AN

FafaCute - Both of them will found out soon!

Sunmoon Lancaster - I know. ): Our Queen is going through a lot here.

Princess-Sera - Hug to the queen!

jobananasan and guest - Calm down Jobana. I never seen you this angry in your review before haha. Yes, Shun and Jush are bad in this fic haha. You'll find out who brought her Mother into The Vizard later on. Perhaps Isshin knows a thing or too. (: You'll see if she's dead or alive. Yes her mother was really important and her influence plays a big part.

18: War In Her Mind

Ichigo arrived in the floral shop that night, hoping to see Rukia again and maybe tease her. Who knew? Maybe he could get a repeat of what they did earlier that day, or even better, maybe she would let him fuck her. He'd pound her against the wall of the shop or he'd put her on top of the counter. Damn. He could feel desire stirring in his loins from the images he formed in his mind.

But when he reached the shop, he did not see Rukia. Instead, what he saw was a long white haired man who looked quite sickly.. The older man was sitting behind the counter, and when he saw Ichigo, he stood up with a scowl in his face.

"Are you here for some flowers or are you looking for Rukia?" The man asked Ichigo directly.

Ichigo, not being one to mince words too, answered just as directly. "I'm here for Rukia, Where is she?"

The man sighed. "Figures… Rukia is not here and I don't think you'll be seeing her in the future because I threw her out of my house."

"What?" Ichigo walked closer to the man behind the counter, using his status to intimidate him. "And why the fuck would ya throw her out?!"

"You're another one of her customers in the escort service, right? Another man has been here earlier, seeking her out too. I am not going to have a whore for a daughter, so from now on, she's no one important to me."

Ichigo's hand shot out to grip the man's shirt tightly as his teeth were gritting. "She did it for you, old man!"

Rukia's father gripped Ichigo's own hand that was holding him tightly, but his weakened force was nothing for the much more powerful and younger man. "I would have preferred to die than owe gratitude to a whore!"

A vein was bulging on Ichigo's forehead as he reeled himself in, desperately trying to suppress his anger. He said in a tight voice, "I ought to kill ya, ya fucking worthless dead flower, but I won't 'coz that will waste Rukia's sacrifice. However, if something happens to her, I will make sure you will pay."

Ichigo shoved the man away and walked towards the door, but before he exited, he said his last warning. "Ya don't know who you're crossing."

Ichigo met his right-hand man Sado outside the shop.

"Rukia's missing because her bastard dad threw her out," Ichigo informed Sado who responded with surprise. Ichigo looked at his subordinate. "Sado, I need you to search for Rukia and find out where she is. I plan on bringing her to the mansion."

Sado nodded. "Right away, Sir." Ichigo's assistant fished his cellphone from his pocket, ready to issue instructions to their men.

"And oh, before I forget, find out also who the fuck was the other guy who visited Rukia earlier this night. I don't like anyone encroaching on what's mine," Ichigo added.

"Got it, Sir." Sado proceeded to perform his task right away.

Rukia stayed that night at the orphanage where she grew up. The nuns there knew her a lot because she spent her weekends there, especially to play basketball with the young boys and girls, as well as tutor them. Since the former Mother Superior died five years ago, Rukia found the orphanage a much more welcoming place. The former Mother Superior was certainly a lot stricter than the one who replaced her.

She had taken nothing with her, more than a few clothes in one backpack, and her school related stuff in another. The next morning, Rukia did not attend classes so that she could search for a room or even a cheap bed space to rent. She had no choice now but to use the money that Ichigo gave her for her last night at Death Gods. To think that she was saving it for her dad's medicine and her future school expenses. She needed to find a part-time job now and that seemed to be the hardest part.

"It's been three days, but she still hasn't attended her classes. Why is finding one girl proving so hard for fifty grown men?!" Ichigo could not keep his impatience out of his voice as he asked Sado for updates for the search for Rukia.

"The nuns in Rukongai Orphanage told us that Rukia only told them that she was locked up from their house and only needed a place for the night. They did not even know that her adoptive father threw her out. Our contacts in the police force and district officials are working hard in searching for her as discreetly as they should," Sado informed him.

Fuck this shit. This was the same thing he had been hearing for three days now. He needed a fresh update or he'd lose his mind. The investigation that he commissioned for Rukia surprised Ichigo a lot though. Before, he was not interested in anything beyond where she lived and studied. He just wanted her body and nothing else mattered to him.

That was not the case now though. Finding Rukia now hinged upon her past. Imagine his surprise when he learned that Rukia was abused by her aunt and uncle when she was a child. That would explain the scars that she covered with tattoos. He was curious about it back then, but Rukia cleverly diverted his attention from them by enticing him with sex. He kind of felt annoyed when he realized that he had been tricked so easily. She was too smart, goddamn.

He also learned that Shunsui told Rukia things about her mother. Ichigo was in disbelief as he found out her mother was a whore and an insane person that tried to murder Shunsui and his group of friends. That she lost her memories and didn't even know she gave birth to Rukia. He tried to have his men dig through the database about her mother to see what else he could find. Obviously it's quite difficult as social media didn't exist back then. All they could find is that her body was never found so she was presumably dead. No photos or anything.

After confronting the man that Rukia called her father, he felt a little disturbed, and that was saying a lot because Ichigo seldom felt disturbed by anything. He could kill a man and still sleep soundly in his bed. He only felt something like this after he had killed his first man, but it had been easy for him from there on out. What really made him feel so disturbed was his astonishment with the indifference that Rukia's "father" displayed concerning his daughter. Ichigo's own dad was a lot of things, but he was never indifferent to Ichigo. Maybe it helped that he was the successor to their illegal business. He found out that Jushiro had always been cold to Rukia, not talking to her too much, and that the one loving act that the girl probably received from her "dad" was the gift of the hoodie that Rukia wore a lot.

In Ichigo's mind, he would never understand how Rukia could sacrifice her life for someone like that, someone who never cared much about her. If it were Ichigo, he would probably let the bastard die. But when he found out how life was also difficult for Rukia when she stayed for five years in the orphanage, he felt he could understand why Rukia looked up to her "dad" a lot. She probably saw him as a savior that delivered her from hell. Jushiro was indifferent and cold, but he allowed Rukia to do whatever she wanted, and provided for her too. But still, Ichigo knew that Rukia's upbringing was far from ideal.

Knowing everything put things into perspective for Ichigo, and he couldn't help but feel a grudging admiration for the girl that he merely saw as a whore. Life was tough for the young woman he'd been obsessed with, but Rukia was tough herself. It was a real wonder how Rukia's stoic demeanor could hide so much suffering. Ichigo would be damned though to feel sorry for the young woman. Rukia seemed to be the type who hated pity from other people. Now, he only needed to find her and keep her away from her so-called father and that fucker who was trying to get to Rukia. After solving things about Rukia, he would surely deal with that sneaky lawyer once and for all.

Ichigo's seething musings were cut off when Sado came up to him in a hurry.

"Sir, I received a tip from a restaurant owner that he just hired Rukia as part of his service crew. Rukia's gone home now but he has her current address in the resume she submitted."

"Great, we'll go there now." Ichigo hastily walked to where the car was parked. He couldn't wait to see Rukia again.

In a law office in downtown Karakura, Byakuya received a similar tip. He promptly got up from his seat and told his secretary to cancel all his appointments for the day. He'd been so worried for the last three days after he learned that her dad threw Rukia out after finding out her secret. Byakuya couldn't help but feel that some of it was his fault because it seemed like the older man overheard his conversation with the young woman.

Stay there, Rukia. I will surely save you, Byakuya thought as he boarded his car. Once he reached her, he would make sure she'd never suffer again.

Rukia had just come home from her interview with the fast-food restaurant manager that hired her as a service crew. At 500 yen per hour, she would probably earn at least 2500 per day. It wasn't much, but she wasn't exactly a spender anyway, and she knew she could save some for the monthly rent of her small room in a dormitory. Of course, she still had the check from Ichigo that she hadn't touched. That would be entirely allotted for her miscellaneous fees at school.

She was folding her clothes into the little cabinet in the room when she heard a knock at her door. Thinking that it was probably the landlady, she immediately got up to open it. When she did, the person who greeted her was the last she was expecting.

"Atty. Kuchiki? What are you doing here? Or I mean, h-how did you know I was here?" Rukia asked as her forehead creased.

The man held up his hand at her questions. "I can answer those questions, but can we talk inside?"

Rukia hesitated and stared at the man with a suspicious expression. Why should she listen to this guy?

The lawyer probably sensed her wary attitude so he attempted to further convince her. "I swear I don't mean any harm. I'm just here to make you an offer."

Offer. Rukia was starting to feel that people always had ulterior motives when they made offers – just like Shunsui had. Rukia was not entirely sure she should still trust others. When she still didn't budge from her place, Byakuya stared directly at her eyes and said,

"Please?"

Wanting to get this over with so she could return to what she was doing before the lawyer appeared, and besides, it looked like he had no intention of leaving until she relented, she had no choice but to let him in with a sigh. She offered him the lone plastic chair in the room as she stood by the slightly open door.

The lawyer, on the other hand, quietly observed the whole sparse room and when she offered him the chair, he refused.

"I don't think it looks right if I, the guy, am the one who is seated, while you, the lady, is standing there."

She merely shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I don't think it looks right if I don't offer my guest the best accommodation I can provide, which, unfortunately, is that one chair." Rukia had a lot of excuses, but the real reason was that she felt safe by the door.

"I insist. Please sit." Rukia added.

The lawyer sighed and did as she said. When Byakuya had finally settled, Rukia asked him again.

"So, what was your reason for being here?"

"Well, I learned what happened to you… and I feel like it is my fault." Byakuya reached out to hold her hand. "I want to help you, Rukia. This place is not fit for a young lady like you."

Rukia was about to reply to the lawyer but she was interrupted when the door she was beside suddenly opened, revealing Ichigo and his assistant whom she remembered was called Sado. The mob boss was stopped in his place though when he saw her and Byakuya conversing. And like a repeat of what happened before in Death Gods, the mob boss snatched Rukia again away from the lawyer she was talking with.

"Jesus fucking Christ! Ya don't really stop, do ya? Ya followed Rukia even here!" Ichigo directed towards Byakuya while he pushed her to Sado who steadied her as she stumbled lightly.

Ichigo's right hand man asked if she was alright and she just nodded as she focused on the brewing tension between the two towering men in her room. Rukia didn't want these two men to make trouble in the dormitory. She would not want to be pressed to look for another room as cheap as this one.

Byakuya also stood at his full height as a response to Ichigo's intimidation.

"Of course. It's my aim to take care of Rukia after all. Unlike you, I don't regard her as a whore," said the lawyer as he matched Ichigo's glare.

The mob boss mockingly laughed in response. "Hah! Take care of her? Why, did ya think I didn't know that the only reason you're interested with her is because she reminds ya of yer dead wife?"

The lawyer's eyes widened as he heard Ichigo's accusation. "You fucker–" Byakuya said in a strangled voice as he seized Ichigo's shirt. Ichigo, on the other hand, was goading the man into punching him.

Rukia immediately intervened in the heated argument because she did not want a dick-measuring contest to ruin her newfound personal place.

"You two get the crap out of each other's faces! If the landlady knows about the trouble you two are causing, I'll be thrown out to the streets again!"

The two clashing men were stopped by her outburst. Seizing the opportunity to voice her opinion, she addressed the both of them, starting with Ichigo.

"You!" Rukia pointed her index finger at the orange haired man. "You always think you have the right to drag me anytime, anywhere! Well, news flash! I'm not your whore! And if you have touched me after that, it was only because I let you. Just find another hoe you can play with, since that's the only thing you want right? I don't even know why you're bothering with me. It's not like I'm some special snowflake. I'm tired of you always annoying me!"

She then turned to Byakuya, "And you! I don't care whether what Ichigo said was true or not, but I don't like the way you say you are saving me. Dude, did I ever ask for your help? I didn't, right? And besides, I have just learned that there really was no such thing as nice offers. I don't know what you want, but I know your help probably doesn't come for free, so no thanks."

She then pushed the three of them out of the door while muttering, "Please, please, just leave me alone! And don't bother me anymore!" She promptly shut the door and locked it, leaving the three men speechless outside.