Pairing: Ichigo x Rukia

Warnings: Large doses of awkwardness, mild language.

Seeking Permission

"Why are you here Kurosaki Ichigo?" Byakuya asked in his usual monotone voice as he poured tea for himself and the young man he addressed. They sat in the Sixth Division office he normally shared with Renji. The fiery red-head was out to lunch with Rukia on this particular afternoon, giving the two privacy for their conversation. Ichigo had dropped by rather unexpectedly, prompting the inquiry from the Sixth Division Captain. After all, what reason could the substitute soul reaper possibly have to be in Soul Society?

Ichigo asked himself that very question as a blush rose to his cheeks. He gratefully accepted the tea and took a sip in order to buy time to formulate his response. He had to do this properly after all. Rukia had warned him of the consequences should he fail in this mission.

Byakuya raised an elegant eyebrow at the red adorning the substitute soul reaper's face. He had a dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach that the next words to come out of his mouth may require a strong reprimanding with Sebonzakura's assistance.

"Well you see Byakuya," he paused at the icy death glare he received. Dear god, had Byakuya always been this intimidating? He shouldn't be. Ichigo had fought against him and survived his blade before. Hell, he'd even kicked Byakuya's ass. So why was this so difficult? Taking a deep breath, Ichigo resolved to just deal with this like he did everything else in life: Head on, coming up with a plan as he went. It had always worked in battle, right?

"I came to talk to you about Rukia."

There. That was a good start. At least Byakuya wasn't giving him the patented Kuchiki Glare O' Death anymore. Of course he wasn't all smiles and sunshine either, but Ichigo was pretty sure that the day Kuchiki Byakuya openly smiled at him would be the day Ishida stopped wearing capes and declared himself to be a proud supporter of the soul reapers.

"What is it you would like to discuss about Rukia?" The feeling in Byakuya's stomach worsened. He had a horrible idea where this was going. In fact, he'd been dreading this day since the moment he witnessed the filthy brat interacting with his precious sister after her near-execution. He'd had an awful premonition that he'd been fighting in the back of his mind ever since. The small hope that he was just mistaken and overthinking things died a quick, painful death with the next sentence.

"I want to date her."

It was the hardest thing Ichigo had ever had to say. Telling Rukia he loved her hadn't been half this difficult. In fact, that particular conversation had been a breeze. But it was out in the open now. Nothing to do but wait for Byakuya's response. And wait…and wait…and wait…

Byakuya was amazed at the amount of self-restraint it took to not launch into bankai. He'd known this was coming, had even thought on how he might respond to such a situation, but that did not make this any easier.

"I take it, in that case, you have come to ask for my permission in this matter."

Byakuya regarded the youth in front of him with cool indifference. He would not betray the inner anguish he was feeling at the prospect of Hisanna's precious little sister …in a relationship …with the whelp. Still, Kurosaki Ichigo was the savior of Soul Society. Byakuya supposed that Rukia could do worse. The least he could do was hear the young man out.

Ichigo nodded his head. This was going better than expected. He allowed himself to relax.

"Rukia said that it was the proper way to go about things."

Byakuya inwardly smiled at that. At least he had raised Rukia to have a good sense of propriety.

"I see. Why?" he replied.

Ichigo blinked, clearly not expecting that.

"I…kinda thought you would know that. It's kind of old school nowadays in the living world, but Soul Society has always seemed more traditional to me. You're her big brother, and the head of the Kuchiki Clan, so that makes you the person I've got to talk to, right?"

Now it was Byakuya's turn to blink in disbelief. He fought the urge to rub at his temples as he felt a slight headache coming on.

"You misunderstand the question, Kurosaki Ichigo. I am perfectly aware of the etiquette the situation requires, even if such decorum escapes your understanding. Let me be clear; I am asking why you wish to…associate…yourself in such a matter with Rukia."

"Oh." That made a lot more sense.

"You know, I'm not really sure of that myself. It's just…she's Rukia, ya know?"

"I'm afraid that is not a satisfactory answer."

Ichigo sighed and tried again.

"Well, she hits hard. She can be really violent, especially when I've said or done something stupid, but she always straightens me out. I'm pretty sure preschoolers could draw better than her, and she's way too obsessed with rabbits. And she can be extremely childish sometimes."

Ichigo listed each of these faults, counting off with his fingers for each one.

"But even so…even so, she's still one of the most incredible people I've ever met. She's strong and fierce and loyal and smart. She's beautiful and adorable at the same time. She's the person that changed my fate by giving me the power to protect my important people. She's Kuchiki Rukia and I'm completely in love with her."

Ichigo held Byakuya's gaze, fierce determination lighting up his eyes as he dared Byakuya to challenge anything he had just said.

Byakuya dropped his eyes in defeat as he took a sip of tea. He had seen that look before and knew that the orange-haired young man was being completely serious. He also knew that nothing would stop him from getting his way in this matter. It had been obvious from day one that this would be the inevitable outcome of the friendship between Kuchiki Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo. Byakuya would be a fool to think that Rukia did not feel just as strongly for this brash idiot sitting across from him. He was just thankful Rukia had the presence of mind to think of proper protocol, even if her taste in men was questionable. Byakuya took a deep breath.

"If you wish to pursue a relationship with Kuchiki Rukia, your manners will have to greatly improve. I expect you to address me with the proper title fitting my station. Your fighting style will need improvement as well. Shoddy footwork and an inability to use kido is unacceptable. I will not have Rukia courting someone who knows only how to swing his zanpaktou around like that barbarian Zaraki."

Byakuya felt that these requirements were a good minimum to start out with. Renji would be a good sparring partner to improve Kurosaki's over all movements and there were any number of potential partners that could teach him kido. Byakuya would do it himself if he had to.

An easy smile spread across Ichigo's face, enhancing his boyish good looks.

"Sure thing, Byakuya."

The Glare O' Death was back. Shit. Ichigo decided that he'd been here far too long. He'd done as he'd promised Rukia and gotten Byakuya's permission. He should go tell her the good news before Byakuya changed his mind. He thanked Byakuya for the tea and his time and got the hell out of there.

As Ichigo raced across Soul Society toward the place he knew Rukia would be having lunch with Renji, he felt as though he'd just defeated all ten espada at once.

~fin~