Disclaimer: Still a no. *sniffle* I promised myself I wouldn't cry…

Okay to clear a few things up: Mayuri is in Hueco Mundo still, cuz he's weird and creepy and I don't need him. Also Rukia is going to get less OOC now because she's over her depressed stage.

Rukia's POV

"I thought you'd never ask." His cheesy grin coupled with that reply kind of threw me off balance a bit.

"…What? Are you saying you knew this and yet you…. I, hate, you…" I felt anger, yet I knew I couldn't kill him because he was the only one who could help me. I needed a new gigai, and I couldn't make one on my own.

He threw his head back and laughed. "Of course I knew that! Ahahaha! Half of Seiretei knew it! Silly Rukia!" Wow. I must have been so depressed and stupid, well, I was depressed and stupid. But now I was over it. I had been really childish. I wish I could go back in time and slap myself. Hard.

"It strikes me as odd, Rukia. You're so intelligent, and you never thought of it. It was like someone tried to keep you from thinking of it." The second the words were out of his mouth my mind flashed to Renji, and the reistu I had felt. I figured it was a kido type spell to stop my emotions from changing. I'd heard of it once before, but I never thought he would go this far… When he found out his plan wouldn't work once I left for the World of the Living, he decided to, to, well I didn't know yet. I knew it wasn't over yet though.

"Urahara. We need to leave. For the World of the Living. NOW." I grabbed the sleeve of his coat and started to run outside.

"Wait a minute Rukia. What are you-"

"No time. Send a hell butterfly to Yorouchi and tell her to keep an eye on Renji." I was making a gate as we spoke.

"But why…" He seemed genuinely puzzled. Oh, right.

"I'll explain to you later. We need to get to your shop. Renji doesn't want me to leave." I looked around to make sure no one was watching, and I pulled us through the gate just as the hell butterfly flew away. Here we go…

Ichigo's POV

I knew I couldn't just sit around, that wasn't like me. I needed to do something. I always acted on instinct, and it was always to protect. I protected my sisters from that hollow. I protected Rukia when everyone, even her brother, wanted to kill her. I protected everyone in this damn town, and gave up my powers to do so. So what was I protecting now? I guess Rukia, though she was in no danger, and myself, hell I practically kill myself every damn day to fight. This wasn't like me. But I had to do something.

I was half asleep when someone knocked on my door. Or pounded it down. Literally, down to the floor.

"MY SON! COME EAT SUPPER! ARE YOU SAD BECAUSE RUKIA IS NO LONGER AROUND?" Then he leaned down really close, and stage whispered in my ear "Because I think you're… lone-ly… if you know what I mean! It only makes sense. She leaves, you're not gettin any any more… naturally you'd need to spend time alone to-" CRACK…

I walked away, leaving my dad in my room to tend to his broken nose.

"MASAKI! OUR SON DOESN'T LOVE MEEEE! IT'S NOT MY FAULT HE'S NOT GETTING ANY!" I blushed with anger a little as I entered the kitchen. Yuzu cooked pancakes for supper. I didn't mind. I loved her cooking. After a silent, for the first time in the history of the Kurosaki's, supper, I thanked Yuzu, hugged her and Karin, and said I was going for a walk.

I thought about a lot on my walk. How I was thinking of moving back here. Of how I wound up on the school roof. And about Rukia. It was the first time in a while I had allowed myself to, and I realized I could be a big boy and grow up. Just as I was rememorizing her face, Urahara stepped out of nowhere. Literally.

"Good Afternoon, Kurosaki-kun! Have I got news for you! Oh wait, here comes a hell butterfly!" I looked around, even though I knew I couldn't see it.

"Oh, this is bad… Kurosaki-kun, I'm afraid we must go." With a simple flashstep he was gone again. Weird. And who was we? Whatever. At least he was back so I could talk to him... wait. I paused for a moment to consider how dumb I had gotten.

"URAHAARRRAAAAA! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!" Nope, he wasn't coming back here. I went to the shop as fast as I could, but he wasn't there. Jinta was in front of the shop, just closing.

"Can't you tell me when he'll be back?"

"He didn't say. All he said was 'If Kurosaki-kun comes here, tell him I'll be back as soon as I can. There was an emergency or something and they had to go back. Or something.' Is that all you needed?"

"No. Give him a message for me." I really shouldn't have said some of those words to him, and by the look of his face he was kinda scared. I would be scared to if I was Urahara right now.

Rukia's POV

He looked like he always had. Scowling, obnoxious, and pissed. I laughed to myself. Urahara understood my fears now, and didn't trust Renji any more than I did. He was about to tell him everything, and be like my translator of sorts without telling him I was there. I made him swear. Then the hell butterfly came, but I couldn't tell what it said.

"Oh this is bad… Kurosaki-kun, I'm afraid we must go." What the hell? He grabbed my shoulder and we shunpo-ed away. After a quick stop at the shop, he said we had to go back to soul society.

"What? Why? We should tell Ichigo what's going on first…"

"It's Renji. That hell butterfly was from Yorouchi. While she was being sneaky cat-like she watched as he went by your door and he didn't feel your reistu. So he tore into the room and spazzed out. Yorouchi said to come quick. She's gonna meet us there."

"DAMNIT! This can't be good…" We were there, and Yorouchi approached us hurriedly.

"Follow me, he broke into the 12th division barracks. No one noticed, he slipped into the lab. Urahara you should better train your guards…" Damn. He could get anything in there. He could blow up half of Seiretei before we got there.

"Well we can't all be from the second division Special Ops now can we?" Smack.

"Focus!"

We slowed down as we approached not wanting him to know we were there. With Yorouchi up to speed she decided we should capture him for questioning.

"Good idea. We split up. Attack from all sides and-"

"Wait! I have an idea. I go out, pretending to have been looking for him. Then I lure him outside where you can attack this way he'll be off guard."

"It might work, but Rukia it's too dangerous… he's a mad man. He could kill you!" Yorouchi looked at me, then back to Urahara.

"He won't kill me. Why would he do that? He's been holding me hostage from the world for weeks. He won't kill me." With that I walked out into the open, letting my reistsu go a little. His heads snapped around to me. His eyes are full of anger, them they turn sickenly sweet.

"Rukia, darling! Where have you been?" As he slowly approached me I took small steps back.

"What do you mean? I was looking for Urahara. He wasn't upstairs so I came down here..." I saw the disbelief in his eyes, he knew I was lying. "Will you walk me back to my rooms?"

He couldn't say no, that's where he's wanted me to be all along.

"Of course!" He quickly overtook me and grabbed my arm. Tight. I notice Yorouchi sitting on the roof with a dart in her hands. I blinked and she disappeared... Renji tried small talk, never letting me go.

"Rukia, would you like to come to the sake house with me before we go to your house?" He stopped, and fell over very nearly taking me with him. That dart in his neck might have had something to do with that. I look up and Urahara had summoned some of his guards and ordered them to take him to the Maggots Nest.

In a flash Renji had the two guards down, both bleeding badly. What the hell? Shit! The dart didn't work!

He turned on Urahara, who pulled out Benihime from his cane. He blocked all his blows on the defense. He tries to land a blow on Renji, but he's on a rampage.

"SHIBARI, BENIHIME!" Suddenly a net is formed out of the tip of Benihime, and it restricts Renji's movements. Only a second later he breaks free of it, and slices in a downwards movement cutting Urahara slightly before he blocks and pushes him into the wall.

"Mae, Sode No Shirayuki." Renji doesn't notice me, until a circle of ice forms around his feet. He pushes away, and Yorouchi tries to knock him out. He glows a bright red then Yorouchi is thrown back from his rise in spirit power.

"Ban… Kai."

Sorry it's so short and for the horrible delay. I was waiting for my beta-reader but I fired her because she was too slow. Obviously. XD

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