"For Rukia to be the only one allowed to beat Ichigo up, is only one strong evidence of how Ichigo treats her as someone who holds an assured and special place in his heart." Someone replied: Dude, his mother didn’t beat him and scowl him for being a failure. What makes you think he need this from his special woman when all his non-romantic friends can do that for him? What I have to say about this: 1. Rukia beating up Ichigo is mostly for comic relief. I actually am very surprised that people would use this fact as a proof "why Ichigo should end up with Oreeehheeeee" because it's actually something that is undeniably there, but is meant to be taken lightly. 2. Dude, this is anime. Antics like kicking someone until he goes out to the outer space is cliche enough. So naturally, Rukia being shown to give Ichigo some few kicks shouldn't really qualify as an evidence why they shoudln't be together. 3. However, I do know that in anime, there's this trope always being used: "The Tsundere. These are the bossy, bitchy female characters who have a soft, romantic inside; they usually give the male protagonists a hard time, but are secretly infatuated with them. These characters are often physically violent and/or often super-strong, and they often beat the objects of their affection. Some examples are: Tsundere include Akane from Ranma ½, Asuka from Evangelion, Sakura from Naruto, Chidori from Full Metal Panic, and Winry from Fullmetal Alcihemist just to name a few of several thousand. Note: the chances of the Tsundere receiveing an accidental boobfall from the boys they like is about 1-in-1, as is the chance they will immediately punch them for it." (source: http://io9.com/10-egregious-anime-cliches-498788300) So if those conditions are to be analyzed, then we can conclude that Rukia is one Tsundere. I want you to focus on phrases like: "they usually give the male protagonists a hard time, but are secretly infatuated with them" and "These characters are often physically violent and/or often super-strong, and they often beat the objects of their affection." --------------------> this means only one thing: that Kubo is giving us a hint of the great possibility of who will end up as couples in the story. And it's Ichigo and Rukia there. 4. When you said: "his mother didn’t beat him and scowl him for being a failure" This is like the argument, "My mother is my ray of light. Does that mean we're romantic?" We are not talking about you here. We're talking about Ichigo here. For Ichigo, Rukia is his ray of light. Rukia, who's not a family member, the main heroine of the story, is blatantly stated as his ray of light. Sounds romantic, right? Ichigo's mom has been dead since he was a child. How could you make sure that Ichigo didn't recieve a light slap in his hand as a form of discipline? What makes you think that Ichigo won't ever be beaten as a form of discipline? Since Ichigo's mom is dead, then we'll never be sure. Also, Rukia has NEVER told Ichigo about being a failure. Instead, those beatings are more to get his attention, and also, to get him to listen to her. RUKIA NEVER TOLD ICHIGO THAT HE IS A FAILURE, INSTEAD SHE TOLD HIM THAT SHE BELIEVES IN HIM, THAT HE WILL OVERCOME CHALLENGES, BECAUSE HE IS THE MAN IN HER HEART. 5. "What makes you think he need this from his special woman when all his non-romantic friends can do that for him?" Oh, if you think about, such beatings full of love and devotion are exactly what Ichigo need. It's what's needed to make Ichigo see the point. Being the stubborn person that he is, he needs someone who will not hesitate to tell him off, for his benefit. Also, like what I've told in my post, no one has guts enough to mess up with Ichi. So his non-romantic friends can never do it for him. ONLY RUKIA HAS BEEN GIVEN THIS PRIVILEGE, THAT'S WHY IT'S SPECIAL. Ichigo has been shown to truly understand important principles in life when it is Rukia who has said them. Ichigo has been shown to truly look up to Rukia because of this. This is ADMIRATION. That, together with THEIR AMAZING BOND, should show that IF THERE'S EVER A COUPLE IN BLEACH THAT WOULD MOST LIKELY BE ROMANTIC, IT'S ICHIRUKI,