Chapter Three

Plucking the Flower

About six and a half years ago

Karakura Town, ~8 pm

"Stop him! He stole my phone!"

Ichigo heard the cry for help and spotted a young kid running away from a middle-aged man in a suit. He sighed and easily tripped the middle schooler, dropping him to the ground. Ichigo reached down and twisted the smartphone out of the kid's hand.

"Get out of here," Ichigo growled and pushed him with his foot as he scrambled away. "Idiot."

Ichigo shook his head and held the phone out to the man. He was a little shorter than Ichigo, with pocked cheeks and heavy glasses. He was a little heavy, but not completely unfit looking. His eyes were big, though, but it might have been the thick glasses. He had that dewy look to his eyes that made him look like he had tears in them. He wore a nice-looking suit, but Ichigo guessed he had to be some sort of businessman. Now he was just staring at him.

"Ah, here, sorry about that, you know these kids, right?" Ichigo said nervously, trying to smile. "He's just a dumb kid, so I…ah don't think it would be necessary to call the cops or anything. Probably got dared to do it by a friend. I got it back, so that's okay, right?"

"Oh, ah, sorry," the man said and pushed his glasses up his nose with a finger before he took the phone. "I thank you, really, let me repay you!"

"It isn't necessary, I mean, I just tripped the punk," Ichigo said, running a hand over his head and thinking he should get home. Pop would have dinner soon.

"Oh no, I can't allow you to not be rewarded! My life is on my phone! I'm a financial officer for Aikawa Publishing. I'm Kanjiro Ogawa," he said and bowed deeply to him. "I insist, please come to the hotel I am staying at. There I may at least order a meal for you on my company tab." He remained bowed and Ichigo sighed.

"Look, my Pop is probably expecting me to get there, and I don't want to take advantage of your company…" Ichigo tried.

"Please! I must replay you and this is the only way I can! I leave to return to Osaka tomorrow morning. If you come to my room, I can call down and get a service without them knowing that I am not eating it. I will forgo my own meal because I must repay you for your kindness!"

Ichigo saw that passing pedestrians were staring at the guy standing there bent almost double. "Alright, jeeze, stand up, fine! I'll share your meal, but I won't take all of it, how's that? I'll let you split it with me." Ichigo frowned and narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously. "And why do we have to go to your room for that? That's not a normal thing to do when you're thanking someone," Ichigo said, rubbing the back of his head as the older man stood up and grinned.

"What is your name, then?" Ogawa said with a blank look.

"Oh, ah, Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Ah, Kurosaki-san, I know this seems odd, but I since I'm leaving tomorrow and I am out of funds, I have no other way to repay you. I can send you a thank you gift to your home if you prefer, but I must thank you, my conscious won't allow me to rest otherwise!" he said and Ichigo just wanted him to stop with it. "If you will give me your address, that will be enough for me! I'll put something in the mail first thing in the morning!"

Ichigo really didn't want this guy to have his address. What if he showed up and scared the girls? Not only that, then Pop would want to know what he was doing wandering around late at night behind in this part of Karakura. This guy was kind of weird, but nothing he couldn't handle. Seriously, he may have been without his human powers, but he did know how to defend himself. What was some pudgy salaryman from Osaka going to do to him?

Ichigo had never lost his attitude when he lost his power. Sure, he lacked the powers of a Shinigami, but he still knew how to fight, and his fighting improved since he had learned in Soul Society. He hadn't told his pop or anyone else, but this wasn't the first time he'd wandered the back allies in Karakura and caught cutpurses and sent them on their way. He had gotten reckless, that's what they would say if they knew. He had to do something. He'd been important, for a brief moment, and then it was stripped away leaving him with a gaping hole in his chest. He felt as hollow as any of the Arrancar had been. So, he helped people, at least, that's what he told himself. He wasn't really doing it for him. He was doing it to prove he was still worth something as a weak human, and this was the only way he knew how to do it.

"Fine, whatever. Don't be a creeper or anything," Ichigo muttered as he followed him out of the short ally he'd caught the thief in down the street to the biggest hotel in Karakura.

The lot was full of cars, then he remembered that there had been something on the news about a small company in Karakura merging into a major Osaka firm. That must have been this guy's business. He guessed if this guy tried anything it wouldn't be hard to figure out who he worked for and turn him in. Besides, what could he do to him? Ichigo shook his head at the though. That was a ridiculous thought. Unless this guy was hiding a black belt or something, he doubted he could even come close to Ichigo's fighting ability.

"Kurosaki-san, I don't think that would be a problem for a young man like you. Your reflexes were incredibly good the way you stopped that boy! I bet you have a black belt, huh? I'll have to tell my wife and son when I return home how impressive it was!" he exclaimed. "Tell me, would you take a photo with me for my son? He loves to see people I meet on my business trips, and when I tell him I was saved by a real hero, he will be so excited!"

"I guess," Ichigo said as Ogawa used the card key to open the room.

Ichigo saw the number was 208. He put his hands into his pockets as they came into the hotel room. As soon as he saw the state it was in, he put most his suspicions aside. There were clothes exploded out of a suitcase, and hanging on the rack were four other business suits. There was a toiletry back opened on the sink that sat outside the bathroom, and he could see his toothbrush and deodorant sitting beside it. If this guy was some sort of creep, he wouldn't have a hotel room that looked so lived in. He saw that there was a laptop bag opened on the bed and a small laptop sitting on the desk beside it. Yeah, this guy was probably harmless.

Ogawa smiled and turned his phone around and showed Ichigo a picture of himself and a young boy standing with a woman with long, light brown hair and a lovely smile. "They are always waiting for me to come home! This is my wife, Rumiko, and our son Tobei. It was taken last year, but this is my favorite picture. He was eight here. And see, here's another of Tobei on a horse!"

For fifteen minutes, Ichigo looked at snapshots of Rumiko and Tobei. If he had been leery of this strange man before, now he wasn't. He seemed to be just a businessman on a trip out of town. He seemed congenial enough, showing off his family like any proud husband and father. Honestly, as happy as he was talking about his family, he reminded Ichigo of his own father talking about his mom. He supposed that might seem a bit odd, connecting his father's overly affectionate memories of his deceased mother with the way this guy talked about his own wife and son. He shook the brief thought away. Isshin probably talked about him and his sisters like that to other people too. Finally, Ogawa put the phone down and handed Ichigo the menu.

"Please, Kurosaki-san, pick something out and I'll order it as my mean tonight. Anything! Order sake if you wish!" he said.

"Ah, I'm not twenty yet," Ichigo said as he looked over the menu and picked a random thing. Whatever it took to get out of here. He was tired of hearing about this guy's family already.

"Really?" Ogawa asked as he grabbed the phone and placed the order. Ichigo noted he ordered sake. He assumed it was for himself. "You look to be at least twenty!"

"I'm almost eighteen," Ichigo said as he sat down on the sofa in the room. It seemed his company put him up in a decent sized place. "So yeah, I mean, I have some friends I used to hang out and drink with…in a different place, but there, age wasn't much of an issue." It wasn't like Soul Society checked IDs at their bars.

"Well, I won't influence you to drink to excess, but I would ask to share one cup with me before you leave?" Ogawa said and put his hands in front of him with palms together and bowing again.

Ichigo sighed. "I guess that's fine, but I can't stay long. I really think this is very unnecessary. A simple thank you is sufficient…"

There was a knock and call that the food was there. Ogawa jumped up from where he had been sitting in the side chair and ran to the door. Ichigo sighed. Oh well, it wasn't like if this bumbling salaryman tried anything he couldn't knock his ass flat. The guy seemed to know that too, after he saw him bring down that little brat trying to steal his phone. Ogawa came back and sat the covered plate on the table. The hotel was set up like a Western hotel, with sofas and a taller bed instead of a futon, so there was a tall table in front of the sofa. Ichigo uncovered it and split it down the middle, and started picking at one side. It was a simple fried rice and vegetable dish. Ogawa sat the sake bottle down and smiled.

"I have the cups by the sink where I rinsed them last night," he said and went to get them.

It didn't dawn on Ichigo then that he had said he used the sake cups the night before; cups, plural. He was too confident that he was right and this guy was just a salaryman with nothing better to do on his last night in a strange town. He was also far too confident in his own abilities to realize how much he had put himself at risk.

Ichigo sighed, putting down the chopsticks after he'd finished the half he'd set aside. He'd been serious that he didn't want to eat all the guy's food for the night. Ogawa came back and sat down the empty cups and poured the sake into the two flat cups. Ichigo figured he could tolerate that much alcohol and not have a problem.

"I don't have a warmer, but this is fine, after all, just one cup, right?" Ogawa said with a smile.

"Yeah, I really need to go, it's almost nine. I didn't call my Pop before I came here."

Then again, Ichigo never called him because he didn't keep his phone on him when he left like this. Getting a phone call when he was sneaking around was a good way to get noticed and actually get a knife to the guy or even shot. It wasn't like there were a lot of punks in Karakura, but they were a Tokyo suburb. It was never a sure thing that someone didn't have a weapon.

"Ah, fine, fine, here," Ogawa said and passed the flat cup to him. He nodded and Ogawa sipped his cup.

Ichigo was glad he'd spent more than one night in Soul Society drinking Sake with Ikkaku and Renji as he drank the cup of alcohol quickly. Of course, as soon as he did so, he felt the head rush and remembered that had not been his human body at the time. He felt his face flush immediately.

"Oh, wow," he muttered. "Glad I don't drive."

"I think they brought me the stronger one?" Ogawa said as he looked at the bottle. "I wanted the weak one…" he said as he snickered.

Ichigo stood up and nodded to him. "Alright, if you are satisfied with your thanks, I need to go," he said as he started to walk to the door. "Thank you for the meal, and the…drink."

Everything started to blur, though and Ichigo felt the world start to spin around him. He stumbled and fell to one knee. He felt Ogawa's hands on him trying to help him up. Okay, no matter how strong a drink was, there was no way this should happen. He blinked as the world surged around him and his heart began to pound. Wait, had this guy drugged him? No way, he thought. He'd watched him pour the sake, and the dish had been covered when he sat it down. How could he have drugged him?

"Actually, I'm afraid I'm not satisfied at all," Ogawa said, and Ichigo looked up at him now, his face having changed to something else. The jovial smile was gone, replaced with a near sneer on his lips.

"What…what did y'do t'me…" he muttered. "When…how…"

"Don't worry, just Rohypnol. I guess you didn't notice I'd spread the powder in the cup before I poured it. You're a feisty one, so I gave you a double dose. But I promise, you'll be fine when it wears off. In fact, you probably won't remember a thing come morning." He smiled at him again. "I keep them on me so when I find a pretty young boy like you I can do as I like with," he said and Ichigo felt the world move as he was being drug toward the bed.

"Don, what…stoppit, ya can't do as ya like with me…" Ichigo was starting to lose track of the world. It was skipping and now he was staring up at the ceiling and it kept moving. "I'm gonna b'sick," he said as he grabbed the bed under him.

He felt his head being moved and his was vomiting into a trashcan, Ogawa's hand threading through his hair but he didn't have the strength to push it away. Then he was on his back again, and where were his clothes?

"You know, it is a shame to have to drug you, your voice is nice," Ogawa said as he climbed on the bed and began to stroke Ichigo's legs. "Actually, you are probably the prettiest thing I've ever seen. Now that I know this is natural." Ichigo jerked as he felt his hands touch where they definitely shouldn't be touching, trailing down his thighs.

"Lemme go, stop…" he tried, but even to his ears, the words were almost nonsense and muttered. He was trying to scream, actually. But what was coming out of his mouth was barely a whisper. He had no strength.

The rest of the time was somewhere between an eternity and a flash. Ichigo couldn't keep track of things, but he remembered pain and panic, but neither helped him. Hands and pain and trying to scream, or even breathe. Then he was being tied with something after he'd been put back in his clothes. His arms were bound one on the other behind his back and his legs were bound calf to thigh. He started to become clearer as the drug wore off and he realized how much he hurt right then. He panted and looked at him, realizing that this guy had just drugged and raped him, and was tying him up now for some reason. Was he going to do it again? Was he going to kill him? Was he going to be found dead in this hotel come morning? He was mortified at the thought of his father and sisters finding out he'd managed to get into a situation like this…

"I've done this a few times," Ogawa explained as he sat down on the bed and stroked Ichigo's hair. "I can't resist a pretty boy. My wife and child, they died a couple years ago. Ever since then, these urges are so hard to resist. But now I understand how to resist them. I just need a pet to keep. I think you'll be perfect for that."

Ichigo shook his head and started to speak but Ogawa pushed a couple pills into his mouth and held his mouth closed. "Now swallow that." Ichigo shook his head violently. "Goodness, you'll need a lot of training. Good thing I know lots of people that like to train naughty doggies like you. He let go and Ichigo spat the pills he'd been trying to make him take onto the bed. "So naughty. Not a good boy."

"Let me go!" Ichigo tried to yell, but he was still unable to speak loudly.

Ogawa came back and had a pillowcase in his hands. He ripped it apart and then wedged it into Ichigo's mouth to gag him. He then grabbed a glass from the bathroom full of water and another couple of the pills. He sat the water on the side table of the bed and then yanked Ichigo's head backward hard. He slid the pills under the gag, and Ichigo tried to push them with his tongue, but they slipped down onto the back of his throat. He breathed through his nose and waited for him to let go. He wasn't swallowing anything, especially knowing what he was giving him. But then he picked up the water glass and started pouring the water over the cloth. Between the shock and the water trying to go up his nose, he ended up swallowing. Ogawa let go and dropped his head.

Ichigo panted as the world began to go sideways again. Then he was being rolled up in the sheet and he saw the hall through he thin fabric. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. Then he heard a click and he was dumped into a trunk that smelled of dampness and rubber.

"Don't worry, pet. I'll be leaving in a few hours, so you should sleep through it. Then we'll be heading to Osaka and the new home I'm setting up for my puppy," Ogawa said and then the trunk slammed shut. Ichigo felt consciousness slipping away, and he hoped that someone had seen this, that someone would help him. In the back of his mind, though, fear began to grow. What if no one noticed? What if no one looked for him?

What if he was already gone?

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

After a week, Unohana decided that the only way to deal with Ichigo was going to be on a personal level. She had gotten all the readings that she needed for Kurotsuchi. The second day they found out that they could not have Kurotsuchi around Ichigo without him suffering a near panicked state. In fact, Unohana figured out that there were a lot of Shinigami that Ichigo couldn't tolerate being around. Despite being completely blind, their voices were enough to trigger panic. So, she'd summoned Jūshirō back to her office. Now they sat at her desk and discussed options.

"I'm not sure I understand what you want me to do?" he asked.

"Your estate is quiet, out of the way, and I think it would do him good to be out of the fourth. The noise is beginning to bother him each day. I believe that his sensitivity to sound is increasing to compensate for his loss of sight," she said with a gentle smile.

Jūshirō nodded. "What of the plan to separate his soul form?"

"It is going further ahead. We're anticipating another week before we're ready to attempt the transfer. The original plan was to use an Zanpakutō imbued with power, but we're going to have to be a bit gentler with the condition Ichigo is currently in. And I fear that his human body will be unable to handle the power transfer. Then there is the variable of his hollow Zanpakutō. We have no idea how he is going to react."

"Do you have any advice for dealing with his current state?" Jūshirō asked as he stood up slowly.

Unohana led Jūshirō through the hall and stopped outside the door to his room. "Jūshirō, you have seen that the others want Ichigo to return to 'normal'. They want him to stop showing the behaviors that they see as deviant. They want him to be independent, antagonistic, and stubborn. They want to reverse what has been done. You know that it is impossible. That would be like reversing your sickness, and returning your hair to black." She sighed. "It is impossible. We have to deal with the you as you are now, not the boy that that fell sick in the academy. We also must deal with Ichigo as he is now. I will be convening with some of the others about his. I'm afraid that he is going to need someone to take over the position his owner held. I…" She stopped and looked at him seriously.

"I need to know if you would be willing to help him the way he needs, not the way everyone wants."

Jūshirō stared at her for a moment. Many things ran through his mind, first and foremost the fact that his gut reaction was to tell her yes. "With my sickness, I can't…"

"You have Shunsui," she responded, and this time her smile was a knowing one.

"Ah, I…" he stammered. He had no idea why he wouldn't realize that someone like Unohana wouldn't know about his and Shunsui's relationship.

She shook her head. "It is well known, Jūshirō. I have wondered for long years why it is that you both continue to hide the fact you've been lovers since the days of the academy."

Jūshirō felt his cheeks heat up and he glanced away. "I felt that it would cause problems."

"If you are more comfortable pretending that you do not have a relationship, it is well and good, but if you take on what this, you and Shunsui both are going to have to be more open about what you're doing, especially with him," she said softly.

"I don't understand, wouldn't one of the younger ones be better suited to this?" he asked, thinking someone like Hisagi or Kira, or even Renji and Rukia might make a better choice.

"Because you have seniority. I also believe that you and Shunsui will do what is right. And I believe your affection for Ichigo runs deep. It that affection were to deepen during your time with him, it might do him good. You are far older than he is, and you can help him navigate this would. You need to understand, there is a chance that once I separate him from his human body, his human body will disintegrate. The power that his Zanpakutō spirit was trying to syphon from other creatures is part of the reason he is so fragile right now." Unohana sighed and nodded. "Please, the boy needs affection and understanding. Right now, I think you are one of the few people that understands that treating him as he is now, and not treating him as the Ichigo we knew six years ago is the most important thing."

Jūshirō understood, and felt like an idiot since he had been so obviously transparent in his feelings for those he cared about. He was worried about how Rukia would end up perceiving the whole situation. He sighed and opened the door to the room. Ichigo was sitting on the bed, held down, but as soon as the door opened he looked up at them. He was dressed in a green striped yukata and covered with a gray blanket over his legs. Unohana went over and sighed, picking up his hand. Jūshirō frowned. The whole of his hand had started to purple.

"Ichigo, what happened here?" she asked gently.

"She didn't mean to," he whispered, turning toward her voice. "She was crying."

"Oh, no," Unohana said and sighed. "Here," she said and ran her hands over him as she performed the healing. She turned to Jūshirō. "Rukia was supposed to come by this morning. Do you want me to talk to her, or will you?"

Jūshirō sighed. "I'll see to her."

"I'm sorry," Ichigo said quietly. "I made her cry."

"Oh, Ichigo, no," Jūshirō said and took his hand gently in his own. "No, it isn't your fault, no more than it is her fault. You can't help the condition your body is in any more than she can help that she doesn't realize how fragile you are right now."

"Right now?" he asked, looking toward them with his covered eyes. "Not forever?"

"If we can help it, we're going to try and get your soul form apart, and hopefully, it will not be as fragile as your human body," Unohana explained. "It will make you a Shinigami again, as well."

If Jūshirō hadn't been holding his hand, he might not have felt the tremble that went through him at those words. He didn't say anything but Jūshirō had an inkling that he feared being a Shinigami again after what had happened to him. He squeezed Ichigo's hand a little.

"Ichigo, would you be okay with coming to my estate until they can figure out how to help you with your body's fragility?" Jūshirō asked. He felt Ichigo squeeze his hand a bit and he nodded.

"C-can I?" he whispered.

"It is much quieter there," Jūshirō said with a smile. "And I have a lovely koi pond. We can sit together and listen to the fish play and feed them. I think that would be nice, don't you?"

A ghost of a smile twitched at the corners of Ichigo's lips for a second as he nodded. "Okay. I don't like being alone," he mumbled almost inaudibly. "I'm alone here."

Jūshirō reached up and brushed a gentle hand over Ichigo's head. At the simple motion, Ichigo turned toward it and seemed to relax. As much as Jūshirō hated to agree that he needed to be treated like a pet, like that awful "Owner" had treated him, it appeared that he needed it. Well, he would have to sit down with Shunsui, but he supposed if Unohana believed that this was the way to deal with the Ichigo in front of them, then that would what they did.

"I won't let you be alone, Ichigo, I promise. Come on, now, let's take you home," Jūshirō spoke before he even realized what he said, and then looked to see Unohana smiling in that knowing way. He sighed, not retracting what he said. It would be his home if he wanted it to be, after all.

Ichigo slid off the bed and Jūshirō took his hand and led him out of the fourth. He heard muttered conversation behind him as he and Unohana walked with him. Some were commenting on Ichigo leaving, others on the fact Jūshirō was taking him, and others mused on what all that meant. As they got outside Unohana looked at Ichigo and then Jūshirō.

"He doesn't eat well," she commented, knowing that Ichigo was listening to her. She was looking at him as she spoke anyway. "You may have to work out some other methods to get him to eat a healthy amount."

Ichigo didn't say anything but turned his face away from her. "He also hasn't wanted his hair cut, which is fine, but you will have to help him care for it. It knots very easily." She nodded and went back in the fourth. Jūshirō tugged gently on his hand and led him to his estate.

It was a bright day, and along the way, they passed several people that Ichigo knew, but none stopped to speak with him. Jūshirō imagined they didn't know how to approach him. They all wanted him to be the Ichigo they had previously known, and that just was not possible any longer. Jūshirō had a feeling that the hardest things were going to be his friends and their expectations. There was a very good possibility that that version of Ichigo was never going to be real again. Forward, not back, was what Jūshirō knew had to happen.

They arrived at his estate and he saw Kiyone was waiting for him.

"Ukitake-taichou!" she exclaimed, staring at him.

Jūshirō put a finger to his lips gently as he led Ichigo past her and into the house. He stopped. "Please, can you summon Kyōraku-taichou for me? And Rukia-kun as well. I need to speak with her. I'll be staying for a few days here rather than the division office."

"Yes, sir, Taichou, sir," she said and left immediately.

"Ichigo, come, I'll show you the bedroom. Is it alright to share with me? I'll put another futon in for you, but I would prefer if you are nearby until you get used to being here," he asked as he led him to his room. "The koi pond is just outside my door as well. I go out most mornings to feed them," he said as he slid open the door to take him inside. "Wait here," he said as he left again to retrieve another futon. He was about to pick it up when he felt hands on his ass where he was bent over. He exhaled.

"Instead of groping me, would you help instead?" he asked as he stood up, turning to glare at Shunsui.

"Ah, my love, you are cruel," he muttered as he moved and picked up the futon. "But I did not think you would summon me for furniture rearranging…ah…" he muttered as they came into Jūshirō's room and he saw Ichigo standing just inside the door. Jūshirō sighed. He hadn't moved an inch once he said to stay there.

"Ichigo, come," Jūshirō said as he took his hand to sit down on the futon. Ichigo knelt there and looked toward his voice.

"Ukitake-taichou?" came another voice and he looked to see Rukia standing in the doorway, her eyes centered on Ichigo. "You said to come, I'm interrupting…" she said and tried to turn away.

"No, please, Rukia-kun, I summoned you for this reason. Come here, sit down with us," he said as he sat beside Ichigo. Shunsui leaned against the wall, an amused grin on his lips.

"I-I shouldn't be here, I…when I…" she stammered, nervously sitting as far away as she could.

"Rukia, you cannot help that you accidentally hurt him when you took his hand. He is fragile, and it is something that will happen quiet often, I fear. His human body breaks easily, but Korotsuchi-taichou and Unohana-taichou are working on figuring out a way to help him. But that wasn't why I called you." Jūshirō looked at Shunsui and back at Ichigo. "I need you, and his other friends here, to understand something very clearly. The Ichigo you remember, the one from six years ago is gone."

Rukia's eyes widened. "I don't understand, Ukitake-taichou. He'll get better, and heal, right? And be back to normal again?"

"Rukia-san," Shunsui said from where he stood. "You are asking more of Ichigo than he can give you. You are asking an impossible thing for him."

"I don't understand, what does that mean, why are you saying that he can't be normal again? Like he used to be?" she asked, looking at Ichigo now. Ichigo had only ducked his head.

"I…I want to make you happy," Ichigo whispered. "I want to be who you know, but…I'm not. I can't be that."

Jūshirō put his arm around Ichigo's back and put his hand on his head. The action made him nearly melt back into him. He brushed his hand over his head as he spoke. "What has happened to him has changed him in ways that you cannot erase. He will get better, of course, because the cruelty and hurt is gone, but there are ways that he is no that cannot be changed back quickly or easily. Rukia-kun, he cannot just stop having the needs he has now. To help him, is needs are important to be fulfilled. So, Unohana asked me to take on his care."

At the statement, Ichigo turned toward him, head tilted up. "You will be…be…"

Jūshirō smiled. "Yes, that is the role that Shunsui and I will take on for you, Ichigo. Because you need it."

Ichigo's face colored and he nodded, both hands turning to fists in his lap. "Okay, good."

"I don't understand?" Rukia asked, looking between them.

"Kyōraku-taichou and I will become his owners, as he calls it. Until he no longer needs us in that capacity, that's what need we will fill. He needs a structure, kindness, and rewards for his behaviors to reinforce them. He spent six years living like that, Rukia-kun. Trying to take it all away at once will harm him." He paused and glanced at Shunsui who winked at him. "And it isn't like Shunsui doesn't spend half his nights here anyway," he muttered the last, looking away as Rukia's eyes went wide. It wasn't like everyone wasn't away of it, but to hear Jūshirō admit it was the surprise. "I wanted you to know so that you might let those that need to know of it, know so that Ichigo will be at peace with this."

Rukia nodded. "Okay, I don't really understand, but I will trust him with you both." She stood and excused herself, leaving them alone.

"So, we will be open, I have waited for this day!" Shunsui said with a glint in his eyes.

"Don't get any ideas on public displays," Jūshirō muttered as he gently hugged Ichigo.

"Owner?" he asked Jūshirō.

"Ah, I do not like using the same work for me that he used Ichigo," Jūshirō said.

Shunsui thought for a second. "Ichigo is using Ōnā for his previous Owner. Perhaps Shujin is a better term for Jūshirō, do you not think so, Ichigo? It means more than such a simple word as the other. It can be used for a husband as well."

Jūshirō glared at Shunsui but Ichigo nodded. "Shujin Jūshirō."

"And what of you? He can't call us both Shujin, that would be confusing," Jūshirō said with a smirk. "For Shunsui, what do you say to using Omo? It also can be used for a husband, but is a word for owner as well."

Shunsui smirked. "I like that better. So will that do?"

Ichigo nodded. "Omo and Shujin…" he muttered.