Ichigo woke up the next morning feeling a bit sore and quite pleased with himself. He'd triumphed over his hollow, and it would be some time before he needed to assert his dominance again.

There were a few downsides, though. The injuries he'd taken had healed like they had with Zangetsu, but the blankets on his bed were still marked with blood. Grimacing, he began to strip them off the bed. He would take them to the laundry himself and get them started on soaking in cold water. It was very early and he'd gotten a good start at cleaning them when one of the servants found him.

"Lord Byakuya would like you to join him for breakfast." The man said in a curiously neutral voice. Ichigo glanced up and found that he was avoiding his eyes.

"Uh, sure. Can you make sure the laundry ladies take care of this?" He asked. The blood was definitely coming out but the bedding would still need attention. The man nodded and Ichigo quickly left the laundry room. He didn't want to keep Byakuya waiting.

Fortunately, it looked like Byakuya hadn't been waiting long. Rukia was sitting beside him, sipping her tea and Ichigo was startled to see her blush as he stepped into the room.

"Good morning!" He said cheerfully, taking a seat across from Byakuya. The noble gazed at him expressionlessly but Ichigo had the strange feeling he was trying not to laugh. "This looks wonderful." He briefly admired the breakfast before digging in. It was fried eggs over congee, and sliced fruits arranged in pretty patterns. Or they were pretty, until he started eating them.

"You slept well?" Byakuya's voice had a very strange note and Ichigo glanced up as Rukia made a choking sound before hiding her face in her teacup.

"Pretty good, why?" He said cluelessly, then suddenly remember his hollow's threat. "Oh, damn. You felt my reiatsu last night, didn't you?" He'd hoped that was just a bluff, but apparently not.

"You could say that, yes. May I ask precisely what happened?" Byakuya asked and Ichigo hesitated for a moment. But if he couldn't tell them, who could he tell? And they had a right to know.

"Um, well… I told you I was going to reunify my hollow." He had definitely mentioned that to Byakuya although he hadn't gone into details. "That was how it works. We, uh, had a bit of a contest and I won." Ichigo frowned as he remembered his hollow's threats of rape. "He was a bit nastier than usual though."

"What… sort of contest?" Rukia asked, sounding very strange indeed. Ichigo blinked as he looked at her red face, then glanced at Byakuya's twitching lips.

"Oh…! You guys came into my room? I thought I'd locked the door!" That was utterly appalling. What had they seen? It must have been pretty special, Rukia looked like she might stroke out at any moment. He wasn't sure if she was dying from held back laughter or embarrassment. Byakuya was handling it better and he took a sip of his tea before responding.

"It's just as well you did not. We would have broken it down. The repeated reiatsu clashes felt like a shinigami fighting a hollow." Byakuya cleared his throat and gave Ichigo a stern look. "In the future, please let us know when you're going to do that."

"Uh, right." Ichigo muttered, his face almost as red as Rukia's. "I'm really sorry. I thought maybe he was bluffing when he said he'd make me flare my reiatsu like a bitch in heat." That was too much for Rukia and she dissolved into muffled laughter, trying to mute herself with the sleeves of her robe. "Aw, it's not that funny!"

"In retrospect, it's hilarious." Byakuya corrected him. "It was also a rather impressive display. But in the future, give us some warning." Ichigo nodded. "Please, eat. It is not a quick trip to the Seireitei."

"Right." Ichigo managed to swallow his embarrassment enough to eat and make some small talk. It turned out they were walking to the Seireitei, with the aid of flash step. Although Ichigo hadn't mastered it at all. He vastly preferred the hollow power that did the same thing and came to him as easily as breathing.

And you are as fast as Byakuya using it, so there really is no point in learning flash step. Zangetsu observed dispassionately and Ichigo nodded to himself. Your time is better spent on kido.

"I hear ya." He muttered to himself, setting down his cup and looking over the breakfast. It was pretty much demolished. "Are we ready to go?" He was definitely ready to go. Byakuya nodded.

"Gather your things and meet us at the front gate." He said. Ichigo nodded and jumped to his feet. He was eager to be out and about.

He couldn't wait to see the Seireitei.


"This wall is creeeeeepy." Ichigo complained as he looked at the walls to the Seireitei. Rukia scowled at him while Byakuya looked at him thoughtfully. "I don't think I could even pull reishi out of it." He was getting very good at feeding himself on reishi, but he didn't think this wall would be giving him anything. That was highly unusual, stone was usually a very good source for dark spirit fragments.

"It would be surprising if you could. That wall is our first line of defense, and it mutes and absorbs reiatsu." Byakuya said, walking up to the gate. Ichigo grimaced and followed, trying to stay as far from the walls as he could. He had an unsettling feeling that they might pull the reishi out of him if he brushed them.

But soon he was past that hurdle and looking around the Seireitei curiously. It was like a city within a city, and infinitely finer than the slums they'd passed through. There weren't any poor people here, although a lot of the residents probably weren't nobles. They seemed to represent the middle class of Soul Society, and Ichigo wondered how a commoner got to live here. Mostly born into it, or retired shinigami? It didn't really matter that much to him though.

Ichigo frowned as he suddenly thought of something. At the Kuchiki manor, he'd always had plenty to do. As a ward of the clan, he was under Byakuya's protection but not a noble. As such, he had plenty of time to practice and attend to his lessons, but the servants were also more than willing to give him chores. His favorite had been breaking up firewood with Zangetsu, much to his zanpakuto's disgust. But what would he do with his time here?

"You're medically trained, so I've prevailed on Unohana, Captain of the 4th Division, to take you on as an assistant." Byakuya said and Ichigo blinked. It was like the noble had read his mind. "You will mostly be handling simple duties." He cautioned and Ichigo grinned.

"That's perfect! I never want to do another c-section as long as I live." He said sincerely. That would haunt him forever. "When I worked at dad's clinic, I was always the one to sweep the floors and disinfect things." Running a clinic had a lot of scut work, and he and his sisters had often been asked to help out. "So that's just fine."

"Good. I will make sure Renji comes to see you. He can get his shots at the same time." Byakuya said and Rukia laughed softly.

"Maybe with you to hold his hand, he won't be so afraid of the needles!" She said merrily and Ichigo blinked. Afraid of needles?

"How can Renji be afraid of needles? Did he faint every time he got a tattoo?" He asked, fascinated. He'd known plenty of people who were needle phobic, and not a single one had been tattooed. It just didn't make any sense.

"Oh, those tattoos were put on him by his zanpakuto. If needles had been involved it never would have happened." Rukia assured him and Ichigo nodded. Strangely, she seemed far more relaxed around him in the Seireitei. Or maybe it was what she'd seen last night, although he couldn't imagine how that would have helped her opinion of him. Unless she'd liked what she'd seen? Nah.

"Well damn, why can't my zanpakuto be cool and give me pain free tats?" Ichigo grinned as he felt a wave of disgust from Zangetsu and Hiro laughed hysterically. "Ah, he didn't like that one bit."

He ought to give you an ass kicking, King! And I'll be there watching when he does! Hiro said merrily and there was another feeling of disgust from the shinigami part of his soul.

I'll give you a tattoo of a cuddly little kitten. Zangetsu said grumpily and Ichigo choked.

"That's mean! Hiro's rubbing off on you." He told his sword and caught curious looks from Byakuya and Rukia. "Zangetsu is saying he'll give me a tattoo of a cuddly l'il kitten." Rukia giggled and Byakuya smiled faintly.

"Hiro?" He asked and Ichigo shrugged.

"That's what I've started calling my hollow, since he refuses to shut up. Hey, what is that?" Ichigo was distracted by what looked like an immense temple. There was gold leaf on the roof, and very pretty dragons guarding the doorway. But the sign above seemed to be saying something about dancing?

"That's Miata's School of Dance. You'll be having some lessons there." Byakuya informed him and Ichigo nodded. He rather liked dance lessons and he was alarmingly good at it. Alarmingly because he had a feeling he might get dragooned into something he wouldn't like if he proved to be a bit TOO good at it. That had been his experience in the living world, anyway.

They reached the Kuchiki city house, and Ichigo glanced around approvingly. It was tiny compared to the manor, but large for a building in the Seireitei. The building was made out of dark red brick and the roof was black lacquer. There were a few potted plants in front of the house and Ichigo breathed in the smell of summer flowers. There was also a bird feeder hanging off a corner of the roof, although from the squirrel perched on it, it wasn't really doing its job.

"This is a really pretty little place." Ichigo said with a smile. In a way, he liked it better than the manor. The manor was so spread out, with such long hallways, that it often felt empty even when it wasn't. This little house wouldn't be like that at all. "Oh, this is cozy." He said as they went inside. There was a little fireplace and a very comfortable den. The decorations were very tasteful, all done in dark red and black. Ichigo particularly liked the black geometric patterns on the red cushions.

"I've always found that it's rather small, but it should be adequate for three people." Byakuya commented as he led them upstairs. "This will by your room, Ichigo." Ichigo glanced around it and nodded. The red and black theme was prevalent, and he particularly liked the bronze brazier in the corner of the room. Although he had a feeling that was functional. A bit of charcoal in it would warm up a cold winter night.

"It's lovely." It was nothing like his room had been in the Living world, but that was fine. In fact, that was excellent. The last thing he needed was a bout of homesickness, and this cozy little home was threatening to give him one. It definitely had a lived in feel that the manor somewhat lacked. Ichigo took the time to put away his clothes before venturing downstairs. He grinned as he saw Byakuya talking quietly with Renji.

"Renji!" He quickly gave his lover a rough hug, and breathed in his scent. It was a wonderful, masculine scent, and there was no hint of anyone else's musk. Since he would have detected it for up to a week, that gave him a great deal of pleasure. "How's it been?" He asked as Renji returned the hug then mussed his hair. "Hey, watch it! Don't you know how much effort I put into getting my hair just right?"

"Yeah, I do. None at all. I lived with you for a week, remember? You didn't even have a comb!" Ichigo stuck his tongue out at Renji then yelped as his hair got fluffed again. "I've missed you." Their eyes met and Ichigo's heart melted a little at the heat in those cinnamon eyes. The kiss that followed was passionate and heartfelt, until Byakuya cleared his throat.

"Renji, perhaps you should show him around." Byakuya said calmly as the two lovers parted, blushing.

"Sure thing, Taichou!" Renji tugged Ichigo outside and he went willingly. He was more than happy to spend time with Renji, although part of his mind reminded him that he needed to set the ground rules, and soon. Very soon.

They spent most of the afternoon just hanging out, and Ichigo fell comfortably back into his old friendship with Renji. He got to know the other guy better, too, when Renji took him out into the Rukongai. Finding out about his history there was fascinating if a little grim.

"You make me feel so sheltered. I never lived in a place this dangerous, ever." Ichigo said as he carefully avoided a pair of children playing in the dirt. Renji just laughed.

"Oh yeah? Aren't you the guy who strangled a bear with his bare hands? That's what Danica says, anyway!" Ichigo blushed at the reminder. "Not too many bears around here, or Adjuchas either!"

"I guess you have a point." A rather good one in fact. But Ichigo was still more wary of street criminals than he was of bears and hollows. Bears and hollows he knew what to do with. People? He wasn't really too keen on killing people, even if they were probably assholes. "So where are we going?"

"Well, see, I know this whorehouse –" Renji said with a wide grin and immediately got Ichigo's back up, but not in the way he'd wanted. Ichigo's eyes narrowed and he stopped dead as he remembered the scent of sex he'd picked up on the redhead.

"Renji, I know we didn't discuss this earlier, so I'm going to tell you right now." He said with a deadly calm as Renji looked at him, startled. "I am a possessive bastard. I don't share, ever. So if you want to sleep with other people, we need to stop seeing each other right now." It hurt to lay it out like that, and Ichigo was genuinely afraid that Renji would stop seeing him. But he had to say it, had to put it out there. His hollow instincts did not allow for a wandering mate.

Damn right. Good thing fucking me counts as masturbation, eh? Hiro's vulgar laugh pissed Ichigo off, but he ignored it as he met stunned cinnamon eyes.

"What about that hollow you fuck all the time?" Renji said, but Ichigo could tell he was stalling. He snorted as Hiro laughed again.

"That's masturbation." He said bluntly. "And if you want, I can invite you to my spirit world sometime to meet him. He'll probably try to kill you, though. Not because he's possessive but because he's an asshole. So, what is it? Yes or no?" His heart ached, but he needed an answer.

Nah, I think I'll try to fuck him just to piss you off. Ichigo gritted his teeth at that and stared at Renji. The redhead looked disturbed and uncertain, not exactly the best combination. But he took a deep breath before taking Ichigo's hands.

"Okay, I'm fine with that." Renji said softly and Ichigo relaxed slightly. "I was actually kidding about the whorehouse. There's a bar I go to with the guys from the 11th, I thought you would like to see it."

"Sure, but I don't drink. My reiatsu can go wildly out of control when I'm drunk." Ichigo thought Renji deserved some kind of explanation and the redhead nodded before flashing him a grin.

"We wouldn't want that! You're terrifying enough as it is." Ichigo laughed and followed Renji. He was looking forward to seeing the bar, even if he could only drink the water. He wanted to know more about how Renji lived.

I noticed you didn't mention to him that you can smell sex. Hiro said tauntingly and Ichigo huffed a small sigh, regarding Renji's profile. He wanted to trust the redhead, and yet…

He does not need to know. Zangetsu said, putting Ichigo's feelings into words. If he is trustworthy it will not matter, and if he is not trustworthy then he certainly does not need to know. Ichigo nodded, hoping that his sense of smell would prove to be completely unnecessary.

But if not, he was ready.


Ichigo hummed to himself as he swept the floors of the 4th Division.

As anticipated, he was doing a lot of menial work. The only surprise was that he was also being put to work doing healing kido and basic medical work, especially when a lot of injured came in. That had only happened once, and Ichigo had gotten to practice his stitching technique. He'd been given the less wounded shinigami to work on, so all of his patients had survived, something he was thankful for.

Now he was waiting for Renji to show up. Ichigo's lips curled into a wicked smile as he thought about it. Byakuya had asked his lover to pick him up after work and bring him to Byakuya's favorite tea house so they could all hang out together, although he hadn't put it that way. What Renji didn't know was that he wouldn't be leaving without a physical, some blood tests and a few shots. Unohana was lying in ambush.

"Ichigo!" And the victim had arrived. Ichigo looked up with a smile as Renji walked into the room. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty good. And you?" Ichigo asked amiably as Unohana walked through the door behind Renji. He hadn't noticed yet, pulling Ichigo into a hug and a gentle kiss. "Mmm. I see it's been going okay for you." He murmured, tangling a hand in Renji's collar. Renji laughed softly.

"Oh, it's been great, I – uh?" He turned his head at the soft clearing of a throat behind him. "Unohana taichou?" Renji glanced around, suddenly wary and looking for escape routes as Unohana smiled pleasantly at him.

"While you were here, Renji, Byakuya taichou requested that we take care of your physical." She said sweetly and as Renji started to inch away, Ichigo grinned and put an arm around his shoulder, running a finger over a tattoo on his arm teasingly. "I'm afraid you are very overdue for some blood tests. I'm sure you understand."

"What… this is a trap! Ichigo!" Renji looked at him, deeply betrayed, but Ichigo just shrugged. He wasn't going to disobey Byakuya to help Renji avoid an unpleasant duty, lover or not.

"It was an order from Byakuya, and he's right. Come on, be a man. If you'd gotten those tats the proper way you wouldn't have a problem with needles." Ichigo traced another tattoo and smiled as he saw the redhead shiver slightly at the sensation. "I'll keep you distracted while she pricks you, how about that?"

"Nothing can distract me from that." He said, trying to wiggle away but trapped between Ichigo and the 4th Division taichou. Ichigo grinned as he decided to take that as a challenge. A challenge he was more than glad to take up, as he leaned close and gently nibbled Renji's earlobe. "Ichigo! We're not alone here!"

"I told you I'd distract you from the needles. Seriously, take it like a man." Ichigo reminded him as he pulled the redhead toward the examination table and Unohana got her equipment ready.

This was really going to be a lot of fun.