Bleach belongs to Kubo. Enjoy this new chapter!

She yawned loudly and stretched her arms, wincing as a few joints cracked from stiffness. Glancing at her clock, she saw that she was up earlier than usual. Rangiku stood up and stalked over to her bathroom mirror and looked at her reflection, wondering why her eyes were puffy and red. And then she remembered.

Byakuya Kuchiki was a strange man indeed. A cold-hearted, apathetic jerk who was extremely cute and now to her knowledge, compassionate. A man who had suffered from depression and loneliness for years without anyone even noticing, much less help him. Why on earth did she break down in his arms last night and why did he let her?

"Do not apologize for being you."

His words brought a strange heat to her face and she shook her head, remembering how his lithe, yet strong and warm body cradled her form as she cried. The kiss-on-the-lips-that-didn't-happen-but-almost-did replayed constantly in her dreams, wondering if that was his real intention. Her cheek tingled mightily, and she swiped at the area in an attempt to quell the sensation. The disappointment she felt was vexatious.

Taking advantage of an emotionally compromised woman was easy and terrible, sinful even and yet he didn't do so. She knew that she didn't find her way to her bed all by herself, he had to have tucked her in before leaving like the honorable nobleman that he was. A small part of her wished he had stayed as well.

Rangiku rubbed at her eyes and took a deep, measured breath. She just had another moment of weakness, that was it. Having breakdowns such as that with the thought of Gin was not abnormal, Rangiku would venture to say that those happened frequently yet she'd be by herself. Usually a bottle of sake would wash the pain away, but the presence of that man lifted a heavy weight from her shoulders—it was something she desperately needed even if she decided not to admit it. The sensation of pouring her heart out in his arms was so cathartic that she felt empty when she realized he was gone. This was too good to be true and she refused to be hurt again.

Rangiku Matsumoto was losing herself to the idea of him.

"I need a shower…" she murmured to herself as she began her day. Maybe she would wash the memories of last night away as well.

As she waited for the stream of water to heat up, she shrugged off her robe and noticed that it had his scent. A mild cologne with a slight hint of sakura petals. Rangiku held it to her nose and breathed deeply, hating herself even more for indulging.

"Are you even reading what you're signing off of, Matsumoto?"

Rangiku raised her head slowly from her hand and pouted. "It's the same forms every single day. Does it even matter at this point?" After last night's debacle, she wanted to get the day over and done with so that she could go back to her apartment and brood, maybe even have a few drinks.

"I don't care if that's the case, read what you're doing so that you don't make any mistakes." Toshiro reprimanded her as he replaced the stack of forms he took from her desk with another stack.

"Yes, taicho…" she sighed as she held the form directly to her face, mere centimeters from her nose. "You see? A whole bunch of reading going on here." She flattened the form against her face comically and read each word aloud. Toshiro rolled his eyes in exasperation, yet he was glad to see that Rangiku was somewhat acting like herself again. The question remained, however, who was this mystery man that had her acting so out of character?

Rangiku noticed how her captain was still watching her warily and spoke. "What's up, taicho?"

Toshiro hesitated for a moment. "Is that man still bothering you? I told you that I can intervene if I need to. Don't be afraid to tell me."

Rangiku snorted behind her hand as she stifled a giggle. Toshiro's concern was so adorable. "He's not bothering me—he's very sweet and kind, taicho." she said with a wistful smile as Byakuya's brooding face popped up in her mind's eye. "Super cute and sexy too." she added at the end without even thinking. Rangiku felt her ears turn red when she realized what she had said—Byakuya was pretty cute and sexy too, if cute was the proper way to refer to him. "Why did I just think of that?"

"I'd still like to know who it is…" he muttered, trying to seem uninterested.

Rangiku knew that Toshiro could be trusted, yet she didn't know if Byakuya wanted his feelings to be common knowledge. Rangiku herself also wanted whatever situation they had to be kept quiet as well, however, she desperately wanted to mess with her captain. "You're familiar with him, by the way. This isn't some stranger."

Toshiro's head shot up. He knew this man? "Is it Hisagi-fukutaicho?!" he queried with the most reasonable choice. The entire damned Gotei 13 knew how the man lusted for his lieutenant and she always seemed to be none the wiser. If it was in fact him, it was about time that she finally noticed. Yet, he doubted that Hisagi had the money to have bought that bouquet arrangement without having to save up for months.

"What? No, Shuhei and I are friends—he doesn't have feelings for me. We're drinking buddies and he always likes to help me out with my work if I'm not in the mood to do it myself." Rangiku said with a dismissive wave of the hand. Toshiro merely sweat-dropped and said nothing. It seemed as if Rangiku was still either playing the fool when it came to Shuhei Hisagi, or she genuinely had no idea how the man felt for her. He had a nagging feeling that Rangiku had little incentive of disclosing the man's true identity to him.

"But—never mind." Hitsugaya shook his head slightly, dropping that particular subject. He watched as Rangiku stood up from her desk and promptly glomped him from behind with her bosom, effectively holding him in place as she playfully nuzzled his snow-white hair with her cheek.

"It's so cute how you're worried about me, taicho~!" Rangiku cooed, much to the chagrin of her flustered captain, who squirmed in her grasp pitifully. "I'm a big girl, I can handle myself just fine."

"I'm well aware of that," he replied as he successfully wrenched himself from her grasp. "I just don't want your boyfriend to influence you in a negative manner. It's hard enough getting you to do your work satisfactorily when you're single, and I cannot even imagine how it would be when you're in a relationship."

Boyfriend?

Rangiku paled visibly and placed a hand on her desk for support. She hadn't given much thought about why Byakuya was trying to woo her. Rangiku feared intimacy—she had a terrible propensity for those she was intimate with to end up dying. Leading Byakuya on was something that she did not want to do, yet she didn't want his presence in her life to cease.

Hitsugaya noticed Rangiku's pallid expression and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Judging by your reaction, it seems that you are not dating this man." He leaned against her desk and observed her reactions. Rangiku's baby blue eyes stared at her captain guiltily, a small frown on her face and his teal irises widened considerably.

"You let this man spend an exorbitant amount of money on you, for him not even to be with you." Toshiro stated matter-of-factly, yet his tone seemed to be more astonished than admonishing.

A heavy sigh escaped from Rangiku's mouth. "I didn't let this man spend anything, it was a gift…he came over to my apartment last night to explain why he sent it to me." She explained, unaware of the fact that she just let slip that Byakuya had been in her home. Toshiro looked scandalized, the man had been in her home? Rangiku squinted her eyes at him suspiciously, wondering why he had that face until she realized what she had just said. "Oh—uh, it's not like that—"

The boy shuddered visibly and slinked back over to his desk, plunking down in his seat. He gulped down a long swig of water and breathed in deeply. Although he tried to act beyond his years for some respect, he found it difficult to hear about how adults acted in these, situations.

"It wasn't even that big of a deal," Rangiku continued as she waved a flippant hand. "I've gotten flowers before plenty of times."

"You could buy a house with that gift that man gave you!" Toshiro exclaimed, aghast at how nonchalantly Rangiku was treating this situation.

"Taicho," Rangiku adopted a chiding tone as she strode up to the front of his desk. "Like I said, you don't have to worry about me like that, this man is not trying to buy my affections." Her expression softened at the thought of Byakuya and how he held her in his arms as she cried. "It's just…." She trailed off suddenly. "…I…"

Toshiro interrupted her suddenly. "Are you in love with him?" He asked pointedly, a white eyebrow raised.

Rangiku shook her head so vigorously that Toshiro couldn't see her face anymore. "No! No." She exclaimed emphatically at the thought. Rangiku had been in love before and the feeling she had for Gin compared to what she thought of Byakuya were nowhere near the same. If anything, she was more or less intrigued by him and felt a weird obligation to help him out. At least that's what she wanted to think.

"Rangiku?" Toshiro spoke out to her several moments after she had gone silent.

"You have to promise me that you won't be judgmental…" she warned him with her hands on her hips like a disapproving mother.

"Fine, yes." He replied impatiently.

She tugged at one of the locks of hair that framed her face. "Well, he's been struggling quite a bit for the past several years. Mentally." Rangiku's expression turned sullen. "One day, I just happened to run into him and he was upset, so I encouraged him a bit. Since then, he's leaned on me for support, I guess. He's a good person, taicho." she earnestly tried to convince her young captain.

"I don't know why you'd assume I would judge someone like that, Rangiku." Toshiro almost sounded disappointed. "You shouldn't be ashamed of doing something so admirable."

Rangiku pursed her lips. "I'm not ashamed, I've just never done something like that for someone before."

"That's what happens when you develop a crush." Toshiro commented through a yawn as he headed for the couch. "You develop the tendency to act out of character on your beloved's behalf."

The buxom lieutenant glared at her captain indignantly, "I don't have a crush, taicho! Do I look like a lovesick schoolgirl?!" She asked through gritted teeth, not liking at all where the conversation was headed.

If it wasn't for Rangiku, Toshiro would not be standing where he stood right now. He treasured their sibling-like relationship more than he let on and he was not above teasing her on those rare occasions, they knew each other too well. Rangiku was always the one to go too in-depth with her personal life, and the fact that she was tiptoeing around this mystery man topic was undeniable proof that she was, in fact, seeing someone. Or at the very least, she was developing feelings for the mystery man. As long as Rangiku was happy, he was happy. Still, he'd at least like to know who this man was. Maybe he could coax it out of her one day if she showed up to the office inebriated.

Toshiro gave his lieutenant a long look before smirking. "You're impossible, you're aware of that, right?"

"I'm still your favorite~." She replied back with a sly smile, her agitated expression disappearing quickly.

He waved her off and threatened punish her if she did not return to her paperwork. Eventually, Hitsugaya stepped out for a meeting, leaving Rangiku by herself to finish up her work. Explaining her situation with Byakuya was exceedingly difficult because there was no logical way to describe what was going on. She was never a fan of the whole 'back and forth' spiel that was happening. He was a good man, that was undeniable, but the two of them were not on the same wavelength, per se.

Yet, she never felt as safe in anyone's arms as she did last night—even those frightful nights in the Rukongai as Gin held her shaking form paled in comparison to how Byakuya made her feel. Knowing how her presence in his life drew him out of his depression made her feel so elated for him—it made her feel like she had purpose again. The slightly accelerated thump of her heart was a telltale sign that what she felt for him was not entirely platonic anymore, but of course, she failed to notice. Hell, she had even sniffed her robe that morning because it smelled like him! She missed him already and it had only been twelve hours since she had last seen him. For whatever reason that was eluding her, Byakuya made her feel so good. Yet, it scared her frightfully. She hugged herself, once again craving his warmth.

"Byakuya…" she sighed to herself as she began to thump her forehead on her desk. She had quite a bit of thinking to do now.

"Get out of my office." Byakuya said calmly. He simply wanted to finish up several patrol reports and he neglected to close his window before a stray cat made her way in. Rukia had mentioned to him how in the World of the Living, seeing a black cat was a sign of bad luck. He had to admit that he was in agreeance with the superstition.

"I don't think I will, besides, it's more comfortable up here. Your head is quite soft despite you being such a hardheaded pain in the ass." Yoruichi Shihoin replied as she stretched out atop Byakuya's head, thankfully in her cat form.

"I will pull your tail if you do not move." Byakuya rarely pulled out this threat.

Yoruichi growled, "You wouldn't."

"Try me, Yoruichi Shihoin." He goaded calmly.

"Do that and I'll transform right now in all of my sexy glory, Byakuya-bo. All over your head." The cat replied back languidly through a yawn.

Byakuya sighed in displeasure. Having a cat on top of his head was mild in comparison to having a naked woman instead. It would depend on who the naked woman was, he reasoned to himself as he continued writing his reports. Yoruichi was genuinely surprised that Byakuya dropped the topic so easily, under normal circumstances he would have forced her off of him immediately. After an extended length of time, he realized that Yoruichi hadn't said a word—such a thing was concerning. He felt the cat jump off of him and land on his desk.

"You smell funny." The cat said pointedly. She had known that Byakuya was going through it and made it a point of dropping by every so often to check in on him, and she happened to notice that his aura was off a bit.

Byakuya looked insulted. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me—you smell funny. Different, even."

"I hope you are not trying to insinuate that I am dirty." Byakuya had bathed the night before and that same morning. He took pride in how he kept up his appearance.

"You smell like a lady. Whether or not if you bathed, I can still smell pheromones. Female pheromones." Yoruichi rolled her eyes as she tip-toed across his desk. "I didn't know you were seeing someone, Byakuya-bo." A Cheshire-like grin enveloped her features.

"I am not." He said at once, and Yoruichi immediately noticed the slight tone of disappointment in his voice. Byakuya set down his writing brush and folded his hands over his mouth, wanting to obscure as much of his expression as possible.

"I know Rukia's scent and it isn't hers." Yoruichi commented as she jumped atop Byakuya's shoulder and sniffed at him, much to his displeasure. "You smell like sake and persimmons; neither of which you partake in." She shook slightly, ruffling her fur. "Rangiku-chan smells like persimmons, sometimes. Eats them like crazy. She'd always make Kisuke order a big box of them whenever she came by the shop." Yoruichi mentioned casually with a yawn, not realizing the closet of skeletons she had just opened.

Byakuya remained eerily quiet, his eyes downcast and Yoruichi's golden irises widened in disbelief. "Don't tell me…"

"…" His lips thinned to a tight line as he remained silent.

"You're dating Rangiku-chan?" Yoruichi exclaimed in astonishment as she pounced back on the desk. She had never even seen the two as much as look at each other since her return from exile, how was this even possible?

Byakuya pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. Yoruichi was the last person he wanted to know about what he was up to, and the fact that she figured it out like that simply meant that he needed to be more discrete. Still, he knew that if he was serious enough, that she could trust the purple-haired vixen to keep quiet.

"I visited her apartment last night," he admitted and Yoruichi grinned as wide as a cat could at the innuendo, "but we do not have a relationship. We are…friends." He uttered the final word of the sentence with thinly veiled distaste and Yoruichi noticed clearly.

"But don't you wish you did…?"

"Mind your own business, demon." He said tightly.

"I'm not mocking you, Byakuya-bo, jeez. Let me be happy for you." Yoruichi muttered in exasperation.

Byakuya glared at the cat in front of him and stayed silent.

"She's a good girl and I hope you don't screw up; just let her bring out the best in you and she'll notice." She pounced from his shoulder to the open window, perching on the windowsill before continuing. "Good luck, Byakuya-bo!" She said simply before disappearing in a flash.

Byakuya sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes, he did not sleep well last night. In fact, he could not even remember the last night he even slept properly at all. Rangiku plagued his entire being to its core. He finally had the opportunity to hold this woman and it wasn't for a good reason, yes, but he wanted—needed so much more than that. Everything finally felt right in the world when he felt her in his arms.

"Rangiku-san…" he sighed her name longingly to himself.

He thought about Yoruichi's final words before she had left the room. "Just let her bring out the best in you and she'll notice." What did that entail? Not only had he confessed his infatuation to her, he was already trying to prove his worth to her and who knew if that was actually working—the woman was as stubborn as a bull. Picking up a writing brush again, he just wanted to get through the rest of the week in peace.

Byakuya rubbed at the errant crick in his neck in annoyance as he leaned back in his desk chair. It had been three days since that night and he was restless with anxiety. He had neither seen nor heard of any sign of Rangiku and he couldn't help but feel sorry for himself. Thinking that he did a noble deed by entering her bedroom with her asleep in his arms was horribly inappropriate, and now he was paying the price for it.

"You may leave, Renji." He addressed his exhausted lieutenant who was hunched over at his desk. "Ichika is at the Manor with the nannies, you and Rukia should relax for the afternoon." The baby had been teething and the poor parents were suffering from severe sleep deprivation. Also, Byakuya just wanted to be left alone to sulk in peace.

After a giddy Renji shut the door behind him, Byakuya stood up and walked towards a window to gaze out at the sunset. The sun had colored his plain office in a lovely hue of red and gold. He felt so empty on the inside—lost without her and this was caused by a simple hug. The sight of her breaking down in his arms pained him so much, he wished that he could alleviate her of that pain. He wanted to see her again desperately, yet his actions that night undoubtedly made their situation awkward. The woman fell asleep on him crying over a dead man that he brought up in conversation, he doubted that she was in any mood to see him any time too soon.

The sun had almost halfway disappeared over the horizon and Byakuya decided to pass by the War Memorial to think. He was already across the room to pick up Senbonzakura from its stand before he heard several insistent raps on the door.

"Enter." He beckoned the visitor in, confused.

The door opened slowly and Byakuya felt his heart thud against his chest.

Rangiku poked her head in first and peered around until her eyes met his. The remaining glow of the sunset brightened the beautiful woman's flawless face and caused her hair to glow like a halo. The eyes that enraptured his soul every time he looked into them twinkled like flawless diamonds. She smiled softly at him as she fully entered the office, closing the door with a click and locking it as well. Byakuya's eyes widened as his eyes watched her lock the door. What was about to happen?

"Hey, handsome." She greeted him, tilting her head ever so slightly. Her dazzling smile damn near blinded him.

His throat was painfully dry, and he opened his mouth to reply. "Hello…" he managed to utter out, and he wanted to kick himself for sounding so pathetic. She looked amused for a fleeting moment, and she started her painfully slow stroll over to where he was standing in front of his desk.

Byakuya stared in amazement at the woman as she stood mere inches in front of him. It was laughable how this woman could reduce a man who had lived through two wars and survived a painful near-death experience to speechlessness.

"That was the part where you're supposed to say, 'Hey, sexy' or something like that, you know?" Rangiku waved a hand in his face in an attempt to bring him back to earth. The man's pale skin tinged slightly with a blush and he raised a hand to his mouth, clearing his throat awkwardly.

Rangiku snickered to herself and reached for that same hand. "I'm not going to bite, Kuchiki-taicho." She grasped his wrist lightly in her hand, and Byakuya couldn't help but jump slightly.

Byakuya was already freaking out on the inside, thankfully his outward expression was more or less confused. Before he could even process what was happening, Rangiku wrapped her other arm around his waist and brought herself into him, resting her cheek on his shoulder. She hugged him silently for a moment before she spoke again. "You're probably wondering what the hell I'm doing to you, aren't you?" she sighed into his neck, her breath sending shocks throughout his body.

"I cannot complain, a beautiful woman has me in her embrace. May I…reciprocate?" He found his voice again, thankfully. Byakuya refused to look foolish around her any longer.

"Knock yourself out, hon." she laughed lightly, and Byakuya freed his hand from hers and embraced her by the small of her back. He held her reverently in his arms in silence, treasuring every long second that had elapsed. As he rested his chin on her shoulder, he took in the scent of her shampoo—a very pleasant combination of coconut and pineapple was slowly intoxicating him into a trance. This sensation…this sensation of Rangiku in his arms was indescribable—he had to admit that it never felt like this with Hisana. Everything finally felt right in the world when he felt her in his arms—it felt like the pieces of an impossible puzzle finally clicked together. He was so mesmerized that he failed to notice Rangiku calling out to him until she jabbed a finger at his ribs.

"I'm not mad at you, if that's what you've been beating yourself up about."

Byakuya raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't—"

"I can tell when you're upset, Kuch—Byakuya." Rangiku interrupted him, reminding herself to establish familiarity with him by addressing him by his first name. "What happened that night, I needed it badly. I've learned that bottling up my emotions doesn't make them go away, and you were there for me in a moment where I'd usually be all alone." She confessed quietly as she leaned back from his embrace slightly, establishing eye contact.

The nobleman blinked owlishly in disbelief and stayed quiet. Rangiku took this as a cue to keep going. "You could have easily left, yet you stayed. I'm a girl with expensive taste, yet I do enjoy a man's chivalry now and again." she teased him with a wink that sent a chill down his spine.

"I am pleased to see that you feel better, I was concerned." Byakuya replied coolly after a moment, relieved that he had a response somewhat, yet he felt positively elated on the inside. Rangiku felt comforted by his presence! It seemed as if his fervent prayers were answered at last.

Rangiku snorted and pursed her lips. "You can drop the tough guy act when it's just us—I'd rather—ah!" she yelped when he suddenly drew her back into his embrace, almost squeezing the air out of her. He was only a few inches taller than her, so when he suddenly leaned back and lifted her up, her toes lightly dragged across the wooden floor. One of his hands snaked its way into her hair, gently forcing her head down to his shoulder. Rangiku couldn't help but giggle under her breath, he was adorable when he loosened up a bit and acted normal.

Byakuya was suddenly overcome with a rush of emotion and impulsively grabbed at Rangiku. The embarrassment slowly started to creep up on him and he backed away, staring at her. "I apologize for that…" he bowed his head, ashamed at not keeping himself under control.

"Eh? I told you to stop beating yourself up, didn't I?" she raised her voice at him, pinning him with a displeased glare. She poked a finger at his chest. "There's nothing wrong with hugging! Loosen up!"

The man in front of her gave her a long, blank look before he smiled. He had a stunning smile, she thought to herself as he placed a hand on each of her shoulders. "I would like to be able to do that more often, if that pleases you." In his Byakuya-like splendor, he attempted to sound cool, yet Rangiku picked up on the tone of longing in his deep voice.

She smirked playfully and gestured with a 'come hither' finger, and Byakuya reflexively responded by enveloping her in his arms again. Byakuya was wearing that same cologne again, and its masculine, yet sweet aroma made her feel weak in the knees. Her forehead rested atop his shoulder and she absorbed the affectionate gesture, putting her into a slight daze. She felt that feeling again. The feeling that had been eluding her for what felt like centuries. The feeling that now finally had a proper definition to it.

Comfort.

After what felt like hours, she lifted her head from his shoulder and looked up at him. Byakuya had a soft expression on his face, his dark gray eyes were warm and inviting, earnest to do right by her. She slowly loosened a hand from around him and placed it on his smooth, yet flawless cheek.

"I appreciate you." She said with a slight smile before she placed a long kiss on his cheek. Byakuya's heart started to thump wildly when he felt her lips on his face. He almost couldn't believe what was happening—this woman was finally starting to understand that he meant every sweet nothing that he said to her.

Rangiku snickered as she watched the man's face flush considerably and stroked the area she kissed with her thumb. "You're a good man, Byakuya, and you totally have a heart of gold. I hope that one day you'll see this for yourself too, and I want to be the one to help you achieve that. Let me be your confidant and friend, and we'll call it even, no?" She cocked an elegant eyebrow, teasing him as she playfully poked him on the nose with her index finger.

She was probably the only living person in history to get away with an action like that. Rangiku squeezed him back into a quick hug again, this time Byakuya was too dazed to reciprocate it, still drunk from the sheer impossibility of it all.

She then slowly backed away from his grasp and opened the door. "I'll see you soon, 'kay~?!" she winked at him before she left.

Byakuya marveled at the woman as she spoke and stood rooted to the same spot for quite a while after she left, thinking about the current change of events. She kissed him—on the cheek, yes, but it was still a kiss—and called him friend. Since when did friends do such things? Yoruichi used to playfully kiss him when they were children, yet her motivations for that were to piss him off and get a rise out of him. This situation with Rangiku was a direct contrast to that. Maybe she was confused? He felt his chest tighten painfully at the thought of Rangiku doing these things with other men.

Everyone knew that Rangiku was a very playful and flirtatious woman with men and women alike, but he wanted her affections solely for himself. He could not stand by and be satisfied with just being friends, but he hated the idea of pressuring her into anything beyond that. He sighed annoyance and gathered his things to leave for the afternoon, deciding to spend time after dinner to plan his next move.

Hey everybody! I would like to consider this chapter as a transition chapter into the next stage of Byakuya and Rangiku's budding friendship—thanks for reading and please review! I like reviews quite a bit, they make me feel…accomplished.