Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the related titles.

A/N: Hey guys! I am so sorry for the delay in updating. I've been going through a lot, more than I can even begin to explain right now, but please understand that I am sorry, and I am picking these stories back up, so there will be updates and they will be frequent, so be on the look out for them. Thank you all for being soooo patient. I really appreciate it, like you don't even know. And I really hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 14: No Luck

"Did I lose you back there?" Renji taunted as he and Ichigo flew through the air. The two had been instructed to do as much research as they could about reported Hollows and their potential connection to the Kuchiki family. Although Ichigo had been determined to stay behind, he wasn't ready to give Renji all the credit, granted he found anything upon his return to the Soul Society.

Ichigo grit his teeth, keeping his eyes focused forward, instead of on the bright red hair of his companion. As much as he wanted to, he wasn't going to let himself swoop down and grab a nearby tree branch and whack Renji upside the head with it. Even if the bastard deserved it.

"Come on, come on, we haven't got all day…" Renji continued to badger him, even though he wasn't looking back at Ichigo. For all he knew, he could have been long gone. Renji wouldn't have complained, however. If Ichigo bailed on their mission, it would give Rukia more reason to be mad at him, and therefore, he would get all the glory for it. Attention from Rukia was nice.

"AGH!"

Without warning, Renji felt something come in contact with his face, something in the confines of his nasal cavity cracking loudly. His hand flew to his nose, stopping the blood flow as much as possible as he came to a halt in mid-air.

"What the hell was that?!" he called out, before realizing that Ichigo had sped past him, his left leg extended to its full length, hinting that he'd just kicked Renji in the face. "You bastard! What was that for?"

Ichigo grinned and glanced back at him. "Careful, there was some kind of speed bump back there. Oh…" he feigned shock. "Did you run into something, Abarai?"

Renji roared after him, the two dodging each other as they took swings as often as possible. When they finally arrived, they landed with nearly fifty feet between them. Renji had stopped his nose from bleeding but that didn't stop the death glares he continued to shoot at his orange-haired rival.

"What next, Kurosaki…" Renji asked, his hands resting on his hips.

Ichigo whirled around to face him. "What do you mean, 'what next'? How am I supposed to know where we go to research the stuff?"

Renji laughed harshly, moving forward. Ichigo had no choice but to follow him. He wasn't sure where they were going, and for a while, Ichigo had a sneaking suspicion Renji may have been leading him on a wild goose chase. He almost had half a mind to go off on his own and find someone he could trust. Anyone other than Renji.

"Don't worry, Kurosaki," Renji said, noticing the look on Ichigo's face. "I'm not doing this for you, so there'd be no point in me wasting time. I want to help Rukia, and my Captain. They're in this together, you know." The look on his face had suddenly gone serious. "Rukia's not the only one."

Ichigo didn't respond. He hadn't really thought about the fact that the Hollow could have been after all the Kuchikis. Rukia wasn't the only one left. He'd been being incredibly selfish all along for refusing to help her. She had every reason to hate him now and he realized that.

"Bet you didn't think about that, now did you?" Renji added, approaching the entrance to his Captain's quarters. He knocked on the door sharply and glanced at Ichigo for only a moment before the door opened.

"Yes?" a voice came from inside.

Byakuya Kuchiki stood in the doorway, staring at them curiously, though they couldn't entirely tell this from his facial expression, which never seemed to change. Renji stepped forward, clearing his throat to break the silence.

"Captain, I need to speak to you about the Hollow…" he explained. "The one that Rukia's been concerned about."

Byakuya stared at his Vice-Captain for a moment before moving to close the door. Renji held out his hand quickly to stop it, stepping closer to him.

"She's certain there's something going on," he continued. "She thinks there's a group of them out there who might be after all of you. Well, rather, the two of you. She's not so worried about herself, but you, because you're not taking it seriously…"

Byakuya's eyes flashed dangerously, and Renji knew he had crossed a line. Assuming what Byakuya was thinking and then using said assumptions against him was completely unheard of. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, admitting silently that he'd said something wrong.

"Is there anyone out there who'd have it out for your family?" Ichigo spoke up, not letting Byakuya get away that easily.

Byakuya turned, his focus going back and forth between the two men before him. His eyes narrowed a bit and his brow furrowed as he finally locked his eyes onto Renji once more, his voice lower than it had been a moment before.

"What is he doing here?" he almost growled.

Renji averted his gaze and cleared his throat once again, unsure of what to say that would convince Byakuya that it was in Ichigo's best intentions to be there. "He…" he started hesitantly. "Captain, he wants to help."

Byakuya glanced at Ichigo again, his eyes holding nothing more than disbelief. Seeing he had nothing more to lose, Ichigo stepped forward.

"I was there at the time," he said, stepping toward the doorway. "I saw the Hollow and I heard his voice. I could give you, or anyone who'd be able to help us, a description of him. Or, if you believe there's anyone who'd be up to something like this, I could help figure out which sounds most correct."

Byakuya stared at him for a minute before shaking his head. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can help you with. I can't think of anyone who would be after me or my sister. I'm afraid that she might just be jumping to foolish conclusions again. I wouldn't think anything of it. Stop wasting your, and my, time."

And with that, the door snapped shut. Ichigo nearly threw himself at the door, suddenly realizing what it meant to Rukia to figure this out. Byakuya didn't care, and if he wasn't going to do something about it, one of them was going to ultimately end up getting hurt. At this rate, Rukia was the easier target.

Ichigo wasn't about to let that happen.

He turned around suddenly, marching back toward the city, trying to think of anyone who could help them. There had to be someone in the Soul Society who knew as much about the Kuchikis as they did themselves, or at least those who may have associated themselves with them.

"Ichigo…" Renji called out after the boy. "Where do you think you're going?"

Ichigo didn't turn around. "I'm going to figure out what the hell is going on before something happens to Rukia…"

Renji raced after him, a sudden thought struck him. It was the most selfless thing he'd thought in a long time, and he hoped Ichigo would take advantage of it.

"Listen, stop!"

Ichigo came to a sudden halt and turned a bit to look back at him. "What?" he asked shortly, clearly annoyed that his mission was being delayed.

Renji panted slightly before speaking, looking incredibly torn between helping Ichigo and helping himself. He shook his head and sighed. "Go to Rukia…" he said.

Ichigo stared at him, quite confused. "What?"

"Go to Rukia, dammit…" Renji insisted, his voice rising in volume with every word. "If they're coming after her, you shouldn't leave her there by herself. I'll have plenty of help from the people around here. As long as I don't tell them the Captain's against it, they should help me. We don't need you just yet."

Ichigo continued to stare at him, at a complete loss for words. He couldn't help but think Renji was just trying to make it look like he chickened out so he could get all the glory.

Why the hell were they so alike!?

"Or you could stay here," Renji brought himself to full height, appearing quite frustrated. "And help people who don't really need your help, while Rukia's alone in the human world, still walking around with a giant target on her back. If something happened to her while you were here with your nose buried in a bunch of books, how would you feel?"

He hated to admit it, but Renji was beginning to understand how Ichigo worked. He knew there was something going on between him and Rukia and was at a point where he couldn't do anything about it anymore. He had to be the bigger person, both literally and figuratively.

"I'll stay here," he said finally, with a tone that told Ichigo quite clearly he didn't have any other choice. "And you're going to go back and help Rukia."

Ichigo stood in silence for a moment, before nodding shortly. "Thank you," he brought himself to say. "And…good luck."

It was one of the most sportsman-like things he'd ever said, and ever would say, to Renji and for a moment he thought about taking it back and replacing it with some kind of smart-ass remark. Instead, he nodded again and waved shortly, heading back toward the human world without another word.

-----

Renji had been right, and the whole way home, Ichigo couldn't stop thinking about it. First of all, Renji had been right, which was a first in his book, and second of all, something could be happening to Rukia and he wouldn't have any clue. If he returned home to find her in pieces, he didn't know what he'd do. He couldn't handle seeing something like that.

He landed outside his house, holding his breath. Glancing up at his bedroom window, he only hoped she would be in there waiting for him. As much as the anticipation was killing him, he couldn't make himself move. He didn't want to look back inside. How had he been so careless?

If it did turn out that everything was okay, he needed to tell her everything. He needed to apologize for being such an ass, and he needed to tell her how much he cared about her. It wasn't going to be easy, he knew that; he had an image to uphold after all, but when you're faced with something like this, he no longer gave a shit. She had the right to know. If something happened to her, and she didn't know what he was thinking, how he felt, any of that – if something happened, he'd never be able to live with himself.

And on top of that, Renji would be right about another thing!

Finally, he gathered enough courage to leap up to his windowsill, closing his eyes as he came to a landing. Opening them slowly, he felt all the air suddenly escape from his lungs; the sight before him something he hadn't been expecting.

Rukia was still alive. She was alive, and breathing, as much as a shinigami in a gigai could be. She was sitting on his bed, as if she were waiting for something, her eyes focused on the thing laying beside her.

For a moment, Ichigo didn't even recognize his own body. Lacing her fingers with his numb, lifeless ones, Rukia kept her focus on Ichigo's discarded body, her eyes filled with a strange longing he'd never really seen her use toward him before.

She was waiting for him. She wasn't waiting for Renji, or anyone else in the world. She'd been waiting for him.

A faint blush creeping into his cheeks, Ichigo cleared his throat loudly, catching her attention. Rukia leapt to her feet, dropping his hand quickly. Her embarrassment gleamed upon her own blushing cheeks for only a moment, before her anger returned.

"How long have you been standing there!?" she yelped, her eyes narrowing with accusation.

"Long enough…" Ichigo said, keeping his cool as he hopped down onto his bedroom floor. "Having fun, were you?"

"I-" Rukia opened her mouth to retort, but shut it quickly, realizing she really had no excuse for her actions. "No. I just got back, actually…" she said hastily. "I thought you were sleeping…"

"So you like to hold my hand while I sleep?" he asked, grinning evilly. He was determined to get her to admit something before he did, thus saving his tough guy persona. All thoughts about Renji and his guilt trip had quickly fled from his mind.

"I have no idea what you're talking about…" Rukia said sharply, turning toward her closet. She knew she could hide in there for a while. At least until Ichigo was done picking on her for what he'd seen.

He followed her slowly, not bothering to return to his normal body. He was enjoying teasing her way too much. "Oh I think you do…" he taunted. "Is there something you'd like to admit to me, Miss Kuchiki?"

"Where's Renji?" she asked suddenly, changing the subject to something she knew would hit a nerve. "I thought he'd be coming back with you."

Ichigo wasn't going to let her get away with it that quickly. "I don't think so," he said. "You're not getting any answers until I do, so if you wanna know where your precious Renji is, you'll have to start explaining your actions…"

Rukia turned to stare at him, her eyes flashing as dangerously as her brother's had earlier, only this time, Ichigo didn't feel he had to look away. This time, it was a challenge, and the first person to look away had to admit their true feelings. Ichigo wasn't about to lose. He couldn't.

"Oh come on," Rukia finally broke, crossing her arms stubbornly. "You know you loved it…"

Ichigo hadn't seen that one coming. "In your dreams, sweetie…" he responded coolly.

"Oh yeah?" Rukia rose her eyebrows, challenging him without actually calling him out on it.

"Yeah…" he nodded, crossing his arms as well. He could be just as stubborn as she was and he was bound to prove it.

Rukia grinned and started back toward the bed. "Oh?" she sat down next to his body and very gently began tracing her fingers up his chest. "So, in that case, this does absolutely nothing to you, right?"

Ichigo froze, his eyes growing a bit wider. What the hell was she going to do?

"And this…" she leaned over his mouth, "I can do this and you won't care at all…" Her lips met with his in what would have been an incredibly passionate kiss had he been able to respond.

Ichigo was immediately embarrassed by the fact that he was jealous of his immobile self, and even more so by the fact he wasn't going to be able to control himself for much longer. Watching her caused something in his lower half to grow tense, even as in his shinigami form. He couldn't let her just do that to him without him having a little fun in return.

The look on Rukia's face when his lips begn to respond would have been priceless had Ichigo opened his eyes instead of kissing her even deeper. As she began to pull away, realizing he had returned to his body, he pulled her closer.

"You lose…" she muttered, finally letting a tiny grin dance across her lips.

Ichigo couldn't help but smile back at her, loving the feeling of her body against his once again. It was a feeling he'd missed while they were fighting. "I don't mind losing…" he said quietly. "If it means I get to lose like this…"

As he leaned toward her once again, a loud beeping noise went off somewhere inside Rukia's closet. Ichigo froze and glared in the direction of the noise, clenching his fists. Rukia was just as annoyed as he was, but hid it a little better than he did.

"It never fails…" Ichigo muttered as Rukia dashed over to grab her little phone. "Every single time we get a moment alone, there's a-"

"There's a Hollow," Rukia looked up quickly, grabbing her glove. "And that's not our only problem…"

Ichigo got to his feet, bracing himself for the physical blow he knew he was about to receive. In his mind he was already making a list of all the things Rukia owed him when they returned from this.

"Yeah?" he asked offhandedly. "What's that?"

Rukia bit her lip, her eyes locking with his. "There are three of them."

A/N: Alrighty, so there was a little Ichi-Ruki-ness at the end there. I'm sorry it's not a lot, but there will be more in the near future. I promise. You guys deserve it, so be on the look out for that as well. Anyway, I'll update as soon as possible, I promise. Once again, thank you all for being so understanding and so patient. I love you all!