Sorry for the wait, I had a serious case of writer's block and it didn't turn out as well as I hoped. Even so, I hope you like it.

Chapter 4: The Kuchiki Manor

Today was the first day of the two day break for the first year advanced class. Many of the students in the class were highly stoked about the time off from study and homework. In reality this break was only given to give the students' minds and bodies a rest for the upcoming practical courses which will be highly demanding on the new students. They were allowed a lot of freedoms such as exploring the various districts, check out any of the various stores in Seireitei, or visit family.

By the time Hisana and Riko had woken up that morning, both their advanced class roommates were gone. The two were fine with this even if they were somewhat miffed that they had slept longer than they had planned to. After cleaning and preparing the room, they had left for the days they would spend at Hisana's home. Once they were all set, the two friends left Shino Academy.

On the way, they talked about what they were going to do once they got there. Riko was particularly worried over the whole thing as she had never been to a noble's estate before. Hisana had tried to explain to her that her family wouldn't care much that she wasn't a noble as neither of her parents were nobles by birth. This did not make her feel any better as she was sure the rest of Hisana's clan would likely shun her for not being a noble.

She continued to feel these feeling but was soon distracted by the fine architecture and gardens of the various estates that they passed. Many were large, but some took that to a whole new level and filled large amounts of ground just by themselves. Riko gaped in awe at the sight of such large and beautifully crafted buildings as nothing, not even the best of buildings approached such splendor. She was snapped out of it when Hisana had started to explain the various clans that lived in this area, but Riko wasn't able to keep the dozen or so clan names organized in her head from the overwhelming experiences she was now feeling. Had she not seen it with her own eyes, she would not have believed that there were any buildings in Seireitei that rivaled or surpassed Shino Academy's magnitude.

Seeing these structures only managed to increase her fears of being rejected by Hisana's family, a thought that terrified her as even though she had managed to become friendly with a number of other academy students, Hisana was Riko's only true friend she had had in a long time. Hisana after all was still a noble and expected to follow certain rules of social behavior. However, as Hisana had told her, neither of her parents nor her namesake were nobles by birth, Riko became somewhat relaxed to the idea of being disliked. She continued to contemplate that for as long as she could to push out the despair of her previous worries. As she did this, Hisana said that they were only a few more minutes from her home.

After those few more minutes, the two girls had arrived at the Kuchiki estate. This place was the largest of any the two had crossed on their way over. Hisana had gestured for Riko to follow her past the guards at the front entrance. Riko wasn't able to feel anything short of apprehension as she took note of the guards she was walking by. They were two very large men who looked like they could kill with a single hand. Hisana seemed to notice how Riko reacted to the sight of guards as she said "don't worry; the two of them are big softies."

"Huh" was all Riko could say to the statement.

"The guards, Hikura-san and Tochiro-san are nice guys; I'll even introduce you to them later if you like."

"Uh, okay" not that Riko actually thought the idea of being introduced to them was something she'd want to do.

"You're scared of them aren't you?"

"Look at them, they are terrifyingly huge."

"They are good at their jobs, but they are really sweat guys."

"If you say so."

"Anyways, here we are." As Hisana said that, the two girls arrived at the main house.

Riko's fears she previously pushed aside surged to the surface the moment they had entered the door. She started to contemplate the worst of scenarios to what could happen. The panic continued to build as she followed Hisana through the corridors until they were interrupted by a voice, "Oh, Hisana, you're home, and who is your friend?" Riko went to look at where the voice was coming from and that's when she noticed who it came from. She saw a woman fair skin, violet eyes, black hair, and most importantly, in a captain's haori. Riko knew at once who this woman had to be, 5th division captain and Hisana's mother, Rukia Kuchiki. Riko stood in awe of the woman before her, so much so that Hisana had to nudge her to get her to snap out of it.

"Hello Oka-sama, this is Riko Korimira." Hisana told her mother.

"Hello, I'm Kuchiki Rukia."

Riko was still somewhat in a state of shock but managed to introduce herself, "Hello, um as Hisana said, uh, I mean Kuchiki-sama said, I'm Riko Korimira."

Both Rukia and Hisana stared at her for a moment then burst out laughing. Riko couldn't understand why they were both laughing so hard to what she said. Before she could ask the question, she got her answer.

"You don't need to be so formal around us, I mean sure there is Nii-sama, but no one will care if you just use our given names other than him. Also, I'm sure you never call Hisana 'Kuchiki-sama' so don't do it here. Understand?" Rukia said with tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

"Uh, okay" was all Riko could say; now turning red from embarrassment.

Now that the tension was defused Hisana asked "so where is Tou-san and Jii-san?"

Rukia's expression became more neutral "they are in the world of the living."

"I see" as she said this, Hisana's face fell in disappointment. Riko noticed, but caught herself from asking why as she had a good idea that it was because Hisana wanted to introduce her new friend to her whole family while she had the chance. What Riko really wondered though was why two shinigami of such prominence were in the human world.

It was just then that Byakuya entered the hallway they were in with a rather annoyed look on his face. This was not unnoticed by any of the people present.

"Nii-sama, what's wrong?" Rukia asked.

"You should know" was all Byakuya said and Hisana and Rukia both took looks of understanding.

Riko not knowing what was going on asked Hisana what they were talking about. Hisana told her that the Shinigami Women's Association was using the Kuchiki manor as their meeting place and that Byakuya despises it, but no matter how much he tries, he can't get them to stay away. When Hisana was finished, Riko was dumbfounded that that could in any way be true. That was until a pink haired girl at least a head shorter than Riko herself came running through the hall. Followed by several women.

After the mess with the women's association was over things started to settle down. Riko herself was stunned that such antics could happen in the home of such a prestigious noble family. It took a few moments, but noticed that Byakuya Kuchiki was starring at her and that is when she started to panic in earnest. When she returned his gaze, that is when he asked "and you would be?"

Riko wasn't expecting him to actually talk to her and she flustered "I-I'm Riko Korimira."

"I see, so you must be Hisana's friend at the academy." It was a statement not a question.

"Yes."

"Very well" and with that, Byakuya left the room.

Again, Hisana and Rukia burst out laughing, but Riko easily guessed it was because of whatever expression was on her face after her short conversation with the head of the Kuchiki clan. None of this made sense to Riko, and everything that had happened so far had all but shattered her beliefs of how nobles were supposed to behave. Had it not been for Byakuya's stoic attitude and the fact that Hisana always acted differently from most nobles, she would have thrown out her beliefs all together.

As I said, it didn't turn out as well as I hoped. I wanted to make a chapter following Riko's point of view, but I couldn't think of anything fantastic and I used whatever ideas popped into my head whether I particularly liked them or not. Also, what happened with the Shinigami Women's Association, well I'll let your imagination answer that one.