"It's a whole lot harder to make excuses in college than it was in high school, isn't it Ichigo?"

The two of them were running back to class after fending off the Gillian that had just come in from Hueco Mundo. They were each wearing a black kimono, the uniform of a Soul Reaper. Her black hair was in the same style she always had it in, with the one streak coming down between her eyes. The headmaster had tried to make him die his hair a more normal color, but he wouldn't have it. The threat of two of their better students withdrawing and taking their money with them over a hair color was not a pretty song coming to their ears, so they agreed to let him keep his hair the way it was if he could prove that it wasn't just a form of rebellion. His father coming in was enough for them.

"I told you that you don't have to come, you know. We both know that you don't really have anything to learn of any use from medschool. Isn't that true, Rukia?"

"No, it's not," she explained. "I can learn tons of stuff from college, medschool or otherwise. I mean, it's not like I've been to college before. I've never even been to high school, or any school for that matter before I came here. I died as an infant."

"Oh yeah, that's right." He laughed. "So that's why you were so insistent on coming with me."

"Well, I didn't quite feel like being a buisness owner like Ishida-san, and I didn't really want to live with Inoue-chan either. She eats the strangest stuff.... I still don't know where Sado-san went to. He just kind of left without even knowing where he was going himself."

Ichigo seemed lost in thought. "Yeah, he said that he felt he needed to find out what he wanted to do as a job in his life. I wonder if he's figured it out yet. Maybe we should contact everyone and set up a get together or something. We haven't seen them in over a year."

"Hey, that's a great idea! Winter break is coming up soon, and we can have a party!"

"Sounds fun. Maybe we could get Yuzu to help cook us up a feast."

"This is great," Rukia mused. "But you know we'll probably have to invite your whole family if Yuzu is cooking, and you know your dad will try to seriously injure you at least a few times."

"Yeah, that's probably true, but I think I can keep him off of me without breaking anything now."

They ran in silence for a few minutes thinking about when to hold the party and what to do with it. Some time later Rukia asked, "Hey, Ichigo. You never did tell me why you decided to go to medical shcool."

"Oh, I guess I didn't. I really decided to go here because it was in Karakura Town, and if I learned medicine, then I could take over my fathers buisness once he was done. But when I got to thinking about it, I'm glad that I chose to be a doctor, because I've always been saving souls, but I've never actually saved any lives that were still living, you know? I mean, sure I helped my dad out every once in a while, but that was just stuff like, go get some ice or I need this out of the storeroom or help me carry this guy in. I've never actually saved any of them. But this way, I can help both the souls that are running from hollows, and the people that shouldn't have to yet. Now I really can be the #1 guardian." He smiled, knowing that it was a good cause.

"You really are a kind man, Ichigo. Even if you put out that rough appearence, you really love helping people."

He laughed. "Yeah, well, I try. But right now, we've gotta get back in the mindset of medstudents. We're almost there."

*****

Ichigo walked into the appartment as Rukia was hanging up the phone. It was a small place, two bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen that also served as a dining room, and a living room. It had two bedrooms, even though one was rarely used. Ichigo could never understand why, but Rukia still preferred to sleep in his closet. The phone was on the counter in the kitchen.

"So? How'd it go?" he asked her as he set his things on the shabby brown couch in the living room.

"Sado-san said he'd come, and he wants to bring a friend, so I said okay. Inoue-chan is coming too, and Ishida-san said that he wants to come, but he'll have to get back to us."

"That sounds just like Uryuu. He probably has to ask his father since he made that vow. Although, since it's just a friendly meeting, there shouldn't be any problems."

"Well that's good to hear. It looks like everyone will be able to come after all. I wonder who this friend of Sado-san's is."

"Did he say anything about him?"

"Not really, just that we should let them come. And how do you know it's a guy? Don't you think that Sado-san could get a girlfriend?"

Ichigo smiled as if it were a funny joke. "It's not that Rukia. I just think that Chad doesn't really think that we'd need to see a girlfriend of his in order to approve. He should know that if he were interested in someone, we'd tell him to go for it. So I don't think that it's going to be a girl, because he'd be more worried about getting another person involved if they couldn't help us. Hey, who knows, maybe Chad found another person that CAN help us."

Rukia thought about the possibility. "Hmm, it could be, but I don't know. Let's just wait to find out." She walked over to the couch and sat down, moving Ichigo's things to the other side. "Hey, Ichigo?"

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Why DO you call Sado-san Chad?"

"Oh, that? I dunno, he just looks like a Chad. Why do you call him Sado-san?"

She was a little confused about the question. "What do you mean, why? Because that's his name."

"Well yeah, but that's not what I meant. We've been friends for more than three years, why are you still adding on the suffix? Isn't he a close enough friend to not need it anymore?"

"I don't know. I guess so, but I just suppose that I don't want to offend him."

"Rukia, we've been friends for over three years, and we've risked our lives for each other. I don't think that dropping the pretenses will offend any of them. Probably not even Uryuu. Even Hitsugaiya is starting to not care anymore."

"I guess you're right. Thanks Ichigo."

Ichigo started laughing so loudly and suddenly that it took Rukia off guard. "What's so funny?" she shouted, slightly annoyed that she had just thanked him, and now here he was laughing as if she had said something hysterical.

"It's just that," he got out between fits of laughter, "there's really not anything to thank me for. Why are you thanking me?" He smiled, trying to think of a way to make her understand. "I didn't do anything. I just told you that there's not much of a point in using the honorifics anymore."

Rukia groaned. "You never understand anything. I was grateful because you told me that we were all close enough friends to be able to call each other our names without the added politeness. You, on the other hand, never even use them in the first place!"

"It's no big deal," Ichigo countered. "I don't care if anyone else calls me by my name."

"It is a big deal, you idiot!" Rukia yelled. "My brother gets pissed off whenever you call him Byakuya."

"Yeah, well, it's not like you can ever tell with him," he mumbled.

"Ichigo!" Rukia was in shock. "How could you say that?"

"What? Why wouldn't I say it? Because I'm afraid that he would make me pay for it? Or because you don't think that I could be so disrespectful? Besides, it's true. He never shows any emotion at all. He's always just going around with that stupid monotone voice of his trying to criticize me, and you know what? I don't really care anymore. If he ever got so mad at me that he actually did try to kill me, I would win. So for him to even try would be stupid."

Rukia still didn't know how to believe it, but he was right. As strong and as powerful as her brother was, Ichigo was far more so. He had defeated him when he had first achieved bonkai. It was true that he almost died, and would have except for some reason that neither of them tell her yet, but he had won. And Ichigo's power had grown exponentially since then. Other than Head Captain Yamamoto, there wasn't a single captain that could stand up to Ichigo if he was really trying to kill them. Most of them couldn't stand a chance even if he wasn't trying to. But all of this was beside the point. He had insulted her brother on a whim.

"Is that really the way that you think of him, Ichigo?"

Ichigo could see that he'd done something terribly wrong, and he was pretty sure of what it was. "Not really," he admitted. "I'm just saying that if that's what it came down to, then that's how it would end. But that voice of his still gets annoying sometimes."

"Ichigo!" Her tone had changed; now it was more like the voice she used when she was scolding him for some idiocy that he had said or done.

"Oh, come on!" he laughed. "I was just kidding!"

*****