I'm happy to be able to say Hi guys! I tried extra hard on this chapter. I worked on it at least once a day since my last update. That's why I took a while. But I'm happy with it and so I hope everyone enjoys! Please let me know how I'm doing and if you have any sufggestions! (Nice ones please...never thought I'd jave to specify :p) Thank to everyone for reading and reviewing!

Normal POV

"Was that the last one?"

Rukia looked around deliriously. She relaxed slightly when she saw all the hollows had been defeated. She looked up to her friend. "Yeah, I think that's it."

Matsumoto smiled. It was a very weak yet genuine smile. "Oh, thank goodness." She let her knees buckle. As she hit the ground, her smile widened. She had been dying to do that for what seemed like hours.

A month and a half had passed since Ichigo quit being a shinigami. And almost every day since then had at least one hollow attack. The group of six was exhausted. Every day was spent on patrol and if not that then fighting an endless mob of hollows. The fact that Ichigo wasn't there made it worse. For all of them. They were at a huge disadvantage because of it. Thankfully, his friends still fought.

Rukia, who had joined Matsumoto on the ground, frowned. After one week of Ichigo's absence, the others had become irritated. They asked and asked Rukia about it until she finally told them he quit being a shinigami. No one could believe it. Heck, Rukia's the one he told in person and she still couldn't believe it.

"Everyone, get up. We have to head back and fill out another report. Maybe when they get another one, they'll finally send reinforcements," Captain Hitsugaya said bitterly.

After the second week of having so many hollow attacks, they sent in a request for reinforcements. They were told to wait a while. They did and no one was sent. Captain Hitsugaya sent request after request. After Hinamori was injured badly enough to have her out for a few days, they tried calling the Soul Society. Again, it seemed as if no one was making an effort to help them. They had to call in almost every day. But every time they did, clueless people from the Research and Develop Unit would answer. They said they would relay their message to the Head-Captain. A month and a half later and there still wasn't any word from him, or from anyone for that matter.

After a long and painful walk back home, everyone went into the living room and plopped down onto the nearest piece of furniture. In Kira's and Haru's case, it was the floor where the burnt couch had been. Hinamori had gone upstairs to rest in her room. Going up the stairs was something no one else had the heart to do.

Captain Hitsugaya got up and brought everyone a sheet of paper. He told them to start writing out their reports.

Matsumoto grunted. "Captain," she whined. "We're tired! Let us rest for a bit!"

He scoffed. "It's just a report."

"Exactly. And besides, I'm so sore. I feel like if I even try to move from this position, my limbs will fall off. Actually, that wouldn't be so bad. I could retire early."

Captain Hitsugaya flicked her forehead. "Idiot," he mumbled. Despite this, he smiled. "Fine. You can all rest. But you still have to write your reports later."

"Yeah, yeah," Matsumoto grumbled. She was actually really happy to hear that.

Everyone rested where they were. After a minute or two, someone started to snore. Matsumoto was drooling.

A loud, ear piercing ring disrupted the peace.

"No!" Matsumoto cried. "Is it too much to ask for one hour of rest?"

With a sore arm, Rukia reached to her buzzing communicator.

"Rukia-chan, please tell me that it's just the timer and not another hollow."

"It's just a timer," she said as she tried to look for the off button with blurry, tired eyes.

Matsumoto smiled. "Woo-hoo," she whimpered with as much enthusiasm as she could. It wasn't much, but considering their situation it was actually a lot.

Rukia sighed. "I don't know why you're so happy. That was the timer for you, me, and Lieutenant Hinamori to go on patrol."

Rolling off the couch, Matsumoto said, "I know. I thought that if I believed hard enough, I wouldn't have to go." A sigh. "I'll go get Hinamori this time."

The strawberry blond made her way to the stairs. Once she arrived, looked at all the stairs, and remembered just how sore she was, she dramatically collapsed onto the first few steps.

"There are too many!" she hollered. "Hinamori, for the love of all that is good, come downstairs! I can't keep coming up these steps every time we have to go out on a patrol!"

With a small, sympathetic smile, Rukia went to the stairs. "I'll go get her."

As she went up, Rukia heard Matsumoto sob, "Bless your soul, Rukia-chan."

Once she arrived outside Lieutenant Hinamori's door, she knocked. Nothing. Her brows furrowed. Was she asleep? She knocked once more. Again, nothing. She opened the door and peeked in.

"Lieutenant Hinamori?"

To Rukia's surprise, the room was empty. She shut the door and started down the stairs. Maybe Lieutenant Hinamori had stayed downstairs?

She had only made it a few steps when the sound of an opening door stopped her. Rukia looked up. She saw Lieutenant Hinamori leaving the bathroom. She was pale and sweaty.

"Lieutenant Hinamori, it's time for us to leave for patrol."

She frowned. With a sigh, Hinamori said, "Again?"

Rukia shivered. Something wasn't right. Yes, everyone was dead tired. Lieutenant Hinamori was no exception. But she never looked this run down. Depressed even. "Are you all right?"

"Yes!" She blinked. More calmly, she added, "Why do you ask?"

Rukia took a moment to think. "No reason. I just got this feeling. Are you sure you're up for this? I could ask one of the others-"

"No! I-I'm fine. I think I hit my head earlier today. Maybe that's why. I'll be downstairs in a bit."

Patrols had been extended to five hours. It was crazy, but it was for the best. Since there were only six of them, and they had to go out in groups of three, it would've sucked to go out for a couple hours, come back exhausted, then have to go back out with only an hour or two's worth of rest. But since five hours straight was crazy, they all agreed to have an hour gap between when the first group comes back from patrol and when the next would go out.

To add to all the changes, Captain Hitsugaya no longer made an effort to stay by Rukia's side. They still shared a room and he still made sure she was never out alone. But he wouldn't go anywhere with her. If she needed to go to the store, he'd tell Matsumoto and Haru to go with her.

At first, Rukia was a bit hurt. But she soon came to like the space between them. It was nice being able to think all the previous events out without having him right behind her.

"Hey, Rukia-chan!"

A smack on the head brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see a not so happy Matsumoto.

"Geez, Rukia-chan! For a moment I thought all the lack of sleep finally got to you and you lost your mind."

"Oh," she said. "Sorry."

A sigh. "No. It's ok. I'm tired too. Just yesterday, I almost got my head chopped off because I was too busy daydreaming about sleep. I don't know how much longer we can all do this-"

The three girls cringed when a painfully familiar howl filled the area around them. Rukia looked at her communicator.

She felt sick. "There are two of them on different ends of town."

Matsumoto cracked her knuckles. "I'll get the stronger one. You two get the other one. Hinamori, call Captain and tell him to get the others quickly. There might only be two but there will be more soon. Let's go!"

When Rukia arrived and saw that Hinamori was nowhere in sight, she panicked. What had happened? Had she gotten attacked without Rukia noticing?

She relaxed a bit when she saw her finally arrive. Hinamori was pale and gasping for air. Rukia got another chill. Something was definitely wrong.

"Lieutenant Hinamori, I think you should sit this one out. You're in no condition to fight."

Lieutenant Hinamori looked up and nodded much to Rukia's surprise.

She took a deep breath and turned to look at the hollow she was about to face alone. Her stomach flipped. The hollow was huge. This wasn't going to be easy.

With sore arms, she took out her sword and called for her shikai. She glared at the hollow and waited for it to make its move. She cursed when the hollow took off flying.

"Call Captain Hitsugaya and tell him this one's on the move!" she called as she took off. She flinched. Although the battle hadn't even started, her lungs were burning and she felt her spiritual pressure dropping drastically. If the others didn't get there soon...

She cursed again once she saw where the hollow was headed. She forced herself to flash-step even faster. She bit her lips. This hollow was fast. Yes, Rukia was running off of pretty much nothing, but this was ridiculous. The hollow was out running her.

"Shoot," she muttered as the hollow landed on the roof of Ichigo's school. Rukia stopped and landed on top of the fence. She didn't want to waste anymore energy, so again she waited for the hollow to move. She gripped her sword harder and intensified her glare. It wasn't moving.

Was it thinking?

The sound of cheers got her attention. With a final look at the hollow, she turned to search for the source. There was a soccer game going on. Her heart sank. She wanted to drop her sword and call it a day. There was no way she was going to be able to protect all of those people by herself.

Her breath caught when she saw bright, orange hair make its way down the field.

Since when does Ichigo participate in sports?

She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to get distracted. The crowd behind her erupted into cheers again so she glanced back to see why. Ichigo had scored a goal. When she turned back, the hollow was gone.

She looked around frantically until she saw it racing towards the crowd. Her heart stopped when her eyes met with Ichigo's. He was looking up at her with a frown.

I can't let that hollow anywhere near them!

She chased after it. She managed to flash-step in front of it and send it back a few feet with kido.

She choked. That had been the last of her spirit energy and now it was taking a toll on her soul. Her lungs felt like they were burning away. She was thankful for the time the hollow was taking to recover from the blast. She took the time to try and breathe.

Against her will, she brought her sword up to a ready position as the hollow started back towards her. She smiled bitterly. It was taking all of her strength just to hold that sword of hers.

The hollow rushed past her, the wind jerking her to the left. She watched as it hurdled to the crowd.

Ichigo, who was dribbling the ball down the field, looked up. There was that same frown. Rukia felt a tear make its way down her face. She was breaking her promise to Ichigo.

She laughed. It was a raspy and sad laugh that left the taste of metal in her mouth. "Looks like I really do need you around. Idiot." She wiped the tear from her cheek and sniffed. With a shaky breath, she launched herself towards the hollow. She was going so fast that the wind brought more tears to her eyes. At least that's what she was telling herself.

Ichigo scowled. His opponent had taken the ball from him when he got distracted.

Panting violently, she brought her sword down on it several times. She flash-stepped from here to there and sliced it up.

He smirked once he had gotten the ball back. He sprinted to the goal. The crowd was getting riled up. He heard the high-pitched cheers of his girlfriend. She was jumping up and down happily with a sparkly sign that read, "I love you, Ichigo!"

The hollow growled. It was done messing around with this small shinigami. It was ready for a real challenge.

Another opponent came up to Ichigo and was ready to slide tackle him. Ichigo foresaw this and expertly dodged the attack.

The hollow brough its enormous hand out. Rukia's eyes widened as her zanpakuto was lodged into its palm. She couldn't pull it out. The hollow jerked its hand back, ripping Shirayuki out of her calloused, bleeding hands. With its other hand, he swatted her out of its way, like a fly.

Ichigo booted the ball. He cursed when the keeper caught his shot.

When she managed to stop herself from hurdling towards the school wall, Rukia looked desperately down at Ichigo. He was playing. He acted as if he hadn't seen either her or the hollow. But deep down, he felt sick. He knew she was in danger and desperately needed help.

She can take care of herself, he thought. He glanced at his chirpy, rosy girlfriend. And she can't.

He bit his lips and forgot all thoughts of Rukia. He needed to win this game and get out of there.

"I see how it is, Ichigo. I know what I promised, but...Damn it!" she cried. "I hope that it's been nice being human again. I hope it was all worth it. I hope you'll be able to live the life you deserve and I hope you don't have any regrets. I know I don't." She looked down at the crowd. It was easy to spot his girlfriend. She was the happiest person in the stands. Rukia saw Ichigo smile and wave at the innocent girl. Rukia sighed. "No. Actually, I guess I do have a few. Don't be like me, ok, Ichigo? Live a good life and do everything you can to die without a single regret." With tears falling from her eyes, she whispered, "Please, promise you'll do this. Please...ICHIGO!"

She hurled herself forward. Her heart was beating at a dangerous rate. She felt something strangely familiar fill her blood. It was hard to describe exactly what it was. It was like adrenaline, minus the energy. It rushed into her bloodstream after she acknowledged the fact that she was going to die. She had felt this before. It didn't take her long to remember when. It was ironic how similar that day was with today. That day, she was powerless, just like now. That day, she had chosen to die for a stranger, just like now. That day, she knew she was going to die. Somehow, she had gotten lucky and survived. She wasn't sure if that would happen again.

With watery eyes, she glanced at Ichigo. It's almost cruel, she thought, how on the day I met you, I threw myself in front of a hollow to protect you, a stranger. My death was the beginning of whatever it is that we had. And now today, the last day I will see you, the day I will finally die, after knowing you for years, after becoming apart of your family, I'm throwing myself in front of another hollow to protect you, stranger.

Flashback

"Even if you save that kid here, nothing will matter if you don't become a Shinigami! Saving him because he's right in front of you? Don't be naive. A Shinigami has to treat all spirits equally! You cannot just conveniently save those you can see, those you can reach. Don't save that kid with such half-heartedness. If you want to save him now accept that you must save all spirits. To go anywhere for them, to even give your life to save them. Make that kind of commitment!"

End Flashback

As she got closer and closer, this memory came to her. She remembered the big crowd she was about to die for. Was she? Was she about to die for all of them? Or for Ichigo? Yes, if Ichigo were not here she would still be fighting this hollow. She would still give her life to give these ungrateful humans another day to live. But if she thought about it, she knew it was really Ichigo she was about to die for. Her pain, her struggle, and her sacrifice are all for him.

It was time. Finally, after dodging death since she was a baby in Rukongai, it was time. She didn't even feel it. One second, she was in the air, the next her shoulder was being mangled by the hollow's vile mouth.

She felt cold despite all the warm blood - her blood - running down her body. The hollow bit down harder and more blood gushed out off her gaping wounds. She didn't whimper or cry. She wasn't going to cry anymore. The hollow chomped down on her again, this time harder. She winced.

The hollow produced a strange sound. It was like a grunt. Suddenly, its claws dug into her stomach and ripped her from its mouth. She had to bite her lips in order to keep herself from screaming. It brought her up in front of its red, beady eyes. She glared at it, daring it to finish her off. The hollow laughed. Rukia's mask wavered.

"Pathetic Shinigami," it spoke. "How dare you get in the way of my meal. Do you believe you are a worthy opponent? No, you are mistaken. I do not feast on puny things like you. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

What? Hollows don't care about who they eat! They are mindless creatures who are desperate to eat any and all spirits. They would kill each other to eat a shinigami, regardless of how strong the shinigami is...

"Don't overthink it, fool," it said. The hollow began to squeeze her gradually. "Unlike my brothers who are hungry for any shred of reishi, I am more evolved. Therefore, I only bother with spirits that actually have some power to them." She couldn't take it any longer. She cried out and threw up blood. "No offence, you're cute and all, but just not for me. I'm sure the mindless ones on their way would enjoy damaged goods though." It cackled. The hollow clenched its already tight fist. Rukia screamed. No one except the hollow could hear though. Ichigo had just scored the winning goal. All the humans jumped and cheered like the clueless idiots they were. With a final laugh, it said, "Good bye, Shinigami. Enjoy rotting in Hell."

It released her and she started to fall.

As she fell, all she could see was a blurry blue canvas. She didn't have the ability to move. She wanted so badly to look at Ichigo for a final good bye.

As his teammates yelled and jumped together, Ichigo looked down. He wanted to look up. He wanted to go help his friend. He forced his eyes to stare at the ground though. But his resolve began to rumble. He looked at the stands for his girlfriend. We he spotted her, he ran to her, a fake smile plastered onto his face.

"Ichigo, that was amaz-"

"Let's go." He took her arm and practically dragged her out of the school grounds.

For Rukia, everything was moving so slowly. The deep wounds on her stomach pulsed in pain. Her blood continued to spit out in little droplets and dance in the air. Her lungs burned for air. She tried to breath but found she couldn't. Not only was her airway clogged with blood, her lungs had collapsed after being pushed to their limits and being crushed by the hollow.

Was that her final punishment? To suffer a slow and extremely painful death?

Rukia knew the hard ground was getting closer. She knew that any second now, she'd slam into the dirt. She prepared herself for the impact.

"Aka-chan," Ichigo's girlfriend coed. "You looked a little distracted during your game."

He blinked. The small reaction went unnoticed by her. "I told you to stop calling me by that stupid nickname."

She puckered her lips. "I think it's cute!"

"As if I don't have enough reminders about my weird hair," he mumbled kindly.

They continued to walk.

It's so weird being able to change the subject so easily. If I tried that with Rukia, she would have notice right away...

He mentally slapped himself. He had other things - other people - to worry about. He glanced to his peppy girlfriend. She had a huge smile on her face and was humming to her favorite song. She turned and noticed his stare. She blushed and gave him a huge smile. Ichigo's heart warmed.

It was moments like those that reminded him why he sacrificed so much. He wasn't going to lie. He missed being a soul reaper. It pains him to hear a hollow and stay home. He misses Rukia. But when he compared all of that with what he has right now, his previous life seems like nothing. He likes watching movies with his girlfriend on Friday nights with no hollows to worry about. He likes not having to make up excuses for his loved ones. He likes being able to sleep at night without having to get up in the dead of night to fight hollows.

A howl made him flinch. He reached into his bag to find it empty. He felt a strange pain in his heart when he remembered he had given Kon to Ishida. He frowned when he remembered how hard it had been to get that stuffed toy to stay with Ishida. Kon didn't want to be without Ichigo. But after Ichigo had yelled at Kon and told him that he quit being a soul reaper, Kon didn't seem to mind.

His girlfriends looked at him with worried eyes. "Ichigo, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I thought I heard something."

She looked at him funny. She reached up to his cheek and wiped a tear. "What? Then why are you crying?"

How long had she been lying there, she wondered. Rukia had tried to get up. The closest she got was a lifted pinkie. Had she broken her back? Was she paralyzed? Was she going to die?

When she heard a symphony of hollow howls, she wished she had died. She tried to move again. But just like all the other attempts, she failed. She was frustrated. She felt like she was there for over an hour. The burning in her lungs told her otherwise. She wondered how she was still awake. When was she going to faint from the lack of oxygen?

Where were the others?

She tried to yell for help. All that came out was a small moan. She tried again. She tried to yell over and over. Her throat started to burn. Blood gushed out of her mouth.

Suddenly, hollow after hollow slammed onto the ground around her. The ground trembled. Rukia felt herself being thrown a few inches into the air because of all the pounding. The hit that would have never hurt her, made her vision go almost completely black. She heard hollows coming closer to her, ready to rip her to shreds.

She looked to the skies for comfort. This was a habit of hers now. The first time she had done it, it was the first night she spent in the Kuchiki Manor. She hadn't been able to sleep so she snuck out of her room, went to her brother's garden, and looked up to the skies for comfort. She let a single tear slide down her face. This would be the last time she would be able to do this.

For some strange reason, memories flashed in and out of her mind.

The first was a memory from decades ago, when her and Renji were kids. A nice couple had taken pity on them and allowed them to stay in there little home for a week. One day, Rukia saw the man kiss his wife before he left to find work. Since she was so young and was only experienced in stealing and running, she had no idea what that was or why he did that. She asked Renji. He tried his best to explain the strange matter of kissing and emotions. She hadn't understood a thing, so she asked him for a kiss. After refusing and having Rukia pester him on the matter, he pecked her on the cheek. That had been her first kiss. They were both grossed out and agreed to never do it again.

After that one, she remembered one of the best days of her life. It was a week or two after her execution. Rukia wanted to make up for all the trouble she had caused. She was spending all day and night at work. If not, then she was training. She was at the Kuchiki Manor on this particular day. Her apatite still hadn't gone back to what would have been considered normal for her. She didn't bother attending dinner because of this. She also didn't want to bother Byakuya. She was in the middle of studying another kido spell when there was a knock at her door. She got up and opened it, half expecting to see a servant. It had been her brother. He asked her if she was hungry. She slowly and respectfully said that she wasn't. I see. Could you still join me for dinner? Those words had sounded so awkward coming from him. But that was because Byakuya would've never asked something like that. Why was he, she wondered. Rukia never asked and she never found out. She joined him for a quiet dinner. That night, she slept with a smile on her face.

Next was one from months ago. For art class, she had to paint a landscape. She had chosen to paint the view of the river from the Karakura bridge. She chose the right place and time. The sunset made the water shimmer so beautifully. She was almost done with her painting when she noticed Ichigo sitting by the river. She went to him. Strangely enough, he had also chosen the river for his project. She was shocked to see how amazing his painting was. She had no idea Ichigo had talents other than fighting hollows. Ichigo persisted on seeing hers too. After seeing his, she felt a bit self-conscious about what she painted. If she was being honest, it was horrible. She hated it. But by the time she realized that and decided she wanted to change it, they had to go fight a hollow. Afterwards, she was exhausted and forgot about her project until she had to turn it in. She got a good grade, mostly because it was based on completion. She threw it away right after she got it back. When she arrived at Ichigo's house and gone to his room, she noticed a new adornment hung up on his wall. It was her painting. She could still remember his words, clear as day: Idiot. Why would you throw it away? Rukia knew he was lying about liking her painting. He never liked any of her drawings. She tried throwing it away many times. In the end, Ichigo always found it and hung it back up.

The next was from just a few days ago. It was at that festival Matsumoto made them go to. Rukia didn't remember walking in on Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Hinamori. No, she remembered trying on kimonos. She remembered how Matsumoto had resembled what Rukia thought a mother would be like. That was the first time Rukia felt like she was apart of a family. A real family. Not her makeshift one from Rukongai or her brother.

Suddenly, all the times she had spent with Captain Hitsugaya flooded her mind. Rukia's heart raced for the last time. She felt comforted by the fact that she'd die with a warm heart. As the memories went by, she could feel every one of them. She felt his arms around her. She felt the happiness and the tears. That was when she realized - or better yet, remembered: she was in love. She knew this. But now she realized that there was no stopping what she felt. She couldn't make herself forget about these feelings no matter what. What she felt was too strong. Maybe even stronger than what she felt for Ichigo.

But it was too late.

She felt claws wrap around her already torn abdomen. This was it. She was glad her eyes weren't working. Rukia knew that if she saw the hollow that was about to eat her, if she saw how real this all was, she would crumble and cry in front of the enemy. She would cry in front of death. She was already throwing away everything her brother and friends had done for her. She wasn't about to let them down once more by letting her enemy get the pleasure of seeing her cry.

She willed herself to smile.

Thank you, Renji.

She relaxed her tense muscles.

Thank you, Nii-sama.

Jaws clamped shut onto her shoulders. She couldn't feel a thing.

Thank you, Ichigo.

Warm blood ran down her shaking body. She was too busy enjoying a sudden euphoria. She felt as if warm, comforting arms were holding her, telling her that everything would be just fine.

Thank you, Matsumoto.

Her heart forced itself to beat again. Could it beat just one more time?

Thank you, Captain Hitsugaya.

It couldn't. She felt a blast of wind, and then she was gone.

Good bye, everyone.

I know what you're think...or at least I have an idea about it. But don't worry...It's not over. *evil laughter* You have to wait and see what happens next...hehehehehe

Thank again guys