Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

AN: Fair warning this chapter may seem like there's some character bashing- but I assure you that's not my intention. As Ichigo observes this character from afar he is simply left w/ an outsider's impression(one which most people might make without knowing the character).

Hearts A-Stray

Chapter 9: Princess Vs. Tutor:

Winner Take Hall

The breeze that drifted in through the window was thick with the scent of cherry blossoms. If one believed the rumors, cherry blossoms bloomed year round at Seiretei- they even peeked out beneath the snow on the trees deep in winter.

Ichigo wrinkled his nose at the thought and abruptly rubbed at it with the heel of his hand. It had not stopped twitching since he set foot on the palace grounds.

And now here he was, an hour later, standing in one of the long, vast hallways of the palace, awaiting a royal's pleasure. He had long since wandered from the official waiting area.

He snorted. Not only because he could not get that flowery scent out of his sensitive nose, but because he was beyond irritated.

After several cajoling and persistent phone calls and texts- one of which featured a picture of the oversized poster of his mother that occupied one living room wall of his childhood home- Ichigo had reluctantly agreed to meet with the prince. Isshin's badgering and threats of showing up at the university had left Ichigo with little choice but to meet with the king-to-be to discuss the job offer on the table. From what he gathered, between the bouts of his father's sobbing about "lonely bachelorhood" and declarations of "I'll be damned if Ryuuken Ishida has a grandchild before me", it was a tutoring job, for none-other-than the prince's sister, Princess Rukia.

Isshin had consulted in the palace for years (on a somewhat professional level) as a physician. Despite the fact that Byakuya was not too fond of the overly enthusiastic and thus annoying doctor, he had been on staff for years and the prince was not about to break with what in some ways was tradition. Truth be told Byakuya might have found a sly way of dismissing him if not for Rukia who enjoyed his unconventional bedside manner. In all honesty however, Byakuya could not have terminated him without guilt; Isshin had been around in all his goofy glory since he had been a child.

Regardless of his father's close ties with the palace for all these years, Ichigo had never been on the royal grounds- for any official matter that is. He wasn't one to scrape and bow, therefore it had always seemed like a good rule-of-thumb to steer clear of the ruling family or politics in general for that matter. While he still didn't think it was the best idea to hobnob with the royals, the offer was tempting considering the pay and the fact that it was indeed temporary.

He scowled, not for the first time that morning. He had been told over an hour ago that the prince was still out attending to some business or other. He sighed, his elbows propped up on the windowsill, chin in his hands.

The palace was impressive, the royal grounds beautiful with their multitude of gardens, ranging in style from traditional Japanese gardens to the English inspired mazes of shrubs and patterned flower plots. The overall style of the palace was in fact inspired by the castles of Great Britain. There were other homes outside of Karakura that were more traditional of Japanese palaces, but even Byakuya appreciated the variety. But Ichigo wasn't interested in landscaping or architecture. Besides, that persistent scent agitating his nose was becoming a nuisance.

He rubbed at his nose with the back of his hand with a growl. Why the hell was he waiting around for a job he had not even wanted in the first place? Truth be told standing here made him anxious. The thought that he might cross paths with that female guard his randy other half was silly about had occupied his mind more than once. But he had not even been thinking of that when he had grudgingly agreed to his father's pleas and slammed down the phone… In fact he had been so agitated the rest of the day and into the next that had barely reflected on his encounter in dog-form until he was striding through the palace gates, passing several guards.

The uniforms on the guards had been the same as the woman's, with the exception of the blue cloak about their shoulders. But the uniform fit very differently on the masculine figures of the male guards as opposed to the petite nymph that had his dog spanking the ground with his tail with just the mere slip of a thought of her. The uniform had really been more appealing on her, the shirt slightly loose- but the fabric falling just right to accentuate her chest, the pants clinging to slim thighs and the curve of her hips… And those boots- even though they had no heels- there was something incredibly enticing about the boots enclosing her toned calves…

He slapped his hands down on the window sill and stood straight. It was settled- he had to get the hell out of here. As it was his limit for patiently waiting was now up.

If not for catching sight of flowing hair and graceful figures, Ichigo would have turned from the window and stomped down the corridor.

There were three women approaching from a garden path in front of the window. The two on the outside had to be ladies of court- they were all dressed too immaculately to be anything else-to the knee-length designer skirts and ruffled tops at the height of fashion. The girl in the middle however wore a longer skirt- simple but flattering and a short-sleeved button up blouse. Her hair was a light honey-brown- not quite blonde, and she pinned it back in small flowered clips above her ears. She was smiling. She was beautiful.

Ichigo couldn't help but think back to the fairytales his father used to read to Yuzu- the ones that made Karin roll her eyes, but secretly smile. This girl was the quintessential princess- right out of a fairytale…. Though he didn't remember princesses having such full-

He cleared his throat, hoping it would clear his mind.

Was this the girl he was supposed to tutor? Tall, graceful, lovely face, and a huge-

"Excuse me, Sir. What are you doing here?"

The voice only partially pulled him from his musings, "Huh?" He didn't spare the person- now a few steps to his left- a glance.

"If you do not have permission to be here- I'll have to ask you to leave." Came the firm response. The voice was almost familiar.

But he was still lost in his own musings. If clichés rang true, then it was no wonder the woman needed a tutor- her brain was probably pea-sized compared to her-

The person- likely a guard- cleared their throat.

"Ah- don't worry- I have business here." Ichigo responded simply, watching as the girl paused, giggling with the two girls on either side of her.

Those melons had to be sucking oxygen from her brain- she probably had no idea where she was!

He heard a foot begin to tap impatiently, "Do you have some sort of documentation that can confirm who you are, sir? It's really not okay for you to just loiter in the hall."

Ichigo was starting to get agitated, "Look-I have an appointment with the prince. So you can run along and- guard something." He made a shooing gesture with his hand- his eyes widening slightly as he watched the big-chested girl pirouette and nearly fall over.

She couldn't have very good balance with that ra-

He heard a hiss of angry breath and then the person tried to sound patient, but failed, "I cannot 'run along and guard something'- I'm not simply a guard- I'm one of the Elite. This whole palace is my jurisdiction. Now tell me who you are."

Ichigo sighed and rolled his eyes, "Fine… I'm Ichigo Kurosaki- and I have an appointment with the prince to discuss tutoring the princess. In fact-I'll be around here a lot- so you might as well get used to my face." He ended rather smugly.

Skepticism clear in their voice, the stranger murmured, "You? You are the tutor that's supposed to take Ukitake-Sensei's place?" She- he was paying enough attention now to be sure it was a woman- scoffed, "You look very young to be a tutor for royalty."

He snorted, "Well it's not exactly like I need your approval." He frowned as the princess began to jump up and down in reaction to something one of the girls had said. He muttered in what he thought was a quiet voice, "It's the princess that matters and she doesn't look to have much going on between her ears so I doubt she'll disapprove."

The person next to him gasped as they looked from the window back to him-putting two and two together after hearing his un-gentlemanly comment. He winced realizing he had been a tad too loud and much too honest.

"Look- I probably shouldn't have-," He started- awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck- now too embarrassed to face the female guard. He'd spent entirely too many nights running amok- his mind seemed to be a few biscuits short of a dozen. Damn that dog and his canine metaphors.

"I know for a fact that the princess is not empty-headed as you are implying and that she would indeed disapprove of you!" The woman shot back.

He sighed, "Sorry… I'm overly tired- I didn't mean to take a shot at the princess… But isn't it a bit much to assume you know her mind just because you're a woman too…" He was at it again- speaking without too much thought to caution.

There was silence and then he listened as the woman ground out a familiar name.

"Rukia… Rukia Kuchiki."

"What?" Ichigo frowned, leaning closer to the glass as the auburn-haired woman outside grabbed the two others by the arms and started to happily skip toward the doorway beneath the window.

"Rukia Kuchiki! That's my name you fool!" The voice erupted in fury. Fury that he could now feel in waves of heat coming from the person he abruptly turned to.

Shit.

When he dropped his gaze he found raging indigo eyes glaring into his and his own eyes widened in response.

Oh horror of horrors!

But… But… But…

This was the female guard! And-the princess?

Her scent wrapped around him like a noose. Just now, hanging himself didn't seem like such a bad idea. Especially as his inner demon's eyes popped open.

The woman whose scent and figure and over-all deliciousness he had been chasing for the past few days was standing right in front of him, looking dangerous with her hands on her hips and her eyes glowing with purple flames.

Ichigo's tendency to muck up a situation to the point beyond repair was in full swing as he drew back from her like she'd grown another head.

"You? You're Princess Rukia? But- you're- you're- so manly and short!" The orange-haired young man blurted as he scanned her from head to toe.

The dog hid his eyes behind his paws, crouching on the floor, a groaning growl coming from deep in his throat.

Her eyes widened in shock and outrage. But when she had recovered he recalled that even when he thought her just a guard- her outbursts had a way of catching him off guard, "This coming from a bleach-haired bumpkin! Your crude lack of manners assures me that you are more than unworthy of being my tutor- so I demand that you leave!" She extended her arm and pointed behind her.

The young man blinked. But ever the hothead a reply quickly came to mind, "Damn right I'm leaving! I don't have time to waste on some tomboy who can't stop playing soldier long enough to learn a simple subject!"

Rukia sucked in a breath and then shouted, "Well don't let me stop you from refusing the job you clown-haired freak!"

Ichigo snorted- seeming to have completely forgotten his momentary panic about realizing who he had been glomping in dog form.

"Like you could stop anything!" He scowled at her. He turned on his heel and began to storm away, "I'm going right now to tell your brother he can take that offer and shove it up his…" Midway he had thought better about insulting the prince. The girl behind him did have a sword. He wasn't as fast in human form…

"Elite my ass." He muttered to himself as he turned down another hallway and out of sight.

Rukia could feel her breath coming much too fast, her heart in her ears. She was so worked up she thought she could actually see the room tinged in hues of red.

"Mmm," A feminine purr sounded behind her, followed by warmth that emanated into her back, "Who's the new guy?"

Rukia turned in surprise and found herself face to face with Rangiku Matsumoto's chest. If it weren't such a familiar occurrence she might have yelped. Instead she rolled her eyes and took a step back to see the woman staring over her head with a thoughtful expression. There was a glint in the older woman's eyes Rukia did not like.

She took a deep breath and found calm returning slowly- but surely.

"Rangiku-san, I was just headed to the classroom. Where's Hitsugaya-Sensei?" The Princess said with a frown.

"Hitsugaya-sensei?" The woman repeated, blinking those sunny-blue eyes.

With a sigh the princess lifted a brow, "Yes- your husband?"

"Oh!" She giggled behind her hand, showing off bright red nails. She waved Rukia's words away with a hand, "He's on assignment. Ambassador duties or some such… I'll be filling in for today. That's okay with you, isn't it?" It was hard to ignore such a bright smile; even Rukia found herself slightly enamored by Rangiku's beauty at times.

Forcing herself to blink and look away, a slight rosy color to her cheeks Rukia nodded, "Of- of course."

"Good!" Rangiku stood to her full height and struck a determined pose, "Then your first assignment is to find out who that hottie-with-the-body is!"

Rukia sighed and nearly slapped her hand to her face. With another roll of her eyes she sidestepped the woman and headed down the hall, "I already know who that is. His name is Ichigo Kurosaki and he was sent to take Ukitake-Sensei's place."

Not missing a beat, Rangiku took one long stride and fell into step next to the princess, "Oh? Any relation to Isshin?"

"His son." Rukia responded dryly.

Rangiku giggled, a blush spreading to her cheeks, "He must be quite the charmer then!" Again Rukia rolled her eyes. One because "charmer" was not a word she would associate with that orange-haired bastard. And two because Isshin Kurosaki was a shameless (yet harmless) flirt and Rangiku ate it up, much to her husband's chagrin. But then there was many a man about the palace who couldn't help but try their charm on the bountiful beauty.

Poor Hitsugaya-Sensei. Rukia thought, glancing over at the woman.

Yes, Rangiku was a very sought after woman, despite her marital status. In fact it seemed she was more popular after the marriage than before. But though the woman was sometimes quite naïve about other men's intentions, she only had eyes for the short snow-haired young man, Ambassador and Captain of the Elite. Rukia had to bite her lip to suppress a smile. The two seemed oddly matched, but for some reason they also made complete sense- at least in her mind. They really were cute together.

Another blush lit her cheeks as she recalled observing an intimate moment between the two, Rangiku sitting at Hitsugaya's feet, her head resting against his thigh as he sat at his desk going over paperwork. He had run his hand through her hair for a moment and she had lifted her head to look up at him; they had shared a smile (a rare expression for Hitsugaya-sensei) for a time before he turned back to his work. Rukia remembered a dull ache she couldn't define spreading in her chest for a moment as she had left the two to their unusual moment of peace.

Rukia cleared her throat, banishing her thoughts and memories, "In any case it doesn't matter; he's on his way to give his resignation as we speak."

"What? So soon?" Rangiku cried and then immediately began to pout, "What a shame! So handsome!"

The princess gave a very un-princess-like snort.

The older woman frowned, looking over at her companion curiously, "What? You don't think so, Princess?"

"I did not really take note." The girl lied.

Rangiku's womanly instinct tingled at this and she smiled slowly, "No? Well, let me describe him to you then! Tall, five-eleven, perhaps? Broad shoulders, slim waist, from what I can tell by the muscles of his back- nicely defined- in shape. Ouu- and he's a red-head. You know what they say about red-heads don't you?" She lifted a brow in Rukia's direction.

"No I don't, and I don't care to." Rukia lifted her nose into the air, trying her best to ignore the suggestive look the woman was giving her.

Rangiku continued as though the girl hadn't spoken, "They say flame-colored hair means a person is a devil between the sheets! Can you imagine-"

"Rangiku-san!" Rukia cried, trying and failing not to blush and tripping in the process.

"Easy, Rukia-Hime-San," Rangiku tut-tutted, steadying her with a hand on her arm, "It's quite alright to be attracted to such a fine specimen… Why if I weren't married-,"

So now you remember you're married? "Rangiku-san, I assure you- you've mistaken me. I'm not attracted to that-that- strawberry-headed lout. In fact, I'm glad that I'll be rid of him soon." Her last words were spoken between her teeth, her eyes narrowed.

Rangiku pouted, "But you haven't given him a chance!"

"A chance for what, Rangiku-san?" Rukia sighed as she opened the door to one of the rooms and allowed the older woman to go ahead of her.

"For him to get to know you! To see how special you are and appreciate you for all you have to offer!" Rangiku tossed her hair behind her shoulders as she dropped into a desk chair.

Rukia sighed. She wasn't about to argue. It was never any use with the other woman in any case. The princess pouted as she paced to the window and gazed out- resting her chin in her palm. She sighed, stooping slightly to lean forward on her elbow.

I'm one of the Elite… There are no chances for me and anyone to get to know each other… That dog doesn't count…

AN: Yes, Rangiku kept her maiden name! It would just be weird to hear Toshirou call out "HITSUGAYA!"