contorting at weird angles. "Okay, I swear scowling was never this hard. How the hell did I do it like 24/7 in the past? Concentrate. Fuck you, Rukia. Stop looking at me. I say stop! Okay you know what? I really didn't want to know about you and your stupid early morning ventures, BUT YOU ASKED FOR IT." Ichigo turned to Rukia and opened his mouth, readying himself to interrogate Rukia about her whereabouts but he stopped himself midway as he recalled what happened the last time he did that. No, he couldn't. Sinking back into his chair, Ichigo rubbed the back of his head furiously. "Fineeee. I'm going to let you off this time. Consider yourself lucky, midget." He grumbled mentally. Though he was dying to know, he just couldn't afford to see Rukia walking away from him again.

For the rest of the class, Ichigo tried his best to avoid Rukia for fear that he would somehow let his emotions get the better of him and let slip a tirade of demanding questions and insults. On the outside, Ichigo looked like his usual uncaring, scowling self; but deep inside, he was practically going crazy as he mentally struggled with his growing thoughts about Rukia and whatever the hell she had to do this morning. By lunch, Ichigo was feeling exhausted, and he decided that he should just forget about it all. Well, easier said than done.

Ichigo dragged himself, with the help of Keigo, to the field at the back of school to have their lunch. They settled down at their usual spot and began eating. While the others were wolfing down their assorted bentos, Ichigo repeatedly tried to poke at his perfectly-made squid ball. Fucking thing just kept rolling around. No Rukia in the morning. Rukia smiling at something that probably wasn't about him. Having to avoid Rukia for the entire morning. AND NOW, stubborn food. Nothing was going his way today, and he was frustrated, to say the least. Worst day of his life.

Finally! Ichigo impaled the ball with one of his chopsticks. "Pfft. Some nerve you had to run around like that. But in the end, you're no match for me."He thought as he looked up from his bento box, and held the squid ball up to his eye-level. Then something caught his eye. He shifted the ball a little to his left, and there she was. Rukia sitting with the girls, in their class, at their usual spot below the tree, she was smiling, occasionally giggling, as some of the girls bickered over something. And, right there and then, all his frustrations seemed to add up to nothing. It just disappeared. Just like all the other times when he was feeling extremely low, or stressed, she just picked him right up.

With his eyes fixed on Rukia, Ichigo didn't even realize the infuriated figure storming towards him. Tatsuki rolled up her already-rolled-up sleeves readying herself to pummel a certain Kurosaki Ichigo, as she charged towards him. "Ichigo!" She yelled. The rest of the guys looked up at Tatsuki, and immediately scooted away from Ichigo upon hearing the deadly tone of her voice. Ichigo, on the other hand, merely glanced at her before returning his gaze to Rukia. "Yo."

"I don't know what the hell happen between you two. But, didn't you promise not to hurt her? I warned you didn't I? I WARNED YOU!" She roared. She, then, started yelling all sorts of insults at Ichigo and how sad Inoue must be feeling right now because of him. But Ichigo had already tuned her out, and was only hearing fragments of what she had to say.

Now, he was annoyed. The whole scolding thing was infiltrating his thoughts and his personal admiring-Rukia time. As if finally noticing she was there, Ichigo suddenly shouted back, "Well, what do you want from me?"

"Take responsibility, of course! And stop being an insensitive coward! I want you to make things right again! I don't know! Do what normal couples do! KISS AND MAKE UP!"

With that, Ichigo finally tore his eyes away from Rukia to look at Tatsuki in the eye. She had finally caught his attention. And all that was in his mind now was that she was right. She was right. He was the one at fault. He was the one who was insensitive and cowardly. And now, he should be the one to make things right. He had to.

With that determination, he nodded at Tatsuki, as if thanking her for opening his eyes and waking him up from his stupor. He needed to do this, and he shall. He walked past Tatsuki, leaving her in shock that he just agreed so easily. And there she was thinking that she might end up in a fight with her oldest friend, something that she tries to avoid at any given cost.

Ichigo stalked away from the group, across the field with fire in his eyes. Yes, this was it. No turning back now. He spots her, and he quickly widened his steps in order to get to her faster.

She was still sitting on the grass when she felt someone towering over her. She looked up to see Ichigo staring, almost glaring, at her with those fiery amber orbs; she raised one of her eyebrows. "What the-" but she didn't get to finish her sentence, as his strong hands rudely hoisted her up by her waist before he crashed his lips against hers. Rukia's eyes widened at his sudden behaviour, and she continued to stare at him in shock. It was happening so fast.

For Ichigo, however, it felt like it was happening in slow-mo. He could feel everything. Her soft lips, her sweet taste, her intoxicating smell, and her flawless body that seemed to mould itself perfectly against his own as he held her. It was only then that Ichigo realized that all these while he was dying to kiss her, and now that he was, he felt complete. Who would've thought that his first kiss would be this perfect. Rukia is perfect.

After about one and a half seconds, Ichigo found himself rolling away from her and hitting the school fence as she violently smacked him away. "YOU STUPID PERVERT!" She yelled before giving him another kick and stomping away from the field.

Everyone else stood still, in shock at what just happened, before cheering, high-fiving, and bro-fisting at Ichigo's bold gesture. Tatsuki, on the other hand, wanted to just go over there and strangle the carrot-top to death; but ultimately, she decided against it as she just witnessed Ichigo practically throwing the reputation, he had maintained for so long, away for Rukia. She let out a sad smile, before leaving the scene, silently giving them her blessings.

Rukia never returned to class after that.

The orange-haired teen stared at her empty desk. Part of him was still relishing the feeling of her lips against his, while the other part was just downright depressed, and worried. He had seemed so confident then; but now, he was just sitting there, back to his paranoid self. Did he scare her? Where was she now? Was it a wrong move?

He was never good with words, and he had concluded a couple of times to himself, in the past hour, that that kiss was pretty much the only way he knew how to convey his feelings to her. It wasn't like Ichigo hoped for a fairytale/shoujo type scenario where such an abrupt kiss would suddenly evoke such strong and passionate feelings in her that she immediately kisses him back and starts to proclaim her undying love for him. But thinking about it now, why didn't it happen like that? He couldn't decide if this was the best or worst day of his life.

They walked back from school in silence. They always walked in silence, but today, Ichigo needed someone to talk to. He was at loss, to say the least. He had never experienced this before. Never fell in love before, and now, it all seemed so… complicated. What the hell just happened back there? Was it really right to kiss her? "It felt right." He reasoned to himself. And he knew he love her, so it should feel right, right? Okay, so maybe he was a bit impulsive and rash, but at that moment, it was really now or never. "Yeah, that's it." It didn't matter if it was right or not. He would've done it anyway. And he damn well did not regret it. He smiled at that, as he looked up to the sky. He was now sure that today was the best day of his life.

Then he felt it, and his heart dropped.

Struggling a little, Ichigo instantly whipped out his shinigami badge and placed it above his chest, ready to shunpo to where she was; but before he could separate his soul from his body, Chad set his hand between his chest and the badge. "Don't."

"But-"

"Let her go, Ichigo. It took you awhile to realize, she needs time too."

He glared at Chad, but felt the sekaimon doors closing. He slowly allowed his arms to fall limp by his sides. He cursed a little as he scowled towards the direction of where the sekaimon was opened. It was too late now anyway. With that, he continued his walk back home with Chad in silence.

"Yeah, it took me awhile."

So Ichigo will wait.

Because he love her. Because she meant the world to him. Because she was his ray of light, the one who made the rain go away. Because he have been waiting all these while anyway.

Because he knew that Rukia would always be worth the wait.

THE END.

*If you don't know/remember who Haruka-kun is, please refer back to Chapter 12.

For those who are confused with the last part, erm, Rukia opened a sekaimon and went back to Soul Society. Well, yeah. I'M SORRY IF THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU HAVE ANTICIPATED. I really am. I tried thinking of ways to change it, but I decided against it in the end because because the ending explains my title. I actually chose this title because I already pre-planned the ending to be like this. I made no promise of returned feelings, but I think I made it pretty obvious what Rukia's feelings were, yes? LOL I don't know. Oh my God.

ANYWAY, THE GOOD NEWS IS I have already decided to write an epilogue because I feel so guilty for putting this up in an IchiRuki tag without any real IchiRuki romance or whatever you call it. Yep! So, stay tuned. But in the mean time, I'm just going to leave this as "Complete."

Once again, thank you all for your support and loving. [;

And here is just some… I don't know, something I wrote for the fun of writing:

"YOU KISSED HER?" The three yelled in unison as Ichigo closed the front door.

"Ye-Wha-WAIT, how the hell did- WHAT THE HELL?" He stood on guard as he spewed out several other inaudible words.

"You kissed her in front of the whole freaking school, of course we would come to find out, stupid." Karin replied. Ichigo's scowl deepened. "Oh right, I seemed to have forgotten about that little detail." Waving them off, he tried to squirm his way to his room, but each time he tried he was stopped by one of his meddlesome family members.

"AWWWW! ICHI-NII! THAT WAS SHOOOOO SHWEEEETTTTT!" Yuzu swooned, "In front of the WHOLE SCHOOL at that! Rukia-nee-san is sooooo luckyyyyyyy!"

"Yeah yeah."

"Sweet? Is there something wrong with you, Yuzu? Ichi-nii just VIOLATED HER!" Karin exclaimed as she flailed her arms above her head in disagreement. "Pervert."

"VIOLAT- I didn't violate her. That's such a strong word! I just- You know what, forget it!"

And lastly, it was Isshin. Ichigo sighed; he knew what was going to happen. The old man would either do his signature victory dance, cry tears of joy to his mother's poster, or, at the very least, he would do a little cheer with pompoms and all. But to his surprise, he did neither.

Instead Isshin placed his arm across his son's shoulder and looked at him seriously. "Listen, kid." Ichigo gulped at his father's solemn tone. "I know this has been an eventful day for you. And, you must have conjured up a lot confidence and determination to do what you did today. And I'm proud of you son. BUT, the last time I checked, your school had fourteen stairwells. So while you were at it, couldn't you have just brought her to any one of them, any one will do, and make daddy some BABIES?"