Author's Note: Thanks for the spike in reviews, guys! It's much appreciated! I hope my last Author's Note wasn't menacing or anything! Anyways, here's another for you guys. It's a bit on the dark side, so if you're looking for sweet and cuddly fluff… you may want to look elsewhere, haha.

A light breeze lazily bounced through the grass and over the pair of shinigamis, tickling their noses and pushing their hair forward. The smaller of the two shivered and took in a sharp breath. The air was thick.

Rukia could feel Ichigo's hand tighten protectively around hers. Her heart ached at the gesture, but her body responded with a reciprocal squeeze. Rukia clenched her eyes shut. What was she doing?

Ichigo then rolled to his side and used his other hand to drag her to his chest. After the laborious task of ridding hollows in Karakura, the pair was tired and hot. The summer was dragging through them, heating them from the inside out. With a twin blush, they had removed their outer clothing, and had now been laying in the tall grass for hours, the wrappings over their bare flesh leaving little to the imagination. Ichigo's bare chest was sticking to the exposed parts of Rukia's back in the heat of dusk. They had never been this close before. Rukia could feel Ichigo's intake of breath and held hers.

His fingers played with the ends of her hair, twirling them gently in a relaxed grip. His hot breath made the hair on the back of Rukia's neck stand up. She had never felt his breath before- not like this.

His nose nudged the back of her head affectionately. Her lips parted slightly in surprise. "Ichigo," she whispered. He placed his arm around her, his hand on her stomach. She was already so warm, yet his hand felt like fire licking at her flesh. She had never felt this sensation before.

His nose now touched the back of her neck, and he leisurely trailed to her shoulder, his lips pressing so light they felt as if she was being tickled by the feet of a butterfly. He dusted her with light kisses, making her skin burn and stretch and shudder. Ichigo slowly turned her toward him; his face held an expression of wonder mixed with fear. Rukia had never seen that expression- not on anyone.

"Ichigo," Rukia repeated, closing her eyes.

"Rukia…"

She could feel him leaning closer into her. She opened her eyes. His hair was a mess. He was covered in dirt and flecks of blood and sweat, but somehow, the way the light of the sunset drifted across his skin made him seem so beautiful even under the imperfections. His heart beat so madly next to hers she could almost feel it. She had never seen him like this. "Ichigo, I-"

And then he kissed her. It began with a light peck, but his lips came back to hers, slowly forming them into a small "o". She could feel his tongue slowly work past her lips, and for some reason, hers responded. They were both so warm and so wanting- Ichigo was confused when Rukia suddenly snapped back.

"Rukia!" He whispered in surprise. "What's-"

"Ichigo," she replied darkly, sitting up and turning her back to him. "I… I can't…"

He slowly pushed himself up and reached out a hand towards her. Something inside of him held the gesture back.

"Rukia, I don't underst-"

She instantly jumped up to her feet and looked back at him, tears in her eyes. "I just can't Ichigo. Please… Please don't…" Rukia had never seen him look so hurt.

"Rukia, I-"

"I have to leave."

With that, Rukia shunpoed out of sight, leaving Ichigo to swim in a daze. Minutes passed by until he realized she wasn't coming back. He slowly gathered himself into a standing position and collected their clothes. He then took the long walk home completely alone.

When Ichigo awoke the next morning, Rukia's clothes were gone and replaced by a single two-word note:

I'm sorry.