So this isn't anything like the things I usually write, in more ways than one. (Although it's been a while since I actually wrote a fanfic... OTL) This is my first Bleach fanfic and for once a more serious kind of fic. Normally I'm al about humor and cheesy romance, but I was inspired by Coldplay's The Scientist. (For those of you who've never heard of the song, look it up ;) )

At first I felt like writing GrimIchi, but I was rewatching Bleach and somehow the mood I wanted to go for completely fit for Ichigo and Tatsuki. Tatsuki needs more love (still waiting for her to get some kick-ass power).

Also this fic is part of my 100 word challenge (which is visible on my profile and which I will never ever get to finish...) Number 3. Abandoned.

SO, that was enough ranting and I appreciate it if you actually read all that... You're awesome.

"I wonder if you can understand… the fear of being rained on in this lonely world."

It was raining. The skies dark and grim as drops of rain pelted down from above. The rain washed away the sounds of the road up ahead, filling her ears by the supposedly soothing sound of falling rain. It wasn't soothing, at all.

Her clothes were soaked and clung to her like a second skin. She blamed herself for not bringing an umbrella. Not because she would get a cold from being so soaking wet, no… Because apparently being pelted by the rain like this felt like loneliness.

Tatsuki had never felt as lonely as this. Sitting alone on the riverbank, looking as the raindrops disrupted the river's surface.

She had no idea how long she'd been sitting there. How long it had taken for her to feel so utterly lost. How long it had taken for the rain to drown out every feeling in her body but loneliness and emptiness.

Neither did she remember when she had stopped trying to tell apart raindrops from tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Damn it," she cursed. Tatsuki Arisawa was not weak. She didn't cry. Her hand moved to her face in an attempt to wipe the tears away. She could've as well tried to make the sea dry up. She cursed again. How pathetic to be crying out here to herself.

The weight of something on her shoulders snapped her back to reality. She turned to look behind her in shock. Standing there in the rain, umbrella in hand and looking completely out of place was Ichigo. The weight on her shoulders turned out to be his jacket upon closer inspection.

He made to sit down and placed the umbrella behind them. "Your clothes will get wet if you sit down like that," she told him, her voice barely a whisper. He nodded his agreement, but made no move to leave.

"Hey, Tatsuki, when did we change positions like this?" he asked her, his voice sounding solemn as he looked up to the sky. This riverbank was the place his mom died, the place Tatsuki would always find him at when he was younger.

When Orihime had called him to say she couldn't find Tatsuki, he had had a feeling he'd find her here. Although the fact she was here, portrayed to him how she felt. He realised she must've felt lonely with him always disappearing and Orihime running after him without explaining.

It was just that, Tatsuki was a strong person and to see her cry was oddly heart-breaking. He couldn't bare it and yet he was the cause. He was an idiot, he knew that now.

She turned to look at him, observing his face. He looked guilty, troubled by finding her like this. With a sigh she leaned her shoulder against his, her head resting on top. He didn't react to her action, just let it happen.

"Ichigo, why is this so hard?" she asked. The words slipping out before she could stop them.

She had been left out the whole time, forced to hear Ichigo's pitiful excuses of what was going on. As if she didn't know. She hated that. She loathed him for it. And yet the thought of never seeing him again was unbearable. So every time he left, together with Orihime and Chad and Ishida, her heart sank a little. Why was it so hard?

It was his turn to sigh. "Nobody said it was easy."

He didn't say anything more. But she understood what he had wanted to say. He was trying to protect her, like he protected everyone. Perhaps somehow he had thought she was better off not knowing. She had known that, of course. And that's why his words were enough. Nobody had ever said it was easy. Nobody had ever told them what to do.

Tatsuki smiled. It was a soft smile and barely even noticeable, but Ichigo caught on to it. He put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her a little closer. "It'll be alright. I promise," he told her and in that one moment she believed him. There wasn't even a reason to, she just did. Because it was him, and that was enough.

"If I were the rain...…that binds together the earth and the sky, who in all eternity will never mingle…would I be able to bind the hearts of people together?"

PS. If you liked it, let me know ;)

PPS. extra bonus points to all of you who recognized the quotes :D