It was night.

The rain came down in a steady, misty drizzle that dampened the flag-stoned streets and avenues that cut through Seireitei. The smooth white walled buildings glistened in the lamplight beneath a dripping curtain of water from the tiled rooftops. The evening air held a certain damp chill that signaled the onset of winter time in Soul Society. It never snowed in Soul Society, but the winters consisted of a frigid rain that wasn't quite chilly enough to freeze, but was cold enough to drive most people indoors, especially at night.

Tonight at least one person dared to wander outside in the chill night air.

Ichigo Kurosaki moved purposefully along the dimly lit southern quarter of Seireitei, alone with his damp cloak and brooding thoughts. He was a tall man, not necessarily huge in stature, but rather a slim sort of musculature with a narrow waist and long legs. His brown eyes were creased with an almost permanent frown that wrinkled his forehead and the bridge of his narrow nose. His thin lips were drawn down in a perpetual scowl. Atop his head an almost fiery mane of bright orange hair set him apart from most of his peers in Soul Society. Even his very name meant 'strawberry', a testament to his oddly colored locks. Ichigo wore his customary Shinigami garb this evening, complete with the white sleeveless overlay with the symbol in back of three parallel white lines running horizontally from right to left. The symbol of the guard squad he was currently in charge of. His shoulders were hunched against the rain and wind and his hands were shoved deeply into pockets of his own making stitched into his white cloak.

He moved alone on this cold desolate night, but Ichigo was not truly lonely. At times like these the Squad Three Captain was at his most comfortable, alone with his thoughts and contemplations. He had few friends in this world, and if one was not a member of that exclusive group then Ichigo felt little need to suffer their presence. A lot of his peers would call him aloof. Ichigo simply preferred to keep the number of people he felt he had to protect to a manageable minimum. At least that's how he saw it.

Yet it wasn't long before Ichigo felt the familiar presence of someone he knew very closely. Her presence was slight. She had learned to control it in the last few years, but Ichigo could feel it no matter how hard she tried to suppress it. The odd Reiatsu of an Arrancar was a rare thing in Soul Society and easily distinguishable from the mosaic of Shinigami Reiatsu.

He stopped in the middle of a T-shaped intersection and looked over his left shoulder in mild annoyance.

"Come on out, Nel," he said firmly. "I can feel your Reiatsu."

This was far from the first time his Vice Captain had decided to tail him when he was out and about. It almost seemed like some kind of game to the Espada-class Arrancar that she try to follow him and go as long as possible without his detection. This time she didn't fare so well. Usually he went a good twenty blocks before he picked her out of the darkness.

A figure cloaked in black, with a white sash holding an ivory Zanpakuto at her waist appeared in a blur of speed atop the wall to Ichigo's right. Her head, exposed to the elements, was surmounted by a bony Hollow Mask with curved horns that framed a rather lovely face. Her complexion was marred by a red birth mark that ran horizontally across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Between her gray eyes ran an old discolored scar inflicted on her by one of her former comrades. Emerald green hair spilled from her mask and down around her shoulders to the middle of her back.

"I told you to stay," Ichigo scolded Nel. "I really meant it this time!"

Nel easily jumped down to the street and stood unapologetically facing him. "I thought maybe this time would be the time I could follow you completely without you detecting me. If I hadn't slipped on the roof just now I might have beaten my previous record."

"The only way you could escape my notice for an entire trip was if I was simply going across the street from my house," Ichigo stated. "Now if you're done fooling around, go home. This meeting is not for Vice Captains' ears. I'll have no choice but to punish you if Toshiro finds out you followed me."

"Is it about the King?" Nel inquired.

"You know I can't tell you that," Ichigo narrowed his eyes.

Ignoring the implied threat, Nel pressed on. "I've heard the rumors too. You Captains can't keep this a secret forever. They say the King is sick, that it's pretty serious. Why else would they call all twelve Captains to a meeting in the middle of the night in this weather?"

"That's pretty good," Ichigo conceded. "I admit you know just as much as I do about the situation. Regardless, it's time you dropped this matter and went home. More than likely you'll get the real story sooner or later. But if you don't stop pestering me--!"

Ichigo stopped mid-sentence as another Reiatsu made its presence felt. Nel was already looking in the direction of the road that was intersecting with the one Ichigo had been following. The Reiatsu was a familiar one, one that filled Ichigo with a sense of peace and contentment. He knew almost without looking who the owner of that spirit energy was.

"Having some trouble with the subordinate, Ichigo?" said the almost tiny female Shinigami who stepped into the light of the nearest street lamp.

"No more than usual, I suppose," Ichigo sighed, glaring at Nel, who despite taking a step back from his gaze had a bit of a smile on her lips.

The newest arrival was dressed in like style to that of Ichigo. Her Shinigami robe was overlaid with a white cloak that bore the same three horizontal lines on the back of Ichigo's garb, only this symbol also had a cross-shaped symbol set atop the three lines to signify the number '13'. Her short black hair was cut to the nape of her neck and curled slightly outward at the tips from years of brushing against her collar.

Here in Soul Society, people aged very slowly, the more powerful ones lasting for as long as a couple thousand years in some cases. Despite this, the other captain was showing signs of her advanced age. The solid lock of hair that seemed to cleave her small face in two down the middle contained a few stray strands of silver, while the faintest etching of crows feet decorated the outer corners of her eyes. Her steely dark eyes, however, had lost none of their vibrance or potency.

"Hello Rukia," Ichigo greeted her by her first name. An informality earned through centuries of cooperation and cohabitation. She was one of his oldest remaining friends, the only one left over from his days as a mortal in Karakura Town . She had been a Shinigami far longer than he had, hence the age difference. Despite her apparent signs of getting up there in years, Ichigo still thought she was quite beautiful. A lump formed in his throat, however, every time he saw her these days.

"You look well for an old bag. Is that a few more strands of gray hair I see on that head of yours?" he quipped.

"Oh, you're a scream," Rukia's answering glare could have withered an oak tree. For Ichigo, who had seen it a million times before, the effect was somewhat less potent. "How long did it take you to come up with that one?"

"I write them down when I think about them," Ichigo shrugged. "Cheating with your Kidou to keep off the rain I see."

Rukia had been walking this whole time with a bubble of force around her that kept the rain from hitting her body. Underneath that invisible dome she was bone dry. Ichigo rather envied her mastery of Shinigami magic.

"Hello Nel," Rukia turned her head to acknowledge Ichigo's Vice Captain. "It's been a while since the last time we saw each other."

"Too long, Captain Kuchiki," Nel bowed at the waist to the Shinigami who barely came up to her breast line.

"Nel here was just leaving, weren't you Nel?" Ichigo said meaningfully.

"Aww!" Nel pouted at him. "Can't I at least follow you to the Commander's Dojo?"

"Yeah, Ichigo. Can't she?" Rukia batted her eyelashes mischievously.

Okay, he deserved that, Ichigo thought as he glowered back down at Rukia. This was her revenge for his crack about her age. Rukia was rather devious when it came to these kinds of things. Getting even was one of her finer gifts.

Nel beamed and looked expectantly at Ichigo.

The best Ichigo could do was roll his eyes and give in. "If Toshiro nails me for seeing you near his dojo I'm coming down on you like a ton of bricks," he threatened his Vice Captain. "So just be sure you at least stay out of sight."

The Arrancar merely agreed with a cheerful nod.

"You shouldn't spoil her like that," he said to his fellow Captain as the two started walking. Nel took to the rooftops and quickly vanished from view. Her Reiatsu lingered momentarily before it too faded. "If you're going to get back at me you can do it without undermining my authority."

"If you're going to play with fire, you should prepare to be burned now and again," Rukia sniffed.

"Fair enough," Ichigo surrendered with a sigh. "So you gonna give me some of that rain shield or not?"

"I think you'll live," Rukia retorted.

"Now that's just cold," Ichigo muttered, looking away.

The two walked on for some amount of distance in silence. Though they hardly ever saw each other anymore, there was really no need for words between them. All verbal barbs aside, both Captains felt a sort of tranquil serenity just by being in close proximity to one another. It was a harmony Ichigo shared with no one else in Seireitei.

"She really cares about you," Rukia said after a protracted lull. Her eyes contained a bit of a wistful air about them.

"Who?" Ichigo asked.

"Still as thick as a slab of concrete I see," Rukia smirked.

"Easy now," said Ichigo half-jokingly. "I know who you mean. I might be slightly thick in the social department, but even I can see it. She makes it pretty obvious."

"All the young Shinigami girls seem to want a piece of you," needled Rukia. "So what'll you do Mister Casanova?"

"Shut up! I'm not doing anything, she's my Vice Captain," Ichigo replied seriously. "Lord knows I have a hard enough time getting the other Captains to accept her presence here. If I were to give off the appearance of romance it would completely ruin my credibility in selecting her as my Vice Captain as well as putting her in danger of getting exiled back to Hueco Mundo."

"Always worried about protecting everyone around you…" Rukia clucked her tongue.

Ichigo snorted "She's a big girl, she can take care of herself. I'm not protecting her so much as I'm protecting myself."

"Okay, keep denying it," Rukia nudged him with her elbow. "I've known you longer than anyone here. There's just as much of that macho, 'He-man' attitude hidden in your words as there is concern for your position. Nel doesn't care about being your lieutenant, Ichigo. She cares just about being close to you. She always has. I think it's time you finally gave her a chance."

"Is that what you want?" Ichigo felt the lump in his throat grow in both size and weight as the familiar old subject started to come up again.

Rukia stopped walking and turned to gaze up at the sky, letting the slight drizzle splash off her face. That was a new habit of hers. She never made eye contact with him anymore, when talking about the hard things.

"I think… You should at least give her a chance," Rukia said with a small voice. "Who knows? She could be the one you were truly meant to be with."

And there it was. That ton-of-bricks subject that never seemed to stay away whenever the two of them talked these days. It was part of the reason Rukia avoided him more than usual lately, even though she was the one who brought it up half the time.

"I think we both know there's only one person who can fill that role," Ichigo's eyes bored into the back of Rukia's skull.

Rukia and Ichigo had been friends for centuries. But for a slightly shorter stretch of time they'd been something much more than that.

The two had first met when Ichigo was a mortal resident of the real world growing up in Karakura Town . Rukia had already been a Shinigami for some three or four centuries by that point. His ability to see ghosts and spirits, even as an ordinary Human, had enabled him to see Rukia when one of her missions took her to his house. She had been shocked that he could see her at all. Even more shocked when Ichigo accidentally sucked all of her spirit energy out and took on the form of a very powerful Shinigami. A partnership began on that fateful evening long ago that had persisted and outlasted any other friendship.

When Ichigo died and became a true Shinigami, he and Rukia were reunited in Soul Society as peers at last. He had to start from the bottom like everyone else, while she was a tenured Vice Captain in Squad Thirteen. Rukia took it upon herself to take Ichigo under her wing and walk him through the intricacies of Seireitei, since Ichigo had a way of ruffling people's feathers. A partnership was formed between the two of them and they became virtually inseparable. Even those who didn't know them well always remarked on how well Ichigo and Rukia complemented one another. Neither one seemed complete without the other by their side. They were two sides to the same coin.

After many years of trying to deny the truth, Rukia and Ichigo did finally bring their true feelings to the surface during a battle in which Ichigo had nearly died. Once that moment came, there was no going back. The two married, becoming the first pair of Captain-class Shinigami to enter into wedlock with one another. It was a love that was supposed to last forever. After all, everyone seemed to agree that the two were as close to 'soul-mates' as two people could ever possibly be.

But after a long period of wedded bliss, things began to fade from their previous luster. The first problem to arise was Rukia's fertility. It was discovered she was unable to bear a child due to numerous wounds inflicted on her through the years. That was problem number one.

Problem number two occurred when Rukia sprouted her first gray hair and became aware that her skin was no longer as vibrant as it once was. Compared to Ichigo, who at about 450 years of age was pretty much in his prime as a spirit, Rukia was clearly on the decline when it came to age. She was several centuries older than her husband and though there were ways she could conceal her advancing age, Rukia ultimately decided that such methods were superfluous.

Ichigo tried to tell her numerous times that he didn't mind the age difference. That he would continue to love her even after her beauty had eroded away entirely. But Rukia saw things differently. It wasn't that she was vain. She wasn't depressed because her looks were deteriorating. She was depressed because she knew that she would eventually die long before Ichigo would even start to taste old age. Though the two seemed destined to be together, the reality was that destiny was already tearing them apart. Rukia didn't want Ichigo to be left behind in desolation when she passed on. So, after months of deliberating and agonizing over the most painful decision of her life, she removed her wedding ring, handed it back to Ichigo, and filed for divorce.

Within a matter of weeks they were living on separate sides of Seireitei. Ichigo's pleas for her to reconsider fell on deaf ears. Rukia never changed her mind once she decided on something. Nothing he said or did could waver her from her conviction that she was doing the right thing for Ichigo.

That was almost ten years ago. The pain had eased a little since then, and the two were talking as old friends once again rather than tortured ex-lovers. But every time they met, the painful memories loomed like an 800 pound gorilla in the room. Rukia tried to compensate by trying to fix Ichigo up with other love interests. It seemed that Rukia had settled upon Nel as the most likely replacement. And why not? She and Ichigo went way back as well. Nel had been attached to Ichigo emotionally since she was a small child.

But how could she expect him to simply replace her like an old hat? Ichigo thought as he resisted the urge to put his hands on her shoulders and pull her back to him.

"We're going to be late. Come on, Ichigo," Rukia snapped out of her reverie and began trotting up the street. Ichigo followed after her, taking long strides that easily kept up with her shorter legs. No more words were exchanged after that. Not until they finally rounded the corner and beheld the wooden dojo marked with a single horizontal line signifying it as the headquarters of Squad One. It was the home of the current Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13: Toshiro Hitsugaya. This was their destination.

"It'll be good to finally get inside for a few minutes," said Rukia.

"Speak for yourself, force field girl," Ichigo mumbled grumpily. "At least you're still dry."

"One of these days you'll wise up and use an umbrella," Rukia sniffed.

Ichigo sneezed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. Rukia resisted the urge to feel sorry for him and extend her shield over the top of him. Such a gesture might only encourage him to keep trying to win her back. Instead she started moving toward the front door. "Come on," she called over her shoulder. "You've probably gone and made the two of us late."

"So it's my fault?! Oh yeah, that's rich!... Ah-choo!!" Ichigo recovered from the sneeze and ran to catch up with Rukia.

NEXT CHAPTER: Friday