Chapter 1: Some Things Can't Change
2 years later...
Ichigo walked home from school. It was sunny outside though it didn't match his mood. He couldn't sleep last night like always. No matter how hard he tried he'd wake up from something. He walked into his room and sat on his bed. He looked up at the picture Rukia had drawn for him which hung on his wall. It was the only thing she'd left behind.
"Big brother!" Ichigo heard Yuzu shout. She bardge into his room. "Knock before you walk in here!" Ichigo chided. "Your friend's here," Yuzu said, ignoring his comment. Ichigo walked downstairs and looked to see Keigo standing there. "Yo Ichigo! Wanna go to this cafe in town?" Keigo asked, making odd hand gestures like always. Ichigo pulled in a smile and looked at Keigo. "Sure," Ichigo said, slipping his shoes back on.
They walked down the sidewalk. The roads were busy and people ran around. "There's this hot cashier there that I think will bring your hopes up!" Keigo said. "Stop trying to set me up on blind dates, I'll find someone someday," Ichigo said. "Who like Orihime?"
"How many times do I have to tell you, we're not getting together! She's not my type. Besides Ishida's got her taken care of," Ichigo said. "Yeah, he's mega lucky!" When they arrived at the cafe it was as crowded as expected. There was an entertainment session where some people played smooth jazz and tables where people could eat and drink.
On the right was a place where you could sit and hang out. "See what did I tell ya!" Keigo said. They took a seat at a table while Ichigo went to go order some soda. "Can I get two bottles of soda?" Ichigo asked the cashier.
When she turned Ichigo looked at her kind of strangely. She looked exactly like Rukia except her eyes were green. "That will be five yen," the girl said. Ichigo handed her the money as she went to go get the drinks.
As soon as she handed him the drink, before she could say anything, Ichigo ran off. He sat at the table and handed him the drink. "See what did I tell you, she's hot isn't she?" Keigo said. "She looks exactly like Rukia," Ichigo sighed.
"That's why she's hot, I was hoping maybe she'd take you off your problems," Keigo said. "How is that going to get her off my mind?"
The whole time they were there, Ichigo kept her eyes on the girl who was giving out drinks. "You can't take your eyes off her can you?" Keigo said, Ichigo choking on his soda as he said that. "You should go ask her out!"
Ichigo imagined dating a girl who looked like Rukia except with green eyes. "No way!" Ichigo shouted. "Excuse me sir," they heard someone. They looked up to see that cashier. "I noticed you were looking at me, is something wrong?" she asked, smiling brightly.
"Yeah, Ichigo wants to go on a date with you!" Keigo suddenly shouted. Ichigo kicked him in the knee under the table. The girl blushed. "Great! We can go tomorrow. Meet me here at eight at night!" she said, running back to the cash register. Ichigo gave Keigo a cold stare.
"What the hell!" Ichigo whispered. "What, you had it coming. Besides, she was interested in you enough to say yes," Keigo said, shrugging his shoulders back. Ichigo sipped his soda. "This is different. You wouldn't understand what I'm going through..." Ichigo mumbled.
A breeze went down his cheek as he heard his name. "I'm sorry..." it whispered. Ichigo turned his view behind him, feeling as if someone where behind him. "Is something wrong?" Ichigo turned back to the table. "I thought I heard something," Ichigo excused.
When he got home it was night time now, and completely dark out. After he finished eating he went back in his room and laid back on his bed. He looked up at the ceiling and then at the picture of the bunny once more. He closed his eyes and sighed. "What has Keigo gotten me into to?" Ichigo asked himself.
He turned his body toward the window and closed his eyes.
In his dream...
Ichigo couldn't quite tell where he was. It was pitch black everywhere, and he was in his shihakusho. "Hello?" Ichigo shouted. No response. Ichigo began taking steps forward. He looked down on the ground and saw that every step made the ground turn red, and in it he'd see Rukia taking the same step he did.
He began running, looking down to see Rukia running aswell. Up ahead, a light glistened. It was welcoming and Ichigo ran to it. When he reached it he saw that he was in a cave surrounded by thousands of trees.
It was like a forest with all sorts of colors. "This has to be the weirdest dream I've ever had," Ichigo mumbled. He began walking down the forest pathway as it opened before him almost suspiciously. The leaves rustled and the sun broke through the tree leaves as the ground covered in broken branches, vines and moss shined.
Up ahead, he saw a huge tree that was bigger than the rest of them. Ichigo walked over to it and looked in awe of how big it was. This was definitely a different sort of place. It was very mythical like, you couldn't believe it. "Is any one here?" Ichigo called as he walked over to the tree. Ichigo sighed at the silence and leaned on the tree as he looked into the forest. "Where the hell have I gone?" Ichigo murmured.
Suddenly, a wrestling in the leaves startled him. He looked at the trees, grabbing his zanpakuto. He then looked in amazement. She stared at him in shock of his appearance and took a few steps toward him. "Ichigo...?" she stuttered. "R-Rukia..?"
Rukia walked up to Ichigo, not taking her eyes off him. "What are you doing here?" she asked, rather angry. "I should be asking you that," Ichigo said. Rukia smiled a bit and gasped at his words. "It really is you, Ichigo. Your OK," Rukia said.
They gazed into eachother's eyes for awhile. "I see your doing well yourself," Ichigo said. Rukia couldn't hold her joy as a huge smile appeared on her face and she hopped over to him to embrace him, catching him by surprise.
Ichigo wrapped his arms around Rukia's waist, squeezing tightly as she cried on his shoulder. "I missed you!" Ichigo said. "I missed you too." Rukia let go, picking up her nonchalant attitude. "I never expected to see you here," Rukia said. "Me neither."
"You look different," Rukia said as she looked at his longer hair. Ichigo looked at her. She had finally gotten a little taller and her hair was a bit longer. Even her boobs got a little bigger! Ichigo couldn't believe how much Rukia had changed.
They took a seat on the roots of the tree and began talking about how their lives were going. They'd been doing fine and everything work related has staid the same. Ichigo felt safe and happy to be talking to Rukia again; to see that she was OK.
It feels like it's been forever since they actual sat down and really got to chat with eachother, too long. Just then they were feeling that feeling that something was missing in their minds, in their hearts...
They laid in the grass together and looked up at the passing clouds. It was beautiful, and it was warm as the light glistened on them. They quickly noticed that the moon was behind the sun but not completely. You could see both the moon and the sun, it was bizarre and beautiful. It was like their own perfect world.
"I'm so happy," Rukia said, gazing at Ichigo who looked at her from the other side. "I'm happy that I could see you again. That I could look at your brown eyes again," Rukia said, a tear running down her cheek. Ichigo took his finger and ran it down her cheek below her eye, wiping the tear away.
Her skin was soft and her cheeks were red like roses. Ichigo was about to pull his hand from hers when she grabbed it to keep it in place. She held it their, as his warmth flowed into her body. Her soft skin tickling Ichigo's as she put both hands on his one hand. Rukia closed her eyes and leaned on Ichigo. Rukia's head fit perfectly between Ichigo's shoulder and head. She wrapped her arm around Ichigo's other shoulder, pulling him toward her.
Suddenly, Ichigo vanished and Rukia looked, bewildered and afraid. "Ichigo?" she called. "Ichigo?"
She began looking everywhere from left to right, not seeing him anywhere. She began crying out of frustration as she felt herself fading away as well.
In the Soul Society...
Rukia's eyes flung open as she shot up from her futon. She began thinking about her dream of Ichigo. Was it really a dream? Rukia rubbed her eyes as a tear went down it. She was in her white kimono (her pajamas) as her purple futon sparkled. The light from outside shined but she wanted to go back to sleep and dream about Ichigo,
Rukia walked outside and looked at Byakuya's garden. It was warm and bright, not a cloud in the sky, yet her head ached. She put her hand on her head and shielded the sun from her eyes. Rukia wondered around Byakuya's house looking for him.
When she couldn't find him she went down to the squad ten barracks. She was quickly greeted by Rangiku Matsumoto who was walking around in her shihakusho. "Good morning vice-captain Matsumoto," Rukia greeted, bowing her head down.
"Oh, hey Rukia, you look a wreck!" Rangiku said, looking at her face. "Did you not sleep well?" Rukia sighed and looked down. "No, that's not it..." Rukia said, her voice shaken. "I slept... great."
Rangiku could sense Rukia's distress and patted her head. "Come inside and have a drink or two," Rangiku said. Rukia went inside with and Rangiku treated her with something to drink. Rukia just looked down in her cup filled with alcohol.
"What did you dream about?" Rangiku asked. "I was in some mythical land," Rukia said. "That doesn't sound bad!" Rangiku said, thinking of how she dreams like that all the time. "Well it was nice, especially since-" Rukia paused. "Since what?"
"Since Ichigo was there with me. He was the only one there, and I was so happy to see him. It was just... words couldn't describe how I felt."
Rukia sipped some of her drink and looked Rangiku straight in the eyes. "But then he left, and I woke up..." Rukia said, drinking all of what was in her cup. "Well what could get you so depressed about that?" Rangiku asked, pouring her some more alcohol.
"I can't explain the proper meaning," Rukia said. "Don't feel so sad about it. I dream dreams like that all the time!" Rangiku said, then pausing in her words. She did dream like that but mainly about Gin and how he left.
(I made an eclipse in the story because Rukia is white moon and Ichigo is black sun and every time the sun and the moon meet, an eclipse forms and Rukia and Ichigo's feelings spark and they see each other and feel happy. When the sun and moon are parted then they are hiding their own feelings. If one vanishes the other can't function because they depend on each other) Please read next story to find out what happens next, Stay Tune!