A/N. Want 10 pretty reviews again!

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Chapter Two: Meeting

When he arrived, he knew immediately what Senbonzakura wanted him to see. Lying beneath a pile of snow, skin glowing eerily, was a petite little girl who looked like a fallen angel.

Senbonzakura said softly, "That's her."

Byakuya felt slightly confused, probably for the first time in his life. Was he supposed to leave after seeing the girl? Deciding that there have to be something more amazing about this particular girl for Senbonzakura to want him to walk miles just to see this girl, he decided to inspect closer.

Moving closer cautiously, he saw something that made his heart stop. The snow beneath her was red. Blood red…

Feeling himself panic, he sternly reminded himself that there was no reason why he should be panicking. He after all, have killed so much that, he could turn every single lake and river red. However, this time it was different. Senbonzakura was practically shouting the reason at him.

She said it was love.

But she forgot something. Kuchiki Byakuya does not and cannot love.

Kuchiki Byakuya felt a sudden pain at his ribcage. It was like he actually cared for someone who's status was far beneath him, it was like he actually felt for someone from the dirty streets of Rukongai. He reminded himself again and again, that he was only doing that as it was not right to leave an injured and almost frozen girl lying in snow. Picking her up securely in his arms, he felt that she was too thin, too cold, and too fragile for the harsh reality of Rukongai.

Kuchiki Byakuya started to flash step to his manor. Never had he felt anxious before, never had he felt the ominous feeling of someone's blood trickling through his fingers. Someone whom he cared for. He never needed to go faster than he usually went. He grew to be faster than the Goddess of Flash Step, Yoruichi Shihouin. The title was now his. But now, he told himself that he must go faster.

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Unohana Retsu sat up in her bed, startled. It wasn't usual that someone came knocking on her bedroom door in the middle of the night. Like other personal servants of the Kuchiki head, their rooms were just a corridor away from his. So how can any one breach the security of the Kuchiki manor?

Moving cautiously towards the door, she thought, it could be anyone, the enemy or perhaps lower servants who aren't supposed to be here in the first place.

When she opened the door, she felt shocked, she had expected anyone, just not him, especially not with a little girl held protectively to him. Unohana stared at the man who was once happy, the man who once could love, and the man who was now empty. She did not miss the steady drip of blood flowing out from the girl's wound. Instincts kicking in, Unohana gestured for the Kuchiki head to enter her room, and watched as he gently layed her down on the futon she pulled out.

Unohana had expected that the King would just 'dump' her down on the futon and leave; however, to her surprise, he sat by the futon, and looked at his hands, stained with her blood.

Moving by the girl's bedside, she gently turned her around to get access to her back. That was when Unohana gasped, causing Byakuya to look up in surprise. So much blood was coming out from the girl's wound that the back of her shirt clung to the wound, and the white of the futon was also turning red quickly. Unohana could literally see the stab marks on the girl's back. Closing her eyes, Unohana gently ran a finger on the girl's wounds, shivering when she felt the stab marks, the bumpy scars which were going to rot if she wasn't healed quickly. Unohana had seen so many wounds, but there were so little that were so brutal.

Stealing a quick peak at her master's face, she saw something she had never seen, pity, and a hint, of love. That was when she felt such strong resolution. Perhaps, if she could heal the girl, she could heal his heart too.

¬After an hour¬

After an hour, Unohana finally managed to stop the girl's bleeding. Placing clean bandages on her wounds, she turned around to face her master, "She seems to have been stabbed in the back then slashed brutally. She needs to be kept in a safe environment, with plenty of silence and peace, Kuchiki- sama."

Nodding, Byakuya stood up, "She will be placed in my private room. Make sure that the security around that area is tightened. No one is allowed to enter the Kuchiki manor without my permission. Pass down my orders."

Unohana nodded wearily.

"One more thing, check her blood and send the results to me personally." Byakuya lifted the girl up again and walked out of the room, uttering one last word to her.

Perhaps, she heard wrongly, but she was almost sure he had said, "Arigato…"

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Kuchiki Byakuya sat on the side of his bed, gazing at the peacefully sleeping girl that was currently occupying his bed. While Unohana was treating her, he had came out with a whole list of reasons why he was not in love, while Senbonzakura also came out with a long list. However, that didn't stop him from bringing her back to his room to watch over her.

Just as he was wondering if he should talk to Senbonzakura, who went off in a huff, there was a knock on the door, and Unohana's voice flowed into the room, "Unohana Retsu, seeking for permission to enter."

"Enter." Was Byakuya's short reply.

Unohana entered the room, holding a thin envelope. She handed the envelope to Byakuya silently, before speaking.

"I know it is not in my position to tell you this, Byakuya-sama, however, you must admit that rumors might and will spread when they realize that you brought home a woman." Unohana spoke gently. "However, I am not against it. I just hope that you are more… aware of what the lower servants and Shinigamis will say about you and her."

Knitting his eyebrows together ever so slightly, Byakuya waved Unohana out of his room. When she exited, he turned his attention back to the envelope. He swore that if she was exiled by a noble family, and therefore was injured, that family would have to pay.

Pulling out the test results, Kuchiki Byakuya's eyes widened ever so slightly. He never expected this. Looking at the girl sleeping on his bed, he whispered, "Why must it be you?"

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A/N

Updated on: March 8, 2009

I love this part:

She said it was love.

But she forgot something. Kuchiki Byakuya does not and cannot love.

So who, really, is Rukia?

Next Chapter shall be a Byaku Ruki chapter!

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Preview for Next Chapter: Finding themselves in a mess

Ukitake Jyuushirou frowned slightly. "I do not understand, Kuchiki-sama."

Kuchiki Byakuya narrowed his eyes warningly, "I assure you that you heard correctly."

"You want to adopt the girl you found in Rukongai yesterday as a Kuchiki?" Ukitake said disbelievingly. "You want her to be placed under my charge after only one year in the Shinigami academy?"

"That, indeed was what I said, see to it that it is done Ukitake." Kuchiki Byakuya replied over his shoulder as he walked out of the thirteenth division.

Jyuushirou stared at the King's back, which was slowly disappearing out of sight. "What are you trying to do, Byakuya?"

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