Just thought I'd mention, this Chapter might not make as much sense if you haven't read the previous Chapter first.

Warning: Will contain at times; coarse language, sexual and possibly some drug references, implied violence and OOCness. Rated M for suggestive themes, especially later.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its Characters.

~ THREE ~

Rukia was hanging from the ceiling rafters outside of Byakuya's bedroom and heard the sound of running water. She agilely maneuvered her way down the wall until she stood on the floor. Her gaze locked intently on the microchip on Byakuya's desk on the opposite side of the room. Making her way over to it she quickly glanced backwards to ensure that there was no movement from the Agent.

Byakuya ran the suppressor of his Heckler & Koch MK23 across the side of his head a few times. His eyes closed in concentration. His instincts told him there was someone present in his house. Furthermore, he had a gut feeling that it was Hollow who had come for the microchip. Byakuya got up off his bed and stalked out, silent as a Wraith...

...Now with her back to the bedroom door, one hand grasped the chip when she suddenly felt that she wasn't alone. Rukia instinctively took cover and dived sideways behind the couch just as a bullet whizzed past, shattering the desk lamp where she once stood.

'Shit!' What the hell was she going to do now? How had he known?

In any case, she couldn't stay where she was. He would kill her for sure. Sitting up with her back ramrod straight against the cream leather sofa with knees tucked in, Rukia had to think fast, as well as ensure that this time she didn't lose the microchip. She carefully wrapped it tightly in the fabric fold around her arm. Eyes darting frantically around, they landed on the reflective screen of the computer panels. It was him, and having determined that she was unarmed due to a lack of return fire, he was now coming her way.

Unsheathing the rod from its holster, she made a mad dash forward over the coffee table, hastily turning it up on its side to act as a shield. Another bullet pierced through the wood, sailing past just above her left shoulder. Rukia kicked the table to fly in his direction as she vaulted over the counter top using her rod as leverage.

Byakuya stuck his foot out stopping the table in its tracks, sight trained on the kitchen island Hollow had fled to.

'One little woman...' The Sergeant's words rang in his head. The corner of his mouth turned up. He knew how wrong those words had been, and now even more so. She could run all she liked, there was nowhere left for her to hide. This 'cat and mouse' game... Byakuya hadn't felt this exhilarated in a long time.

'NOW what?'

Rukia fought to keep calm. He had a gun. She only had a rod- Then her eyes zeroed in on a knife block next to the sink. She could work with that. Sweeping the block off the counter, Rukia caught it, swiftly pulling the smallest two knives out. With her back up against the counter and crouching low, she readied herself.

Ducking out from his cover of the partition wall to his kitchen, the glint of stainless steel caught his eye. Whipping his head back in the nick of time, a flyaway lock of his hair pared cleanly off from the knife, spearing the far wall behind him with a resounding Ping!

Close, but no dice. Byakuya knew they were part of his five piece set of expensive culinary knives. She had four left. Not that he was concerned, and if knives were all she had, then she was as good as his. This was his turf.

Byakuya stepped out again, his gun raised and ready to fire. Scanning the attached laser aiming module over the nooks and crannies to see where he could get a shot in.

Rukia edged a Chef's knife up high enough to catch a glimpse of the Agent. She had missed on her first throw and she was also trapped.

'Damn!'

Reaching into a nearby cupboard, Rukia grabbed a small teacup, stuck the largest of the knives in it with the blade facing upwards and slid it out along the floor within view. Byakuya looked down at the sliding knife-in-a-cup, the momentary distraction giving Rukia enough time to dash out from the counter and launching the last two knives simultaneously at the Agent. In her flight, she pushed over a butler stand, crashing its contents in Byakuya's path and streaked for the exit.

Byakuya shot one knife down, then slid as he lost his footing on an upturned packet of rice grains, the second knife cutting across the very same place he'd shot her.

'Uncanny.'

Still, unfazed, he got up to pursue. Once again Hollow's back was in his sights, but his intention was to apprehend, not kill. Firing a warning shot over the top of her head, the shattered hallway light plunged them into darkness.

"Don't make me kill you."

Rukia ground to a halt.

Byakuya closed the distance, gun pointed directly at her head. "Good. Turn around and put your hands up where I can see them."

Rukia slowly turned around, quietly extending her rod down the length of her leg. Just before she made a full turn, she swung it out with as much force as she could muster. The blow knocked Byakuya's gun out of his hand and briefly stunned him. Then she dipped the rod down for another strike, but he recovered quickly and slid side on a few paces to allow the rod to sail past. With lightning quick reflexes, Byakuya grabbed the rod on the rebound and yanked Rukia down to her knees. Throwing the rod far behind them, he picked her up and pushed her up against the wall.

"That wasn't very nice."

Her back taut with bursts of pain, Rukia stared at the floor and gritting her teeth to suppress a grimace. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing she was hurt. "I never said I was nice."

Her down-turned face missed the bemused look, as Byakuya heard his own words thrown back at him. She had put up a heck of a fight, and he couldn't help but feel admiration at her fighting spirit.

Finally the elusive Hollow was in his grasp. The hunter had its prey.

She was more petite than he would've thought, though her natural beauty radiated off her like a shining beacon. His cool grey eyes roved over the scarlet dress clung to her lithesome and tantalizing body like a second skin. Rukia feebly tried to jerk out of his hold, but he was too strong. Held firmly up against the wall, she wasn't going anywhere.

Byakuya reached over with one hand and unclasped her wrist blade, letting it drop before catching it mid-air and tossing the weapon with her rod. Then gliding his hand up her thigh, he unbuckled her holster as well and adding it to the pile. Out of mild curiosity, Byakuya wanted to see how she would react. Rukia went rigid and a horrified gasp escaped her lips before she could stop herself.

Still, she refused to look at him. Then with a strong compulsion Byakuya wanted her to look at him. To see-

'Those eyes...'

"Look at me."

His smooth deep voice reached her with an authoritative air, yet she wouldn't do it. A flicker of a scowl passed over her face, but Rukia kept her gaze fixed on the floor.

"Look at me."

He jerked her chin upwards to stare directly into those large eyes the color of...grey. His own pair of grey eyes narrowed. He had been sure they were darker than that, but even so, he could read them perfectly.

Defiant.

Stubborn.

Vehement.

How small and frail she felt in his arms, unlike the fierceness that emanated from her. She wasn't cowering in fear like he had expected her to. It was almost preferable to what he was sensing instead. Raven-colored hair fell in messy clumps around her perfect oval face with one stubborn bang in the middle of her forehead. Long, thick lashes blacker than night framed those haunting eyes made passive and a rosy pink cupid's bow mouth set firmly to mirror her challenging stance.

"Why?"

One simple question. Byakuya didn't understand it at all. He'd become mesmerized, without even realizing.

"Why what?"

"Why are you so determined to catch me?"

"It's my job."

A look of uncertainty passed over her fine delicate features. It was hard to believe that this creature was a wanted criminal. Until her expression turned to one of contempt, then the Agent could see that inner fire.

"You had the chip, so either you don't know, or you don't care. Which is it?"

The last part came out in a hiss.

"I have yet to analyze the chip fully." Byakuya tilted his head sideways to indicate his house now in a state of disarray. "You broke in before I got the chance."

"Next time I'll make an appointment." Rukia seethed. "You obviously don't care, which makes you no better than the rest of those scum!"

Byakuya tightened his hold, making her squirm against her will. He'd never been called scum before.

"Give me the microchip." Commanding now.

Rukia dropped her gaze to the floor once again. "I don't have it."

"You're lying." A hint of amusement in his voice. "Is it really worth trading your life for?"

At that Rukia met his gaze once again, a slight blush creeping on her cheeks. She looked at Byakuya fully, staring into those hard grey eyes, her heart leapt. She couldn't read him at all. He was the enemy. If Byakuya expected her to cower, he was mistaken.

"Yes." she stated resolutely. "My life is insignificant. They will pay for what they've done to us."

Her words echoed in his ears. 'What they've done to us...?'

...

A sudden floodgate of flickering images opened up in his mind;

A dark dusty room with patches of neon light... So cold. Did it have to be this cold? Fluorescents casting warped shadows around the room... It stinks. Why does it smell so bad, and why was it so dark?

Two floor-to-ceiling cylindrical tubes stood in the center of a murky chamber. One was empty. The other was occupied by a young girl suspended in a liquid substance. Cropped black hair with one stubborn bang clinging wetly in between her closed eyes, curled in a fetal position hiding her nakedness.

She looked like a little Angel. So peaceful... They told him that she was to be his. They were made in pairs to see if their enhancements could be regenerated in successive generations as a means to recuperate their loss.

But then he died.

...

What were those images? Memories? Long-forgotten case files? How did he know those things? The girl in the tube. It looked like a younger version of Hollow. It couldn't be true. There was no way he could know this.

Rukia could sense the change in Byakuya's demeanor. Was it what she said? Did he really not know? Regardless, she had to remain strong. Somehow she had to get the chip stashed safely away in her arm back to the others.

She looked closely at him and felt something. What exactly, she didn't know. Then not wanting to think about it any further, she shut off the train of thought.

Byakuya nearly fell on her in an almost trance-like state. His body pressing into hers. Rukia then felt an inexplicable rising heat that she'd never felt before. So close. The scent of Sakura and sandalwood reached her senses, sending her into overdrive. It began to hurt. Locked in Byakuya's hold with his weight crushing her fatigued body against plaster, she winced, vocalizing her discomfort with a whimper...

"What are you searching for...Hollow?" Byakuya knew that he shouldn't be doing this. What he should do is arrest her and haul her off to the cells, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. "Who are 'They'?"

"If I tell you, will you let me go?"

"Impossible."

He couldn't explain why, because he didn't really know. Though he was duty bound to capture this woman and bring her to justice, he felt something indefinable. Those images were pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. There was a reason behind her felony. This scenario seemed to be bigger than he realized. If there was one thing he'd learned a long time ago, ignorance didn't pay in the end.

"Then you'll have kill me, because I'll never tell you."

Rukia went limp. It wasn't in submission nor defeat. Byakuya knew this for what it was - a passive aggressive stance the SFA termed as 'droning'. Suspects became uncooperative, vainly prepared for any fate awaiting them. Little did they know that it wouldn't work against him. Pointless. Byakuya knew how to break a person. Hollow would be no different.

'That isn't your name...'

The thought abruptly appeared and vanished as swiftly. Byakuya suddenly became alert. Their gazes met in astonishment with their instincts tingling. On reflex Byakuya wrapped his arms around her and dived to the floor, turning his body to take the brunt of their fall. A Kusarigama soared overhead and smashed into the doorframe to the living area. They both separated, with Byakuya skidding away from her.

"RUN!"

A male voice shocked Rukia from apathy. Casting one final glance at Byakuya, she mouthed the words, 'I'm sorry,' and picking herself up she tore out of the front door, tugging at Shuhei's sleeve as she went.

"Come on!"

Shuhei had come for her after all. "If we don't finish him he'll just keep coming after you!"

"NO!"

Shuhei spoke the truth, but Rukia couldn't bring herself to go along with it. Fleeing from the house, they made their escape. Rukia jumping on the back of the Yamaha TRX850 as Shuhei brought it to a screeching standstill, then kicking the bike into gear.

Lying flat on her back along the backseat, Rukia took a bunny bomb from her strap and threw it into Byakuya's black convertible. They couldn't have the Agent giving chase.

The bomb exploded on contact and engulfed the vehicle in flames. The hiss, crackle and pop of combusting materials fractured the calm night. Shocking pulses of hues of red, orange, yellow and blue fire. Smoke rising to form a dark cloud.

In the smoldering flames, Rukia could make out the outline of a figure. Staring at him, she silently begged him to let them go. There was no doubt that Byakuya wouldn't stop until he caught her and brought her to justice, but she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

Right now, her main objective was to successfully deliver the microchip to Leader and further their cause against the corrupt entity that dared to change the fate of humankind.

Rukia clutched her arm where the chip was safely stored and closed her eyes. Her altercation with Byakuya had tested the very limits of her being. There was something else there, she knew. Fighting the depths of physical exhaustion, Rukia couldn't wrap her head around it.

"You came for me." Rukia linked her arms around Shuhei's waist and rested her head on cool charcoal leather. "Shu... Thank you..."

"You would've done the same for me."

Shuhei's soft tone masked the anger he felt, not that he was the type to give in to such an emotion nor show it. Still, this was Rukia and he had to protect her. To keep her safe. To live or die by her side. Where the others put their fated objective first, Shuhei couldn't do that. Rukia was first and foremost.

When he had busted in the house to save Rukia, the last thing he expected to see was the two of them up against the wall. They could've been embracing. Thankfully he had arrived in time to rescue Rukia from the Agent's clutches.

Shuhei pushed the bike into full throttle. They weren't home free yet.

Byakuya stood by and watched as the motorbike tore away. An expert marksman, he could easily take out the moving target with one shot of his rifle or even his modified Compound bow, but instinct told him it served his purpose to let them go. The microchip was fixed and he needed to know what was on it. Furthermore, he needed Hollow to know what was on that chip so that he could uncover the secret.

His cellphone went off in his pocket. Flipping it out, he took note of the caller ID as 'Blocked'. Holding it up to his ear, a male voice spoke on the other end.

"Did you catch her?"

"Negative."

There was a slight pause on the other end. "...I suppose you have a good reason for that?"

"I do."

"Good. The plan stays the same. Fix this."

Both men clicked off at the same time. There was nothing more to be said. The plan was the same, regardless of the change of circumstances.

...

Once again images flashed in Byakuya's head;

The chamber was basked in a glow of soft green light. The whir of machinery resounded as it funneled the pressurized fluid, draining it from the tank. Arms clasping tucked-in knees, the young girl dangled in a tight ball from the cords and tubes suspending her in mid-air. Running taut now as the liquid emptied. Formerly weightless, she hung like a marionette doll.

"It's time."

Releasing the clamps holding her in position, her comatose form sagged to the floor of the bio-genic tube. A woman in a lab coat rushed over and placed a robe over the young girl's body like swaddling. Then she scooped the girl up and gently placed her on an examination table. The technician apprehensively felt for a pulse, then smiled.

"She survived..."

Huddled together in their tiny cell, a boy and a girl sought comfort in one another as best as they could. They were coming to take them again. Every day. Two, three, four times a day they would come and perform their ghastly experiments. The boy and girl weren't the only ones. There were more children just like them, but for the time being these two were given top-priority. For they were the promising ones. Their best work, They claimed.

The girl trembled as the boy held her and tried to quiet her. Dark shadows formed under a set of large violet eyes that looked hollow in their sockets.

"I'm scared," she whimpered.

Oncoming footsteps echoed through the hall. Which one of them would they take now?

"Don't be afraid," the boy cooed in her ear. "Stay strong. You can do that for me, can't you Rukia?"

Rukia nodded.

"That's a good girl. Remember our happy place. Don't ever let them take that away from you...and always, Stay strong."

"B-But Byakuya, I'm not afraid for myself. I want them to stop hurting you. I want them to leave you alone. I don't care what they do to me- but you-"

He kissed her then. On impulse maybe, but it was the only thing he could think of doing to quiet her. Rukia's eyes went wide in surprise and she blushed. Byakuya surprised himself, but it felt undeniably good. She looked so beautiful and innocent. Gazing at each other, Rukia hid her head in the crook of his arm with a contented smile. Small hands gripped the cloth of his white tunic.

"We'll always be together, won't we Byakuya?"

Byakuya rested his head up against the wall of their cold, sterile cell and said nothing. What he would give to ensure that was the case, but truth be told he didn't know. He couldn't bring himself to make a promise that he might not be able to keep.

"I'll always find you, no matter what. That's a promise."

That was all he could say. Rukia gave a brief nod, though she didn't really understand his words.

The last round of experiments performed on him had hurt him badly, in fact he was still suffering from its side-effects, but there was a good reason for that. He had asked them to. A double dose so that Rukia wouldn't be subjected to the same pain. She wasn't to know, and he wouldn't tell her. To him it was better he went through it so that she didn't have to.

A technician stopped at the plasma field locking them in their prison. Veiling her emotions, she glanced at the embracing pair then turned her head away in guilt.

"Byakuya, it's time."

Rukia let out a horrified gasp and she clung to Byakuya in a desperate bid to keep him there. She was sure it would be her turn- She wanted it to be her turn.

"NO!" she screamed at the Technician. "YOU TOOK HIM LAST TIME! TAKE ME!"

"Rukia, it will be alright." Byakuya tried to smile to wipe away the look of intense fear on her face.

"NO, NO, NO! IT WON'T BE ALRIGHT-"

"-Separate them. Bring the boy."

The technician gestured for an armed guard to enter, then she departed, no longer being able to stand the commotion. The guard swiped his keycard through the lock to release the forcefield and stepped in. Rukia rushed at him, small fists pounding fruitlessly away on thick armor.

"I WON'T LET YOU! LEAVE US ALONE!"

Byakuya had also tried to get up, but failed. He was in pretty bad shape, and the vague thought that he might not survive the latest round of experiments flickered briefly in his head. The guard grabbed Rukia by the scruff of her collar, but she bit down on his arm as hard as she could, sinking her teeth into cloth and flesh.

"WHY YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

The guard roared angrily and instinctively dropped Rukia. Her head smacked on the tile floor rendering her unconscious. Whipping his gun out, he went to shoot her. Byakuya found his strength then and lunged at the guard. The crackling snap of breaking bone mixed with the bang of gunfire ripped through the cell. The guard sagged to his knees, clutching his broken arm and stared dumbly up into deadly grey eyes.

Byakuya grabbed the guard's baton, snapped it in half and plunged one jagged end into his neck, then kicked the dying guard out of the cell door. Byakuya stumbled a few steps then fell to the ground. Blood oozed out of his chest where the bullet had pierced his weakened body.

"Rukia, I'm sorry..."

She was the last thing he saw as his eyes closed. Sirens blared overhead and yells and screams shattered the stillness.

He died.

...

In the present day, Byakuya was overwhelmed by the surge of past memories that had invaded his consciousness. Had that really been him? Was he that boy? Why had he only just remembered it now?

So many unanswered questions...

Byakuya vowed to get to the bottom of this.

Author's Notes: I only had time to run a rough edit before posting, so hope there aren't many mistakes. I'm sorry if Byakuya and Rukia's 'first' meeting was short, but it's only early days yet. I'm a huge KaienxMiyako fan, so no matter what I'll always have them together. I think they make an adorable couple.

On a sidenote, I'm not happy at the moment over the latest issue #502. Fingers crossed it's not true. (If you've read it, then you'll know what I'm talking about. I won't spoil it for the ones who haven't ...still *sniff*)

Special Thanks to; Guest, ReckoningDay, arlingtonsteward, ANF-Byaruki, seras3791, PAMILA DE CASTRO, The13thConspiracy, AkuRokuTurkTrainee, corvusraven, iivogelchen & Brittany Hairsto for your reviews. I really, really appreciate it :)

Thanks for reading, and please R&R. Any feedback, suggestions or criticism is welcome, especially on the finer details that I may have gotten wrong.