A/N:

Hehehe... It's been a while, hasn't it?

Anyway, don't own anything as usual.

Acai's POV:

"Rukia, you can't be serious?" I exclaim, incredulity lacing my tone. "If you go back to the Soul Society, you'll be killed!" I know that her reason for giving Ichigo her powers was just and all, but they won't give jack about her reasoning for doing it. Members of Central 46 will only look at the crime and not the reasoning behind it. That's what makes me so mad about Rukia's decision. She knows the consequences of going back to the Soul Society, and yet she's still going there.

"Even if I do stay here Acai, they'll come to the World of the Living, and force me to go with them. I'll be killed for my actions either way. I'm just making it easier for them." She replied monotonously, her violet blue eyes devoid of emotion.

"Do you hear yourself Rukia?" I ask rhetorically. My voice was quivering in anger and I felt a stinging sensation in my eyes, but I tried to hold the tears back. I was a captain—I wasn't supposed to show this kind of emotion. "You shouldn't—can't—do this! On what basis are you making this ludicrous decision on?!"

"I was only supposed to stay here for a month, Acai." Rukia voice was still in a monotone, and it was scaring me to death. I knew Rukia's always serious when it comes to her duties as a soul reaper, but isn't this a bit overkill? Of course, looking at her situation, it's a lose-lose kind of thing. Knowing that Research and Development must've caught wind on the whole hollow attack yesterday—mainly about the Gillian that appeared as the show stopper in the whole thing—they might've also found huge amounts of spirit energy leaking out of Ichigo after he passed out from exhaustion after killing the Gillian, it's safe to assume that the Research and Development must've reported it to Central 46 upon finding out about Ichigo's existence as a soul reaper. Before the hollow attack, I'm pretty sure that they never knew that Ichigo existed at all; and they probably looked back at the data that they have—from constantly stalking Konoha and Karakura, no doubt—and found out about it.

Knowing all this, the Soul Society will send the police after Rukia's tail to capture or kill her on the spot.

But, if she goes back to the Soul Society willingly, she'll be arrested, locked up in a cell, and she'll be executed in front of the entire population of the Serietei.

Yeah, it's a complete lose-lose situation.

"So?" I retort. It wasn't the smartest I could bite back with, but it was the only thing that I could say. After all, what would you say to an aunt who's going on a suicide mission of her own will? And not to mention that the odds of her living in this entire thing is an absolute zero if you look at it-statistically or not. "Look, Rukia, it's a bad idea! Are you really willing to let yourself get executed for something that wasn't in your favor? Just stay here and let the storm pass over. It'll be fine."

"No, it will not be fine, Acai!" Rukia yelled; her eyes filled with annoyance and anger. "If I stay here any longer I'll be killed on the spot! I have made my decision and that is final!" Her eyes softened; all the annoyance and anger slowly vanishing from her eyes. "Just let me go and let me pay the consequences for my actions."

My eyes widened in shock. Rukia has never yelled at me before—truthfully, I have never been yelled at before. It was just something that was never done. Great-Grandfather, Father, my brothers—they've never yelled at me. This was a new experience for me, and I didn't like it. I don't like it one bit. I slid back a few steps, still shocked. To say I was pissed would be the understatement of the century at the moment.

A guilt-stricken look fell over Rukia's face as soon as she saw my lip tremble. "Acai, I—"

Before I could hear her out, I quickly grabbed my bag, and exited the roof through the door, leaving Rukia to just sit there.

Normal POV:

Sasuke sighed as he walked through the halls of Konoha High. Finally, it was the end of detention for him. No more sitting in those chairs for an hour longer than everyone else, and back to just relaxing and doing homework, and he wouldn't have to bother Itachi anymore to pick him up while he was in the middle of work. Life would go back to normal.

No more getting annoyed the hell out of him by Acai. No need to hear her lame excuses and dodging his questions. No more of that bullshit for him.

Still, it irked the hell out of him that she wouldn't tell him who she actually was. He saw her wearing those black robes under that white hoari; he saw her (he still couldn't find a proper word to describe what happened)—melting?—into her body; and, last but not least, he saw her attack that monster with a katana (of all the weapons, why a katana?) in those robes. If he saw her doing all those things, then why did she constantly deny it?

Sasuke was too busy in his thoughts to notice the footfalls of someone running reverberating behind him. It wasn't until that said person bumped right into him, causing him to pushed aside and bump into a wall. Anger, irritation, and annoyance started to bubble inside, and he glared at the person who bumped into him. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" he snapped. His glare intensified thrice fold as he found that the person who bumped into him was none other than Acai. "Acai?" he scoffed. "Why I am not surprised." Acai stopped in her tracks. "The only other person who would bump into me would be that dumbass Naruto and he left as soon as the bell rang."

Acai faced Sasuke and gave him a deathly glower. Sasuke was surprised, he should've been used to it by now, but this was on a whole other level. Acai grabbed him by the collar. In a low voice, he heard: "I don't have enough time for your absolute bullshit right now, Sasuke. I'm pissed off as it is today—do not make me any more mad."

Sasuke inwardly scoffed and murmured, "And I'm the one PMS-ing."

She glared at him again, and Sasuke felt an odd, powerful, energy coming off her in waves. Weird. She kneed him in gut, which would've made him double if not for the fact that she was tight grip on his collar. Talk about déjà-vu. "I'm serious Sasuke! Along with you being a fucking bitch about everything I do, my aunt wants to get herself killed, and she fucking yelled at me for telling her not to!" her voice started to crack. "Just please..." Acai bowed her head so that her forehead was against his chest. "Stop," he could tell that she was trying to stop her voice from croaking and breaking down in front of him.

Sasuke tried not to squirm. Damn, her life's like a TV drama. He thought as he looked at the top of Acai's head. It was obviously uncomfortable for him. Acai wasn't crying on his chest (thank God for that, he added as an afterthought), and he was being held by her up against a wall. He didn't know how comfort the girl. Sure, she was a constant pain in the ass, but at least he had the heart to comfort her—he just didn't know how to, is all. He just went for the simple pat on the head.

It was awkward, but at least she was slowly calming down and the weird energy that was coming off her was starting to fade.

"Acai," a cold, steely voice called from one end of the hallway. Sasuke turned his head to man standing on the end of the hallway who was wearing a crisp black suit, the same color of his black shoulder-length hair. His grey eyes were cold and calculating, yet emotionless. The man just radiated power. How does Acai know him?

Acai removed her head from Sasuke's chest, straightened her back, and without looking at him she greeted, "Father."

Sasuke stared at the scene, baffled. That impassive man was Acai's dad?

"What do you need, Father." She demanded. "I know you well enough that you wouldn't come to Konoha without a reason."

Acai's father narrowed his eyes. "Where's Rukia?"

Acai turned to face her father. "I figured that was the reason. I haven't seen her at all the past month."

"You're lying, daughter," he said. "If you were a good Captain, you would tell me where Rukia is. The Academy and I taught you better than that." The Academy? Captain?

Acai's look of mirrored impassiveness remained in her eyes. She turned her head away, saying nothing to her father. Sasuke had to admit though, albeit ruefully, that she was able to have a good poker face that was probably better than his own.

Acai's father stared at her, demanding an answer. It seemed like hours, but was actually minutes until her father slowly turned around. "You are an absolute disgrace to the Kuchiki name. I will see you when you are done with your silly games and be the honorable soul reaper you are to be." And he walked away. While he was walking away, he released that weird energy that Acai released, except his was strong enough to make Sasuke's knees buckle, if not for the fact that Acai continued holding him as she was still standing. How was she still standing after that?

Acai's POV:

I waited five minutes until I felt father's spirit energy leave the school grounds entirely. That was when I finally let go of Sasuke and slumped to the floor, trying to calm myself. I didn't want to cry in front of anyone—I considered it as a sign of weakness; it was where you were most vulnerable. He called me a disgrace to the clan. I should be used to it, though. He always called me that when I was having trouble under his kido training and when I wasn't up to his standards. Or whenever I couldn't beat him when we sparred together (I still couldn't beat him; I haven't woken up my shikai yet which was the reason why).

You'd think after hearing it numerous times before one would get used to it by now.

My soul pager rang. I looked at the caller ID and wasn't surprised that it was Namihiko. I cleared my throat before answering. "Hello?"

"Acai, are you alright?" Namihiko immediately asked me through the line. "I felt Father's spiritual pressure all the way from here! Even Ayame felt it and she started crying."

"I'm fine, Brother." I assure him. "Nothing bad happened, honestly." I was lying to my brother through my teeth, and I felt absolutely guilty about it. I always confided in him whenever I had trouble—except with the whole 'womanhood' thing, but you get what I mean—he instantly knows that something's bothering me just by the tone of my voice. We were that close.

"Out with it, Acai; I know something's bothering you." See? I told you. "You have to tell me whether you want to or not."

"Now?" I asked,

"Yes, now."

I press my lips into a thin line and scratch my temple. "Can we talk about it when I come home—?"

"Hey!" I was interrupted by one of the faculty members—Ebisu, I think it was—who was a couple of yards behind Sasuke and me. "You're not supposed to be here after school hours! Who do you think you are, huh? The mayors of the town?!"

"Acai, what was that?" Namihiko asked.

"Uhh, nothing, Namihiko!" I was jolted up suddenly by none other than Sasuke Uchiha. I didn't even realize he was still there. "Gotta go, bye!" I quickly hang up the phone and I matched pace with him. After all, we were probably going to get another detention if we get caught, and we were certainly not going to spend another day together after school.

As soon as we exited the gates, we continued running all the way to the end of the block. I leaned on the stone wall of someone's house, trying to catch my breath. "Thanks," I tell Sasuke. He was in the middle of the street, his hands on his knees, also trying to catch his breath.

"For what exactly?" he gasped in-between pants.

I honestly didn't know what I thanked him for. Most of what happened before Father came to ask where Rukia was utterly, completely blank. What happened there, anyway? I shrug. "Just getting me out of there, I guess." I straightened my posture as I thought about it.

He looked at me for a couple of seconds before going into the other direction and walking away, leaving me standing there, still wondering what I needed to thank him for sincerely.

When I came home, Namihiko enveloped me in a giant bear hug. "Acai, are you all right? Did Father do anything to you?"

I patted his back reassuringly in response. "I'm fine, Brother. Father didn't do—or say—anything to me."

He let go of me and gave me a knowing look as I took off my shoes. He already knows that Father said something—rather harshly, I might add—to me. I didn't care if he knew about that; I just didn't want him to find out that I felt like crying about it. I've cried one too many times over it with Namihiko or Tobi comforting me about it. I shouldn't bother him with my childish, meaningless tears anymore.

"What did he say this time?"

I brushed past him as I made a beeline to the fridge. I grabbed a brownie topped with whipped vanilla icing from the fridge and tell him: "Oh, you know; the usual."

"Acai, you know he doesn't mean that." He told me, gently.

"Oh, I think he meant it, Brother. He even subtly told me that I dishonor the Thirteen Court Guard Squads." I quickly blink to remove the prickly feeling in my eyes as I cleared my throat. "I'm gonna go do homework now, alright?" I didn't even give my older brother time to respond as I immediately went upstairs to mine and Ayame's room.

Lying down on the bed with my legs hanging off the side, I look towards my little niece. Though, I couldn't look at her clearly because the side of the crib raised and the fact that she was sleeping, I kept recalling the events that happened after I left Sasuke there at detention. From Rukia's plan all the way to the Sasuke pulling me out of school grounds. It made me wonder: what happened before Father came there? The only thing that I could recall about that time was that Sasuke was there with me—nothing else.

I heard Ayame cough a little before she started to cry. I stood up from my spot on the bed and briefly comforted her before going back to the bed. I sat Indian-style on the bed and began to hug my pillow. "What a shitty day, huh?" I ask it rhetorically. Even though the pillow was clearly an inanimate object, I still needed someone to kind of confide in. I look towards the ceiling in thought. "First, I get dragged away into the woods by a boy I absolutely hate—it's a sort of a long story; actually not really if you think about it—to have him question me about me being here in the first place. Then, you add the fangirls that are raging about the whole damn thing, and—bam!—I'm the most-hated girl in the entire school all because I have detention with the guy and sit next to him! It's ludicrous, I tell ya." I look towards my baby niece lying in her crib. "Ayame, when you go to high school and there's a boy in your class that has a fan club, stay away from him!" I told her.

"And while I'm in detention with the bastard—sorry for the language, but then again, you probably have no clue what I'm saying in the first place—he just up and tells me that I'm a bitch for not telling why I'm here! I have my reasons for not telling him. Can you imagine me telling said guy that I'm a soul reaper and him acting all nonchalant about it as if I said that 'the sky is blue?'?" I look at my pillow for an answer. I'm pretty sure that if my pillow was a person, it would look at me as if I was batshit insane.

I heard a faint chuckle coming from Ayame. Didn't I put her to sleep? I asked myself. A faint blush formed on my cheeks out of sheer embarrassment. I let go of my pillow and get out of my bed. I looked down at my niece, her brown eyes twinkling out of amusement with her fist in her mouth in her crib. "Hey!" I exclaim. "Even though you're a teeny-tiny baby, you shouldn't laugh at your aunt who helps your mother take care of you! Stop laughing!"

I lean on her crib. I have no idea why, but I was calming down when I was staring at Ayame smiling at me. Anyway, I continued my annual venting of the day. I was in an especially bad mood today. "'Cause of this grade-A d-bag, I ended up marching off up to the roof—it has a really pretty view of the towns, just so you know—Rukia, your grandaunt just pops in unexpectedly and tells me that she's willing to get herself killed all because she was protecting a mortal family. But in the Soul Society, if you give a mortal Soul Reaper powers, like her, under any circumstances, you're executed for treason. I don't know why they make this decision without a proper trial, but we just accept Central 46's orders regardless of it being just or not.

"I was telling her to not do it, but her mind was made up. She would go back to the Soul Society and get executed for treason. When I tried stopping her, she...she yelled at me. Looking back at it, it was unnecessary for me run away, but I was never yelled at before. I never knew what it felt like to be reprimanded or scolded at, but now that I know the feeling, I don't like it. No one yelled at me because I was Byakuya Kuchiki's only daughter. People must've thought that I was a spoiled brat, and that I would tell Father if someone yelled at me or not, but they were wrong. They constantly kissed the Kuchiki family's ass while I was attending the Academy.

"I felt like that Father always had a grudge towards me. From what Great-Grandfather had said to me when I was old enough to understand, was that Mother died while birthing me. I just don't see how someone—my own father—would hold a grudge like that after all these years. It's stupid if you ask me. Thanks to that, all Father ever did for me was train me into the soul reaper I am. Though—" I yawn and look down to see Ayame fast asleep, not bothering me or crying. Her tiny hand was clutching her little light green blankie. I don't know why, but I smiled at the sight. The moment was sweet, feels kinda cheesy, but sweet nonetheless. I didn't really have the heart to my rant after that, so I just ended up lying down on my bed, holding onto my pillow as if it was a teddy bear.

And it wasn't long until I fell asleep too.

A/N:

*quietly comes out from under the bed where I was hiding* Ummmm, yeeaaahhhh, here you go guys. Chapter ten of ACiK. Don't kill me for updating this late.