Due to the disappointing, contrived and rushed ending of the Bleach series I decided to finish up this chapter. I think we all need an adequate dose of Ichiruki fanfiction after that debacle. I won't spoil anything if you haven't read the final chapter of Bleach, but I will tell you that you won't be very happy after reading. Unless you just feel all warm and gooey for Orihime.

I would give a little rant. But I won't. As far as I'm concerned Bleach ended after season three.

Summary: After the events of the Gathering Rukia has been gifted to the Feng clan, and is living a semi-normal life. Still influenced by Byakuya and under the watchful eye of her gryphon warden Shuhei Hisagi. During an excursion to take her ill sister to see a dragon healer Rukia discovers that Ichigo still lives.

You'd think he was the son of Satan, the way I burned tonight.

After the fiasco I'd been involved in today the world just didn't seem balanced anymore. There was a huge controversy involving Ichigo. Someone invested a great effort in convincing me of his death. It made me wonder who knew the truth and who did not. Renji had known, and I'd been too scared to believe him. No, that wasn't true. Part of me did believe him, but that would have opened too many painful wounds to bare. Now they were all open, whether I wanted them to be or not.

I wanted Ichigo to be alive. And I was glad he was. I was angry because I was manipulated and lied to. Compounded by the fact that Ichigo chose not to reveal himself until he attacked my sister. Which raised its own set of questions, but none I was equipped to ponder much less answer without further investigation.

Essentially it boiled down to this: I was being manipulated, still a pawn in some sick chess game. As happy as I was that Ichigo lives, I couldn't help but despise him for pursuing me. I still held myself responsible for what happened at the Gathering. My heart couldn't take it if I had to watch him die all over again. I wondered if somehow I'd found my way to hell, and this was all just the punishment.

Byakuya had been incensed (in his own stoic way) over Ichigo's sudden appearance and the accosting of Hisana. So much so that they overlooked my presence in their Dragon business. Once Byakuya took control of the situation, he sent several of his underlings about campus to patrol. Then he ushered us into the Health building. We took turns taking the elevator in groups, the first to enter were Byakuya's right and left hand. Kuchiki clan members who were nothing but loyal to him. They were joined by two others that I didn't recognize as part of the clan. I surmised they must have been from a different clan. Most likely Unohana's clan, since this whole University belonged to her.

When they were gone and the elevator returned, it was our turn. Byakuya helped Hisana into the lift, and another clan member herded me in with them. I could not for the life of me recall this dragon's name. It wasn't often that I associated with Kuchiki clan members, and even when I was among them they hardly spoke a word to me. This instance was no different. The dragon was rigid and displeased to be so close. I could feel it in his stance and in the hesitation he expressed about touching me. Like I was a pariah. Of course that wasn't new. Ichigo had referred to me as a pariah more than once during the Gathering. It was actually a very fitting way to describe my existence.

Once inside the elevator Byakuya unlocked a panel on the wall with his claws. Unique that dragons would design a locking mechanism in which their claws were the key. I wondered if it had to be particular claws or if any dragons could access this panel. Behind the panel was a scanner. Brother leaned forward to the scanner and a light washed over his eyes. The light as it turned out was a retinal scan, and it responded to Byakuya only after he shifted his eyes to dragon.

When the scan was complete the elevator responded with a sudden lurch. Down, down, down we descended, far deeper that any basement should be. Almost like we were entering some forbidden government lab. Dragons were so secret. When the lift finally came to a halt the sense of claustrophobia had already settled within my gut. We were very far from humanity down here, and there was something in the air that felt absolutely terrifying, coaxing all my hair to stand on end.

The doors slid open moments later, and I couldn't say I felt any better about the open space before me. It was dark, and damp, and everything from the floor to the ceiling was made of set stone. It reminded me of old church catacombs, or tombs. Except that the stone hadn't been left to age and wear. Someone tended to these halls quite often. All the stone was polished and shone; even reflecting the light of a few gas lamps. There were precious stones set into the walls, but the patterns they made were mosaics depicting dragons, and demons, and other strange creatures. In most of the illustrations the dragons reigned above all the other creatures, towering, menacing, powerful.

I didn't get a lot of time to study the mosaics. They all washed into a blur as soon as our group vacated the elevator. Byakuya stalked forward practically carrying Hisana, he was soon joined by the four clan members who had proceeded us. They appeared to materialize from the shadows of the corridor and joined us. The dragon who was responsible for me forced me forward with a nudge, when I didn't move fast enough he seized my shoulders and swept me forward. My feet barely touched the ground, he just sort of carried me against my will.

The corridor was spacious, wide with a high ceiling. It seemed designed with a larger being in mind. A dragon no doubt. But even a corridor this size seemed a bit roomy for an average dragon. Hell, it felt roomy even for a dragon Kenpachi's size, and he was the largest dragon I'd ever laid eyes on. Every so often we passed side passages, but they were all dark. I was unable to decipher where they might lead. Eventually the decorated hall opened up into what must have been the most spacious cavern in existence. It rivaled the most elaborate ball rooms, a ceiling so high it dissipated into the darkness. I felt small, pathetic and helpless faced with an underground cavern so vast. And yet despite all the room if also felt confined. There were mountains of artifacts lining the edges, and spectacular waterfalls flowing from the walls at set intervals. The water spilled from the openings and into pools along the floor. The pools were lined with gorgeous gold coins; lamp light refracted in the water, and shone off the coins making the pools appear to flow with liquid gold. Hundreds of jewels lay strewn about the treasure like flower blooms among a saffron field.

All this splendor would have been breathtaking, had there not been something far more astounding settled among the treasure. It was without a doubt the largest dragon I'd ever seen. In comparison to this behemoth, Kenpachi was a mere nestling, a dwarf. The dragon before us was aquatic in nature. Serpentine, sporting a hood that started just at the back of its head and spread out like the fins of a manta ray. Farther down its body were two thin arms that were crossed in front of it. There rest of its body from there on melted away into the darkness of the cavern, but I surmised it must have been as serpentine as the rest of this creature.

"Lord Minazuki." Byakuya spoke his greeting to the monstrous Dragon, falling to both his knees in the process. He bowed his respect, and all the other dragons in the room followed suit. Throwing themselves to the ground and casting down their gaze. After a quick moment, I realized the same was expected of myself. I wasted no time throwing myself on the ground and looking as penitent as I could. Whatever this creature was, if Byakuya bowed so deeply, it must be important. Even sickly Hisana was on her knees before this creature.

"I accept your presence, you may ascend once more." The voice that filled my ears made me tremble. It was distinctly feminine and felt like it was right inside my head and all over the cavern at the same time.

Everyone around me straightened up from the ground, so I followed. Byakuya stepped forward and addressed the dragon with praise, and flattering terms. To which the Dragon only smiled a sinister and amused grin. A grin that reminded me very much of Gin Ichimaru's.

"Your tongue is very gifted in flattery, Alpha Byakuya." Said Minazuki. "It must taste nice soaked in your ulterior motives."

To this my Brother fell silent. Minazuki had called him out, and he had nothing to say. I suppose any reason Brother gave to justify his presence now would have just been insulting to this dragon.

It was then that I realized the orb set in the front of this dragon's face was actually a single enormous eye. And the slitted pupil in the center was studying each one of us with sinister curiosity. The great eye eventually stopped on Hisana, and the Dragon's grin stretched even farther to reveal rows and rows of tiny little pin-like teeth.

"This one." She gestured to Hisana with a slender worm-like tongue. "She has what humanity labels small cell lung cancer." Since no one reacted to Minazuki's statement, I figured she must be right, and Byakuya was already aware of the condition. Minazuki was oddly delighted in the silence, and possibly with herself so she continued with another accurate assumption. "She was not diagnosed until very recently."

Byakuya nodded solemnly.

I got the feeling that this Dragon was not the type to shed pity on others. Minazuki continued with her analysis. "Her symptoms would have manifested as a relentless cough, and chronic fatigue. The symptoms held her like the hands of death, and by the time you were concerned enough to get her tested the illness had already spread."

No one said a word. Not even Byakuya. He remained frozen with his eyes to the ground.

"It is of no consequence that you hesitated to get her diagnosed." She pronounced. "Her illness is terminal. There is no cure for such a savage cancer." There was a pause, Minazuki's eye closed a bit, and she projected a air of conceitment. "But that is why you've brought her before me today." She didn't even need to ask. She just looked smug in all her knowledge.

"Please Lord Minasuki, will you take mercy on Hisana and purify her body?" Byakuya almost dropped to his knees again when he pleaded this.

"So easy is it to come before an immortal and beg to prolong a mortal's life." Minazuki spat these words with contempt. Her long tongue lashed out a few times accenting her anger. "You assumed the gift of humanity, you wallow in its gravy, bathe in its sins. But when you find yourself faced with it's cessation you beg for the blessings of immortality."

I noticed she spoke the word "blessings" like it was foul tasting. Like she didn't find anything precious about immortality or its blessings at all.

Byakuya opened his mouth to contend Minazuki's statement, but she cut him off with a ground shaking bellow.

"You stay silent, Byakuya Kuchiki!" Her statement was followed by a deafening rumble from her throat. "You have procured a lavish existence, Alpha of a powerful clan. The path of humanity has blessed you with many riches, many... perks. If it is further blessings you seek, then I bless this woman with death. For there is nothing you should envy more." She continued speaking but her voice was lower, and she bent her neck till her mouth was mere inches from Hisana. Her breath ghosting over my sister's skin, and making a subtle disturbance to her hair. "I hope you savor your demise." With that she sent a great gust of air from her lungs and all the lanterns went dark. Not from the air flow, but from some sort of magic. It just sort of doused all the lights.

No one said anything after that. Byakuya didn't speak a word, he just lead us from the chamber much the same way we entered. The silence was ominous as we arrived at the elevator. Things were even more tense when we boarded, this time as a whole group instead of separate parties. I was too nervous and frightened to look at my Brother. But I could feel anger, and maybe even dejection -as startling as it was- rolling off of him. His arms were wrapped around Hisana, but it seemed more for his own benefit that for my sister's. For once my sister didn't look so forlorn, there was a strange presence of resolution on her features. I wondered if somehow I had missed something. Or maybe Hisana had heard something she'd been waiting to hear for a long time. Once above ground, I was reunited with Hisagi and we were dismissed, sent home to the Feng Clan.

Never in all my life had I imagined something so powerful, and so cruel. I'd heard the dragons reference the Immortals from time to time, although today had been my first time witnessing their existence. It was not hard to comprehend why they were so respected and revered. Yet, I couldn't help but feel a modicum of pity for the creature in those caverns. Part of me was curious if Minazuki ever left that underground sanctuary, but a much larger part was relatively sure she didn't. The thought of spending eons confined in a cavern all by yourself tugged at my heart. And I may have shed a tear as I felt sorry for the creature.

I vowed never to voice these concerns to any of the Dragons, or their associates. I couldn't be certain if they would take offense, and the last thing I wanted to do was insult their culture or their Immortals. A human feeling pity for the strongest supernatural beings in existence. That would be a slight that no Dragon could overlook. Well, no pure blooded dragon I suppose.

A part of me wondered how Ichigo felt on the topic, and I even entertained the thought of such a conversation for the briefest of moments. But all that accomplished was ushering my thoughts back to him. And those thoughts were soon swept away by a flood of concerns for the half-dragon's well being.

I found myself wondering where he was, and what he was doing, and if he was well. I harbored feelings of resentment toward him, and wanted to give him a good slap on the face the next time I saw him. While I held myself accountable for a great many things that happened between us; I didn't stop feeling that Ichigo was at least partially responsible for all the trouble, both at the Gathering, and even now. It seemed that where Ichigo was concerned, trouble was not far behind. Funny, it never occurred to me that he felt the same in regards to me.

00000

Tonight Shuhei was driving me home. Brother was too preoccupied to care about my transportation, and the Feng Clan was inclined to provide low key affordable transport. So naturally Shuhei, who worked on Byakuya's time, made for the ideal chauffeur. I didn't mind, Shuhei drove a cute straw colored Fiat Panda. It was cozy, clean, and according to Hisagi is got fantastic gas mileage. It made me wonder why a gryphon was concerned with how many miles it got to the gallon. Hisagi drove like an old woman to boot. Never over the speed limit, stopped for light and sign and drove even slower in the rain. Today my curiosity finally got the best of me.

"Shuhei, why do you drive like that?"

There was a flicker where Shuhei almost looked confused, "This is my first car." He told me plainly.

"So shouldn't you be in a hurry to push the limits?" Most people I knew were far from careful with their first vehicle.

"I worked hard to pay for this. I want to take care of it." He said crisply. Their was a sparkle of devotion in his face, and he stroked the steering wheel in a parental way, as if to tell the Panda that it was doing a good job.

I stared out the window after that, my mind puzzling over this gryphon's judicious manners concerning his car. It occurred to me that Gryphons might not live as long as dragons. Maybe they didn't develop a careless nature because of that. Or maybe Shuhei is just special, and I shouldn't be trying to draw a conclusion about an entire species by just his actions. He must be a little neurotic, I concluded.

I was being slow and I should have noticed earlier that were weren't headed back to the Feng estate. Instead we were driving down old and disused streets that were dotted by a few large dilapidated structures with windows either dusted over, broken, or missing. Occasionally I'd see a person walking down one of the broken up side walks, or rummaging between the buildings. Most of them were wearing coats or hoodies or some kind of clothing that obscured their heads.

I asked Hisagi where we were going. To which I received a sidelong glance.

"I'm really sorry about this." He murmured.

"Sorry for what?" I shot him a look and braced myself against the door of the car.

"I can't tell you anything right now." He said. "But I will make you this promise. Whatever happens, I will protect you."

I swallowed despite myself. I didn't want Hisagi to see that I was... concerned. I wasn't afraid. Human or not, I could handle myself. Probably. If nothing else I'd maim something real good before I bit the dust.

"Does brother know about this?" I asked, satisfied that I was able to keep my tone cold and level.

"No."

I felt like there should have been more of an explanation but Hisagi offered none.

The conversation was unable to linger, Hisagi rolled to a stop outside a boarded up apartment building. There must have been twelve stories and not a single one was livable. The paint on the structure was so faded and weathered it was almost nonexistent. I nodded to the building, a silent question to Shuhei. He returned my gesture with a nod of his own.

I suppose I was able to keep my composure due to Shuhei's expression. There was no malice, no ill-intent in his eyes. No Gimmjow-esque feral grin. Just somber resignation. Like he was doing something he had to. Despite my suspicion, I wanted to trust Shuhei.

Shuehi shut off the Panda, and climbed out of the vehicle. I didn't wait to be asked or ejected from the car. I climbed out after him. He only hesitated for a minute, then started for the alley beside the building, and I fell into step behind him.

The sun was setting and the smokey colors of twilight made the buildings look even more ill. The shadows were harder, inkier. Shuhei led me between some mounds of trash, a mouse-eaten sofa, and an old box spring. Ew. When our position was obscured from the street we stopped. He took a quick glance around, assuring that we were alone.

I probably should have been more concerned about our location, and why we were here. I'd heard all the stories about human trafficking in these run-down parts of large cities. And it wasn't too far fetched to think that the supernatural folk dabbled in such corruption. The idea that I was the equivalent to a trafficked human among the dragon clans struck me pretty hard. Sure, I was treated well for merchandise, but money had still been involved during my exchange between clans.

"When I change, I need to you to climb on my back. The entrance is accessible only by beast form." He explained.

I gave a distracted nod, a little preoccupied trying to spot the entrance to the building. Never mind my thoughts about being people product. Then it occurred to me that Shuhei was getting naked. Off came his shirt, and I turned away just in time. The sound of a zipper informed me that he'd stripped his pants off too. Not that I was surprised, I live with dragons, nudity is a thing.

"Getting naked in an alley? If you were trying to romance me this is an awful location to do it." I remarked. A sad attempt to try and break the tension.

Shuhei reached over me and dropped his now folded clothes into my hands. I almost didn't catch them, it was unexpected. I knew he was naked, the proper thing was to provide him privacy until he changed. But for the life of me I couldn't help but sneak a glimpse of his transformation. I haven't seen many supernatural creatures shift before. Seeing Ichigo change had been an enlightening experience. A little thrilling. He had a nice body. I had to stop myself when memories of sleeping against his chest flooded my mind. There was a time and a place to fantasize about orange-maned morons, and now not one of them.

Shuhei threw himself on all fours. His mouth and nose distorted, stretching, becoming sharp. Feathers sprouted from his skin like little seedlings. He cringed and shuddered during the whole process; It looked painful watching his bones reform. His spine extended just enough to form a cute bobbed tail, and fur formed on his jaw line into a sophisticated ruff.

When it was over I couldn't recognize the creature as Shuhei. Ichigo retained so much of himself even in dragon form, but Shuhei was nothing like the man before aside from his dark markings and coat color. He was also rather small. The gryphon was no larger than a husky. It was lucky that I was such an undersized woman, otherwise I don't think he could have supported me on his back. Then again the dragons had unnatural strength. Maybe Gryphons were stronger that their size betrayed.

I threw my leg over Shuhei's back and leaned into him between his wings, his clothes sandwhiched between my chest and his shoulders. Then I wrapped my arms around his neck and my fingers gripped the the burnt orange fur around his chest and shoulders. As soon as I had my grip he started up the side of the building, his claws making strange divots in the old architecture. It took me a moment to realize there were already a number of similar markings scratched into the surface.

We scaled up several stories, over a fraction of what was probably a fire escape and onto a window ledge. The window was boarded over on the inside and had burglar bars on the outside. The next window over was our destination. Shuhei made the jump with little effort and pulled us into an empty room. The door was boarded over much like the rest of the building and it would have been unassuming if not for the various locks across it.

This room was not our destination. Shuhei eyed a hole in the ceiling and began wiggling his hindquarters like a cat. He was a fantastic jumper; he leapt through the hole and into the upper room with the grace of a dancer. This room had no door, just an opening and a place where hinges had once been. We left the room and the small apartment it was part of and went into the foyer.

Shuhei used the stairs to climb two floors higher, and a long look down made me realize that the upper floors were inaccessible from the ground floor. The stair well below the third floor was just non-existent. Someone had torn it out, leaving scrap wood and metal behind. I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on the rest of the building. We left the stairwell and entered another apartment, and suddenly we were surrounded by creatures.

I'm not even sure how to describe it. Once you realize dragons exist, as well as gryphons, the idea that other mythical monsters might exist is certainly entertained. And yet, I wasn't prepared. Most of the inhabitants in the room were gryphons, and they were lounging everywhere. The room was slightly furnished with an old couch, some chairs and a mattress; there was at least one gryphon if not more on each piece of furniture. There was a shifting dragon against the wall. At least I thought he was shifting. The man against the wall was some dragon human hybrid.

Among the gryphons there were two harpies, a troll, and a snake man. Later on I was informed that the proper term for him was a naga. I decided to ask Shuhei later how all these creatures hid their identity, or if they could all shape shift. That is if we did make it out of here. The prospect of supernatural criminal activity was becoming more and more likely.

One gryphon stepped down from the group settled on the couch. He gave me and Shuhei a once over while Shuhei ushered me off his back with a shoulder roll. Once standing on my own feet I saw that all eyes were on me, especially those of the large gryphon before us.

Gosh, outside of the Kuchiki clan I just feel so popular.

The big gryphon was some kind of lion osprey mix. The closest thing to a traditional gryphon in the room. I was supposed to be intimidated, but I couldn't bring myself to it. After living in a clan of Dragons lead by Byakuya Kuchiki, I just didn't feel that these creatures even compared. So when the "Lion King" stared me down I just shot him a pointed look right back. Shuhei let out a exasperated sigh next to me. I must be embarrassing him in front of his superiors. Well I didn't care, I'm tired of being pushed around by supernatural creatures.

There was a sudden chatter around the room, the lion was communicating with Shuhei, who responded in kind. This was soon followed by several other gryphons around the room joining in the conversation.

"I want an explanation, NOW." I glared the lion down, looking every bit the four feet ten inches I am. That's me, the impulsive and uncouth. Byakuya could dress me pretty and beat manners into me, but I was still a street rat at heart.

The room fell silent and every pair of feline and monster eyes strayed in my direction. Just call me charming. Even Shuhei looked startled, and all his fur stood on end. Then before anyone could get over the shock of my demand the half-dragon thing pushed himself away from the wall and released a soft chuckle.

"The gryphons have brought you here to extract information," dragon-man informed me. His tone was light, almost playful. I decided I didn't like him, right then.

"Information about what?" It felt foolish to say that I could rat them out to the dragons. Although when I really considered it I didn't think the dragons would consider me much of a loss if the gryphons killed me.

Before anyone could answer my question another gryphon entered the room from behind Shuhei and I. She was small and dark colored with very large eyes that were wide with alarm when she saw me. A moment later she folded her ears back and dropped her gaze, looking very sullen. I almost thought she was ashamed the way she slunk around the edges of the room and hid behind some other gryphons on a recliner. None of the others seemed to pay her any mind.

Lion made a chattering sound at the dragon-man. To which he scoffed. "I think not."

Another Gryphon stepped out of the corner of the room and snarled at man-dragon. I think this thing was a Gryphon. If it was not, I didn't know the name of its species. Unlike the other gryphons it had no bird face, instead it had the head chest and tail of a canine of some sort. I couldn't place the canine species, it was some sort of large fox, or reddish wolf. Then it had the wings and hind legs of a brown colored bird. Judging by the length of its talons I figured it must be some species of raptor.

Man-dragon bared a mouth full of teeth at the vulpine gryphon. Then he turned towards me. He was tall, or I considered him to be. His jaw was square but pronounced, his chocolate colored hair was messy and he had warm hot cocoa colored eyes behind square wooden glasses. His eyebrows were thin even a bit small, and he gave me a uneasy feeling. When he approached me I could feel the resentment he felt, for me and the other creatures in the room.

"What's your name little girl?" Man-dragon hummed at me. The gryphons all watched us expectantly. All except for Shuhei, he just looked ashamed, quivering at my side. Coward.

"Why don't you introduce yourself first." I spat at him.

He smiled, a very slow sadistic smile, "I'm Sosuke Aizen."

"My name is Rukia Kuchiki, but I'm not sure why you bothered to ask. They must know who I am. They brought me hear after all." I gestured to the gryphons all over the place. I found it hard to believe they would make Shuhei escort me here if they had no idea who I was.

"Of course." Said Aizen. "But I did not know your name." Then he explained. "It makes this a lot easier if I know the name of my victims."

I shot him a startled look and took a step back. "What are you?"

This amused Aizen. He gave me a very slippery smile, that showed his pointed teeth. "I used to be a dragon," he explained. "A very powerful one. Then I sought power from an immortal. They of course, blessed me with ancient magics, but they stole away my humanity."

It was true, his humanity was very much missing. Splotches of skin became scales, spines protruded from various places on his head, neck and shoulders. His clothes fit awkwardly over his misshapen form. He had a tail but it was covered in human skin and grotesque spines. There were even wings sprouting from his back, but they were just as unsightly as the rest of Aizen.

"Now please hold still." He instructed. "This will hurt. Scream if you must, but struggling just excites me."

My skin turned cold, and I backed away from him. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I called out to Ichigo. I thought of how he always came to my rescue back at the Gathering. I sent a silent prayer that he would come to me. Like he did back at The Gathering.

But no one came. Shuhei pressed into my side, his hackles were raised, and he was still quivering. Aizen stepped closer till he was almost touching me. He placed his misshapen hand on either side of my face and leaned closer to me. I tried to avoid making eye contact with him, but he forced me to look at him; to look him in the eyes. As soon as I did his irises began to glow an orange color, like two hot coals set in his skull. I wasn't able to look away from him, there was some spell over me.

He leaned closer still, his face mere inches from mine. "Rukia~" he whispered.

I opened my mouth against my will to respond to him, but no sound escaped. Instead he pulled something from my mouth. I'm not sure what I would have called it, but it felt like a piece of my soul. I screamed. My mind, my soul, it felt like a piece of it was being forcibly removed and pulled out through my throat. It escaped me and drifted into Aizen's waiting mouth. His eyes closed as he swallowed that piece of me and made a noise that was almost sexual. It was akin to a satisfied gasp.

The pain was debilitating, but as soon as the eye contact ceased I regained control. So I struggled, digging my fingers into Aizen's arms. I know he warned me not to struggle, but at the time I was unable to recall it. Just as he warned Aizen became enthusiastic, he inhaled once more and I felt another piece of my soul sever. I screamed for him to stop and tore my nails over his skin.

Something pushed between me and Aizen. There was a high-pitched yowl on the other side of the room. Whatever came between us, it broke Aizen's hold on me and I fell backwards. A commotion started, but I was no longer able to stay conscious. The pain had ceased and my mind shut down. Whatever Aizen had taken from me, it was like he took part of my life force with it.

I scarcely remembered something dark licking my cheek and pawing at me before everything went black.

My husband was the beta for this chapter, so please forgive the typos and errors. There will be a reunion between our favorite characters in the next chapter. I'm excited to start writing interactions between Ichigo and Rukia once more. And I think in the next chapter I will swap back to Ichigo's point of view. I find him easier and more amusing than Rukia. I think it's because Ichigo can be mouthier, and Rukia has to hold her tongue.

This chapter was mostly just to move the story, because it needed moving. Please read and review, it inspires me to write, more and faster. I especially enjoy long thoughtful reviews. They are my favorite to read, and I get excited every time they pop up.