Okay so I'm pretty sure majority of us have read that final chapter, and I know I speak for myself when I say that I am extremely disappointed in the way it went, not only for the endgame couples but just the lack of tying up so many ends, or just going straight against what that character had actually been crafted as…so I am going to continue being salty about it and ignoring it for the rest of my life. In any case I hope this story and this chapter pleases you more than Kubo recently has.

The minute she had placed her hand on his arm, he could feel her power. It was staggering in its mass, and he could only stare at her for a minute. The queen never let on to her strength and ability. She didn't seem to notice his gaze, more content to lead him from the room and down a hallway. When he finally took in his surroundings, the Unseelie Queen had changed into a long dark grey skirt, with a black turtleneck, and she was leaning against a wooden desk. The room was familiar to him and Hisana smiled.

"Yes, this is Byakuya's office. You've been in here once, right? When you first came to us." He nodded slightly, wariness causing him to put enough space between him and the Unseelie Queen. She seemed to notice, because she frowned and put her hands out in a placating manner. "Please, Kurosaki-Ouji, I have no wish to cause you harm. I only want to speak with you…about your sister," his eyes widened and he took a step forward, all caution forgot, at least until she spoke again. "…and of mine." The words were out before he could stop them, or fully think about them.

"What about Rukia?" he watched her eyes widen, so similar to her sister's, and flash with something. She raised an eyebrow and he immediately noticed his mistake. He couldn't very well take back what he said, and to be honest, he didn't want to. He wanted to be able to speak her name casually, without worrying how it would be construed…He wanted to be friends with the hime. More than friends. The voice was his own, and he inwardly winced, hoping the Unseelie Queen wasn't reading his thoughts or at least wouldn't be offended. Her voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"I am not blind Ichigo." the mention of his first name, and how serious her voice was had him immediately cautious. He met her violet gaze, and it reminded him of Karin's knowing one. "I have seen the way you interact with her, look at her. I will not ask you if you are attracted to her, if you have feelings for her, but I want you know that I am aware of this development." She leaned off of the desk and walked towards him, stopping barely an arm's length away. Though he had to look down at her, he had never felt so cowed in his life. "But know that my sister does not have the same ability as myself. You are a good man, of that I have no doubt, but my sister is not someone to trifle with." Hisana's eyes flashed white, so quickly he wasn't completely sure he saw it, but the room had plummeted into near freezing temperatures. "If you hurt my sister, it will be the last thing you do." She had said it with such a note of finality, spoken as fact, and he knew it was just her reaction as an older sister, but he couldn't stop the flame under his skin reacting from the threat. His heat halved through the crisp air within half of a second, causing steam to waft around them.

"I wouldn't hurt Rukia." He practically snarled the words at the smaller woman, and he knew he shouldn't be speaking to the Queen in this way but she had questioned his ability to protect her. He wouldn't hurt her, he couldn't; he could feel it in his bones. She was watching him closely, and he could feel her magic wash over him and the room, evening out the temperature.

"Okay." It was all she said and he was honestly surprised. However, his surprise came out in a relieved breath as he hung his head and nodded.

"Now about Yuzu."

XxXxXx

She had been on edge ever since Hisana led the Seelie Prince away. Whatever was going on in her sister's head, she had no idea, and with Ichigo of all people, she was sure she was right to be worried. Shirayuki seemed to be able to tell as much, when she bid Unohana farewell and led Rukia and Karin somewhere else. The younger hime had spoken up almost as soon as they stepped foot in the bathhouse.

"Ichigo is fine, Rukia." The woman turned to the girl, a flush already on her cheeks.

"I wasn't worried about him!" she denied, but both Shirayuki and Karin leaned against one another and gave her a dry look. The Unseelie hime only narrowed her gaze to them before she turned and removed her furisode, replacing it with a towel. When Karin looked down, she saw that Rukia had done the same for her and Shirayuki. "Let's just bathe."

The hime slipped into the warmed waters quietly and leaned her head back against the edge. Her two companions followed quickly after her, but she had already become submersed to her thoughts. She couldn't help but be worried about Ichigo. She knew how her sister was, and with the temper that boy king no doubt had, they were bound to clash. She just hoped her sister wouldn't tease him about the same things she teased her about. Whether or not she knew of her attraction to the prince, Rukia wasn't sure, but she didn't want the taken Ouji to find out about them. It would definitely be embarrassing beyond belief, and she didn't want to know how Ichigo would look at her. A golden gaze flashed in her mind's eye, looking warmly down at her, and Rukia sat up in shock. Was that my own thought or someone planting it…?

Glancing around the bathhouse, Rukia didn't notice Karin and Shirayuki watching her, she was more focused on trying to open her awareness and protect her own mind, a wall of ice being built there, with freezing winds and bone-chilling temperatures. Only when she felt an arm on her shoulder did she turn and meet a nearly white gaze. Shirayuki.

"Are you okay Rukia?" the girl didn't know how to respond. Was she okay? She was the Unseelie Hime, she didn't fantasize about male fae, she wasn't focused on attraction and being with someone, and yet this prince with his flaming hair and burning eyes had appeared and turned her world on its head. Shaking her head, she looked back up to Shirayuki, and she knew she must've still looked lost. The woman was frowning, and beyond her, Karin was watching them closely.

It made her think of Ichigo again, and ultimately Orihime. Karin had said the girl's name to him, after his and Rukia's unorthodox fight, no doubt because his lover wouldn't be happy to find out that he was rolling around in the dirt with the 'enemy.' She couldn't help but feel so guilty of allowing herself to be attracted to him, to enjoy so fully being around him, knowing he had another. That woman must know all about him, what he likes and dislikes, why he is the way he is. How pathetic she was feeling, pining after a man for his looks first, when she hasn't even had a full conversation with him! And don't even begin to think about Renji! She knew what the others whispered, how the male wished to be bound to her, and that was something Rukia just couldn't imagine. But with the Seelie Ouji...she knew what these feelings were becoming. She dropped her face to the water once more, taking a deep breath, steeling herself to say the words.

"I think I am falling for him, and I feel so foolish for doing so." they fell from her mouth as barely a whisper, but the women across from her did not ask her to repeat herself. They said nothing, for a long while, but still Rukia could not look back up to them, face them with such vulnerability. Only when a hand touched her shoulder, tanner than her own skin, did she finally look up to see Karin standing in front of her, a look of fierce determination on her face.

"Don't ever feel foolish for honest feelings." it had shocked the hime so, to hear such strong words, to feel the emotion behind them, that tears had immediately fallen from her eyes. Karin said nothing about them, did not give even a shred of pity for them and Rukia was immensely thankful for having met the girl. Without fully thinking about it, she had pulled the younger woman into a hug, her own shock echoing from Karin and rebounding back. Despite it, Karin hugged her back just as fiercely, probably the most emotion the dark Seelie had shown since Rukia had met her, and she could just tell that Karin did not look at her differently for feeling the way she did for her brother. The Unseelie hime said nothing more, just pushed her gratitude into the younger fae, hoping she would receive it.

XxXxXx

Hisana Kuchiki leaned casually against the desk of her husband and mate as though she did not just share something with Ichigo that caused him to fall to his knees before her. He couldn't lift his head, too focused on the realization that his sister would be okay. The relief was bone-deep and he could only thank the gods for having allowed him to come here and find help. The only thing that pulled him from his internal musings was Hisana's voice, having now taken on a playful tone.

"We should celebrate this, should we not, Kurosaki-ouji?" he looked up at her, and the Queen smiled at him before touching a hand to his shoulder. "Stand, we have much to do to prepare."

Sorry for such a short chapter guys, I've written and erased several endings for this chapter and I finally decided on something that I liked. Hope you guys enjoy it.