Authors Note: I was really itching to write an IchiRuki story. I know it has been a while since I updated my HitsuHina story, but I am having major writer's block. I promise to finish it, but it could be a while. Anyway, enjoy this story even though I think it is crap.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. All rights go to Tite Kubo.

"It's been such a long time since then. I wonder if she still remembers me. I wonder if she has visited me at all. Rukia. Please give me a sign you're still here," Ichigo thinks as he wanders about the streets. He settles down in a coffee shop and waits. He is now twenty-seven years old, and waiting on his girlfriend. Ichigo pulls out the velvet box and opens it, admiring the ring. It belonged to his mother, and was very precious to him.

"Ichigo! Sorry I'm late. I ran a little behind schedule!" a woman will long black hair and emerald- green eyes called and sat across from him.

"It's fine," Ichigo assured his beloved girlfriend.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" the woman asked.

"Well…this is the first time I've ever done something like this," Ichigo took a deep breath, got on his knees, took out the ring, and said the words, "Miyuki, will you marry me."

Miyuki covered her mouth with one hand as tears filled her eyes. She nodded her head and said with a shaking breath, "Yes."

In a corner of the coffee shop, a shinigami still blessed with her teenage youth stood with a smile on her face. The person she met when he was just a hot-headed boy had become a man. Miyuki was very lucky to have him.

"I'm happy for you, Ichigo. Please take care of her," Rukia said as she departed in search of hollows.

"So, when shall the date be?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, how about May 27?" Miyuki suggested.

"No," Ichigo replied sadly.

"Why not? I thought June 17 was the off limit day," Miyuki asked very shocked.

"I can't bear to share that date with anybody else."

It was July 1 when the church bells rang. Ichigo stood at the alter wearing his best tuxedo. He waited for Miyuki to come to him and smiled a bright smile as she walked down the aisle in a beautiful white dress. Ichigo looked into the crowd to see his dad, sisters, Chad, Orihime, Uryuu, and all his other friends cheering him on. Miyuki proceeded to him and they looked lovingly into the other's eye.

As the vows were exchanged, the audience cheered for the new couple. On the balcony, Rukia stood and watched him get married. He vowed to cherish another woman for the rest of his life. She was happy for him.

"I wish you the best of luck, Ichigo. Love her well," Rukia whispered and turned to leave. She glanced over her shoulder one last time to see Ichigo walking out of the door with the love of his life. Rukia wanted to be with him, but now, it was not her place.

A year had passed since the marriage of the lovely couple. Miyuki was now pregnant and Ichigo confirmed it to be a daughter. The now twenty-eight-year-old man walked to a drawer and pulled out a picture of a special person. It was the only picture of her she allowed him to take.

"Who's that?" Miyuki asked.

"Oh. Her? She's a childhood friend. We were really close," Ichigo lied.

"She's beautiful. What happened to her?" Miyuki asked.

"Well, she passed away when I was seventeen. She was a very dear friend of mine," Ichigo lied again.

"I'm sorry. She seemed to be very special to you. Did you ever have romantic feelings for her?" Miyuki asked.

"Yes, I did. I loved her dearly," Ichigo spoke the truth. "But I assure you, Miyuki, that you are no replacement for her.

"I know that very much," Miyuki giggled and kissed her husband. Then, she stumbled backwards and rubbed her round stomach. "I think she's coming."

"Hang on!" Ichigo shouted. He helped his wife down the stairs and into the car, rushing her to the hospital. He was going to see his daughter very soon.

"You're doing great, Miyuki, just keep pushing," Ichigo commanded. Miyuki pushed and pushed and the girl finally came out. Their beautiful daughter had black hair and brown eyes.

"What should we name her?" Miyuki asked. "Should she be named after you, or after me?"

"I want to name her Rukia," Ichigo said quietly. "She looks like Rukia. The eye color isn't the same, but they're big just like Rukia's. "

"I see. That's a great idea," Miyuki smiled. She felt a little envious of this Rukia girl since she managed to hold Ichigo's heart even in death. Miyuki wondered if she could do the same if she were to pass away anytime soon.

Rukia watched the baby being cradled by her parents. Ichigo had named his daughter after her. He has not forgotten her yet. The shinigami smiled at the family. She could tell they were going to be happy together.

After many years, Ichigo was now a sixty-four-year-old grandfather. He and Miyuki had another child over the years. It was a son and they named him Isshin. Now his children had children. Time had gone by so fast, but for Ichigo, not nearly fast enough. All his friends were now deceased, and he was waiting for his time to come. He was waiting for her. Waiting for Rukia. Unable to sleep, Ichigo pushed himself out of bed and limped to his desk with his cane. His bones were now weak, and his was nearly bald. Ichigo grabbed a piece of paper and pencil and began to write.

Dear Rukia,

Have I been forgotten? You haven't come to visit me since the day I lost my powers. Well, wherever you are, I want you to know that I haven't forgotten that little midget who changed my world. I have been thinking of you.

To tell you the truth, I never got to confess my feelings for you. I always told you that you were a pain in my ass, an annoying midget bitch, or my nakama. Those were all true. You were a pain in my ass. You were an annoying midget bitch. And you were my nakama. But I never told you that I loved you. No one in the world could match your importance to me. No. I lied. No one in the universe can. To this day, I love you. Please tell me when we'll meet.

Ichigo folded the letter and left it on his windowsill. He hoped Rukia would come. Then, he slid into his bed next to Miyuki and slept. The next morning, there was a note for him as well.

Dear Ichigo,

Of course I haven't forgotten you. I've been visiting you, but you couldn't see me. I've been thinking of you as well.

You're a grown man now, and you still talk like that? To think you would have learned your manners in your adulthood. Anyway, I love you too. I don't know when it happened, or why it did. All I know is that somewhere along the timeline, I fell in love with you. But listen. Your dedication and love should go to your wife. Not me. You owe her that much. Make her happy until the day you die. And when you die, I promise I'll be right in front of you.

Ichigo stuffed the letter under his pillow. He felt guilty that he couldn't return Miyuki's love fully. She did love him with all her heart, and he loved her as well. However, he could never love her with all his heart no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't love her with half his heart. Hell, he couldn't even love her with a quarter of his heart. He couldn't love her with his heart at all because a petite shinigami had his heart, and he does not want it back. He wanted her to keep it even if she would break it.

At age seventy-seven, Ichigo was dying. Miyuki's health was deteriorating as well, but she would live a few years longer. Ichigo is honored to have lived long enough to see his grandchildren's children. Now, it was his time to leave. However, he could not do so without doing one thing.

"Miyuki, please. I need to tell you something," Ichigo whispered, his voice barely audible. His sisters, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren all surrounded him. "It's the truth about Rukia."

In the end, Ichigo needed to tell Miyuki the truth. He owed her the truth. She deserved to know the truth.

"Rukia was not a human when I met her," Ichigo said. Miyuki's wrinkled eyes widened in astonishment. Ichigo silenced her. All would be revealed. "She was a shinigami. I used to be able to see spirits, and she saved my family from an evil spirit. To do so, she gave me her powers, and I became a shinigami. She got in a lot of trouble and was even sentenced to die. But it all worked out in the end. She's special to me not because she saved my family, but because she changed my world. She stopped the rain that always terrorized me. I cannot thank her enough."

"So that's it huh?" Miyuki asked. "I always believed in spirits, but never like this."

"That's not the whole truth. When I said I harbored romantic feelings for her, I wasn't lying. I loved her," Ichigo continued. His vision was getting blurry, but he was starting to see someone else within the crowd. It was a figure wearing black attire.

"Miyuki, I love you. You know I do. I'm so sorry. But I cannot bear to put anyone above Rukia. She changed my world. Miyuki, a thousand apologies," Ichigo whispered.

"Ichigo, you gave me more than enough love in this lifetime. Now, I'm giving you back to her. I'm envious of her," Miyuki was starting to cry.

"You were never a replacement for Rukia, Miyuki, I assure you that. I loved you for you," Ichigo assured her. Then, he pulled out the note he wrote to Rukia thirteen years ago, and the note she wrote back. "Please bury these notes with me. You may read them if you like."

"I will bury them with you, but I will not read them. They are yours only," Miyuki said through sobs. "Is she coming to get you?"

"I think she's already here," Ichigo's head was turning towards Rukia. Miyuki and the rest of his family were getting more and more blurry, and Rukia was becoming more and more clear. "I think she's been watching over me."

"Your guardian angel?" Miyuki asked. Yuzu and Karin simply smiled. Karin had seen Rukia sitting with Ichigo as he did his homework when he was still in high school. Sometimes, she saw her crawl into his closet just like old times.

"No. She's more than that. Goodbye, Miyuki. Goodbye, Yuzu. Goodbye, Karin. Goodbye, everybody," Ichigo said as his voice got quieter and quieter. His heart slowed into a stop, and he was dead.

Ichigo rose out as a soul, but his soul was still a crippled old man. He watched Miyuki cover his body and leave the room. He turned to look at Rukia, and she was right in front of him. After so long, he finally got to see her again. She looked the same as she did when they parted.

"Rukia. What will happen to me now?" Ichigo asked.

"You will be reborn into the Soul Society. And you might not remember this life," Rukia sighed. She raised her zanpuku-to to perform konso on him.

"I don't want to forget! I won't forget!" Ichigo shouted.

"I promise you I'll look for you, okay? We'll meet again," Rukia smiled. Then she gently touched the hilt to his forehead and passed him on.

"I won't forget you, Rukia. No one else can surpass you in my heart," Ichigo said as his soul moved on.

They would meet again one day. Fate declared they would.

Author's Note: I know most of you expected his wife to be Orihime, but I did not want an IchiRuki vs. IchiHime war. When a review is given, it is supposed to be about the story not the couple. Constructive criticism is taken to heart, while flames are thrown right back in your face.

I also know the dates my not be right, and some facts may not be right either, but Kubo never specified. I do not know when Ichigo and Rukia met. I just know it was before June 17. I also do not know what happens to the souls when they go to Soul Society.