Gin watched from the doorframe with crossed arms in amusement at the huddled figure that currently leaned over the toilet bowl. The contents of her feeble breakfast and lunch tossed itself into the watery depths of the toilet and began to stink up the room. After remaining calm and hunched over the bowl for a few more minutes, just to make sure, Rukia sat up and wiped off the drool left on her lips.

Gin rolled his now open eyes and walked away, saying quite casually:

"I didn't beat ya that hard. Ya've taken beatings like those before." Rukia stood over the bathroom sink and grabbed the edges of it tightly, her eyes shut just as hard. Oh how she wanted to run away so badly, but she had no money for it. She could live with Renji, but that would give him trouble. She could run away, but she would probably just end up in another part of Japan's slums.

She wobbled over to the towel rack and wiped her face dry, stumbling back out the door again. She was in Gin's mansion again, and he had just beaten her for not performing her job properly. After the night of mind-blowing sex she had with the orange haired virgin, she had forgotten to take her pay.

At least she enjoyed the night.

She smiled at the thought and pressed two fingers to her lips, gently feeling the warmth he had left there when he kissed her tenderly. Not a single one of her bruises or scars had hurt that night, because he was so gentle. Who knew that men like him still existed? After feeling a liquid substance on her lips, Rukia brought her fingers down to look at them.

Blood. Again.

Did Ichimaru not know how to stop beating a girl when the line was already crossed?

Rukia sighed and rubbed the traces of blood away, walking out of the neatly refurbished bathroom. Unlike Rukia, Ichimaru and Aizen lived in Karakura Town, in a very rich part too. She walked out of the mansion quietly and closed the door behind her with a small click. Once again left with her thoughts in the early morning light of Karakura Town, she drifted off back to the man last night. That must've been her best night yet. And yet again, she just had to be stupid and not ask for his name.

She sighed in agitation and continued to walk in her skimpy black and white dress that barely reached mid-thigh. She now began to receive dirties from people walking past her. She almost smiled in relief. This was what she was used to. Not the happy, clean town that would smile at her.

No.

That wasn't who Ichimaru Rukia was.

Rukia brought out her small schedule book that had Chappy decorated all over it and opened it up to today's date.

"Hn… that day already?" she murmured to herself. She began to roam the streets for a local clinic.

"Oh, there's a clinic straight ahead, down this street! It's a home clinic that the Kurosaki family owns," a kind woman directed for her. She had kind, brown eyes and hair hidden under a hat. Rukia smiled in relief and fixed her black and white beret on her head.

"Thank you so much!" The two both exchanged goodbyes and turned the other way. Rukia was glad she was a kind woman that didn't look down upon her this time. Rukia was fed up in not asking for directions so she decided to ask some people that didn't give her a dirty. She continued to walk down the road and smiled when she found a blue neon light that said Kurosaki Clinic. She entered the glass doors with the silver handles and looked at the cash register to see if they would yet again glare.

The cash register person appeared to be busy, so Rukia just strolled in and began to look for the section she required. She bent down and began to inspect which packet she should get. She grabbed 1 box and grabbed another few boxes of protection for her late night jobs. She walked over to the cash register counter and cleared her throat gently.

A young woman around her age looked up and smiled brightly.

"Hi! How may I help you?" she said cheerfully. She looked to be around a year or so younger than Rukia herself. Rukia, past all her embarrassment and shame, had laid her items on the table. The girl at the counter had long, sandy coloured hair that was tied in two plaits. She scanned the items while humming.

"A pregnancy test… Condoms… Birth Control Pills…" she began. She paused in her scanning and looked up at the woman she was treating. Yuzu raised a brow. She looked no older than herself! Yuzu cleared her throat. "Ah, excuse me… are you…?" she began. The woman with the black hair looked up, shocking Yuzu with her beauty. "Are you… going on a honeymoon with all these items?"

The woman across her burst out laughing.

"Ahah! I wish…" she said quietly afterwards. Yuzu raised a brow but continued to punch in the numbers to the register anyway.

"Ok, that totals to around 940 yen," she said happily. Rukia nodded and began to take the bills out of her wallet to give to the sweet girl. It was good that she wasn't judging her just by looking at her contents.

"Oi, Yuzu!" a voice from upstairs called. The sandy haired girl called Yuzu called back.

"Yea, Nii-chan?" Rukia looked up from stuffing her products in her bag. Rukia bowed her head and left. The girl named Yuzu quickly bowed back. Before Rukia could actually take a glance at who was coming down the stairs, she had left the shop.

Ichigo walked down the stairs as soon as a customer left, and redirected his attention towards Yuzu.

"We ran outta milk and bread, want me to go down to the convenience store to get some?" he proposed, dressed in a button up, navy shirt with a black wife beater underneath, baggy, beige pants finishing the look with white sneakers. Yuzu nodded and looked out the door where the previous customer had just left.

I knew her from somewhere… she thought with her brows creased. She raised her head to the picture where her father was young, and had his arms around his two comrade's shoulders. One had glasses and white hair where the other high school boy had shoulder length black hair.

"That's 1,950 yen thank you!" the male chirped happily. Ichigo handed the man the cash and turned to walk out the entrance until a shout was heard.

"Hey! You come back here!" a voice shouted in panic. Ichigo had no time to think when a lithe, small figure had run past him, most likely stealing the food that was in her arms. Ichigo began to take chase and sped up, catching up to the girl easily. He grabbed her wrist, and the two of them came to an abrupt stop.

"Hey, you shouldn't steal like that, it's against the-" he stopped in his lecture and allowed his eyes to widen and his heart to race faster in shock when indeed the girl that was held in his firm grip was the girl he lost his virginity to. She held a fierce glare and yanked her hand out of his grip, dashing through the streets once again, and out of sight. He stilled and remained rooted to the spot as he watched the girl go.

He lost her, again.

True, after he had become wasted, he had no idea what he was doing to her body, and was doing everything that night off instinct, but he did want to get a chance to get to know her, not just a simple one night stand. So, he was disappointed when he raised an arm and cuddled around nothing beside him, one side of his bed cold. He rubbed a hand down his face and continued to maintain his daily routine instead of just hanging over her. She was a prostitute, what could he do? She didn't have the time to live a social life, Ichigo concluded.

But after finding her again, it raised his hopes up. That maybe, one day he could find her. One day, he could just talk with her over a cup of coffee. The question was if that would actually happen one day, seeing as she was a thief too. Ichigo shook his head and continued his lonely walk home, pondering on his own thoughts.

If she was a prostitute, didn't she earn thousands a night? So why would she steal? Just to keep up her bad girl reputation? Some part of Ichigo wanted him to believe that, but another part of him begged to look at it in a different perspective. He shrugged it off.

Who cared anyway? He barely knew the girl.

"Oh fuck, that was close," Rukia hissed, panting with her hands on her knees. She had run all the way from Karakura Town to the Karakura Slums. Her heart had begun to hurt badly at her unhealthy condition, and she swallowed another gulp or two of air. Standing up from her feeble condition, she turned around and began to knock on the door that belonged to Renji. It slowly creaked open, revealing an expectant Renji with his elbow on the doorframe, his other hand in his pocket.

"…"

"…"

"Get in, Ichimaru Rukia."

"Yes sir."

Rukia obediently walked into the run down apartment and ignored the heavy sigh that followed her. Renji sat on his couch and covered his face with his hands, leaning against his knees. He rubbed the aging lines out of his face and turned to Rukia who had currently perched herself on his kitchen counter. He raised a brow and stared, waiting for an explanation of why she was so tired, and why she had so much more food than she could afford.

"Rukia… Where'd you get that food?" he asked bluntly. Her head was hanging low.

"From Karakura Supermarket…"

"In the Town or Slums?"

"…"

"Answer me Ichimaru."

"Town…"

"Now, how did you get this food again?"

"…"

"Rukia!"

"I ran ok?! Geez! It's not like we haven't stolen from supermarkets before!!" she shouted. Renji stood up abruptly from his couch and towered over her figure.

"Yes, we have stolen from supermarkets before, but that was in the slums! In here! Our suburb, our neighbourhood! Not the town! You do realize how many times I've told you that they have video cameras there, don't you?!"

"They're too fucking rich to bother coming to our suburb anyway!" she screamed. Renji swore loudly and kicked his couch over and ran a hand through his hair, his eyes livid.

"Fuck this all to HELL RUKIA! DO YOU WANT TO GET CAUGHT BY THE POLICE?! DO YOU REALLY WANT TO LIVE A LIFE IN PRISON RATHER THAN HERE?! THINGS ARE HARD ENOUGH AS IT IS!!"

"AS IF YOU WOULD KNOW, YOU'RE NOT A WHORE LIKE ME! YOU'RE NOT A SLUT LIKE ME! YOU'RE NOT ME!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face. "FUCK THIS, I'D RATHER BE IN PRISON RIGHT NOW THAN LIVE AS ME!" She grabbed the pile of goods she had stolen and chucked them all around Renji's apartment all at once. "HAVE IT, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE, I DON'T CARE! I'LL JUST GO ROT IN MY APARTMENT AND FUCKING DIE, NO ONE WANTS ME ANYWAY!"

She stormed out of his apartment and slammed the door with all her strength, the hinges of his door needing to be repaired again. The rain, feeling her sorrow, began to come down in bucketfuls, mocking her, taunting her, killing her. She did the only thing she could do at the moment.

She ran.

Her feet pounding and slipping against the wet concrete, her high heels lost ages ago, she ran. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't bother using her sense of direction this time. She just ran, unaware of the fact that she wasn't running towards the hellhole she called her home. No, she wasn't running there. She was running farther away from there, she was running towards somewhere her heart was tugging her towards. She was running where she had unconsciously felt secure, safe, sound, warm…

Loved.

SPLASH

"GET OUT OF MY FUCKING ROOM!!"

"Now we've really made him mad otou-chan!"

"All for the better!"

"I'm so not related to you guys."

Ichigo kicked his father out of his room and, seething, pointed towards the doorway, his two sisters marching out obediently. Ichigo slammed his door closed after his family had left his room and dragged a hand down his dripping, wet face. He looked at the offending bucket on the floor that was originally filled with water and kicked it as hard as he could.

"FUCK FAMILY VACATIONS!"

The wheels on the car spun round and round, the engine roaring silently and the windows that were rolled down blowing wind and oxygen in the family sedan that was driving through the streets. Ichigo had a grim expression on his face for the whole time he was driving, his small mp3 player on full blast. His father beside him was tired from last night's late surgery and his two sisters had fallen asleep eventually.

What was Kurosaki Ichigo doing you may ask?

And where exactly was he driving to?

Well, everytime the autumn chill came around, in mid-September, the Kurosaki family was given a choice to- no, was forcibly dragged to a holiday vacation that would last a week or two.

Why?

Well, couldn't a lonely father just spend some quality time with his family for once?

So here he was, stuck in a car with a crazy man, a wonderful cook, and a sarcastic little sister.

Quite an interesting combo for a family, no?

Ichigo sighed and roughly pulled the earphones out of his ear after becoming bored of listening to just music. He looked at the other occupants of the car and allowed a small twitch of his lips upwards. His family was just a crazy bunch of people that you couldn't help but not hate. He drove on with one arm steadily holding the wheel, and another leaning against the windowsill. He allowed his eyes to widen when he heard the panicked screams and shouts from nearby vicinity. He turned his head to see a large crowd of people towering over something on the ground.

"What if it's a person in need of medical help?" his father gruffly asked, his chin resting on his son's shoulder.

"GAH!" Ichigo shouted, swerving the car slightly and stepping hard on the brakes. "DON'T DO THAT OLD MAN!" he shouted at his insane father. He brushed off his son's comment and opened the door to the car with a serious expression on, Yuzu all wide-awake and following him with a first aid kit. Karin watched after them from the car with furrowed eyebrows and a worried scowl. Ichigo sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Might as well check it out, he grumbled to himself. He begrudgingly opened the door and closed it with a loud slam, frustrated at the day's events. He pushed through the crowd and gently excused himself to see what the commotion was. His heart stopped beating and his breath hitched in his throat, his eyes wide with shock.

That girl! His head began to spin. What was she doing here like this?!

The girl that had stolen his purity was laying on the floor, her head all hot and sweaty, her mouth opened in a desperate attempt to gather oxygen in her lungs, her body splayed out on the floor, soaked wet from the previous night's rain. He bent down next to his father and felt her temperature, yelping and stealing his hand back. He was burned. Literally.

"Dad, what's wrong with her?!" he asked worriedly.

"High temperature… heavy breathing… Ichigo, we have to take her back to the clinic for better check up and inspection," Isshin muttered dangerously, facing his son. Ichigo nodded and ushered Yuzu to the car, following after her noticing that his father had already picked up the woman bridal style. The crowd around the woman had dispersed, no longer too worried knowing that they were in the safe hands of the Kurosaki family.

Isshin had laid the girl in the back seat with her head on Yuzu's lap and her legs on Karin's own. Karin opened her mouth to remark, but kept quiet. She had noticed that both her father and Ichigo were quite serious at the moment. The drive back to Kurosaki clinic was silent too.

Blurry, blinding, white lights.

It was the only thing she could see right now. Rukia opened her eyes and rubbed at them furiously, trying to make her eyesight somewhat better. She sat up and looked around herself, noticing it was too clean, too white, and definitely not. Her. Apartment. She looked down at the clothes she was wearing and noticed that the long sleeve dress she had on was actually past mid-thigh. It was a purple bubble dress that ended halfway down her shins.

She looked around once again and nearly jumped at the feeling of something moving in her arm. She looked at her hand to see a needle taped inside of her skin. She immediately became repulsed and began to peel the tape off. She first looked to where the needle connected and became afraid.

What was she doing in a healthy and sanitized hospital looking room?!

She began to rip at the tape and scratch at it, becoming afraid with each passing second. She shouldn't be here. She didn't deserve to be here, not again.

"Ah! You shouldn't do that!" came a surprised young voice. Rukia looked towards the doorway to a girl with sandy hair tied in a high ponytail. Wait…

That girl from the clinic!

Rukia's wide eyes must've given some sort of sign to Yuzu to be careful.

"Hey… we found you on the street and decided to treat you for the moment… are you feeling okay?" Yuzu asked, sitting on the bed. Rukia began to slowly inch away and nodded. The girl didn't seem to recognize her from yesterday. "Oh! Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Yuzu, Kurosaki Yuzu. How about you? What's your name, miss?" Rukia eyed her warily and swallowed the large lump in her throat.

"R-Rukia…" she mumbled. Yuzu's eyes lightened up.

"Rukia? Is it katakana for Lucia in Italian? For light?"

"How the fuck should I know?!" Rukia hissed. She then clasped her mouth with her hand quickly, her eyes wide. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to be so rude," Rukia muttered, not sharing eye contact with the girl. Great, now she probably hates me and thinks of me as a bitch, Rukia seethed in her mind. What else could she do? She wasn't raised with manners, and neither was her home.

"Oh that's ok, I'm used to it. I have a brother just like you!" she giggled. Rukia raised her head and eyed the girl with interest.

"Just… Just like me?" she questioned. She doubted that. Yuzu smiled and nodded.

"Oh! I baked some cookies, that's the reason I came down here in the first place! Silly me!" She pulled out of her pocket a pink handkerchief that was neatly tied into a small pouch with a blue ribbon. She pulled the ribbon and opened it up to reveal animal shaped cookies. Rukia's eyes lit up.

"May I?" Rukia asked eagerly. Yuzu giggled.

"Sure!"

Rukia gingerly picked up a cookie shaped like a giraffe and popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly and savouring the taste.

"Is it… Is it not nice?" Yuzu questioned worriedly, noticing Rukia's eyes were closed. They snapped open and she shook her head vigorously.

"No, no, no! They're delicious! The best I've ever tasted!" Rukia said happily, reaching for one more. Yuzu smiled at the young woman. She checked the IV drip was still going and stood up, gently placing the cookies in Rukia's hand.

"Here, you can have the rest, I made a whole batch upstairs. You just stay here and rest ok?"

"No!"

Yuzu raised a brow at the girl's outburst. Rukia blushed and bowed her head down.

"I-I mean, ok…" she mumbled. Yuzu smiled and walked out the door. Rukia looked at the cookies in her hand and looked beside her bed to find a bin there. She held the edge of the handkerchief and poured its contents into the bin.

I don't deserve this kindness, nor this delicious food. I shouldn't even be here, Rukia thought gloomily. She emptied out the crumbs too and folded the handkerchief neatly onto the table beside her white bed. She stood up and pulled the tape and needle out of her hand. She began to walk over to open the door and realized it was locked. Rukia shook the handle a few more times.

It wouldn't budge.

"Damn!" Rukia cursed. The light thunder of footsteps told her someone was coming, so she jumped back into bed, jabbed the needle back in and stuck the tape back on top. She covered her feeble body with the blanket and leaned against the wall with pillows supporting her back and head, prepared for whoever would come through the door.

However, she was far from prepared at who had opened the door.

Tears sprung to her eyes when she saw the man that had cared for her come into view. He smiled slightly and walked over, sitting on the bed.

"Hey stranger, how ya feeling?" Ichigo asked kindly, stroking her hair. He had no idea what gave him the impulse to do that, he just did it like it was… natural. Rukia's smile turned into a small cry as tears began to fall again. Ichigo began to panic. "W-What's wrong? Was it something I said? Did I do something the other night? Did-"

"Just…" Ichigo paused when he heard the soft voice of the woman beside him. She surprised him when she embraced him and hid her face in his chest. "Just hold me, ok?" she cried softly, her whimpers clear and sad. Ichigo nodded though she couldn't see and held her to his frame, his hand stroking her hair over and over in a comforting motion.

What are you doing, Rukia?! Rukia berated in her mind. Don't get attached to men! That was the number one law in becoming a prostitute!

"It's ok… I'll help you if I can…"

And that alone was enough to break her willpower and soul, her cries becoming louder and her tears falling faster. After a while when she had finished crying, the two just sat there, leaning against the wall of pillows, listening to each other's breathing. Ichigo realized what he was doing and the moment suddenly became awkward from him. He raised an arm from her shoulder and coughed into his hand lightly to gain her attention. When he received no reaction, he coughed again.

He looked down and smiled lightly when he realized the girl was asleep. He felt her temperature and was glad to see it had gone down a lot since yesterday. She laid her back down on the bed comfortably and tucked her in. He stood up and turned off the light, closing the door quietly with a click.

As soon as that click was heard, Rukia's eyes snapped open.

He had to admit, this was quite a funny scene to walk into. He opened the door outwards and watched in silent laughter as the girl with black hair was bent down, 3 bobby pins and paper clips in her mouth and one of each in her hands as she tried to picklock the door.

"So, this is what you were up to?" Isshin had said, amused. Rukia blushed and sat down on the floor in defeat.

"Alright, what do you want," Rukia sighed. She looked up at the man and her heart skipped a beat. Her lungs stopped taking in air, and her eyes became stressed at the stuff she was putting them through. She knew him. She didn't know where, she didn't know how, but-

She knew this man.

The man in his 40s smiled at her.

"So, finally recognize me, Rukia-chan?"

"W-who are you?" Rukia asked cautiously. Isshin chuckled.

"No need to worry, but tell me, how is good ol' Byakuya?" He nearly raised a brow at how clueless she was.

"Who the fuck is Byakuya?" she asked mercilessly. Isshin's worry pit began to grow at the bottom of his stomach.

"Aren't you… part of the Kuchikis?" he asked quietly with caution like she did earlier.

"I'm an Ichimaru."

All time ceased right there and then for Isshin.

What in the world was she doing as an Ichimaru!? Before Isshin could even open his lips to speak, his son came in and broke the tension.

"Hey dad, is she-" Ichigo's eyes widened a fair bit when he saw her sitting on the floor. "Hey, hey! What are you doing out of bed and on the floor?! Get back on!" he said sternly, ushering her back. She had a deadly glare on her face, but did nothing as he settled her back into bed. Ichigo turned to the doorway to ask his father another thing, but by the time he turned his head, his father was gone. Ichigo raised a brow.

That was weird…

"Hey… I didn't catch a name yet…" a quiet voice beside him muttered. Ichigo looked to his right. He stared into the doe-like eyes once again and examined her face. Though she was always skinny, this time she seemed a bit more skinnier than usual, her cheeks a bit hollow, grey bags under her eyes. Ichigo held her hand that used to have the IV drip in it and looked back into her eyes.

"Kurosaki. Kurosaki Ichigo," he introduced. Rukia smiled.

"Finally, I know the name of the man who gave me the best sex ever."

"Huh!?" Ichigo blushed furiously. Rukia smirked at him and giggled.

"You say you're a virgin, but I oh so beg to differ. It even seemed like you were better than me! You're a natural Hun," she winked.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled. "Don't say stuff like that!"

Rukia laughed and leaned against her pillows for another good hour or so of sleep.

"Wake me up when it's 5, ok?" she mumbled before going out cold like a light. Ichigo raised a brow at the strange girl. Apparently, according to Yuzu, her name was Rukia. He shook his head and headed out the door, closing it softly. He stood with his ear to the door to see if she was going to move anymore. When she didn't he nodded in satisfaction. He walked off, testing her name out on his tongue for the first time.

"Rukia. Ru..ki..a.. Hm… Strange name for a Jap girl…" he said out loud.

"Not any stranger than yours, you're a freaking fruit," Karin remarked bluntly from her position on the couch as she flicked through the channels.

"Karin, shut up."

"Bite me."

A deep sigh of aggravation left the lips of a brown haired man who had currently thrown his thick, black glasses down onto the table and rubbed the bridge of his nose in stress. Across him was a fox like man that sat slumped in the black, leather chair, his normally happy and sinister smile now a frown.

"Where the fuck did that whore go?" Aizen hissed, slamming his hand on the table. Ichimaru ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he did really beat her too hard this time. After all, she vomited. Plus a little side dish of blood. But that was usual.

Ichimaru stood up from his leather chair and walked towards the old fashioned black phone. He quickly dialed the numbers he wanted and snarled into the phone as soon as someone picked up.

"Find Ichimaru Rukia, NOW!"

"This really wasn't necessary!" a feeble voice countered in defeat.

"Nonsense! You were running away, we couldn't have that happen!" said an overly happy 40 year old.

"Not my idea, wanted no part of this," came the dull voice of a 19-year-old girl.

"Come on Karin, she's in frail condition!" cheered another girl.

Well, what in the world was happening?

Well…

Tied up in a strait jacket and hung on a stick carried between two people was Rukia. She felt like a food offering to the gods right now, and Isshin and Karin were the tribal people about to eat her alive. They carried the stick on their left shoulders, Rukia hanging upside down like a pig over a spitfire would. She had the most amusing expression on her face at the present moment, for she now knew what it would be like to run away from the family.

Scratch that off the list!

She sighed in defeat and allowed herself to be carried away back to the clinic. Hopefully no one was looking or gawking at her right now – Oh look, there's a little boy that's staring at her in shock with his mouth wide open and his ice-cream fallen to the ground in shock. Well, that was expected. Oh look, his mother who is a spitting image of him has the exact same expression on. Funny. Rukia gave a grimaced smile to the child and mother and continued to be carried off.

As they neared the clinic, Rukia awaited her impending doom with the family.

Oh how she had learned her lesson in not running away.

Her sight was blurred and continually moving up and down as she bobbed with each step Karin and Isshin took, very ungrateful for the fact that they were both walking at different paces. Rukia sighed in aggravation and admitted defeat. Well actually, she admitted that as soon as she was wrapped in the strait jacket.

Why couldn't they see that?

Ichigo watched from his position standing next to the window as he watched the young woman be dragged back. He chuckled to himself as he watched the vain expression on her face. When she had lifted her head after feeling someone was gazing at her, she lifted her head and made direct eye contact with the man. The gaze and tension between the two was thick until Rukia had finally smiled lightly and turned away, the slightest of pink tint on her cheeks. He chuckled though he had a small red tint of his own and headed downstairs to greet the young woman.

That's what you get for trying to run away from the Kurosaki family.

Author's Note -

Another installment of Where Angels Fear to Tread :D

hope u enjoyed it ^^

Ruki-Chan