Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or anything associated with it. Title of owner goes to 久保 帯人. :3 Nor do I own anything related to the Hana Yori Dango drama or manga.

AN: Firstly I want to apologize profusely for seeming to abandon this story and thus abandoning my readers. It's been a bit rough in my personal life and I honestly had no motivation to write. I wanted to finish this story but I never had the chance to actually think it through until recently. I really want to finish this story and I don't want to disappoint my readers. Thus I've decided to continue on. I ask for your forgiveness and I thank those who have read, reviewed, added me on their alerts, etc. You have no idea how much it means to me. :)

So without further ado...

Yosh! Let's go! よろしくお願いします!

Chapter 21

That night after the fiasco that took place at the zoo earlier that day, Ichigo lay in his bed recollecting what happened afterward. After many failed attempts at comforting Tatsuki, he let her be when she decided to walk home alone in her dejected state. It pained him terribly seeing that side of Tatsuki considering she was just as tough as he was, if not more.

When his own anger got the best of him, Ichigo had tried to look for Ryo around the zoo, expecting him to dish out a real explanation of what went on. But Ryo was out of sight, most likely in need of some medical attention after the beating he endured from Rukia.

Ichigo could not help but smirk. Ryo did deserve it after all, and Rukia was only doing what Ichigo would have probably done in the near future.

Rukia.

At the thought of her, Ichigo grabbed the bunny hand puppet christened 'Chappy' off his desk and pulled slightly at the little arms. The snow white toy was sort of cute in a flimsy way with its pink nose and one ear hanging down while the other stayed upright. It was quite endearing to Ichigo that Rukia had a soft spot for such a thing.

Ichigo glanced at the black cellphone at his side for the 10th time, actually hoping that he had missed a call or a text message. He tried numerous times to contact Rukia despite the fact that she left in an obviously pissed off mood and thus ignored his calls. But Ichigo needed to hear her side of the story and genuinely felt a bit of concern. He could see that she had tried to fit in with his status even though he could see her disdain right off the bat.

Yet the important thing was that she was trying and it was for him.

Is this how it's like when someone cares for you? Ichigo thought. They'll actually try to do something they have no interest in doing as long as they're doing it for that one person.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, his head suddenly hurting at the thought. Things were quickly becoming complicated.

Unfortunately complications would arise tenfold when Karin came barging through his room. A look of confusion graced her face.

"Ichi-nii! There's some man in a suit here asking for you! Dad wants you to meet him in the living room now!"

Rukia slammed the door to her room shut with such force the door almost broke off its hinges. She was infuriated to say the least at what transgressed between her and Ryo. Thoughts were racing through her mind consisting of what she could do and whom she could call to take care of some 'business' with Ryo. Trash like him needed to be taken out in a timely fashion and who better to ask for a favor than Toshirou.

Rukia whipped out her cellphone, ready to dial Toshirou's number. But her fingers stopped short of the keypad when she noticed the missed calls and a text alert on the bright screen. They were from Ichigo.

She took a moment to sit down on her bed before opening the text message. Her hand trembled slightly as she pressed the open button. She wasn't sure exactly what to expect considering the last time she saw Ichigo, she had left on a bad note.

It read:

I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I don't know what went on with Ryo, but I would like to hear it from you. It would mean a lot to me if you called me back.

After reading the message, Rukia bit her lip in uncertainty. She suddenly did not feel like calling Toshirou to fulfill her personal vendetta against Ryo as Ichigo's worried face flashed in her mind. Ichigo apologized and wanted to hear from her, wanted to know what she witnessed. Although it was difficult to determine the emotion behind a text, Rukia's gut feeling (as well as those numerous calls) told her that Ichigo actually cared.

And that meant more to her than anything in the world, more than revenge against an imbecile.

Rukia decided she would tell him what happened, and neither by text nor call but in person. She quickly grabbed her bag and headed out the door of her room.

But as fate would have it Rukia was stopped abruptly in her tracks.

Nanao stood before her, hand ready and up in a gesture of knocking at the door. Once she realized there was no need to knock, she straightened her glasses and bowed her head. "Rukia-san, sorry to bother you but Byakuya-shachou would like to see you in his office in the north wing."

Rukia's back stiffened. "Can it wait? I need to get somewhere now." She answered with annoyance.

Nanao shook her head, indicating there was no such thing as later to Byakuya. "He informed me specifically that this could not wait."

Rukia rolled her eyes but obliged and walked past Nanao who quickly followed behind her to the north wing office.

Ichigo looked over to the suited man who sat before him, slightly frightened at why he was in his home. The man flashed a toothy grin that looked nowhere near as friendly as it was intended to be mostly due to the fact that his slit-like eyes reminded Ichigo of a snake. The man ran a hand through his neatly groomed silver hair and then clasped his hands onto his lap before speaking.

"Good day, Kurosaki-san." He tilted his head toward Isshin who sat next to Ichigo. "I am Ichimaru Gin, president of Chikara Corporation, the head company who runs the company you work for, Kurosaki-san."

Isshin nodded in response. "Yes. What brings you into our home, Ichimaru-san?"

Gin flashed another grin but this time Ichigo thought it looked conniving in a sort of way. "I have come to present an arrangement of sorts." He grazed his eyes over to Ichigo. "It mostly involves your son."

Rukia sat in front of her brother's mahogany desk, impatiently tapping her foot on the ground. He was immersed in finishing paperwork and did not do as much as glance up when Rukia entered his office.

"If you called me here for no reason, I better just leave now. I need to go somewhere." She barked out to get his attention.

Byakuya slightly raised an eyebrow but continued his writing. "I know where you're heading but you will have no need to do so once I tell you what is going to happen to him." He said without taking an eye off his work.

Rukia stood up quickly from her chair, knowing instantly who he was referring to. "What did you do to Ichigo?" She demanded. When he didn't answer quickly enough, she asked him again this time loud enough to echo throughout the room. "What did you do to Ichigo?"

Byakuya was unfazed by her outburst and merely slid a piece of paper her way across his desk then resumed his own paperwork.

Rukia snatched it up and read it over quickly. The color began to drain from her face.

"So you see due to these difficult circumstances, Byakuya-shachou has given you a decision to make." Gin stated while picking up the cup of tea in front of him. He took a small sip of the hot liquid before continuing. "I know it should not be so hard to decide between your job…" Gin looked over to Isshin. "…or your son's little fling." His eyes momentarily looked over to Ichigo.

Ichigo was dumbfounded. Ichimaru Gin's only purpose for coming into his home was to deliver a message from Rukia's brother. Obviously Ichimaru Gin had business relations with Byakuya and Ichigo assumed that Gin was offered a large amount of money to jeopardize his father's job.

"Byakuya-shachou requests that you are not to see his sister from this point on. All contacts will be broken and for that, your family will be compensated greatly and your father will be promoted in my company." Gin stated earlier. "But if you refuse, not only will your father lose his job but the loan sharks that your father has managed to escape will find you easily once I release his information."

"You can't do that!" Ichigo got up from his seat, furious at his demands. "What kind of extortion is this? My father has nothing to do with my relationships, so leave him out of-"

"Ichigo, be quiet and sit down." Isshin interjected calmly.

"But, Dad, this man is-"

"I said be quiet and sit down!" Isshin yelled at his son. For the first time in his life Ichigo could see anger in his father's eyes. He grudgingly agreed and took his seat while glaring at Gin. Gin took no notice of this as he sipped his tea once more.

But to Ichigo's surprise Isshin's anger was not geared toward him. Instead Isshin stared back at Gin, dark eyes set in a firm and resolute expression that Ichigo could not describe.

"Get out." Isshin simply stated.

Gin put down his cup, blinking a few times as if trying to understand exactly what Isshin was trying to say. "I'm sorry?"

"Get out." Isshin further proved his point by walking toward the front door and holding it open. "My family means more to me than anything, even my own job. If Ichigo wants to continue seeing Rukia, so be it. I will not put his happiness on the line for my own personal agenda. So if you will, get out of my home."

Ichigo could not believe what he was witnessing. He sat gaping at his father, his mind filled with disbelief. What the hell is that old man doing?

Gin had understood the message conveyed and slowly stood up, leaving his tea cup still half full. "Well, seeing as this is a lot of information to take in I will give you a day's grace period to make up your mind."

"Oh, I believe I've already made up my mind." Isshin countered through gritted teeth.

Gin flashed his toothy grin once more at Ichigo before leaving the apartment, ignoring Isshin on the way out.

"Dad, what did you just do?" Ichigo questioned when his father shut the door.

Isshin gave him a small smile. "I'm protecting you, son." He nodded slightly and then left the room.

But Ichigo was not convinced.

He had noticed the small glint of pain in his father's eyes.

The piece of paper of Rukia held in her hand was a letter written to Byakuya from Gin. It stated that Kurosaki Isshin would be laid off his job in Gin's company if Ichigo did not comply with the demands Byakuya listed regarding Rukia.

Rukia inhaled a shaky breath. She did not want it to go this far, did not want Ichigo's family to be involved in this. "H-how could you?" She screamed at Byakuya, her emotions taking a strong hold of her. "You have no right to do this! What I do in my life is none of your concern!" She grit her teeth amidst the tears that were starting to form in her eyes.

"I have every right to be concerned." Byakuya finally diverted his attention away from his work and stood up from his chair. Although he had managed to keep his tone of voice in control, the look in his eyes was livid. "You listen to me or you'll never hear the end of it. This was the last straw and I'm ending what you have with that peasant for good. You've ruined the Kuchiki name this far and I won't have it continue on. As long as I'm head of Kuchiki enterprises, I say what goes. Now get out of my office before that boy and his family receive more trouble." Byakuya ended it with that and sat back in his chair, resuming his busywork.

Trying to fight the tears that were stinging to be released from her eyes, Rukia turned away quickly and ran out of the office. Her chest was hurting, or was it her heart? Either way her emotions were out of control and she ran out the door without noticing Nanao who stood right her path.

Rukia bumped into her but ignored the pain in her head and tried to maneuver her way past Nanao. But she was held in place by Nanao who was trying to calm her down by pulling her into a tight hug.

"Rukia, it's okay. Shhh." Nanao tried to comfort Rukia and pulled into a nearby room to sit down. She handed her a tissue to blow her nose and sat patiently near Rukia, waiting for her to finish.

"I hate him." Rukia choked out through a small sob.

"I know. Your brother is pretty terrible." Nanao added softly in agreement.

Rukia looked up at Nanao in disbelief. Nanao's agreement came as a surprise considering Rukia had thought her loyalty to her brother was unbreakable. What came out of Nanao's mouth next was as big of a shock to her.

"Whatever you do, don't listen to him." She stated firmly.

"What?" Rukia asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.

Nanao nodded. "He's being irrational and not thinking straight. It's crucial that you don't listen to him."

"But he's already threatened Ichigo's family. I can't carry that burden and know that it's causing his family pain." Rukia reasoned.

"We'll figure out a way to fix it. I've already contacted Kaien-san about it and he said he will be here by tomorrow since he's out of town right now. Just don't give up on Ichigo. You can't by all means."

Rukia thought it over it for a moment. She paused when she finally realized who she was speaking to. "Wait… why are you doing this, Nanao? You work for my brother."

Nanao chuckled a bit while pushing her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. "Yes but I've worked for him a very long time… enough to get an idea of how his mind works. He was never this cruel before but the company has had a bad year and I believe he's taking his anger out on you. Once this boils over, he'll completely forget about you and Ichigo and immerse himself in his work again." She sighed softly, as if already feeling the workload she would be put through.

"Are you… in love with Byakuya?" Rukia asked suddenly out of curiosity. She had a feeling Nanao was not telling her the whole story considering how long Nanao had been working for her brother.

Nanao's eyebrows shot up in surprise but a small blush was crept up her face. "W-what are you implying? Why would I be doing such a thing if I was?"

"Hmm… that is true." Rukia said after wiping her nose for the last time. Though she was not fully convinced after seeing Nanao's face redden, Rukia decided to leave the matter alone for now. She had her own problems to solve and needed to act quickly.

The sun started its slow descent into the horizon as Ichigo stood waiting near the sundial in the Karakura Park Plaza. A lot happened earlier that day and thoughts came and went in Ichigo's mind as he tried to fully grasp what he was about to do. He was glad that Rukia had responded back to his text but unlike earlier that day, he now had something to tell her himself.

Rukia had requested to meet at the same spot where she wanted him to meet her for their impromptu date not too long ago. Ichigo could not help but laugh to himself at everything that happened since that moment. If he didn't know any better he would have thought he was living in a soap opera. He realized it was something of a rollercoaster ride with its cliché ups and downs.

He was so lost in thought he had not heard footsteps slowly approach him from behind.

"Oi, Ichigo!"

Ichigo turned around. He couldn't help but form a small grin on his face as Rukia stood there before him with her arms crossed and her usual tough girl aura showing through. For some reason he felt like stepping forward but stopped himself from doing so. With what he was about to tell her, it was no use trying to start anything.

Rukia uncrossed her arms as if letting down her barrier and started to speak. "Ichigo… I know-"

"Wait, Rukia." As if the sound of her voice gave him some sort of courage, Ichigo decided to forget about the distance and took a few strides forward, making the space between them a mere foot apart.

Rukia's eyes widened slightly at the forwardness of the approach and looked up at him with question.

"I need to speak first and it's not about who's the more dominant one or anything," Ichigo scoffed knowing too well that Rukia would identify it that way, "but… I've been thinking a lot about what went on today. First it was Tatsuki and then my father." He paused for a second, hoping what he was about to say wasn't as hard to take in as it was for him. "I realized that even though we might try, there will always be something trying to make us fail and it's affecting those around us."

Rukia stood still and unwavering, her facial expression too difficult for Ichigo to read. He continued speaking, hoping her calm demeanor would stay that way.

"I'm sure you know that Ichimaru Gin came into my home today." Ichigo went on once Rukia nodded quietly in response. "My father had refused his offer saying that my happiness was more important than his job. But I owe him, Rukia. He's given me everything and I can't let him lose his job because of me. Even if it takes begging, I'm going to see to it tomorrow that my father doesn't lose his job. Ichimaru gave us a day to decide despite my father's words."

Rukia stood still but now was softly biting her lower lip as if holding herself back from saying a word.

Ichigo took a moment to look down at the ground, suddenly feeling apprehensive. Rukia felt it necessary to speak up since his hesitation was apparent.

"Is that all?" She questioned, her voice almost in a whisper.

His eyes went back toward her own, a softer shade of amber coming through. "No."

He spoke slower this time, trying to find the right words that were jumbled so haphazardly in his mind. "I want to thank you for making an effort even though at times I probably felt like a lost cause. I..." A lopsided grin formed on his features as he recollected his memories. "…I honestly was confused this whole time through, not understanding why certain things happened they way they did. I ignored my emotions, didn't want to admit to the fact that it was possible to enjoy your company."

The grin disappeared from his face, now replaced with a smile of contentment. "But over time, I guess I got used to it. I really did have fun at the zoo before everything happened with Ryo… Whatever he did to you, I'll make sure he gets what's coming to him." Another hesitation. "This will probably be the last time I see you so I want to say…" He paused, finding it harder to come a conclusion. "… Thank you for everything and… I'm sorry it could not have grown mutually into… something else." Although it was ambiguous, he figured she got the idea. He bowed his head, avoiding having to look into her eyes.

There was silence on her part for what seemed like forever to Ichigo. He kept his head down, waiting for anything. A word, a sound, a punch in the head, anything.

However he was stunned when instead he saw her right hand appear in front of him and gingerly take his left hand into her own. Her skin was soft and warm as she clasped her small hand in his and tugged his arm slightly for him to look at her.

She was smiling and let out a laugh when she saw his baffled expression. "You sure do talk a lot for someone who doesn't know what he's really talking about."

"Wait, what?" Ichigo stood dumbfounded at her remark.

Rukia noticed that he did not snatch his hand away from hers. "You revealed a lot to me just now, Ichigo… and I'm pretty confident that I made the right decision." She squeezed his hand just a bit in emphasis.

Just like that she left out the details and further avoided giving him an explanation. Instead she took action, an action she had been itching to do ever since he had that grin plastered on his face.

And because she was Rukia, she refused to go up on her tiptoes. She tugged on his arm so that he had no choice but to bend his back slightly forward, stopping when his face was a few inches away from her own.

She closed her eyes and kissed him.

AN: It's been a while so I hope you haven't forgotten what happened in past chapters. D: Hope you enjoyed and once again, thank you!