"Trapped between the black dragon and white dragon was the moon..."

Set in a period from long ago, there was a time when the Kurosaki clan ruled a large portion of Japan. Head of the clan was the eldest of the twin brothers, Ichigo Kurosaki. He was a determined man who set out to create an empire. The youngest of the twin brothers and the general, however, was a cruel man who bore a grudge against his older twin because he thought Ichigo was weak and not fit to be king. His name was Shirosaki. Together, they were fearsome.

Shirosaki envied his brother. Ichigo had a large castle, wealth, reputation... and most importantly, a queen. Rumors about her say that she has a unique beauty and kindness that comes only once every hundred generations. Her dark hair, large violet eyes, and smooth skin gave her a porcelain look. Sometimes, Shirosaki would witness her bathing in the pond outside under the moon's light. And indeed, she was lovely. Her name was Rukia Kurosaki.

"You're tending your garden again, Rukia-sama," Shirosaki said, approaching her from behind. Rukia turned around, greeting him with a faint smile.

"Brother... You're back from battle; I'm assuming you were victorious as usual?" Rukia asked, stepping away from the koi fish pond.

Her garden had been ordered to be built by Ichigo, who gave it to her as a present. In it were beautiful plants; scarlet maple trees were planted near the pond accompanied by a willow tree. Japanese maples covered the land along with irises and azaleas. A small waterfall created the large pond. Over the pond was a bridge and a stone pathway where one could walk. During daytime, the various colors of the garden would put one in awe, but at nighttime, everything glowed with beauty equal to Rukia's. However, what was more special about Rukia's garden was that it bore herbs that, as rumors go, could heal any wound.

"Have you spoken with Ichigo yet?" Rukia asked. Shirosaki was uninterested in the topic. He'd rather not talk about his brother who was an eyesore to him. "You should; he'd be put to ease knowing you've returned safely."

Shirosaki smiled, completely ignoring Rukia's words. One day, he'd have her heart and soul. One day he was going to be king, and she was going to be his queen. "Actually... I may have gotten a few cuts here and there." He removed the top half of his armor, revealing a few wounds he received. He then took off his helmet, displaying a face that looked exactly like her husband Ichigo's. However, Shirosaki was a lot more pale, and instead of orange hair, he had white hair.

Rukia quickly ushered him into one of the many rooms of the castle. "Fetch some water, cloth, and herbs from my garden please," she said to one of the female servants. They both seated down onto cushions while Shirosaki took off his remaining armor pieces. "You're beginning to come back home with more and more wounds. Is there something on your mind that's bothering your performance on the battlefield?" Rukia dipped the cloth into the water, wiping away the dry red blood from his white skin.

"I didn't receive these cuts and bruises because I'm lacking in strength. I purposely allowed myself to be injured because it gives me an excuse to have Rukia-sama this close to me," Shirosaki breathed, smirking as Rukia paused with worry before she proceeded to mix the herbs together.

Rukia looked away from Shirosaki's sadistic eyes while she applied the medicine onto his cuts. Her fingertips ran across his lacerations and cuts. Her hands ran over his toned chest and hard muscles, feeling the coldness of his flesh. "Don't speak of your feelings for me again. Ichigo will not tolerate it," Rukia stood up, fluffing out her kimono. "Leave."

Shirosaki's grin remained, but Rukia could tell he was not pleased. "My duty as a general is to conquer, and believe me when I say I never fail in doing so." He leaned over, placing his lips to her ear, "I will conquer you, my queen." He kissed her cheek softly before giving her a dangerous look.

Rukia trembled with fear. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down.

Shirosaki stood up, putting on his clothes. "By the way..." Shirosaki said as he slid open the fusuma. "I brought a gift for dearest brother." Rukia found it strange; Shirosaki was never the type to give gifts, especially to Ichigo. "It's a plant found only at the peak of mountains near cliffs. Beautiful yet rare, just like you, it has the ability to cure any illness. Ichigo was feeling a little sick a while ago, was he not? Brew this and give it to him to drink. He'll feel better in no time."

Shirosaki gestured for one of the servants to retrieve the flower. "Thank you, but it's not necessary. The herbs in my garden will suffice," Rukia told politely. There was something about Shirosaki that she never liked. He was like a serpent that whispered lies.

"Very well," Shirosaki replied. "You can just keep this flower for display." In a vase filled with water was a single flower with prickly thorns on the side. The petals were black on the edges, but towards the center, the petals became almost clear and blue. The shape was strange as it folded outward.

Rukia was awed by the pretty thing, "It looks like a glass rose..."

"I knew you'd be pleased. It's called Sleeping Beauty. Well, it's getting late so I must leave now."

Rukia set the flower aside. Perhaps Shirosaki was trying to be nice; Rukia felt guilty for treating him like a criminal all the time. "Ichigo, you're here," Rukia greeted her husband. "Did you see your brother?"

"Ah," Ichigo nodded, "I did, and as usual, my face disgusts him."

Rukia laughed, "I wonder how he reacts when he sees his own reflection then." She sighed, watching Ichigo undress to go to bed. "Are you feeling better?"

Ichigo quirked a brow, wondering what Rukia meant. "Oh, you mean my cold? It's nothing to fret about." Rukia shook her head. Men... they're always in denial. "I saw Shirosaki leave this room. What kind of words did you two exchange?"

Rukia became tongue-tied. Of course, Ichigo always suspected something was up between the two of them since Shirosaki made his feelings quite obvious. "He brought a gift, a flower to be exact."

"Huh, how weird." Ichigo walked over to the next room with Rukia where there was a large bed that had sheets made of expensive material from foreign countries. "He didn't touch you, did he?" Ichigo asked, sitting down on their bed.

Rukia flustered, "Of course not."

Ichigo eyed Rukia before pulled her at the waist towards him. He undid her obi and let her kimono slide off her shoulders. "Let me inspect thoroughly, just to make sure you're not lying." He stood up, kissing her thin lips while his hands roamed down her neck and towards her chest, massaging her soft breasts.

"Ichigo..." Rukia whispered, running her fingers through Ichigo's orange hair. Her mind suddenly clouded in thought as she saw Shirosaki's face in Ichigo's. She could still hear him taunting her, saying he'll conquer her. "We won't be separated, right?"

Ichigo blinked, curious by what Rukia meant. "Never."

Though Ichigo said that, Rukia couldn't help but feel an ominous feeling...

A/N: Shazam. Happy new years, it's 2013 and here's a new story! Hope you ladies (and/or men) enjoyed this first chapter. This story will be relatively short; I don't think it will exceed more than 10 chapters. But, who knows. Also, this story might be kind of... dark. There might be cursing/rape/explicit crap, so if that aint your cup of tea, you might not want to read the upcoming chapters.

ALSO, this will be more of a Shirosaki x Rukia story... I don't want to say too much, but yah... Ending might be tragic for either Ichigo OR Shirosaki. Who will Rukia end up with? Even I'm not sure yet.

Anyway, please review :)