First, I'd just liked to thank everyone who added this story to their story alert and favourite story as well as the author alert. Also, thanks for the reviews, I decided to reply to them on the fanfic at the end instead of sending a reply. Anyways, Chapter 2 is up, hope you enjoy!

Turning around, Rukia saw a man with blue eyes and shoulder length blond hair, part of which covered his left eye.

"Kira" Ichigo turned to face the man fully.

"You should come with me now, Kurosaki-san" said the man calmly.

"So…my punishment has been decided" it wasn't a question but a statement. Kira looked away, but nodded.

"You do know that doesn't give me any reason to leave with you quietly" said Ichigo.

"Then…you leave me no choice" said Kira resignedly. Rukia looked between the two, confused.

"Ichigo?" she questioned. Kira turned to look at her then and she saw his eyes widen in shock.

"Rukia…?" he murmured. Seeing the chance, Ichigo took it. He swung his fist at the man, catching him off guard.

"Come on!" he said, grabbing Rukia and running. Rukia was reminded of yesterday when they had been on the run, except this time, she knew who they were running from.

"Why is it that when I'm with you, the only thing I get to do is run from YOUR enemies?" she said, keeping up with him, albeit with a bit of difficulty.

"He's not an enemy…he's just doing his job" said Ichigo, not even breaking a sweat.

"So…where are we going?" asked Rukia as they ducked into a boutique.

"Just pretend like we've been here for some time. Don't let him see your face" said Ichigo.

"I think we should be more concerned for your hair" said Rukia. Glancing up at his own hair, he cringed. Looking around, Rukia saw that the store dealt in mostly winter wear. It was almost everywhere, with the exception of a few clothes stacked on the shelves. Most of the winter wear hung on racks, arranged according to their colours. Picking out a black jacket with a hood, she pushed it onto him.

"Use that to hide your hair" she said, before walking to the back of the store where the clothes were. She picked them up and held them against her, imitating most shoppers. Glancing at Ichigo, she saw that he had slipped into the jacket. He pulled up the hood and walked over to her.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

"Make it look like we're discussing whether this jacket is warm enough" he said. Out of the corner of her eyes, Rukia saw Kira and immediately, she grabbed onto the edge of the jacket.

"I don't think that's thick enough" she said softly. She saw Kira glance at them for a moment before walking off.

"What did he do?" asked Ichigo as they continued the act.

"Just looked over for a moment" she replied, keeping an eye out for the man.

"We should be safe now. When I say go, run" slipping off the jacket, he hung it back on the rack.

"Go" he murmured, and the two ran out of the store. They continued running until they ended up at the Urahara shop once again.

"Why do we always end up here?" asked Rukia.

"Cause it's the safest place to go" Stepping in, Ichigo made his way to the back room, Rukia following close behind.

"Kurosaki-kun, back so soon?" teased the shop owner as he emerged.

"Urahara, I don't have time for this" Ichigo said tiredly.

"They found you" it was a statement. Ichigo nodded and Rukia immediately sensed the change in the atmosphere.

"If it isn't Kuchiki-san! I haven't introduced myself to you, have I?" he said, grinning.

"Urahara Kisuke at your service!" he said in a sing-song voice.

"Now then, why don't I show you our Chappy merchandise?" he said, steering her away from Ichigo. Rukia's eyes widened at the mention of Chappy.

"You have them?!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Of course!" grinned Urahara, flicking open his fan and fanning himself with it.

"Wait…what about Ichi…" turning around, Rukia saw that Ichigo was nowhere to be found. Glaring up at Urahara, she stomped on his foot hard before walking off.

"Ow!!" he yelled out, dropping down to nurse his injured foot.

"Kurosaki-kun was right!" mumbled Urahara to himself, grinning even as he did so. By this time, Rukia had found the Chappy merchandise and was happily browsing through them, all thoughts of Ichigo and Urahara gone from her mind. By the time she was done, the counter was groaning with the weight of all the Chappy merchandise she had bought. It was at this time that Ichigo finally reappeared.

"Wha…" he trailed off, staring at the bags sitting on the counter, all containing some sort of Chappy merchandise. Rukia turned to him, grinning brightly.

"You'll help me with these, won't you?" she said, her tone darkening even as she kept the grin on her face. Ichigo looked at the numerous bags before turning to Urahara.

"And you'll lent us your car" without a word, he swiped the keys from the hook located on the wall behind the counter and walked off, ignoring Urahara's protests.

"You coming?" he asked. Rukia pointed to the bags and sighing, Ichigo made his way back, taking more than half of the bags with him as he made his way towards the car. Opening the back door, he tossed the bags in.

"Don't toss them!" shouted out Rukia as she watched the bags containing her beloved Chappy bounce slightly before settling.

"They aren't going to break. Now, hurry up, midget" he said, already making his way to the driver seat. Hearing the word 'midget' once again, Rukia aimed a swift kick to his head, causing him to stumble, both from surprise and the force of her kick.

"What the hell?!" he said, turning to glare at Rukia who glared right back.

"Don't call me a midget" she glowered at him.

"A midget will always be a midget, midget" Rukia felt her left eye twitch as she saw red. She kicked him in the shins, putting all her anger into the kick while cursing herself for wearing sandals. Heels would've been better, she thought. However, it was enough to cause Ichigo to bend down almost immediately, nursing his injured leg.

"Do you want my help or not?" the annoyance was evident in his voice.

"Then don't call me a midget!" retorted Rukia.

"Fine…for today" he murmured the last part which Rukia missed, unfortunately. Climbing into the passenger's seat, she waited for Ichigo to get in.

When they reached her house, Rukia was openly gaping at him.

"How did you know where I live?" questioned Rukia.

"Let's just get this in before your brother comes back and I have to explain to him what I'm doing with you" he said, ignoring her as he opened the back door and started to unload the bags. Once he was done with unloading the bags in her home, she kicked his back, causing him to stumble forward.

"Is that how you thank someone, midget?!" he said, turning to glare at her.

"Then don't ignore me. And I'm not a midget!" she retorted, stepping into her home and slamming the door in his face before he could say anything else. She heard him utter a string of curses (all directed at her) but choosing to ignore them, she headed up to her room where the bags had been placed. Blinking in surprise, she wondered how Ichigo had known which room was hers. But the sight of Chappy caused all thoughts to fly from her mind as she immediately began to unpack them. By the time she was done, her room was filled with Chappy. Even her phone had Chappy as well as her earpieces. Flopping down on her bed, she heaved a sigh of happiness as she cuddled her Chappy doll.

**********

When she awoke, it was already dark outside. Shooting up, she looked around her room. She had no idea when she had fallen asleep. Getting out of bed, she headed downstairs to the kitchen. On the table, a meal had been prepared for her. She ate the meal in silence, barely tasting it. She was still puzzled over how Ichigo had known. It was possible that he had seen her leaving her house and had known where she lived but Ichigo couldn't have known which was her room unless she had told him, which she hadn't. Sighing, she banged her head on the table (avoiding her almost finished meal), all the thinking both confusing and irritating her. Also, what was up with Ichigo's constant running away and disappearing? And what punishment had he been talking about? Where did he need to go back to? Why was he being forced to? Rukia had many questions to which she had no answers and it infuriated her to no end. Finally, she stood up and washed the dirty dishes, putting all her effort and concentration in the task. When she was done, she stomped up the stairs to her room, locking the room and flopping onto her bed, screaming into her pillow.

"Okay, calm down Rukia. What that strawberry does or what he's involved in does not concern us. I don't have to wreck my brain thinking up answers to his problems" she murmured to herself over and over, all the while puzzling over why she cared so much. There was something intriguing about him. And she felt safe with him. It was as though she had known him forever.

***********

Rukia groaned as she snatched up her phone from her bedside table. She opened one eye blearily and took a look at the caller ID. 'Inoue Orihime'.

"Inoue…what's up?" she asked.

"Ano…Kuchiki-san…I wanted to ask if you still wanted to see the café with me…" murmured the girl.

"Now?" questioned Rukia.

"If…if it's not too much trouble…" Rukia could tell that Inoue still felt guilty for yesterday.

"Sure. Same place yesterday? Around ten should be fine right?"

"Hai!" said Inoue, excitedly.

"Alright…see you at ten then" said Rukia before hanging up. Getting out of bed, she freshened up and headed downstairs.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, nii-sama" Byakuya turned to her, and motioned for her to sit. His breakfast lay in front of him, untouched.

"Rukia…what have you been doing?" Rukia hesitated for a moment before she took her seat, surprised at her brother's question.

"I've been shopping…with friends" she answered uncertainly.

"Have you been meeting with a boy?" Byakuya turned to look at her then and noticed the slight paling of her face at his question.

"Who is he?" Byakuya didn't wait for her answer. It was obvious from her reaction.

"He's just a friend, nii-sama" The two of them sat in silence, neither touching their food as Byakuya contemplated Rukia's answer.

"I'd like to meet him"

"But…!" Rukia was silenced by a hard look from Byakuya. She nodded her head meekly.

"I'll be free on Wednesday next week" He stood up then and placed his plate in the sink.

"I'll see if he's free on that day" said Rukia as she walked her brother to the door. They exchanged their goodbyes and when the door slammed shut, Rukia let out a loud groan. Things were already getting complicated. Sighing she turned back and forced down her breakfast, having lost her appetite.

How the heck am I supposed to break this to Ichigo? Rukia trudged up the stairs to her room, stopping at her closet to pick out a white sundress. Its neckline and sleeves were outlined in blue and a few small blue flowers decorated the dress. Slipping into the dress, she slipped on the same watch she had yesterday and slipped into a comfortable pair of flats that she often paired with that sundress.

"Kuchiki-san, Ohayo!" called out Orihime as Rukia approached her. She smiled politely at the girl, hiding her surprise at how punctual Orihime was.

"Ohayo" Orihime was dressed in a white spaghetti strap tank which she had paired with a light blue knee length skirt and blue sandals.

"Come on!" said Orihime, grinning as she pulled Rukia with her towards the café. When they reached, Rukia could see why Orihime was so in love with it. Its entrance was decorated with potted plants, placed on either side of the glass doors. Inside the café, two bunnies stood on either side of the doors and on the glass doors, there were stickers of animals such as bunnies, cats, dogs, lions, tigers. Even the windows had them. All the stickers were of them relaxing, even the lions and tigers. Stepping inside, they were immediately greeted by the two bunnies that showed them to their seats. The tables were round and pink in colour, and the seats were painted gentle lavender. The walls looked as though many different colours of paint had been splashed on them.

"May I have your order?" said a waitress in a maid outfit as she bounded over. Looking at the menu, Rukia picked the safest thing she saw. No wonder Orihime liked the café. Its food was as bizarre as her tastes.

"I'll have a cappuccino and the strawberry shortcake" nodding, the waitress wrote down her order and turned to Orihime.

"Um…I'll have the kiwi milkshake and red banana paste cake" without even flinching, the waitress wrote down Orihime's order and walked off.

"So…what do you think?" asked Orihime excitedly.

"It's very nice" Rukia answered. By the time they were done, Rukia was sure she would never set another foot in the café, no matter how much she liked it. Its food was too bizarre for her tastes.

"Shall we go here again sometime?" asked Orihime.

"NO! I mean…let's go elsewhere" Rukia caught herself in time. Taking in Orihime's puzzled look, she simply smiled. Turning, she spotted Urahara's shop.

"I've someplace I really need to go so…see you soon?" Rukia began edging towards the shop and away from Orihime who nodded and waved her goodbye. Stepping into the shop, Rukia was surprised to see not a soul in sight.

"Urahara-san?" she called out softly as she made her way towards the back room.

"Kurosaki-kun, how are you feeling?" hearing his voice, she made her way towards the door quietly, having no idea why she found herself tiptoeing even as she made her way over.

"A bit funny but overall I feel fine" Pressing her ear against the door, Rukia could hear clearly every single word.

"You know you still have to go back, right?" Rukia noted the solemn tone in Urahara's voice.

"I know that already"

"You know those two aren't the same person. Even if they look the same and act the same way most of the time"

"I know that already, Urahara!" Ichigo was getting irritated.

"I'm just making sure that you don't see her as a replacement"

"I'm not, okay?" Hearing footsteps approaching the door, Rukia jumped back and dashed towards the front of the store just in time as the door clicked open. Ichigo stepped out, followed by Urahara.

"Kuchiki-san, how nice to see you again" smiled Urahara. Ichigo turned to look at her for a moment before averting his eyes from her. Rukia's eyes widened in shock and surprise at his actions.

"Why aren't you looking at me?" she questioned, already feeling her rage simmering even as she felt a sharp pain in her chest.

"Don't mind him, Kuchiki-san…Kurosaki-kun just has a few problems he needs to sort out" said Urahara as he steered her away. Looking back at Ichigo, Rukia felt a sharp ache even as she turned away from him, the image of him turning away from her burned into her mind.

So...Chapter 2 is a bit shorter. I thought ending here was better rather than dragging it out until I couldn't end it. Anyways, I'd like to know what you all think of it. Constructive criticism is welcome too! And I know I didn't do a good job describing ( I can't seem to get the hang of it) *cries* well...I actually replied to DanceOfTheWhiteMoon review already before I decided to reply in the fic itself so... here you go.

To tenei star: Glad you liked it. I have the same sentiments as you about Ichigo, haha.

To kaiserkawaii: Thanks! I can't say anything about the plot though you're welcome to take as many guesses as you want

To glon morski: Rukia didn't lose her memory in this fic. The answers to why Ichigo knows her and she doesn't will be revealed in later chapters, won't be much later since Rukia will have to know for the story to progress.

Actually I don't when I'll be updating. Have to go back to the movies again. They were the inspiration for this story and since it's kind of drying up I figured watching the movies again might get my gears running! See y'all next time! Oh, and the next chapter will probably be longer. *runs off to get popcorn*