Disclaimer – I do not own any of the rights to any Bleach Characters and so forth.

His dreams were odd that night as he lay in his bed. But as is most dreams that Kisuke had, most were just random gibberish that made his head ache thinking about them. This dream was different from the rest. It felt real enough to him that he stirred restlessly in his sleep.

The dream itself brought him to his home. He was sitting in the study, waiting to see someone. His father and mother were there with their hands on his shoulders. When he slowly looked up from his seat, his eyes fell on a girl about his age in a stunningly white dress. The feeling he had was very off. He wanted to run. He wanted nothing more than to get away from that office, to get away from the girl, but to also get away from his parents. He hated them with such distaste, that he could barely stand to be around them anymore. The girl in the dress was walking over to him, like a sad ghostly figure in the night. When the girl was face to face with Kisuke, she lifted the veil that covered her face. She looked familiar though . . . different from what he thought. Startled at the recollection of what was going on in his dream, Kisuke sprang foreword in his bed, and was fully awake. He looked wearily around his bedroom, and peered out his window to see the sun starting to come up. From his window, he barely saw the clearing that Yoruichi and he played in.

With a sigh, Kisuke jumped from his bed and slumped over to his wardrobe to get dressed from what could possibly be the worst day of his life. Before he had one foot in his shoes, his mother Rukia walked through his door.

"The princess is here, boy." She said with a scowl. "You are to greet her with respect and treat her as our honored guest. You will behave as such in her presence."

"Yes Mother." he said glaring.

Kisuke was not happy to hear that the princess had shown up so quickly. He was hoping desperately that he would have the chance to see Yoruichi before she came, but now his plans were crushed when he walked lazily down the stairs with Rukia to the main front door of the estate. His father Byakuya was there waiting for them in his best military attire and his sword at his side. When Kisuke reached the landing of the stair, he walked over to his father and stood motionless.

"Our guests are here, boy." Byakuya said sternly. "Be on your best behavior, and speak only when spoken to."

"Yes, Father." Kisuke said distastefully. After the glare from his father turned to face the door, Byakuya walked to the door, and held it open.

The first to walk in was a very tall man with long red hair. He bore tattoos all over his body, though most of them were covered by the red clothes that hung from his body. He was somewhat of a slender man, though it was obvious that he was stronger than he looked. He strode over to Byakuya and bowed low to the ground.

"Greetings to you, Byakuya, and you, Lady Rukia of Ryūsei no Machi. It is an honor to be greeted in your home." The man said formally.

"It is an honor to have you here as well, Lord Renji. Welcome to Ryūsei no Machi. I trust the journey was not to long for you and your daughter?" Byakuya said without blinking. To Kisukes surprise, this Renji as they called him, seemed to have a bit of a smart attitude when he spoke with a smile. He thought for sure his father would not approve of his behavior, but Byakuya only looked as though he was giving as much respect to this man for the sake of the nation. Renji looked up from his bow and smiled widely.

"Despite the ache in my back from sitting in that blasted automobile all day long, it was none to bad. I swear, ridding a horse made more sense than that blasted thing. Oh! And this must be Master Kisuke." Renji said grinning at Kisuke.

"Yes." Said Byakuya coldly. "This is Kisuke. He is our son."

"Well I figured as much. Handsome lad as well. That's good to know. My daughter should be happy to meet him." Renji said smiling. "How do you do kiddo?"

"I am well, thanks." Kisuke said plainly. Renji seemed like a nice guy from how little Kisuke had been with him already. Though Kisuke knew better than to judge a man based on how he presented himself before royalty.

"We are most grateful to have you here Lord Renji. And our condolences to your late wife." Rukia said with a small bow.

"Thank you." Renji said quickly. Obviously what Kisukes mother had said brushed against a nerve in Renji, though he didn't show it. "Ah, here is my daughter, and princess of my county, Lady Rangiku." Kisuke looked past Renji at the tall girl that was striding towards her father. She was wearing the same colors as Renji in a long dress that barely touched the floor. She was the same age as Kisuke, though she looked a few years older than he did. She had a very slender looking body, and long reddish brown hair to boot. She looked very much like a lady that was already in bloom judging by the curvature of her body, but Kisuke tried not to stare. Maybe she wouldn't be as bad as he thought.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all!" She said with a smile as she looked at Byakuya and Rukia with a smile and bow much like her fathers.

"It's an honor to meet you as well, Lady Rangiku." Byakuya said formally. When Rangiku looked up, she saw Kisuke and bowed again.

"It's nice to meet you Master Kisuke. I'm Rangiku."

"It's nice to meet you as well." Kisuke said formally. Though she may have been beautiful for her age, Kisukes thoughts were else where. He was thinking about Yoruichi and how long he would have to wait before he could see her.

"Kisuke." Byakuya said coldly. "Why don't you show Lady Rangiku around the estate? We have business to discuss with Lord Renji before the day is over.

"Yes Father." Kisuke said bitterly. With brisk foot steps, Kisuke motioned for Rangiku to follow him. She smiled and bowed one more time to Byakuya and Rukia before her and Kisuke set off upstairs. As they walked, Rangiku was very quiet. She walked with her head held high and nose in the air as if you was trying to smell something that she might not like. Kisuke, feeling out of place and nervous, tried to speak to her.

"So . . . What part of your country are you from?" He asked cautiously.

"I'm sorry. Were you speaking to me?" She asked with a growl. "It is very impolite to speak to a lady before she speaks to you, Kisuke."

"I'm sorry m' Lady." He said quickly. "I was only asking a question."

"Well, you shall not receive my answer until I decide to give it." She said coldly with her nose in the air. Was this really how it was going to be? Was he really going to be stuck with this? In his mind, there was no way this could be happening. As he predicted before they even met, he had a gut feeling that she was going to be just like all the other noble children. Stuck up and mean when you tried to speak with conviction. As they made their way to the study, Kisuke decided that he was not about to be stuck with this girl for very much longer. And so, a small plan of escape formed in his mind. As they walked past the study, he motioned for them to go inside.

"And this is the study, m' Lady. My father spends most of his time in here." Kisuke said shortly.

"It seems very old and muggy in here." Rangiku said harshly. "My fathers' is much larger, and I can at least breathe in his. The study is very distasteful."

"I apologize m' Lady." He said quickly.

"Yes, you should be." She said coldly. As she looked around the room, Kisuke started to back away from the study and towards the door. But before he could turn the handle, Rangiku beckoned to him.

"Where are you going!? It is very impolite to leave a lady with out explanation!" She shouted at him.

"I apologize, m' Lady. I have to . . . erm . . . leave you here for a moment. I need to . . ." Kisuke said quickly, though he wasn't sure his plan would work.

"Oh just go. I shall await your return shortly." She said with a scowl as she lift a large book off the wall and sat to read it. Kisuke left the study and bolted down the hall towards the back of the estate. He could hardly believe his luck as he crept past the main hall. As he turned though, he ran right into Renji. He fell to the ground, and he peered up at the red haired man with fear. It was odd, he thought, that Renji was alone and wandering the halls of his home. But what was worse, was the fact that he was caught.

"Hello there lad. Where is my daughter, Rangiku?" Renji asked with a smile.

"She is in the study. . ." Kisuke said frightened. To his surprise, Renji held his hand out, and helped him to his feet and gave him a wink.

"Gave her the slip did ya?" Renji said with a grin.

"Erm . . ."

"Don't be too long will you?" He asked slyly. "I would hate for the future prince of Ryūsei no Machi to get in trouble."

"Uh . . . Right." Kisuke said surprised as he quickly walked away.

"I know my daughter might seem stuck up, but she gets that from her mother, Master Kisuke. I can understand why you wanted to get away from her." Renji said laughing. "But I also know that you didn't very much like the idea of being wed at this age. Well, neither does Rangiku. So, if you're going to run off, you had better do it quick."

"Um . . . Thanks." Kisuke said confused.

"That was weird." he thought to himself. But no matter what happened, he was determined to leave as quickly as possible out the back and meet Yoruichi.

Kisuke was now on his way to the path that led out to the clearing to meet Yoruichi. Before he reached the path, he could hear his father calling his name. It was time to run! If they found out that he left for the clearing, there was no stopping them from finding him. With quick feet and his heart beating very fast, Kisuke ran away from the estate to the clearing where he would meet Yoruichi. Crazy was the only word he could find to describe that whole situation. There was no way that he was going to be stuck another second with Rangiku.

When the path ended, and the trees parted, Kisuke saw Yoruichi sitting against a small tree waiting for him.

"About time, Kisuke!" She yelled happily. He dashed over to her, and bent over on his knees to catch his breath.

"Sorry, Yoruichi." He said through hard breaths. "I was held up."

"What do you mean by that?" She asked curiously. Kisuke then told her about the events that took place at his house. How he was to be wed to Rangiku, how he met Renji and Rangiku just this morning, and how much he already despised Rangiku. Yoruichi gave a frightened squeak as he told her about his fate with Rangiku, and laughed when he decided to give her the slip.

"She sounds like a real nasty piece of work!" She said laughing at Kisuke. "I almost feel bad for you, Kisuke."

"I don't even like her!" He said coldly. "And my father and mother expect me to be wed to the witch!"

"Don't you have a choice in the matter?" Yoruichi asked smiling.

"No. They said I have to do this whether I like it or not."

The smile from Yoruichis face now disappeared. Kisuke looked at her and saw that she was sad, and somewhat upset when she said, "Ok." shortly. Why was she sad thought? As quickly as he could, Kisuke said,

"It's not like I want to . . ."

"I know, Kisuke . . . But . . ." Yoruichi was now twiddling her thumbs nervously.

"I just don't know what to do, Yoruichi . . . I wish I could get away from them. All those people that are called my 'family', I hate them all. My mother, my father, and especially that jerk Rangiku . . ." Kisuke looked at Yoruichi. She looked like she was going to cry for a moment, but when she looked up, she looked like she was thinking of something.

"Well . . . This may not be what you want . . . But if you really wanted to leave . . . you could . . . stay with me?" She said quietly.

"Would your parents allow that?" He asked, stunned at the question.

"They know that I have a friend that I like to play with while I'm here, but they don't know that it's you, Kisuke."

"I . . . I don't know if I could. Mother and Father would be looking for me every where. And they would probably put who ever was holding me in jail . . ." He said sadly. To his surprise, Yoruichi was now standing with her fists in little balls. She put out her hand to help Kisuke up, and said sternly,

"Do you want to stay where you are!? Or are you gonna do something about it!"

"Well . . . I don't want to stay, Yoruichi . . ." He said quietly.

"Then you're coming with me!" She said as she grabbed his hand and started walking towards the edge of the forest that led into Ryūsei no Machi.

"Wait! What about my things!?" he asked surprised. She stopped in front of him abruptly and faced away from him.

"I don't want to see you with that . . . that . . . Toad! If you go back there, there is no way your parents are going to let you out of their sight . . . you can either come with me, or go back . . ." She was facing him with determined eyes. It was a side of Yoruichi that Kisuke never seen before. If she was really willing to have him come with her, then that was more that could be said for his parents. And especially Rangiku who already seemed to hate him. But there was more than what she was letting off for why she refused to see him get married to Rangiku.

"Well!?" She said loudly with Kisuke in mid thought.

This was a big decision that Kisuke had to make. On one hand, he would be stuck with Rangiku for the rest of his life. On the other hand, he would live with his only real friend in the world, Yoruichi. But what he would be doing would surly get him, and more importantly, Yoruichi into a lot of trouble if they were found out. He thought about what his mother and father would do, what they would think of him disappearing. If he ran away, he would never be able to go back. His family would scorn him for the rest of his life, and his fate would be sealed with Rangiku.

"I . . . I . . . " He stuttered trying to find the words.

"Kisuke . . ." Yoruichi said quietly. "If you want to go back, I won't stop you. But if you really want to leave . . . if you really don't want to get married to her . . . then you have to trust me."

This was it. He had to decide now what he was to do. He looked at Yoruichi for an answer, but he only saw determination in her eyes. He decided that if she was going to risk it, then could do it was well.

"Ok." He said sternly. "I'll go. We need to get out of here before I'm discovered. They'll be looking for me."

"Ok. But first . . ." She said with a small smile. Kisuke could hardly believe what she was doing. She took the sleeves of his nice shirt and ripped them off.

"Take off your shoes, Kisuke." She said as she picked up some dirt. When he had removed his shoes, she took the dirk and smeared it all over his clothes, the stood back and nodded. "That should do it!" She said happily.

"What was that for!?" He asked looking at himself.

"You need to look like a commoner if you're going to blend in, Kisuke. Your family will be looking for you everywhere. If you look and act the part, then they'll never find you."

"Oh, that makes sense . . . I guess." He said looking at himself covered in dirt. Yoruichi grabbed his hand gently and started leading him away from the clearing.

"Thank you, Yoruichi." He said quietly.

"Don't thank me yet, Kisuke. We still have to make it into town first." She said winking.

Before the clearing was out of sight, Kisuke looked back one more time at the place where he and Yoruichi first met. So many memories were flashing in his mind as they left the clearing. He was on his own now. There was no going back to where he once was. He had to leave it all behind. But in the rush of leaving, he was happy. He would never again have to be around his despicable father and mother, and more importantly, that thing that they called Rangiku. He was, he thought, alone in a strange new world. Thought he wasn't quite alone. He had Yoruichi, and that was all that mattered now. With high hopes, and good spirits, Kisuke and Yoruichi ran far away from the clearing, and headed strait to the lower parts Ryūsei no Machi.