Guess who updated? :D

And who had to re-upload this chapter because was not able to save my changes. Urgh.

Thanks much to all my reviewers and all the readers still following this fanfic. You guys are beyond awesome! Much love! :D


人形 : 実地試験

Bount: Field Test


"Rukia!"

Ichigo gasped as the raven-haired Shinigami stood in front of him.

She looked the same the last time he saw her: short, skinny, fair-skinned, garbed in the typical Shinigami shikakusho. But there was something different as well, the way she carried herself, the look in her eyes, the aura of power and authority that radiated from her small form.

"Tsk," the lady Bount hissed in annoyance. "They just keep coming one after another. Goethe!"

Oh shit, I almost forgot about her! "Rukia, watch out! That woman is—!"

"I know." Rukia said as calmly as he was panicking, her dark eyes steady as she raised her hands. Goethe flicked its wrists, sending multiple fireballs to her direction but the Shinigami was ready.

"Bakudo # 81: Danku!"

A wall of transparent glass appeared before Rukia which blocked the fiery attacks that the black golem. Fissures appeared on the wall after a few attacks, and Ichigo could feel the heat passing through it, but Rukia held on with a determined frown until the last of the fireballs hit. Another crack appeared on the barrier, but it mostly held out.

"Wow." Ichigo mumbled, having finally gotten rid of the rubble pinning him down to reach his friend's side. He knew that Rukia was fairly competent with kido spells, but he hadn't expected that her kido alone would be enough to withstand the Bount's attack. Holy shit, had she always been this strong?

"Enough, Goethe!" The Bount called to her companion impatiently, though Ichigo could detect a hint of worry in her tone. "Hurry and finish them off!"

The Doll grunted in agreement before lifting its arms. Ichigo balked when he saw the massive fireball that came into view.

"O—Oi, Rukia, can your whatever that is take on something like that?"

"You saw that it barely held out after that last attack. Obviously I still need more practice. Danku is a fairly advanced kido." The girl Shinigami answered as if the whole shit wasn't a matter of life and death.

Ichigo frowned when Rukia dispelled her barrier with a wave of her hand. "Then what the hell do we—?"

But before the miniature sun could hit them, several hissing whips of light came charging at Goethe, restraining its hulking figure and making it cry out in pain.

Ichigo's jaw hung open when the golem in front of him writhed and choked until a bright light consumed its entire body into nothingness, save for what appeared to be…pipes? Plumbing pipes? "What…just happened?"

"Yare, yare, it appears you have gotten yourself into a precarious spot, Yoshino-san?"

The substitute shinigami's brown eyes flew to the figure approaching from his far right: a well-dressed man with short brown hair and goatee, high cheekbones and cold brown eyes. Around his neck coiled a golden snake.

The female Bount, now with a name, Yoshino, turned away from Rukia and Ichigo, tensing visibly at the newcomer. "Ryo."

"You have caused enough trouble for us now, Yoshino-san." The man, Ryo, said coolly while its pet snake slithered down from its perch. "It would be best that we went back. Kariya-san is waiting for us."

Yoshino bristled, her hands moving to strike her bracelet. "I'm not going back to that man!"

Ryo however merely smirked. "I never said you had a choice. FRIEDE!"

The snake on his neck's eyes glowed, and quickly, before Ichigo could see its movements, the creature leapt and wrapped its body round Yoshino's arms and legs, much to the lady's apparent surprise.

"You must not disobey." The snake said in a disembodied, metallic hiss while Yoshino grunted and struggled against its grip.

"Oi, oi, what the hell's going on here?" Ichigo couldn't keep his quiet any longer when Friede slithered up to Yoshino's neck. "Aren't you two on the same side?"

The male Bount's lips curled in distaste. "Food should not talk." And from Yoshino's arms, the snake hissed. "Noisy Shinigami!"

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, another snake leapt into the air to strike Ichigo. But while Ichigo easily shifted to his left to avoid the snake, Rukia fired a shakkaho towards the creature. It let out a hiss of pain before it was blasted apart. The substitute shinigami's eyes widened when he saw the broken pieces of another pipe fall into the ground.

A pipe, again? Shouldn't that be a snake? Ichigo's glare returned to the male Bount and his snake. "You Bounts. Just what are you capable of?"

But the tall man merely raised his hand, his cruel smile widening. "If there is nothing else, we shall take our leave. After all, nobilities have no business fraternizing with the pigs. Friede!"

Yoshino struggled hard, but was no match for the combined strength of the snake and its master as she was hauled up the roof and into Ryo's waiting arms.

"Wait!" Ichigo shouted after them but to no avail, as the Bounts disappeared quickly into the night without a look back.


"So basically even the Soul Society knows shit about Bounts."

It made Rukia very uncomfortable not to say anything to the counter Ichigo then. She and her friends were currently meeting up at Ichigo's place to discuss what to do about the Bounts, just like in the past. And so far, the discussion went mostly the same way it had before, even with her changing things a bit by providing the limited information Ukitake passed along. Hell, even the way Renji barged into the Kurosaki house played out the same!

Not to mention Renji's habit of rebutting the orange head at every opportune time. "Oi, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it's supposed to, birdbrain!"

"You picking a fight, bastard?"

"Why I ought to—!"

"As what I have just said," Rukia snapped over the two bickering boys. "Since we don't know much about these Bounts for the moment, Renji and I are here to find out more about them. That means no wasting time on senseless brawls, got that?"

Ichigo's eyebrows twitched. "Who died and made you the leader?"

Ignoring the flinch the human's words had caused in her heart, Rukia smiled toothily. "Your sense of responsibility. Anyway, let's summarize what we know so far."

"Urahara-san said that Bounts are special humans who can absorb souls and live forever." Inoue began, frowning slightly. "But you said that Soul Society thought they were an artificial race, right, Kuchiki-san?"

"Ukitake-taichou didn't give me any more details on that. But given Urahara's points, for all we know, maybe Bounts could be a little of both?" Rukia offered her friends a nudge in the right direction.

"Considering everything that has happened to us, I'm starting to think something as far fetched as that could be possible," said Sado. "And there's also the fact that so far there had been at least three attacks from at least two different Bounts: the lady Bount you and Ichigo encountered, and that other man."

"Ryo and Yoshino, I think they said their names were, right Ichigo?"

Ichigo nodded at Rukia's query. "Yeah. And from the looks of it, those two are pretty strong too. That Yoshino's flaming golem thing nearly burned me alive!"

"That's what you get for charging blindly like an idiot." Renji remarked flatly.

"OI!"

"Though it's unusual for three Shinigami to be assigned in a single district, since only one is assigned for every 50,000 or so souls," the red head Shinigami ignored Ichigo's angry protests. "It's understandable given the situation. But we can't have a repeat of Ichigo's near roasting on the next attack."

"Now you're just being an ass, Renji!"

Rukia nodded. "True. I suggest we all stick together as much as we can and to confront the enemy together once they strike. That includes Ishida."

"Ishida?" Ichigo frowned. "Rukia, the guy's lost his Quincy powers during our time in Soul Society. Not to be mean or anything, but should we really drag him into this, because what can he do?"

The black haired Shinigami had to remember to act surprised. "What? He lost his powers? I don't think I was told this!"

"That's because he only told us recently, the noble assbrain."

"Still, it's important that we include him with us." Rukia reasoned. "Knowing Ishida, he'll most likely put himself in a dangerous situation out of him being a noble assbrain, as you put it, if we don't keep an eye on him. Besides, he's plenty smart and quick on his feet. I'm sure he'll be able to help us even without his Quincy powers."

Ichigo exchanged glances with Inoue and Sado before nodding. "I see your point. All right, we'll loop Ishida in on this meeting first thing tomorrow morning." The orange head paused. "Speaking of that, what will you be doing?"

What is it?

/I understand that you intend to return to school with your friends as you had in the old past. But if it is to your liking, I have a suggestion…/


Rukia regarded the columns of books before her a little apprehensively.

I'm...still not sure that this is a good idea, Shirayuki.

From inside their shared mind, Sode no Shirayuki scoffed. /As you have mentioned several times throughout the morning, Rukia-sama. But need I bring up my previous argument also?/

It took a bit of prodding from the snow spirit yesterday, who had this bright (so she believes) idea to take advantage of their time in the human world to search for some information on the Shitenno.

/Instead of sitting in on lessons that you will not even pay attention to, do you not think that it would be marginally more productive for us to see if there is any information in the human school's archives regarding the Shitenno? / Sode no Shirayuki had said. /A slim possibility, perhaps, but at least we can say that we did try to look into it./

Rukia however was initially skeptical of the idea. Looking for any clues regarding the Shitenno is already hard enough in Soul Society. What makes you think there's anything about them in the human world?

/Why, Rukia-sama, I must say you of all people should know better than to underestimate what humans are capable of knowing. Who knows? What we may find may actually surprise you./

So Rukia's return to school more or less went the same way it had before (i.e. went kikanshinki crazy on her teachers and classmates). But instead of joining her friends for lunch, Rukia made a detour for the library as soon as their last class was dismissed to see if Sode no Shirayuki's point was valid.

But upon seeing the book titles on the shelf twice her height, the petite Shinigami felt the beginnings of a headache thrumming in her skull. Despite its massive size, at least the Kuchiki archives were fairly straightforward in the way that she only needed to look at the title of the book to have a good idea if it had what she wanted.

The books in Karakura high's library, however…

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany, Various World Histories, Hiroshima, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, History of the Peloponnesian War, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus…? With only a few titles among these making sense to her (where even is this...Pelopennesia?), how was she even to begin with her search?

And here I thought the Kuchiki archives is complicated enough. Rukia had to admit though, Sode no Shirayuki made a good point with her argument. If one shelf in a high school library can contain so much information she didn't have any idea existed, how much more could the human's collection of books comparable to her family's archives contain? I just wish I knew where to start looking.

/To be fair, they did say that our task was going to be challenging./

Because having to worry about Aizen and the Wandenreich alone is not hard enough. The black-haired Shinigami blew at her bangs. But I have to say, some of the titles here look interesting. Rukia raised a brow at a few she pulled out. The Art of War by Sun Tzu? Why is this here?

/Perhaps because he was a significant figure in the mortals' history?/

Rukia turned the paperback over with a hum. I don't think it contains anything on the Shitenno, but it looks interesting. I wonder if there's anything else I can read here?

/You could try asking one of your friends for suggestions, if you wish./

Regarding what? The research on the Shitenno or a reading list?

/When it comes to your friend trying to get your attention right now, perhaps both./


"Kuchiki-san?"

Rukia's head swiveled to the voice behind her, nearly dropping the books in surprise. "Ishida! What are you doing here?"

"Shh! Keep it down. We're in a library, remember?" The bespectacled Quincy made a shushing gesture with his hand before pushing his glasses up with it. "Kurosaki mentioned that you were going to the library for research, as you put it. I had to admit, I got curious, since I don't think Shinigami usually take interest in human affairs, let alone our history." Ishida's gaze shifted to the book on her hand. "Though I take you may have already found what you're looking for?"

"Oh, well, I don't think this has anything to do with what I'm looking for." Rukia said lamely. "I don't even know who Sun Tzu is."

"Sun Tzu was a famous Chinese general and philosopher famous for his teachings on strategy and warfare recorded in one of the books you're holding. But we digress, Kuchiki-san. So you haven't found anything pertaining to your research?" Ishida's query brought her back to the present.

"Ah, well, not really," Rukia admitted. "I don't even know where to begin searching. I'm not even sure if I'll be able to find it here."

The black-haired male adjusted his glasses again. "I might be able to help with that. Not to brag, but I am pretty widely read, and I am more familiar with the subjects and information in the human world compared to you."

No arguments there. Everyone in her small circle of friends knew that Ishida was the resident bookworm of the group. If anyone in her immediate vicinity can help her navigate the scholarly waters of the human world, it would be him. And it's not like Ishida couldn't be trusted; even while he was at the enemy's side during the Quincy war, her friend's heart has always been in the right place.

Besides, seeing as she probably won't be going anywhere if she persisted on her own…

"Ah, it's nothing really important." Rukia finally answered him. "I just heard the term being mentioned once, somewhere and, since I get curious over the strangest things that I have never heard of and want to figure them out for the sake of knowing. Like what's a fast food and a cinema, what is a popcorn and why does it pop?"

At Ishida's apparently growing bemusement at her randomness, the girl coughed. "It's because I heard this term being mentioned by something or somebody, and I have no idea what it even is. Shitenno, I think it was…?"

"Shitenno? You mean the Four Heavenly Kings?"

It took all of Rukia's restraint to not openly balk at Ishida's off-handed response. "Wait, you know the Shitenno?"

Ishida raised a brow. "Of course I do. They're central figures in Buddhist mythology, four gods—each ruling over a cardinal direction of the world—who serve and protect the lord of all the gods or Deva, who in Japan is called the Taishakuten. It's not surprising that you'd hear the term around here, since Buddhism is one of Japan's major religions."

The Balance must be laughing Its giant head off by now. Rukia thought glumly. To think that all this time, all she had to do is ask one of her human friends to be pointed in the right direction. Remind me to hit my head on a wall as soon as we get back to Seireitei, Shirayuki.

/Just allowing me to say "I told you so" is good enough./

You're just that good at making me feel better about myself, aren't you?

/Glad to be of service as always, Rukia-sama./

"—good books on the subject, if you are truly interested. Aside from those here in the library, of course." Rukia caught up to the conversation in time to hear the most important bit.

"It would mean a lot, Ishida. Thank you!" The girl nodded fervently. "I don't know what made you come up here and help me out, but I'm really glad you did."

The teen's eyes travelled to the side. "Actually, Kuchiki-san, it's—"

A melodious tone cut Ishida off however.

The denreishinki! Rukia's eyes widened before turning to meet Ishida's gaze. "Ishida."

"Ah." The Quincy and the Shinigami were out of the library long before Rukia picked up the call. "Renji, what is it?"

"The mod souls sensed something." Her old friend said gravely. "I'm sending you the coordinates by the denreishinki. We're on our way to confront it."

"Got it. We're on our way." Rukia hung up before turning slightly back at Ishida. "Renji and the others found a Bount. I know you want to help us Ishida, but stay close, all right?"

"I understand, Kuchiki-san."

/So it is time then. Do you remember which Bount we'll be facing? One of the two we have already encountered, perhaps?/

If memory serves correct, the Bount we're going to face is—


Utagawa.

By the time Rukia and Ishida arrived, the rest of their friends have already surrounded one smirking Ryo Utagawa, his doll, Friede already activated and slipped around his neck..

The black-haired girl's eyes narrowed, her hand flying to her weapon. "Showing yourself in the middle of the day? You either have a lot of guts or completely no brain."

Ichigo's face brightened. "Rukia! Ishida!"

"Hoh, another back talking Shinigami shows up. And the other one?" The snake doll wielding Bount paused thoughtfully before his smile grew. "Interesting to run into you here. A Quincy…"

Ishida hissed in anger while Rukia drew her sword. "You're not laying your grubby hands on him, bastard."

"Tsk, such uncivilized manners. Are all Shinigamis this uncouth?"

Rukia's eyes quickly scanned the scene before her. Everyone is in a semi-circle formation around Utagawa, but he has the advantage of using the environment around her as a weapon. And also— Her vision narrowed in. There's a human! I remember now! Utagawa used her as a hostage to force Ishida to surrender. Not this time though.

"Ishida, there's a human girl over there, near the Bount's current position." Rukia whispered to the Quincy behind her. "I need you to get her to safety. I'll cover for you."

The glasses wearing teen's eyes widened a fraction when he saw the human in question but nodded immediately. "Of course."

"Let's go!" Rukia wasted no time. "Hado #31: Shakkaho!"

She aimed the red ball of energy at Utagawa who quickly jumped away from the attack. Ichigo and Renji quickly moved in to attack the Bount while Ishida went for the unconscious lady.

"Inoue, help me back Ishida up!" Rukia continued firing a barrage of Shakkaho at Utagawa to keep him off his feet while Ichigo and Renji tag teamed the man.

"Che." Utagawa huffed before drawing his doll. "Friede!"

The snake doll's tail hit the truck Utagawa was on twice, and at once, two snakes came jumping out to meet Ichigo and Renji.

"As if something this weak is going to stop me!" Renji snarled while brining his sword down.

"We're not falling for your cheap tricks again, Bount!" Ichigo jumped up, his own weapon ready. "Take this!"

But instead of connecting to Utagawa, a sturdy metallic object blocked Zangetsu's strike. Friede had taken the form of a sword.

"Oh ho, big words, coming from such a pathetic creature." Utagawa taunted as he expertly blocked and dodged his way through Ichigo and Renji's strikes. "Do you wish to see the full extent of my power? You might not live to regret it."

"You talk too damn much!" The red head Shinigami swung his sword to the side which Utagawa blocked again and pushed away. The man was about to bring Friede down again but then—

"Shakkaho!"

"What—?" Utagawa may have managed to avoid the hakudo attack but he apparently did not expect a rope of yellow energy to come hurtling towards his leg.

"Hainawa!"

As soon as her opponent's leg was caught by the spell, Rukia gave the yellow energy rope a sharp tug, making Utagawa fall to the ground.

The man's brown eyes glared hard at the girl. "Why you—!"

"You should have been more aware of your surroundings, Bount." Rukia smirked smugly. "It's only natural to go after an opponent's moment of weakness, isn't it?"

Ichigo was quick to take advantage of the situation. "Got you!"

Utagawa managed to roll away from the attack on time, but was not able to escape unscathed.

Blood spurted from behind the tall man's shoulder, making him lurch to his knees.

"Ryo," Friede's metallic voice sounded from his hand, tutting in disappointment as the sword turned back into a snake. "Tsk, they managed to get a hit on you. Are you really this weak?"

"Merely unprepared, Friede. I did not expect three Shinigami to challenge me at once." Utagawa said lowly. "It seems I must use our full strength. Are you ready?"

"Ara, so much work. This better be worth my effort, Ryo."

Meanwhile, the three Shinigami, who were listening intently, held their weapons at a ready position.

/Full strength? What could he possibly mean by that?/

I don't know. Ichigo was the last one to fight him in the previous timeline but he never said much about it. Rukia tensed up. At any rate, we should get ready to go back and defend Ishida and the others. Until we know what he's truly capable of, I don't want to leave them undefended.

/Yes, hime—/


"Zeige Dich, Goethe!"

What the—? Rukia shouted to her companions. "Ichigo, Renji, jump!"

A large fireball went straight for Utagawa who was taken by surprise at its appearance. Rukia, Ichigo and Renji barely managed to avoid the blast before the top of the truck was consumed by the flames.

"Santen Kesshun, I reject!" Inoue hurriedly went in front of Ishida and Sado to put up her barrier, protecting the humans from the explosion of heat and debris.

Rukia made a back flip to land on the nearest flat surface she could stand onto, only to freeze upon feeling prickling heat behind her then turning around.

Next to her was the Bount Yoshino and her doll Goethe.

The two ladies' gazes met, and Rukia voiced her surprise. "You—!"

"Y—Yoshino-san…" All heads swiveled to the front, where Utagawa stood on the ground a few feet away from the burning truck, scratched and dirtied in several places with an arm around his abdomen. "To think you would do this again…"

"This is not a fight you can win, Ryo." Yoshino said coolly. "You can either fall back or meet your end right here and now." The woman raised her finger claw and bracelet. "Make your choice."

/This Bount is…helping us?/ Sode no Shirayuki was obviously baffled.

I won't call it that exactly. Rukia readied her blade again. More of us fighting a common enemy.

/Ah, an 'enemy of my enemy is my friend' situation, yes?/

"You will pay for this treachery, Yoshino-san." Utagawa growled angrily. "And you, Shinigami girl, I will remember you."

With that, the man disappeared behind the smoke.

"Hey, wait!" Ichigo tried to go after Utagawa. "…Shit! The bastard's gone again!"

"Don't lose your focus, Ichigo!" Renji snapped, his stance already facing Yoshino. "We have another Bount right here!"

It was only then that Rukia realized that she and Yoshino were standing right above Ishida, Inoue and Sado, who were all tensed up and backing away in ready positions.

"Wait!" She held her hand out to her friends while keeping her gaze focused on Yoshino.

"Rukia?"

"Let me handle this, Renji." The brunette said to her friend before addressing the woman before her. "You, you're Yoshino, the lady Bount from before."

"Ah. And you're the girl Shinigami who blocked Goethe's fireball." Yoshino answered calmly. "I have not met a lot of fighters who could do that."

"You need to get out more then. But back to the main point. You helped us. Why?"

The woman closed her eyes and smiled. "Why indeed? I'm not entirely sure myself. I was determined to see through my mission on my own. But then I saw all of you fight, and then…"

"But you're a Bount!" Ichigo shouted from below. "You eat human souls for food. Why would you—?"

"Don't group me together with them." Yoshino's eyes flew open with a harsh glint. "The way of us Bounts is not as simple as you think!"

"Well then make it clear for us, Yoshino-san." That was Ishida. "Are you an enemy or can we think of you an ally?"

"You are…the last Quincy, aren't you?"

Said Quincy started at the change in Yoshino's tone. "Err, yes?"

"…Do you have any place more private?"

Rukia traded glances with Ichigo and Renji before the orange head answered.

"Well, there is one…"


All right it's done!

If you've watched the episodes relevant to this chapter, I obviously made very big changes to it. Wouldn't want to tell the story the same way the filler did.

The reason why Rukia and Renji haven't rained holy hell on Utagawa is because the way the guy fought them in this chapter is because both of them thought that would have been overkill. And since Rukia doesn't know a lot about Utagawa's abilities here, she's holding out from showing her big guns for now.

The next chapter on the other hand…

(cough) Apologies for the lack of everyone's favorite white-haired captain. But don't worry, he'll be back soon. Can't keep the ice power couple apart for too long. In a fic about them. (laughs)


HEADCANONS BOARD:

-Ishida is a bookworm. Everyone knows that. He probably has the whole card catalogue of the Karakura High's library memorized by now. And the Ishida mansion has a private library too.

-Renji wasn't keen on becoming a student at Karakura yet, so Rukia convinced him to hang around the school so that he'll be able to keep an eye on Ichigo and the others, hence why Renji was able to join in the fight this time. I honestly don't know why he wasn't with them during that fight in the filler episode in the first place. (shrugs)


OMAKE:

"Don't bother, Ichigo."

Rukia quickly moved in front of the substitute Shinigami, who was poised to give chase to the retreating Bounts. "I don't think it'll be the last we'll be seeing of those guys."

Ichigo frowned at that, shooting her a questioning look. "You sound awfully confident. Do you know what the hell's going on?"

"In a way. I'll tell you all about it later once we get everyone back together." She answered before flashing him a small smile. "I see you're still as reckless as the last time I saw you."

Yeah, yeah, I missed you too, midget. Not that Ichigo would tell her outright, naturally, but his circle of friends just didn't feel the same without the little Shinigami. There's also the fact that he and everyone else had been worried about how she had been faring back in Soul Society after her near execution.

Looks like she's holding up pretty good, all things considered. Ichigo thought with no small amount of relief. Heh, not that I would expect anything less out of Rukia.

The girl then blinked. "What's with the staring? Is there something on my face?"

"Wha—? No, it's just—" Ichigo scratched his head. "I just didn't expect you to be back here so soon."

"Circumstances considered, it can't be helped. Honestly, I'd rather have a few more weeks of trainng before my next mission." Rukia shrugged. "But orders are orders."

"Man, I have to put up with you again, huh?"

"Idiot. That's my line!" But to Ichigo's surprise, her irritated huff melted into a soft, happy look. "Seriously though, Ichigo, it's good to see you again."

"Wha—?" The boy's jaw slackened at the sincerity behind her expression and her words. He would have thought it would take a life-and-death shit like the disaster with Aizen to see Rukia openly displaying this much emotion. Back then, what with the adrenaline of trying to save his and his friends' skins running through him, he didn't really have the energy to dwell on it. But now, with hardly any distraction and just the two of them here, he was at a loss for how to properly react. "Err, well…"

"Kya!"

"Huh?" Both Ichigo and Rukia looked up to see Orihime and Sado who seemingly came out of nowhere. The male teen was grateful for the distraction however. "Inoue! Chad!"

"Ichigo." Sado nodded. "That man earlier…"

The red head tensed again as he turned to face the two fully. "You know him?"

"We ran into him a while back. He made someone—"

"Hey, Inoue, Sado!" Ichigo was taken aback again when Rukia waved a hand at their friends with a winning smile on her face. Sure, she can play the happy, friendly girl when she needed to at school, but the real Rukia didn't act that forward. He expected her to stay quiet and wait for their friends to notice her.

"Kuchiki-san." Sado blinked in surprise, though obviously more out of Rukia actually being there rather than due to the oddity Ichigo noted. Inoue, on the other hand, beamed happily while Kon soared like the ditzy little thing he was. "Nee-san~!"

Ichigo sweatdropped when he heard the stuffed lion's careless words of, "Ah, the never before explored cliff that I have dreamed of but is now right before me…!" The stupid pervert is just asking for Rukia to kill him, isn't he?

But instead of stomping the stuffing out of the mod soul like Ichigo expected, Rukia merely caught the doll with one hand and, with astonishing gentleness, gave it a fond pat on the head.

"H…huh?" Even Kon was surprised by it.

"Good to see you too, Kon." Rukia said lightly, making everyone stare at her as if she had grown a second head or something. Well, except for Kon, who had stars in his eyes at being treated so nicely by her. "Nee-san…"

The strawberry openly gawked. What the hell? Did she just really let Kon away with his shit?

…BONK!

"OW!"

"EEEH?"

Ichigo blinked when Rukia then threw the lion stuffed animal at Ririn who was staring from his shoulder, sending both mod souls to the ground.

"Now stick to perving on your own kind if you know what's good for you!" The black-haired girl said smoothly before her arms became full of an overjoyed Inoue.

Nice one, midget. Very nice. Ichigo snickered at the sight of Kon getting clobbered at by an angry Ririn before turning back to Rukia and Inoue's reunion. The orange haired girl hugged the Shinigami tightly before going on about some nonsense about green tea spaghetti, Ishida's love (whatever the hell that means) and dresses while Rukia listened to the enthusiastic girl with a patient air, nodding at the right times and answering queries with the same level of gusto.

A smile crossed Ichigo's lips. At least there's one good thing that happened out of this whole mess, he thought as he said in his head what he couldn't tell her out loud earlier.

It really is good to have you back, Rukia.