AWWWWW who are you trying to kill with that overdose of FLUFF? Oh gosh. This is so adorable. I really love reading the weak side of Rukia and her insecurities since i really love hurt/comfort stories and they are really relatable. It's like exposing all your fears and having the one you love help you overcome it. Just WOW. This story is amazing. I really love your writing style so fluent and simplesimple as in the good way. KEEP WRITING STAY INSPIRED LET THOSE IDEAS GO WILD

Good point on how it would wear on someone that their new friend is an instant expert to that extent

Thank goodness

Awww... That was sooo cute!

Yay Ichigo! Yay Ichiruki!

i love this, did you know rukia has bankai? yeah bleach chap 570. I can't say how pretty she looks.
I'm verry happy when she said: bankai : Hakka no togame.

awww ichiruki ftw 3

Ohmygod my IchiRuki feels *o* can't breathe anymore! Loved the story.
Thank you for writing this awesome piece :)

Cuteeeee...

It is very nice to see a little angsty bitter Rukia even while she is still loving and supportive. I think you made her wonderfully multi-dimensional and relatable without compromising her bitterness.

OMGOSH BEAUTIFUL! YOU WRITE AMAZING FICS! I CAN'T EVEN TYPE ENGLISH PROPERLY BECAUSE THESE FEELS ARE BRINGING TEARS, I SOUND UNEDUCATED AND ITS YOUR FAULT! omg amazing just amazing! Beautiful fic and you captured Rukia so perfectly, it blew my breath away. Please write me a million page Ichiruki book!

So cute. Women and their insecurities. Thank goodness for a strong man.

Can I just tell you how long I've been contemplating something like this? Well actually, I already am, but that's not the point!

This was incredible for a lot of reasons, you really tapped into Rukia's insecurity, something that's been nagging me when I watched the Soul Society Arc before Renji and Byakuya popped up. I think the idea that Rukia assumed that she and Ichigo would be on equal footing once her own powers returned was very plausible and quite like her actually.

"Before she had been his teacher. He had needed her for her knowledge and expertise in regards to Hollows and Shinagami duties. Now all he needed was her phone."

I think the above is one of the reasons people think Rukia's pretty useless. She is quite weak compared to everyone else and doesn't really have a 'place' so to speak as Inoue does - she's the healer, whoopee do - who is not that strong physically but still has a purpose. (I'm just being mean, I don't like Inoue all that much).

I think that Rukia was sidelined a lot after the SSArc, but there's no denying that she has a strength in character. Considering she did lose her powers and then managed to obtain them once more in order to prevent being saved (something Inoue doesn't seem to mind, just saying) says a lot about her will to be independent of others mainly because of her idea that she's a burden on people.

One thing I found interesting about the battle with Aizen in the HMArc was that it consisted of three main people: Aizen, Ichigo and Rukia. The fact that Rukia obtained Bankai in such a short amount of time since regaining her powers is a pretty big deal, and she did it for Ichigo just as he did for her. Insert Fangirl Squeal.

"Spoil my moment? How would you do that? I want you in there beside me."

Though I don't think Ichigo would be so open about admitting it, we all kind of know it's true. I mean we all saw how mopey he was after she left.

Sigh. Okay. I think I've rambled long enough, but I'm afraid you're going to have to suffer through a little bit more...

You missed a few commas, could have made separate sentences into full ones and lost a bit of the flow in the last two lines of the story:

"No," Ichigo said leaning in(,) "You aren't the sidekick. Because the hero never does this to the sidekick." And then he kissed her. - this felt kind of rushed.

After when they came up for air, he said, "You're my partner."

Again, I loved how you portrayed Rukia's insecurity so well and I also loved the whole idea of Ichigo and Rukia being partners no matter how large the gap is between them.

Thanks for sharing, sorry this was so long, I have tendency to ramble ._.

The ending was really sweet. I would have liked to know what her Bankai was, but I guess the mysteriousness adds to the glory of the story.

This was a well written piece. No mistakes, and all arou d a good story. I loved it very much! Yer an amazing writer, and I commend you for being as such.

Kee it up!

-Mikie AKA Insanity!

Great story. :) I just want to ask though if Rukia really achieved bankai. I haven't watched the whole winter war since I jumped to season 16.