Chapter 4

**Kurosaki household**

Everyone sat at the table content after finishing their dinner.

"The food was delicious, thank you." Kain said politely.

"You're welcome." Yuzu said to the attractive man with a slight tint to her cheeks.

Ichigo rolled his eyes hand continued fidgeting with the small velvet box in his pocket as his sisters and father waited for him to say something. He thought he was ready to take that next step but when it came down to it he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Rin noticed Ichigo was acting strange. She also noticed the way he longingly looked at Rukia. He never looked at her that way and she wondered if they had been more than friends in the past.

"So how did you and Ichigo meet Kuchiki-san?" Rin inquired.

"We met at school. I attended Karakura high school for a few months and we became good friends." She lied.

"How did you guys meet?" Ichigo asked Rukia about her and Kain.

"Kain was nii-sama's best friend growing up, but I met him at the annual Kuchiki spring party." Rukia said.

'So he must be a noble.' Ichigo thought slightly annoyed.

"So does he 'work' with you?" Ichigo continued questioning.

"No. I don't really like the politics around her 'work'. I'm the head of the Miyamoto clan so I'm in charge of the clan's affairs." Kain said sending Ichigo an icy stare.

"So you must come from a respected family." Rin said.

"You could say that." Kain smiled.

"That should please the Kuchiki clan." Ichigo said slightly sarcastic.

"It will even more once things become official between us." Kain said teasing Rukia and also to bother Ichigo.

"You have such a sense of humor." Rukia laughed nervously.

"Who said I was joking." Kain said a husky voice as he looked deeply into her violet eyes.

Everyone swat dropped at his straight-forward attitude. Everyone except Ichigo, Ichigo was too busy directing his dagger eyes at the couple.

Rukia noticed Ichigo's attitude and started feeling a bit uncomfortable. "It was a lovely evening but we should probably get going we don't want to impose." She said.

"You're not imposing at all Rukia-chan, you know you're like family to us." Isshin said.

"Yeah, you should stay a bit longer. We missed not having you around all these years." Yuzu said.

Rin felt a pang of jealousy. Why were they so nice to Rukia anyway? She couldn't help but feel a little insulted at the fact that Ichigo's family seemed to just looove Rukia.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Ichigo asked. He was curious as to where they would be staying since Rukia always slept in his house when she was in his world.

"Yes. My work finally got some headquarters in town." Rukia said. "We should also get going since I want to take Kain around town. We're only here for three days and he's never been here before so I want to show him around."

"We can all show him around if you want. It'll be more fun." Karin suggested.

Rukia and Kain looked at each other. They agreed since they didn't want to be rude after everyone had been so welcoming.

Since it was night time the group decided to go to a karaoke bar.

"I can see why you liked being in this world so much, it's fun!" Kain said as he watched Karin and Yuzu singing on the stage.

"I'm happy you're enjoying yourself." Rukia said sipping on her third strawberry daiquiri.

Ichigo stared for the hundredth time at the pair. Rukia had grown into a beautiful woman. She was more confident and assertive –if that was even possible-. Her hair was a bit longer which made her look a little sexier. Overall she just had a "glow" to her that Ichigo couldn't find but to feel attracted to.

He then looked at Kain. He was a handsome man but was surprised Rukia was interested in a man like him. He was Byakuya's childhood friend, which meant he was quite older than her. He was also a noble, and last time he checked Rukia wasn't big on that kind of stuff...

"Are you ok? You've been a little distracted all day." Rin said bring Ichigo back to reality.

"I'm fine!" Ichigo snapped a little. Rin gave him a hurt look and shifted away from him. Ichigo noticed his rude behavior and apologized right away.

"I'm sorry" He said sweetly as he reached for her hand and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.

"It's your turn onii-chan! Rin did you pick the song that you guys will be singing?" Yuzu asked.

"Yes." Rin smiled sweetly at Yuzu. Ichigo and Rin headed to the stage to sing their duet.

Rukia had a few drinks by now and was starting to get slightly buzzed. She looked up at the stage as Ichigo and his girlfriend sang. She didn't know why but seeing that Ichigo had moved on bothered her slightly. The fact that Ichigo had not mentioned her at all to his new girlfriend was also strange to her. Her irritation towards Ichigo slowly increasing…

"Don't tell me you still feel something for that boy?" Kain said smiling and looking suspiciously at Rukia.

"No. His attitude is actually starting to irritate me." Rukia said grumpily.

"Umm maybe you've had enough drinks for tonight." Kain said in a more serious tone as he put his wine glass down.

"And I thought you were completely different than nii-sama…" Rukia said.

"I don't want to ruin your fun but he's exactly why I think you need to take it slow. Byakuya trusts that I will take care of you, and you getting drunk doesn't really involve me doing so." Kain said.

Rukia was happily surprised to find out that Kain was a free-spirit but he could also be a responsible caring man when needed. She started leaning closer to him as she stared into his expressive black eyes. She then did something unexpected and kissed him tenderly.

Karin and Yuzu blushed and looked away from the amorous couple. Rukia was never one to have public displays of affection. Ichigo also caught a glimpse of the kiss from the stage and started fuming.

"Good job guys!" Kain said as Ichigo and Rin made their way back to the table.

"Your turn!" Rin said.

"Kain would you mind picking out the song while I go to the ladies room?" Rukia said sweetly and Kain nodded.

"I'll walk with you. I have to get another drink." Ichigo said and they left together.

"So you actually like that guy?" Ichigo said bluntly.

"What do you mean? What's not to like?" Rukia said with a smirk.

Ichigo could not believe her. Since when was Rukia so, so…agghh! He couldn't even place a finger on the way Rukia was acting.

"Don't tell me you're jealous? You're dating a veeery pretty girl yourself. Doesn't she make you happy enough to mind your own business?" Rukia said teasing him. Unfortunately, Ichigo didn't take it so lightly.

He grabbed her wrist and yanked her to a stop.

"What's your problem?" She said turning around to face him surprised at his odd behavior.

He wore a deep scowl. He was about to say something, but naturally he couldn't find the words. He let go of her wrist and walked away.

"Still haven't changed have you?" She said angry and stormed to the bathroom. Situations like these in which he wouldn't talk and simply walk away were part of the reason why they broke up years ago.

Ichigo sat at the bar as he quickly downed a shot of liquor. He felt he needed it after his argument with Rukia. What the heck was wrong with him? He hadn't seen Rukia in four years. She had the right to move on and be with someone. Still, seeing her with that man bothered him to no end.

Ichigo couldn't stand the feeling. It was mean but seeing how well she was doing pissed him off, especially because deep inside he was not so happy with his life. His boring human life…

"Ichi-nii?" Karin asked as she walked towards the bar where he was sitting.

"Oh hey Karin." Ichigo said giving her a fake happy smile.

"Drop the act. You may think you're fooling people but you're not that great of an actor." Karin said as she sat beside her brother.

"You've been acting weird ever since we met Rukia-chan at the park." She continued.

"Sorry Karin I'm just not feeling well." Ichigo said ruffling his sister's hair and getting up. He motioned for them to go back as he held yet another drink on his other hand.

"Hold on a second! I'm not a kid anymore. You're my brother and I want you to be happy even if that happiness is somewhere completely different than you thought it was!" Karin said referring to all the unspoken matters in Ichigo's heart. "I'm your family and I will always be there for you."

"Thanks." Ichigo said and they made their way back to join the group.

Rukia came back from the ladies room informing the group that she had a headache. Kain got up and they called it a night. Yuzu and Karin were sad but they made plans to hang out with Rukia the next day.

In comparison, the goodbye between the others was less than pleasant. Being the perceptive man that he was, Kain noticed the real reason behind Rukia wanting to leave was because something happened between her and Ichigo. Rin also noticed something was strange about the two but decided to keep quiet and ask Ichigo about it later.

Kain and Rukia walked in the forest as they made their way towards the headquarters, the moonlight illuminating the way.

"Thanks for allowing me to come with you." Kain said as the wind played with his soft black hair.

"It's not like I had a choice." Rukia said trying to focus on her footing. She was still a tad tipsy from the drinks.

Kain noticed her struggling and scooped her up. Being that she was tired and it had been a long day she let him carry her and rested her head on his chest.

"If I really bothered you that bad you would have gotten rid of me long ago, you should just accept the fact that you might actually feel something for me." Kain said in his usual overconfident playful tone.

"Keep it up and you'll be sleeping on a tree." Rukia said softly as she closed her eyes.

Hi everyone!

Thanks for the reviews and for adding the story to your faves/alerts.

Kain and Rin are adding drama to the story so don't worry this is still an IchiRuki story! :)

Don't forget to review! Thanks :p