Chapter 8

Lost and found.


That night Ichigo decided to upload one single picture to his Instagram.

It was a selfie that they took on their way back to the cottage. Rukia was on his back, ruffling his damped orange hair and smirking devilishly at the camera while Ichigo on his side was looking at her, pretending to be annoyed but his half-smirk gave him away, it was a nice picture, he decided, and he uploaded it with a simple caption: "witches are scarier, and shorter, in real life."

Rukia kicked his shins when he informed her about the caption but she said that it was quite the compliment to be considered a witch.

After the picture was uploaded, Rukia decided that it was time to go and torture her grandfather, and Kon, with her presence, so she left the cottage after promising Ichigo another interesting adventure tomorrow. Rukia surprised Ichigo by hugging Urahara goodbye and kissing Yoruichi loudly on the cheek before storming out of the cottage and calling Lucy at the top of her lungs.

"Poor maids…" Ichigo muttered while taking a seat on the pavilion overlooking his godparents' garden.

"Someone looks content," Urahara mentioned while taking a seat next to him, the moon was raising behind the woods "good day?"

Ichigo nodded and then looked curiously at him.

"I thought you would be with me by the time I received the test score," Ichigo couldn't help but complain "what happened?"

Urahara sighed.

"My apologies, Kurosaki-kun" he said while looking at Ichigo with sincere regret "I wasn't ready to hear that boy's voice."

Ichigo noticed how Urahara spit the word "boy" with disdain. Grimmjow was extremely hated around the Seireitei but Ichigo was confused, if they really hated Grimmjow that badly how come he was alive? Urahara's enemies never left his territory unscathed, and Grimmjow actually tried to hurt his so precious goddaughter, it didn't make sense.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked, "Rukia wouldn't give me details."

"Oh no," Urahara shook his head "we will not ruin this wonderful day by talking about trash," he scoffed and then smirked at his godson "it'll take a while before we reach that part of the story."

Ichigo's eyes widened.

"You're right," he nodded "what happened after the maids and the nanny took Rukia back to the cottage?"

"Well…" Urahara started but Yoruichi interrupted him by stepping into the pavilion and placing a plate full of snacks next to Ichigo, after that she took a seat next to her husband.

"Go on," Yoruichi ordered as she opened a beer "I believe that you need me to narrate some parts of the story."

Urahara smiled at his wife and nodded.

"Well," he continued "after meeting little Rukia for the first time we couldn't get her out of our minds…"

"She was an idiot child," Yoruichi scoffed "way too wild and trusty, how was I supposed to relax after meeting her?"

"Indeed…"

Urahara was trying not to think about the child, he was telling himself that it was none of his business, none of their business, because Yoruichi was doing her best to avoid the topic too. It had been a day and a half ever since the little Kuchiki Rukia was taken to her cottage by her maids and the main nanny and, apparently, that was for the best. He sighed as he poured himself a cup of tea and took a seat on his backyard, looking at the woods always had a tranquilizing effect on him, it was almost therapeutic. Yoruichi on her side was taking a bath so, all in all, everything around his cottage was peaceful.

It was then when a sound caught his attention, he saw a little feral bunny looking for nuts around the grass and sighed. Not thinking about the child was proving to be... impossible.

Were the maids taking care of her? Were the Kuchiki men aware of how she was being treated? Why wasn't Kuchiki Byakuya taking her with him? Urahara sunk into his chair as he remembered the terrified four year old child clinging onto him for dear life, he didn't want to let go of her, not when it was obvious how she didn't want to leave either, but going against the Kuchikis was not wise, even if Yoruichi was the godmother, what could they do?

He wanted to go and ask if everything was okay, he stood up ready to leave towards the Kuchikis' cottage but he stopped when another sound made him look at the garden.

"Gotchu!" a tiny voice hissed and Urahara's eyes widened as he saw the reason behind his worries jumping his white fence and running towards the little feral bunny.

Kuchiki Rukia was back, she was wearing a long-sleeved white sundress but she was not wearing shoes and she was covered with dirt and grass but smiling widely.

Urahara gaped bewildered.

"Come here!" Rukia yelled as the feral bunny escaped from her at high speed.

Urahara stayed there frozen for a few seconds until he decided that he could not let her play with a feral bunny of all things.

Rukia followed the cute little animal around the garden and once the bunny jumped over the fence she smiled victoriously at the thought of following the bunny until finding its burrow, but her plans were ruined because she was interrupted mid-jump, someone grabbed her by the back of her dress and held her on the air, she gasped surprised.

"My, my..." Urahara muttered amused "what do we have here?"

Rukia smiled as Urahara turned her around so they could be face to face.

"Urahara!" Rukia beamed.

"Hello," Urahara smiled back "what are you doing here?"

"Playing with the bunnies," Rukia explained happily "I sneaked out of the cottage."

Urahara frowned, how? Why? What were the maids and the nanny doing? How come Ginrei-sama hadn't noticed the child's absence?

"How long ago?" Urahara asked.

Rukia shrugged.

"I'm not sure," she said and then looked up at the sky "I made sure that the sun was not out yet so they wouldn't catch me."

Urahara kept a poker face but he felt anger building up inside him, the child had been outside her home, without supervision, for the whole morning, it was almost lunchtime, and no one, not a single maid or even her grandfather, had looked for her. Urahara thought that it was almost lucky that the child had been inside the woods the whole time, what if she had gone to a stranger's house? What if someone recognized her as the Kuchiki heiress? If someone were to find her alone it would be like hitting jackpot, what were the Kuchikis' thinking?

He was lost on his thoughts but Rukia brought him to reality by poking his forehead.

"Put me down, please" the child ordered kindly "if I follow that bunny I can find the burrow!"

Urahara sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, my lady" he exclaimed jokingly "but I cannot do that! If the bunnies were to see your pretty dress covered in dirt they would never accept you inside their home!"

Rukia pouted.

"But they are always covered in dirt!" she pointed out.

"Their rules are not the same towards humans!" Urahara explained seriously "but do not worry, I know who can help you with your problem."

"Who?" Rukia asked curiously.

"The Queen of this cottage" Urahara smirked.


Yoruichi was telling herself that it was not her business, she was in no place to interfere, so what if she was the godmother? The Kuchikis didn't even inform her that Rukia was going to be her new little neighbor, they didn't inform Kisuke, who was the fucking mayor, that a child was going to move to the town. Yoruichi scoffed, this is why she hated nobility bullshit, they acted as if they could do whatever they pleased, including leaving the only heiress of the whole clan and fortune to run freely and without shoes! Assholes! The whole lot of them!

"Calm down," Yoruichi muttered to herself as she sank deeper into her bathtub "they probably don't know how to tame a child."

Yoruichi grabbed the sake bottle and took a large sip, she had decided to take a bubble bath to ease her worries, what else was she supposed to do? To go and barge into the Kuchikis' domestic life? To go and demand the child's custody? She scoffed, Byakuya would never agree to have her taking care of his sweet daughter, not in a million years.

"But," Yoruichi muttered "this is also Hisana's child."

The dark skinned woman frowned as she remembered her best friend. Hisana had been there for her through most of her life, high school, sleepovers, school projects, the first heartbreak, the first job, when they moved to the city and even when they decided to get married and start their own families they never lost touch, they even lived together for some time. Yoruichi remembered Hisana's smile after Rukia was born and informing her that she was the godmother, her blue eyes were sparkling with happiness at that time.

"Hisana!" Yoruichi scowled as she angrily threw the sake bottle against the wall, it broke in several pieces "idiot! Why did you make me the godmother?! I don't know a single thing about children! And yours happens to be an idiot, she's like you!" she groaned as she took a deep breath as she threw more bubbles into the bathtub "with gorgeous and exotic eyes, pale skin and raven hair! I took care of you, didn't I?! Now what?! Do I take care of this new version of you as well?!"

Silence reigned after Yoruichi's rant and she focused on her heavy breathing, she needed to calm down. Yoruichi was about to turn on some music when she heard some steps coming upstairs, she frowned, what did Kisuke want? She was not in the mood to deal with anyone, not even her husband.

"Queen!" Urahara yelled as he kicked the bathroom door opened "I've brought an intruder!"

Yoruichi's eyes widened as Kisuke stepped clumsily into the bathroom, he was covering his eyes with one hand and in the other he was holding Kuchiki Rukia by the back of her dress.

"What the hell?!" Yoruichi screeched.

"I'm sorry but she needs a bath!" Urahara laughed as he pretended to cover his eyes, Rukia told him to do so since boys were not supposed to see girls while bathing "otherwise the bunnies won't let her inside the burrow!"

"The fuck?!" Yoruichi was still shocked.

"I'll leave her in your care!" Urahara informed finally while throwing Rukia inside the bathtub and then left the bathroom running, he closed the door loudly and yelled something about having to make lunch for the queen and the princess.

Yoruichi stayed there frozen with widened eyes as Rukia, who was now drenched and playing with bubbles, laughed. The little girl didn't seem to mind the fact that her dress was ruined, or the fact that she was sharing the bathtub with Yoruichi, what the hell?

"Yoruichi," Rukia beamed as she blew some bubbles towards her face "your bathtub is huge! And you have bubbles!" she chuckled "I like bubbles."

Yoruichi blinked as she observed the child, she was covered in dirt and she guessed that she hadn't found her shoes yet, her pretty dress was ruined by the dirt and her face didn't look any better. There was no way around it, the same had happened, she left her cottage with an empty stomach and no shoes to look for bunnies, otherwise Urahara wouldn't have brought her to her.

Yoruichi swore right there to set the Kuchikis' cottage on fire.

"Okay," the dark skinned woman hissed "you won, I'll look after your idiot offspring!"

Rukia blinked confused but Yoruichi didn't give her the chance to ask what she was talking about, instead she threw some bubbles on the child's head.

Rukia laughed.

"Take off your dress, kiddo" Yoruichi instructed as she reached for the shampoo bottle "you need a bath."

"After that you'll take me to look for the bunnies' burrow?" Rukia asked as she obeyed.

"No," Yoruichi frowned as she started to wash Rukia's hair "after that you're meeting your godmother."

Rukia's eyes widened as she smiled thankful at Yoruichi.

Yoruichi didn't want to ponder why that single smile made her so damn happy.


Once the bath was over, Rukia and Yoruichi went downstairs to eat whatever Urahara had prepared for them, having a sense of déjà vu Yoruichi placed Rukia on a chair and took a seat in front of her. Urahara smiled as he put the plates with food on the table and took a seat next to his wife, it was already lunchtime so he guessed that the maids would look for the child soon, he wondered what Yoruichi had decided.

"So…" Yoruichi started awkwardly but Rukia didn't give her the chance to talk.

"You said that I would meet my godmother," Rukia said before Yoruichi could begin to explain, "where is she? Is she a friend of yours?"

Yoruichi frowned at the interruption but let it slide.

"Kiddo," the dark-skinned woman smirked "what will you do once you meet this godmother of yours?"

Rukia blinked, her unique expressive eyes were focused solely on Yoruichi.

"I'll hug her," she answered while smiling "and then I'll tell her that my mom will be happy in heaven, since she wanted us to be together."

Yoruichi ran a hand through her hair, there was no way around it, she just couldn't let it be. Taking care of the child was her responsibility, killing the maids and the nanny, setting the Kuchikis' cottage on fire and then threatening Byakuya, that was her mental list for now and she wanted to check out every single item, she could always blame Hisana later.

"Rukia," Yoruichi said as she took a deep breath and looked straight at the child's eyes "I am your godmother"

Yoruichi braced herself as she waited for the child's reaction, she said that she would hug her but apparently she forgot. Rukia stared at Yoruichi, her violet eyes shone with unshed tears as she gaped, Yoruichi gulped nervously, was she supposed to do something? Should she apologize for not telling her sooner? Either way she needed to know, she didn't need to go around the whole town looking for some random woman anymore.

Urahara observed amused the interchange, he was sure that it had taken a lot of courage for Yoruichi to reveal her role on the child's life, so now they just had to wait for Rukia to react.

They weren't disappointed with the child's outburst.

After the initial shock passed, Rukia screeched and jumped over the table towards Yoruichi's arms. Yoruichi caught her but they lost balance and fell backwards on the kitchen floor.

"I'm not alone!" Rukia exclaimed over and over again "I'm no longer alone!"

Urahara kept a respectful distance, he knew they weren't hurt by that fall, and he knew that Yoruichi was hiding her face on the child's neck so no one would see her teary eyes, she hated to cry, especially in front of others.

"This is awesome!" Rukia said as she looked at Yoruichi, who was under her "we'll watch movies together, and eat candies, I'll show you the Chappy series! Can I visit often? Can we talk about mom?"

Yoruichi blinked several times, she was trying to process everything she was feeling, along with everything Rukia was yelling on her face.

"Sure, kiddo" Yoruichi sighed and then smirked "but first there's something we need to do."

Rukia tilted her head.

"What is it?"

"I'm going to check out another item on my list" Yoruichi hissed.

Urahara suddenly felt extremely bad about the Kuchikis' maids, but he supposed that they deserved it.


"Pardon the intrusion!" Yoruichi yelled angrily while stepping into the Kuchikis' cottage, Rukia was sitting on her shoulders and her little arms were resting on Yoruichi's head "I'm looking for Kuchiki Ginrei!"

Rukia chuckled as the maids gaped at Yoruichi's entrance, she supposed that they were surprised at the fact that Rukia looked clean. After taking a bath with Yoruichi she changed clothes, she was now wearing one of Yoruichi's shirts, that was too big for her but because of that she was wearing it like a dress, and her little feet were covered with another pair of Yoruichi's socks, Rukia felt comfortable and happy. The fact that Urahara made lunch for them was an added bonus, Rukia was not hungry anymore.

"Excuse me, you cannot come inside like this!" one of the maids said scoffing "this is private property!"

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow at the young maid, she had dark hair, brown eyes and a mean smirk. The Shihouin heiress wanted to wipe the smirk off her face with her fist but for now that was not an option, she couldn't choose violence yet.

"In case that you're fucking blind," Yoruichi smirked "the owner of this cottage is sitting on my shoulders as we speak."

The maid blushed angrily.

"That child…!"

"This child's name is Kuchiki Rukia!" Yoruichi interrupted her while glaring at her "she's the reason why you have a job, watch your mouth!"

The maid shut up immediately and Rukia clapped once happily.

"What's going on here?!" someone asked and Yoruichi looked at the top of the staircase, the old hag wearing the kimono was there "lady Rukia, what are you playing at?"

Yoruichi felt how Rukia tensed but this time she was having none of it, there was no way she was going to let the servants treat Rukia however they wanted.

"Call Ginrei-sama," Yoruichi ordered "I need to talk to him."

The main nanny walked down the stairs slowly, her hands were hidden inside her kimono sleeves and she was wearing a bun that looked extremely tight, Yoruichi wondered if she had a permanent headache because of it, perhaps that's why she was constantly sneering and acting like a bitter old lady.

"Who do you think you are to give orders?" the older woman questioned "I can call the authorities on you."

Yoruichi was extremely amused at that idea.

"Oh, please do, old hag" she challenged "let's see how that works for you."

"My name is Shima," the woman retorted "mind your manners."

"Fine, Shima" Yoruichi waived a hand dismissively "where's Ginrei-sama? If you don't call him I will simply scream his name at the top of my lungs until he comes out."

"Ginrei-sama is not here," Shima shook her head as she smiled sarcastically "he left last night to an emergency meeting in Karakura, it is unclear when he's coming back."

"What?" Rukia gasped "but he didn't say goodbye!"

"You were asleep, my lady" Shima explained "he has priorities and saying goodbye to a child is not one of them."

Yoruichi clenched her fists, she didn't need to look at Rukia's face to know that Shima's words hurt her. Did this woman know how to talk to children? Hell, Yoruichi was no expert, but she knew that there were better ways to inform about this! Who the fuck did Shima think she was?

"Fine!" Yoruichi barked "then I'll inform him once he comes back," she scoffed "I'm taking the kiddo with me so you lazy bastards can stop hiding her shoes," she glared at the young maid once more "prepare some clothes for her and bring them here."

"What?!" Shima narrowed her eyes as the other two young maids stepped into the scene "that's not happening, you have no right to take the Kuchiki heiress with you, who do you think you are?"

Yoruichi smirked.

"Uh, you're right, I should introduce myself first" she extended her hand mockingly at Shima "my name is Yoruichi Shihouin, and I am Rukia's godmother."

Yoruichi noticed pleased how the maids gaped and how badly Shima paled, they obviously recognized her family name, that was good.

"I can show you the certificate that Kuchiki Byakuya signed agreeing with that," Yoruichi continued with a cat-like grin "but the pictures of me growing up with Kuchiki Hisana might convince you better, how about it?"

"I-I-I lady! Wait! This is a huge misunderstanding!" Shima was stuttering as she took a couple of steps back.

"Oh right, aren't you going to call the authorities?" Yoruichi taunted "no need, I can do that for you, my idiot husband happens to be the mayor of this town," she raised her chin as she looked defiantly at Shima "if I bring him you can also explain why you barged into our cottage and demanded us to hand you our goddaughter, should I?"

"We didn't know you were the godparents!" Shima excused herself "we were looking after the little lady-"

"Bullshit!" Yoruichi interrupted her "your shitty maids hid her shoes, you hadn't even looked for her after she spent hours in the woods! She hadn't even had breakfast! Looking after her?! Don't give me that crap!" she grabbed Shima by the front of her kimono "the only reason why I am not killing all of you is because I have to talk with Ginrei-sama first!"

Shima started to breathe heavily while her eyes filled with rage towards Yoruichi.

Ichigo gaped.

"Those maids must've been pissed off," he pointed out "seriously."

"Oh, they were" Yoruichi confirmed while smirking proudly "for a second I thought that the old hag was going to have a stroke."

"That would've been nice," Urahara chuckled while accepting a sip of Yoruichi's beer, the moon was already out and a light breeze caressed them all, he loved to receive the nightfall on his garden "unfortunately it didn't happen."

Ichigo frowned.

"But they didn't get to keep Rukia, right? Didn't you get the custody after Yoruichi's outburst?" the orange haired teenager questioned.

Yoruichi sighed.

"Those were my plans," she admitted "but I wasn't counting on the old hag to use Rukia's weakness against me."

"What weakness?" Ichigo asked.

"Byakuya," Yoruichi answered while smiling bitterly "when it comes to little noble girls their daddy's orders are absolute," she explained as she kept her eyes on the woods behind the garden, but Ichigo could easily guess that her mind was elsewhere "Rukia was not an exception to that rule."

Ichigo kept quiet as he listened to the rest.

"Fine," Shima snapped as Yoruichi let go of her kimono "take the child with you, but bring her here before curfew."

Yoruichi tilted her head.

"I think that you're not understanding," she said "I am not asking for your permission, neither for a limited amount of time, Kuchiki Rukia will live with me until I inform Ginrei-sama about everything that has been happening," Yoruichi scoffed "you will be lucky if you manage to find a job after this."

Yoruichi was expecting the old hag to snap and to yell at her, she wanted her to do so just so she could punch her on the face like she wanted to, but none of that happened. Yoruichi noticed confused how Shima fixed the front of her kimono and put up a poker face, after that she motioned for the young maids to leave the room and they obeyed.

"Lady Rukia," Shima called seriously "do you agree with everything your so-called-godmother has been saying?" she asked.

Yoruichi frowned as she took a couple of steps back and placed Rukia carefully on the floor.

"She didn't lie," Rukia said while taking Yoruichi's hand "you keep hiding my shoes."

"And yet you keep escaping," Shima pointed out "anyone knows better than to go around without shoes."

"She's four" Yoruichi hissed.

"She's a noble lady," Shima retorted while frowning at Yoruichi "what would Byakuya-sama were to say if I were to inform him about his daugher's behavior?"

Yoruichi noticed how Rukia tensed immediately at the mention of her father.

"Listen!" Yoruichi tried to say but Shima kept interrupting her.

"Go with your godmother, lady Rukia" Shima said coldly "just remember that I'll be contacting Byakuya-sama at the usual hour, he must be dying to hear about you again."

Rukia gulped fearfully.

"Come on, kiddo" Yoruichi said as she walked back towards her cottage with Rukia "I'll explain to Byakuya-boo."

Rukia nodded unsure and, as she looked back at Shima, she noticed her mean smirk and gulped fearfully.

"Uh," Ichigo said "I can see where this is going…"

"Oh yes," Urahara nodded "if there is something Rukia loves more than Chappy the rabbit is her father," he shook his head "we weren't able to keep her inside the cottage that day."

"What do you mean you have to go?" Yoruichi asked as she turned off the TV, she had been watching movies with Rukia and chatting with her most of the afternoon, "I just sent Kisuke to the plaza so he could get something edible for us."

Rukia frowned sadly.

"I'm sorry!" she apologized as she walked hurriedly to the front door "I promise I'll come back tomorrow!"

"Kiddo, wait!" Yoruichi said while running and blocking the door for her "what brought all of this? What about your Chappy thing? Don't you want to wait for Kisuke first?"

Rukia nodded.

"I want to! But I can't!" she explained urgently "please, let me go!"

Yoruichi rolled her eyes.

"I haven't kidnapped you," the Shihouin heiress scoffed "just explain to me what this is about and then I'll let you go," she crossed her arms "do you want to go back to the cottage with the mean old hag and the stupid maids instead of staying with me?"

Rukia pouted.

"These are daddy's rules," she muttered finally "all I have to do is to be on time for our daily call and that way he won't take me back to the city."

Yoruichi gaped, so Byakuya wasn't an uncaring asshole? That was a shocker, but she understood that she couldn't keep the child against her will, and she wanted to talk to her father, it was only natural.

"Fine," Yoruichi agreed finally "but come back tomorrow and remind those idiots that if they mistreat you again, I'll give them hell."

"You're the best, Yoruichi!" Rukia exclaimed while hugging her godmother's legs and, after that, Yoruichi walked her to the porch of the Kuchikis' cottage.

Unfortunately, she didn't know what was going to happen, otherwise she would've never let Rukia go with Shima and the maids.

"Did she come back the next day?" Ichigo asked after Yoruichi paused.

"No," Yoruichi sneered "she wasn't able to."

"What happened?" Ichigo urged her to continue, what could've kept Rukia away from her recently found godmother? It didn't sound right.

"She…"

"Sir, my apologies for the interruption" Tessai, Urahara's assistant, said while stepping into the pavilion "a message from the Karakura mayor has arrived" he informed.

"That's my cue to go," Urahara nodded and then smiled at Ichigo "good night, Kurosaki-san, and congratulations for acing your test, you can rest the whole day tomorrow."

Ichigo nodded gratefully with a smile and, after Urahara went inside the cottage, he looked at Yoruichi.

"So…?" he tried once more, he was dying to hear the rest.

Yoruichi shook her head, she didn't want to keep telling the rest, not without her husband's support, the next part of the story was sad for her.

"So, it's late, and children should go to bed," Yoruichi smirked at her orange haired godson and poked him on the forehead "once Kisuke is around I'll tell you the next part."

Ichigo frowned, but he had to admit that he was feeling tired so he agreed to go to bed and walked towards his room, that still didn't have a door. He prepared for bed and as he laid down on the soft mattress he closed his eyes, he fell asleep pretty fast and his dreams were filled with a younger Rukia, and a younger yoruichi, finding each other in the middle of the woods thanks to a girl dressed in black who, apparently, was a witch.

He didn't remember that dream in the morning.


"Are you sure that we're on the right way?" Renji, who was fed up about his current situation, asked angrily.

"One hundred percent," Kaien assured him, he looked briefly at his cellphone screen "according to this we should reach Seireitei by the morning."

Uryuu shook his head on the backseat, Kaien had been driving for hours and up until now no one had been able to tell them how to reach Seireitei, in fact, it seemed as if no one knew where it was or if it was a real place. The boys didn't find it strange, they knew how eccentric, and influential, Ichigo's godparents were, especially Urahara who had connections with powerful people and several businesses all around Japan, so it was understandable that their house would be hard to find. They simply decided to keep going hoping that they would eventually find the woods.

Uryuu sighed heavily as he wondered if they would be able to enter the town without issues. He understood that Ichigo's godfather was the mayor, but his father had informed him once how that title was not that important if one were to take into consideration that there was an heiress there that controlled everything. Uryuu knew that the girl they heard on the phone had to be the one, but they didn't have a way of finding out, so he only hoped that she wouldn't give them a hard time.

After all she seemed to be getting well with Ichigo so… she would understand that his friends needed to see him, right?

"Almost there," Kaien smirked as he accelerated "get ready to see our favorite idiot again!"

Renji smirked, he couldn't wait to see his best friend.


Rukia woke up the next morning and jumped out of bed quickly, the sun was barely rising. She called Lucy so she could help her with her bath and once she was choosing her outfit for the day she couldn't help but smile widely at the mirror.

"Where's the fire, my lady?" Lucy asked while smiling slightly at Rukia's antics, she already knew what the hurry was about.

"I promised Ichigo we would do something interesting today," Rukia explained while smiling at Lucy "he liked the lake, you know?"

Lucy rolled her eyes, she didn't trust Ichigo yet, especially not around Rukia. Lucy had been hired personally by Yoruichi after the previous maids were fired, and she loved the Kuchiki heiress with her whole heart. Lucy had seen Rukia grow up and, after she hadn't been able to protect her from Grimmjow, she promised to keep a better eye on whoever wanted to approach her lady, for Lucy it didn't make a difference if the orange haired teenager was Yoruichi's godson.

"Do you think he would like to race the horses?" Rukia wondered as Lucy brushed her hair "I would take him to the meadows but I think he's scared of the bunnies, can you believe that?" she smirked "what if I get some bunnies into his room, well my room, while he's sleeping?"

Lucy couldn't help but chuckle.

"My lady," she said as she finished Rukia's hair "I don't think Yoruichi-sama would appreciate that."

Rukia sighed.

"I guess you're right," she agreed and then looked at Lucy "where should I take him today?"

Back to the city Lucy thought but didn't say it aloud, she had seen Rukia's eyes shining like this before and it was not a nice memory, it didn't end well that time, what could guarantee that this time would be different?

"Perhaps…" Lucy said but was interrupted the moment Stella stepped into the room.

"My lady!" the second maid exclaimed "we have news from the town!"

Rukia and Lucy's eyes widened.


"I told you," Uryuu muttered panic stricken "I fucking told you!"

"Calm down," Kaien mumbled "they cannot kill us…"

"They can!" Uryuu hissed "this is not under the government jurisdiction! This is private property!"

Renji couldn't talk, he was sweating nervously and all he could do was to stare at the situation they had gotten themselves into. The moment they stepped into the town they noticed how the gates were open, so Kaien simply drove and parked in the plaza, hoping that they would catch a glimpse of someone that could guide them to Urahara's cottage, but luck was not on their side.

When the locals noticed three strangers stepping into the town without a care, and without an invitation, they called the guards immediately and sent someone to inform the main cottages about the intrusion.

Now, Renji, Kaien and Uryuu were tied in the middle of the plaza with their hands on their backs, and they were surrounded by security guards who were not exactly pointing the guns at them, but they were not hiding the weapons either. The situation was as tense as it could be and all of the locals were watching from a respectful distance while waiting for the authorities to arrive.

"Please," Kaien said while trying to muster some courage "we were invited by…"

"Where's your formal invitation?" one skeptical guard asked interrupting Kaien "Unless we see it we will not believe a word."

"Please," Kaien tried again "my cousin is living here and…"

"What's your family name?" another guard asked frowning.

"Shiba," Kaien answered firmly "my name is Shiba Kaien."

A couple of guards exchanged a look but one of them shook his head.

"That name is not registered," he explained "we'll have to wait for the mayor."

Kaien scoffed, he was sure that his sister was friends with Ichigo's godmother, but apparently not even her was able to access this town. What kind of place was this? He wanted to start yelling that they were not criminals, and they were underage, they couldn't treat them like this! But he decided to wait for Urahara to show up, surely he would be embarrassed about how the guards were treating their guests, right? Surely they would receive some sort of apology after this, right? He was about to ask for Urahara when some gasps were heard around the crowd and the guards made way for someone while bowing slightly.

Kaien exchanged a relieved smile with Renji, that had to be Urahara, who else would be respected like this?

"Lady Rukia has arrived! Make way!" one guard announced with a booming voice.

All of the boys gaped when a girl, a gorgeous raven haired girl, walked with her head held high as the guards made way for her until she was standing in front of the boys. The girl was flanked by two maids, who looked ready to kill anyone who would dare to look at their lady the wrong way, and she was wearing a loose blue shirt and shorts, Kaien noticed how she was barefoot.

"What do we have here?" the girl asked while smirking at them.

Uryuu gaped, was this the heiress? Where was Urahara? Where was Ichigo?

"This is a mistake," Renji said quickly "we never meant to…"

"Oh, of course this is a mistake," the girl said, her eyes were glinting while staring at Renji "strangers, especially male strangers, are not welcome here."

Renji gulped fearfully.

"We want to see the mayor!" Uryuu demanded before the girl could decide anything "we have rights!"

"You're seeing the mayor," Rukia chuckled while pointing at herself, she was enjoying the sight of terrified boys "don't worry," she smirked "I'll deal with you accordingly."

Renji, Kaien and Uryuu suddenly thought that visiting Ichigo was a terrible idea.


Guys! Thank you so much for your reviews on the last chapter, they meant the world and inspired me to keep going with this story, for real! I want to thank all of you but I'm running out of time, so I'll write to you on the next chapter, okay?

Let me know if you liked this one! Take care!

Pd. I apologize for my grammar mistakes.