Disclaimer: I own basically nothing, only my name.

Summary: When Bleach gets drama and a whole lot of cut-scenes and all of the in-betweens. Nah, I suck at summaries.

Author's notes: AU. I'm not sure if I'd make this into canon IchiRuki material, but one thing I'm sure of is that this will be Ichigo-Rukia centric. Also, this is my first time posting a story here, please be gentle. I'd appreciate all pointers too, of course!

Warning: No lemon. I disgust myself trying to write some (major fail). I try to avoid any OOC-ness.

Chapter One: Crossing Paths, Once Again

He knew it was her the moment he saw her walking past crowds of both blue and white-collar workers walking hurriedly, each one eager to finish private matters of their own. Her eyes never left his, and for the next few seconds he stood perfectly still; their eyes locked on each other. It was almost as if he was waiting for her to come to him.

It didn't matter the distance, because he could never miss her presence. He wondered briefly whether it was a skill or a specialty specially tailored only for the Kuchiki, as everyone and everything else seemed to dissipate into speckles of insignificant white dust as her figure came larger into view. It had always been this way.

He noticed that she still looked the same as she did in their senior year; her amethyst orbs still shone with the same powerful intensity, her lips curled in a tentative smile, and her slender and tiny frame looked perfect clothed under that creamy silk dress she had on. Her dark, loose raven hair had grown past her shoulders, adding a much more feminine look to her appearance, and he imagined how soft they must feel. She wore elegant black wedges with ankle-straps, and a beautiful pearl necklace graced her slender, fair neck. As she tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, he saw diamond-studded earrings on her lobes. The earrings were in the shape of a pair of sparkling crescent moons.

Truth be told, she looked nothing less than stunningly gorgeous. Ichigo suddenly found his throat dry. He almost stuttered as she greeted him. He made an attempt to turn away and hide himself, for what reason he does not know; but his slow movement made both ignoring and hiding impossible.

"Ichigo! What a surprise! I didn't think I'd get to meet you here, of all places!" she said warmly, her voice clearly that of enthusiasm. She held out her hand for a handshake. Ichigo gave her his hand, and they shook hands for a brief moment. At the contact of her small palm, Ichigo found himself remembering everything from the past. He tried to push the haunting thoughts from his mind as he continued to try to appear indifferent at this sudden and unplanned intercourse.

"Yeah, this is definitely a surprise, Rukia," he replied, almost choking on his own words. He couldn't deny to himself; even the mention of her name on his tongue felt terribly familiar and right. He sighed inwardly, and broke the contact. He smiled a faint smile at her, to which she returned a genuine, sincere warm smile. It used to be right then, but then things drifted apart. They were so perfect together, and everyone in school thought that if there was any pair to survive age and time itself; it would surely be them.

Ichigo took a deep breath, trying to collect himself. This was not the reunion that he had anticipated (wait, he was looking forward for a reunion?), so he shifted a little on his feet, trying to find ground. He scratched the back of his head unanimously.

"So, Rukia. How have you been?" he started, trying his best to sound casual. He didn't want him being earnest about her to show. But then he started to think that she had always been able to read him, when nobody else could. It would have been futile to try, but hey, what the heck; he supposed eight years of zero contact may have changed that bit even if only at the slightest.

"I thought you wouldn't ask," Rukia beamed, all smiles. She looked really happy.

"I'm doing great, although a little too busy at times," she continued quickly, when Ichigo didn't seem to humour her. She was apparently oblivious to whatever it is that he was thinking. Ichigo breathed in relief, he didn't mind if she was too distracted to notice; in fact he would have preferred her to be ignorant at this exact point of time.

"What about you?" she asked curiously, after looking him up and down in a conspicuous manner. Ichigo raised his eyebrow at her, demanding for an explanation for her behaviour; but Rukia dismissed his questioning glare. Ichigo coughed, and crossed his arms. Damn, she was still good at it.

"I'm doing fine, thank you very much midget," he answered finally. "And don't give me that weird look, you're acting weird," he added. Rukia only rolled her eyes. She briefly glanced at her platinum oval-shaped watch strapped to her left wrist. It looked as if she was expecting someone. Ichigo peered at her watch. She glanced at him. She found him bowing forward, extremely close to her side (eight years past didn't make her any taller unfortunately) as she looked at her watch. And he made no attempt whatsoever to excuse his manners, much less to offer an explanation.

"You could have politely asked for the time, you know," Rukia stated matter-of-factly, one eyebrow raised. Ichigo scowled in return.

"I didn't want to ask for the time," he replied defiantly, arms crossed. He corrected his stature and looked down at her, half-squinting. It was one of those ways he looked at her when he felt that there was a need to emphasize their ridiculously obvious difference in height.

"Well I see you're still rude as ever, Kurosaki," she added, purposely pressing on the adjective to annoy him. Knowing this, he fought back an urge to laugh. Oh, how true of it, when people say that old habits die hard. He was just about to respond to her with another one of his many smart comebacks (oh, he'd been saving up plenty of them for her), when a strangely familiar voice interrupted their usual bickering.

"Why if it isn't Kurosaki Ichigo, son of the great doctor Kurosaki Isshin!" Ichigo clamped his mouth shut then, like an ape, almost anyway and Rukia's eyes lit up at the sight of a tall man with broad shoulders and dark spiky hair. Ichigo turned his head to the direction of the voice, and was greeted with none other than a smiling Shiba Kaien. He wore a smart two piece suit which shows off a wealthy and presumably good life living off of a salary worth a dozen bungalows added together.

"Oh, Kaien. It's nice to meet you," Ichigo remarked, unenthusiastic, but he hid it well. He extended his right hand. Kaien took it gratefully, and they shook hands for a bit.

"Please, the pleasure's all mine, Kurosaki," Kaien added, flashing his toothy grin. Ichigo smiled back in return, although he felt a little disgusted inside. Kaien had always had that ability to make his stomach churn uneasily, despite his good intentions. He wondered for a second why he had never been able to be really close to this guy, even though they graduated from the same high school and university; and instead was able to be good friends with a certain red-haired baboon and a certain emotionless jerk that came out from nowhere. Before he could ponder any more, Kaien's gentle voice broke his reverie.

"Rukia, have you waited long?" Kaien turned his attention to the beautiful female standing next to him. Rukia looked up at him, and shook her head. She gave him a sweet smile.

"Don't worry, I just arrived here myself," she answered in an equally mellow tone. Ichigo swallowed hard at this intimate exchange, feeling a little queasy. He wanted to get away as fast as he could, but knew that that would be rude; and he especially didn't want Rukia to point that out again in the presence of Shiba Kaien, whom he'd learned (more like instantaneously) to dislike without any good reason. Seeing at how the talking was going to exclude him (painfully, too), Ichigo started to change the subject.

"Wow. I didn't know you guys were close. That's new," Ichigo started suddenly without thinking, and he mentally cursed at himself as he spoke. He imagined that he must have looked like an idiot. Kaien turned to look at him, and then turned to look at Rukia again. As if they were talking a secret language shared only between the two of them, Rukia smiled. Ichigo noticed the sudden rush of red creeping up on her cheeks as Kaien openly winked at her. He remembered when she'd blush because of him and his actions, and his heart ached unexpectedly. Absolutely oblivious to this, Kaien multiplied the aching five times stronger when he swiftly twined their hands together.

"You caught us, Ichigo," Kaien replied, and he chuckled as if he had just told the funniest joke in the world. He squeezed Rukia's hand before continuing, "It's not officially public yet though, so we'd hope you could help keep this a secret as well," he finished, glancing at Rukia who had gotten comfortably closer to his side.

"Yes, Ichigo. We haven't announced this yet, so you better not say anything to anyone," Rukia reminded him, half-warning, half-joking. Ichigo looked at her, and gave her a small but most sincere smile he could muster at the moment.

"As if, midget. I have more important things to do than go around telling everybody about you two," he answered casually, looking at both Rukia and Kaien, but allowing his gaze to linger longer at Rukia's beautiful face. Surprisingly, Rukia pouted at him, eyebrows drawn closely together. Ichigo raised his eyebrows. As if his response to her was automatic, his mouth opened and it started to speak. For the shortest second, he forgot that Kaien was with them.

"What, you have any problems, midget?" he questioned, rolling his eyes.

"You! You strawberry-man, you . . ." Rukia was struggling to come up with an insult to throw at him (she'd done no insults since she was with Kaien), but found her effort futile when Kaien suddenly jabbed his calloused thumb on her forehead; specifically aiming for the space in between her eyes.

"Ow ow ow!" Rukia cried out, and she tried to jokingly avoid his pestering thumb. Ichigo stared at them. Normally, well following the old times; it would be him who would deliver that treatment to Rukia. And when Rukia demanded Ichigo the reason why for unceremoniously and disrespectfully jabbing her forehead, he'd always tell her that it was for de-wrinkling, adding that it was the traditional yet effective way he'd picked up from his crazy father. She would laugh, and then she would kick him in the shins, laughing evilly as she daintily skipped away.

"Sorry, Rukia. But you're wrinkling your forehead too much, so I thought this would help de-wrinkle it for a bit," Kaien replied softly as he chuckled. Rukia grabbed his thumb and jerked it away from her forehead, squeezing it. She cast an accusing look at the orange-haired man standing to her left.

"It's Ichigo's fault," she stated factually, her face painted with all of the sureness the world contained. It took Ichigo a few seconds to react.

"What? I'm not gonna be held responsible for you wrinkling three times faster than you age!" Ichigo exclaimed, grinning yet scowling at the same time. Ah, it felt like old times again, and he knew he was slipping too fast into the past.

"Oh really? Then you should try seeing your own face in the mirror for once!" barked Rukia, and she took a step closer to him, her face tilted upwards so that her purple orbs met his amber ones in a fiery match. Ichigo did the exact same thing, only to have his face directed downwards because she was just too short.

"I already checked, midget; and as far as I'm concerned, I am still very young," he retorted, still scowling. In truth, he was fighting the urge to smile. He definitely missed picking fights with her. It used to be the highlight of his every day years ago. Rukia was just about to outsmart him (she'd recalled a few of her insults tailored specially for him then), when an unexpected hand shielded her eyes. It was Kaien's.

"That's enough, you two," Kaien said solemnly, and for a while Ichigo thought they had gone and crossed the "old friends reunion" line. Rukia said nothing, but her gaze remained fixed on Kaien's large hand. Kaien inched closer to both of them, so they appear to be huddling before whispering in an exaggerated hushed tone:

"You two bickering are attracting too many attention and I'm not up for a run just yet."

Ichigo and Rukia both immediately turned to their left and right, only to find multiples of wide eyes and questioning looks as well as irritated glares to rain down upon them. They gulped. Who'd knew people would even bother with two perfectly normal people having a, well, almost normal conversation on a perfectly normal day? They smiled, a little embarrassed, and bowed their heads lightly as an apology for causing unwanted disturbance. Satisfied, the crowd of watchers and passers-by nodded, and walked away. Soon the floor was empty again, safe for workers hurrying by and the said trio.

Ichigo sighed. "That was your fault," he said gravely, casting a glazed look at her. Rukia rolled her eyes. "Was not," she answered, arms crossed tautly. Ichigo rolled his eyes and muttered incoherent words under his breath. She was still so adorably annoying after all these years. Secretly, he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. She looked so much like how she did years before, so much like his Rukia. At this unwelcomed reminder of the past, Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. He didn't want to be reminded of her used to being his anymore, so instead he quickly turned to Kaien. He was just about to speak when a loud, indiscriminating beeping noise sliced the air around them.

Instinctively, Kaien and Rukia turned their attention to the source of the noise. It was Ichigo's cell phone. He nodded lightly at them and asked to be excused, and walked a few steps away to answer the call. Rukia watched him as he swiftly took out his phone and politely answered the call. He looked so much like he did then; still very handsome, secretly charming but somehow different.

'Maybe eight years have put him through a lot,' she thought. After a few brief minutes of nodding his head and telling the caller that he'd be right on his way, he returned.

"Whoa. You must be far busier than I'd ever imagined, Ichigo," Kaien remarked as he walked back towards them. Ichigo only nodded.

"Some guys from a competing company wants to propose a shared contract, y'know that sort of thing," he answered, careful not to let anything sensitive to and for the company to spill over. Kaien nodded, showing that he understood. Almost instantaneously, Kaien grinned, and he pretended to tiptoe towards the younger male.

As if telling the biggest secret ever, he turned sideways before leaning in towards Ichigo. "You should find," he paused, raising up one pinky finger dangerously close to Ichigo's face, "one of these," he finished, grinning. Ichigo's eyes widened, but only for a second. Rukia was quick enough to poke Kaien in the ribs.

"Stop that, Kaien. That's not very nice, Ichigo's a busy man," she said, eyebrows drawn close together. Ichigo sighed, smiled and shook his head. Kaien faked a hurtful expression, but Ichigo was quick and skilled enough to cut the lovey-dovey scene from playing on time. He didn't think that he could take another round of intimate exchange between them. No more for today.

"Too busy to even settle down with one, Kaien," Ichigo responded truthfully, grinning as well. Kaien caught up fast, and he nodded.

"Too much blueprints of buildings that needs taking care of, huh?"

"Yeah, probably."

Another beeping sound could be heard, this time a little more digital than the one before. It was Ichigo's pager. Ichigo took it out, clicked on a few buttons, huffed, scowled even more (if that was even remotely possible) and slipped it into his pants pocket again. He extended a hand; Rukia knew he had to leave. Had she not known him she would have told him to take off that unnerving scowl from his face. But she understood that it was heavy with urgency about a job, and so she said nothing.

"Gotta run, guys. It was nice meeting with you two."

Kaien and Rukia nodded in unison. Kaien took the pleasure to take his hand for a goodbye handshake.

"Same goes to you," Kaien replied with a smile. He winked suggestively at him, and Ichigo only shrugged.

"Take care, Ichigo," Rukia told him, smiling. Ichigo looked at her, and he nodded his head. Those violet orbs seemed so enchanting.

"Thanks, Rukia. You too. See you around, Kaien," Ichigo finished finally, and he nodded lightly before walking away. The duo stood in silence, as they watched the retreating back of one of the most successful Japan's architects of the century. Finally, Kaien turned to Rukia.

"Let's go, Rukia."

Rukia turned to look at him. She nodded. Their hands were still twined.

"Let's go," she agreed. But before she could even take a step further she was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace. Kaien's huge body felt warm against hers.

"Kaien?" she was not one to display public affection (but she was slowly learning to), unlike Kaien. He was never ashamed or guarded to show his love for her. He was different from Ichigo.

Kaien didn't reply, instead he gently tilted her head up and gave her a passionate kiss. Drawn in by his sudden passion, she returned his kiss, equally passionate; or perhaps a little bit more. They pulled away finally, each gasping for air.

"What's up?" she murmured. Kaien kissed her again on her lips before finally telling her.

"I just miss you. So much."

And butterflies flew about in her stomach.