A/N: And I'm back with new chapter. This one will really complicate everything. Will it be a good thing? We'll see...
Thank you for your wonderful words and your support! I am really happy you like this story. Just that we share the same love(or in my case obsession) towards HitsuRuki makes me squeal! I hope you like this chapter and...we'll see each other soon(I really failed in restraining myself, this update should have come later)! And again, thank you for reading this!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!

Together Alone

One Step That Changed Everything

"MATSUMOTO! GET OUT OF THERE ALREADY!"

"Woman can't even take showers these days!" She said to herself, in bathroom, putting on her shinigami clothes. "I'M COMING, I'M COMING!"

Toshiro and the rest of the Cleaning Squad were in Orihime's apartment waiting only for Matsumoto to get ready. Even Ichigo and his team were there on time. Rukia was sitting on the floor, near the exit door, obviously out of the patience. It was almost 8:30 and Matsumoto was in the bathroom for the last hour. Ikkaku was sleeping on the sofa, his head on Orihime's shoulder, who was sitting next to him, and she was blushing from that contact, but didn't say a word. And he didn't even wake up due to shouting that happened few moments ago. It wasn't the first time Toshiro yelled this evening anyway, so the bald shinigami got used to it. The tension could be cut with knife, and almost everyone, even Yumichika, were aware of it. This whole mission needed to be done very quickly, because having Menos in Karakura town was not really a great thing. Mere hollows were very dangerous, and the effect of Menos walking, or whatever they were capable of, around this town was very disturbing and had to be dealt with quickly. In the mission description Toshiro got only two weeks to finish this, but he knew… the sooner they're done, the better.

"Geez, you really need to work on your patience Captain!" Matsumoto said entering the living room. "Here, I'm ready!"

"Let's go!" Toshiro said, not in the mood to start fighting with his lieutenant. In a few seconds they were all in front of Orihime's building, including Ikkaku who was rubbing his swollen eyes. They stood in front of white-haired Captain waiting for orders. Only Ichigo was evidently annoyed at something, while others were just eager to start this. Toshiro looked at them and frowned.

"You all know your team comrades and route, so only thing I need to tell you now is to be careful and in case of emergence use the cell phones you got. Now go!" They all went their ways in the matter of seconds, some excited like Ikkaku, others annoyed like Ichigo, but they all went their ways.

Rukia and Hisagi haven't used flash step, because it was their first time fighting together, so they didn't knew fighting techniques of other and they weren't really sure what to do. So, they had to move fast, because of the destination distance and the reiatsu that was popping up and disappearing every few seconds. Everyone in Cleaning squad got a destination they were responsible for. It wasn't a one place thing, they literally got one part of a town they had to clean and it wasn't an easy thing to even pass trough, let alone clean it.

"What on earth is happening here?" Rukia asked not really anyone, maybe just herself.

"No clue. I can't even decipher that reiatsu, it keeps disappearing!" Hisagi said as they jumped from one rooftop to another. "We should find one destination point and wait until it's stabilized."

"I agree! If we keep chasing it, it won't show up any time soon." Reiatsu was really so low and kept disappearing that they weren't even able to point its destination.

"There!" Hisagi pointed at the park that was semi-lit. Rukia nodded and they went to the pointed destination. Rukia was calming her breathing while Hisagi sat on the bench and placed his hands to his knees, obviously trying to catch a breath too. "We should've flash stepped." He said looking all over the park, as trying to see if anyone is there too. It was still early, so someone could be there. But on his surprise, the park was empty.

"Where is everyone?" As if reading his mind Rukia asked.

"I was just wondering that." He said with a soft frown. "It's not even 9; there should be people here, right?"

"Yeah, weird." She said looking around. "Anyway, what's the plan?"

"Well, if they really are Menos, we still don't know what level. All that Captain Hitsugaya said was that we should clean the area and that research team got around 20 locations that were supposedly highly populated by that reiatsu."

"That means we should concentrate on finding them ourselves, because our route is pretty wide."

"Yeah, that should be easy." He said sarcastically. "But yes, that's our only choice."

"Great!" She said tiredly. "This will be one long night."

"…and then I wanted to see the rest of it, but Ikkaku was already pissed, so they dragged me home."

"MATSUMOTO! FOCUS!"

"Oh come on Captain, relax! We might not even get to fight tonight."

"That's not a reason to not pay attention!" They were on the roof of some old building, watching the small part of the area they got. In front of them was an old reconstruction area. The temperature was really going downhill, but that didn't bother Hitsugaya. In fact, it was the only reason he had even one shred of patience left. Matsumoto was babbling since the moment they flash stepped on there, and she was really killing his focus. He wasn't really sure if the owner of that reiatsu was scared of them, or was just teasing them, waiting for them to follow him and fall in trap. It could be anything really. Toshiro wasn't even sure of the level of intelligence those things possessed. They weren't an Espada level, but they were still pretty strong. Strong enough that Captain-Commander sent three lieutenants and one very strong substitute to take care of it. If this woman would shut up just for one second…

"Anyway, I saw you today!" And that was the reason for him to stop paying any attention at all to the reiatsu that was disappearing all the time. She had that naughty grin on her face. He knew that grin and it was never a good thing…at least not for him. Not that he cared Matsumoto saw him, it was because she saw them, and he was sure he didn't want her to start teasing him. But that was inevitably coming, he was sure. If he was going to ignore obvious attraction towards that one girl and focus on staying what they already were – friends, then this wasn't helping at all. He thought about that the whole day, even when they had breakfast, and decided it was all pointless. She had her strings and he had his. They were better like this. At least like this he would get to talk to her, and he wasn't going to destroy that. He ignored Matsumoto and remained still starring in the sight before him, as if he didn't hear her. But, she knew better. His composure was too stiff, she saw the way he started to clench his hands and the way he forcefully made his body to relax, or at least try.
"You were at that restaurant." She stated the obvious, just to let him know that she in fact did see him...them. Toshiro was trying really hard to remain still, to ignore her, not to snap. And Matsumoto only became more determined.
"I didn't know you had a thing for Kuchiki girl, Captain!" Bingo! That did it! She could clearly see annoyance on his face. Matsumoto didn't actually know they spent time together, or that what she said was actually...well, true. She only saw them together once or twice. She remembered that they were together on the training ground that day in Soul Society. The only thing she knew was that this could be her new weapon in teasing her Captain, that was for sure.

"I think I told you to remain focused." He said calmly, but it was too late now to act indifferent to this.

"What? So you do?"

"MATSUMOTO!" Yes, too late! She ignored his yelling like usual, and continued.

"That's great Captain, I mean I think you would make a cute couple! She is short too, so-"

"WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!" Fuck! A mistake, big mistake and he knew it, but it was too late to repair the mess he just made. He wanted to kick himself. This was a very bad thing, he knew his lieutenant. Even if it wasn't anything important she would make sure to get the best of it…just to torture him. Matsumoto was really surprised at this. It froze her in her tracks. Friends? When did they become friends? This was becoming more serious than just what she had planned, so she decided to let it go…for now. And the distraction came in the right time.

"CAPTAIN, A HOLLOW!"

"KUROSAKI, SLOW DOWN!" They were trying to catch up with him, but even though he didn't use flash step he sure was quick. Ishida was yelling, trying not to use hirenkyaku, because they were not alone. Orihime and Chad would never catch them like that, but this did it. He appeared in front of Ichigo and stopped him in spot. The two remaining continued to get to them.

"WHAT THE HELL ISHIDA?" The orange boy was really pissed.

"Stop it Kurosaki! Inoue and Chad can't run that fast. I can see you have some unresolved issues, but don't let it jeopardize this mission…or them."

"Unresolved issues? What the hell are you talking about? And this mission is important to me too, why is everyone questioning my resolve?"

"I really don't care, as long as you put yourself together." Ishida said. They were both focused in the battle of strongest frown, or at least that was the way it looked for anyone else.

"Kurosaki-kun… is everything okay?" Orihime and Chad finally arrived. They were trying to catch their breath. When he heard her voice and saw their arrival, Ishida stepped back allowing Ichigo to start walking again…to win.

"Yeah, let's go!" Ichigo said not even looking at the two. They all started walking, allowing him to go few steps ahead. While Ishida was mad and Chad slightly confused, Orihime kept staring in the back of an orange-headed man in front of her. She knew something wasn't right ever since this afternoon, but what…she wasn't really sure of that. Ever since Rukia was gone he was closed in his own world, never letting anyone even close. Before she was really trying to get to him, in her own way, but after Rukia left she saw that that wasn't happening anytime soon. Even though she cared about her, this all made Orihime very angry. The raven-head girl had him in the palm of her hand and she wasn't even trying. Why did Rukia get a chance or a privilege, however you looked at it, to get to see his world, and she was cast far away…forgotten! There wasn't much left in her world, in her life…and Kurosaki Ichigo was part of those pieces she saved barely. But her strain of thoughts was interrupted quickly…

"I can sense hollow reiatsu in that direction, we better hurry!" Ishida almost yelled.

"That's a fifth one, but I still don't see Menos!" Hisagi said getting back on the ground after he killed the last hollow on their radar. It was near 1 o'clock and five hollows were all they got so far. Even though that was a small number from what they expected, all of the hollows were stronger than usual, and it took them more time than they expected.

"And all of the threatening reiatsu is gone now." Rukia said as a follow up to his sentence. They were indeed tired, but they were prepared to face more if needed. "AND so far, I'm winning!" That she said with a huge grin on her face. They made it into a contest, after Hisagi said 'It's 1:0 for me!' She actually found out that he was a fun guy to hang around, even though he did piss her of after that bold statement that he would definitely win.

"Don't get ahead of yourself Kuchiki Rukia, I still have time left!" He said smirking.

"Maybe, but there's no reiatsu of anything you can slay nearby." She said crossing her arms grinning. And he knew she was right. All of the disappearing reiatsu they chased disappeared for good.

"Tomorrow then… we continue with this score! But now I think it's time to head back, there's no point in staying here." And with that they started walking to Orihime's apartment. The night was really a cold one, it looked as it was going to snow. They had good 45 minutes to said apartment.

"I think we should flash step, this will take forever!"

"Race ya?" And with that he was gone. Rukia stood clueless for few seconds and then flash stepped herself, trying to catch up with lieutenant that just left. After only few minutes she was already behind him, but...

"Too slow Kuchiki, too slow!"

"This doesn't count, you left with no warning!" They were in front of Orihime's building. Hisagi was grinning due to his victory and Rukia was standing in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"No warning? I know for a fact I asked you to race me and you followed." He said calmly, and that pissed her of more. "Just admit you lost."

"I DID NOT!" He was laughing and she stood there frowning with her hands clenched in fists.

"What on earth is going on here?" When they turned around they could see white-haired Captain approaching with his lieutenant. She had a cut on her face that was still bleeding slightly.

"Nothing!" They said in tune. Toshiro frowned looking at the two before him, but was pleased to see they could at least function together and none of them got hurt. And at least the first night was over and his lieutenant was quiet for awhile now… that's a change.

"Lieutenant Rangiku, are you okay?" Rukia asked concerned, looking at her wound.

"This?" Matsumoto asked casually pointing at her face. "Oh it's nothing, just stupid Menos!"

"Menos?" Hisagi asked surprised.

"This is not the time or place to discuss this. Let's go upstairs." Hitsugaya said calmly walking past them. They all followed, climbing stairs that led in to Orihime's apartment.

When they got up the apartment was empty. There was no sign of Orihime or others. Matsumoto went to the bathroom to clean her wound, while others worked on getting into their Gigai. After that and Hisagi making a tea, they all sat in living room to exchange information they recovered their first night.

"Report?" Toshiro asked motioning towards the two that were placing their cups back on table. Rukia looked at Hisagi and he nodded as if allowing her to talk.

"There's not much to report Captain. Five hollows, stronger one at that matter, and strange reiatsu that was disappearing whole night was everything we discovered. Although we tried to follow the said reiatsu it was impossible, it kept escaping or disappearing every time we came near." She said looking at teal-eyed Captain that was already forming a frown on his face.

"Yes, well…" He said lowering his gaze to the table in front of him. "I believe we found that reiatsu. That, or another one like it." Hisagi and Rukia were still looking at him intrigued. He continued. "First we encountered few minor hollows, but after we defeated them Menos appeared. And they were Adjuchas level. We defeated all three of them, and that's how Matsumoto got cut." He motioned towards his lieutenant that was already sleeping on Orihime's sofa.

"Adjuchas? What are they doing here?" Hisagi asked looking at Toshiro.

"I really don't know, but we have to search the area tomorrow again…and we have to wait for others to return. We'll know more then, I hope." They nodded and sat silent for few minutes, obviously thinking about what happened. But Rukia broke the silence…

"Oh, I just remembered… Did anyone make sleeping arrangements?" That anyone was supposed to be Hitsugaya Toshiro.

"I suppose we can't all fit in here, or can we?" Hisagi asked looking around the room. Orihime's apartment was a smaller one, but it still had some space. Before Toshiro could answer the door opened. It was Ichigo and others. They were all fine, no one got injured as far as Rukia could tell.

"Ichigo!" She said calmly. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah…" He said scratching his head. "We're fine." And they all sat around the table, except Chad who remained standing near them.

"So…?" Hitsugaya said after few moments of silence. Ishida began to speak, so everyone turned to look at him.

"Well, there were only three hollows, which we killed-"

"You mean which I killed." Ichigo interrupted him.

"Well, if you would stop running for a second, maybe I would get a chance to get near." The Quincy said, annoyed.

"The point is I defeated them by myself." Ichigo said crossing his arms and grinning.

"If I wasn't there, you wouldn't even sense them." Ishida said angry.

"The hell I wouldn't! I sensed them the moment you did and-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" It was Rukia who lost her patience. "Both of you stop it!" She said more calmly, trying to regain her composure. Orihime, who was sitting, almost jumped at this. Toshiro, Ichigo and Ishida looked at Rukia in wonder, while Matsumoto only snored once. It seems Toshiro yelled enough around her for her to get used to it. And after Rukia took a deep breath she continued. "So, what are you actually trying to say is that you only saw three hollows and that's it, right?"

"Yeah." Ichigo said scratching his head again.

"It seems we'll have to wait for Ikkaku and Yumichika. Maybe they'll be able to tell us more." Toshiro said crossing his hands in thought.

"Yeah, they're not coming!" Ichigo said looking bored. Rukia turned around to look at him, her eyes widening and Toshiro did the same.

"What?" Toshiro asked. Again, Ishida spoke.

"We met them half an hour ago and they said they will be sleeping at Keigo's apartment. They told us to tell you they'll be here first thing in the morning."

"Did they tell you anything about their route?" Toshiro asked annoyed at his comrades.

"Just that they didn't find anything interesting." Ishida said.

"But knowing Ikkaku, we can't really know anything for sure. It depends on what he finds interesting." Hisagi said looking serious. Toshiro took few seconds to calm himself and then he nodded slightly, more to himself.

"I suppose this is it for tonight." He said getting up. "Get your stuff. We should leave Inoue to rest. We already took too much of her space." Everyone just looked at him surprised.

"Oh it's not a problem really!" Orihime said waving her hands defensively.

"Wait…Leave where?" Hisagi asked surprised.

"You should get home Kurosaki. And the rest of you too, we still have long way until this mission is completed." Toshiro said, ignoring black-haired lieutenant for a moment. Ichigo just nodded at this and stood up.

"We'll see you all tomorrow then!" He said nodding at them and then waved goodbye. Rukia and Orihime waved back too. After they left Rukia turned around and asked the same question Hisagi did moments before.

"Leave where Captain?"

"I've managed to rent us an apartment two blocks away from here, so we won't have to bother anyone. It's large enough for all of us to sleep." Matsumoto said barely awake, but proud grin was visible on her face.

"Rent? How?" Rukia asked in wonder.

"You don't want to know." Toshiro said tiredly when he passed her to his way to the exit door. Matsumoto and Hisagi followed. Rukia too, after waving Orihime goodbye, went after them.

The apartment was a large one, with only basic furnishing. It had four rooms, including living room. It also had small kitchen and bathroom and a large balcony. The building was an older one so many apartments were vacant, including this one that was on the last floor. When Rukia stepped on the balcony she was amazed by the view. All of the rooftops around were smaller so she could see almost everything. She wondered for a second how Matsumoto got this, but decided that Hitsugaya was really right – she didn't want to know. Everyone already got ready for sleep, but she remained there, leaning on the fence, looking at the night sky. Sleep was not even near. The air was chilly, but she welcomed it, not really minding the cold. She never did actually...
There were so many things on her mind to even think about that. She really missed this place, but not as much as she thought she would. When she saw Ichigo and others today she saw how good they were doing and was really happy. Before she left to Soul Society everyone was tired and worn out because of that war, she was glad they got back on tracks. Orihime even told her today that she was planning on becoming a teacher. The rest too probably had plans. That was a good thing. They were all lost for a long time, just like Rukia, it was the time for them to find their way back. She was too walking the same road for a long time, so she really understood them. Only when she got the chance to become a lieutenant she realized she really needed a change and a new path. She was really grateful she had met Ichigo, he helped her a lot. And others too. She understood the importance of friendship because of them. Before them she thought she had lost everything, but now she knew she really did have someone to relay on. There was her brother that cared about her in his own way, and Renji, she could always count on him, and…

"You'll catch a cold Kuchiki!" When she turned around she could see Toshiro leaning on the balcony door, his hands in his pockets.

"It's not that cold Captain." She said softly. And him… "And the view is really beautiful, so even if I do, it would be worth it." Toshiro then stood beside her, he too leaning on the fence.

"Then what about sleep? When was the last time you did that?" He said ignoring the view and looking at the violet beside him, she was looking at him as well. He could see that she was tired.

"You worry too much Captain, you know that right!" She said returning to the night sky above them.

"Tsk! You're too stubborn." He said sliding down and sitting on the ground, his back on the fence. They should get to sleep, he knew that, but the sleep wasn't coming at all. They remained motionless for few minutes, obviously enjoying a few moments of peace after a long day, until Rukia slid down and sat next to him, with her eyes closed. Toshiro turned his head to look at her. He really valued her as a friend. She could always guess what he was feeling and consult him. And every time she knew exactly what to say to help him feel better. There weren't many people in his life like that. He was almost sure in his decision to keep her as that, not to jeopardize anything, but still… There was something else there, something he wanted to know.

"I miss Soul Society." She said almost whispering with her eyes still closed. Toshiro's eyes widened.

"Y-you miss Soul Society. I thought you loved this place?"

"I do, but…" She stopped for a moment. "Right now I would be preparing for my morning training…"

"Yeah, I guess it's pretty early." He returned his head and closed his eyes too.

"And I still have to master my third dance." True. Even though Rukia managed to perform it, she still needed the practice.

"Third dance?" Toshiro asked lost for a moment.

"Yes, Shirafune. I'm almost there, but I still need practice."

"White sword? The one you used in battle with that Espada?" He read that somewhere.

"Yeah." That fight was something Rukia really didn't liked to remember. "Anyway, that would be what I would be doing right now."

"Guess I would be there somewhere too." He said looking at her with a corner of his eye. This felt nice, he liked the peace she gave him.

"Yeah." She smiled softly up on remembering that they actually did meet every morning, even before they started talking. "But you would probably ignore me like always." She said opening her eyes and looking at him smirking. He didn't look at her at that moment, even though he realized her gaze was on him.

"It's not like you even tried talking to me, so don't give me that…"

"I value my life Captain." She said still smirking. It was true. Hitsugaya was too angry too even look at him most of the time when she came to the training grounds.

"You had no problem with me that night in the woods." He still wasn't sure why she did that. He was full with rage that night, nobody would even consider approaching him.

"Yeah, that was stupid of me." She said laughing softly. He turned around too look at her, one eyebrow raised, face serious.

"It was really. I could've have killed you." That was also true.

"Then what would you do now?" She said it as a joke. But Toshiro remained serious.

"I honestly don't know." It was a whisper, more a response to himself, than her. Her face went serious too as she looked at his eyes. After few seconds when Toshiro realized what he actually said, he continued. "Probably sitting somewhere worm." Rukia smiled at this.

"I thought you liked cold Captain?" There was a blush. Hitsugaya Toshiro blushed. But he turned around quickly not letting her to notice. It was his fault really, he deserved it. How could he not see that she would ask something like that? Prodigy my ass. There were a few moments of silence, not really an awkward one, but still a heavy one, until she spoke again. "If you're really cold, you should go inside. No need for both of us to get sick." She said softly. Toshiro turned around to look at her, raising one eyebrow.

"So, in another words, you would like me to leave!" He said looking at her. After he finished his sentence he saw her eyes widening and he smirked standing up. "I can go Kuchiki, it's-" But before he could even stand up, one small hand pulled him back on the ground and he sat again beside her, only this time even closer. They were facing one another and he could see a blush forming on her face.

"No. I didn't mean it like that…" Rukia said looking at him. The way those eyes looked at her every time made her feel…different. "Y-You should stay."
Toshiro never moved, he just kept looking at her. Every reason that said not to come even closer now evaporated in his mind, became unimportant, useless. It took only this, this closeness to make him forget about everything he thought out so perfectly, so precisely. And she…that look she gave him made him weak, made him surrender. All of his will power disappearing, so he moved…there was no other choice. He had no more strength in him to escape her. When he came closer he felt her breathing quicken and her eyes widening just a little, that blush still present on her face. The way the moon washed her face and those violet eyes, that now gained a slightly different color that he never saw before, made him curl his lips in a small smile. With his hand he removed that small piece of hair from her face and when his fingers brushed her face he felt her shiver. Rukia was either confused or afraid, she couldn't tell. First, that closeness that she was responsible for made her blush and then the way Hitsugaya Toshiro kept looking at her made her weak…literally weak, like she could just melt. She was never this close to a man, at least not in this way. But when he came even closer and when those cold fingers touched her cheeks…that made her feel different, made her feel something.
"C-Captain…" Was all she could utter right now, weakly, unsure why she even tried. He just came even closer and their noses touched. That contact made her shudder, but she didn't move away, she didn't try to escape. He gave her enough time to do that, but she just remained like that, looking at the teal in front of her.

"Don't call me that." He said whispering and surrendered. Slowly he leaned and kissed her, as softly as he could. When their lips touched they lost it, both of them. They were somewhere else, unaware of everything, lost and locked in that moment, in that touch. His one hand was still on her cheek. Rukia leaned even closer and titled her head a little, allowing Toshiro to deepen the kiss. And when he did, when their tongues met, when he tasted her and she tasted him…he knew. That was it. Even her hair smelled the same, even her skin felt the same. Why did he knew that, why did he dreamed that, he couldn't tell, but he was now sure. Rukia was enjoying every touch and every taste this white-haired man gave her. This contact felt nice…felt right. His touch was sending shivers through her whole body, and his smell was intoxicating to her. But soon it all stopped, they stopped, desperate for air. As soon as the kiss broke she opened her eyes and met teal ones. His hand was still on her cheek, and they were still so close, their noses touching, not moving. They just kept looking at one another, not sure if they could speak…should speak. But they had to. Toshiro removed his hand from her cheek, and moved a little, allowing her some space, but not too much of it. Rukia just kept looking at him, confused, unsure… What just happened? Why did I… The situation became very uncomfortable for her, and he wasn't speaking, wasn't doing anything at all…just kept looking at her. And she became restless.

"I-I…This…I have to go!" She mumbled under her breath and stood up as quickly as she could and ran to her room. He thought he heard a low sorry from her, but he wasn't sure. He just remained like that, sitting at the ground and his head lowered a little. He shouldn't have done that. Even though he wanted it, she wasn't ready. He knew…
His hand went to his lips. Moments ago they were touching hers, tasting her and now…she's gone. Damn it Toshiro! Damn it! Why did I have to do that? He leaned back to the fence and closed his eyes. It wasn't the right thing to do. She had her burdens, her own doubts and problems and he just complicated the whole thing. But still… That taste, that same taste… He wanted to know and now he finally did and... it only made him want more.