Hey, guess what ... okay fine, have it your way, don't guess. Well the next chapter is finally here! (After an eternity) I had some writer's block on this one, since I've never really been on a double date before. (I have been on a date; just not a double one). So, for those who have been on a double date, if this doesn't do the experience justice, keep it to yourself… just kidding! But please, no flaming or unnecessary comments.

"Lady Kuchiki! You have received a message from the king," the messenger announced.

"A letter from Ichi- I mean the king?"

"Yes, my lady." The servant handed the paper to Rukia.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure." The servant exited the room, leaving Rukia alone. Rukia opened the letter, and the contents surprised her greatly.

Dear Lady Kuchiki,

Hey midget, it's me Ichigo, obviously. So my friend and bodyguard, Chad, met a girl in the town the other day, and I thought it might be fun to have a double date with them, How about it? If you want to, then come by the castle at 6:30 tonight. I hope to see you there.

Ichigo

XXX

Knock knock! Tatsuki's head looked up as she heard someone tapping on her front door. Tatsuki lazily rose from her seat on her couch, and went to the door.

"Hello?" Tatsuki answered the knocking, frowning.

"G-good evening ma'am. I'm here to deliver the letter to miss Tatsuki Arisawa?" the delivery boy inquired.

"That's me."

"Good. Here you are. Goodbye!" The delivery boy ran off, so this woman wouldn't kill him. He'd delivered to this house before.

"What's his problem?" Tatsuki looked at the letter. It had the Royal Seal on it! I don't really care for anything that Ichigo guy has to say, but I might as well open the dang letter.

Dear Miss Arisawa,

I am writing this letter to you in order to invite you to spend the evening with Ichigo, his date, and me. Yes, this would be considered a double date, but I would truly enjoy your company. If you think you might enjoy sharing this endeavor with me, then I request that you arrive at the front door of the castle at 6:30 tonight. This will be a semi-formal event, so come dressed nicely enough to go out to dinner, but also casually to walk comfortably. It really doesn't matter to me what you wear, you would look great in anything, but this dress code is to uphold the public respect for the king.

Sincerely,

Chad Yasutora

XXX

Ichigo and Chad stood in Ichigo's room, vaguely planning what to do during the double date.

"So where do you want to eat, Chad?" Ichigo asked.

"Somewhere fancy enough for Rukia, but casual enough for Tatsuki," Chad responded.

"That's just about anywhere in Karakura."

"Name some restaurants you think we could go to."

"Uhh… Baker's Square, Benihana, Carino's, Hackney's, and Village Inn."

"Benihana went out of business last week."

"Oh well."

"Village Inn is always crowded, and Carino's is under construction."

"Then Hackney's or Baker's Square."

"I'd say Baker's Square, because some sort of fight always breaks out in Hackney's when you go there."

"Hey! That's not fair! It's not my fault drunk guys see my orange hair and don't like it." Chad chuckled a little; it was true. Drunken guys didn't like Ichigo's hair. But at least they had a place to eat now.

XXX

Rukia smiled to herself as she rode the Kuchiki carriage up to the castle. She was looking forward to her date with Ichigo, a double date at that. She had never met Chad before, but Ichigo trusted him, and that was enough for her. Furthermore, Rukia was excited to meet Chad's date. What kind of girl would the royal bodyguard bring on a double date with the king? Rukia began to giggle to herself.

"Excited, Lady Kuchiki?" Renji asked from the front of the carriage.

"Yes, Renji. I believe I am," Rukia replied, happy Renji couldn't see her blushing from inside the carriage.

"That's good… Maybe this time I won't get into a fight with the king."

"You mean get beat up by the king," Rukia began to laugh hysterically at the memory.

"Haha, very funny, Lady Kuchiki," Renji retorted sarcastically.

The carriage stopped in front of the pathway, correctly this time. When he got up to open the door for Rukia, however, there was another woman in the way, a woman with short hair, sporting a mean expression.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but you're in the way of the door. Would you please move?" Renji asked, politely.

"In the way, huh?" the woman replied. She then delivered a swift punch to the gut to Renji, who fell onto his knees. "How's that for in the way?"

Rukia, who saw nothing but the punch, went outside to see what was going on.

"Well Renji, you didn't get beat up by the king this time," Rukia joked.

"Shut up," Renji shot back, glaring at Rukia.

"You with this guy?" asked the girl, gesturing to Renji with her thumb.

"Yes, I am Lady Kuchiki," Rukia curtsied.

"Oh, you must be Ichigo's date," the girl replied, instantly happier.

"Yes. I suppose you are Chad's date?"

"That's right. Shall we go then?"

"We shall." Rukia didn't know this girl yet, but she looked like fun.

"We'll be back… whenever Renji. In fact, just go home. Ichigo will bring me back."

"Yes ma'am."

XXX

"Looks like their coming now, Chad," Ichigo reported, as he glanced out the window.

"All right."

"Don't sound too excited, whatever you do," Ichigo said, stressing fake urgency. Chad rolled his eyes under his hair.

A knock could be heard on the door just then, so the two men went to answer the call. Ichigo opened the castle door, and grinned as he saw Rukia smiling at him. She wore a yellow sundress with a purple sweater. She looked relaxed which made him happy. Then he cautiously looked over to Tatsuki. She wore a simple blue, button up shirt along with a darker blue skirt. Ichigo forced a smile in her direction, and then turned back to Rukia. Rukia quickly swung her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. Ichigo returned the hug warmly, and then they broke apart. Tatsuki walked over to Chad and gave him a playful punch to the gut that only Chad could have taken without reacting. Then Rukia began to speak.

"So, are we ready to go, Ichigo?" Rukia inquired.

"We're ready to go whenever you want to," Ichigo replied.

"Then let's go already," Tatsuki butted in.

XXX

A few minutes later, they had all walked down to Baker's Inn. Despite its name, there was no inn to be found in the establishment. That part was added in to add a welcoming effect. No one really thought about the inn, however, because they were too busy focusing on how good the bakery was. Tatsuki, Ichigo, and Chad had all been there before, so they were accustomed to the fine quality of the food. Rukia, on the other hand, had never been there before due to her brother's higher standards of fine dining. Rukia was going crazy looking through the glass at all the pastries, sweets, and other delicacies. Finally, when everyone had ordered, Rukia calmed down. Tatsuki ordered some strawberry strudel; Chad indulged in some cinnamon toast with the inn's special butter; Ichigo ordered a plate of blueberry muffins; Rukia ordered all of the above plus a chocolate covered croissant. Everyone watched her devour the sweets in awe, wondering how such a small noble could pack in so much food. When the meal was over, they received the bill, which Chad and Ichigo would be splitting. Chad almost fainted at the amount, mostly due to Rukia's meal. Ichigo slapped him on the back of the shoulder, telling him not to worry. He was the king after all. When money was no longer an issue, the four of them stood outside Baker's Inn, wondering what to do next. They decided to walk through the streets, while thinking of where to go. Unfortunately, they were interrupted as a scream ran out from a nearby alleyway. They all ran to the opening, and saw a gang of guys, who looked oddly familiar to Ichigo and Chad, assaulting an innocent young woman. Ichigo smirked at Chad.

"Just like old time?" the king asked.

"Mm," Chad nodded in response.

With that, the two men ran towards the gang. The gang heard them, and turned around. They saw Chad's size, and Ichigo's bright orange hair, and then began to panic. "Not again!" they all yelled in unison, but it was too late. Ichigo took out the first three with a swift roundhouse kick to all of their faces. Chad took out the other three with a punch, jab, and head butt combo. It was over just like that. As Ichigo was assisting the young woman to her feet, Chad spoke again.

"Ichigo," the giant called.

"Yeah, Chad?"

"Aren't there usually seven guys in this group?"

Ichigo's head snapped back to the girls as e heard Rukia scream his name. When he looked he saw the seventh guy holding Rukia around the neck. He had a knife to her back. Then he spoke in the voice Ichigo remembered all too well.

"All right, get down on your knees, or she gets it!" he yelled.

Rukia was crying, but Ichigo knew better than to be scared in front of these guys. He got down on his knees and put his hands behind his head, and nodded for Chad to do the same. When they were both on the ground, the guy began to laugh; Ichigo laughed as well, harder than guy with Rukia captured.

"Wait, why are you laughing?" the guy asked.

Ichigo smirked at him. Suddenly, a thud was heard. The guy fell to the ground. Rukia turned around to see Tatsuki standing there. Rukia wiped away her tears, and muttered a thank you to Tatsuki.

"That's why," Ichigo said. "I'm tired of these guys, Chad. Let's take them to Grimmjow this time. No more mercy."

"Grimmjow? Shouldn't we take them to jail?" Chad asked.

"I said 'no more mercy.' Grimmjow will give these guys hell. Jail would let them go in a week. Grimmjow, he eats guys like this for breakfast. Who know? Maybe they might get turned around too."

Ichigo walked over to Rukia, and wrapped her up in his embrace. Rukia snuggled her head into his chest. She was still breathing hardly. Ichigo rubbed his hand up and down her back until she calmed down. Ichigo kissed the top of her head, and then let her go. Now that the ordeal was over, everyone felt like going to bed. Ichigo called over a carriage, and had them all driven home. The men bid farewell to the ladies. Chad and Ichigo dropped the gang by Grimmjow's office, being assured that they would be taken care of. Then, they went to bed, wondering what the future would bring for their relationships.

XXX

That night, the gang was abducted from the Knight's Training Grounds. They were thrown onto an unforgiving floor, and when they looked up, a dark figure was glaring down at them.

"So, you failed me again," the dark figure spoke.

"Y-yes. We are sorry," the leader whimpered.

"That's not enough this time. You have repeatedly failed to eliminate Ichigo Kurosaki, and now you have failed to eliminate his girlfriend. You couldn't even kill a small girl; a noble no less."

"Ichigo Kurosaki is not an ordinary fighter!"

"All you needed was to kill the girl, but you wanted revenge! That's why you failed! It will not happen again!"

"Yes, ma'am! We will not fail you again!"

"No, you won't." With that, the figure snapped its fingers, and the men were dragged away, screaming.

"What now, Lady Soi Fon?" a servant asked.

"Just leave me be."

Whew! Made up for the wait with a longer chapter! Sorry about that! Exams + writers block = one heck of a struggle writing. I'll try to do better in the future. On another note, happy birthday to me! See ya next time!