A/N: For those who keep reading and commenting, thank you for your continuous support. This chapter is different from all the previous ones, although I cannot say if it was a good thing or a bad thing so I'll leave you to do the judging. Please let me know about what you think about this installment (or the previous ones if you haven't already). Till next update.

6: Interrogation, Denial and Annoyance

Ever since she had been promoted to be the lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division, Rukia often found herself working on her day off because her captain often got sick and left his workload to her and the two third seats to finish. However, since Ukitake had been in his best condition in the past week, all work was done without her and the third seats having to work over time, so Rukia had time to go out shopping before she would have to return later in the afternoon to the Kuchiki Mansion where she had appointed to meet with one Kurosaki Ichigo.

Talking about the Substitute Shinigami, he had crossed over to Soul Society almost every weekend. Rukia suspected it might have something to do with the fact that Ichigo had somehow acquired himself a Hell's butterfly which made his journey to Soul Society that much less troublesome.

As much as Rukia was glad to be able to see her best friend more often, she was also annoyed by speculations from everyone in Seireitei. At first, it was just Renji inquiring her why Ichigo often came to spend time with her and if he had any hidden intentions that Renji should know about; then it was the fellow members of the Shinigami Women's Association trying to interrogate her about the nature of her relationship with the Substitute Shinigami. It seemed everyone in the entire Seireitei was led to believe that Ichigo came to Soul Society weekly with an intention to court her, but no matter how hard she tried to explain that they were merely friends, no one seemed to be convinced. They even said to her that she was just too ignorant to see Ichigo's subtle advance.

After the first couple of months, Rukia simply gave up and decided it would be best to let people believe whatever they wanted to believe. After all, no one would believe her even if she tried to explain that if Ichigo had any hidden intentions towards anyone at all, it would not be towards her despite the way he always said that the main purpose for each of his visit was to see her.

Shaking the thought about Ichigo out of her head, Rukia headed into a shop which sold Chappy merchandises, intending to buy the new Chappy pillow that had just been released the previous week. However, she had yet to be able to look at said pillow when she was approached by the lieutenant with shoulder-length strawberry blond hair, Matsumoto Rangiku.

"Oh, hey, Rukia! Why are you shopping here alone?" the lieutenant asked. "Shouldn't you be with Ichigo already?"

The mention of Ichigo made Rukia furrow her brows.

"What are you talking about, Rangiku-san? Why would I be with Ichigo?"

It was Matsumoto's turn to furrow her eyes in confusion.

"Well, I saw Ichigo passing through the Senkaimon a little over half an hour ago, and when I greeted him, he said he was coming here to see you, so I thought you would have already been with him by now."

"Eh?" Rukia widened her eyes in surprised. "What time is it now, Rangiku-san?"

"It's half past one," Matsumoto replied. "Now, now, I'd say it's okay for us girls to show up a little late for a date, so the guy wouldn't think we're too eager to see him, but it's not a good idea to make him wait for too long or he'd just get bored and go find someone else. Men are just that fickle, so you should hurry up and go to see him now, Rukia."

Rukia almost opened her mouth and say that she wasn't dating Ichigo and that if anything, Ichigo was probably with 'someone else' already, but she recalled how futile it would be so she simply closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She hoped her expression and her voice wouldn't betray her when she forged a smile at Matsumoto and replied sweetly:

"Well, you're right, Rangiku-san. I shouldn't have kept Ichigo waiting for too long."

Once she left the shop and one Matsumoto Rangiku behind, Rukia's expression suddenly turned grim. That did it. She really was going to have a conversation about the rumor with Ichigo. She might have been able to put up with his roundabout way of doing things so far, but nothing could go between her and her Chappy shopping even if it was Ichigo.

As predicted, the moment she stepped foot inside the gate of the Kuchiki Mansion, she was approached by one of the servants who came to inform her, "Kurosaki Ichigo-dono is in the living room, expecting you, Rukia-sama."

"Yes, I know," Rukia replied. "How long has he been waiting by himself?"

"I believe he has arrived twenty minutes ago, but Byakuya-sama is keeping him company at the moment."

Rukia nodded, narrowing her eyes.

"I see. I'll head to the living room immediately. Thanks for letting me know."

With that said, Rukia headed down the wooden porch that would lead the way to the living room.

Although it was quite a long walk from the front gate to the living room of the main house and it would save a lot of time if Rukia were to reach there with the help of her shunpo; Rukia chose to take her time walking to the living room so she could list all subjects that she wished to speak to her best friend. Therefore, she didn't reach to the living room until five minutes later.

Once she reached to the living room, she stood at the side of the open shoji screen for a moment to take a deep breath and put on her best expression since she knew her brother would also be present at the scene. However, she later learned that there hadn't really been any need for her to hide at the side before she made her presence known, since both men seemed to be too absorbed by their conversation that neither of them noticed she was there even though Rukia hadn't cloaked her spiritual presence at all.

Clearing her throat to announce her arrival, Rukia then directed a bright smile at her brother who only showed a sign of surprise by blinking once before he turned his gaze to her direction.

"Oh. So now that my sister is here, I shall leave you two together," Byakuya said, ending whatever kind of conversation they had been having previously in a swift. "Good day, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo blinked twice before he flashed Byakuya a smile and nodded.

"Oh, okay, well, then, see you later, Byakuya."

Byakuya nodded and rose to his feet before he headed for the door. Stopping at Rukia's side, the nobleman asked, "Will you be home for dinner?"

Although it was a simple question, Rukia couldn't help thinking that it might imply that her brother also shared the same assumption with everyone else in Seireitei and believed that she and Ichigo were dating to the point that they would go out and have dinner together, and the thought made her cringe inwardly. It was one thing for everybody to believe so, but it was another if her brother was actually under that same impression as well.

"I certainly will, nii-sama. After all, Ichigo won't be staying that long," Rukia replied, although there was no way for her to tell if that answer was enough to hint to her brother that nothing was going on between her and that orange-haired teen, since Byakuya simply acknowledged the answer with a nod then left the room.

Once she was sure her brother was no longer within a hearing range, she directed a glare at Ichigo, who glared back at her with the look that seemed to say that he didn't really expect her to be there that early.

"Hello, Ichigo," she greeted darkly.

"Hey, Rukia. You're sure home early today."

"Of course, I'm early. I was told you have already arrived and prompted to return so that you wouldn't have to wait for too long. Now, Ichigo, I've always told myself I wouldn't mention this, but I've had enough," Rukia said before she walked into the middle of the room where Ichigo was sitting to stare down at him with arms akimbo. "So, are you going to come clean yourself or do I have to ask?"

It appeared her post was still not intimidating enough, since Ichigo tilted his head up and deepened his scowl before he glared back at her.

"What the heck are you talking about, midget?"

Rukia narrowed her eyes.

"You won't get away with your stupid act today, you stupid berry. Now speak. What is your intention towards nii-sama?"

"I don't have any intentions towards your brother," he claimed. And when he saw that Rukia had not ceased to stare at him, he added, "What? Are you saying I can't talk to another guy without having any weird intentions?"

Again, Rukia narrowed her eyes. She wasn't quite sure if Ichigo was playing stupid, or he was really clueless about his own actions in the past months.

"You don't have weird intentions?"

"That's exactly what I said."

"Really?" she said, unconvinced. "Then how do you explain your showing up here two hours prior to our appointment? And I when I said here I didn't mean here in Soul Society, I meant here in my house."

Ichigo looked like he was a kid who was caught with his hands in a cookie jar for a moment before he shrugged and gave Rukia the lamest excuse she believed she had ever heard from him, "I don't want to be late and get scolded by you?"

"You don't want to be late and get scolded by me? Seriously, Ichigo?" Rukia rolled her eyes. "I'd think that when you have two hours to spare, you'd drop by to spend time with Renji or with those guys from the Eleventh Division – you know, your friends – but you are here talking to nii-sama."

"Byakuya is also a friend, you know?"

"Really? That's all you think of him? A friend?"

Ichigo actually looked annoyed by that time.

"Yeah. Unlike the guys at the Eleventh Division, your brother doesn't challenge me to a duel every time we meet, nor does he think that Shakespeare was some guy who went around shaking a spear, so we can have intellectual discussions about literature. Also, unlike you, Byakuya doesn't yell my ear out every time we meet. So really, Rukia, is it a crime to want to spend a few minutes talking to him?"

Rukia didn't reply right away. Instead she took her time to look carefully at her friend, trying to figure out if that was really all that Ichigo thought about her brother. After all, Ichigo seemed to be honest when he explained his reasons. Still, if that was all there was to it, Ichigo shouldn't have any trouble telling everyone that he would drop by to see Byakuya. He didn't really need to use Rukia's name as a cover as if his meeting with Byakuya was supposed to be a highly guarded secret.

"A few minutes, you say," Rukia snickered, "try hours. Don't tell me you didn't notice lately you only say hello to all other friends and then tell them you'd head off to see me."

"Actually, I never said I'd go off to see you," Ichigo corrected. "I just told them I'd drop by at Rukia's which means the Kuchiki Mansion."

"Yeah, you might have said that, but how many people would actually think you would be spending time talking to nii-sama?" Rukia said before she sighed. "Oh, well, it doesn't really matter. It's not like I'd be jealous of nii-sama or try to beat you up if you really intended to court him, but you know, Ichigo, it'd save me a lot of trouble if you'd just admit that every time you're here, you're here to see nii-sama."

"I'm not intending to 'court' Byakuya," Ichigo claimed, "and how am I supposed to explain to Byakuya if he ever asked me why I wanted to see him?"

Rukia rolled her eyes at Ichigo's question before she tore her violet eyes from Ichigo and looked at the small table where a small plate of chocolate biscuits in the shape of the Wakame Taishi were served along with cups of high quality tea.

"Trust me, he wouldn't ask," Rukia commented. "But if he did, I think you're safe to tell him the truth and say that you want to drop by for a friendly chat."

Ichigo shook his head. There was a troubled look in his expression when he said, "You know he's only nice to me because I happen to be your friend and happen to have some value to Soul Society, right?"

"Nah, if that's the case, nii-sama wouldn't have bothered to come out and keep you company for hours. He'd only order the servant to serve you some drink and then continue to mind his own business."

"He's just being a generous host."

Rukia sighed, exasperated.

"Whatever! You and nii-sama can keep doing things the roundabout way all you guys like. I don't care! Just stop giving people the wrong impression that you're here to court me, because I'm sick and tired of hearing people asking me why I'm not on a date with you when you are already in Soul Society."

Ichigo didn't look all too concerned when he suggested, "You can just tell them the truth, you know."

"Do you think I haven't tried, you idiot?! I have, so many times, but no one wants to believe me," Rukia growled, "and you know what's worse? I think nii-sama might be under that impression, too."

That time, Ichigo's chocolate eyes became as wide as a saucer.

"No way. He wouldn't just believe that crap too."

"Oh, there's a way all right. Actually before he left, nii-sama asked me if I'd be home for dinner which means he thought I'd go out and have dinner with you after this, which probably means that he thought we were dating."

Ichigo grimaced at the thought.

"But you told him we weren't dating, right?"

Somehow the agitated look on Ichigo's face lifted Rukia's mood. After all, he seemed very indifferent when Rukia told him what other people thought about their relationship, but he couldn't keep his cool when she mentioned that her brother might be under the same impression. And Ichigo was telling her he had no weird intentions towards her brother.

"Seriously, Ichigo, you weren't bothered when I told you what everyone else thought, but then you get all worked up when I mentioned nii-sama might believe so too, and you still want me to believe that you don't have any weird intentions towards nii-sama?"

Ichigo opened his mouth and made a few gestures with his hands as if he was trying to look for the best way to explain himself, but he couldn't come up with the right words.

Rukia smiled evilly.

"You know what, Ichigo? Never mind. If nii-sama ever asked, I'd just explain to him that I'm not the Kuchiki that you're trying to woo."

Ichigo's jaw dropped for a moment before he finally found his voice and yelled, "For the last time, Rukia, I'm not trying to 'woo' Byakuya."

"Yet," Rukia added.

"Ever," Ichigo hotly corrected.

Rukia scoffed.

"Yeah, right. Whatever you say, Ichigo." Rukia then took a deep breath and asked, "Anyway, what's your reason for coming here to see me this time?"

Ichigo shrugged.

"I don't know. I kinda forgot it when you were yelling at me earlier," he said. "Anyway, I think I'd better head back home, coz you're kinda impossible to talk to right now. Seriously, how people actually believe that I'd be attracted to you when you're such a sadistic midget is beyond me."

"Yeah, how could they, when you're more into a guy who had attempted on your life thrice and come very close to succeeding each time?"

"There's no point in arguing with you, is there?" Ichigo said, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"So you admit it."

"I don't. Don't put words into my mouth, jeez!" Ichigo grunted. "I'm going now. Say goodbye to Byakuya for me."

With that, Ichigo was off, leaving Rukia alone in the living room.

The adopted Kuchiki rolled her eyes after her friend was gone. Strangely enough trying to corner Ichigo didn't make her mood any better than before. It only made her more frustrated. Therefore, she decided that the only way to correct her mood was to go back out to buy that new Chappy product, so she headed out toward the direction of the front gate.

On her way out, Rukia found her brother standing on a bridge above the koi pond, feeding the fish, and since there was no way for her to avoid him if she wished to go back out, Rukia had no choice but to approach him.

"Nii-sama."

"I saw your friend heading off with shunpo earlier," Byakuya remarked. "Should I take it that you two fought again?"

"Well, it's not like I wanted to fight him, nii-sama, but Ichigo was being his stupid self, again, so it was impossible not to."

Byakuya nodded as if he could understand where his sister was coming from.

"Even if that is the case, Kurosaki Ichigo is still a good man, and it is not often that you would find a loyal friend like him," Byakuya commented softly. "You should value your relationship with him instead of fighting with him every other meeting."

If she had heard the same lines from Byakuya a few months earlier, she would have probably wondered where those lines came from. However, since she knew that her brother had spent quite a lot of time with Ichigo of late, it wasn't all that surprising to hear them coming from his mouth.

"I know, nii-sama, but I can't help it when Ichigo keeps getting on my nerves," she said. "Seriously, I don't know how anyone can think even for a second that he and I are dating."

Rukia then furrowed her brows as she recalled that her brother might have also been under the impression that she and Ichigo were romantically involved even though they were not and would never be.

Recalling what she had spoken with Ichigo earlier, Rukia found herself asking, "You don't also believe that Ichigo and I are dating, do you, nii-sama?"

Byakuya lifted his eyebrow. "Is there a reason for me to believe so?"

"No, nii-sama, no reason at all," Rukia quickly replied, "Ichigo and I didn't, don't and will never see each other in that way."

Again, Byakuya quirked an eyebrow.

"You sound very certain."

"Of course, nii-sama. I don't think of him as a guy, and if Ichigo would be interested in anyone in Soul Society, it would be—"

Rukia bit her tongue just before she could finish her sentence. She might have threatened Ichigo that she would tell her brother that the boy was attracted to him, but regardless of their fight and how much he had annoyed her, he was still her best friend, and she wasn't about to sell him out, not even to her own brother. However, she might still have talked too much, so she prayed that her brother would be his indifferent self and dismissed that sentence entirely, since Ichigo's love life wasn't supposed to be something that her brother would want to concern himself with.

Silence fell between them for a moment until Rukia gulped down her nervousness and added, "Well, you probably wouldn't care about that stupid berry's love life. Not that I think he'd ever have one anyway, being as cowardly as he is."

Another silence fell, and Rukia felt that she should just excuse herself and go out shopping, since she didn't think she could afford another awkward silence. However, before she could excuse herself, Byakuya suddenly remarked:

"Kurosaki Ichigo isn't a coward, Rukia. If he doesn't act, then it is either he doesn't want it or he just doesn't know what he truly desires yet."

Rukia blinked before she responded with a not-noble-like, "Huh?" and then asked, "Did you just speak in Ichigo's defense?"

"Now why would I do that?" Byakuya wondered.

Rukia was itching to give her brother a piece of her mind, but then she stopped herself, knowing that it wasn't really her place to say anything.

Her brother wasn't stupid, and he should be able to read Ichigo just as well as Rukia could if not slightly better, since he and Ichigo were the only two people who knew what kind of conversation they had been having during those hours Ichigo spent with him under a pretense that he was waiting for Rukia to return to the house. For all she knew, her brother might have already seen through Ichigo's intentions and somehow been waiting for that teen to make the first move before he would decide how to react.

But of course, she could be reading too much into things, and her brother might not be interested in Ichigo in that way, and Ichigo might have been honest when he said he had no weird intentions towards her brother, so she would just make it awkward between them if she said the wrong thing.

"Right, nii-sama, why would you?" Rukia agreed, though with less sarcasm in her tone than when she spoke to Ichigo. "Anyway, I'd be off now. So, I suppose I'll see you again at dinner?"

Byakuya nodded. "Yes, Rukia. I'll see you at dinner. Have a pleasant time."

With that, Byakuya turned his attention back to the koi pond, indicating that it was time for Rukia to make her way across that bridge they had been standing on and went off shopping, so Rukia did.

There was no way for Rukia to foresee how things would progress between Ichigo and her brother in the future. Therefore, she decided it would be best not to dwell on the matter (if there were any matter to dwell on at all) and just step back to watch as everything unfolded. After all, she could never go wrong with that choice.