It was her fault, it was all her fault, it was her fault that he was dead, and she new that, he had been protecting her, defending her, and he had died in the process, but watching it before her eyes again and again, it was unbearable, it was as bad as Kian's death, if not worse, he was gone, and she was to blame, all to blame, too many times and too many ways he had died, and it all hurt just as much as the worest pain in the world, first, he dies the night they met, it was her fault, he died wen he battled the Grand Fisher, it was her fault, he died in all the countless battles in Soul Society, defenitly her fault, he died in the battle with Grimmjow, her fault, he died in Hueco Mundo wen he was battling to get to her, her fault, he died in the war, all her fault, but then it accured to her, how could he die all those times? It must be a dream, a horrible horrible dream! A nightmare that she couldn't wake up from, she tried to wake up, but she couldn't, and then she realized wat she needed to do, she relaxed for a moment, and tried to find his voice, "Rukia," he wispered, "wake up Rukia," and suddenly it became so easy, and she opened her eyes
Rukia sat up in bed, it had been such a frightening nightmare, she was alone, all alone, and it bothered her, she hadn't noticed how empty and quiet the room was wen she had gone to sleep, but she could feel it now, and it bothered her grately, she felt the plush surface of his bed under her hand, and crashed back down onto the pillow, his scent was burried in it, she breathed in the soft smell of his Strawberry shampoo, it still wasn't the same as having him there, she couldn't take being in his room alone, atleast, not anymore, she reached her hand up and felt the bandege on her face, that was why she was here, alone in his bed, it was because of this stupid bruise! If it weren't there then Ichigo would be here instead of her and she would be in his closet, listening to his deep breathing and letting it soothe her back to sleep, but no, he had given her his bed for the night, opting to sleep on the sofa, he had been unusually nice to her since she had returned, she didn't understand it, she had been hit before, her face has seen as much pain as the rest of her, so why was this so diffrent? Well, she really didn't care,
"Ichigo," she called, the room seemed even quieter as her voice faded, "Ichigo!" she yelled louder, oh yeah, his family was out camping, that was good, that way she could yell and no one but Ichigo would hear her, a few minutes later, she was about to call for him again, but the door opened and she saw the siloute of a well-built (very well-built) man with spikey hair in the doorway, "Rukia? Is something wrong?" she looked at him, "Yes Ichigo," he walked over to her and sat down on the bed, "Wat is it?" "Um, do you think, perhaps, you could not sleep downstairs, and perhaps here?" "Sure, but do you mind if I asked wat brought this on?" he got up and crawled in the other side of the bed, she turned to face him, "Do you mind if I ask why you're being so nice?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow, "Is that supposed to be an insult?" "No! But you usually aren't this nice to me! It isn't normal and it's starting to freak me out!" Ichigo blinked a few times, then said, "Is that supposed to be an insult,... Midget? Because you're usually better at it than this," Rukia smiled, yes! She wasn't insane! And he wasn't treating her diffrently! Wait a minute, she traded Sweet Ichigo, for Normal Ichigo? Maybe there WAS something wrong with her, "Midget? Are you gonna answer my question or wat?" or maybe she just liked hearing his voice the normal way, he was really bad at being comforting wen he was trying to be, his voice is soothing enough, if he tries to pour honey on sugar then she'll just choke! There's such a thing as being TOO sweet, although she never imagened Ichigo as fitting that discription, "Wat question?" she asked, "Remember? I asked if you'd tell me why you suddenly want me to stay here," "No, I believe you asked if I minded telling you," "Yeah, wen I was still trying to sugar coat everything, wat I meant was: Tell me or I'm leaving," "You wouldn't!" "I would," there was a long pause and just as Ichigo was about to tell her again, she spoke,
"I had a nightmare," "That's it? Man, the way you were actin' I thought you had gone out to fight a hollow without telling me or something!" "So then, you AREN'T going to laugh at me?" "Why would I laugh at you?" "Well, a grown woman, espically a Soul Reaper, shouldn't have nightmares," "Why not? I still have nightmares sometimes," "You do?" "Yeah everyone does, so, do you wanna talk about it?" she hesitated for a moment, "I kept watching you die, over and over again, just in diffrent battles, and the hole time you were protecting me! It was always my fault!" "Do I dedtect a hint of self hate in your voice?" "It's more than a hint," "Rukia, if other people don't hate you, you shouldn't hate you either, besides, do you no WHY I always try to protect you?" "No," "Because I WANT to," "Ichigo? Can I ask you something?" "Sure," "Why were you trying to sugar coat everything earlier?" "Because he hit you," "So? I've been hit before," "Yeah, in battle," "So?" "So, there are rules, for guys anyway, and it's why I avoid fighting girls, 1. Never hit a woman, 2. Never hit a woman's face, 3. Never hit a woman that's smaller than you," "They sound basically the same," "That isn't the point Rukia, besides, you TRUSTED him, right?" "Well, I kinda had to, he still out-ranks me," "Not for long, the point is, I thought you'd be kinda sensitive," "Tch, serves you right then," "Now look it Midget!" "Ichigo, just go to sleep," "Hey Rukia?" "Yeah?" "You wanna no wat my nightmare was about?" "Your nightmare?" "I had one too ya' no, right before I came up here," "You mean before I called you," "No, I was on my way up wen you called me, I was worried and I was gonna make sure that you were ok," "Wat was it? The nightmare I mean," "It was, wat might've happened to you if I hadn't gotten to you in time," "Oh? And wat would that be?!" Her tone was irritated, "Well, wat I thought might've happened, like those squad 12 loons slicing you open and disecting you," Rukia cringed, he sure had a way of getting his point across, "And using you as some lab rat that they'll kill in experiments sooner or later," she cringed again, "And-" "I get it Ichigo, you were worried that they might harm me," "Worried that they WOULD, and 'harm' is putting it mildly! I mean if you had had that dream about someone you love you would've-" "I don't want to no! Wait, did you say, 'someone you love'?" "Ah man, I can't believe I let that slip! That's wat I get for being bad at talking!" "You love me?" "Well, yeah, I do," Ichigo was suddenly thankfull for the darkness so that she couldn't see his blush, "I can't believe it, you love me?" "Why is that so hard to believe?" "I've dreamed about this moment, but never though it would come," "Never say never," "I always thought I'D be the first one to say that I loved you," "Heh, well imagine that," Ichigo leaned down and kissed her gently, they curled up and began to sleep, both being assured that the other would be there to keep the nightmares away