Woot! Chapter one of my new story! I'm just gonna dive right in after a couple things.

Thanks for the overwhelmingly great response to After the War. You guys keep me writing with your reviews, so please keep it up. You guys are the best.

I've gotten some reviews mentioning spelling errors. If you see glaring errors, please PM me about them so I can fix them. I write about ½ of each chapter on my phone with no spell checker and finish in Google Docs which still has limited editing capabilities. Since this is a recreational thing for me, and I like to release chapters quickly, I'm not going over my thumb-typing with a fine-toothed comb. So instead of saying: "Great story lol but spelling errors ಠ_ಠ", specify please!

This is a sequel to my other story, After the War. If you haven't already, go read and review that one first.

The next thing Ichigo knew, he was standing in Rukongai, the quiet of the evening twilight broken only by the noise of insects and the noise of bartenders unlocking their doors. He looked down and realized the he was clad in his shinigami robes, and was glad that his memories and powers had been preserved.

'Didn't trust me, Ichigo?"

"You know I did, old man. I'm just glad it worked."

"Don't forget about me, King. Even though you were too stupid to keep track of your human body, I can still take over this one!"

"That's doubtful, hollow, considering the grasp that Ichigo has on his own powers at this point. As a matter of fact, I believe you've failed several times now. Perhaps it's time to give up and cooperate."

"FUCK YOU OLD GUY!"

Ichigo left his inner beings to their argument, breathing in the night air. He felt a presence beside him, and looked down to see Rukia beaming up at him.

"Feeling alright?" She asked him happily.

"Yeah…it's weird though," he answered, "being….ya know, dead."

"Ah, you'll get used to it. Come on, strawberry, let's get you to the Seireitei." She said happily, grabbing him by the hand and leading him through the streets of her youth.

The two of them arrived at Kuchiki manor, Ichigo dragging his feet the whole way to the door. They were greeted by a young servant girl, who bowed to Rukia before noticing Ichigo. She prostrated herself in front of the orange-haired teenager.

"K-Kurosaki-sama! Thank you for saving our world!" The servant girl cried, shivering with awe at the powerful being in front of her.

"Mina, there is no need to subject yourself to someone who is not of noble blood. Please stand up." Byakuya stepped into view, frowning ever-so-slightly at the pair in front of him. For once, Ichigo was relieved for the serious man's presence, as Mina's display had made him extremely uncomfortable. Byakuya coughed, staring hard at the still-connected hands of the two teens. They separated quickly, both blushing profusely, neither having realized that they were still attached. Strike one…, Ichigo thought, but knew he could make up the lost ground quickly. Rukia had prepared him for this visit…not that he was going to like what she had threatened him into saying.

"Good evening, Kuchiki-taicho."

Isshin clinked his beer against Kisuke's taking the first swig from his bitter drink. The two of them sat on the roof of the Kurosaki clinic in cheap lawn chairs, eyes turned towards the night sky where Isshin's son had disappeared a short time before.

"So how did Yuzu and Karin take it?"

"Well, you know, Yuzu was sad of course. Karin seemed fairly indifferent but I think she was a bit taken aback by the whole situation. I explained to them that he would have had to leave soon anyway…"

"It's not as though a human body could hold such power for too long. Going less than a month without leaving his body too often…it was only a matter of time." The cat sitting on Urahara's lap chimed in, purring as the shopkeeper scratched behind its ear. Urahara smirked, knowing that Yoruichi enjoyed being tickled there even more when in her 'natural' form.

"I'm sure he's rather happy to be with Miss Kuchiki, at any rate." the blond-haired man said behind a smile. "You may get your wish of grandchildren sooner than you think, Isshin."

The town doctor smiled. "Yeah, I can only hope."

Byakuya was rather surprised by the boy's politeness, almost allowing a small smile to sneak past his noble façade."I see my sister has taught you some manners. I suppose that's a good thing, Kurosaki-san. What brings the two of you here?"

Rukia took over, knowing she was already testing the limits of Ichigo's manners by making him address her brother respectfully. "We were wondering if Ichigo could stay here while he adjusts to Soul Society, at least until he can join a division. Since his family showed me such hospitality, it would only be right for ours to reciprocate." Talking to Byakuya was somewhat like playing chess sometimes, and she knew that she had just put him in check.

Byakuya kept a straight face, though he frowned on the inside. Rukia was playing him like a fiddle. She knew that by appealing to his noble graces, he couldn't refuse returning a favor. Nobility in Soul Society didn't work that way. He thought for a second before waving them inside.

"Of course the Kuchiki will return the generosity of the Kurosaki family," He had to force the words out, "Rukia will show you to your room."

Checkmate! The small girl thought with a smile.

As the pair walked up the stairs, Byakuya found himself full of conflicting emotions. He had already had his suspicions about Rukia and the human…well, not human anymore, he thought, but tonight confirmed those suspicions. Whether the two acknowledged it or not, there were romantic feelings between them. For noble families, this meant one thing –

If they wanted to go public with their relationship, it would be an absolute scandal.

He wasn't necessarily even against the idea of the Kurosaki boy as a suitor; Ichigo had become quite the celebrity after the war, and would almost certainly be offered the open position as the captain of the fifth division (the third had been taken over by Kira and the ninth by Hisagi, both having taken lieutenants whose names escaped Byakuya). More important to Byakuya was the fact that Ichigo would certainly die several times over before allowing harm to come to the Kuchiki princess. But Rukia was of age to be married, and other families had already declared their interest. For her to suddenly have a boyfriend would not go over well for the Kuchiki house. He sighed again, hanging his haori and scarf on the wall, lit two candles using kido, then knelt in front of the picture they flanked.

Hisana, what would you have me do?

Ichigo followed Rukia down the long hallway, stopping between opposite doorways. Mina followed close behind, being Rukia's personal handmaiden. Rukia disliked having another person to attend to her, but Byakuya had insisted that she keep with noble traditions. The Kuchiki were fair to their servants, and Mina had her own spacious quarters and had never been mistreated, but Rukia still felt as though she was being undeservingly doted on more often than not.

"Mina, you may take your leave." Rukia inwardly groaned, knowing that she had to dismiss the younger girl in this manner (if she didn't, Mina would stand there patiently and wait for more orders.)

Ichigo watched Mina go. The girl was slightly taller than Rukia, with straight honey-brown hair that hung to her waist. The girl was certainly cute, but more in the way that his sister Yuzu was cute, not in such a way that would foster attraction from a boy his age. She wore a simple pale blue yukata with no pattern that was belted instead of tied with an obi, which was the norm for all of the female Kuchiki servants. The orange-haired boy turned and raised an eyebrow at his tiny friend.

"Servants, huh? Seems like someone's been living the easy life since I've been gone."

She punched him lightly in the arm. "It's not by my choice, baka."

"Sure, sure. You probably don't even dress yourself in the morning when you stay here."

"Pervert! Don't picture me getting dressed! And I'll have you know that the Kuchiki family is at the height of fashion in Soul Society, as a matter of fact we are trends…"

Ichigo watched her with a blank look as she ranted about…something. He hadn't been picturing her getting dressed until she mentioned it, and now the thought wouldn't leave his mind. Plus, she looked so cute when she was yelling at him…did that make him a masochist? Frankly, Ichigo didn't care what it made him. He didn't notice the drop of drool slip past his lips. But Rukia did.

"I'm going to bed!" She huffed, making sure to give Ichigo a healthy kick in the brain he was currently thinking with before walking into her room and sliding the door shut.

Ichigo writhed in pain on the ground. Fuckin' hormones.

Byakuya stood from his place on the floor. He would be talking to Ichigo first thing in the morning. Before that, however, he had somewhere to be. He pulled his accoutrements from their place on the wall and put them on, fastening his scarf around his neck.

This was not an errand he was looking forward to.

Rukia tossed in her bed again, raven hair falling in front of her face. It had been at least an hour since she had gone to bed, and although she was tired she could not fall asleep. She wondered if Ichigo was having this much trouble in a strange bed. She suddenly wished she could talk to him.

Of course, if she could, she wouldn't be having trouble sleeping in the first place.

Byakuya rather liked visiting the living world. It gave him a break from the stuffy life of a noble, and when he went by himself it was rather cathartic to sit and watch unnoticed. as life went on for the humans. That wasn't what brought him here on this night, however, and for this particular visit he had acquisitioned a gigai. He had removed his ivory hairpieces, letting his hair fall to his shoulders, and wore a light grey suit jacket over a t-shirt that apparently advertised some human musical group called "The Who" that was patterned with red, white, and blue concentric circles. He also wore dark navy pants known as "blue jeans" and a black leather belt with a steel buckle, as well as black leather shoes. He found the attire foreign, but according to Yoruichi it suited him quite well. Urahara had been infuriated and clearly jealous of this observation, and Byakuya had slipped out during the argument that ensued, confident that he would at least fit in in this clothing. He arrived at his destination and raised a hand to knock lightly on the door.

A young girl with light brown hair in short pigtails answered the door, smiling up at him and curtsying slightly. "Hello, how may I help you?" she asked the head of the Kuchiki house. Byakuya instantly wondered how this polite little girl could possibly be related to the object of his sister's affection.

"Ah…Yuzu Kurosaki, I presume? I am here to speak with your father. My name is Byakuya Kuchiki."

Yuzu appeared to be mulling the information over in her mind for a moment before smiling brightly and holding a finger in the air, as if to indicate that she had some brilliant idea. "Ahh! You must be Rukia-nee's brother! Come on in, Bya-nii! I'll go grab Daddy!" She turned and ran to find her father, leaving the door ajar.

Rukia-nee? BYA-nii! What is that crazy old man teaching this family?

"Well, well I didn't expect you so soon. The clothing of our world suits you well, Byakuya." Isshin said to the younger man, motioning for Yuzu to make her way upstairs, which she did obediently.

The Kuchiki noble kept his mouth set in a thin line, not able to pull rank on the elder Kurosaki. "I was expected?"

"Puh-lease, Byakuya – the way those two have been acting, I knew you'd realize something was up and come to me for answers."

Despite being irked at Isshin's dismissive manner, Byakuya got straight to the point. "What exactly has been going on between your son and my imouto?"

"Don't get your noble pants in a bunch, they haven't even kissed yet. They do sleep in the same bed, but it's not sexual. I doubt they even consider themselves a couple or have confessed their feelings, but everyone else can tell. It's quite endearing, actually."

Byakuya had tuned out about halfway through Isshin's explanation. "You let them sleep…in the same bed!" How could the man speak of intimacy with such callousness?

"Ah, I already told you, it's not what you think. Plus," he gave the younger man a sad smile, "we both know what it is like to lose those who we love. You can hardly blame them."

Byakuya looked at his feet, knowing that Isshin was right. After a moment, he once again made eye contact with Isshin. "You do know what this means, with Rukia being part of a noble house?"

Isshin grinned broadly, all sadness and sentimentality gone from his face. "Oh, absolutely I do."

Rukia sighed and rose from her bed, walking across the hall quietly with her pillow dragging on the floor behind her. She slowly pushed open Ichigo's door, careful not to wake him as she stepped over to his bed, laying down beside him. She thought she had woken him when he turned, but after he draped an arm over her he resumed snoring softly.

Rukia was asleep in less than a minute.

The next morning, Mina rushed down the hallway, having been sent on an errand by the head of the Kuchiki house himself. "Kurosaki-sama!" she shouted, entering the already-open door. What she saw was a very tired-looking orange-haired shinigami rubbing his eyes, seemingly unaware of a short noblewoman curled up beside him. Mina averted her eyes, looking at her feet in embarrassment as Ichigo rose to meet her at the door. As they walked down the hall, he addressed her blush.

"Ah, Mina-san, that uh…that wasn't what it looked like," They young girl looked up at him with an incredulous look, "Rukia, she doesn't sleep well by herself."

Mina smiled. "I know this, Kurosaki-sama, and I know that Rukia-sama would not have relations with a man out of wedlock. I just…wasn't expecting what I saw." She told him as the rounded the corner into the foyer where Byakuya awaited them.

"Good, good. Ah, and Mina-san?"

"Yes?"

"Please, just call me Ichigo."

The girl looked floored, having just been told by the great war hero that she could address him on a first-name basis. "O-o-o-okay, Kuro- I mean…Ichigo! You can call me Mina!" She ran off, partially to avoid the coming wrath of Byakuya Kuchiki.

"That's better." He smirked, glad to be rid of the stuffy title.

"Good morning, Kurosaki Ichigo. I trust you slept well?"

"I did, nice place you have here By – er, Kuchiki-taicho."

"I wish to speak with you, but I am on my way to my division's headquarters. Please, accompany me."

"Sure."

The two walked out of the manor, and Ichigo had an odd feeling like he should have Zangetsu ready. "Kurosaki, what are your intentions concerning my imouto?"

Ichigo knew exactly what the noble was asking, but feigned ignorance while trying to come up with an answer. "Um, what do you mean by that?"

"Allow me to ask another question first…Do you have feelings for Rukia?" The older man stopped, looking hard at Kurosaki.

There was no getting out of this one.

"I…well…you see…"

Byakuya coughed.

"Yes. Yes I do."

"And what exactly are these feelings?"

"What do you-"

"Ichigo, are you in love with Rukia?"

Welp, that's the chapter. And now some unfortunate news.

My computer was destroyed today. I had a replacement/repair plan, but it'll take several weeks to be fixed. I still plan on updating while the lappy's being repaired, but I won't be able to update with the same frequency, as it'll be when I can borrow my Dad's laptop. (I can write on my phone but not update from it.) If I get a lot of reviews, I'll be more motivated to write on my phone (it's a bit of a pain) so show me some love. And I know you guys want to see the next chapter. I have prepared a figure explaining how reviews correspond to my update schedule.

REVIEWS=UPDATES

Plus, you get a response in the next chapter! Who doesn't love that?

And with that, I'll see you guys later. Hit the button below, show me some love.

-Cero