Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

Arc Four - Path to power

"Lady Rukia...Lady Rukia!" Rukia shifted as she heard her name being called, along with a loud knocking on the door of her room. She blinked blearily and rubbed her eyes, yawning as she sat up on her futon and looked at the door.

"What is it?" She questioned. The servant, taking that as admittance, walked in bowing lowly to Rukia and closing the door behind her to prevent prying eyes.

The female servant then turned back to Rukia and responded. "Lady Hisana has requested that you join her and Byakuya for breakfast now, before Captain Kurosaki arrives to walk you to work." Rukia frowned but nodded, throwing the blanket of her as she stood.

"Very well, please inform my Nii-sama and Nee-san that I will be with them shortly." The maid nodded and left Rukia to get ready for breakfast.

When the maid had left her in peace, Rukia frowned. For some unknown reason her brother had demanded that Ichigo start accompanying her to and from the fifth squad barracks after they had started officially courting. She was used to him returning with her after they had finished their work or when they were finished whatever they decided to do after work but usually she went to the barracks on her own. Sighing slightly and making a mental note to ask her brother about it she started to get ready for the unexpected breakfast.

She smiled softly as she slipped on her shihakusho, her mind drifting to the addition in the Kuchiki manor. Her sister had made such an impact on both her and Byakuya's lives, she was like a warm candle that burned all the time, making the manor feel so much more like a home.

After their initial introduction and subsequent conversations, both had found it a bit awkward when they were alone together. Rukia didn't know how to act around her, she didn't know what would offend her and if her, less than lady-like qualities would push her sister away. Surprising as it sounds, that awkward tension was broken by an even more awkward moment, when Hisana received a gift from the SWA, who had learned of her return. Though she was not a shinigami, the SWA felt that because she had such a close relationship to Rukia, it was a very good thing that she had returned.

Rukia secretly thought that it was that it was more like that they hoped she would soften her brother up a bit, so they could get away with doing more in the Kuchiki manor, but didn't voice her suspicions. After all, she was hoping for that too. So they ended up sending her a gift, that turned out to be a tad inappropriate.

Rukia blushed slightly as she remembered it.

-Flash back-

Hisana hummed to herself as she looked out over the peaceful garden, her hands being tickled by the long grass. While she hadn't missed anything per say, because she couldn't remember the time she had spent dead, or alive, whichever, if there was one thing she would have missed it would be this garden. This one in particular was one of the oldest in the grounds, secluded in the maze of the manor it gave her time to be alone in a picture of beauty.

The grass was slightly longer than usual, because she requested that it be kept that way, and small flowers sprouted up around the edge of a koi pond in the centre. She remembered the times she had

spent here with Byakuya when she had convinced him he needed to relax for a moment.

She was so lucky to be back here.

'If only I could rebuild the bond I broke.' She thought sadly to herself, Rukia's more mature face flashing into her mind. Her sister had a sad past, full of pain and loss, constantly being abandoned by those around her whether by choice or not. Hisana wanted to be there for her as she should have been, to let Rukia know it was okay to be herself around her; the woman who argued fiercely with someone more powerful, and won. The woman who loved that same man, yet had no problem kicking him into shape and bruising his shins if he did something stupid, in fact it was because she loved him that she wouldn't let him fail.

But around her, Rukia always became more Kuchiki than Hisana would like, unsure of herself and hiding it behind small talk. 'Does she think I'll reject her?' Hisana considered, before sighing and lifting her hand from the grass to look at it sadly. 'Why wouldn't she, I abandoned her after all.'

Her depressing thoughts were broken off by the sound of a shinigami flash-stepping next to her. Hisana jumped slightly and looked up, seeing a prim-looking woman with glasses and book standing beside her.

"Hisana Kuchiki, I hope I'm not interrupting you?"

Hisana shook her head and looked back at her, confused. "Ah, no not at all. But may I ask why you are here?" The woman nodded and pulled out a small package that she had been holding beside the book.

"Of course, I am Nanao Ise, here as vice-president of the SWA to give you this small gift. It's a miracle that you have returned and...I thought you might be feeling a bit down." Hisana's eyes widened slightly as she saw Nanao smile softly at her before she bowed quickly and left with a short goodbye.

Hisana looked down at the package in her hands and smiled to herself, wondering what it could be. "Thank you." She said, even knowing that the shinigami who had given this to her would be far away by now.

Gingerly she opened the packaging, which was similar to a letters but seemed to have more protection in it. She stuck her tongue out slightly in frustration as she tried to get through it without damaging it, still having no idea what they could have sent to her. Finally she got the package open, ripping the thick envelope at the top and opening it up so she could peek inside.

All she could make out was multiple cards in the envelope, confused, she turned the package over and slipped out the items into her hand. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked down at her hands, and the items in them.

"Wha-" she started, before stopping herself and focusing on the items in her hands.

They were pictures, pictures of the Captains by the looks of it. She looked through them curiously, noticing that each one of them looked somehow like a professional photo-shoot, despite being obviously not at the same time. She was more shocked, and even gave a small smile when she saw one of Byakuya, standing alone and looking back over his shoulder at the camera in some part of the Kuchiki manor.

'That women's association must have done well to get these sorts of pictures.' She thought to herself, also wondering how fun it would be to do something like that.

Her thoughts were cut short as she moved Byakuya's picture and her eyes dropped to the last one in the pile, her eyes widening in shock and her cheeks instantly turning red from the image. It was at this unfortunate time that Rukia chose to enter, appearing beside her sister.

"Hello Nee-san, I..." She trailed off when her eyes registered the sight before her. Hisana was sitting alone, her cheeks burning red and her eyes wide...whilst looking at the photo of Ichigo that the SWA had started selling.

Hisana's head snapped up to Rukia and her mouth opened like a fish before she looked back at the image, then finally resting her eyes on Rukia. "W-wait, i-it's not what it looks like Rukia." She stuttered, desperately trying to stop their relationship from spiralling into a whole new level of awkward with her sister.

Rukia didn't say anything for a moment, rationalising the situation in her mind. Sure, she knew that Ichigo's picture would receive...attention from the female population of the Soul Society, but she hadn't thought her sister would be one of them. So, calmly, she sat down next to her sister and looked away.

"Okay, so what is it?" She asked, waiting for her sister to explain this to her. Hisana breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that Rukia had enough patience, at least with her, to let her wriggle out of the tight spot she had gotten herself into.

She explained it slowly. "Well you see, I was simply sitting here when a woman from the SWA, Nanao Ise I believe, appeared and gave me thess." She held up the slightly mangled envelope that was resting in her lap. "And told me that this was a gift from the SWA because, well she just said they decided to give them to me."

She deliberately left out that it was supposed to help improve her mood, after all Rukia was, indirectly, the cause of it. "So I started looking through them, I thought they were impressive pictures but then I got to the one of Ichigo and, well, you arrived."

Rukia smiled slightly, leaning back into the grass. As she expected Hisana had just been unfortunate in her timing, her sister never caused intentional pain to anyone, in fact she did the opposite if she could. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure half the Seireitei has that picture by now. I was just surprised to see you blushing over him..." Rukia mused slyly; she felt at ease with her for some reason, the whole scenario was amusing to her.

Hisana's blush returned and she fiddled with her hands nervously. "W-well I don't want to be improper but Ichigo is quite a-attractive and the photo looks very s-suggestive." Rukia chuckled slightly at her sisters discomfort before she sat up to look at the picture.

"I suppose he is..." Her mind drifted a bit as she looked at the picture, all sorts of idea's coming up. Some normal for her, some, not so much.

Hisana turned to look at her as Rukia's eyes glazed over slightly and it clicked that she had been playing with her. She huffed mentally, she may be kind but she didn't enjoy being taken for granted or have people think they could abuse it.

'Well, I need to defend my honour.' She thought, raising her voice slightly but still keeping it soft.

"Though Byakuya is better looking." The response was instantaneous, Rukia's eyes sharpened slightly and she looked at Hisana, raising an eyebrow.

"What was that?" Hisana smirked to herself but quickly replaced it with an innocent expression as she looked into her sisters eyes.

"I just think that Byakuya is a more attractive man." Rukia frowned slightly and held up the picture of Ichigo next to the picture of her brother in Hisana's hands.

She squinted at the for a moment before looking skeptically back at her sister. "Nii-sama is beautiful...but he is too effeminate for me, and you can't deny Ichigo's attractiveness Nee-san." Whilst Rukia didn't want to insult either her sister or brother (or think about him in that way at all) this was quickly becoming a battle of Ichigo's pride in her eyes.

Hisana felt the same and glanced at the picture of Ichigo. "True, but maybe it is because Byakuya looks refined that you think he looks slightly effeminate, unlike Ichigo who is certainly less..." She trailed off, not wanting to directly insult Ichigo as it wasn't in her nature.

But Rukia got the message and locked eyes with her sister, violet meeting violet as they stared down each other. Neither backed down, Rukia's face was being held in a slightly challenging position and Hisana was looking back, her face and posture slightly coy and innocent. The mental conflict continued for a few moments longer until they both snapped, unable to hold back any more.

They started laughing.

They both cracked at the same time, Rukia started snickering and Hisana started out giggling lightly but before long it was full blown laughter, the tension between them lifting with the breeze as the estranged sisters collapsed into fits of giggles together in the soft grass. They were still giggling together when Byakuya suddenly appeared, looking down at the two of them with surprise.

"What's going on here?" Both sisters turned to look at the man who had unknowingly been part of their joke and started laughing again. Byakuya watched them for a few moments before he sighed and flash-stepped back to his office, his lips twitching upwards as he left. It made him happy to see the two of them finally connecting as they should.

Rukia and Hisana's eyes met when their laughter had slowed to the occasional snort or chuckle and a smile grew on the Lieutenant's lips. Hisana's smile followed and she reached out a hand, resting it in between her and Rukia. Without hesitation Rukia extended her own, the two small hands meeting in the middle and holding each other lightly.

"I'm sorry." Hisana said softly, repeating herself for she still felt guilty for what she had done to her. Rukia simply smiled and tightened her grip slightly.

"Don't be, we are who we are and we are sisters. Aren't we?" Hisana looked back into her eyes for a moment before she gave a small, pure smile.

"Yes, of course we are."

-End Flashback-

After that event their relationship had progressed quickly, or as quickly as could be hoped for, Hisana and Rukia had grown closer, their bond strengthening into a more sisterly one as they spent more time in the same house. She had learned more about her sister's personality as time went on, and her sister and showed more and more of her true self around her as they grew closer.

Hisana was genuinely kind, reserved and spoke softly most of the time. Despite her kind nature, Hisana also enjoyed having fun, most prominently she enjoyed the odd practical joke. It was never anything serious, just the odd little prank or something innocent like that. And though she was loving to the people around her and anyone she met, she wasn't a push over by any means. If someone tried to take advantage of her nature, she would quickly catch on and take control of the situation, all without raising her voice.

Rukia also discovered that Hisana enjoyed gossip and getting involved with people's lives to try and help them almost as much as Rangiku, when she had been not so subtly giving Rukia and Ichigo ideas about how to spend timetogether without Byakuya knowing. Rukia could never tell when her sister was being innocent or playing one of her games, but it at least made things more interesting between them

Strapping her blade to her shihakusho she left her room, quickly making her way to the main dining hall for Breakfast. It didn't take long, and by the time she got there she was no longer tired. She had never had much of an issue with waking up early anyway. It didn't take her long to get to the dining hall so she slid the door open gently and made her way inside.

Hisana looked up from Byakuya and smiled at her. "Ah, good morning Rukia. I'm sorry if we woke you up early but I thought this might be enjoyable as it's a nice morning." As she said that the servants slid open the large doors on one side of the room, letting the rising sun envelope it in a soft glow.

Rukia smiled back at her and sat down at the middle of the table, Byakuya and Hisana at either head of the table. The servants quickly brought out the food, setting it before them and retreating back to the kitchen within moments. All three of them thanked the servants, Byakuya with just a nod of the head, and started eating.

Hisana spoke up a few moments later, putting her tea down with a slight noise of contentment. "I'm very happy you could join us Rukia." Rukia nodded and waited until she had finished eating the toast in her mouth before she responded.

"It's no problem, I don't mind waking up early." Byakuya nodded approvingly at her Kuchiki-like nature. But before he could continue the conversation they were interrupted by a loud crash outside the door.

"God dammit!" Rukia's ears perked up and she turned to the door as it opened because she recognised the voice, her eyes widening in surprise. Her suspicions were confirmed moments later when at the entrance stood a harassed and tired looking Ichigo, he was leaning on the door frame and there were slight bags under his eyes.

Byakuya closed his eyes to maintain his composure, trying to ignore his fellow Captain's improper arrival. "Kurosaki, I see you decided to join us." Ichigo scowled in response and made his way over to the low table, dropping down next to Rukia whilst grumbling a response

"It wasn't like I had a choice, you sent me a message telling me you were having breakfast with Rukia and that I was expected to attend." Rukia frowned at his state and poked him to grab his attention.

"Ichigo..." He slumped around to her and she took in his sleep deprived state, her frown deepened as she looked him over.

He gave her a weak smile and responded with a yawn. "Mornin' Rukia." Though she was slightly worried for him she couldn't help but smile back at him, he looked so boyish at that moment despite the haori draped loosely around his shoulders.

Hisana decided to snap them out of their small daze as she too took in his state. "Good morning Ichigo, I'm sorry if this is inappropriate but I can't help but notice you look tired, we didn't wake you did we?" Ichigo dragged his eyes away from Rukia to respond, putting his arms behind his head as he stretched and responded.

"Nah, I'm sorry about this, I've just had to work late for the last few nights and this time I didn't get to bed until an hour ago actually." Hisana frowned and Rukia growled, slapping him on the shoulder likely with the back of her hand.

He turned to her with irritation but she beat him to it. "Idiot, why didn't you ask for my help. You can't be an effective Captain if your falling asleep in the office, what did you need to stay behind for anyway?" Ichigo's eyes softened slightly as he caught the concern in her voice and he waved her off, leaning down onto the table.

"Eh, you didn't need to be there. I was only making sure some of the new recruits got something into their heads." Rukia raised an eyebrow and noticed his scowl but didn't push the matter. If he wasn't going to say then she would either leave it alone...or pester him later.

She huffed but glared at him. "Fine, but if you fall asleep I'm not doing your work for you." Ichigo just chuckled, too tired to care at this point. His eyes drooped slightly but he forced them to stay open as he relaxed to the side slightly, unconsciously resting his head on Rukia's shoulder. Rukia started blushing at his actions in front of her brother and sister, especially her brother who (even after they had started courting) had made sure there was as little physical contact between them as possible.

Byakuya glared at Ichigo but he barely noticed through his half-lidded eyes, he sighed slightly and asked what had been on his mind since he had received the butterfly from Byakuya. "So what's this about then, Byakuya?" The older Captain ignored the informal address, he had learned to ignore this from the young Captain.

"You are here because Hisana and I believe that the time has come to advance your relationship." His statement was short but left a resounding silence in its wake.

However Ichigo wasn't paying attention so just mumbled a response. "Hmm, sure whatever." Rukia however, was frozen, so it was up to Hisana to try and get Ichigo's attention.

"Uh, Ichigo do you know what the next step is for you in a noble courtship?" She tried, to which Ichigo just lifted his head to look blearily at her.

"Can I finally have a moment alone with her without Byakuya having someone crouching behind the windows?" He mumbled, causing Rukia to blush as she caught the comment and Byakuya to stiffen slightly and glare at his sisters' partner.

Hisana gave an uncomfortable chuckle and took a sip of her tea, eyeing Byakuya who resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Clearly he was going to have to be the one to explain it to him.

"I will ignore your suspicionsfor now to inform you of your future. The next step in your relationship with Rukia is to get betrothed to her." The room was silent again, Rukia looking at her hands nervously, unsure how to deal with the whole situation or how Ichigo would deal with it.

It wasn't likely to be pretty.

Ichigo blinked in surprise, his entire body tensing for a few moments as Byakuya's words rang in his ears. When he finally understood what was going on his eyes grew wide and he leapt up, his eyes flicking between Rukia to Byakuya. When he found his voice it was loud and tinged with anger.

"What the hell, Byakuya? You can't just spring this shit on me!" Byakuya looked up at him impassively.

"I don't know why you are overreacting Kurosaki, you and Rukia are clearly compatible, so why wait?" Ichigo spluttered and Rukia spoke up on his behalf, guessing his problem with her brother's suggestion.

"In the human world, their relationships go from courtship, to potentially moving in with each other and then marriage. It can take a long period of time for a couple to end up married and the may never do so." Ichigo nodded in agreement but Byakuya waved a hand in dismissal at their comments.

"You should have known this was coming Rukia, you cannot remain in this limbo in your relationship forever. Whilst I still have certain misgivings, you have been together for the allotted period of time without any...significantbreaches in the terms we agreed." He looked pointedly at the pair who both blushed slightly at having been caught a few of the times Byakuya's spies had been around.

Ichigo scowled and growled a response. "I have no idea about your noble system, but when it comes to me and Rukia, we'll take things at our own pace." The stand-off dragged out between Ichigo and Byakuya, neither willing to give up their ideals.

Luckily, Hisana interjected, her soft and calm voice washing over them. "We respect your view Ichigo, Rukia do you feel the same way?" Rukia looked up and nodded, avoiding eye contact.

"I do, I'm sorry Nee-san." Hisana smiled back at her and responded happily.

"Don't worry so much Rukia, you know I'll support you." Rukia looked up to meet her sister's gaze and reciprocated her smile. Of course Hisana was on her side, while she thought that Hisana continued. "So if you'll both listen to me then I have a solution that might work, as long as Byakuya agrees with me.

Byakuya broke his glaring contest with Ichigo and nodded at his wife. "Very well, let us hear your suggestion."

Hisana's smile grew slightly and she spoke up brightly. "Thank you. My suggestion is that whilst you do not get engaged as such, you both agree that you will marry at some point. This will satisfy both the clan and your own desire to move your relationship forward at a slower pace." Ichigo paused to think it over, then sighed and looked over at her, scowling.

"If that's the best we can get then I suppose it might be okay, as long as no one other than the clan elders and aware and don't spread it or anything. What do you think, Rukia?" Rukia looked over to him and nodded in agreement, though she was still conflicted about the whole thing.

"That would be the best option. Thank you Nee-san." It wasn't that the idea was terrible, of her marrying Ichigo, in fact it made her feel slightly light headed to think about it. The problem was that even after four months of being together their relationship had not advanced past the physical contact that came with 'making out' as Ichigo called it. They were much more comfortable with it now, but they needed time to explore each other, which they hadn't had with the recent work load being heavy due to an influx of shinigami joining the Gotei 13.

Ironically it was partly Ichigo's fault for effectively being their poster boy.

'At least we both want the same thing.'Rukia thought, remembering the times when their hands had enjoyed exploring the others body, pushing the boundaries of what they could get away with without Byakuya annihilating Ichigo. She pushed the thoughts away, now was not the time.

'But with this engagement of sorts, perhaps Nii-sama will let us have some privacy.'She stored that thought for later, very interested on where that train of thought would lead.

Hisana's voice brought her mind out of the metaphorical gutter it was descending into. "Well I'm glad we could sort that out. As nice as it is to have both of you here, shouldn't you be getting to work?" As if to illustrate her point, two hell butterfly's flew in through the large open doors, one heading for Ichigo and the other for Byakuya.

'All Captains are to report with their Lieutenants for a Captain's meeting.'Both of the Captains stood and the two women looked at them for an answer.

Ichigo responded, blinking some of the sleep out of his eyes. "C'mon Rukia, we've got a meeting with the Captain-commander." Rukia nodded and stood, following them as thy started to leave the room. The three of them bade farewell to Hisana and Byakuya promised he would make it up to her despite her assurance that she understood and it didn't matter to her.

The three of them arrived with the soft sound of shunpo, Byakuya walking swiftly ahead of them to the entrance to the meeting hall. Ichigo and Rukia trailed behind him, Ichigo moving slower because of his lack of sleep.

Just before they entered the doorway Rukia leant over to comment in his ear. "I'm not catching you if you fall over." Ichigo just grumbled something about ungrateful Lieutenants as they walked throughout the door and took their place near Yamamoto, waiting as the rest of the Captains and Lieutenants filed in and took their place.

Soon the room was full and Yamamoto brought their attention to him, his sealed cane echoing around the room as it tapped against the wooden floor. It came down with a final, resounding sound as he looked down at both rows of Captains. His ancient voice finally spoke up.

"I have called this meeting to address the critical problem currently facing the Gotei 13. That of our lack of Captains. It has been almost three years since the desertion of Ichimaru, Tousen and Aizen yet we have only filled the fifth squad's Captaincy position. The third and ninth squads still lack a Captain and the Lieutenants are having to pick up the slack." Captain Kyoraku inclined his head towards Yamamoto and gave his opinion lazily.

"That's very true, but what can we do about it? A couple of the ranks have Bankai but only one of them is someone we could recruit." The Captain-commander nodded, knowing full well that Renji and Ikkaku had both achieved Bankai, but that Ikkaku would not leave his position. The 3rd seat underestimated Yamamoto if he thought that he could hide that from him even after using it in battle.

Through his squinted eyes he briefly looked over at Renji, the other candidate. He knew how to wield his powers but Yamamoto was still unsure if he was ready for a Captain's position, then again he had given one to Ichigo.

His eyes turned back to Kyoraku and he gave his response. "I am aware of this, so I have come up with a solution. A year from now we will have a series of battle between the Captains and those shinigami with Bankai to determine who has the power to become a Captain. After this the Captains will vote and decide who will take over the positions of squads three and nine." There was silence as the Captain's considered this until Yamamoto spoke up again, causing some eyes to widen in shock. "A shinigami can have obtained bankai at any point prior to the battle in order to be eligible, including in the next year."

Unohana looked slightly surprised as she spoke up. "Are you sure that is wise, Captain-commander Yamamoto? Surely they will not be proficient enough with their power to hold such a position." Though it may have sounded harsh, Unohana was only thinking about the capacity for more loss if weak Captains took over.

"You know as well as I that Bankai is completely relative to the person, whilst some may not have mastered it and unlocked it's full potential if they can do well in a fight against another Captain with Bankai then there is no problem." Unohana nodded and stepped back into the line.

Ukitake added to Yamamoto's point. "I agree, though I see where you are coming from Captain Unohana. Whilst raw power is important if they don't have the capacity to lead and stay in control they they will not be promoted. " Yamamoto nodded his agreement and the Lieutenants looked at each other slightly nervously.

"Very well, it has been decided. You are dismissed." Everyone bowed and started to file out of the room. "...Except for you, Kurosaki."

Ichigo gulped and noticed the dismissal of his title, he should have known that Yamamoto would not forget his actions so quickly. Ukitake looked pityingly at him from over his shoulder and Shunsui gave him a slap on the back before leaving with the white-haired Captain. Rukia just gave him an 'I-told-you-so' look and smirked at him before leaving with Renji.

The orange haired Captain turned around and stood before him, looking anywhere but his fierce glare. "Uh, you wanted to see me, Captain-commander Yamamoto?" Sounding exactly like a boy asked to stay behind by his teacher.

"Yes..." Ichigo paled slightly at the dark look that was in the old man's eyes as he opened them.

Half the Seireitei heard the yelp and felt a wave of heat pass over them, though only a few knew what they had just felt. Rukia shook her head slightly and she heard a chuckle behind her.

"Ah, I remember when old man Yama used reprimand us like that." Shunsui's airy voice floated between her and Renji. She turned to see her previous Captain and his long-time friend smiling slightly behind her.

"Indeed, he'll have to visit the fourth squad after that. I hope you don't mind if he's slightly singed, Kuchiki." Ukitake said.

Rukia raised an eyebrow and Renji smirked. "Looks like the strawberry's finally going to get in trouble for ignoring the rules. Have fun with that Rukia. Captain Ukitake, what exactly is Yamamoto going to do to him?"

"Well, first of all he will use his shikai to..." Rukia rolled her eyes and tuned out the overly long explanation of whatever punishment Ichigo was getting. The fool deserved it anyway.

'If you can stop thinking about your boyfriend for a moment, I have something I wish to discuss with you.'Sode no Shirayuki's slightly irritated voice rang through her mind.

'I wasn't thinking about him. What did you have to say, Sode no Shirayuki?'The sword just sighed in response.

'If that's what you believe. Anyway, this is concerning your power. Do you wish to increase it?'Rukia was surprised by the sudden question.

She answered with slight confusion. 'Of course I do, but I have no more dances to learn and my training with Ichigo can only get me so far.'Her blade sighed again, but responded nevertheless.

'I have taught you everything I can at this level.'Was her simple response.

Rukia stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening. 'Wait, do you mean...'

'Yes Rukia, Bankai.'

Beta'd by .Lyingtoungesareclumsy.

(A/N) ...My god I really need to write the next chapter (as in chapter 41 xD) Sad to say my mind has been preoccupied with other things, that and my amazing laziness. Ah well, I'll get it done over the weekend and then I have half term to do that and coursework.

On another note, Bleach is back! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, if you haven't read it then you really must, after all this should prove to be one epic storyline. Ichigo was supremely badass, although the cover of the issue had him in blonde for some reason 0.o Must be a colouring issue I suppose, even if the picture was amazing.

So thanks for all the reviews! As always I love reading them and replying (though I have neglected that a bit of late I will admit, though not to badly) so I hope for some more. I hope you don't mind the time skip, but nothing interesting was going to happen and I had done all I could with that arc. This one won't be as...plotty? Or at least the plot will be less serious as it is building up to the final arc which I have been thinking about since I started this story xD

P.S Later than usual because would not let me log on yesterday at all, I'm pretty sure that was the same for everyone so I couldn't do anything about it.