Author's Notes: I APOLOGIZE FOR THE LATE UPDATE! But, it was wonderful getting reviews even weeks after I'd posted the last chapter. –huggles- Thanks, everyone! -edit- Edited Part III a little because it was leaving everyone confuzzled. I apologize again. Also, to help your understanding, Urahara's Candy Shop's mascot is a blue bunny, in case anyone forgot.

Whiteout.
Turn Around.

Part I

They stood, one leaning against the wall lazily, the other fiddling with his lighter. A spark; and a flame was ignited. He lit his cigarette and drew in a deep breath of smoke before letting it out slowly. His companion fingered the weapon in his pocket, watching the dark clouds absently. A slightly chilling breeze; and the clouds drifted away, revealing a rather ominous moon. The moonlight shone into the previously dark alley, illuminating a tall red-head with tattooed eyebrows, holding a cigarette in one hand, and his partner, with three scars down one cheek, and a number printed on the other. It could've been 67, or 69 – it wasn't clear in the poor lighting.

Dropping his nearly burnt out cigarette onto the ground, the red-haired male stepped out the flame and walked out of the alley lazily. His scarred companion followed, lounging behind him in the same laidback fashion.

---

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked, attempting to mask the concern in his voice, as he watched Rukia turn around sharply yet again. It had been the fifth time she'd done it already, as if she had expected someone to attack her from behind. She shook her head rather violently, returning to her dinner without uttering a single word. He frowned, but didn't probe further, as always. If she didn't want to say anything, he wouldn't force her to, so as not to disturb the fragile balance of their current relationship, which pretty much meant living together without trying to strangle each other to death.

He was in the kitchen when there was a loud crash, followed by footsteps and a sharp gasp, probably from Rukia. A clatter of plates in the sink, and he rushed out, only to find two strangers clothed in black suits, blocking the doorway which they had just destroyed. They seemed different from the usual "penguin men", as Rukia had nicknamed them oh-so-fondly. And it seemed as though she knew them pretty well indeed. The flame-haired one took off his shades, smirking as he did so.

"Yo, Kuchiki Jou-sama," he drawled, emphasizing on the title at the end. Rukia scowled, her hand going to the gun on her thigh.

"Abarai Renji," she spat, holding the weapon tightly in front of her, pointing at the red-head. Ichigo noticed with mixed feelings that he didn't even flinch. All of a sudden, there was a flurry of movement, and two shots were fired. Whether it was Renji who shot first, or Rukia, no one could tell except for the shooters themselves. Ichigo was very much aware of the fact that his strange "room-mate" had an excellent aim (from incidents in which she'd threatened to shoot him in the crotch, but missed just barely because of his quick reflexes), but this Abarai-guy was no worse, or maybe even better. Another shot was fired, this time at the ground, subsequently deflecting in Ichigo's direction. The bullet would have pierced right through his heart if he hadn't jerked sideways, plummeting into the half-cleared table. As a result, the bullet just managed to graze his left arm.

"Oi, Shuuhei! Let's just finish this shit and get our asses outta this place," Renji said in a slightly irritated tone (probably because he'd missed his target twice), cocking his head sideways at his partner. After which, he advanced forward towards Rukia and knocked the weapon out of her hands in one swift movement. Shocked, she staggered backwards, only to fall into Shuuhei's strong grip. Muttering a low "Please excuse me, Rukia-sama", he hit her on the back of her head to knock her unconscious.

It was at that moment that they noticed a looming shadow at the doorway, along with something bouncing up and down on his shoulder.

"Ichii!" the bouncing thing yelled in her usual shrill voice. Her "carrier" opened his mouth to reveal all his teeth, probably in an attempt to smile. The result was a terribly frightening and sinister grin. Renji frowned – he wasn't sure if he liked the current situation. Two, maybe four rifles were conjured out of nowhere, and the tall figure began to shoot. At first, Ichigo (from underneath the table) thought that his neighbor was just randomly firing at everything around him, but when he looked closely, he realized that every single shot was directed at Rukia's attackers and never at anyone else.

"Ken-chan is so cool!" Yachiru cooed, still bouncing as she squeezed the trigger of the shotgun she held in her small hands with much ease, nearly inflicting damage on Shuuhei. A little taken aback, he let go of Rukia and sent her falling to the ground. Meanwhile, his partner was having problems of his own. With Zaraki Kenpachi's extremely precise aims, Renji was finding it very hard not to get killed, much less retaliate. Snarling as another bullet hit his abdomen, he signaled to Shuuhei to leave, and together, they exited from the room, attempting to dodge Zaraki's consistent firing as they did so.

With the pink-haired girl's help (pouring icy cold water on her head, to be exact); Rukia was very much awake by the time her "visitors" had left. Glancing at her saviours (somewhat), she murmured a soft "thank you" as they strode out, Zaraki bending slightly to walk through the threshold and Yachiru on his shoulder, waving enthusiastically at Rukia.

---

Ichigo scanned the condition of his house and groaned as he tried to stand up. Everything was in a total mess, with broken windows and lights, destroyed cupboards, and fluff escaping from the gaping holes that had been made in the couch. He would just have to beg Rangiku to give him his pay in advance or something, to pay for all the destruction. Wincing as he thought of her usually smiling face turning into a dangerous glower as he asked for money for the next few months, he decided against it. Getting another job would be a better solution…

He was brought back to reality by a cold hand touching his injured arm lightly. Rukia's head was bowed down as she asked if it hurt, in a soft voice. Ichigo realized that she'd thought his wincing was due to pain and tried to explain, but she silenced him with a guilty look on her face as she made him sit on the counter in the bathroom. After rummaging for a while in the rubble, she returned with the first aid kit. With Ichigo propped up on the vanity, his nose was now level with Rukia's eyes, making it easier for her to bandage his wounds.

"This time, it's my turn to treat you," she commented grimly, taking a roll of gauze out from the white box. "Fuck, NO," he began to say, but was silenced once again, this time with a light jab at one of his wounds, sending him off into a string of incomprehensible curses.

His left arm was bandaged (to the best of her capability) first, and then ointment was applied to the bruises on his kneecap without her paying any heed to his protests. The last injury was the deep gash on his cheek which he hadn't even noticed. Holding his head steady with one of her cold hands, Rukia wiped away the blood, then applied antiseptic. She bit her lower lip as she watched him cringe just a little at the stinging pain and stopped the treatment. His resolute orange pupils stared into her violet ones because they couldn't look anywhere else, with her hand clamping his head to look at her.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo," she said quietly, looking away from his gaze. She taped down the bandage on his face, making a cross shape with the tape, and released her hold on the back of his head.

He looked at her slumped shoulders and the weight of guilt on her small body, together with lips that were currently set into a thin line, and an expression of defeat present in her intricate facial features. He had to admit that she was beautiful, fair and dark-haired, petite with symmetrical features, just like a porcelain doll. She stood before him, clad in another one of his big shirts, deep violet eyes staring at nothing in particular, and he felt a sudden urge to hold her. Without thinking about the consequences (probably a flying kick across his jaw), he bent down a little and placed his lips on hers gently.

To his surprise, she didn't kick him in the shin, but dissolved into his embrace, and returning his kiss in much the same manner.

---

Part II

"Are you all right, Matsumoto-san?" Isane asked, as she saw a glass slip from her employer's hands. A few heads looked up when they heard the shattering of glass, but Rangiku's eyes remained fixated on the silver-haired man standing before her, oblivious to the champagne spreading around her feet. He sat down on the barstool (strategically right in front of her), still grinning his foxy grin. Isane tapped her on the back and she broke out of her trance, reverting back to the cool and smooth-talking bartender that everyone was familiar with. The only difference was the obvious hostile waves she was emitting, as she tried her best to ignore the silver-haired customer, leaving her employee to deal with him, alone.

"What would you like to have, sir?" Isane asked, still puzzled over Matsumoto-san's sudden change in behavior. The customer chose to pay no attention to her at all, but continued smiling at the blonde. Shrugging helplessly, Isane moved away to tend to another customer, leaving the couple to themselves.

A few minutes passed, and Rangiku felt her face turning hot partly because of his penetrating gaze, but mostly because she was getting rather irritated.

"Get the fuck out of here, Gin," she growled in a low voice, so as not to attract more attention (although she knew that all eyes were still on her and the weird customer).

"Nanya, don't you miss me, Ran-chan?" he replied as smoothly as she would have done to a different person, his eyes reduced to small inverted crescent moon slits and the infuriating smile still stuck on his fair face.

"Don't. Call. Me. That," she growled again, this time in a louder voice. Isane backed away and tried to hint to the other patrons in the bar to find shelter or leave before the volcano erupted. There was no reply from Rangiku's "opponent", but he set his arms on the counter, cradling his head with his hands and smiled at her sweetly. That was the last straw. Isane groaned silently and wondered why she was the only one working at that particular hour – she would have to clean up after her employer's mess.

---

"I SAID GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY BAR, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" roared Rangiku as she brought herself to full height and looked utterly terrifying (together with her intimidating assets that hung in front of her) as she started throwing anything she could find at the silver-haired man, including cups, glasses, beer and whatnot that was available in the bar.

"I'll visit again sometime, Ran-chan," he called out before leaving the bar (and dodging several sharp objects at the same time), but losing his saunter in an attempt to get out as quickly as possible. Inside, he could still see the blonde waving her hands about furiously and the girl named Isane (he'd looked at her name tag despite ignoring her earlier) trying her very best to restrain her. The other customers were also leaving in a hurry, because some of the objects aimed at him had flown someplace else as well.

Shaking his head slowly, Gin smiled. "You'll never change, Rangiku," he thought aloud, regaining his lazy way of walking.

---

Part III

He found himself staring into the faces of several freaky-looking blue bunnies smiling at him sadistically.

"What the fuck?" was the first thing he uttered, turquoise eyes blinking crossly. A curtain with blue bunny prints hung above his head in a circle as the bunnies continued smiling widely, causing a shudder to run down his back.

"My, my, aren't children vulgar these days," remarked a voice from behind the stuffed creatures, with a soft chuckle. Hitsugaya frowned and pushed the curtain away, and saw a man in a striped green hat over a head of messy sandy-blond hair and a paper fan covering his mouth.

"And who the hell are you?" the boy asked in a snarl, his hand reaching for his trusty gun by instinct, only to find that it wasn't at his waist as per normal. His frown deepened. The man with the straw hat simply laughed again, and produced the exact same gun out of nowhere.

"Give it back you sneaky asshole!" Toushirou shouted, standing up to get his prized possession back from the queer man, but found that the circular curtain with blue bunnies hindered his movement and ended up in a tangle of string and cotton, looking utterly stupid with something that looked like a blue fluffed up tutu (with random torn bunny parts in certain areas) crammed around his waist, coaxing another chuckle from his companion.

"Fiery, aren't we? Why don't you get out of that ridiculous array of ballet clothing and come down for breakfast so that we can… talk things over," the straw-hatted man suggested (although it sounded very much like a threat to poor Hitsugaya), making his way down the creaky stairs.

Halfway down the steps, the man added as a passing remark, "Your female companion is downstairs with my… wife-ouch-I mean, my business associate." followed by, "Don't hit me, Yoruichi! I was just joking about the wife part." leaving a very bewildered boy trying very hard to get out of his blue-cotton-that-used-to-be-a-freaky-curtain predicament.

---

"Good morning, Shiro-chan!" Momo chirped when her charge finally came down, looking very peeved with some bits of blue cotton stuck in his spiky hair. He didn't even bother to correct her name-calling and simply slumped down in the only empty chair left. A tanned woman slapped a fried egg on his plate and handed him a fork. He scowled sullenly, but ate it, trying not to appear like a hungry savage but failing.

"Now that your stomach's filled, let's start with the introductions first, shall we?" the sandy-blond-haired guy said to no one in particular. "You can call me Urahara, and the pretty lady over here is Yoruichi." The tanned woman nodded in acknowledgement and grinned rather cattily. "Now, I've heard from Hinamori-chan over here that the both of you are currently homeless unless you count dark alleys?" At this, Urahara raised an eyebrow questioningly. Hitsugaya gawked at Momo, who bobbed her head rather sheepishly.

How in the hell can a homeless person even attempt to help someone else?

"My foster parents kind of… threw me out of the house when they figured my income wouldn't be of any significant help to them," the brown-haired girl offered as an explanation. When Toushirou just continued gawking, she continued in a small voice, "They never really liked me, to begin with… And everyone at work is too caught up with their own lives to offer me any help, I mean, I am a social worker myself…"

"I apologize for interrupting your small conversation in getting to know each other better, but please, let me get to the core of matters first," Urahara disrupted, snapping his fan close. "I happen to know a couple who'd take the both of you in gladly, just as long as you don't tear down their apartment-"

"What's the catch?" asked Hitsugaya coldly; he was too used to making deals in the underworld. No one, absolutely no one, offered you benefits without wanting something in return. At this, both adults smiled simultaneously.

"What a smart boy. Yes yes, of course we would want something in return. After all, nothing in this world's free isn't it?" Urahara rattled on. "All we want is for the two of you to report certain… queer instances that happen to the couple that you are going to stay with to us every week," Yoruichi finished for him.

---

Hitsugaya was about to question more when Momo kicked him in the shin under the table with more strength than he'd thought she had. "We'll accept the offer gladly!" she said brightly. "Just one more question. What kind of queer instances are you referring to?"

Once again, Urahara lips curved into a small smile. "Oh, just certain black-suited men who look strangely like penguins. Oh, and they'll probably be armed."

"Wha-" Another kick in the shin, but on the other leg. "That shouldn't be a problem! Thank you, Urahara-san," Hinamori said, smiling. Suddenly, the silver-haired boy regretted saving her, and felt a little wilted in the strangely horrifying smiling fest the other three people were having.

"You're very welcome, Hinamori-chan!" After a slight pause, Yoruichi added, "You too, Shiro-chan."

Hitsugaya Toushirou was pretty sure that he would die.

To be continued.

---

To readers: Around 3000 words! Aren't you guys proud of me? –wide grin- I hope my writing wasn't too confusing because the ideas just kept pouring in and I just had to type everything out. Hope everyone was pleased with the short IchiRuki moment and Gin's appearance (although his name was only mentioned at the end, I'm sure everyone knows it's HIM). Also, Hitsugaya in a tutu of a curtain with blue bunny prints amused me greatly. XD I just love teasing the poor kid.

kirby: Your review inspired me to get working on Parts II and III! I did Part I a long time ago, see. Well, here's the next chapter!

Kitty: I really hope this turns out well. :) Here's the update!

Nadare-chan: Thank you for your praise! XD Here's more Renji and HitsuHina interaction.

darkspryte: Hehe, next installment here! Hope you liked it.

Hoshii-chan: -blushes- Thank you for your compliments! You write very well yourself. (: More HitsuHina and a great development in IchiRuki!

AnimeObsessionFantasy: Yes, I thought "penguin men" was rather amusing as well. XD

Black Mistress: Yay, Renji fangirl! More of him here. Yes, Hitsugaya kicked ass, but I've reduced him to nothing in this chapter:O –runs from rabid fangirls- Hmm, I'm not too sure about what Hinamori is, really. XDDD

Sasha: I am SO glad that this fic amused you! Hope this chapter is satisfying as well. :)

disillusiond: More Shuuhei! XD Apologies for no Byakuya this time. About Gin being of no relevance, you're lucky Feli has never heard of my fanfic account so she won't be hunting you down. XD

Rabid Lola: I am glad that someone actually took notice of poor deprived Kon. XDDD My fics aren't so filled with cursing usually, trust me. :) Yes, I think Shunsui will be appearing somehow.

kurenoharu: I don't think Kubotite is going to make ANYTHING canon for the time being. :( Well, that's why I'm writing fics! XDDD

carzla: Here's more Gin X Rangiku interaction! Yes, I would like to reveal more on Byakuya's intentions soon. :)

ElusiveCat: I'll bet you've watched up to the recent episodes already, because I took such a long time updating. –grovels- I am really sorry. Hope you're more familiar with the characters now!

Jia Xi: Yay, someone else noticed Kon! XD I'm glad you liked the Hitsugaya-protecting-Hinamori part!

deadstrawberries: Cheers for HitsuHina! Here's more. XD

Chibirebel and ldybookiie: Here's your update! I hope you like it. :)

notnow: Yes, it is disconnecting how Ichigo is being so nice to Rukia without payment, but I'm probably crediting that mostly to her threatening him than anything else. XD I'll work on it!

Sweet Hikaru-Chan: Of course I won't mind you starting to read my fiction at Chapter 4! In fact I'm honored. :) Phew, I was worried that Hinamori being a social worker wouldn't be accepted.

darkfire22: Oh, thank you for reviewing Winter Death too! I am currently working on the second chapter… Even if the word count isn't increasing rapidly. :( Thank you for believing in this fic and continuing to read even though you don't like AU!

EEP-chan: You really think so? Why, thank you! XDD I hope everyone's still into character in this chapter.

Bakageta: More bunnies to annoy everyone with, but this time Hitsugaya's the poor victim! XDD

I decided to continue replying everyone through my fic, rather than using the new reply option that has been so graciously provided because I can't reply to people without accounts that way. As usual, please continue spamming me with wonderful reviews that make my day!