Hello - NieveDrop, the Substitute Shinimommy, here. I'm happy to introduce this new story to you on behalf of Kat today. And when she says lemons ahead, she means in other unwritten chapters. You won't find them here... yet. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Thanks again to Kitusune23star for providing the lovely artwork for "No Money." * MWA *
~ND

A/N: I just had to publish something before I went crazy! This story is dedicated to the awesome Kitsune23star, mangaka extraordinaire who made a wonderful piece for No Money. :)

~Thanks to NieveDrop for beta-reading~

****WARNING: EXPLICIT, VERY EXPLICIT DIRTY LEMONS AHEAD. AUTHOR NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR FATAL NOSEBLEEDS. RATED VMA****

Rukia tapped her foot nervously. She sat in a chair in the middle of the Captain Commander's office, hands crossed over her chest. She told herself over and over again not to scowl. Maybe, just maybe, this would be her year. If she went back to nii-sama and had to tell him that, once again, she didn't manage to graduate Soul Reaper Academy, she would be devastated. After all, a whole year of having to repeat the senior class was embarrassing enough; having to repeat it AGAIN would mean mortification. Especially because Byakuya was a prodigy when he was her age. He had graduated early and with a perfect record. That's what Rukia had aspired to do as well. She trained hard and enrolled in the Academy two years prior to others, when she was eleven. Until she was 16 and entered her senior year, everything was going smoothly. She was on top of her class, with every one of her teachers saying she was her brother's sister; she excelled at everything.

Until her senior year... when he became her teacher. Kurosaki Ichigo, a recent graduate who had shown such remarkable skill, was asked to teach combat to the seniors right after he graduated. Rukia didn't like him from the beginning. She was sixteen, and he was twenty—too young to be a teacher in her perspective. He was also brass, rude, and scowled all the time. But Rukia soon learned not to let it bother her. She was Kuchiki Rukia, after all. She ignored him... until her first graduation day. When she was sitting in this very room again, to be informed that while her scores were perfect in every other class, she had failed Kurosaki-sensei's class. And the class being combat, something that was crucial to a Soul Reaper's survival, they couldn't let her graduate. Her fists clenched at her sides at the memory.

She stiffened and sat upright at the sound of the door opening. She turned with a well-practiced smile to see the Head Captain enter with some papers in his hand, followed—to her surprise—by her grandfather, Ginrei. She sprang to her feet and bowed at the two elders with respect.

"Captain Yamamoto. Ojii-san."

The men smiled, and Yamamoto took his seat behind the large desk while Ginrei stood next to Rukia and placed a hand on her shoulder softly.

"Good evening, Rukia. How are you?" asked Yamamoto.

"I'm fine, sir." She bowed her head.

"I'm glad. I have your marks here." He looked at the papers stoically, and she gulped nervously.

"And you have a perfect score at everything-" She exhaled and finally started to smile!

"-except for Zanpakuto Combat." Her face fell, and her eyes widened.

"R-really?" she choked out, trying to keep her face emotionless.

Yamamoto nodded. "Do not worry, Rukia, we all know you are an excellent student. All your teachers give praise to your character. But, unfortunately, Kurosaki-sensei feels that you are just not ready for actual combat yet, and by graduating now, you could harm yourself against a hollow."

"I see." She said smugly, trying not to let her anger show. That bastard! That arrogant prick! She fought against his best students, and she always won! He had a freaking personal problem with her! But she was a Kuchiki. And Kuchikis don't blame their tutors. A hand gently squeezed her shoulder.

"We are very proud of you, Rukia. Do not forget, you have always been younger than the rest of your class. I know Ichigo; he used to be my student back when I did my share of teaching. He's very meticulous and does believe you have great potential. You just need a little more work," smiled Ginrei.

"But nii-sama-"

"Byakuya knows you try your best, Rukia. You don't need to catch up to him."

The girl stood up and bowed. "Arigatou, Taicho. I promise to do my best to excel this year."

The old man nodded. "My wishes are with you, Kuchiki Rukia."

"Asshole! Fucker! Dickhead! Egomaniac punk! Idiot! Retarded gorilla!" yelled Rukia as she hit the tree bark over and over with her sword. She was alone in the training grounds, needing time to blow off some steam after the morning's disappointment and before she had to break the news to Byakuya, once again. "Rotten carrot! Arrogant shithole!" She had honestly thought something was wrong with her last year. And when she repeated the class, she tried her best to prove the man wrong. But he still didn't let her pass! Tree chunks flew everywhere. "Imbecile! Stuck up motherfucker! Dimwit! Aaaagh!" She ran out of curses and hit the bark with so much force that she almost cut through it.

"You must really hate that tree, Kuchiki."

Rukia stiffened abruptly, and her eyes went wide. Why didn't she feel his reiatsu? She stood still, listening to his footsteps approaching from behind. She knew he was too close when she felt his warmth on her back and his breath in her ear.

"Unless you are really mad at someone," he cooed, and she turned to the side stiffly, her eyes narrowed to slits. He chuckled. "Does your brother know of the profanities his little sister uses?"

"No," she murmured, trying to control her temper. First, he didn't know she was thinking about him. Second, he was still her sensei, dammit!

He walked around her with his hands behind his back, inspecting her 'work' on the tree with a smirk. "Hmmm... clearly the work of a temper." He turned to her over his shoulder. "You have a good blade, Kuchiki. You can do much better with that."

He walked around the girl again and brought his hands around her, sliding them over her arms. "You are too tense." He breathed in her ear, making her shudder. He slipped his hands further, until they covered hers over the hilt of her katana. "Move with me," he purred and walked her to another tree with a thicker bark, making Rukia shiver at the proximity and her ass rub against a very certain area.

"The key is not the number of blows." He raised their hands so that the blade was angled with the tree. "But the efficiency of a single strike." He swiftly brought their hands down, slicing through the bark effortlessly. The tree fell on the side, and sakura petals scattered in the air and danced above them. The sight would have been magnificent, if only she could notice.

Rukia's body was rigid; she held herself from swinging at the man holding her. Worse still, he didn't seem eager to let go.

"You need to relax, Kuchiki." He slid his hands up her arms and rubbed her shoulders and neck.

"Kurosaki-sensei?"

He chuckled. "Yes?"

She clenched her jaw in an attempt not to snap at him. She hated his touch; she hated his guts! But she had to be polite. He was her sensei. "I need to get going. My brother is expecting me for lunch. Please let go of me." She squeezed the hilt of her sword and cursed without making any sound.

His strong hands slowly slipped away, but he took not a single step back. "Of course. We have the whole summer ahead," he whispered in her ear, and she shunpoed away from the training grounds faster than a bullet.

Ichigo grinned to himself and leaned against another tree as he watched her go, amber eyes gleaming under long orange bangs. She was fucking pissed at him and yet tried to keep the good schoolgirl facade. It was going to be so much fun trying to bring the bad girl out of her. It was a good thing she never turned around, because she might have noticed the growing bulge in his hakama. Kuchiki Rukia. The girl who had crashed into his life like a tsunami two years ago. He had already been teaching in the Soul Reaper Academy for two years, completely indifferent to his more than willing senior girls who, in his eyes, seemed like a flock of hens following after him and finding any excuse possible to see him during work. But he could say he had been content—or at least not displeased—with his relationship with the hottest Shinigami, Matsumoto Rangiku.

And then, with the new seniors, SHE came. He was calling the students' names, and then he called hers. Immediately, he saw a small hand rise from behind a swarm of students, its owner apparently was too short. "Get in the front where I can see you," he called sternly, already disliking the fact that he'd have to deal with a stuck-up noble Kuchiki. And then he saw her emerge from the crowd. Small and slender, like a miniature of a woman. Pale but beautiful, with hair clashing violently with her skin. And then there were the eyes. He was gone the moment he looked into them. Were they blue? Or violet? Years of watching her had not solved the mystery. That day, the meteor called Kuchiki Rukia crashed into his world. At first, he found himself hardly able to take his eyes off her. Before anyone started to notice, he took a few days off under the pretence of sickness to get himself together and convince himself it would pass. It only got worse. He couldn't lay with Rangiku anymore, he couldn't eat properly, and he couldn't even sleep.

With time, even if he tried to stay away, he found himself practically stalking the senior class, even going as far as approaching his former tutor, Ginrei Kuchiki, and his grandson, Byakuya. And after quite a few visits to the Kuchiki household (during which Rukia was always absent), he created a map of the massive estate in his mind. Namely, how to get to her room. What started out as infatuation, turned to downright obsession as the months went by. The more he found out about her character, the more he observed her, the more his addiction to her grew. Rangiku was the receiver of his complete neglect; the woman even tried various methods of seduction. When he bluntly told her he didn't like huge chests anymore, she left him without much of a grudge; she believed he had turned gay. A notion many had adopted since he ignored every single proposition from Soul Society's most sought-after women.

Of course Ichigo never tried to approach Rukia. Nothing more than necessary. And the most important reason was that she was underage. If Central 46 found out, his chances of ever becoming Captain were ruined. But keeping it a secret was no piece of cake. Every time a male stepped within a foot's radius from her, he was ready to pounce. And the worst was a very annoying red head, her brother's lieutenant, Abarai Renji. He came over to the Academy as often as he could, and he always placed a fucking hand on her! He wanted to neuter him beyond belief. Instead, Ichigo did whatever he could to urge Byakuya to pin more and more work on him.

By the end of Rukia's senior year, he hadn't gotten over it. It grew into a sickness. He never looked at another woman; she became the only thing that would occupy his thoughts. One of the unique skills he had mastered while still in the Academy was masking his reiatsu. And so, almost every night, he shunpoed to the old sakura tree outside Rukia's window and watched her meticulously. To his misfortune, she changed in her wardrobe room. But for him, it was enough to watch her sleep. He needed to be close to her at any cost. And when the time came for her to graduate, he couldn't allow it. He couldn't let it happen. In his mind, Rukia was his possession. He couldn't let her be away from him. But his reasons were not wholly selfish. He knew Captain Ukitake had propositioned her to join his squad. Rukia was a talented fighter, one of her many skills. But he could never let her go fighting hollows alone. What if she encountered a higher level hollow? How would he be able to protect her? And those reasons came up again the second time she had the chance to graduate. Of course he felt bad in a way. But between her being happy and her being SAFE, he'd rather be on her bad side.

Finally, that year, she turned eighteen. He hadn't had sex since the day he saw her, but the hundreds of lewd and wet fantasies he entertained while satisfying himself all came back to him the very day that was her birthday. She did not want a party, but she was excited when she mysteriously found a Chappy plushie on her bed that night. From that day, he tried to make a move on her as often as possible. Accidentally bumping into her. Holding her after class for training. Trying to start a conversation with her. But of course there were just too many students around who didn't mind their own business, and that annoying friend of hers liked to hang around too much. He planned on giving her a perfect score in his class, in hopes of getting on her good side again. Then he'd stalk/court her all throughout summer. That's when he found out from his ever gossiping students, that Rukia was planning on going on holiday with a few friends, including RENJI. And it went around that they would be sharing bedrooms is twos. Ichigo was on fire; he knew of course that Rukia was more decent than that, but even the slightest possibility of her being alone in a bedroom with Renji drove him beyond crazy. He had to do something to stop it. And that's how he came up with his current plan.

Rukia's irritation gave way to nervousness as she approached the Squad 6 barracks. "It was Kurosaki-sensei's fault nii-sama! He is targeting me I tell you!" Yeah, right. It seemed as if she was making excuses. Maybe she should cry? "Boohoo, nii-sama, I don't know what happened!" Okay, that was even worse. "Nii-sama! Guess what! I don't want to be a Shinigami after all! I want to live off of you for the rest of my life!" Mortifying. "I failed you nii-sama... I'm sorry." Yup. Just right.

She sighed. She was so hopeless.

"Hey, Rukia!"

Her head snapped up to see her childhood friend and comrade. "Hey, Renji," she waved sadly.

"Yo, what happened to you? Aren't you excited? We're leaving in two weeks!" The red head patted her shoulder cheerfully. He was super excited about their plans.

"If nii-sama doesn't ground me for life," she murmured. She had a really bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"What?"

"Nothing. I need to see nii-sama."

"He's in his office. You sure everything's okay shorty?" Renji looked at his old friend carefully. She looked exhausted.

"Yes." She smiled awkwardly. "Gotta go." Rukia took off before she had to explain further. It was bad enough she had to tell Byakuya she failed again. Even if Renji understood, her shame was too grand to admit. The small girl stood before the elegant yet simple door of her brother's office, gulping and bracing herself. Damn, her reiatsu was fluctuating like crazy!

It took two knocks for the bass voice to call her in. She wished it took seventy. She pushed the door open and gave her brother a strained smile. He was focused on his paperwork, not bothering to look up. He knew who it was by the reiatsu. There was no trace of irritation in his voice, nor his posture. Then again, even his normal emotionless self made Rukia feel under scrutiny.

"Good evening, Rukia," he said simply, looking over the contract before him.

"Good evening, nii-sama." She squeaked nervously and bowed, swearing that her nose touched the floor. And... silence. Her mind started to race. What was the worst that could happen? Byakuya disown her?

The older man's eyes flitted to his sister's bowed and still form for a second before they drifted back to his task. Rukia was nervous as hell, and he knew very well why.

"Ojii-san passed by this morning," he stated.

The girl rose and stiffened. He knew. "I'm... I'm sorry, nii-sama..."

"There is nothing to be sorry for." She blinked. Really? "It's not your fault you weren't good enough."

Slicing through her with Senbonzakura would have been less painful. She gulped back her disappointment, as her hands formed fists and sharp nails dug into her skin.

"I'll try again—"

"What's the use?" Kill me. Kill me NOW.

"Nii-sama..." She whispered dejectedly. To say she felt like a failure would be an understatement.

"There is no point in repeating the class. Your scores are beyond excellent in every lesson except Combat. Apparently, you have such a problem that Kurosaki-sensei personally called me concerning you."

Her eyes grew to the size of saucers. THAT BASTARD! He wanted to ruin her life! How dare that... that ignorant son of a bitch!

"And since Combat is your only issue, we agreed that you shall have private lessons with him throughout summer. If you improve, you shall earn your degree in the end of the season."

It took ages for Rukia to register the information. Private lessons? Degree? She would be able to graduate finally?

The silence caused Byakuya to raise his head. "Well?"

Rukia nodded her head. "Hai, nii-sama..." She didn't like this, but tried to mask her disbelief. "I will give it my all."

"I expect you to. And you know that this means abandoning your holiday plans." Byakuya couldn't say he was ever disposed to allow Rukia to go on holiday with a bunch of raging teenagers, but after seeing her sulk for an entire year, he thought he should trust her enough to let her go, especially since she had entered adulthood.

"I don't mind," mumbled the girl hurriedly.

"Very well. You start in three days."

As Rukia walked back to the mansion, she kept scowling unwillingly. She didn't trust Kurosaki-sensei. She didn't like Kurosaki-sensei. But it would seem totally ungrateful if she declined the opportunity. Awesome. An entire summer of no fun and lots of Baka-sensei. It didn't count that she already spent two years having to put up with him, now she had to spend her summer with him, too! Not to mention his slightly creepy behaviour ever since January! He drove her crazy!

"Yo! So, you're leaving without a goodbye?"

Rukia jumped when she felt Renji's hand on her shoulder. She looked up quizzically, to find her friend smiling down at her. Oh damn. She had to tell him she couldn't go with them on holiday. When, after three months of coaxing and gaining permission from Byakuya, Rukia accepted Renji's invitation, the silly red head went nuts. He was overly excited, and his attitude towards her changed, in a way. No more friendly pokes on the head and calling her 'shorty'. He touched her shoulder, caressed her arm, and held her hand whenever he found the chance. It had started to kind of creep her out.

The girl gave him a forced smile. "I was just going home. It's... it's been a little bit rough today."

The man raised a tattooed eyebrow and passed a hand around her shoulders, pressing the girl on his side. Rukia felt uncomfortable but chose not to push him away, knowing she would soon disappoint him.

"What's going on, Rukia?"

The girl looked at the ground as she spoke quietly. This could get ugly "Well... I... I am afraid I can't go on that trip with you guys."

Renji pulled the girl to a stop and looked at her perplexed. "What? Why? Did Taicho-"

"No, no, no!" Rukia waved her hands before he had a chance to accuse her brother. "I just have to stay here and get some tutoring through summer. Don't worry. I'm sure you guys are gonna have fun without me." She placed a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder, who in turn flinched and pulled at her hand a little forcefully.

"What kind of tutoring shit are you talking about? You just got out of the Academy!" His brows creased angrily, which provoked the same reaction from the girl. She pulled her hand away violently, rubbing her wrist.

"You don't have to get so mad, Renji!" She didn't want to explain further, and she didn't feel like she owed him any explanation.

"You just ditched me for fucking tutoring!" he exclaimed loudly, causing her to look around in alert.

"Renji! You are embarrassing yourself!" The girl growled angrily, taking a defensive stance.

The red head wasn't up for that, though. He had waited for so long to finally have some alone time with Rukia; she owed it to him!

"What kind of fucking tutoring would you need, huh? You are a fucking nerd at everything! And you just graduated! Can't it wait for a couple of weeks, dammit?" He yelled, dangerously stepping into her comfort zone.

Rukia got aggressive when someone invaded her personal space. "It's not your business, Renji! So what if I'm not going! You can still go with the others!" she exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I don't have the right to know why my best friend doesn't give a fuck about our plans?" To hell with the others. Renji wanted to be with Rukia, and she was totally blowing him off.

"It's not like I want to do this, ok? But I have to! Nii-sama already scheduled it before he let me know!" she yelled, clenching her fists grudgingly.

"Oh come on! Why would Taicho do that right after you graduated?"

"BECAUSE I DIDN'T, ASSHOLE!"

For a moment, Renji stared at her dumbfounded, until his face morphed into a menacing glare. "Kurosaki." he spat.

Rukia hoped to avoid this. Renji was majorly pissed off when she failed graduation last year because of him, but being the low self-esteem person she was, she convinced him that it was her fault, though he never seemed to believe it. That and the fact that Kurosaki-sensei always seemed hostile towards him drove Renji to despise him. He went on and on about how she would join Squad 6 with him, and when his plans fell through, he didn't hide his anger towards her sensei. He wasn't subtle either. He made a fuss last year, but Rukia's horrification of embarrassment before her brother made him not cause a ruckus. Rukia had enough drama already. Her creepy asshole of a sensei and his private lessons, her failure in front of her brother, her last chance of graduating, and the loss of vacation bore on her heavily. She didn't want to worry about Renji too.

"Don't start again, Renji. Look, nii-sama took care of it and-"

Renji was mad. "TOOK CARE OF IT! How? That bastard! I told you the guy has issues with you! You should have fucking graduated! God, Rukia! Don't be such a wuss!"

Her eyes grew wide in disbelief. "What?"

"You heard me! How can you keep taking that shit?"

She hissed and stepped closer, pointing her finger up at him threateningly. "Listen to me, Renji! I don't allow you to talk to me in that manner, and you have no right to interfere with my personal matters!"

"My ass, Rukia! You are gonna do nothing about it? Well, I will! I'm gonna to the Academy right now and-"

"And what, Abarai?" The smooth and composed voice cut through the boy's yelling, and the two momentarily froze. Why didn't they feel his reiatsu approaching?

"Kurosaki-sensei!" Oh, holy fuck! Rukia bowed swiftly, hoping the asshole didn't get to hear much of the conversation. She threw a warning look towards her friend, who glared at the approaching orange-haired man.

"Kurosaki," seethed Renji, his hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of his zanpakuto.

Serene amber eyes pierced through Rukia's, before they narrowed and fell on the lieutenant. "I don't appreciate it when one of my students gets yelled at in the middle of the street."

Renji ground his teeth angrily. He never liked Kurosaki. He always considered him an arrogant asshole and hated his treatment of Rukia even more. Like she was his property to do as he wished.

"She ain't your student," barked the lieutenant, taking a step closer to the stronger male.

"Renji," Rukia hissed in alert.

"I beg to differ," replied Kurosaki, keeping his steel eyes unaffected by the demeaning glare.

"You can forget about her repeating the class! She ain't going through that shit again!" yelled Renji, ready to pounce at the man. Hell no, he wasn't going to let Rukia suffer another year because of him!

"I will personally make sure she won't," stated the teacher, whose eyes quickly flitted to his petite student.

"Then she ain't your student!" spat Renji.

An orange eyebrow went up, its owner barely able to withhold a chuckle. "If we are going to have private lessons, then I think she is my student, indeed."

"HELL NO!" Renji wasn't letting that fucker alone with Rukia. She may be innocent, but he wasn't, and he knew that look that Kurosaki gave her when he thought no one wasn't looking. Longing and wanting.

Ichigo chuckled with a dark gleam about his eyes as he took a step closer to the other man, holding his hands behind his back in a superior manner. "And what are you going to do about it, fuku-taicho?"

"Alright, enough!" an angry, feminine voice cut through. "Renji, I am going to be having private lessons with Kurosaki-sensei, and if I pass, I will get to graduate by the end of summer. It has already been decided. Please accept it and let me be," she said sternly, looking at him warningly. Of course, Renji was right, but no way was she going to fuck this up. If she did, she could kiss graduation goodbye forever.

The said man looked at his friend disbelievingly and pointed shamelessly at the sensei. "Taicho accepted this?"

"Watch your tongue, Abarai," warned the man.

"You won't tell me how to speak-" started Renji and approached Ichigo but was stopped by the short angry form that popped between the male bodies.

"Renji. Nii-sama is agreeable to this arrangement, and so am I. It's my choice, and you have to respect it." She kept her eyes on the red head, who made to touch her, causing her to back off and clash with Kurosaki-sensei's body.

"You heard her, Abarai." Ichigo looked at him threateningly and placed a hand on Rukia's shoulder possessively, making her shudder.

The lieutenant wanted to keep her away from him but persisting would only drive the girl to become angrier at him. He grabbed her wrist and pulled the girl away, receiving a glare from the teacher as he did so. "C'mon Rukes, I'm taking you home." He returned the glare as he tried to drag away his friend.

"I just came back from Byakuya's office, and he was looking for you actually." Ichigo smirked. He wasn't about to let that asshole alone with his girl.

Renji scoffed. The bastard was a cunning one. "I'll take Rukia home first." He would take it from Taicho later.

"I," Ichigo's eyes glimmered. "can take Kuchiki home."

The red head stiffened abruptly. "No way in hell-"

"Stop it! I'm a grown woman; I don't need a male escort to go home in the middle of the day!" huffed Rukia in frustration. She had no idea what their problem was, but she wanted to get away from both ASAP.

Her teacher's face became still as a stone. "I need to discuss our new lessons with you, Kuchiki."

Go fuck yourself! She wanted to yell at him but couldn't. She imitated her brother's expression when she addressed him. "I am sure that nii-sama can fill me in on that, sensei. I wouldn't want to waste your time."

Ichigo resisted the urge to growl suggestively at her. "Byakuya is not aware of the procedure, Kuchiki. Only I can fill you in."

Rukia gulped. "Okay... I guess so..."

Renji grunted and looked at the teacher viciously before taking off. "Do not. Fuck with her." He meant it VERY literally.

Ichigo's lips pulled back to reveal his canines. Rukia was his.

~Short intro to start with. The following content is heavily sexual (worse than No Money, yes) and I will not accept flames on that aspect.