AN: Does anyone recognize Juro and Taishoku? No biggie if you don't. I created them in another story of mine and added Juro's brother, Taro for this one. Virtual cookies to those who remembered.

Thank you!: Duskblood, Star Princess, Shadow Pain, GoranR, ponypainter, Snow Crystals, dethangelx, aririn, NinjaBunnyOverlord, Denidene, janeway74656kat, KZShiro and everyone else reading! Your comments are awesome and I thank you!

Chapter 10

Toshiro carefully wrapped Rukia in his haori and carried her all the way back to the 4th division where they were waiting for their arrival thanks to Momo.

"Put her in here, Hitsugaya-taicho," Unohana said motioning to the first exam room. Isane was already there waiting by the side of the bed. Toshiro carefully laid her broken unconscious body down on the table, concern evident in his eyes. Unohana touched his shoulder, "I need you to wait outside with the others, Taicho."

Reluctantly, he left. Isane removed Toshiro's haori and gasped.

"There wasn't anything more we could have done," Matsumoto said, trying to calm her former Taicho down. Her and Momo were seated outside of the exam room while Toshiro continued to pace before them.

Toshiro said nothing and didn't slow his pacing any.

"You didn't know they were going to disappear like that. I never would have guessed." She continued.

"Ngh."

"Wasn't finding Rukia-san your priority anyway?" Momo asked.

"They got away!" He said harshly, balling his hands into fists, "I shouldn't have let them get away. I should have killed them on sight for what they did to her."

"She'll be fine, Shiro-chan. It's not like they –"Momo was cut short by a jab to her rib my Matsumoto who frowned at her.

"Momo, come help me check in with my Division." She said standing up and pulling the smaller girl with her. "Hitsugaya-taicho, we'll be back later."

"Rangiku-san…I want to stay with Shiro-chan…" she protested as she was taken out of the building. Toshiro never looked up, he was still brooding about his mistake.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Momo?" Rangiku asked once they were outside. Instead of walking, they just stood at the entrance to the building.

"What?"

"What were you going to say? It's not like they…what?"

"It's not like they raped or killed her, she was found alive, mission accomplished."

"You can't be serious, Momo…" Rangiku said, shocked.

"What? She got beat up a bit, big deal. It's no worse then what we all went though during the war. Shiro-chan is acting like it's the end of the world. Even when you were still his fukutaicho and got hurt, he never acted like this."

"What do you have against Rukia-san?"

"I don't have anything against her. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bullshit, Momo."

"You know, ok. Maybe I am a little upset that he chose her over me to be his new fukutaicho. I'm just as good, if not better than her. I was a damn good fukutaicho to Aizen-sama while she wasn't even seated! She goes out and causes all kinds of trouble…Even becomes the cause of the winter war and yet…yet he chooses her." Tears start to form in her eyes. "It hurts so much! I thought he loved me."

Matsumoto's eyes grew big, "He does love you. He loves you but not in the way you want."

"He did…once."

"Yes. Yes he did."

"But my duties to Aizen-sama…"

"Meant more to you then he did. He was hurt for a long time. He tried everything to get you away from him, but you didn't listen."

"Aizen-sama said…" her voice hitched, "Aizen-sama said…"

"Momo, you're still clinging to Aizen like he's done nothing wrong."

"He has, but it wasn't his fault. If Kuchiki-san didn't transfer her powers to that human, none of this would have happened!"

"You can't be serious!" Rangiku held her hand to her chest, dumbfounded. She had thought her friend was over this and understood everything that happened.

"She couldn't even face her punishment without turning this city into a three ring circus! Even Gin would be alive if it wasn't for that bitch." Rangiku leaned in and slapped her across her cheek.

"Don't you ever say that!" she yelled, her voice mixed with anger and sadness. "Gin…Gin made his own choices. Rukia-san had nothing to do with any of this."

"Fine! You want me to say it? I hate her, Rangiku-san. I do. I can't stand that she's where I'm supposed to be. He looks at her like he used to look at me; like he should be looking at me. Now, he barely acknowledges me when she's around. If we didn't find her, maybe I would have had enough time…" Momo didn't finish. Her face went from wistful to blank. Rangiku didn't miss a beat though.

"Momo, do you know anything about the kidnappers?" Again, there was a change of expressions as Momo went on the immediate defensive.

"No, and I can't believe you would even think so!" Momo looked away and sighed. "Look, I would love to accompany you back to your division, but I need to check in with my own and then get back to Shiro-chan in case he needs something. I'm not going to give up. He might have moved on, but I haven't. I was never given a chance to show him how much I could love him back and I want that chance now. If you'll excuse me, I'll see you later."

Rangiku looked at her as she walked away. She had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. There was definitely more going on with her then she had originally thought. She would have to talk to Toshiro about this later when he was in a better mood.

"Hitsugaya-taicho," Unohana called in her soft voice. Toshiro immediately stopped pacing and met her eyes. "You can come see her, she is awake. You did a remarkable job in healing her; you are to be commended for your kido skills."

"How…how is she? Did they…" He cleared his throat; damn he couldn't even say it, "Did they…" His voice was raspy and unsteady. Sensing his difficulty, Unohana put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"She was awake during the examination and healing. She was drugged most of the time, they didn't bother with food and gave her just enough water, so she is weak, but she will recover. All of her wounds are fresh and recent and no, they did not touch her in that way. You were in time to prevent that.

Since you are her Taicho, if you're willing, I can release her to you in the morning, but she needs as much rest as she can get right now."

"Yes, thank you, Unohana-Taicho," he said with a bow and a small sigh of relief. He faced the door went in. She was sitting up on the same table where he left her. She was cleaned up and now wearing a simple white kimono, his haori was folded neatly and sitting on the chair near her bed.

He was met with her violet eyes.

"Rukia…"

"Thank you, Taicho. For coming when you did…I…" She closed her eyes and turned away, against the memory. Toshiro went to her side and gently took her hand. He cringed as he saw, up close, the bruises on her face, neck and arms.

"I'm sorry," he bent his head down so it was touching the bed. "They got away." Rukia shivered and drew a deep breath before turning and facing her savior. "I let you down."

"No, no you didn't." She started to protest.

"I promise you, Rukia, I will find them and they will pay for what they did to you. I won't let them or anyone ever hurt you again!" He lifted his head and locked onto her eyes. His teal eyes were on fire, his voice filled with promise, determination and a little desperation.

"Toshiro," she whispered. His emotions flew out of control. A small part of him never thought he would hear his name from her mouth again. The desperation he felt was overwhelming. He carefully took her in his arms and buried his face in the crook of her neck. At first her body went rigid as he mentally slapped himself as he realized what he was doing, but then she relaxed and put her small arms around him and pulled him closer. "If you hadn't of come when you did…" she whispered.

"I know, shhh, I know." He said breathing against her neck. He shifted so he could hold her closer. She closed her eyes and laid her head on his shoulders.

"You PATHETIC little FUCK! I can't believe you! What the fuck were you thinking? What the fuck were you doing? Now what the fuck are we supposed to do?" Taro was pissed. He came back to the hideout only to find disarray, blood and their prized possession gone.

"I did what I had to. I told you, we were found. That Taishoku fuck let out too much information and then led the bastard Taichos right here! What the fuck was I supposed to do, get caught? Then we would be out of business for sure. At least this way, we can go back and get the bitch and start over. They don't know who we are. They didn't see me long enough to identify me; the only one they can be sure of is that fat useless piece of shit."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know. It's not my day to keep up with his fat ass."

Taro walked up to Juro and punched him. His fist landed with a sickening crack as he broke his brother's nose.

"Ahh! SHIT! What was that for?" he yelled as his hand flew to his nose. Blood slowly poured out from between his fingers.

"You know what that was for. You were not to touch her! I told you, once we had confirmation, I would have given you some time with her, but NOT NOW!" he ground out. Each word was punctuated with a kick to his brother. "Do you have ANY idea how hard it's going to be to get her back? Now that you fucked with her, she's going to be on full alert and I wouldn't be surprised if the Kuchiki clan posts some guards. This isn't like before when they didn't care. Now those fuckers want her to lead their fucked up clan. This is so FUCKED!" He bellowed as he kicked his brother again.

"We'll get her back, Taro. We'll use that Momo bitch, like before. She can draw her out or something."

Taro stopped his assault. He looked at his bloodied brother and shook his head. "Fine, you're in charge of getting her back. If you pull something like this again before I say you can, I will kill you."

"What does the boss want us to do with her?"

"For now, just keep her out of the picture. They don't want her around for a while."

"They don't want her dead?"

"Apparently not as they're paying double to keep her alive."

"Double?" Juro's jaw dropped.

"Now you see why I'm so pissed!"

"Yeah, sorry. There's just something about her. I go crazy when I'm near her and can't touch her. She's so beautiful covered in blood…"

Taro sighed. "Here," he tossed his brother a small pouch containing some coins, "Go to the 80th and get yourself some relief with one of those whores."

"Can I fuck her up?"

"Payment's to the brothel, not the bitch." His brother smiled. "Fix your nose first, you look like a mess."

Toshiro detangled himself from a sleeping Rukia and stood up from his awkward position. As he stretched his back, there was a soft knock on the door. He pulled the covers over Rukia so she wouldn't get cold and looked at the door.

"Come."

"Hitsugaya-taicho, I thought you might be hungry…" Isane said as she brought in a tray of food and some tea. "I brought a little extra in case our patient wakes up. Are you going to be here for a while?"

"Yeah," he said as he removed his haori from the chair and sat down. "It's not a problem if I stay here, is it?"

Isane checked Rukia's vitals and looked at him, "As long as she gets her rest. She'll be released into your care in the morning anyway." She said with a smile.

Toshiro moved his haori and sat in the chair. After erecting a barrier to the room, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was the first time in a while he had time to just think. He turned and looked at Rukia's sleeping form. She had been through so much already. He was damned if he was going to let something else happen to her. He wanted to see her smile, he wanted to hear her laugh, he wanted to be the one she smiled and laughed with.

The image of that naked man hovering over her flashed in his mind. His eyes narrowed. He hurt her. He broke her arms and crushed her wrist. He cut and stabbed her. He hit her. He kept her drugged and weakened her. He was going to pay with his life, Toshiro silently swore. That man and anyone who helped him would all pay with their lives.

"I've had my eye on you for a long time, Princess. A long time."

He dropped down and placed a knee on each side of her back as he sat down on her butt. He grabbed both of her wrists and tied them together behind her using the tether from her reiatsu collar. He grinned as she tried to stifle her scream.

"H-how long?"

"How long? Long enough to know you were going to come back and live among us…less fortunate folk. We've been following you for a while, learning your habits, your moves." He bent down and licked her shoulder, dragging his tongue to the base of her neck. He grinned again as he felt her shiver underneath him.

"Those nights before the fire, I would come into your room and watch you sleep."

"Did you miss me, Rukia-chan?"

"NO!" Rukia screamed as she sat straight up in bed, breaking Toshiro from his thoughts.

"You're freezing," he said. "Let me see if I can get you another blanket." He said as he stood up and headed for the door.

"NO!" Rukia shocked herself with the severity of her own voice. "Don't…don't leave me. I'll be ok. I just…I just…" Rukia stopped as she didn't know how to continue. She looked at him. How she hated being weak in front of him although it seems to have become a habit. She wasn't sure what it was about him, but she believed his reassurances. She knew he was the type who would go through hell to keep a promise. She knew she could be her raw self in front of him and he wouldn't judge her but stand with her. In him she saw a lot of the things she missed about the people she had lost. "I don't…want to be alone right now." She managed as she kept her tears in check.

Toshiro turned and looked at her.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I know I'm being stupid, it was just a dream, but it wasn't…He said…he said he's been watching me for a long time. He's been in my room and watched me when I was asleep. He was following me before the fire. He knew…he knew I was going to give everything up and go back to the districts. He knew what happened to me in the war, what happened to the people I loved. He knew!" Rukia started to shake uncontrollably.

Toshiro went to her side and wrapped his arms protectively around her. She clung to the shirt he was wearing and buried her face in his chest. "I couldn't stop him, Toshiro. I tried and I..." She silently cursed herself as the tears started to fall. She pulled him closer to her, wanting to bury herself and hide. In his arms she felt safe. She backed away and slid to the other side of the bed and looked at him. As their eyes locked, Toshiro got in and lay next to her, holding her.

"I won't let them near you again. I promise, Rukia."

A short while later they were both asleep. Neither heard the soft knock at the door. Momo's fake smile dropped as she realized there was a barrier preventing her from entering. Knowing it was one of Toshiro's she frowned further. Backing away, she left the 4th.

"Ahhh, I knew that if I kept looking I would eventually find you, my dear." Taishoku said as he stepped out of the shadows.

"What do you want?" Momo spat.

"I want you to help me save face and get her back."

"Why should I help you anymore? It was because of you they found her to begin with. You ruined everything! He's in there now with her and he's not going to let her go. Not anytime soon."

"That's why I need your help. If I can get her back, Juro and Taro will forgive me."

"Didn't you hear me? Toshiro won't leave her side now."

"I have a plan." He said as he held up a small vial of liquid, "This will help both of us get what we want."

A/N: A small vial of liquid, eh? Things that make you go hmmmmmm….