"If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger."
—Emily Brontë(Wuthering Heights)

The clock struck. It was midnight. She froze in bed and listened intently, her big orb-like eyes open.

It seemed like everyone in the household, servants and all, were asleep.

Very quietly she rose. Over her deep teal and silver kimono, she slipped the cloak.

There on the cloak, in a bright shining display of pride, the Kuchiki clan emblem was sewn.

An ice-cold dragon roared from a distance.

Miles away from where the Kuchiki princess was preparing herself for her nightly journey, a certain fluffy white-haired captain lay, injured and bleeding. His uniform had stuck to his chest, the blood forming a drying on the cloth, causing it to stick on his body.

His ragged breathing increased in volume. She was taking too long. He had sent Hyourinmarou a while ago.

He was not sure he would be able to keep breathing long enough for her to arrive. The punctures in his lung burned as if a fire was blazing through it.

Across the expanse he could make out the flapping of delicate black wings.

Her numb bare feet thudded on the snow-cloaked ground. She had long ago abandoned her cumbersome shoes.

Huff. Huff. She was exhausted, barely able to take in air as she ran.

But someone worth the fight it took awaited her.

She continued to run.

The clock struck one. The clock struck two.

Her feet were raw from the snow. Her nose blue and her ears red. Frozen tears clung to her lashes and stuck cheeks from the cold. And yet she continued to rush towards her destination.

At three she skidded to a stop. A great ice-blue dragon turned to face her; examining her, head turned to one side.

She whispered softly, "Take me to him, Hyourinmarou."

Hyourinmarou raised his head to roar as the petite shinigami grasped the little shoulder bag and swung her legs onto his back.

He heard Hyourinmarou roar and he knew that she had nearly arrived and was nearing his intensely hidden and secluded hiding area. Using all the strength he had left, he pushed himself onto the wall, attempting to ignore the sharp tugs in his torso.

Milliseconds, seconds, minutes…and he heard her arrive.

Her quiet and solemn entrance made his last winter all the more frostier.

He tiredly looked up.

Ice teal met raven black.

"Hitsugaya Toshiro."

"Kuchiki Rukia."

Time passed sluggishly as they stared into each other's eyes.

And yet time still passes, and Rukia suddenly got to business. She shed her cloak and, with strength fooling her tiny frame, she tore the cloth into long strips of bandages. She took a bottle of warm water from her bag and neared the injured captain.

Silently, without a word, she laid Hitsugaya onto his back. She very slowly and gently separated the clothing from Hitsugaya's skin. Then she opened the bottle of warm water and grabbed a couple of strips of her cloak to clean his chest, and face with. Finally, she took the last couple bands of cloth to wrap them around his injuries then cleaned the area and washed her hands.

Hitsugaya had decided that it was enough.

She took a bottle of drinking water out of her bag and came up to him. She frowned and her brow furrowed as she pondered how she was going to help him drink it.

Hitsugaya laughed when he saw that she still bit her lips in time of awkwardness and said, "You can always place my head in your lap, love."

Rukia jumped and reddened, her eyes glossy from pent in tears. She cautiously approached him and slowly raised her hands to reach for his head when Hitsugaya caught one of them and brought it to his lips. "A bit too formal and cautious, love."

With a bit more commitment, Rukia brought his head up to place on her lap and brought the bottle to his mouth. She slowly poured into his mouth as he drank.

Thereafter, with her hand still in his hair she sat silently with her eyes closed. A teardrop slowly fell onto the 10th Captain's forehead.

Hitsugaya's eyes flew open when the salty water hit his skin. He slowly raised his arm up to wipe the tears away from her cheeks and offered little comfortable "hushes" every little while.

An outsider may have thought he or she was hallucinating if they had stumbled upon such a scene. For the head of the 10th Divison was known for his calm and stoic, yet at times temper able personality.

But for Rukia, this was what she was accustomed to before the prodigy of Soul Society suddenly pursued Hinamori Momo on her way to the traitor Aizen.

And then Rukia was thrown into a controlled world in which no one, not Ichigo, Renji, Orihime, nor Byakuya nii-sama, could pull her out of.

Two years had passed since then. Matsumoto had taken up the Captain's position for the 10th Squad. And for everyone life pursued normally.

And suddenly he was back, broken and bleeding, barely leaving her anytime left to cherish with him.

After the tears had stopped flowing, Rukia heard the labored gasps for air. She lifted her head up in alert in time to wipe the blood that had gurgled out of Hitsugaya's mouth.

And it struck her that the finish line was near.

She calmly showed no sign of her fear. And attempted to listen to what he was now struggling to say...

"Rukia, you must have known, deep inside, that my disappearance was not betrayal!"

She remained silent.

"You honestly thought that it was very simple for me to throw everything away and chase after Momo?" His voice had risen an octave higher and she had stiffened at the mention of the other girl's name.

He calmed down slightly, then continued, "I chased after Hinamori so that I can reach Aizen. He was planning to use her as easy bait, the bastard. I couldn't leave Momo, who's as dear to me as a sister, to be used by the likes of him. After two years of planning and fighting, I decided to face Aizen. But-" his teeth clenched as he muttered this " I was apparently not strong enough."

He abruptly stopped and Rukia felt that his version of the tale left a lot to be desired. Yet, she did not push him to continue, but silently ran her fingers through his hair.

"Rukia. There is much I must relay to you so that you can inform the Gotei 13. So please, listen." And he informed her of Aizen's transformations, plans, and lies. She listened with authority, mentally writing everything down. And all the while, she wiped the blood that leaked from between his lips and held the tears the threatened to spill over.

Finally, came that time of silence. Where you knew everything will be over soon.

They held whispered conversations for a while and then they sat quietly. Hitsugaya holding one of her hands, and her other stroking his hair.

She lowered her face to his ear and whispered, "I never thought that your disappearance was betrayal. Not even when only, Momo came back."

She felt him smile on her skin and blushed when he placed a chaste kiss on her cheek.

But not even simple, pure, and innocent moments can last forever

Suddenly, he coughed and blood began to splutter everywhere. She felt herself panic and she raised the upper half of his body as she tried to relieve him from his coughing fit.

But she knew. She knew that they were inches from the finish line.

And this time she did not attempt to hide it. Tears turned to rivers.

She brought him back to her lap. His breathing was irregular a single breath of air every very long while.

And he rasped, "So this is it, my little butterfly. I never thought this would be how it would end. But I'm glad you're by my side. I feel relieved that I would be able to tell you all I did…I…I…"

Her blood curdled. Her body no longer functioned.

If all else perished…and he was annihilated…

The world would turn to a mighty stranger.

A/N: There you go. A completely random thought put in quick words. Plus a crack pairing. Equals… voila!

FYI: Any criticism is open and appreciated. Content is subject to change at all times. ^.^

Please review, review, review! Arigatou!