Reunions [Bleach fanfiction]

IchiRuki Explained

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for the Bleach manga ending in here, read at own risk.

A/N: Since the end of the Bleach manga, people have been divided on how they feel about it- particularly the ships. As a longtime shipper for IchiRuki (the pairing of Ichigo and Rukia), I obviously don't agree with the pairings that the manga ended with even though I like many things about the manga still. But instead of arguing about them, I decided to answer the question many people have poised to us Ichiruki shippers- why continue to ship them?

This will contain many aspects of the anime and manga (not including the Bount arc or the movies), but there will be spoilers so if you haven't read it yet and want to stay unspoiled, stop now. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. With that said, let's begin.
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IchiRuki. The most popular of the ships until of late. Second only to IchiHime (Orihime x Ichigo), it has had the largest following since the beginning of the manga's release. The biggest surprise to most people was that they weren't canonical. Reasons why are as follows.

They had major, and we're talking MAJOR, development. Throughout the majority of the manga there was no one Ichigo was closer to than Rukia and Chad. It wasn't until after the Soul Society arc that he formed a close friendship with Renji and Orihime. Despite their almost constant bickering, these two have had each other's backs since they met. And that's another thing, they constantly tease each other. Guys generally only tease girls they like. During the short span before the official start of the Soul Society arc, Rukia gets to know Ichigo and his family, soon beginning to see the hole that was left by Ichigo's late mother. Ichigo, who hasn't even confided his pain over the loss to his best friend Chad, questions Rukia's lack of inquisition when they go to visit his mother's grave.

Note Rukia's response, "I have no right to know. I don't have a method of stepping into the depths of your heart without getting it dirty. So I'll wait. When you want to talk, when you think it's okay to talk...talk to me." (Rukia, chapter 20). This surprises Ichigo, but later he learns that she lost someone close to her too, so she understands his pain better than someone without that experience. Later on in the series even after learning who Rukia lost, he doesn't confront her and force her to explain it to him. But rather, he repeats a similar sentiment when he says this, "I have nothing to ask. If you didn't tell me until now, you probably have a reason. And that's your problem. I don't know how to ask about that. I don't know a good way to ask without trampling over and putting to shame your feelings. That's why I'll wait. Until you feel like you want to tell me, until you feel it's alright to tell me. Until then, you don't need to. [...] It's all second hand. I was told something similar before, and I just remember how much it put at ease." (Ichigo, chapter 398). Their mutual respect for each other's feelings is not something shown in stories a lot, due to people getting upset over the slightest things in most books. These moments are a huge turning point in their relationship and effects how they interact during the rest of the series.

Soon after this, Rukia tries to distance herself to protect Ichigo since humans and shinigami aren't supposed to interact. "Whether I like him, whether I hate him, it's just all so troublesome. Love, companionship and friendship... it's nothing but trouble." (Rukia, chapter 54). The rest of the arc is focused on Ichigo gaining power and rescuing her from execution due to her not following these strict rules. He makes it blatantly obvious that she's the reason he trained so hard. "Rukia saved my life. She changed... my destiny. Because of Rukia, I became a shinigami that's how I am able to fight... and protect everyone now." (Ichigo, chapter 155). He even goes as far as to fight Rukia's older brother who misguidedly tries to stop Ichigo entering Soul Society (although Ichigo changes his mind on that). When they finally see each other after his training, he can't even look her in the eye for fear he'd lose focus of her older brother Byakuya who is bent on fighting him.