Hey how's it going everyone, I'm back. I apologize for not updating sooner but truthfully I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel when writing this story. It's not that I don't have drive to write it, it's just that I have no idea how to continue it really. Sure I can make stuff up at a moments notice but not for this story which is weird. So I apologize upfront if you hate the chapter because really, I tried.

Now before we begin

Disclaimer: All property is owned by their rightful owners, I only own the story

Now without further ado, let's begin

Ichigo has been living with Ryozanpaku for the past week now and he has adjusted well to their group. Even though Ichigo got a room to himself he just moved in with Shigure who didn't complain one bit about their sleeping arrangements as she was happy to share her room with Ichigo. Though he did one day wake up next to several katanas that fell from their hiding spots from traps Shigure placed in her room but he didn't have any problems since then.

Ichigo was currently on the patio outside watching the breeze shake the leaves on the Elder's bonsai tree in serenity. This serenity made Ichigo worried for a bit because there usually isn't such peace here in Ryozanpaku, he couldn't even hear Kenichi's scream of pain from his training. Ichigo got up from the patio and started looking around where everyone went. Ichigo walked around looking for anyone until he found them in their meeting room looking oddly depressed

"What are you guys doing" Ichigo asked as everyone looked at him in surprised as they didn't notice him

"Oh I didn't see you there Ichigo" Elder said calmly stroking his beard as Ichigo didn't even realize the old man was back

"What are you guys doing" Ichigo asked as he sat down in between Shigure and Kenichi. Everyone let out a heavy sigh which made Ichigo raised a brow as Miu explained

"We're having money problems again and we're trying to figure out to do" Miu said glumly as she placed her head down onto the table while crying anime tears

"Really? How much do you need" Ichigo asked as Miu handed over the papers that stated Ryozanpaku's total amount they earn monthly and how much they owe for taxes, debts, etc. Ichigo scanned over the papers and saw the amount they needed ". . . . . Hold on a minute" Ichigo said as he left the room confusing the others. Ichigo soon came back after a minute as he sat back down and put a checkbook on the table. Ichigo began writing out what they needed onto the check and ripped it out as he handed it Miu "There, now you won't have to worry about it anymore" Ichigo said as everyone just stared at the check before looking at Ichigo

"B-But we can't just accept this" Miu said even though she wants to just use the money she couldn't accept taking money from someone who just became part of their family, in a sense

"I don't mind, I have more money than I know what to do with it do with it so keep it" Ichigo said with a shrug as they all looked at him curiously at that statement while Miu gingerly took the check

". . . . . How much exactly do you have" Sakaki asked curiously

"Don't remember, I just remember that it was in the nine digit range" Ichigo said with a shrug as everyone's jaws dropped, excluding Shigure who's eyes just widen when she heard that

"N-N-N-Nine digits" Miu stuttered out as she couldn't believe what she heard as well as the others

"Though that was two years ago and I haven't checked my account since then. Hold on let me check" Ichigo said as he pulled out his phone and went to check his bank account's statement. When he found his account his eye twitched when he saw the number". . . .Huh" Ichigo muttered as he put the phone down onto the table

"Huh, what Ichigo" Kenichi asked curious to what Ichigo saw on his account

"Seems since I never really used my money other than buying food or paying my bills I'm in the ten digit range now" Ichigo said calmly as he noticed Miu was now sitting next to him with stars and money signs in her eyes

"Have I ever told you that you are the greatest person ever and the most kindest and-" Miu stopped when Ichigo placed his hand against her mouth

"If you need money I would gladly lend you some" Ichigo said as he pulled out his credit card and handed it to Miu.

Miu let out a squeal as she grabbed the card out of Ichigo's hand "Come on Shigure we're going on a shopping spree" Miu said with glee as this is the first time in her life that she can buy whatever she wants and she's going to take advantage of this opportunity

"W-Wait, hold on!" Shigure exclaimed as she didn't really want to go out shopping as she was dragged away by Miu with a surprisingly strong grip she has

"Are you sure that was a good idea" Akisame said still getting over the fact that Ichigo has that much money

Ichigo just shrugged "Meh, let the girl have some fun. It's not like she'll be able to put a dent to my savings" Ichigo said calmly as he felt like those words were going to come back and bite him

"How much exactly do you even-" Kensei asked but was cut off when Ichigo slid his phone across the table as Kensei looked down at the phone. His eyes widen as he stared at the number on the screen as he shakily slid the phone back to Ichigo "I-I see" Kensei said still shaking in shock at how much he saw

"How did you get this money to be exact" Elder asked questionably while stroking his beard

"I. . . Had some jobs that in the end payed very well" Ichigo said cryptically as he still remembered the day when the leaders of many houses of Seireitei decided to thank him for all his service he did in protecting them from the thousand year war by handing him a fortune from all their savings combined

"I see" Elder said slowly as he was skeptical in what Ichigo was saying

"But still, I don't think Miu knows how to hold back in buying now that she knows how much she's able to spend" Akisame said said stroking his chin

"Let her have some fun, it's not like I'll ever use the money for anything" Ichigo said dismissively

"If you say so" Akisame said not sure if this was a good thing "But better to be sorry. Sakaki, go make sure they don't do anything crazy like buy something we don't really need" Akisame said as Sakaki nodded before going off

"Be sure to bring back lots of food, apa~" Apachai said happily as he can eat to his hearts content because of Ichigo

"Well I'm going to go on a walk" Ichigo said standing up "I'll see you guys later" Ichigo said waving goodbye as he left the room

It was late in the evening as Shigure, Miu and Sakaki haven't come back yet. Ichigo was meditating as he fighting against his hollow in his inner world. He had nothing better to do then meditate or spend time with Shigure but even then he has too much time on his hand. He considered opening up another clinic here but remembered Kensei and Akisame already have their own clinics so having another one open up isn't really necessary. He thought about trying to get Kenichi to get over his fear of weapons but remembered the kid is dead set on never even using a weapon so what's the point of getting him over his fear of weapons if he won't use them, plus fear is actually a great motivator to work harder and survive confrontations.

Ichigo stopped attacking Shiro when he noticed Shigure and the others were finally back "Well that's enough for today Shiro. I'll talk to you guys later, see ya" Ichigo waved goodbye as Shiro grumbled about having their fight cut short while Zangetsu on the side gave him a nod

Ichigo was now out of his inner world and the sight before him caused his brow to twitch with slight irritation. Apparently he should've listened to Akisame because he now believes that Miu actually put a dent in his savings. In front of him was the three carrying back assortments ranging from high quality (Expensive) food and ingredients to barrels of beer that Sakaki was lumbering on his back while Miu was carrying a bunch of clothing. The only thing Ichigo saw Shigure carry was an old looking device he has no familiarity in seeing before

"You know when I said you can have money I didn't think you go crazy with buying stuff and goes to you as well Sakaki. Weren't you supposed to help limit what they were supposed to buy" Ichigo asked with exasperation of the amount of beer barrels he bought

Sakaki rubbed his neck mumbling a sorry as Ichigo was about to say something when his phone rang

"Hello" Ichigo answered the phone

"Hello Ichigo, sorry to bother you but as your financial adviser I just noticed a massive drop in your savings. Care to explain" Mizuiro Kojima asked as Ichigo sighed

"Hey Mizuiro how's it going, Keigo still bothering you" Ichigo asked calmly as he wasn't really that worried about his savings

"Keigo fine, though he did complain about how you have a hot girlfriend. Speaking of which, send me a picture to rub it in his face that he can't get a girl like that" Mizuiro said in a playful tone that no matter how many years it has been he is still up to messing with Keigo's pride "But either way, your finances" Mizuiro reminded him

"Well I lent my credit card to Miu, a girl who is part of the Ryozanpaku to use for the day as she is a close friend and only other girl here. Also I'll send you the pictures later" Ichigo confirmed as he can already see Keigo bawling like crazy at the sight of Shigure's picture

"Well then asked that person how they managed to spend so much that you gone down to the six digit range" Mizuiro asked as Ichigo blinked before slowly turning to Miu who was inching away with the others and their stuff

"Miu, stay" Ichigo said sternly as the girl in questioned flinched as the other two didn't hear their names as they ran away with their stuff

"Y-Yes Ichigo" Miu said nervously as Ichigo pinched the bridged of his nose

"How exactly did you spend so much money" Ichigo asked dryly

"Well I met up with some friends and-" Miu said but was stopped when Ichigo raised his hands

"Stop, I already can tell what happened" Ichigo said before returning to the phone "You still there Mizuiro" Ichigo asked

"Yea I'm here"

"Yeah~ Kind of my fault as Miu apparently had some friends come with her during the shopping trip and her being so kind hearted and the fact she has the money to spend for them, well~" Ichigo said rubbing his neck

"Ah the first rule about giving your credit cards to girls. . . . Never do it" Mizuiro said bluntly as Ichigo shook his head in agreement "Just make sure she doesn't do it again, your finances are safe as long as you keep depositing you paycheck without spending something ridiculous, or if you want to buy your girlfriend a ring which is understandable, then you should be fine" Mizuiro stated as Ichigo choked on his spit

"H-Hold on a minute" Ichigo said quickly

"Well it was nice talking to you Ichigo, be sure to send the pics. See ya" Mizuiro said before he hung up on Ichigo as the phone line drawled out before Ichigo turned his phone off

Ichigo let out a sigh and shook his head before looking up at Miu "Next time you use my card buy ONLY what you need Miu. So until then, hand it over" Ichigo said dryly as Miu's shoulders drooped as she reluctantly handed the card back to Ichigo "Good, now why don't you go start dinner. I'm sure Apachai would be ecstatic over the abundant amount of food you brought" Ichigo said cheerily as Miu smiled and nodded before going into the dojo to prepare dinner

Ichigo shook his head at the younger girl, sure he should've scolded her for spending so much but the girl has only known about saving as much as their money as possible so letting the girl be able to buy things she always wanted would let her know the feeling of not having to worry about money

Ichigo he felt two arms wrap around his neck as someone pressed their body against his back "Are you mad" Shigure asked softly as Ichigo shook his head

"Nah, I'm not mad. I just should've expected the girl to waste so much money once she learned how much I had. Though I didn't really expect you to join in the spending spree though" Ichigo mused as he didn't need to look at her to see she had a soft blush on her face

"Well. . . We had the money and there was something I wanted so. . . I bought it" Shigure said as she was completely embarrassed

"What did you buy exactly" Ichigo asked curiously to what she would spend money for

"It was an ancient grindstone that was certified to be used by several blacksmiths of the Edo period and I just felt the urge to want it" Shigure said bashfully as Ichigo chuckled as he should've guessed she bought something weapon related

"It's alright if you wanted it Shigure, I would've bought it for you even if you didn't ask" Ichigo said as he could feel her smile on the back of his head

"Thank you" Shigure said softly before Ichigo turned to kiss her which she gladly returned

"Come on, lets go to the others" Ichigo said after awhile as Shigure nodded as they headed off to enjoy a wonderful dinner Miu prepared with the ingredients she bought as everyone ate happily that evening

A few days has gone by since Ichigo lent Miu his card with now explicit instructions to only buy what they need like food. Since then nothing really has changed as everything was back to normal again. Ichigo was currently sitting on the patio watching Kenichi 'Train' with Shigure who was cleaning her weapons again. Apachai just sent Kenichi flying into the air again for the third time this half hour. It was when Miu came through the doors carrying something that everyone stopped what they were doing

"What you got there Miu" Kensei asked, appearing next to her

"There is a poster here about a martial arts tournament in town and I thought Kenichi would like to enter" Miu said a little too happy as Ichigo appeared next to her and snatched the poster out of her hands

Ichigo read the poster and it seemed like a normal tournament until he saw that the prize of ten grand "Really Miu" Ichigo said with a huff as he handed the poster to Kensei who examined it and chuckled when he saw the prize money as well.

"Well it would do good for Kenichi to be able to fight people his age again instead of adults who are trying to kill him" Akisame stated as he walked up to the group along with Apachai carrying an unconscious Kenichi

"That and it'll be a cinch for Kenichi to win" Kensei said with a chortle and a gleam in his eye

"You say that but I know the woman who's hosting the tournament" Ichigo mused as he looked back on the poster and saw an old friends name

"Wait, someone you know is hosting this tournament" Sakaki asked as he walked up to them while crushing a beer in his hand

"Yeah" Ichigo said before pointing to where the host's name was "Hosted by the Arisawa dojo, she's actually a close childhood friend. It would actually be good to see her again" Ichigo clarified as he felt some unnerving gaze on him and turned to Shigure, only to flinch at the gaze she was giving him "What's with that gaze Shigure" Ichigo asked nervously as Shigure just kept staring at him with that odd yet disturbing gaze

"Never thought I ever see Shigure look jealous before" Miu whispered to the others who nodded in agreement as Ichigo was just confused at the gaze Shigure gave him

"When is the tournament anyways" Sakaki asked as Ichigo gave him a grateful gesture as he didn't know how long he would last against Shigure's gaze

"It says it begins in a week and we have to sign up before then" Miu said as she looked at the poster "What do you Kenichi, want to join" Miu said happily before everyone noticed Kenichi was still unconscious

"Well seeing as you all are going to make him enter one way or another, why don't we go head on down to sign him up" Ichigo said bluntly as the masters chuckled nervously at that speculation

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he walked out of the dojo with Miu, Shigure, Akisame and Kenichi as the others decided to stay behind. After a few minutes of walking Kenichi finally regained consciousness

"What happened" Kenichi asked groggily as he rubbed the side of his head

"You were knocked unconscious by Apachai and now we're entering you in a martial arts tournament against your will" Ichigo explained bluntly as Kenichi gaped at him

"Don't I have an opinion!" Kenichi shouted in outrage

"Normally I would be with you but. No" Ichigo stated dryly as he gave Kenichi a look that he can't get out of this

"But who am I going to fight" Kenichi asked nervously

"Eh, kids around your age from different dojos in the region" Ichigo said with a shrug

"Oh. . That doesn't sound too bad from what I am usually forced to do" Kenichi said with relief

"Yea but an old friend is hosting the tournament so one of her students are going to be your opponent so either way you're screwed if she taught them properly" Ichigo said bluntly once more as Kenichi paled at the thought

"What does she teach" Akisame asked

"She teaches karate" Ichigo answered simply as Akisame nodded

"What is she like" Miu asked as she flinched when Shigure's gaze moved to her

"Tatsuki is very level headed about everything, the only time she's angry is when someone insults her about something personal or when messing with one of her friends. If you are in vicinity when that happens stay the hell away and just let the rampage happen" Ichigo said wryly with a chuckle as old memories came to him "To be truthful it will be good to see her again. I haven't seen her since I went to college and even then it was just a brief meeting" Ichigo stated as it was good to see his old childhood friend

"I see" Shigure said slowly with an emotion Ichigo wasn't sure about or to why everyone seemed to move away from him and Shigure

The rest of the walk was quiet as they soon reached the convention center where the fight was going to be held and participants to enter. When they walked in they see several dojos and their students training for the upcoming tournament.

"I'm going to go sign Kenichi up, why don't you go find your friend Ichigo" Akisame said as he took Kenichi and grabbed Miu away from the two knowing that it would be better if they weren't there. Ichigo just stared at their distancing figures and shrugged as he went to look for Tatsuki

"Let's see, where is she" Ichigo muttered to himself until he thought of something and took in a deep breath "OI! Tatsuki where the hell are you!" Ichigo shouted out as everyone stopped what they were doing with a jolt as they were staring at him quizzically. The entire room was silent except for soft footsteps as Ichigo turned to it to see an irked Tatsuki "There you are. How's it going Ta-" Ichigo didn't finish when he punched in the face by Tatsuki

"Can't you ever do something simple Ichigo!" Tatsuki shouted as she grabbed his shirt collar and began shaking him

"Its. Good. To. See. You. Again. Tatsuki" Ichigo said with his speech wavering as Tatsuki continued to shake him for a bit before stopping. Tatsuki stared at him before letting out a huff

"It's good to see you as well, you damn idiot" Tatsuki said letting go of Ichigo as he stumbled a bit. Before Tatsuki could say anything she noticed the entire room's occupants gaze was on them "What the hell are you looking at" Tatsuki said in a low voice that made everyone flinch as they all went back to what they were doing. After staring at them she turned back to Ichigo before noticing Shigure who was looking her over. Tatsuki had to hold back a laugh when her woman's intuition kicked in and she immediately understood why Shigure was looking at her like that "So you're Shigure, a pleasure to meet the girl that won the idiot's heart here" Tatsuki said with a grin while thrusting her thumb against Ichigo's chest

"Hey" Ichigo said dryly

"Come now Ichigo, you and I know for a fact that if some girl wouldn't have a way into your heart you'd be all alone" Tatsuki pointed out as Ichigo flinched

"No I wouldn't" Ichigo denied as Tatsuki just stared at him blankly

". . . . Ask that to the others and see if you get a different answer. If you do, I'll buy you two lunch" Tatsuki said as Ichigo's brow twitched when she said that. When Ichigo didn't respond Tatsuki turned to Shigure "Want to learn some things about Ichigo he would never want you to know about" Tatsuki said with an evil grin

"Don't you dare" Ichigo nearly shouted out from embarrassment

"Let me tell you about the time Ichigo wet himself" Tatsuki said with as her grin curled along the side of her mouth as Ichigo slapped his hand against her mouth

"Don't you dare" Ichigo said threateningly as Tatsuki rolled her eyes and licked his palm "Eugh" Ichigo uttered as he wiped his hand on his pants as he looked back up to see that both Tatsuki and Shigure missing from their places ". . . Dammit Tatsuki, where the hell did you take her" Ichigo said worried about his pride as he can tell Tatsuki has no problem with telling all those stories from his childhood without regret. Which is strange because Tatsuki would never do that to him but seeing as Shigure is someone truly close to him he guessed it's her way of telling her that she considered her someone trustworthy, which is even more weird because their interaction was barely two minutes long "Dammit where did they go" Ichigo muttered as he went looking for the two

Shigure stumbled a bit after Tatsuki let her go as she noticed that they're on top of the convention center's roof. Shigure looked around wondering how the girl pulled her away so quickly as she noticed Tatsuki was sitting on edge of the building. Shigure just stood there staring at the woman with curiosity as they stayed like that for a moment

"Tell me Shigure" Tatsuki said breaking the silence "Do you really love Ichigo" Tatsuki said bluntly as she turned to Shigure with a stern gaze

Shigure glared at her in retaliation "I love him with all my heart. I would do anything for him, even risk my life for him" Shigure said with a confidence as Tatsuki stared at her for a moment before letting out a snort of laughter as a wry smile appeared on her face

"That's good to know, and here I thought I have to hurt you if you gave me the wrong answer" Tatsuki said with a chuckle as Shigure raised a brow

"The wrong answer?" Shigure asked

"That if you didn't really care about Ichigo and was using him" Tatsuki said bluntly as Shigure just stared at her in shock "Because if that was the answer you would've gave me" Tatsuki said as Shigure felt the killing intent flow off her as it caused her to become still and unable to move from the immense hatred she felt "Ichigo is the closest thing I have as a brother, so if you ever break his heart. I'll break yours, and I don't mean it metaphorically, I mean I will rip out your heart and stomp on it" Tatsuki said darkly as Shigure gulped as she could only nod in understanding "Good, now sit. I did say I would tell you about some things about Ichigo's childhood didn't I" Tatsuki said with a smile as Shigure smiled herself as she sat down next to Tatsuki as the two spent time together while noticing Ichigo was on the other side of the roof with a faint smile on his face

"I might as well let them have some time together" Ichigo said softly as he left his girlfriend and childhood friend together as he just stood there watching the clouds pass over with a smile on his face

Like I said before, I'm really scraping the bottom of the barrel with this story so if you hated it please keep it to yourself.

Now I'll see if I can make a new chapter next month but no promises as I'm actually having doubts with this story.

Now if you please leave a comment, review or PM I'll see you all later, have a great day.