Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Chapter 4

Rukia spent the rest of dinner picking at her food as she contemplated Uryuu's words. Did he really except her to go against her brother when she was finally getting back on his good graces? Sosuke Aizen was a pillar to the community but also a dangerous man, who was their rival. She didn't know what Uryuu could possibly want with the man.

If he's looking for clues as to Aizen's collection, then he's shit out of luck. Aizen isn't stupid, and guards would be posted everywhere in his mansion. But what is Uryuu up to?

Then Rukia's brain was side tracked by everything that could go wrong if she went with Uryuu instead of her brother. They had to play nice with the second most powerful family in Japan. It didn't matter that the Kuchikis were the first - status and honor mattered most. She may be a designer, but she had an analytical brain. If something unfortunate happened at the Aizen ball, then the Kuchikis would be disgraced. She would be out on her own and her and Ichigo's beloved business would tank. They could end up on the streets if that happened.

After supper, Rukia and Byakuya went into the living room where they enjoyed a glass of brandy and read. Well, Rukia was really nursing her drink and contemplating life her life still. There were too many uncertainties in this life for her to risk everything for one man, right? One man shouldn't define everything even if you loved him for over 3 long years.

Finally, Rukia came to terms with her heart. Come hell or high water, she would stick with her decision. Ichigo and Tatsuki would be there for her no matter what happened with Byakuya and the rest of the Kuchikis.

Nervously, Rukia cleared her throat to get Byakuya's attention. The man was enjoying his second glass of brandy as he read over business documents. "Brother?"

"Hmm?" He asked as he continued to read. Why did he have to ignore her when her nerves were already on edge?

Having no patience for indifferent, Rukia walked over to him and placed her small hand on his papers causing him to glare up at her. She didn't know if it was Uryuu's bravery from early rubbing off on her, but something told her that she had to do this or she would regret it for the rest of her life.

"Brother, I have been asked to accompany a friend to Sosuke Aizen's ball Saturday night. I know that you planned on taking me, but you see, I owe this friend a favor…" Rukia trailed off hoping Byakuya would get the meaning.

"You interrupted me for this? Why didn't you just tell my secretary so I could get a replacement?" He asked in a cold voice that caused Rukia's violet eyes to harden. Wasn't she worth his time? She was his sister after all.

Seriously, how hard is it to put away documents while your sister is present? Normal siblings spend time together. Why cant we? Oh wait! I know... because we are not normal.

"I was trying to be respectful and presented my case to you. As I can see now, you are much more concerned with work so I shall leave you to it." Rukia delivered the lines as a true Kuchiki – cold and deadly as steel. It took all of her control now to growl in annoyance or smack her brother upside the head repeatedly; although, she was doing that in her mind.

Gracefully, Rukia turned to exit the manor when she felt a large hand wrapped around her arm. "Look Rukia, I apologize if I seem insensitive, but you're an adult. You can do whatever you want." He told her in a deep baritone voice.

"Oh, really? Does that mean I can turn down all the offers of any males you make me date? Last time I tried, you threatened to do something to Ichigo or remove me from my apartment." She responded as she snatched away her arm from his grasp.

Byakuya grey eyes narrowed on her petite frame. "If you'd have entered the family business like we discussed you wouldn't have those dates. You'd already be married with a family and not causing the elders any myself headaches."

"If I had played by your rules, brother, I would be married, but I'd be miserable. All your candidates, but Ashido and Kaien, wanted to control me because of the Kuchiki influence. None of them cared for me as a person, but those two. I was just tool for the rest of them to gain power!"

"Why didn't you chose one of those two then? Last time I heard, you got tired of them." Byakuya muttered like it was her fault.

"I grew 'tired' of them because you were forcing them to pressure me into marriage! Ashido and Kaien were more of my dear friends than any type of boyfriend! Because there was only one person I ever wanted to marry! And you…" Rukia pressed her finger into Byakuya's chest. "You and Ryuken took him away from me."

"Rukia, Uryuu Ishida wasn't good enough for you!" Byakuya placed his hands on Rukia's shoulders hoping to calm his sister down some. He wondered what actually made her crack. Was it the boy or had she finally had enough of people trying to direct her fate?

"Who will be good enough for me in your eyes, Byakuya? You may select candidates for me to date, but I know you find fault in all of them, even Ashido and Kaien. Two men that we've known the longest."

"Rukia…" He growled at his sister. He could tell that she had been holding all this pent-up anger for a while, but with Uryuu being back in the picture, it just flooded her senses. Did he do the right thing and split them up 3 years ago? Was she really stuck on this one man when she had so many to choose from?

With a defeated sigh, Byakuya told her, "If you are so desperate to prove his worth to me. Feel free to date Uryuu, but be warned. If he embarrasses the Kuchikis, you will be married to the man of my choosing within the next week."

"You think I'll fail?" She asked hostilely."With my freedom and life on the line, you would think I'd roll over and play dead just because you threatened me with marriage?" Her brother's arrogance annoyed her.

"I think that boy is smarter than you give him credit for, Rukia. He always wanted to just use you as the others have." He warned his sister. Byakuya tried to steer her on the correct path in life.

"Now, you admit the others wanted to use me? Where were you when Kira was getting handsy or Gin tried to drug me? I had to call Ichigo, Byakuya, because you were too damn busy playing politics."

"Rukia, I…"

"You know what, brother, I'll prove you and the elders wrong. My company will take the Kuchiki name to the next level, and everyone will be praising us. The three misfits from the Shiba, Kuchiki, and Ishida Clans will be hailed as heroes, and my name will be forever written down in the history of Japanese fashion." Rukia told him before she walked away.

Byakuya watched Rukia walk away awestruck at the impressive woman that's she's become. "I sincerely hope you're right, Rukia. Kami, I hope you're right. I only ever wanted the best for you after all, and I think you're finally learning how to get it what you want out of life." He whispered to his sister's retreating form. She didn't hear him, but she felt his eyes watching her as she exited the manor as a small smile appeared on his face.

Rukia spent the next two days thinking about her harsh words to her brother. She probably should apologize, but he would see that as a sign of weakness on her part. He'd not think twice about marrying her off to someone he respected if she didn't succeed, and that was not going to happen even if hell froze over and herds of pigs flew around in the sky.

A knock startled her out of her internal conflict as she stared out her bedroom window. "Penny for your thoughts?" Tatsuki asked her roommate from the open doorway.

"I screwed up…" Rukia told her. Tatsuki only smiled and walked over to wrap her up in a much-needed hug. It seemed Tatsuki knew someone was wrong even before Rukia told her.

"No. You only did what was right for you. It's about time you told your over-protective, micromanagement brother to shove it up his ass." She told her petite friend with a laugh.

The violet eyed girl stared at her best friend. "Tatsuki, I didn't…"

"You are going to be late if you keep sulking, Rukia. Are you going to let Byakuya win, or are you going to let him at his own game? Maybe he's just waiting for this moment for you to step, put him in his place, and show him what your made of. That could have been his goal all along." Tatsuki hinted to Rukia. She understood Byakuya even better than his sister understood him. She was just sad that it took her long to see his masochistic ways.

"But I didn't even tell you what I told him!" Rukia complained slightly, even though she knew her friend was right.

"Oh, yeah you did." The black-haired friend laughed. Rukia raised a raven eyebrow at Tatsuki then she started at her in wide eyed horror when remembered everything.

"Damn! Please tell me that wasn't vodka I drank last night?" Rukia pleaded as she rubbed her head recalling her headache this morning. Originally, she just thought that she over worked herself the past few days between drawing like a madwoman and worrying about her brother.

A grin appeared on Tatsuki's face "Unfortunately, you arrived home with the largest bottle of vodka that I've seen you carry in a while. I think the last time you brought one of them home, you and Ichigo were celebrating opening Shirayuki Getsu Designs or you got in a fight over something big."

"Oh, Kami! No wonder I felt like shit this morning..." Rukia complained.

"That's not the worst part. When you arrived with said drink, you dragged onto the couch with you, shoved the bottle at me, and told me to drink."

Rukia laughed at Tatsuki's expression. What could be so horrible about a drink? "That doesn't sound that bad!"

"I'm not finished yet..." Tatsuki told her with a wicked grin. "Then you proceed to tell me everything under the sun from all about your wonderful drawings to work drama with your partner with, then the Byakuya Kuchiki thinks he's Kami and everyone follows his rules speech. But my favorite topic was when you admitted that you were still in love with Uryuu, and you raved about his wonderful skills in and out of bed." Tatsuki said with an evil laugh as she watched Rukia turn beet red.

"I did not…" Rukia denied. She'd never do that, right?

"Oh, you did because I only had maybe a mixed drink then you drank the whole damn bottle!" Rukia paled at Tatsuki's words knowing they were true if she drunk that much. The petite woman never did have a filter when she had a lot of alcohol.

"I'm never drinking again!" Rukia promised.

"Just be glad it was me you did that to and not Ichigo. He'd have a cow, then kill lover boy." Tatsuki was having fun at Rukia's expense as she became paler - if that were possible - thinking about Ichigo over hearing that dreaded conversation. Then Tatsuki's words clicked in Rukia's head.

"He's not my lover body!" She yelled.

"Then what is he?" Tatsuki asked.

"Uhm… My work partner?" Rukia replied in a weird tone.

"Then why does that sound like a question?" Tatsuki asked her yet again.

"Why do you keep answering a question with a question?" Rukia retorted.

"Why are you avoiding the inevitable? If you're still in love with him, go for it! Grab him by his tie, pull him into your office, and demand he strip! Then have your wicked way with him!" The long, black haired girl encouraged Rukia.

"Now, I'm wondering if you had anything to drink…" Rukia mumbled.

"No. I just want you to be happy, and he seems to produce the right amount of craziness, excitement and love in you." Tatsuki replied with a smile. She had one on her face a lot ever since she and Ichigo got engaged.

"It's been a long 3 years, what if we changed?" Rukia asked Tatsuki a question that she was dying to know herself.

"You'll never know unless you show the bastard who is boss! Now, go do your hair and makeup! Your prince charming will be pissed when he shows up and sees you in sweats." Rukia looked at her questionably then the lightbulb clicked.

"Crap. The ball is tonight, isn't it?" Rukia asked. She hated that the two days just seemed to run together and made her totally forget everything important.

"Yep. Thankfully, you have a beautiful dress waiting for you in your closet." Tatsuki replied.

Wide amethyst eyes met brown ones. "Oh, he did not…" Rukia stated in shock.

"Let's just say I may have let him in last night while you were passed out…" The black haired girl looked away sheepishly.

"I'm so going to kill you." Rukia promised her friend.

"But he left right after he took your measurements, Rukia! I swear!"

"Wait… How the hell did he even get your number?" Tatsuki looked away guilty. "Ichigo?"

"What can I saw? He likes the man as well. Might as well keep Uryuu since he's popular with your friends!"

Rukia prayed for strength not to kill her two best friends. "It's in my closet you said?" The petite woman asked as she walked into her large closet. A white gown bag hung on the latch in the middle.

The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the zipper sliding down as Rukia opened the bag. A very familiar color greeted her.

"Sapphire blue?" Tatsuki asked knowing that her friend was more of a white or violet lover.

"Sapphire blue like his eyes…" Rukia murmured as she admired Uryuu's handy work. To say it was a master piece was an understatement. The gown had a fitted sweetheart neckline that flared at the hips. Silvery vines of lightly adorned the neckline then another section of the vines linked together the end of the fitted torso the beginning flare of the skirt. A small silver and sapphire flower was placed on the right side of the gown to give it more decoration. Finally, the skirt of the gown had two layers of draping with sections of silvery leaves added in opportune places.

Needless to say, Rukia was not only in love with the man, but the dress as well. Now, she just had to figure out what to do with him. Kill him for probably taking my measurements when I was my underwear since that's what I woke up like that... Although, it's not like he hasn't seen me naked before. Two, hug him and thank him all at once? Three, thank him then kidnap him and not let him leave the bedroom?

"Hello! Earth to Rukia!" Tatsuki yelled loudly and slight hit Rukia upside the head snapping her out of her dream.

"Yes?" She finally replied to Tatsuki.

"You're drooling, so I'm not even going to ask, but you do need to get ready. You have about an hour and a half before he gets here."

"Dammit! Why did you let me day dream so long?" Rukia grumbled as she brushed past her laughing friend trying to get ready before her date arrived.

Thank you again for reading, following, reviewing, and favoriting.

If you are curious about the dress, this is where the look came from!

That One Person: Thank you! Yes, Rukia has to go through delicious torment ha! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!