Chapter 5


Rukia took a deep breath and smiled.

She never expected to feel so much freedom inside a school, it was interesting. Right now she was on the rooftop eating lunch with Riruka. The pink haired girl took her to the cafeteria but they both decided that they didn't want to eat surrounded by males so, after both bought their lunch, Riruka decided to show her the rooftop.

According to her it was her secret space.

Although it wasn't really a secret but everyone around school knew better than to bother Riruka, so there was no need to worry about intruders.

"So" Riruka said "you already saw the cafeteria and most of the classrooms, is there anything else that you don't know about schools?"

Rukia nodded.

"Well, what about physical education? Is that hard?" she asked.

"Oh" Riruka said "we have that tomorrow, physical education is fine I guess, although our teacher is a psychopath."

Rukia tilted her head confused.

"Psychopath?" she asked.

"His name is Zaraki Kenpachi" Riruka said "you'll meet him tomorrow."

Rukia frowned, for some reason the name sounded familiar to her. She was about to mention that to Riruka when the rooftop's door opened violently and Ichigo walked towards her in an all business manner. Rukia smirked devilishly at him.

"Carrot top" she greeted happily "you don't seem happy to see me."

Ichigo crossed his arms angrily.

"What the hell, midget?!" he asked "I thought that I wouldn't see you until the afternoon."

Riruka observed the exchange curiously.

"I got bored and besides, I told you I wanted a normal life and this" she said pointing all around her "is a normal life for a girl like me."

Ichigo sighed.

"Fine" he said resigned "I suppose is better if you're here, how did you manage to let the Principal let you stay?"

Rukia gulped.

She didn't want to tell him, at least not for now, that Ukitake-sama was one of her father's friends. Otherwise it would be too easy for Ichigo to connect the dots and figure out who her father was, so flashing him with a wide smile she decided to lie to him.

"I just told him that I really wanted an education" she said "no more details were needed."

Ichigo frowned, he doubted that but he decided not to press her with more questions, she could always explain later. He looked at Riruka who was looking at him with a funny expression.

"What?" he asked her.

Riruka shrugged.

"Nothing" she answered and Ichigo turned to look at Rukia again.

"Listen" he told her "I'll leave earlier because my boss has been calling me, apparently he wants me at the office. Will you be okay? Do you know how to get home?"

Rukia nodded.

"Don't worry, carrot top" he told him "I'll go shopping with Riruka and then I'll get home."

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair, somehow he still didn't trust her around the city.

"Fine" he said finally "see you later then."

Once he left the rooftop and closed the door behind him Riruka looked at Rukia questioningly.

"What was that?"

Rukia smiled.

"I told you, I'll explain everything once we get to the mall" she said "besides, I didn't like this food we might need to eat something else."

Riruka nodded.

"Cafeteria food is the worst type of food" she agreed.


When Kurosaki Ichigo stepped into his office Ukitake couldn't help but to smile.

"Ichigo" he greeted warmly "what brings you here?"

Ichigo bowed respectfully.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Ukitake-san" he apologized "it's just that Byakuya has been texting me, he wants me earlier in the office, is it okay with you? I already told Renji to give me the homework later."

Ukitake smiled kindly at him.

"There's no problem, Ichigo" he said "just be sure to drive safely and give my regards to Byakuya."

Ichigo nodded.

"Thank you, Ukitake-san" he said and was about to leave the office but Ukitake stopped him.

"Ichigo" he said "I was wondering, have you talked with Rukia?"

Ichigo blinked and looked at Ukitake, what did he mean by that? Ichigo was sure that Rukia had lied to Ukitake in order to stay at the school. Did she told him that he knew him? Or perhaps she didn't lie, it was a possibility. He really needed to talk with the midget so they could get their versions in order.

"Yeah" Ichigo answered finally.

"Ichigo, don't worry" Ukitake said after seeing his defensive pose "I know everything about Rukia."

"Everything?" Ichigo asked and Ukitake nodded.

Ichigo sighed and took a seat in front of Ukitake's desk.

"I never meant to hit her with Byakuya's car, I swear" he said solemnly.

Ukitake laughed at that.

"She mentioned that you hit her with the car but she doesn't remember that part" he said smiling "don't worry about it, I was just wondering, are you okay hiding her? Is it okay for her to stay at your house? Isn't it difficult with Byakuya so close to you?"

Ichigo blinked.

"Well, we've been together for a few days but for now my job schedule hasn't been a problem for us to spend time together" he said confused "is not like Byakuya shows a lot of interest in my personal life."

Ukitake's eyes widened at Ichigo's confusion, what did Ichigo mean by that?

"Ichigo" he said carefully "do you know who Rukia's father is? Do you know her last name?"

Ichigo shrugged.

"No" he answered simply "I mean, she told me that her father is a crazy bastard so that's enough for me, and she doesn't want to use her last name anymore so I didn't pressure her with questions."

Ukitake wanted to laugh at the stupidity of the situation, Ichigo was completely unaware that his boss was Rukia's father. Could it be that…?

"Does Rukia know who you work for?" he asked curiously.

Ichigo shook his head in negative.

"No" he said "she has never shown interest in my work and you know that the Kuchikis have a strict privacy policy. The only ones who know who I work for, besides my family, are you and Renji."

Ukitake couldn't believe it, that's why Rukia was so comfortable relying on Ichigo, she didn't have an idea of how close to Byakuya she actually was. The worst part was that Ichigo was as oblivious as her, he just called his boss a "crazy bastard" and he didn't know. He thought about warning Ichigo but, would it be wise? No, it wouldn't be, in the end Ukitake decided to keep the information for himself, it would be funny to see the whole thing unfold.

"Is everything okay, Ukitake-san?" Ichigo asked "why are you asking me this?"

Ukitake cleared his throat.

"Oh, it's just that I know who Rukia's father is" he said and Ichigo's eyes widened.

"That's why you let Rukia stay here, right?" the orange haired teenager asked.

Ukitake nodded.

"Is she in danger?" Ichigo asked "is he close?"

Ukitake shook his head.

"Ichigo, I won't tell her father anything" he assured him "you can relax, I accepted her in the school because I feel at ease knowing she's safe, I promised her that she would be okay here."

Ichigo visibly relaxed and Ukitake fought the urge to chuckle.

"I just want you to keep her close to you" Ukitake said "Rukia deserves more than anyone a normal school life, I want to make sure she enjoys her time here."

Ichigo nodded.

"I'll make sure she's okay" he told him "I don't know how to explain, really, but after seeing her for a while I got to the conclusion that she deserves a little bit of happiness, I think I can help her with that."

Ukitake nodded at that.

"Thank you, Ichigo" he told him "I trust you and I hope you can trust me with this, if you or Rukia need anything don't doubt to come to me, okay?"

"Yes" Ichigo said smiling "thank you, Ukitake-san."


Rukia noticed how Ichigo left a little bit before the last period and sighed.

His boss really was an asshole if he didn't give a fuck about his studies, was his work really that important? Well, it had to be otherwise he wouldn't panic over his boss's calls and messages. She noticed how everyone started to murmur at Ichigo leaving the room, weren't his classmates aware that he had to work?

"Why is everyone surprised?" she whispered at Riruka.

She shrugged.

"Everyone knows that Ichigo works" she explained "but no one knows what he does, there's a lot of rumors about it."

Rukia frowned.

"Do you know what he does?" Riruka asked her curiously.

Rukia shook her head.

"No" she said sincerely "and I don't want to know, his boss is an asshole and that's enough for me, I don't want to pressure him with questions about it."

Riruka nodded.

"I guess I agree with you" she said absentmindedly "well the last period is about to start, I can't wait to get out of here."

Rukia couldn't wait either, she was dying to go to the mall.


Ichigo parked on his reserved spot in the Kuchiki enterprise and walked with steady steps towards the elevator. He didn't know why Byakuya was so eagerly waiting for him, it was weird. On Saturday they told him how they wouldn't be able to attend the office this week and now they needed him earlier? Ichigo was confused as fuck.

Sighing heavily he pushed the button to go to the last floor. That was, according to Byakuya, one of the privileges of working alongside the upper branch of the enterprise. Ichigo and the Kuchikis were the only ones who worked on the top floor and no one could access without making an appointment previously. Once he reached the floor he stepped out of the elevator and walked towards the double door leading to Byakuya's office and knocked twice.

"Come in" he heard Byakuya say and opened the doors without hesitation.

Much to Ichigo's surprise Kuchiki Ginrei was there too.

"Ginrei-sama" Ichigo greeted with a smile "I didn't expect to see you here, did you get bored of retirement already?"

Ginrei chuckled and stood up to greet Ichigo.

"My boy" he said "would you believe me if I were to tell you that I missed Byakuya's constipated face?"

Ichigo chuckled.

"Not at all" he said and Ginrei laughed.

"Let me know when you're done making fun of me" Byakuya said coldly "then we can start talking about work."

"I'm sorry" Ichigo said with a smile that proved he was not sorry at all "your messages were surprising, I had to ask for Ukitake-san to let me go earlier, he sends his regards by the way."

Byakuya sighed.

"I just wanted to let you know that we won't be as busy as we thought we would" he said "is none of your business but a significant part of our problem was solved easily, therefore we'll be coming to the office as usual."

"That's great" Ichigo said puzzled "may I ask what's this problem about, perhaps I can help."

"No, you may not" Byakuya said crossly "and before you ask, that's not the reason why I requested your presence."

Ichigo waited for Byakuya to tell him what he needed.

"Oh, come on" Ginrei said while approaching Ichigo "hear me out, boy. I'm the reason Byakuya called you, I told him I could wait but he disagreed. The thing is that this whole week you'll be working with me, at the mansion."

Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Yes, Sir" he said without hesitation and then added "why?"

Ginrei chuckled at Ichigo's puzzled face.

"I need to run several errands and you'll be with me the whole time" he explained "unfortunately I won't be able to ride with you on the motorcycle, obviously."

Ichigo chortled at the mental image of Ginrei on his motorcycle.

"Therefore" Ginrei continued "we'll have at our complete disposition Byakuya's shiny Audi, is that okay with you?"

Ichigo nodded, he knew how much Byakuya hated to lend him the Audi but Ginrei's humor made every single glare of Byakuya worth it.

"Well" Byakuya said obviously annoyed "then don't waste my time anymore and take my grandfather, you can leave the motorcycle here and pick it up at the end of the week."

Ichigo nodded.

"Sure" he said and after saying goodbye to Byakuya, who gave him the car keys frowning, he left the office along with Ginrei.


Rukia gasped and Riruka smirked.

"I know" the pink haired girl said "it's like paradise."

Rukia couldn't agree more.

She was in front of a store dedicated entirely to Chappy. There were phone cases, pillows, T-shirts and several of promotional articles, she looked around the store trying to take everything in and to memorize prices so she could come back with enough money. She never imagined that after her first day of school she would visit the mall so she left most of her money in Ichigo's closet.

"Hey, loser" Riruka called her to the other side of the store "here are the pencils."

Rukia walked towards her and grabbed three pencils.

"Are you sure you don't want to buy anything else?" Riruka asked her "you look like you want to take the whole store with you."

Rukia frowned sadly.

"I didn't bring enough money" she said.

Rukia looked around and pondered her options.

She knew she couldn't spend her money that fast. She had saved enough to survive at least six months but now she had her doubts, how was she going to afford living like a normal girl without her dad's money? She needed to find a part time job soon.

Or she could call granddaddy and ask for some money.

She shook her head at that idea, she wouldn't rely on her family any longer. Besides, Ginrei was dying to see her and she couldn't let him know where she was, she couldn't let herself be found that easily. Deciding that it would be bad for her wallet to stay longer at the store she decided to look around one last time and that's when she found a plushie, it was a limited edition Chappy plushie.

She gasped at the price.

"Oh" Riruka said frowning "it costs an arm and a leg."

Rukia gulped, she wanted the plushie badly. She checked her wallet and noticed how she didn't have enough cash, there was just no way she could buy it.

"If you really want it" Riruka said "why don't you use that card?"

Rukia looked at the debit card and sighed, she had stolen the card from her father's wallet the night before being sent to the convent.

She knew that the card had money, lots of money, it was from one of her mother's saving accounts, and if she wasn't mistaken her father kept saving money inside the account in case of emergencies. The reason why she was refusing to use it was because she didn't know if her father kept track of this account specifically, he was really careful when it came to money, but to keep track of his late wife's account? She wasn't sure.

According to what he told her once all of her mother's account were kept to assure savings for Rukia's future, so she could use it freely, right? Rukia decided that this was once in a lifetime opportunity so without wasting time he grabbed the plushie and exchanged a smirk with Riruka.

"That's the spirit" Riruka said approvingly.


"This is an honor" one of the security guards said after seeing Kuchiki Soujun stepping into the station "what brings you here, Kuchiki-sama?"

Soujun looked around the place and noticed how the policemen were looking at him with curiosity. He knew that he couldn't state his business so openly and in the middle of the station so without wasting time he asked for the person in charge.

"O-of course!" the guard stammered and directed him towards his boss's office.

The police chief was a thin, middle aged man who greeted Soujun respectfully and asked him what he needed. It was a good thing that the Kuchiki clan had good connections and a healthy relationship with the authorities, otherwise he wouldn't be greeted this way.

"You are in charge of managing the city's security footage, am I correct?" Soujun asked.

"Yes" the chief answered quickly "are you looking for something in specific? May I know the date?"

Soujun nodded.

"Would you believe me if I were to tell you that we, as a clan, are looking for a missing puppy?" he asked.

The chief laughed.

"Of course not" he said "but I know better than to ask questions, and the Kuchikis have been so generous in the last couple of years, it would be unthinkable to deny a favor to you or your family."

Soujun smirked.

"Well" the chief said finally while showing Soujun his computer "if you could simply give me the date in which this puppy was last seen?"

"Show me the footage of the center of the city from last weekend, please."

The chief nodded and played the videos.


Rukia ended up eating her hamburger while ignoring Riruka's astonished face.

She expected her to be surprised after hearing her story. Rukia supposed that it wasn't a common occurrence for a novice to escape but she didn't find it that weird, still Riruka had been processing the information for five minutes. Rukia told her everything, her escape, Ichigo saving her, she deciding to live with him and of course she also told her about her family.

"Does Ichigo know that you're a Kuchiki?" she asked.

"No, he doesn't need to know" Rukia answered "you're the only one who'll know."

Riruka promised to keep the whole thing a secret.

Rukia also explained why she was hiding from her family and her plans of getting the control of her own life.

"Well" Riruka said "you have my support, you said it yourself we're friends so I'll help you."

"Thanks" Rukia said sincerely.

"You know" Riruka said pensively after a while "perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to use the card, Kuchiki Byakuya might track you."

Rukia shrugged.

"I thought about it" she said "but even if he tracks me there he won't find me, I won't use it again so he'll hit a dead end."

Riruka nodded.

"It makes sense" she said "so, now that we're done here what else do you want to do? We still have some time."

"I want to buy something for Ichigo" Rukia said smiling.

Riruka nodded and both of them continued to look around the mall.


He replayed the tapes until he saw her, he didn't expect to see her so his breath hitched for a second. It was Rukia, there was no mistake.

She was wearing a blue sundress and she was smiling while looking around, she looked up at the sky and then stepped into a store. Luckily he recognized the store's name, this proved that Rukia was really in Karakura and that satisfied him, what he found weird was the fact that Rukia was alone, completely alone.

He thanked the officer and assured him that he had seen more than enough.

He obviously too a copy of the footage with him.


"Ginrei-sama" Ichigo said while arranging everything around the room into boxes "don't get me wrong, you know I appreciate your trust, but why am I moving all of this?"

Ginrei smiled as he saw the young Kurosaki carrying different boxes.

The truth was that the Kuchiki mansion had several guest rooms and Ginrei was preparing the bigger one for Rukia. When Ginrei found out that she was in Karakura he started the preparations, they still needed to pinpoint her exact location and to convince her to come back but he wanted everything to be ready and he didn't want to do it alone, he enjoyed Ichigo's company so he selected him for the task.

"Sorry, my boy" he said "it's just that we're waiting for a special guest and I wanted to take care of her room personally, but since I'm old I cannot do it by myself, you'll have to let me abuse of your kindness."

Ichigo nodded not bothered by that at all.

Ginrei-sama was an amazing company.

"It's okay" he said "this is entertaining, who is this guest?"

"Oh" Ginrei said "I cannot tell you, but I'll introduce you to her once she's here."

Ichigo nodded and kept moving boxes inside the room. Ginrei didn't tell Ichigo but he would make the boy drive him around town, he knew there was a chance he would find Rukia like that.

The orange haired teenager would help him without knowing.


Soujun stepped into the office and ran towards Byakuya's computer.

Byakuya didn't intervene in whatever his father was doing but he showed the same shocked face as him when he saw Rukia walking around the Karakura streets without a care in the world. He recognized the street in which she was and cursed under his breath, that was a spot near his own house, was she really that close to them? He couldn't believe it.

"She's alone" Byakuya said and Soujun nodded.

"I noticed that too" he admitted "now look at the name of the store she visited."

Byakuya's eyes widened.

"You won't like this, son" Soujun said "but it's time for you to visit Yoruichi Shihouin."

Byakuya frowned and nodded.

He was about to tell his father how he didn't fancy going to that store at all but his cellphone rang. He answered on speaker while playing his daughter's footage again, it was weird to see Rukia after so much time, even if it was in a video, she looked healthy and that made Byakuya sighed with relief.

"Lord Kuchiki" the person at the phone said "my apologies, I do not wish to interrupt your busy schedule."

It was his accountant.

"Is something wrong?" Byakuya asked.

He liked to keep track of his money and accounts on his own, but he hired an accountant to assure his father that there would be no mistakes when it came to their savings. In fact, they kept such a nice track of the accounts that it was weird to receive a call like this.

"Ehm… yes" the accountant answered "I was sending you the last week's transactions when I received the notification of one of your debit cards being used just hours ago."

"Debit card?" Byakuya asked bewildered "which one? Where?"

"That's the thing" the accountant said "the debit card hadn't been used in years, it belonged to your late wife, Sir. It's one of the ones you kept for your daughter's savings."

Byakuya's eyes widened.

"Where was it used?"

The accountant cleared his throat, clearly nervous.

"It was at a Chappy store, in the Karakura mall" the accountant said "I called the store, and apparently the owner of the card used it to buy a limited edition plushie."

Soujun gaped.

"Thank you for the report" Byakuya said "there's no need to fret, I know who used the card and the next time you get notified again you must call me immediately."

"Understood, Sir" the accountant said and Byakuya hung up.

Soujun laughed at Byakuya's face.

"Perhaps my granddaughter is on a shopping spree" he suggested and Byakuya pinched the bridge of his nose.

Now he had to visit Yoruichi and the freaking Chappy store, this wasn't his day.


When Ichigo stepped into his room he noticed Rukia jumping excitedly on his bed while hugging a rabbit plushie. He closed the door behind him and frowned at all the shopping bags on his floor, how much did she buy?

"Midget, what the hell?" he asked and Rukia smiled at him.

"Carrot top!" she said happily "welcome back!"

Ichigo blinked surprised.

"Thanks" he said while trying not to smile back, why was she so happy? Her smile was contagious.

"Shopping malls are amazing" she said and then looked around her bags "I finally ate a hamburger, I missed those so much, and the Chappy store is a dream! I'm telling you, I thought I had died and went to heaven."

Ichigo helped her to take the things out of the bags. He noticed some pencils and notebooks, a new backpack and what seemed to be a new pair of shoes, well at least she bought school things. She really needed those.

"Midget, please tell me that you didn't spend all of your money" Ichigo said as more girly things started to fill his room "you have to be responsible if…"

"Don't worry!" Rukia said while taking out another plushie from another bag "this one is for you, his name is Kon, the owner said that no one wanted him so I felt bad for him."

Ichigo grabbed the plushie, apparently it was a lion. It looked quite funny and he could already picture Yuzu's excited face if she were to see it. Then he looked at the other plushie, the rabbit, it looked expensive as fuck and it was way bigger than the lion, he would have to hide that one on laundry day otherwise he wouldn't be able to explain why he had it.

"Thanks" he said finally "listen midget, I talked with Ukitake-san, how come he knows your father?"

Rukia's smile faded as she started to organize her things.

"You can put your school stuff along with mine" Ichigo said "the closet might be too crowded otherwise."

Rukia nodded.

"What did Ukitake-sama tell you?" she asked finally "I didn't want you to know because, you know, I don't want to involve you with my father."

Ichigo shook his head.

"Don't worry about it" he said "he didn't tell me anything about him, he just told me that he knew him and that he wanted to help you."

Rukia chuckled.

"Well, Ukitake-sama has always been kind with me" she said finally "well, everyone's been kind with me, you, Ukitake-sama and Riruka, I told her everything and she promised to keep the secret."

Ichigo sighed as he picked another bag.

"Great" he said "you know, I'm glad you two became friends, I've never seen Riruka having fun with someone. You're her first friend probably."

"Well" Rukia said smiling again "she's my first friend too."

Ichigo looked at her offended.

"Really? So what am I?" he asked frowning and Rukia chuckled.

"Let me rephrase" she said while punching Ichigo playfully on the shoulder "she's my first female friend, happy?"

Ichigo shrugged.

"Perhaps."

Rukia laughed and took a step back, she didn't notice there was another plastic bag on the floor so she gasped as she lost balance. Ichigo tried to stop her fall but he ended up losing his balance too and before he noticed he was on the floor on top of Rukia.

"Fuck" he said "sorry midget I…"

He never got the chance to finish his sentence, his bedroom door opened violently and Ichigo gaped as he saw one of his least favorite persons stepped dramatically into his room.

"Cousin!" Kaien yelled and Ichigo paled "I just heard…"

Ichigo noticed how Kaien stopped talking as he observed the compromising scene before him.

"I'll kill you!" Ichigo said while standing up and dragging Kaien inside before he could say anything else.

Rukia wondered, as she saw Ichigo closing the door to lock inside the intruder, why he never mentioned he had a twin.


So much happening this time, I seriously needed to study and somehow this came out, I needed to write it badly. I hope you like this chapter, I'm trying to update all of my pending stories to help you guys to get distracted during quarantine, hopefully it's working.

Now, this story doesn't get as many reviews as the other ones but I still appreciate every single one of you, really.

Haru000: Thank you so much for your review! Don't worry, I have planned lots of things between Ichigo and Rukia before the Kuchikis find her. I hope you liked this chapter, let me know! Kisses!

Lydia404: Thank you for your review! I really appreciate it! Oh, don't worry, Byakuya will have to go through a lot before reaching his daughter, I promise. Let me know if you liked this chapter, kisses!

Jobananasan: I loved your review! Thank you so much! I also love Renji and Ichigo together, they're my favorite duo of idiots. Hopefully you liked this chapter, let me know. Kisses!

Nejes: Thank you so much for your review! Let me know if you liked this chapter, take care and kisses!

RukiYuki: Thank you so much for your review! Let me know if you liked this chapter! Take care!

Pd. I apologize for my grammar mistakes.