Friendly reminder that this story is not related to my other ones, okay? Happy reading!

Chapter 6

An eerie wind this way comes…

"Are you sure about this?" a fat young man asked to his skinny companion "we might get lost, they say the fucking forest is dangerous."

The skinny man laughed sarcastically.

"Are you afraid of bunnies? Or owls?" he questioned jokingly "we have guns in case anything approach us, besides what we're looking for is right across the woods..."

"Are you certain? We'll hit the jackpot this time?" the fat man asked, his doubts were being pushed down by his enthusiasm.

"One hundred percent," the skinny man confirmed "there are two nice looking cottages on that town, one belongs to a rich old man and the other one belongs to a rich couple, we go in and take everything of value and then..."

"We set the woods on fire!"

"Exactly," the man agreed "that will distract anyone from chasing us and we'll escape."

The fat man smirked sadistically as they both stepped right on the edge of the woods, there was no one around and it was already late at night. They were about to step inside when an eerie wind came straight to their face through the tall trees making all of the branches and leaves to move violently and a few hisses, probably from wild animals, were heard.

Both men stopped as their eyes widened.

"Do you think that the legend..." the fat man started but he was cut almost immediately by his companion.

"Witches aren't real," the other man muttered "these sort of shit happens all the time around these kind of places, move your ass."

Fearfully they both stepped into the woods ignoring the wind's dangerous warning and overlooking the fact that the cottages they were aiming for were protected by people more dangerous than the wild animals surrounding the whole place.

Rukia laughed as she enjoyed the growing amount of bubbles on her bathtub, late night baths were one of her favorite things, especially because it was Lucy and Stella the ones that would keep her company during those.

"He's funny," Rukia said while blowing some bubbles that were resting on her hand "don't you think?"

Lucy frowned.

"He's..." she paused while she considered her words "respectful, if I say so myself" she frowned deeper "quite loud-mouthed..."

Rukia looked at her main maid and smirked.

"You don't like him," she guessed playfully "why's that?"

Lucy looked aside refusing to answer.

"Oh, come on!" Stella said as she took a seat next to Lucy to pour more bubbles in the bathtub "you worry too much, he's Yoruichi-sama's godson."

Rukia nodded.

"Exactly," she agreed "otherwise I wouldn't have approached him."

"I know," Lucy said crossing her arms "it's just that he has this striking hair and looks like a bad boy, I cannot help but compare him to..." she gulped "you know."

Much to the maids' surprise Rukia chuckled.

"He's not the same," she said full of confidence "otherwise Urahara wouldn't think highly of him and..." she blew some bubbles towards Lucy's face "I won't make the same mistake."

Lucy smiled sadly.

"You promise, my lady?" she asked.

"Stella is right," Rukia said as she accepted the shampoo Lucy handed her "you worry too much about me."

"Besides, it'll be just for the summer" Stella said as she put herself behind the bathtub to help Rukia rinse her hair "he'll be gone before we even have the chance to get used to his presence."

Rukia crunched her nose, something about Ichigo leaving so soon didn't settle well with her but she didn't want to question her own feelings.

"Unless he fails the exam," Lucy suggested as she stood up to pick a bathrobe for Rukia "if he does Yoruichi-sama will send him to the city right away."

"He won't fail the exam," Rukia said confidently "he's not an idiot."

"You say that, my lady" Stella said "but we took snacks for him as he was studying and he seems to be struggling with the whole thing."

"Oh, I know" Rukia said "that's why I shared one of my study secrets with him" she smiled "he'll be okay."

"Does that have something to do with the note that you sent him through me?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Yes," Rukia admitted and then sighed happily as she enjoyed how Stella helped her with her hair "the idiot will be okay."

Lucy and Stella exchanged a knowing look between them.

"Apparently it'll be an interesting summer," Stella concluded "just don't get into too much trouble, my lady, please."

Rukia simply nodded.

"Man up," Yoruichi said "it cannot be that hard."

Ichigo refused to answer, instead he bang his head twice against the dining room table as if, by knocking himself unconscious, all the knowledge he was trying to acquire would finally stick into his brain. It wasn't working, obviously.

"Kurosaki-san," Urahara said as kindly as he could "refrain yourself from trying to get mild concussions, we would like to have dinner without you falling unconscious."

Ichigo lifted his head and glared at his godfather.

"Just kill me," he begged "it'll make everything faster."

"That's illegal," Urahara gasped dramatically "and you're my godson!"

Yoruichi scoffed.

"Listen," she said "if you think too much you'll combust, just relax" she rolled her eyes "tomorrow you can try to study again."

Ichigo nodded, for now he was beat so there was no much he could do but as the maid served him dinner, which was a chicken sandwich, he remembered Rukia's request and his eyes widened slightly.

"Can I go to the tree house today after dinner?" he asked Yoruichi and that made him feel as a five year old asking permission to go and play, it was sort of embarrassing.

"What for?" Yoruichi asked.

"To breathe fresh air," he said simply "it might help me" it was a lie but he couldn't simply say because your crazy goddaughter asked me to that would guarantee problems for him and Rukia.

"Do you expect me to believe that?" she asked smirking.

Ichigo blushed.

"It's true!" he excused himself feeling even more childish.

Urahara laughed.

"It's okay!" he said cheerfully "I'll go with him just to make sure that he's not breaking any rules," he winked at Ichigo "and to make sure he's not meeting a certain someone in there."

Yoruichi nodded.

"Yeah," she agreed "in that case you can go."

Ichigo frowned.

"I'm not five, you know?" he complained.

"Shut up and eat your dinner," Yoruichi said "you need energy, you just have two more days to study before your exam," she waved a hand around "then you can go and create mayhem with the Kuchiki heiress."

Ichigo sighed as he nodded, he was actually looking forward to spend his summer with Rukia, she mentioned a lake and a party on the next town so he was sure there would be some excitement for him once his whole ordeal with the exam was over.

He took a bite of his sandwich.

"I'm glad you didn't let her save the chicken," Ichigo said "this is good."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Yoruichi ordered with a smile "you're not five."

Ichigo and Urahara laughed at that.

Byakuya stopped drinking from his glass of wine as he looked at Isshin skeptically. They had been friends since their college years and now, both grown up adults, held quite a strong friendship and some business alliances in between, that's why they were having dinner together, they had closed an important business and they were celebrating, that's why he never expected Isshin to break news about his son tonight.

"What did you say?"

"My son, Ichigo, is at the countryside and he befriended your little princess" Isshin answered with a smirk "apparently they are getting along well."

There was a pause of a few seconds in which Byakuya observed his wine glass and then, with what seemed to be a solemn look, he asked something unexpected to Isshin.

"Is Kurosaki Ichigo okay?"

Isshin snorted.

"What?" he asked "why would you ask that?"

"Because I'm not paying for any long-lasting emotional or physical sequels that your son might suffer after spending a whole summer near my daughter," Byakuya explained, cold and emotionless as always "I will not take responsibility and, knowing her, neither will Rukia."

Isshin couldn't help it anymore so he laughed loudly and a couple of people around the restaurant turned to look at his table with disapproval stares but neither Byakuya nor Isshin cared about that.

"Is as if you believe that Ichigo would become Rukia-chan's victim in one way or another," Isshin exclaimed amused "why is that?"

Byakuya sighed as he crossed his arms.

"The last city boy who was there and tried to get close to her ended up with more than a few broken bones," he explained casually, as if he was talking about the weather "coincidentally he had striking hair and some criminal-like features."

Isshin blinked three times and then smirked.

"I'm pretty sure that the boy you're talking about deserved it," Isshin excused the Kuchiki heiress "and something tells me that you were the one who decided to teach that boy a lesson, am I right?"

Byakuya nodded once, it was a slight nod but Isshin didn't miss it.

"Don't worry!" Isshin said "I raised a good boy and..." he smiled widely "Yoruichi informed me that he already pledged loyalty to the Kuchiki princess."

"How come?" Byakuya inquired, it has been a while since he asked Rukia about her adventures.

"Rukia-chan pretended to be the witch of the woods and convinced Ichigo he was cursed," Isshin whispered dramatically "so she told him that to fix that he would have to be her faithful servant."

Byakuya pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Of course she did..." he muttered "well, then I guess whatever she throws at him he'll be aware that it's his fault entirely."

"One hundred percent," Isshin assured him proudly "I'll visit them as soon as the twins come back from summer camp, why don't you come with me?" he suggested.

Byakuya frowned.

It has been a while since he last visited the countryside and his daughter, but that had more to do with the fact that Rukia didn't want to see him than to the fact that he was busy as hell. He knew he had to go, his father had been throwing hints here and there about how Rukia couldn't stay there forever and how much he missed her.

Byakuya wouldn't admit it but he missed her terribly too but, would she listen to him? Would she smile once she were to see him? Or would she hide on that dangerous tree house the whole time like the last time? He didn't know and he certainly wasn't feeling too confident to find out.

"What are you thinking?" Isshin asked curiously.

Byakuya looked at his best friend, he knew that he understood his hesitation and, while Byakuya hadn't shared anything too personal with him, he knew he would be able to comprehend better than anyone what he was going through.

"Why did you send Kurosaki Ichigo to Yoruichi's side?" Byakuya asked.

Isshin smiled sadly.

"Teenagers are a handful, aren't they?" he asked jokingly and then chuckled "well, a few weeks ago we had a fight..."

As Isshin started to explain Byakuya couldn't help but feel quite surprised at the fact that someone as smart like Ichigo could be such an imbecile at the same time, he also noticed how there was a lot he didn't know about the Kurosaki family, which was quite confusing, as far as he was concerned Isshin was an amazing father who would never miss a weekend or a dinner with his children but apparently every single family, including the goofy ones, had issues. As Isshin finished explaining his predicament Byakuya couldn't help but notice an small chance for him to gain someone for the enterprise and to help a friend.

Killing two birds with a stone, as some would say.

"So," Byakuya said once Isshin gave him the details "this part time job your son was aiming for, what was it about?"

Isshin's eyes widened.

"You're not going to..." he tried to say but Byakuya interrupted him.

"I would have to speak with my father and grandfather first," Byakuya commented before his friend could jump to conclusions "but they both think highly of your son, for reasons beyond my comprehension."

Isshin gaped slightly.

"But..."

"Of course I would have to talk to your son too," Byakuya continued "luckily I know where he is and, coincidentally, I was planning to visit the countryside soon."

Isshin looked at Byakuya with a mix of shock and gratitude.

"Are you sure?" Isshin asked uncertain.

Byakuya shrugged as he picked his glass of wine again.

"If he can survive a whole summer with Kuchiki Rukia of all people," Byakuya said "he will be able to handle anything I throw at him."

Isshin's smile couldn't get any wider and, as he thanked Byakuya, they both toasted silently.

"Okay, no signs of anyone else around here" Urahara said as he took a seat on the comfortable carpet inside the house tree.

Ichigo was sort of disappointed at the fact that Rukia was nowhere to be found, but he was quite excited when he noticed that she had left several books and notebooks around the place, along with a small chalkboard with an improvised schedule.

"I don't get it," Ichigo admitted "what's all this?"

Urahara smiled.

"Her study technique," he explained "whenever she has important tests she locks herself in here with her books and notebooks and follows that schedule," he pointed at the chalkboard "it assures her time management and no distractions."

"Do you think it'll work?" Ichigo asked as he took a seat on the opposite side of his godfather.

"There's only one way to find out," Urahara said as he turned on one of the oil lamps and hanged it outside the tree house's window.

"She did the same the last time," Ichigo pointed out "does the lamp's light reaches the cottage?"

"Indeed!" Urahara confirmed as he took a seat again "so whenever you're here at night please turn it on so we can be completely sure that you are here."

Ichigo nodded as he grabbed the first notebook.

"Do you want me to stay here for a while?" Urahara asked as he made himself comfortable on the carpet.

"Sure," Ichigo answered "I like the place but the woods at this hour don't look that friendly, I'm not sure I can handle this atmosphere alone."

Urahara chuckled.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," he assured his godson as he closed his eyes "as far as everyone is concerned I'm the most dangerous being around this whole place."

"I don't know," Ichigo said as he silently praised Rukia's calligraphy "Ginrei-sama is scary as hell when he wants to."

Urahara seemed to ponder that for a minute.

"You're right," he agreed "I'll give him the number one spot and I can be the second most dangerous man around Seireitei."

"But if we're honest," Ichigo continued "Yoruichi can defeat both of you any day."

"Agreed!" Urahara laughed.

Yoruichi sighed heavily as she saw the light coming from the tree house, she knew Kisuke was going to stay there almost the whole night with Ichigo, she just hoped he wouldn't distract him too much. She observed the woods for a few more seconds before deciding to go to bed, once she was about to close the window a strong, cold wind made every single tree around the woods move and she rubbed her arms to get rid of the chilly sensation.

It wasn't uncommon for the woods to be cold like this at night but it still gave her quite the nasty feeling.

"Stupid folktales," she muttered annoyed to herself "calm down."

She closed the window then and decided not to think about creepy woods or witch stories, she was in the safest place on earth, nothing else mattered.

An hour passed by and, as much as Ichigo wouldn't admit it, Rukia's notebooks and classes were helping him a lot. He felt way more confident now but it was getting late, so he decided to go to sleep before he could exhaust himself.

"We should go back," Ichigo said to Urahara who was laying on his stomach reading one of Rukia's mangas "is already late."

"Oh, but they're about to kiss!" Urahara exclaimed as he closed the manga disappointed.

Ichigo rolled his eyes.

They both made their way out of the tree house and while Ichigo waited for Urahara to come down he approached the fence that leaded to the woods. He couldn't see anything more than darkness, the light that was coming from the moon was blocked by the tall trees and their branches. Ichigo couldn't help but remember the day he met Rukia and how happy she looked in the middle of the stream surrounded by the impossible tall trees.

"Why does she love the woods so much?" he wondered aloud.

"Well," Urahara said while approaching Ichigo "she grew up playing around those and there are feral bunnies in there, she is committed to their protection and conservation."

"As if bunnies are an endangered species..." Ichigo muttered and then remembered "what happened after you met her? You brought her to the cottage and gave her a sandwich? Just like that?"

Urahara shrugged.

"She was a very trusty child," he explained "but only when it came to Yoruichi because inside her cottage..."

"So," Yoruichi said while walking upstairs with Rukia "we'll wash you while Kisuke makes some food for us."

Urahara pouted, he knew there was not food suitable enough for a child inside his kitchen. Besides Yoruichi's sake bottles, Urahara's mushrooms samples, that he picked for experiments, and an awful amount of chips there was no way a child would get anything nutritious around the cottage.

"This is why we should get a maid!" he yelled dramatically, what was he supposed to feed them? He was pretty sure that the mushrooms he picked were poisonous.

Rukia shook her head.

"Maids are evil," she said while holding tightly to Yoruichi "your cottage is better off without them."

"See?" Yoruichi smirked at her husband "listen to the child, she knows."

Urahara scoffed as he walked towards the kitchen, he opened his refrigerator and sighed heavily as he noticed enough ingredients to make some sandwiches, that would do for now. He heard laughing and splashing upstairs and he wondered why that sound made him feel conflicted, it was madness, a simple sound like that couldn't bring him so many emotions.

A couple of years before Yoruichi and him had received a final diagnosis and they both agreed to stop craving a child's laughter around their home, they decided to stop trying and they resigned to the fact that they just couldn't have everything.

Urahara closed his eyes tightly as the child, Kuchiki Rukia, laughed harder and Yoruichi cursed.

It could be easy, they could simply take care of her once in a while, after all…

"No," Urahara told himself "she's not ours."

But we're the godparents a voice inside his head kept taunting him you're supposed to act as parents if the biological ones aren't around…

He shook his head as he kept making the sandwiches, luckily there was also lemonade, that made everything easier. They would simply feed the girl and send her back to her cottage, her fancy cottage with healthy food, maids and with her biological family. It was ridiculous to imagine having a child around after a few minutes of knowing her but, why was she being neglected? Why didn't the maids take care of her? He was awfully curious.

"Can I stay here?" Rukia asked Yoruichi as they both stepped into the dining room.

"For how long?" Urahara asked amused as the little girl struggled to get on one of the chairs, Urahara picked her up so she could sit down and eat properly, he noticed how her forehead wasn't sweaty anymore and now she was wearing a couple of Yoruichi's socks, they were too big for her but those were enough to protect her feet for the time being.

"Until I find some bunnies that I saw while I was coming to your farm," she explained as took a big bite of her sandwich "I just want to find out where their burrow is so I can go and live with them."

Yoruichi frowned as she took a seat across from the little girl.

"You're not following feral bunnies, those little shits are dangerous" she scowled "and don't talk with your mouth full, it's rude."

"Sowy," Rukia said without swallowing first.

"Anyway," Yoruichi said as she took a sip of her lemonade "you can stay a few hours, after that I'm calling Ginrei-sama, he must be worried sick about you."

"He's not," Rukia assured her "he's going to be busy for several hours, he has an online meeting."

Urahara rested his head on the palm of his hand, he didn't like how that sounded.

"Aare you sure that you should be asking a couple of strangers to stay with them?" he asked curiously.

Rukia scrunched her nose.

"I'll tell you a secret," she said pouting and extended her pinky towards Urahara "but you cannot tell anyone, okay?"

Urahara nodded as he sealed the promise with his pinky as well.

"You promise too?" Rukia asked while looking with her big expressive eyes at Yoruichi.

The purple haired woman nodded as she awkwardly sealed the promise as well.

"My mom is dead," Rukia said once the oath was sealed "but before she went to heaven she told me that if I ever needed help I had to look for my godmother."

Yoruichi's eyes widened as her heart skipped a beat.

"Oh?" Urahara asked as he took Yoruichi's hand under the table, he gave her a little squeeze.

Rukia nodded.

"She told me I would find her here on the countryside," she explained as she smiled widely "so I am going to go around the place asking the locals if anyone knew mom, that way I'll find my godmother, but I don't want to deal with the maids so I'll live with the bunnies first."

"What kind of help do you need?" Yoruichi asked "you're looking for your godmother because you need something from her, right?"

Rukia nodded.

"Yes," she admitted as her voice broke a little "I am alone and I need a friend, that's why I'm looking for her."

Yoruichi bit her lower lip, she didn't want to tell her, she didn't want to deal with such a responsibility and even if Hisana was the one who sent her here there was no way she could raise the child, what about Byakuya? What about school? What were the Kuchikis thinking?

"But we're your friends!" Urahara said as she poured more lemonade for the little girl "you don't have to be alone."

Rukia beamed.

"Can I stay?!"

Yoruichi nodded as she picked up the child's empty plate, she wanted to ask her what Hisana told her about her godmother because the child seemed clueless about everything, she never mentioned physical appearance or some relevant fact about her, Hisana simply told her to look for a random woman in the countryside, that was ridiculous.

"You'll stay but we also need to speak with…"

"Pardon the intrusion!" someone said while stepping into the cottage without knocking.

Urahara stood up as one old woman wearing a kimono stepped into the dining room, she was flanked by two young maids who looked quite smug for being crashing into private property.

"My lady," the old woman greeted coldly "it's time to go, I've been informed Ginrei-sama will be finishing his meeting soon" she informed without even looking at Yoruichi and Urahara "come, now."

Yoruichi frowned but before she could say anything Rukia surprised her, the child paled horribly in a matter of seconds and jumped, like a bunny, towards Urahara's arms, she was trembling.

"Yo," Yoruichi greeted the Kuchikis' staff "you're here to pick up the kiddo, but she was about to finish her lemonade so…" she said awkwardly "tell Ginrei-sama that I'll drop her once he's done with his meeting."

"Outsiders shouldn't talk as if they are close to the Kuchikis," the old woman said "it's disrespectful."

Yorucihi smirked.

"Outsiders shouldn't talk to me when they don't know who I am," she hissed "and you're quite brave for stepping into my house without a fucking invitation."

"We're just here to pick lady Rukia," the woman didn't back down "step aside, please."

Yoruichi decided that picking a fight with a maid was not wise, she would've to let it go for now and talk to Ginrei-sama later, at least now she knew where to find the child.

"Well," Yoruichi said frowning "I guess it can't be helped but..."

"No!" Rukia yelled as she held with all her might to Urahara "no!"

Yoruichi's eyes widened as she saw how afraid Rukia looked at having to go back to the cottage, her arms were so tight around Kisuke's neck and her eyes were closed, as if she didn't even want to see everyone in the room.

"Oh my," Urahara exclaimed "perhaps..."

"My lady," the old hag said sternly "this is hardly decent! You cannot behave like this around strangers! What would Byakuya-sama say?!"

Yoruichi clenched her fists, she wanted to yell at the insufferable woman that she was not a stranger and that Rukia was, as a matter of fact, her goddaughter, but she haven't shared that piece of information with the child so she refrained from doing so.

"They are not strangers!" Rukia exclaimed "they are my friends!" she opened her eyes and looked at Urahara's face "don't let them take me! I'll behave! Let me stay!"

It was for only just a second, but Yoruichi saw Urahara's hesitation at letting the child go, he didn't want her to go with the maids and the nanny.

"I'm pretty sure that we can talk with Ginrei-sama," Urahara said calmly "perhaps if..."

"My lady!" the old one yelled interrupting Kisuke again "if you keep this childish act I will inform Byakuya-sama! Is that clear?!"

Urahara frowned and Yoruichi glared enraged at the old woman but it was a lost battle because it took five seconds for Rukia to nod sadly and one of the young maids walked towards them and took Rukia on her arms.

The last thing Urahara and Yoruichi saw was Rukia waving at them with her violet eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Oh," Ichigo exclaimed as Urahara finished telling the rest of the story "they took her away, uh?"

Urahara nodded as a somber look caressed his features, Ichigo could tell that he didn't like to remember that part so he didn't pressure him with all the other things that were bothering him, when did she come back? Did you inform Ginrei-sama? Did the maids call Byakuya? How did you reach the part of the agreement in which you decided to take care of her? It was late already and they were both tired, he had the rest of the summer to keep hearing the story.

"We should go inside," Urahara suggested "it's getting colder."

Ichigo agreed as he took one last look at the woods and he imagined a small Kuchiki Rukia running around the gloomy place and finding, by mere luck, her godparents. He also remembered how Shinji told him how Byakuya had tried to take Rukia with him and how he failed at every single attempt. He turned around to follow his godfather back to the cottage as he observed Urahara's back he could picture him holding a small Rukia and refusing to let her go.

He decided that he wanted the whole story and he wouldn't be able to hear it unless he were to approve the exam.

"I'm going to pass," Ichigo muttered "I need to pass."

Urahara smiled at him over his shoulder.

"That's the spirit" he praised him.

Ichigo didn't mention that his main motivation was to learn everything he could about the woods and about Kuchiki Rukia.

He wanted to hear the whole story from the protagonist herself and for that reason he needed to stay for a while more.

He couldn't wait for his summer adventures to start.

Okay! This one took a while but here I am! Anyone still here? Let me know, and let me know if you enjoyed the chapter as well. I want to thank you as usual but is pretty late here and I have to work tomorrow, so let me know in a review if you still read this silly thing, I'll answer you on the next chapter.

Kisses!

Pd. I apologize for my grammar mistakes.