A/N: So this is kind of where it all begins. It's not my best chapter, not by a long shot. Neither was the last one really, but after this, things are going to start getting ... stranger. And a lot more clear. This is the true beginning of the story, and I hope you all enjoy the set up to what will be, possibly, my favorite next couple of chapters. Strap yourselves in, because we're just getting to the top of the roller coaster.


Kisuke looked up from the table he was sitting at and frowned. There had been a knock at the door to his underground workshop, and he knew exactly what that meant. They had finally begun to arrive. Making his way to the back door, Kisuke looked through the peephole, his frown deepening. So, they had sent him first. In the back of his mind, Kisuke wondered if they knew exactly what they were doing.

Slowly opening the door, Kisuke stepped back and motioned for the other person to come in, looking around the back alley quickly to make sure no one had seen or followed, before sliding the heavy metal door shut. When he turned around, the other man was already running his hands over some of the new 'inventions' that Kisuke had been working on.

"So, they sent you to lead the charge, Archer?"

The man tensed at the codename before turning to face Kisuke, scowling. Kisuke wasn't afraid of the young man, even though he knew exactly what he could do. The Archer would never lay a hand on him, not out of fear or need, but out of respect.

"I'm the most familiar with the area. Why wouldn't they send me ahead, Builder?"

"Are you staying at the usual place?"

"Yes."

"And how is he doing?"

"Better than I've ever seen him." The Archer turned, looking around the workshop before making his way over to the specialty made bows, his fingers running along the curve of the weapons, checking how taut the strings were, even checking the arrows themselves for top quality. "It's surprising, to be honest."

"Then I suppose you should be the first to know." Kisuke stepped up beside the young man, leaning on the table. Kisuke readied himself mentally for what was about to happen. If he knew The Archer, and especially his feelings on the current subject, this was going to be a larger conflict than it already was. "The girl he's with … she's the one who I called about."

The Archer froze, his entire body going stiff. Slowly, one of his outstretched arms fell to his side, his hand curling into a fist. When he spoke, his voice was cold, bordering on a rage that Kisuke had only ever seen a few times in the young man's life.

"She's one of them?"

"Yes." Kisuke said as evenly as possible. "And, it seems, the reason our mutual friend sleeps soundly at night."

"That doesn't mean anything," The Archer said, his voice nearing a growl. Kisuke could see the conflict in the man's face, the same conflict that Kisuke had been feeling for the past week. "She could be influencing him!"

"Ishida, I-"

"DON'T SAY MY NAME!" The Archer turned and swatted away the hand that Kisuke had reached out towards him, a fury in his eyes that made the older man want to shrink away. "That's … that's not who I am when I'm down here."

"It doesn't matter who you think you are when you are in my workshop," Kisuke's tone changed, his entire demeanor shifting to the one that he tried to keep hidden from everyone else. An authoritarian feeling came over the room as Kisuke spoke, his tone harsh and cutting. "You are still Uryuu Ishida, the boy I've known for as long as I've known Ichigo. You two grew up together. He is the closest thing to a brother you have.

"When I first called in, I didn't expect this. But now … now I'm not sure if this is still the right thing to do." Kisuke paused for a moment, his lips curling into a soft smile. "I mean, for fucks sake … he's sleeping, and he's been eating. I haven't seem him smile this much in years. Maybe she's doing good for him."

"Or she's influencing him." Ishida took a deep breath, raising a hand up to push his glasses up onto his face a bit further. "But I can't deny … he seems happy."

"Yes, he does."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Ishida looked at Kisuke with a bit of hope in his eyes, but not for their friend. He was hoping that Kisuke had some sort of answer to their dilemma.

"We observe. We report. If we can prove that she has done anything to him, then we strike." Kisuke sounded so sure of his words that he even partially convinced himself, but still, there was a nagging doubt in the back of his mind. Something about this was off. Something he wasn't seeing. It made him worry.

"I'll come to you first with anything," Ishida said after a long moment, his eyes narrowed. "We're too emotionally involved in this, but that doesn't mean we can't do what's right for him, if she is doing something."

"Agreed. We're in the best position to act."

"I'll keep a close eye on him, but we need to stay in contact. He can't know anything."

"Please, he hasn't suspected a thing since you first joined the ranks. He won't catch on now." Kisuke waved his hand in dismissal, his playful facade coming back almost as easily as breathing. Ishida sighed before stepping away from the bows on the workshop table, making his way to the back door.

"The Jaguar is next to come to town. He'll be here first to collect his 'toys'," Ishida said as he made his way to the door, scowling at the thought of his comrade. Kisuke nodded slowly, reaching into his pocket for his fan and slapping it against his hand.

"I'm going to be busy anyway. The Scientist is in town, and the order he requested months back is finally readied for him." Ishida shivered just thinking of The Scientist.

"I hate that man," He said softly, resting his hand on the handle to the large metal door leading to the back alley. Kisuke smirked and brought his fan up to his face, covering the cheeky look on his face.

"But his daughter isn't too bad looking, you know."

Ishida froze again, recognizing the tone in the other man's voice and slowly turned, raising a hand up to point at Kisuke.

"Try to set me up, and you'll be the first person I try out my new bow on."

"I never took you for the cupid type, but I suppose it fits. You are The Archer." Kisuke said, fanning himself slowly with easy movements of the wrist. Ishida narrowed his eyes, not able to think of a good comeback and instead opening the door to the workshop and exiting out into the back alley, shutting the door behind him. Only one thought was on both men's minds now as they went about the rest of their night, the one thought that they knew they could only keep to themselves.

What the fuck am I going to to do now?

XXxxxXXXxxxXX

"It's fine."

"No, it's not fine, your collar isn't straight."

"Well if you had let me wear what I wanted to wear, there wouldn't be an issue with my collar, would there?"

"Is it my fault I want you to look presentable?"

"No, but it will be your fault if we're late."

"Calm down Shiro, we'll get there on time."

To anyone who didn't recognize them, the two people bickering as they walked down street looked like nothing more than brother and sister, but it would make you wonder what kind of family they could come from.

She was tall, with long blonde hair down to her waist, and a figure that was seemingly made to turn heads. And she flaunted it, with a low cut top and a short skirt that swayed around her thighs with each step. She was smiling wide, and even that smile just seemed so seductive that it could melt the heart of any man, or woman, who looked at her.

And in complete contrast to her was a young man, who couldn't possibly be any older than his mid-teens, walking right beside her, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a duffel bag over his shoulder, and a scowl seemingly glued to his face. Where she was dressed to kill, he was dressed to blend. A black collared t-shirt and a pair of baggy jeans seemed to tell the world his style, and his lack of care for attention. The woman had just straightened his collar a bit as they rounded the corner of the street that they had been looking for, making him shoot another glare up at her.

"I said leave it alone. I'll fix it myself."

"No you won't," she said easily, smirking down at him a bit. "You'll act like it's the new cool thing because you'll be too stubborn to fix it."

"You're lucky I like you," The young man mumbled, still glaring up at the taller woman. She just giggled a bit at his words and ruffled his already messy white hair a bit.

"Aww, I like you too Shiro."

The two continued to walk in silence for a few moments before stopping in front of the house they had been looking for. Without pausing, the two wandered up the front walkway of the large, three story house. They weren't expected, or even really invited, but there wasn't anything that the people who owned the house could do to stop them from visiting.

Stopping at the door, the young man pulled out a pair of keys from his pocket and went through the ring slowly before finding what he was looking for and unlocking the front door, easily pushing it open. He was about to take a step inside when he noticed some of the suitcases piled up in the hallway, and the rather flamboyant, bright colored flowers all over them. He stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes went wide with fear. His companion, however, looked absolutely thrilled.

"Well, it looks like they already have company," the young man said, turning and grabbing the woman by the wrist, slowly trying to tug her away from the door. "It'd be rude to impose on them now."

"Nonsense, Shiro! They have more than enough room here for us to stay." She pulled against the tugging, dragging him in through the front door, ignoring his groans of protest.

"Well then we can at least find a nice hotel or something to stay in for a while," Shiro complained, letting himself be dragged back into the house.

"No, you wanted to come see your family. You don't get to whine when the crazy uncles show up. Besides, I haven't seen Nan in forever, and you don't want to deprive me of my best friend do you?" Shiro looked up at the woman, who was now giving him her best pouty face, and after a few moments of staring he finally relented with a deep breath.

"Fine, we'll stay."

"Yay! Thank you so much Shiro!" She leaned down and hugged him tight, his face being squished into her chest, making his arms flail around, his duffel bag falling to the ground with a loud thud. Thankfully, a voice echoed down the hall just in time to save the poor kid.

"Ran, is that you?" Nanao peeked around the corner, holding a robe tight around her small frame. The robe was bright yellow, with little roses painted across it, and it looked comical on the bespectacled woman.

Shiro was almost shoved to the ground as the woman who had him in a stranglehold turned to face her longtime friend, the two locking eyes before both of them broke out into huge, beaming smiles.

"What are you doing here?!" Nanao's voice was a bit hushed as she walked into the hallway, the two sharing a quick hug. "I was going to come see you next month!"

"Well you know Shiro, he likes to wander around and visit the family." Rangiku Matsumoto pulled away from the hug she shared with her friend, smiling wide down at the shorter woman. "I'm so glad you're here! When did you get back from Russia?"

"A couple of weeks ago. We just got here." Nanao looked past her friend as Toshiro Hitsugaya stood up and brushed his jeans off with his hands, huffing loudly. "And I know Big Shiro will be happy to see you two."

"Oh God.." Toshiro's eyes went wide and he quickly looked around. "He's not awake is he?"

"No, he's upstairs sleeping." Nanao motioned for the two to make themselves comfortable in the living room as she stepped forward and closed the front door, joining the newest arrivals after a few moments. "And I've got fun news for you Ran."

"Oo, gossip?! I love it!" Matsumoto leaned forward a bit on her seat, smiling wide as Nanao sat down at a chair across from her. "Tell me everything."

"Rukia met someone."

"No! You mean other than the walking pineapple of anger?!"

"Yep, and she seems to be crazy about him."

"What's his name?! What's he like?! Is he cute?!" Matsumoto wiggled her eyebrows a bit before yelping at the sudden elbow from Toshiro, the young man glaring up at her. She smirked down at him, narrowing her eyes a bit. "Getting jealous, Shiro?"

"Why would I be? You're perfectly fine to look at whomever you like." Toshiro crossed his arms at his chest and stared out into the hallway. Matsumoto laughed a bit at his reaction and ruffled his hair before turning back to her old friend.

"Tell me everything. I'm dying to hear about this."

"Well, his name is Ichigo-"

"So she went from a Pineapple to a Strawberry?" Matsumoto couldn't help but laugh at that. "Girl needs to get away from fruits."

"You can tell her that when she wakes up. Her brother wasn't too happy about how late she got home last night," Nanao said with a sigh, shaking her head a bit. Toshiro turned his gaze to Nanao at the mention of the elder Kuchiki, his eyes lighting up with a bit of hope.

"Do you know where he is right now? I should probably go and announce myself."

"He's in the study, I think Renji is in there with him." Toshiro nodded and excused himself from the conversation, walking into the hallway to find out where Byakuya's study was, leaving the two old friends to catch up.

XXxxxXXXxxxXX

"I don't know how you can let her be with that man!" Renji was pacing angrily back and forth while Byakuya had his head down in his hands, rubbing his temples with his fingertips in slow circles. The redhead had been ranting like this all night, and Byakuya was beginning to get tired, but this wasn't a conversation he could easily get away from. The elder Kuchiki was beginning to get a headache from the angry ranting, and the frantic pacing wasn't helping his head much either. Glancing at the clock, Byakuya realized it had been quite some time since he had really enjoyed a meal, another possible factor to his sour mood at the moment.

"I don't understand what game you are playing here, Byakuya," Renji growled out, spinning to face the elder Kuchiki, his eyes narrowed into a glare. "But this is getting out of hand. She's going to wind up getting herself hurt, or worse. And what happens if she slips when she's out there, and exposes herself, and by extension, all of us?!"

"She won't." Byakuya tried to keep his voice even, but it was early in the morning and he had been up all night listening to this, and there was only so much patience he had left in him. Renji opened his mouth to start again when Byakuya lifted his hand to silence the other man, his head raising and his eyes narrowed into a glare. "I let her do this as a lesson."

There was silence for a long moment before Renji spoke, his voice as calm as it could be, but the hint of anger still lingering just on the edge.

"What lesson?"

"That she can never be with him." Byakuya sighed, leaning back in his seat and resting his hands on his desk. Now was the time when he had to sell the greatest act he could ever produce. He had to convince even himself that he meant what he was about to say. "I'll let her run around with him, do whatever she likes, live her life the way she wants for now. But there will come a time when the realization hits. That they cannot be together. That she cannot be with him without risking his life. And when that happens, she will do her duty."

Another long moment of silence. Byakuya knew it had worked when Renji's face softened and the anger went away. Even he was beginning to believe his own act.

I have to keep this family together. No matter what.

"Fine. But if he steps out of line, I won't hesitate to step in."

"You do that, and it won't be my hand you have to fear." There was the cold Kuchiki tone that he had mastered so well, Byakuya's deep, violet eyes glaring daggers at the redheaded man across from him. They both know that if Renji stepped one foot out of line, it would be Rukia that would end him.

The two glared at each other for a long moment before a knock came on the door his study. Byakuya stood and made his way out from behind his desk.

"We will talk about this later," was all he said. Renji was about to speak up when another glare silenced the words in his throat. Byakuya knew just how to keep the young man quiet, but sometimes, his ego got a bit too large for anyone's liking.

Readying himself for one of the many people in his home, but mostly Shunsui, Byakuya straightened himself and prepared for whatever was on the other side of the door. But when he opened it and was not met eye to eye with someone, the internal panic alarm went off, thinking it would be Yachiru, but wholly unprepared for the young man standing in the doorway. Byakuya's eyes went wide and he stepped back from the door, bowing his head in respect to the young man.

"Sir, we weren't expecting you. Please, come in."

"Don't call me that. Just Toshiro." The white haired young man stepped in and looked around at the impressive study, whistling softly at the collection of books before his eyes fell on Renji. "I see you're still hanging onto coat tails."

Renji wanted to say something, the burning look in his eyes said it all, but he stayed his tongue. He knew what the consequence would be for speaking back to Toshiro.

"When did you arrive?" Byakuya closed the door behind him and moved to stand in front of the young man, offering him a seat in front of his desk.

"Last week," Toshiro spoke evenly, waving his hand a bit to dismiss the offer of the seat. "Matsumoto and I wandered around the city for a bit. She wanted to see some of the sights."

"I see. Welcome then, and I offer you my home for as long as you need." Byakuya bowed his head again slightly, making Toshiro scoff at the action.

"Stop doing that. I'm nothing special when I'm here. Just a guest."

"As you say." Byakuya looked to Renji and had to hold back the smirk that he wanted so desperately to wear. "Renji, please show our guests to their rooms."

Renji nodded tightly, his body completely stiff. He knew when he was being dismissed, and this was just a slight insult to his ego. As Toshiro turned to leave the room, thanking Byakuya for his hospitality, Renji shot a glare at the elder Kuchiki and spoke in a low, threatening tone.

"Let's see how well this lesson goes with him here."

"Not as badly as you hope." Byakuya replied. "Shut the door on your way out."