Disclaimer: I don't own bleach

This chapter is very close to my heart. When I first started imagining this story, this was the chapter that was in my mind. I hope you all love it as much as I do.

XXXX

"But I set fire to the rain,
Watched it pour as I touched your face,
Well, it burned while I cry
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name!"
Adele - "Set fire to the rain"

Gently falling rain beat out a melancholy tempo on the roof above him. Although sleep should have found him hours ago, he could not bear to close his eyes. Ever since retiring to his futon, all he can do is stare blankly at the rafters and allow the thoughts and memories wander through his mind. Upon returning home he had gone to the shrine and asked Hisana to forgive his betrayal, but it had brought no peace to his conflicted heart. After his prayers, he had gone to his desk and filled out a report of inappropriate conduct to be filed against himself in the morning. The captain of the third division would not, he decided, file such a complaint so the duty had fallen to him.

Thoughts shifting, he brought a manicured hand to his lips and remembered his weakness as a man. With a hurt in her voice that cut him, she had begged him to leave her alone, and he should have complied with her request. Since the night that he gave her the haori, his thoughts had often turned to the fiery blonde woman, and his slow coming respect of her. On that evening she had understood him completely and released him from a debt that most others would have held over him. Byakuya was a powerful man in the soul society and he had always been very careful to never owe anyone. Debt could easily put compromise on his ordeals and morals, but she had seen that and erased it with a graceful ease that showed a complete perception of his position. He could think of no one else who had ever understood him so quickly and completely.

With slight concentration he could feel her reiatsu pulsing softly in the distance. She did not have it shielded and he could feel her emotions reflecting in her soul pressure. He was slightly surprised that neither anger nor resentment seemed to be present. Sorrow and angst gave the rhythm of her presence a feeling of depression that made his heart ache. His behavior tonight had betrayed two women; one was the love of his life, and the other…

Consternation overtook him; he did not know what she was to him! Somewhere along the line he had invested trust and a shaky devotion in the powerful female. Tonight he had discovered that perhaps she had also changed her opinion on their relationship.

"Byakuya?"

It had only been the second time the woman had spoken his name like that, absent of titles or formalities. Even Yoruichi with her nicknames still saw him as someone who was beneath her. With a single word, Ryuu had stripped away everything, revealing that she saw him as an equal. As an equal he owed her an explanation, as a man he owed her an apology.

He rose from his futon and wrapped a dark blue kimono over his sleeping robes. Stepping out into the garden he used his reiatsu to shield himself from the rain and he reached out to locate the sleepless woman who he had wronged. Her soul pressure was located on top of one of the few tall building in the seireitei. Firming himself for what was surely to be a difficult confrontation, he moved towards her location.

Coming to a rest on a building about fifty feet away, he could see her form in the darkness. She was sitting with her back to him as the rain fell freely on her. Golden hair was darkened with wetness and hung freely down her back. The crimson kimono she wore was soggy as it clung to her tall, svelte body. Silently he berated himself for noticing her feminine curves. That was not what he was here for. Still blocking the rain with his soul pressure, he removed his heavy kimono and moved to drop it over her damp shoulders.

XXXX

Heavy clothe fell about her damp shoulders, and she turned in shock to see the person responsible. Held captive by her wandering mind, she did not feel him approach in the dark. Pale light glowed around his form as he lowered himself into a seated position a few feet away from her, his reiatsu acting as a shield from the precipitation.

"Why are you in the rain?" His eyes slid to look at her; they looked like silver scythes in the darkness.

His hair was free of the typical adornment and it fell loose and shaggy looking about his face and shoulders. In the place of his usual uniform were simple blue sleeping robes. Seeing him in this way made him seem approachable, maybe even a little friendly. Without a symbol of his rank he looked like any other man and for the first time she saw him as just that. Kuchiki Byakuya was an enigma, but the shinigami sitting next to her was just a man. Akai could not help but to feel a bit honored that he had felt comfortable enough to show her this side of him.

"The rain…" she started before hesitating. Did this man deserve to know anything about her? It was not as if she was seeking to impress him. No, it was not that at all. The only way he would ever be honest and open with her, is if she reciprocated. As far as she could tell, he had no one who truly knew his heart, and she understood that. She had spent her life as a shield to her own soul, and realizing that, made it easy to understand the man beside her.

"The rain makes me feel alive. I was alone… alone for a very long time. The living world changed so drastically around me, it was in a constant state of evolution. Honor, pride, those things disappeared as the world changed. Every day it was new and different, and I remained the same. I trained, but I was a lone shinigami..." Closing her eyes, she sighed and forged ahead. "I began to forget what I stood for and who I was… then… I started to wonder if I had ever existed to begin with."

His eyes were boring into her now; she could feel him listening to her thoughts. It was slightly unnerving to have his undivided attention. Despite this she had to continue down the path, "I could feel the rain though. If I didn't really exist, I wouldn't be able to feel it, would I?"

Lowering her head, she pulled her legs up to hug her knees as she looked over the seireitei. If she was honest with herself, she knew that she had never expected to return to this place. Such a thought was painful; it was so very unlike her. "No matter how badly I wanted to, I never shirked my duty, Kuchiki." She turned her face towards him and met his eyes, "Duty is everything to us, is it not?"

Silence fell over the two as they sat in the rain. She looked away from him and refocused her gaze on the settlement spread before them, not expecting an answer.

"We exist to uphold the law, Ryuu." His voice was so cold and void of emotion that it was almost painful to her. She could remember a time when he had also been so alive.

Anger built up inside of her as she thought about his answer. She had just opened up to him, had she not? Not only that, but she was serious dammit!

"What the hell happened to you, Byakuya?" The question hung in the damp air; she had spoken with as much force as she dared.

Reiatsu flared for a fraction of second from the serious man, she watched him as he closed his eyes and his brows drew together in a look of pain. A pregnant silence erupted and dwelt between them for an extended period before he tried to stand. She could not believe he was going to try and walk away without answering.

"Answer the question Kuchiki! You owe me an explanation of some sort."

Clenching his jaw he stared angrily into the darkness, "I broke many rules, and I broke them to make myself happy. It was selfish, and I did shirk my duty… and I paid for my sins. She was… my wife, my Hisana." It sounded as if he was being knifed in the chest as words forced their way into the open. "She died, she vanished from my days as if she never lived at all, and I was still here."

Turning towards her forcefully he raised his voice, "I am a shinigami! Death is always on my mind, it makes up the foundation of the Soul Society. I was supposed to depart this life first, not her!"

Akai's heart ached as she watched the powerful man break. He had once been so brash and hot tempered; now he was just a shadow drifting from year to year. Shaking, she tenderly reached out and laid a hand on his arm. "I cannot say that I understand, Kuchiki, but I know one thing. As a woman, if I left behind a man in such a way… I would hope that he continues to live as he had when I cared for him." His shoulders slumped at her words, and his face was hidden by the curtain of his hair.

Removing her fingers from his arm she stood, ready to leave and asked him softly, "Do you wish to be alone, Kuchiki?"

"No." A tentative hand reached up to guide her back to him as he continued, "I no longer wish to be alone."

Brushing his hand aside she lowered herself back to the rooftop, this time much closer to him. Her shoulder was leaned lightly into his as she hoped to provide him with strength and courage. The words he had spoken had not come easy, and she wanted to assure him that she would do all she could to lend him her vigor.

"Then do not be afraid to live, Kuchiki." A slight tremor from his body answered her words. The statement had reached him, and he knew what she meant. His reiatsu dropped and the rain reached his pale skin and dark hair. Heavily a sigh escaped his mouth as his shoulder pressed towards her and his robes became water logged.

Leaning into each other, the pair sat in the downpour for several hours, neither one of them seeing any need to speak. No thoughts dwelled on either mind as they enjoyed the simple pleasure of feeling like themselves in one another's company. As the rain stopped an involuntary shiver shook her body and his arm came up and pulled her close. The new light of day broke through the clouds and dawn formed on the horizon.

Eventually he moved away from her and stood, pausing for only a moment before offering a hand to her. A half smile crept across her face as she reached up and took the offering. After pulling her to her feet his arm snaked around her waist and he tugged her into an intimate embrace. The side of her face was pressed against his chest allowing her to hear the gentle beat of his heart. Wet robes were cool to the touch making the skin underneath feel almost impossible warm. Strong fingers hooked her chin and pulled her face up to peer into his eyes. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, it was the barest hint of a smile and it left her feeling a bit breathless.

"Thank you, Akai."

"You don't have to say that, Byakuya. We are comrades; you would have done the same"

A moment passed where they simply observed each other. Slowly he leaned in to her face and his lids lowered over shining grey eyes. Rain dampened, his lips were cold but his tongue was burning hot in comparison as it grazed across her lower lip. Permitting entry, she accepted his affections and returned them as best she could. While this was only the second kiss of her life, he had obviously more practice than her and took his time in showing her the extent of his skills. The kiss was passionate and deep, and she twined her fingers into his dripping black mane. Strong arms threatened to crush the air out of her as he clasped her firmly to his body. It was nothing short of a magical moment shared between two shinigami that normally did not drop their facades.

A crash sounded in the distance ending the moment and forcing the two to come up for air. Running his hands down her arms he looked at her softly, "The day is breaking, Akai."

Tweaking an eyebrow at him, she shone an honest smile at him. His expression warmed further and he seemed to understand her expression perfectly. She did not know when it had happened, but somewhere in the night they had reached a point where a thousand words could be conveyed in a simple look.

"I can't let you keep me here all day, Kuchiki." Fingering the sleeve of the fine blue kimono she was still wearing she continued, "And I am keeping this, I have never been as fashionable as you." Flashing a quick wink at him she shunpoed away from his raised eyebrow and headed back toward her quarters. It was not the outcome that she had planned on, but she decided she was happy with it none the less.

XXXX

Ichigo woke with the rising sun and looked down on the peaceful features of the woman beside him. Carefully he brushed a raven lock from her face before rising from the sheets that they shared. Lazily he walked into the kitchen and made some tea to enjoy on the porch of the fifth division quarters. What he saw when he walked out into the new day made the cup fall and shatter loudly.

Footsteps came rushing his way as Rukia arrived, full of concern, "Ichigo!"

Eyes wide, the orange haired man could not look away from what he was witnessing. Rukia followed his gaze to a nearby rooftop, and a shocked gasp erupted from her miniscule form.

"Nii-sama!"

XXXX