A/N: Spare me. I've been here long enough but this is my first time writing for it. Well, I had this written up for quite some time already but I'm quite clueless when it comes to posting it. That's why I'm trying not to be so courageous as to write a long story because I don't think I can last much here. Don't forget to leave your thoughts and comments. I'd really appreciate it :) On to the short story...

Disclaimer: I own NO Bleach nor its characters.

Private Garden

Despite knowing that Kuchiki Byakuya's mansion was heavily guarded, Kurosaki Ichigo would still make it his point to sneak into the private garden which was situated way at the back of the mansion every day. People would say that he's a fearless bastard who wants to annoy Byakuya but little did they know, it was actually his only escapade after a tiring day of training where he can seek solace. His training has always been dragged late into the night and by the time he ends, she would no longer be inside her office writing her reports.

Ichigo knew she would always wait for him by the garden - Byakuya or no Byakuya in the mansion. Well, even if there is Byakuya in the mansion, Ichigo never gets caught. Either Byakuya is feigning ignorance or Ichigo has improved drastically in hiding his reiatsu, nobody knows but let's just stick to the latter although it is well known that Ichigo simply sucks at hiding his massive burst of reiatsu.

However, that night when he arrived at the garden, she was nowhere to be seen. "Rukia?"

No reply.

He moved towards her room that was facing the private garden and called out for her again, "Hey, are you in there?"

Again, no reply.

She can't be sleeping. Even if she was drop dead tired, she would still wait for him... Or maybe not that night.

As he was about to leave, he heard some shuffling coming from her room. Curiosity gripped him and he slowly reached out to slide open the door.

And there she was, lying on the futon in her naked glory.

"Ichigo, what took you so long today?"

Yeah, seems like Byakuya wasn't in the mansion that night.