Main POV

"Hey Ichigo?" I asked as I lay back on his bed with my hands tucked behind my head.

"Hmm?" He looked up from his homework.

"Do you think I could ask one of your shinigami buddies about my brother without them asking too many questions or reporting me to Captain Hitsugaya?"

"Rukia would be your best bet," Ichigo replied and knocked on the wardrobe beside him. The door opened to reveal the short girl in human clothing. "And I already asked her."

"Unfortunately Uo, I couldn't find anything about Haru Uotani anywhere. If he is in the seireitei, he's either not a shinigami or that's not his name," Rukia answered.

"Oh god," I sat upright. "Please no, tell me he didn't."

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo turned looking a cross between concerned and annoyed.

"I think he's using a different name," I rolled my eyes. "One he'd know I'd know because we watched that anime together."

"Nerd," Ichigo muttered before going back to his assignment.

"Rukia, if it's not too much to ask, could you search for a Hatsuharu Soma?" I felt embarrassed just asking. But he did always say if you were going to make an alias, it had to be something similar to your own name or you wouldn't remember it. When most people change their name they go for a middle name, a family name or a name the same letter as their own. Or in Haru's case, the name of an anime character with a similar name. Jerk.

"Are you serious?" Ichigo asked. "My little sister watches that anime."

"Yeah I know," I nodded. "He picked the DVDs up from the library once because he thought I'd like it. He made me watch the whole season before I could tell him I didn't like it. It wasn't... that bad."

"Don't tell me you enjoyed that crap," Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I thought you had taste."

"Remember if you're implying I don't have any taste, that I am dating you," I pointed out and grinned at him.

"Exception to the rule," he replied and went back to his work again.

"That name sounds pretty familiar to me, I'm sure I know him," Rukia told me. "I'll definitely look into him. How'd you know this soul reaper anyway? Uotani is your name, isn't it?"

"You know it is," I said. "He's family if that's what your asking. But I can't tell you how we're related without Captain Hitsugaya flying off the handle."

"You know you're not a shinigami, you don't have to call him Captain," Rukia told me.

"Sure but I know he worked hard for it," I replied. "Even if he's is currently driving me up the wall."

Renji POV

"Even if he's currently driving me up the wall," Uo's voice sounded through the phone.

"I wonder what she means by that," I thought out loud.

"All the more reason for us to find that shinigami, Renji," Captain Hitsugaya replied.

"Eh, either way I don't trust her anymore," Rangiku said.

"Oh come on, you can't still be mad she never told you she was dating Ichigo," I rolled my eyes. "Everyone who's met you knows what an insatiable gossip you are. You're always sticking your nose in someone else's business. I can't blame them for not wanting to tell you."

"Oh is that why you knew the whole time and didn't say anything?" She bit back at me.

"Fist time anything happened Uo had had a massive fight with Urahara, Ichigo brought her back here and they sat in silence for hours, her just crying. After that there was a long speech and Ichigo said he loved her. I don't know what the fight was about," I explained.

"That's the second time then, we've seen her having had a fight with him then," Yumichika commented, perking up. "I wish we knew what it was about."

"It's your mission to now," Hitsugaya commanded. "Renji, they obviously trust you, I'm tasking you with finding out what they fought about. It's likely that whatever it was, was about the rift. If their friends, and have been this long, she might be protecting him."

"Which is why she hasn't said anything," Rangiku nodded. "You don't think he's the one that opened the rift do you?"

"It would explain their fight, I'd be pretty mad too if one of you guys opened a rift and some weird monster attacked me," I replied.

"We don't know any of that is true," Ikkaku said. "It's just a theory. But you're all forgetting it's Urahara that helped us with all that Aizen nonsense. Even if he is responsible, there's got to be a good explanation for it."

"If not that, then what?" Yumichika asked.

"It's hard to say, Uo and Ichigo don't talk about that night much," I replied. "I haven't been able to catch anything. It's all either school, work, math or business deals. The do have this one thing about this anime, Bleach, I think it's called? Sounds obscure and pretty niche."

"I've never heard of it," Rangiku replied.

"That's because you only watch boring romance anime," I argued.

"Oh and your feudal Japan anime is so much better, is it?" She bit back.

"It is actually," I said indignantly.

"Will you two focus?" Captain Hitsugaya ordered. "Renji, find out about that fight. I'm going to talk to Urahara about it. Ikkaku, ask Kurosaki to train with you and see if you can get him to say anything about the night he found Uo."

Main POV

"Eugh," I groaned as I reached over onto the desk beside Ichigo's bed and grabbed my phone to check the time. I could have sworn in my semiconscious state I'd heard it go off. "Oh fuck off Urahara."

I heard chuckling and felt the puffs of air on the top of my head. Ichigo's hands slid away from my middle and started playing with my hair. I opened the phone and read through the message. There was no apology. Sorry for not telling you about your brother or the fact you might never be able to see your siblings again.

"What's he want this early?" Ichigo asked.

"Last minute orders," I rolled my eyes and put the phone back down on the night stand.

"You going to take them?" Ichigo asked.

"We don't do last minute orders," I replied. "It's my day off. I have plans."

"Oh?" He replied. "What are those?"

"This," I shrugged and snuggled closer. "Perhaps getting up later but I'm not going to push it."

"You're so lazy," Ichigo laughed.

"Are you complaining?" I smiled leaning my head back onto his chest. "Because I can get up and leave you here by yourself."

"I never said lazy was a bad thing," he toyed. "But," he shifted slightly behind me, propping himself up on one elbow while his other arm was pinned over me. "We could be doing other things while we're here."

"Oh?" I raised a brow, smirking slightly. "And what did you have in mind?"

"Well," he started and leaned closer. "A little of this," he closed the gap and pecked my lips softly.

"Oh," I nodded.

"And a little of this," he continued, closing the gap again and kissing me more deeply.

"Anything else?" I grinned as he pulled back.

"Then there's always a little of.."

"Ichigo, Ikkaku is here for you," Yuzu called and the door burst open. Ichigo sighed above me and I dropped back down onto the pillows. "Oh, sorry I didn't realise I was interrupting anything."

"You weren't," I assured her while Ichigo sat up and climbed over me.

"I'm going to kill him," Ichigo said as he started getting dressed for the day.

"I'll be waiting for you when you're done murdering him," I replied and pulled the covers up over my head.

"Oh no, if I'm getting up, you have to come too," he replied and yanked the donna completely off the bed.

"Since when was that apart of the deal?!"

"I'm going to kill you," I muttered as Ichigo, Ikkaku and I walked towards Kisuke's shop.

"What's with her?" Ikkaku asked Ichigo as I walked farther ahead.

"She blew off work with Hat'n'clogs to sleep in just before you showed up," Ichigo shrugged.

"I can't believe I have to put up with Urahara and his shit this early in the morning," I grumbled.

"I thought he was your friend," Ikkaku said and I sighed.

"He is," I ran a hand through my hair. "I'm just mad at him."

"This about that fight?" Ikkaku asked.

"Hey, how'd you know about that?" Ichigo asked.

"I mentioned it while you were fighting that hollow yesterday," I explained. "And yes, I am mad at him because of our fight."

"Must have been some argument," Ikkaku replied.

"You could say that," I agreed. "Hey, why do I have to come if you two are just going to be fighting the whole time? It's not like I can join you I don't know what I'm doing. Even if I did, Urahara says my spirit energy output is a low as the level of a third seat. And Ikkaku didn't even have third seat level power when he was a third seat."

"I figured you'd hang out with Urahara but after what you said about still being mad at him I guess not," Ikkaku answered.

"Aww, you don't wanna watch me train?" Ichigo teased.

"Is Yumichika gonna be there?" I asked. "Or Renji? Or just someone other than Urahara?"

"I think Captain Hitsugaya said he might stop by," Ikkaku mentioned as we got closer to the shopfront.

"Oh great, just what I need," I rolled my eyes. "I really wish my life was as interesting as he seems to think it is. At least then I'd be able to get him to leave me alone."

"You mean you don't actually know anything?" Ikkaku replied.

"You thought I was just brushing him off this whole time?" I turned to him.

"Well yeah, I mean why else would Ichigo be so protective over you?" He shrugged.

"I never noticed," I replied. "I just thought that was Ichigo being Ichigo. I mean it's in his name isn't it? He just does that for everyone."

"You know I'm right here," Ichigo grumbled and I reached over to hold his hand.

"Hey," I commented. "It's Monday, don't you have school?"

"Winter break dummy," Ichigo replied and I laughed.

"Sorry, I haven't really been keeping track. So much work, so little time. Although I don't really have an excuse not to take those last minute orders now we're walking towards Urahara's shop. You think I should go back and get the car?" I asked.

"Nah," Ichigo replied. "It's your day off, use it. Relax a little."