Now - This Chapter's a little boring, sorry. And I know, I might be rushing the feeling development a little, but sue me P: Also, this is where that overprotective Ichi-nii that I love so much makes an appearance :D Byakuya coming in to give Yuzu work, how sweet . QQ Read some romance novels, Kuchiki-taicho!

~Enjooooyyy


Yuzu's eyes slowly opened to a squint, greeted by the blinding rays of the new day Sun and she sighed, before noticing the prominent color of orange in her peripheral vision: "Onii-chan?" she asked the quiet atmosphere, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with her hand to better focus.

The carrot-top was startled by the sudden and meek call from his baby Sister, he looked down at her with a worried expression and frowned slightly when she made sounds of discomfort upon trying to sit up, "Try to relax, Yuzu – Are you okay?" he asked, anyone could see or hear that he was concerned beyond belief.

"I'm fine, Onii-chan," she said, a weak smile on her delicate features, as she stared up at him, attempting to show reassurance in her deep brown eyes, "But how did I get here?" she asked confusedly, her expression changing to that of a perplexed nature.

"You don't remember what happened?" he inquired back to her, not answering her question yet. He seemed even more upset over her forgetful behavior.

She shook her head, indicating 'no' before looking at him quizzically, her undivided attention fixed on him, as she made another attempt to sit up, only to be lightly pushed down by the flat of her big Brother's large hand on the shoulder closest to him, "I only remember fighting the hollows," she added truthfully.

He scratched the back of his head – He asked the others that were there what happened, the ones who were awake anyway, but the few that fit into such a category claimed to have been knocked out by a powerful amount of reiatsu being released instantaneously in their surroundings, "I couldn't find out what happened while you were gone, but that jerk of a Captain you have said you fainted and you were taken to the Fourth Division," he laughed shakily before continuing: "I was in a bit of a trance, to be honest – I heard you had fainted on a mission and I rushed over there, only to find you in the best condition of them all," he explained further.

This time, Yuzu managed to prop herself up into a sitting position without any more difficulty than a few aching bones in her spine, must've been from the fall – She also had a mysterious headache, fighting with her unsealed Zanpakuto for so long had drained her stamina, and then she had used a large amount of her energy handling Tsuiho Raito, "Thank you for worrying about me, Onii-chan," she said sweetly, but also looking guiltily at him, "I'm also sorry for causing you concern," she apologized, looking slightly dejected.

"As long as you're okay, it doesn't matter," he said with a caring tone. He received a smile, as he always had when he acted like this – Karin had never accepted nor liked his overprotective nature but Yuzu thought that he was the perfect big Brother and no one could ever replace him in her eyes.

Without warning, Yuzu wrapped her arms around her brother's torso and rested her head on his chest, since he was so much taller than her: "I'm really glad I have such a nice big Brother like you, Onii-chan," she said enthusiastically, smiling widely in gratitude.

Ichigo patted his Sister's head affectionately and gave a slight smirk as he looked down at her. Even though she had apparently just slaughtered several large hollows, she was still the same, honest and selfless Yuzu he had always known.

Interrupting the endearing sibling bonding moment was an assailing knock on the shoji doors to Yuzu's Lieutenants Quarters, "Come in," she called in a welcomingly sweet voice and untangled herself from Ichigo, setting herself back onto her mint green futon.

The orange-haired Shinigami growled under his breath and glared fiercely at the newcomer after seeing who it was.

Byakuya Kuchiki, Captain of the Sixth Division looked out at the pair with his usual cold and distant demeanor, his stare wasn't anything intimidating exactly, though it still sent chills up most peoples' spines – Curiously, it had never been the case when it came to Yuzu, "I thought I should come by and inform you that you have many admittance papers to fill out for the injured Shinigami," he said coolly, he knew it was considered rude to just pile work on someone who was sick, but to admit that he was slightly worried about her would seem unsavory for someone of his caliber.

Yuzu bowed her head slightly to show respect and her understanding of the message, giving him a light-hearted smile as if she was thankful for him going out of his way to warn her of an incoming workload, "Arigatou, Kuchiki-taicho," she said genuinely.

"Hn," he replied, seeming to be bored of their company already. He was about to turn and leave when he was stopped by a deep growl coming from the oldest Kurosaki.

"Hey," grumbled Ichigo lowly, his bright hair slightly covering his angered stare, "What the hell's that?" he asked, he tried to control his temper around his youngest Sister since he was aware of the fear it caused her but this was too much: "She just got out of the Fourth Division and you're coming by and telling her about some paperwork she has to do?!" he barked sharply.

Byakuya acknowledged him with an expressionless look that could be described as utter and unmistakable boredom, "It is of no concern to you, Ichigo Kurosaki," he noted with slight disdain, though his deep voice bellowed in its usual monotonous fashion.

The protective older Brother stood up with a huff, "No concern to me?! That's my little sister, you arrogan- " he was cut off by a small hand holding a fistful of his lengthy, white haori before he could take a step forward.

Yuzu watched as his furious gaze softened gradually, when he looked down at her, who was clutching onto a bundle of his Captain's haori, trying to stop him in his tracks, "Onii-chan," she reprimanded softly. Ever since Ichigo could remember, Yuzu had been the one to scold him with her sweet, caring voice and bring him out of his darker moods.

"Hmph," Ichigo huffed in reply, his shoulders becoming slack and shrugging off the charged atmosphere coming off the two, he gave Byakuya one last glare before taking his seat beside his little Sister again.

The youngest of the trio could sense that the two weren't going to get along well ever, so she smiled sweetly at her Captain, "Ah, Kuchiki-taicho – Arigatou again for telling me about the work," for this she got a curt nod, "I'll see you at the Barracks later and I won't miss a single piece of work," she answered determinedly.

Nothing changed in his face, nor his posture, but the thought of her being so fragile and empathetic, yet recovering so quickly after battling so many hollows and seeing her comrades badly injured simply because she would be of assistance to someone else was surprising, to say the least, "Farewell then," he answered, giving a sharp nod to acknowledge his departure and stepping out, sliding the shoji doors shut behind him.

"Finally," Ichigo sighed, relieved. He didn't like the idea of that guy being around his Sister, it gave him a bad feeling, like brotherly instinct. He's heard a lot about him being one of the most sought after bachelors in the Soul Society, though none dare approach him with the proposal of companionship since he's apparently so scary, "You don't like that guy, do you, Yuzu?" he asked, his face was serious, not a trace of humor.

"Kuchiki-taicho? He's not so bad, I like his company – Sometimes it's a refreshing change of pace from the usual loud members of our Squad," she explained, but then she noticed the rage contorting her big Brother's face and realized what he had meant by the sudden inquiry, her cheeks were dusted with a light, hot pink blush upon figuring it out, "Oh! You mean.. like that – No, no! He's just my Captain, Onii-chan," she said, she chuckled nervously and waved her hands defensively.

It wasn't a convincing act at all, but Ichigo seemed satisfied, "Okay, good," he said, he let a toothy grin accompany his words – It wasn't yet known if he didn't want to push incase he upset her or if he hoped that it was not true so much that her words seemed mildly convincing.

"I should get up now, Onii-chan," she told him after a few moments of silence, "Kuchiki-taicho doesn't appreciate people slacking off during the day, so I should get going," she explained, before launching herself up energetically and disregarding her pain.

Ichigo looked slightly distressed for a moment but then gave a grin and said, "Fine, but if he touches you, I'll rip his arm off," he said as he walked out, giving a quick wave to her behind him. She looked at his back, baffled by his words but then continued cleaning up, before retreating to the bathroom to freshen up.