IchiRuki oneshot. No fluff. Sorry, guys. Just not in a fluffy mood. First section in italics is a flashback, the rest is lyrics to the song Burn Your Life Down. Oh, and this is AU. No Shinigamis. Just normal life.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. And I don't own the song Burn Your Life Down, either. Sara Quin does.

Song: Burn Your Life Down by Tegan and Sara

Against The Odds

"You can't be serious." Her violet eyes flashed impatiently, flaring with anger.

"..." He looked away with uncertainty.

"You have got to be kidding me! I broke my oath to my family to be with you! I went against everything I was, just to be with you, and now you just aren't sure!?"

"Rukia...calm down...I just don't know what to do...I can't think straight right now...I...I don't know if this was a good idea...We're so young and I don't even know if we can support ourselves financially."

"So you're telling me to leave? Is that it? You're telling me that all of this was a stupid mistake?"

"No! I don't want you to leave, I just might need to go find myself for a little while..."

"Well, I'm leaving."

"Don't--"

"Just shut your damn mouth, Ichigo. I hope you go straight to hell."

He fingered his hand through his orange locks as he sighed and simply watched her walk away, knowing well that the harsh ache in his heart would never forgive him.

X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o

Her tears crashed mercilessly onto the steering wheel as her grip tightened and she clenched her teeth in effort to fight back the tears. She was losing the battle.

She could barely see the road from the heavy donwpour of rain and her blurred vision from the persistant tears, and her windshield wipers sqeaked harshly against the glass. There were so many things wrong with her leaving him. She loved him, and no matter how many times she tried to deny it, she knew it was effortless. Pointless. And he loved her, too. She knew he did. He just wasn't sure of himself, he wasn't sure if he could provide her with what she needed and what she wanted.

Even if all she wanted was to be with him.

Tell me that you know another way to get it done

It's not me, or how I would be

But It's a different situation, different situation

Even if he was everything she needed.

You lay awake in the night just staring at the ceiling above

Pulling pieces of it out, it's such a waste of time

Keep on fighting to remember that nothing is lost in the end

When you burn, burn, burn

Your life down

X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o

He felt the urge to go after her. It was more a need than anything else. Something kept telling him to let her go, that she would come back if they were supposed to be together.

But then again, if he hadn't gone after her in the first place, they wouldn't have been anything at all.

His hand hesitantly reached for the keys sitting on the countertop in front of him as he pondered on whether to go or not.

Starting over, it's a different situation

You wake up in the night and refuse to be afraid of it now

Unfolding pieces of it faster, don't you waste your time

You've been planning to remember this, so nothing will be lost in the end

Then you burn, burn, burn

Your life down

He held his hand over the set of car keys for just a moment before grabbing them and bolting out the front door and into the car. He sped down the street, squinting his eyes in effort to see the road. He knew she couldn't be too far. It hadn't been that long, and she was such a slow, cautious driver that he could catch up to her soon enough.

X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o

She was beginning to notice that she couldn't focus on the road too well anymore. Her mind was drifting off into forbidden territory. She couldn't get him out of her head.

"We're only nineteen."

She didn't care. And she knew that honestly he didn't either.

"We're too young."

She didn't think so. No matter what he said, it was never a factor in her mind. It just didn't matter.

"I can't give you much."

She disagreed. He gave her everything she ever needed. He just wouldn't listen. She closed her eyes for a few moments, just to collect herself. It wasn't like she could see much, anyway.

She could feel her heart skip a beat as the sound of screeching tires and horns reached her ears.

I drive around the block and I'm not looking to my right

I feel the glass against my cheek and I can't see you in the light

X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o

He could see her car veer to the right, just ahead of him, where a Natural Gas semi was pulling out into the highway, just in time to smash her head on. He closed his eyes as he called out for her.

But it was no use.

All he felt was numb. He couldn't feel a thing. Something told him that in that moment, she was already out of his reach. He pounded his head against the top of his steering wheel as his screams echoed through the rain, only to be drowned out seconds later by the explosion from the collision.

His last words to her were nothing but bullshit and he knew that better than anything else. He could do nothing but blame himself, as the rain crashed down onto the earth around him.

I break my heart around this

X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o X o

Okay, well, I know, not my best. Just a quickie oneshot, I was bored. All rights go to Tite Kubo and Tegan and Sara Quin.