Chapter 8.

Of broken noses and unplanned interviews.


Everything happened in a matter of hours.

Reporters started to go by the building expecting to catch a glimpse of the new rich girl. The people inside the office started to worry, Kuchiki Byakuya was still on the meeting with Sousuke Aizen and if he were to come out and see the annoying press outside his building there would be hell to pay. It was obvious, for everyone, how the existence of Kuchiki Rukia was leak from the inside and none of the employees would be spared from the scrutiny of the higher ups.

"Oh my" Matsumoto Rangiku said while observing the ruckus outside "this is getting out of hand."

"Actually" Orihime said nervously while standing next to her "they're not trespassing, so, they're not breaking the law, right?"

Rangiku shrugged, she didn't notice the younger girl nervousness.

"This is a lawyer's firm, the biggest one around here" she explained "if Kuchiki Byakuya wants to ruin one or two magazines it would be easy for him."

Orihime's eyes widened.

"Would he do that?" She asked surprised.

"Well, if they were to mess with his younger sister of course he would, now that I think about it I don't want to imagine what will happen to the one who talked with the press." Rangiku said pensively.

Orihime gulped.

She was starting to realize that she fucked up a little bit.


When Rukia finished explaining everything to her grandfather she sighed.

"I ruined everything, didn't I?" She asked worriedly "I shouldn't have said anything to them."

Ginrei shook his head.

"You're not to blame and you didn't say anything compromising so no, you didn't ruin anything." He said reassuringly "if it comes to that Byakuya and I are the only ones to blame."

"Uh?"

Ginrei nodded.

"We should've got your papers, your identification and even a license, the moment you got that size" he explained "instead we let you go and live with Ichigo without legal support."

"Will this bring too many problems?" She asked.

"I don't know" Ginrei said sincerely "we'll call a trustworthy lawyer, not from here, I need to know who leaked your identity to the press."

Rukia nodded.

"We also need to get you an interview to clarify everything" he sighed heavily "I'm sorry Rukia, I didn't want you on the spotlight, we protected Hisana quite well but we failed you."

Rukia shrugged and smiled.

"It's okay" she said "I'm sorry to be such a burden."

"Don't say that" Ginrei said "you're our family."

Rukia was about to say something when a security guard knocked on the door.

"Kuchiki-sama" the guard said entering the office "I'm sorry to bother you but we have another situation downstairs."

Ginrei sighed, the day was just starting.


Uryuu needed desperately a relaxing tea and a massage. He didn't have the habit of spending his well earned money on luxuries but he was going to run to a spa the moment this meeting was over. Now he understood why no one could win a case against Kuchiki Byakuya on court, his whole presence was overwhelming.

"Our companies have been rivals for a long time now" Aizen said while smirking at Byakuya "I believe that it's time to move on."

Byakuya just raised an eyebrow at him.

"I've never considered your company or you a rival," he said and Aizen's eyes widened for a second "you've never been big or powerful enough to actually compete with the Kuchiki enterprise."

Uryuu wanted to chuckle at Aizen's face, the cold and emotionless tone that Byakuya was using made the whole thing even better.

"Oh" Aizen said recovering quickly "underestimating the people around you it's a huge mistake."

"Using passive-aggressive sentences in order to make a point is even worse" Byakuya retorted "it makes you look weak."

Aizen sighed.

"I came here with the hope of actually make business together" he said "yet all that I've received from you is a cold treatment."

"I told you how we weren't interested" Byakuya said "I do not understand why you insist."

"Perhaps" Ichimaru Gin said interrupting "a change of heart would be good, considering how many changes you're facing right now, Kuchiki-sama, I don't see how a change in business is a bad idea."

"Changes?" Uryuu asked perplexed at how much nonsense came out of the man's mouth in a matter of seconds.

"Yes" Ichimaru insisted without taking his eyes off the Kuchiki heir "after all now that your daughter is here a lot of things must be changing around your life in general."

Uryuu was about to ask what the hell he was talking about but he stopped when he noticed Byakuya's pose. He didn't know what this man was talking either but judging by his pose he was getting to a conclusion.

Byakuya didn't dare to blink.

It took him five seconds to connect all the points.

"I mean" Ichimaru persisted as he showed them his cellphone "she truly looks like your wife, so this must be true."

Right there on the screen was Rukia's picture, and what seemed to be a theory about how she was Byakuya's daughter.

Uryuu fought to keep a stoic pose.

Kuchiki Byakuya hated the press and judging by his murderous cold glare there would be hell to pay.

Aizen smirked.

"Perhaps, we came in a wrong time" he said "I didn't know you were quite busy with familiar affairs."

In that moment Byakuya's cellphone rang, he didn't need to check who was calling. Hisana had already seen everything.

"We'll call you so we can meet each other later." Aizen said and Byakuya frowned at him.

Uryuu was already making numbers to see how much a whole day at the spa could cost.


"I need to get out of this chair" Ichigo said while struggling with the ropes tying him, his arms hurt.

Grimmjow sighed.

The fact that no one cared enough to check if they had killed each other yet was enough to let him know that everyone was busy and no one gave a fuck about them. He looked at the orange haired idiot and wondered if he it was him the one who connected the dots about him and his plans concerning the Princess. Well, if he was going to spend his afternoon tied to an uncomfortable chair he might as well ask.

"Kurosaki" he said and Ichigo stopped struggling immediately.

"Yeah?" he asked looking at him.

He wasn't yelling at him, that was a good sign.

"Why is everyone suggesting that I want to kidnap the Princess?"

Ichigo groaned.

He didn't want to have a conversation with Grimmjow of all people but considering his current situation he didn't have another choice. Besides, it wasn't as if he had something else to do right now.

"Listen" Ichigo started "I personally believe that your intentions towards her are not exactly… honorable."

Grimmjow rolled his eyes.

"Why is that? I mean, besides the fact that you hate my guts."

"I've seen the way you look at her" Ichigo said simply but his eyes showed an intense anger towards Grimmjow.

"Listen idiot" the blue haired boy said "you better get used to it because every straight man with good taste will look at her that way, that girl is gorgeous."

Ichigo smirked. He wouldn't deny that the fact that Grimmjow thought that his girlfriend was gorgeous filled him with pride.

"So, cocky bastard" Grimmjow said after seeing his smirk "from which fairytale did the Princess come from?"

"From Norway" Ichigo answered without missing a beat "and to answer your original question, some blue haired weirdo actually tried to kidnap her once, so my apologies but you don't seem trustworthy to me."

Grimmjow chuckled.

"Well, I did not try to kidnap her" he lied "but you should be careful, if you were to make the slightest mistake I'll be ready to offer my shoulder for her to cry on."

Ichigo just shook his head, the smirk never leaving his face, there was no way that Grimmjow could come between them but he didn't need to know about the strength of their bond.

"By the way" Grimmjow said "do you think that anyone will come to help us any time soon?"

"Hopefully" Ichigo answered while struggling with the ropes "otherwise we'll be here for a long time."

Grimmjow sighed, he was really regretting taking this job.


Rukia was walking behind her grandfather, they were both following the security guard that told them about a problem that needed immediate attention. She was really curious about it but she crashed with someone on her way there, since she was so short her nose was hit with what seemed to be a heavy planner or perhaps a book.

"Oh Kuchiki-san!" Orihime said while looking at her "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

"No" Rukia answered flatly "you just interrupted…"

"Oh my God" Orihime said without letting her finish "your nose is bleeding!"

Rukia took her hand towards her nose and indeed, she could feel the blood coming out and a sharp pain over the bridge of her nose. Her day wasn't getting better.

"We should…" Ginrei started to say worriedly but Orihime interrupted him flashing him with her prettiest smile.

"Don't worry Kuchiki-sama" she said "I'll take her to the bathroom!"

Before Rukia could protest Orihime grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the bathroom, Rukia gave a final reassuring smile to her grandfather and he kept going without her. Once they were both in the bathroom Orihime cleaned with a wet tissue Rukia's nose. It was an awkward situation because she wasn't careful and Rukia wasn't sure about what to say. It wasn't as if she was going to thank her considering how this was her entire fault to begin with.

Once there was no more blood coming out of her nose she looked at Orihime and to her surprise the girl looked at her apologetic.

"You have to help me" Orihime begged with widened eyes.

Rukia blinked confused, help her? Ever since she met her she has been rude to her, as far as she was concerned they weren't even friends, in fact something was telling Rukia that this nose incident was planned. Unfortunately there was something about her puppy eyes that was making Rukia feel pity towards her. Sighing heavily she decided to hear her out.

"Sure" Rukia said "what do you need?"

Orihime gulped and looked around making sure that no one was inside the bathroom with them.

"Are you okay?" Rukia asked after seeing her behavior "you will not get in trouble for almost breaking my nose."

Orihime shook her head and looked at her again.

"It was me" she admitted "I was the one who told the press about you."

Rukia's eyes widened.

"Uh?!"

Orihime, who looked near tears, grabbed her arms before she could even think about leaving the bathroom and tell someone about it.

"I'm sorry!" she said.

"You're not!" Rukia said angrily once the new information had settled down "I've tried my whole life not to be a burden for my family and now my brother and my grandfather are being harassed by the press right here at work!"

Orihime didn't ask why she would consider herself a burden but she was curious. Perhaps the new rich girl of the block didn't have such an splendid life before being reunited with her family but it didn't matter, she needed to handle her current situation before losing her job and while Rukia was right, because she wasn't sorry at all, she needed her on her side.

"Listen" Orihime said "I know that what I did was wrong but you have to understand…"

"Understand what exactly?!" Rukia asked her anger rising by the second "that you decided to ruin my peaceful time, now that I'm finally out of the la… convent! That for some unknown reason you don't like me and now I have to deal with the press! I don't even know exactly who the press is! And my nose hurts!"

Orihime frowned.

Were the nuns so out of touch with the outside world that she didn't know about the press? No, it couldn't be. The convent had to be a lie.

"Are you even going to explain why you did it?!" Rukia asked exasperated.

Orihime nodded.

"I just needed money!" she said and Rukia frowned.

"Money?"

"Yeah" she said while the tears started to roll down her cheeks "you are rich so you probably won't understand but my mother is really sick and since we have so many debts I wasn't able to pay the electricity bill this month, so I thought that those reporters would pay me if I were to sell them your story."

"Did it work?" Rukia asked in a soft voice.

Orihime looked at her startled. She believed her!

"Well I haven't receive any money yet." She said finally.

Rukia sighed and ran a hand through her hair. While she was mad at her she understood a little, before her sister found her Rukia spent a lot of time alone in the cold, Kon was with her but since he was still just a lamp he wasn't able to give her warmth. Not having a master was hard, in fact it was even harder in a world like this. The human world was nothing like lamp society, humans were too fond of money and their greed knew no boundaries, so of course no one would feel sorry for Orihime, but Rukia did.

Rukia thought that perhaps her problems didn't look so big compared to hers.

"Fine" Rukia said "I'll help you."

Orihime gasped.

"Thank you so much!" She said happily and Rukia smiled back.

"If you were having that sort of problems you could've talked to someone else" she said "selling other people doesn't seem right."

Orihime felt a pang of guilt when she saw how Rukia was looking at her, with sympathy written all over her face, but she quickly brushed it aside. The violet eyed girl was extremely innocent and naïve.

"I'm sorry" Orihime said "but I was ashamed and I didn't know what else to do."

"Well…" Rukia said "what's done it's done, I'll just have to find a way to convince grandpa to give up on finding the culprit."

Orihime beamed at Rukia.

"And don't worry about the money anymore, I'll help you with that so your mother can take it easy."

Orihime blushed with shame. The truth was that her mother wasn't alive but it was the only lie that she could come up with so she would have to hang on that.

"Oh no… I cannot accept it!" she said but Rukia simply smiled at her.

"Don't worry I won't tell anyone that is for you."

After that Rukia promised to solve her problem without telling anyone and left the bathroom. Orihime stood there, dumbfounded at how silly and innocent Kuchiki Rukia was. She felt a little guilty about lying to her but she could always apologize later besides, she promised not to tell anyone.


Hisana was on her way towards the Kuchiki enterprise the moment she read the news on the web, she knew the press would find out about Rukia eventually but she didn't imagine that it would be so soon! The worst part was that they somehow got to the conclusion about her being her daughter?! Hisana was worried sick about how she would handle the attention, Rukia was too oblivious, it was in times like this that she missed Riruka's presence. Sighing she decided not to dwell on the past, instead she focused on the ruckus that she would find at the office.

Considering how Byakuya didn't answer his phone things were getting already out of hand.


Ginrei found Byakuya on the main floor.

"Judging by your face I'm guessing that Aizen is as nice as always." He said sarcastically.

Byakuya just sneered and looked at the security guard with hard eyes.

"What's the situation?"

"Kuchiki-sama" the security guard said trying not to sweat under Byakuya's glare "your wife, according to my teammates, is on her way here, we need permission to clear the area of reporters so they won't harass her with questions."

"And what are you waiting for?" Byakuya asked icily.

"Sir, they are not trespassing the building so if we do something against them it would be illegal."

"Then so be it" Byakuya said "I can handle some lawsuits, but I cannot stand the press."

The guard nodded and ran towards the front door while calling other guards.

"Any updates on who leaked her information to the press?" Byakuya asked Ginrei.

"No" he answered "I don't know how to handle that without making the employees uncomfortable."

"This isn't a matter of comfort" Byakuya said "whatever happens inside this enterprise stays in here, it's stipulated on the confidentiality contracts, so I'm going to make sure everybody remembers that."

Ginrei nodded.

That was a good point.

"Well, as long as we arrange something for Rukia before the press gets a hold of her, everything should be okay."

Byakuya nodded.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"In the bathroom" Ginrei answered simply.

They had no idea of what Rukia was planning.


Aizen was walking towards the bathroom, he couldn't find Grimmjow anywhere but judging how things were developing it was for the best, he didn't need anyone suspecting about him.

"Should I look for the girl?" Gin asked.

"No" he answered "we will wait for Grimmjow´s report for now, I'll just need to refresh a little before leaving."

It was then when it happened. They turned into the hallway and Kuchiki Rukia came out of the woman's bathroom, both Aizen and Gin stood with widened eyes at the sight of her but she paid them no mind, instead she started to run to the opposite side of them.

"Well… so close and yet so far at the same time." Gin said.

Aizen kept quiet but he smiled wickedly, the girl was close, Grimmjow wasn't lying, she had now a normal size. It would be just a matter of time before he could get his three wishes, he could already feel the power at the tip of his fingers.


Rukia kept running while trying to shake off the feeling of unease that came over her when she saw the two men of the hallway.

The one with brown hair seemed nice but there was something weird about him, while the one with a serpent like smile and white hair looked like a psychopath. She couldn't name what she was feeling but she was thankful that they didn't stop her, they probably didn't pay any attention to her. Shaking her head she decided to concentrate on the task at hand, she needed to help Orihime, so taking a deep breath she grasped courage and ran towards the front doors.


Hisana stepped out of the car and the guards were at her side in a matter of seconds trying to keep the annoying reporters away from her. There were several flashes and lots of questions, is she really your daughter?!, did the Kuchiki clan forced you to hide your pregnancy before the wedding?!, who raised her for you?!, have you lost some weight?!, it was a living nightmare but she did her best ignoring them.

That was until she reached the front doors, before the guard could open her the door Rukia came out. Hisana tried to stop her by grabbing her arm but it was too late, with her head held high and a powerful voice Rukia said:

"My name is Kuchiki Rukia and I'll answer your questions!"

The flashes from the cameras started again and Hisana stood there, in front of the Kuchiki enterprise, next to Rukia wondering what was she thinking. One thing was for sure, she couldn't leave her alone for this.

The fact that Rukia had a bruised nose for this was not going to work in their favor.


Hello there!

Ever since this year started I've been wanting to update but the words wouldn't come to me. So here I am, finally! I'll update "growing up with you" next so bear with me for a little while. I'll answer your reviews in the next chapter, which I already started, but thank you so so much! Your words keeps me going!

What do you think about this chapter? Love it? Hate it? Let me know.

I apologize for my grammar mistakes.

Kisses!