There I was, watching the Titanic, and i felt like writing.

Reviews and Comments are more than welcome!

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Not the characters, nor bleach... sob nor Ichigo Kurosaki. But I do own my imagination, and the aspiration to some day be writing this friggin manga! anyway... don't sue!

He awoke with a pang in his chest, a cold sweat on his brow. He sat up in bed and looked around the dark bedroom. What kinda dream was that. He had had a few restless nights lately, but this was by far the worst. Damn nightmares! He had been standing in the street. It was dark, eerie and he wasn't alone...

His sisters were in his nightmare this time, another white masked monster, and that girl...

The one without a face, but who Ichigo was sure he knew... from somewhere.

He racked his mind, trying to remember the events of this dream. His sisters were in danger, he had tried to throw himself in the monsters path but...

That girl had saved him. She had taken the hit. He watched as she fell to the ground, a pool of crimson blood spreading around her lifeless figure.

"You fool..." she cursed, "How could you have thought you could stop it?"

He stood there, unable to believe that a complete stranger would sacrifice herself to help him. He looked back down to find she had crawled over to the nearby street post. She sat up, supporting herself on the poll, a pained expression obvious on her face. Then, "Do you want to save your family?"

Ichigo heard her out, her plan to save his loved ones, involving him getting pierced by her blade.

"Do it soul reaper."

The girl looked up, her eyes held some emotion, but Ichigo could not place what that was, "I am not 'soul reaper', I am..."

He saw her mouth what he thought was her name, but no sound escaped her lips, but that didn't bother him then. She pierced his chest with the blade... and suddenly...

He felt alive.

There had been a fight afterward, and he had somehow destroyed the beast. But when Ichigo awoke he had no recollection of the girl, not even the image of her face... nor her name.

Crazy dreams... I really need to stop reading those horror stories. He told himself as he fell back onto his bed once more. He slowly slipped into yet another restless sleep.

Little did Ichigo know that his father had watched his son tossing and mumbling in his sleep from the hallway. Isshin Kurosaki sighed as he made his way down to his own room, "You didn't expect such a rough time, did ya, Ichigo..."

The hall was filled with captains and lieutenants of the Gotei 13, and at the top of the room, the leader of the Gotei 13 and captain of the 1st Division, Shigekuni Yamamoto Genryusai. All the members immediately stopped their chatting amongst each other as their leader took a stand.

The older man cleared his throat, demanding complete silence before he spoke, "Good Day to you all. I am sure that each of you know the importance and the meaning of this meeting. We must keep our vow to the Ryoka," He looked around at his warriors, each as talented as the last, but who he knew were no match for one boy, "We promised to protect Kurosaki Ichigo, and those he calls his friends."

The Captains and Lieutenants errupted in conversation about this new task thrust upon the Gotei 13, some agreed, others were outraged. Their leader raised a hand and silence once again enveloped the hall, he continued, "Kurosaki, it is fair to say, is in many ways the reason so many of you stand amongst us today. He put his life on the line for many of you, and he fought for a society that, at present, means nothing to him." He held the gaze of the crowd as he continued, "He killed our most dangerous enemy of yet... Kurosaki destroyed Aizen. In return, you know, we offered him what many Ryoka would call a 'normal life', free from his 'duties' as substitute Shinigami... by erasing his memory of all that binds him to this world. Erasing him of Hollows, Soul Society, Reiatsu, Soul Reapers... of us." The older man noted how many of the crowd lowered their heads at this knowledge. Indeed many of them reluctantly learned to call him one of us, and bit by bit, befriended this Ichigo Kurosaki.

"For this promise, we had to find a way to protect Kurosaki from the dangers he no longer knows he faces. Obviously we could not remove such Spiritual Pressure from the Ryoka without killing them, so we had to find a way to contain it while the humans live out their normal life span. Because of this, they may be easy targets for Hollows who are sensitive when detecting Reiatsu. The Ryoka will no longer be aware of these dangers, thus we must protect them from that which they no longer understand."

The crowd errupted into speech once more, but were quickly silenced by their leader, all except one.

"And who do you propose we send?" Abarai Renji called up from the crowd.

The older man almost smiled, "That, I am leaving up to you."

There was shocked silence, destroyed by the sound of running footsteps. The leader expected as much, for this reason when the young Soul Reaper burst through the front door of the hall, he had called off the guards, before they had even made a movement to remove her. The old man spoke, "Ah, Rukia Kuchiki, what may i ask brings you barging in?"

The young girl fell to the floor in a bow, "My deepest apologies sir," she looked up, "But I would rather wish I could take guard over the Ryoka."

The man sighed, "Miss Kuchiki, you do understand the circumstances of the situation, correct?"

Rukia looked up in surprise for a moment, then gave a curt nod, "I understand."

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes. The sun was pouring in from his bedroom window, wrapping him in its heat. He wished he could just lie there all day.

But...

"GOOOOOOD MORNING ICHIGOOOO!!" His father roared as he thrust himself down on his semi conscious son, his elbow digging into Ichigo's chest.

Ichigo let out a pained roar and jumped form his bed, grabbing his old man by the collar, gasping for breath, "You Bastard! What the hell do you think you're doing?! I wasn't even awake and you attack me!" When he was done he threw his father out of his bedroom, slamming the door in his face.

"Always be alert my son! You will make me proud someday, I know it!" Isshin called from the hallway before limping off.

Ichigo sighed as he returned his gaze to his room. It was a typical young mans room, as always, in a typical mess. He walked over to his wardrobe, pulling out a pair of his everyday jeans. Throwing them on, he walked over to his bed and picked up one of the shirts that lay on the bedside desk.

It was a beautiful, Summer's day. Unfortunately Ichigo Kurosaki couldn't think of anything to do with it. All his friends were either busy with relations, or away for the holidays, leaving Ichigo to try and amuse himself... proving harder than he had expected.

Walking downstairs, he dodged one of his father's flying kicks as he made his way to the kitchen. "Morning Yuzu, morning Karin." he greeted his sisters as he sat at the kitchen counter. Yuzu placed a bowl of fruit in front of him, "Eat up now, brother. You need to keep up your strength during this heat wave."

Ichigo scoffed as he began eating his breakfast, "It's just a little sun, relax Yuzu."

Karin nodded, "Yeah, I think it's great! Now i can play soccer all day!"

"Yeah," Isshin added walking into the kitchen, "And we're making great business with the amount of people getting heat stroke!"

Ichigo shook his head, finishing his breakfast he stood up, "Well, I'm going out for a while."

"Where to?" Yuzu asked, curiosity obvious in her voice.

Ichigo sighed, "You have really got to stop being so noisy," he ran a hand through his messy orange hair, "And I dunno where... guess I'm going to find something to do on a day like today." At that he walked out the front door, nodding goodbye to his family.

Once he was gone Yuzu and Isshin let out a sigh, "Poor Brother, he really doesn't know what to do now that she's gone..."

Isshin nodded, "Now now, Yuzu... Ichigo will learn to live without the knowledge of Soul Reaping."

Karing raised her head from her magazine, "Yeah... but will he be able to live without...Rukia..."

He walked down through the town. Passing people playing soccer, eating ice cream, shopping. He shook his head. What was up with him lately.

He walked out to the park, bumping into Orihime. The young red head immediately flushed red when she saw him ,"H-hello Ichigo." she greeted, stuttering slightly as the colour in her face became more prominent.

"Hey Orihime." He returned, walking over to her, "How's your holiday going?"

The girl resembled a deer in headlights as she tried to reply, "I, ahh... umm... good!"

Ichigo gave her an affable smile, "That's good."

The girl could do nothing but smile. Then came silence, until Orihime spoke up, "Well I've got to be going! It was...nice seeing you, Ichigo."

Before he could even reply, she had run off, leaving Ichigo standing there in complete bewilderment. Shaking the events of that last conversation from his mind, Ichigo continued to walk out towards the lake in the centre of the park.

When he reached the lake he sat in one of the nearby benches. Closing his eyes, Ichigo began to lose himself in thought. He remembered his dreams, and tried to put a face, or a name to the girl who saved him, but nothing. Letting out a deep sigh, Ichigo opened his eyes and stared out at the crystal clear lake.

A white light began to appear in the centre of the water. Ichigo stood up, trying to get a better view. Looking at the crowds of people around him, it seemed as if he was the only one who could see the blinding light. The light grew larger and brighter, Ichigo began to squint at the sight before him. Then...

A flash, as if the growing light exploded, sending Ichigo falling back in shock. The light felt like it was burning his eyes out, but he could hear no screaming. As if no one but him noticed this horrible light. When it was finally over, Ichigo sat up and slowly opened his eyes.

It took a moment for his sight to return, and when he looked around, the crowds of people from earlier seemed to have vanished. Ichigo looked out to the lake, searching for the cause of the bright light... but what he saw was much more frightening.

A female figure floated face down on the water. Ichigo wasted no time before diving into the lake. Swimming out to the centre he searched for the girl, but she had gone under. Taking a deep breath, he went down in search of the girl. The water was dark, making it difficult to see anything, but as Ichigo reached out he caught hold of her arm, pulling her to the surface.

Ichigo got the unconscious girl to land, where groups of people watched in awe, "Somebody call an abulance!" he ordered, lying the girl on her back he felt for her pulse, nothing. He pressed down on her chest, One, Two, Three, then covering her mouth with his he tried to restart her breathing, continuing the steps over and over again until.

The girl began to cough up water. Ichigo sighed with relief. He moved behind her, placing the girl's head on his lap, he began to speak to her, "Miss, can you hear me?" the girl's eyes shot open, catching Ichigo by surprise. She tried to sit up, but Ichigo forced her back down, "You have to stay calm, you almost drowned out there. Just lie back and breathe deeply." At this the girl's eyes met his, they went wide with shock. Ichigo began to worry, "Miss, can you tell me your name?" The girl made no response to suggest that she had even heard his question. She stared into his eyes with her deep, purple ones. Her gaze made him short of breath, and then she spoke, "Ichigo..."

He didn't understand, "H-how...do you know... my name?" But before she could reply, the girl lost consciousness. Ichigo looked down at the raven haired girl in shock. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder, and his father say, "Come on, lets get this girl back to the clinic."

Without another word, Ichigo scooped the girl in his arms and walked off after his father.

When they had reached the clinic Ichigo placed he girl down on one of the beds. He looked down at the unconscious girl. She was...beautiful. Not that he had ever been he type to judge on first appearances, but she was...

He let out a sigh. She had short black hair, that came to an end at her shoulders, and a strand that lay across her face. 'Who are you?' He watched her stir, a smile spread across his face. He then heard his father return, "Ichigo," he began, walking over to them, checking the girl's condition, "You had a pretty rough day, are you sure you wouldn't like me to check you out?"

Ichigo shook his head, "Thanks but I'm all right," then looking once again to the girl, "Will she be Ok?"

His father silently noted the worry his son was showing for a girl he wasn't even supposed to know, "She should be fine. She's just resting now."

Ichigo sighed, "That's good."

Isshin nodded, "You should get some rest."

Ichigo agreed, but when he went to stand he almost immediately lost his balance. His father stopped him from hitting the ground, "Ichigo, I think you had better stay here tonight too." he stated, leading his son over to the other bed. By the time he had layed his son down, Ichigo had fallen asleep. Isshin smiled, "Well done, Ichigo."

At that he left the two to rest.

Walking back into the Kurosaki living quarters, he was bombarded by questions from both his daughters, "That was Rukia! Wasn't it Daddy?"

Isshin smiled, "Yes... it appears she was sent to protect Ichigo and his friends."

Karin scoffed, "But Ichigo doesn't know who she is, right?"

Isshin nodded, "Unfortunately, that is the case. Which means were going to have to play the unwise around Ichigo... permanently," then giving his girls a loving smile, "But that doesn't mean you can't talk to her like before, just make sure Ichigo doesn't catch on, Ok? Now, off to bed."

The two girls nodded, hugged their father good night and ran off up to bed, leaving Isshin to his thoughts. The man sighed, "Oh, Ichigo... what have you gotten yourself into?"

I hope to write more, depending on the response I get i suppose.

Hope you enjoyed it!