Chapter 2: Issues With Issues
"Come on Ichigo you need to wake up!" Rukia shouted early on in the morning.
"Huh what?" Ichigo asked in a state of delirium as he rubbed his eyes.
"Squad duties begin at six-thirty, so you need to get up!" Rukia shouted back as she kicked Ichigo yet again.
"Huh what? Oh yeah I forgot all about that." Ichigo replied as he sat up in his futon.
"Well hurry up and get dressed, I don't want you to be late on your first day." Rukia replied before leaving the room.
When Ichigo made his way downstairs to the kitchen he was met with the sight of Byakuya having early morning hair issues. "What is it?" Byakuya asked sternly upon perceiving Ichigo's blank stares.
"Oh, it's nothing Byakuya." Ichigo replied, but his eyes widened when he felt the cold sharp edge of Senbonzakura against his neck. "Wait what are you doing?" He asked in a state of panic.
"I've tolerated your insolence for a time as you began to adjust to life in the Soul Society, though now that you are assigned to a squad you will address me as Captain Kuchiki. Do not forget this Ichigo." Byakuya explained with a cold yet piercing stare.
"Yes, my apologies Captain Kuchiki." Ichigo replied, though to Rukia it almost sounded as if Ichigo meant "I hope you choke on your breakfast you bastard".
"Thank you, now Rukia I would like you to run along, there are important things I need to discuss with Ichigo." Byakuya stated as he gave his sister a firm look.
"Um, okay, Ichigo you better not be late!" Rukia warned before leaving the house.
"Don't worry I won't… Now what did you want to say to me?" Ichigo asked as he narrowed his eyes on Byakuya.
Normally Byakuya would have taught a lower-ranking Soul Reaper a lesson in humility for acting arrogant toward him, but instead Byakuya merely pulled a folded up piece of paper from the pocket of his captain's coat. "Ichigo do you know what this is?" He asked but Ichigo only stared back at him. "These are the results of your psychiatric evaluation you underwent yesterday. I was given these by Captain Unohana due to the fact that I'm allowing you to live here, but I must question, what is this!" He asked in a raised voice as he pointed to the last answer Ichigo gave for his word association test, and Ichigo began to sweat bullets.
"Um, about that, well, uh…" Ichigo trailed off as he struggled to think of a way out of the house without being chased by cherry blossoms.
"Well is it true? Do you harbor feelings of desire toward my sister?" Byakuya asked as his eyes narrowed on Ichigo.
Ichigo thought quick for a second before he came up with a brilliant idea. "Bya- I mean Captain Kuchiki it's true that I love Rukia, but you misunderstand, it isn't a love of romantic interest, it's more like love between two friends… You see Rukia changed my life… Twice, and I'm grateful to her for that, but when I said that I love Rukia it was more in the context of her being an irreplaceable friend… The last one I have left from before unless you count Renji…" Ichigo replied, but Byakuya seemed convinced.
"Very well, but know this, should you and Rukia ever form a romantic connection, I will do everything in my power to keep her heart from breaking. If you two were to form a relationship, she will be the very last woman you ever devote yourself to. Do you understand?" Byakuya asked with a calm smile that instantly reminded Ichigo of Aizen.
"Y-yes, perfectly understood." Ichigo replied nervously. For the rest of the morning spent at the manor, the two remained in utter silence as they finished preparing themselves for work that day. While on his way to the Squad Thirteen barracks, Ichigo couldn't help thinking back to the psychiatric evaluation he had undergone the day before. "Is that all I meant by it?" He wondered as he entered the barracks. "Maybe I should look into staying at the barracks in the meantime… I wonder how long it will take Captain Stick-up-his-ass to forget about what happened." He thought as he entered Ukitake's office. "Fifth seat Ichigo Kurosaki reporting for duty!" He called out while raising his right hand.
"Oh Ichigo welcome…" Ukitake stated with a wheeze. "Truth be told you're a tad late, but don't worry, tardiness isn't an issue I have with the members of this squad." He reassured Ichigo.
"Great, so what's on the agenda for today Captain?" Ichigo asked with a bow.
"Same as usual, endless piles of paperwork." Ukitake replied as Kiyone and Sentaro busted into the office.
"Captain your loyal third seat Kiyone Kotetsu reporting for duty sir!" Kiyone exclaimed.
"No Captain! Your real loyal third seat Sentaro Kotsubaki is reporting for duty, your orders sir?" Sentaro asked with a glare at Kiyone.
"How can these two be so lively so early in the morning, I mean the sun hasn't even begun to rise yet." Ichigo reasoned in exasperation just before Kiyone hit Sentaro with a nasty kick. "Wait is this how Rukia and I are seen when we get into our arguments?" He wondered as he let out a deep sigh.
"As I've said today we will be doing more paperwork." Ukitake explained after Kiyone and Sentaro finished arguing.
"Hey wait, where's Rukia? Shouldn't she be in here as well?" Ichigo asked after noticing Rukia's absence.
"Well true, but when Miss Kuchiki arrived this morning Isane had come by to speak with her in private on a matter of great importance." Ukitake replied. "Still it's unusual for someone of Squad Four to come by for someone other than myself." He continued and Ichigo's eye twitched as the result of what he just heard.
"Why do I get a bad feeling things are about to get really complicated?" Ichigo wondered as he took a stack of papers before taking a seat on the floor next to Kiyone. "Hey, Kiyone, you and that Isane girl have the same last name, are you two related by any chance?" He whispered.
"Yes she's my sister, why? Are you interested?" Kiyone asked with a mischievous grin.
"Only in what she would need to speak to Rukia for…" Ichigo replied sidestepping the girl's obvious probe for information.
"Well she didn't really tell me anything about it. Sorry Ichigo but I can't help you… However, if I had someone else to do my work for me, I could go check it out." Kiyone replied with the same mischievous grin as before.
"No don't worry about it, I'm sure I'm just being paranoid." Ichigo replied before looking down at the first page of paperwork. "Hmm, Squad Ten requests a special training exercise with Squad Thirteen to improve teamwork between the squads… Approve or reject?" He read silently. "Excuse me Captain? Do I really have the authority to make decisions on the squad's behalf?" He asked as he showed the form to Ukitake.
"Just answer them the way you think would best suit our squad in correlation to the other squads." Ukitake replied.
"Right, okay approved. Next, Squad Eleven demands you send fifth seat Ichigo Kurasaki for a um, battle… They got my last name wrong…" Ichigo thought as he blankly stared down at the paperwork in front of him. "Yeah, rejected. Next, Squad Five requests the presence of fifth seat Ichigo Kurasaki for a personal recollection of events from his point of view as to the events at the end of the Winter War, please advise Kurosaki that he would be wise to bring his zanpakuto… Wait don't tell me…" He thought as he looked up and saw looks of frustration on everyone's faces. "Um, are you three getting any requests concerning me?" He asked nervously and Kiyone stood up and pointed at five piles of paperwork.
"In order of the tallest stack to the smallest, we have requests for sparring matches, requests for information from your point of view on various events, requests to transfer you to another squad, requests for admission into various after-hours club activities, and surprisingly requests to have you just come to boost a squad's morale. This is ridiculous I must've gone through at least one hundred pages and only three had nothing to do with you. I'd say deny everything you don't want to do, but of course you may want to double-check our responses." Kiyone explained as she glared at the five stacks of papers.
"You… You're joking right?" Ichigo asked as he began to feel dizzy.
"Well it seems as though you've become quite popular here in the Seireitei, and it appears that the information of you joining our squad has gotten out as well." Ukitake replied with a smile.
"Wow I had no idea there would be such an issue with the paperwork… Listen to this, unseated members of Squad Eight would like to invite Ichigo to the barracks so that… and I quote "we can look at his strong physique all day". This is getting disturbing, I almost feel like I shouldn't be seeing these requests." Ichigo explained after reading a request out loud.
"Wow that is disturbing, though I can see where they're coming from, you may be inclined to disagree but many see you as being strong and rather easy on the eyes from what I could gather." Sentaro chimed in. "Though we haven't received any requests for any one individual squad member in ages. Huh, check this one out, I request that Squad Thirteen's fifth seat, Ichigo Kurosaki be transferred to Squad Six, where I can keep a proper watch on him at all times lest he be compelled by whatever uncivilized delusion to become further acquainted in indecent manners with Lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki of the aforementioned squad, signed, Captain Byakuya Kuchiki of Squad Six. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I can't believe he thinks you're gonna put the moves on Rukia… What would make him think that?" He asked as he wiped tears from his face as Kiyone struggled to stop laughing.
"For real, how did he get the impression that you had a thing for Rukia?" Kiyone asked.
"Ichigo I as well am curious, it's not everyday that we receive a message directly from a captain, let alone one that is of a rather personal nature. Please tell us." Ukitake chimed in.
"Fine!" Ichigo shouted. "It happened yesterday at my evaluation, Unohana and I had reached the step that required word association, and well the last word she gave me was a bit of a curveball and I happened to blurt out Rukia's name without thinking." He explained.
"And that caused this misunderstanding?" Ukitake asked, and Ichigo nodded.
"That was too vague, Ichigo as your superior officer I order you to go into more detail!" Kiyone demanded.
"Yeah, what was the word you associated Rukia with?" Sentaro asked and Ichigo began to blush.
"Fine! The last word she gave me was…" Ichigo paused as he began to shiver. "Oh come on who asks eleven word association questions anyway? The number is so random that it's ridiculous." He argued but he was unable to deter their interest as he looked around at the grins each of his superior officers were giving him. "Okay fine, but this can't get back to her… Unohana gave me the word love for the last word association question, and my first reaction was to say Rukia, there are you happy now?" He asked, but then he noticed a look of complete and utter surprise from his three superiors. "Is it really that shocking?" He asked, but then he noticed that they were alternating their glances between him and something that was just behind him, and he began to sweat as he thought of who would possibly be behind him. "Oh god please be anyone other than a Kuchiki." He silently begged as he painstakingly turned his head to find a short Soul Reaper with short black hair and violet eyes standing right behind him. "Okay I think I would rather it had been Byakuya…" He thought as he nervously turned back to facing forward. "If I ignore it, it will go away, if I ignore it, it will go away, if I ignore it…" His train of thought was interrupted when he received a stomp to the back of his head, just before hearing the door slam shut proceeded by the sound of footsteps bolting down a hallway.
"Whoa, did that just happen?" Sentaro asked weakly as he looked on at Ichigo laying flat on his face.
"Yeah I think it did, but for her to react in such a way…" Kiyone added on before trailing off.
"Kiyone I want you to track down Miss Kuchiki, Sentaro please take Ichigo to Squad Four. After both tasks are taken care of bring them both back here so that we can solve whatever problem could possibly arise from admitting one's own personal feelings. Do this now." Ukitake ordered.
"Yes Captain!" Kiyone and Sentaro replied in unison, before Kiyone rushed out the door followed shortly by Sentaro carrying a lifeless Ichigo.
"Ugh, I hope this doesn't cause any problems…" Ukitake thought as he picked the request from Byakuya up off of the floor before reading it. "Byakuya, child, without realizing it you may have just forced to happen what you wanted least to happen, whether it be a love of romantic interest or a bond of strong friendship… Things will surely have a very interesting outcome." He thought as he stamped the paper with the word "rejected".
"Sentaro quickly made it to Squad Four, and Ichigo was immediately admitted before Sentaro explained things to Unohana. "And now we're here." He finished as Ichigo remained unconscious in his hospital bed.
"Wow she knocked him out with just one kick? That's quite impressive for a lieutenant." Unohana stated as she opened Ichigo's eyes for a look. "Well we can't have him sleeping all day now." She stated as she pulled a syringe from a drawer of a desk in the room. "This should wake him right up." She continued before jamming the needle into Ichigo's jugular vein forcing him awake instantly.
"Ouch!" Ichigo screamed after Unohana removed the needle.
"Good you're awake, Sentaro was kind enough to inform me of the events surrounding your visit, but I would like to hear the story from you personally." Unohana stated.
"My apologies Captain Unohana ma'am but my captain has ordered me to return with Ichigo once he was awake." Sentaro spoke up.
"Oh, how disappointing… Oh well it will make for nice conversation material at our first counseling session." Unohana replied as she pulled out a bottle of pills from her pocket. "Here you will likely be suffering from a headache soon if you are not already, these will help ease the pain." She stated as she handed Ichigo the bottle of medicine. "Just don't exceed two capsules in a six hour time span. The effects of an over dosage could be catastrophic do you understand?" She asked and Ichigo nodded before getting discharged.
As the two men of Squad Thirteen slowly trekked back to their squad Ichigo broke the silence. "Ugh, why did she have to come in at the worst time possible?" He asked to no one in particular.
"I don't know, but man the look on your face was priceless." Sentaro replied with a chuckle as he tried to imitate the look that Ichigo had when he blurted out what he did.
"You say that now, but your face had a priceless look as well." Ichigo shot back as he made an over exaggerated expression of shock. "Though seriously, how do you think she took what she heard?" He asked as his face became somber.
"Well I think that much is obvious, Rukia probably believes you're head over heels for her now, but that's the truth isn't it?" Sentaro asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"You know I never thought about it before, but maybe it is." Ichigo thought as they continued walking. "Who knows, my head's been kind of hectic lately if you know what I mean. I'm honestly not sure about a lot of things anymore." He continued.
"That's nice, you see the world now the way Kaien did, he used to not be sure about a lot of things, but then he met Miyako and it's like to him everything made sense. I wish you would have had the chance to meet him, I'm sure you two would've gotten along great, but he died several years ago. It was very hard for Rukia to do it." Sentaro explained.
"Do what?" Ichigo asked out of curiosity.
"Well the way Kaien died, he had become possessed by a hollow, and to kill the hollow Rukia had to kill Kaien. It completely crushed the poor girl, she really respected and admired Kaien much like how I as well as the dork Kiyone admire Ukitake, just well she was very herself about it, you know?" Sentaro explained.
"I can imagine, I had heard about Kaien's death from Kukaku and Ganju, and that Rukia was involved, but I never knew the specifics… It must've been very hard for her." Ichigo reasoned.
"Yeah it was, for years she carried on, haunted by his death, never smiling, never laughing, but that changed a few years ago now that I remember." Sentaro replied.
"What changed for her that she got out of her depression?" Ichigo asked.
"Well it could be that she met you, and all those humans that you two used to be close with…" Sentaro replied absentmindedly and Ichigo's expression turned to sorrow. "Oh, uh, sorry if I brought up anything painful for you." He quickly added on.
"No, it's alright…" Ichigo replied as he forced a smile. "If I have any hopes of getting over it I'll need to get over it." He continued, though his reply only succeeded in confusing Sentaro.
"Ichigo, I can't begin to understand what you meant, but for a young one, you're pretty wise." Sentaro stated.
"Really you think so?" Ichigo asked.
"Yeah, of course I've regrettably never been known for my wisdom so what the hell do I know?" Sentaro replied with a laugh. "All I can say kid is, given time and the right company, and there are no wounds time won't heal." He finished as they entered the barracks.
Earlier after Kiyone left the barracks, she had to search all over the Seireitei before finding Rukia at a store that had a vast selection of Chappy the Rabbit merchandise. "There you are Rukia! I've been looking everywhere for you." Kiyone stated as she approached her lieutenant.
"Oh Kiyone fancy meeting you here, oh is that the time, I need to see-" Rukia was interrupted by Kiyone.
"Yeah I'm sure you have a previous engagement, but Ukitake wants you to come back to the squad now! What's wrong with you anyway?" Kiyone asked as she dragged Rukia out of the store with much effort.
"There's nothing wrong with me, but if you keep dragging me away from Chappy there's going to be a lot of things wrong with you!" Rukia shouted back.
"Fine we can talk here, but why'd you run out all of a sudden?" Kiyone asked as she followed Rukia back to the selection of Chappy dolls.
"What Ichigo had pissed me off that he was late getting there, and then I had a sudden urge to buy something of Chappy." Rukia replied.
"That's a very bad lie." Kiyone pointed out. "Besides you were with Isane when Ichigo arrived just two minutes late, so how would you know if he was late?" She asked.
"Lucky guess?" Rukia replied.
"Well due to that moron Sentaro I got stuck with him in a doorway and as such we were three minutes late, but you didn't hit us… Admit it! You're flustered by what Ichigo said, aren't you?" Kiyone asked, and Rukia was quick to cover the girl's mouth.
"Fine we'll talk on the way back to the barracks you little imp." Rukia replied through gritted teeth.
As they started walking, Kiyone was quick to get to the point. "So do you believe what he said, or are you gonna write it off as a lie?" She asked. "Wait, wait, before that I want to know why you reacted that way. There are plenty of girls here in the Seireitei that would kill for the affection of a hero like him." She explained.
"You're joking right? Ichigo isn't a hero, I mean yeah he's strong, and he is selfless but those are only things he did because he had no other choice." Rukia reasoned.
"You're joking right? He is a hero, think about it, he gave up a normal human life to come here to rescue you when you were going to be executed, he defended Soul Society from the Bounts, then there was the issue with the zanpakutos and that Koga guy, and of course let's not forget about Aizen. In reality he really didn't have to do any of it, but he chose to, because it was what he thought was the right thing to do. Rukia do you realize just how lucky many girls will see you to be? The number one most eligible bachelor in the Seireitei has just admitted that he loves you! Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Kiyone explained, but she had lost Rukia at the part where she talked about his good deeds.
"Maybe she's right, I always saw Ichigo and myself as being friends and that made us equals, but regardless of being a Kuchiki I didn't see myself as special, and maybe that's why I've overlooked how much he really has done for all of us…" Rukia thought as she looked up into the sky. "Well are you sure it is love, and that it's not just being used as a means to describe a deep friendship like what Captain Kyoraku and Captain Ukitake have?" She asked.
"I think it's obvious, think about it Rukia, aside from what he himself admitted this morning, you are a beautiful woman, and you're very strong, he would be crazy not to like you like that." Kiyone reasoned.
"M-maybe you're right…" Rukia stuttered as they entered the barracks.
"Of course I'm right, but if this gets serious we're going to have to run some major damage control." Kiyone stated.
"Why is that?" Rukia asked.
"Well that's why." Kiyone replied as she pointed down the hallway just before Ichigo came bolting out of a room as he was chased down by countless cherry blossoms.
"Ichigo!" Rukia shouted as she drew her zanpakuto. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" She called out releasing her zanpakuto. "Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!" She shouted before blasting a wave of ice at the swarming blossoms before making a solid chunk of pink-tinted ice.
"Yeah, major damage control indeed…" Kiyone thought in a state of exasperation.
"Byakuya what are you doing!" Rukia shouted when she entered Ukitake's office to find Byakuya looking at the ice with disappointment in his eyes.
"Rukia I had received word from Captain Ukitake that an incident occurred here not long ago, when I arrived he filled me in on the situation. Ichigo Kurosaki must not be allowed to pursue these feelings he has developed as you will only end up hurt by him." Byakuya explained.
"But that isn't what's going on here… So what if Ichigo loves me what does it matter?" Rukia asked.
"Rukia I am only looking out for what is in your best interest. If you form a relationship with Ichigo Kurosaki only for it to fail, not only will you be devastated nut upon killing him myself we would lose a strong Soul Reaper." Byakuya explained.
"That's not going to happen." Rukia replied as she sheathed her zanpakuto.
"I agree with Rukia on this one, and it was not my intentions to invite you over here for a battle. I believe now that we all know how Ichigo feels, we'll be interested to find out how Rukia feels. Wouldn't you agree?" Ukitake asked.
Byakuya thought for a second before turning to Rukia with a stony gaze. "We're waiting." He stated sternly as Rukia began to tremble just as Ichigo made his way back into the room.
"Well, I um, uh…" Rukia struggled to find the right words to convey exactly how she felt, but then she had a brilliant idea. "Um, Ichigo is it really true that you l-love me?" She asked meekly as she began to blush, and Ichigo couldn't help but to do the same.
"Well… Yeah, I guess I do love you Rukia…" Ichigo replied, and once again all eyes were on Rukia.
"Really? You really love me?" Rukia asked as a touched smile permeated her lips and Ichigo nodded. "I… I love you too." She said in a tone so low that only Ichigo could hear.
"What was that, we didn't hear you, and last time I checked it was we who asked you, not Ichigo Kurosaki." Byakuya replied as he tightened his grip on Senbonzakura.
"I said the feeling is mutual Byakuya!" Rukia shouted sending everyone in hearing distance aware of the situation into shock. "I love Ichigo Kurosaki. That's all there is to it." She finished with a nervous smile as Byakuya loosened his grip on his zanpakuto.
"Captain Ukitake, I request that you disregard my earlier message, however, I must insist that you send Ichigo to my squad's barracks tomorrow, I have much I would like to discuss with him while prying ears are no longer of any concern. Now if you excuse me." Byakuya finished before leaving the room.
For the rest of the day Ichigo and Rukia both found it impossible to focus on their paperwork. Though once the day was nearing the evening Ichigo knew he could no longer avoid talking about the matter. "Uh, um, Ichigo, are you ready to go home?" Rukia asked nervously, but Ichigo looked down and saw that he still had a stack of fifty papers to sign.
"Sorry Rukia, but I need to finish up here." Ichigo replied nervously.
"Well if you would like some help, I could-" Rukia was interrupted by Ichigo.
"Nah don't sweat it… I can handle this much even after what happened." Ichigo replied as the two began to blush.
"Okay then, just don't overwork yourself okay?" Rukia asked and Ichigo nodded before Rukia left for the day.
"What's wrong Ichigo, why didn't you accept her help, it's not everyday that she offers a hand when it comes to others' share of paperwork." Sentaro pointed out.
"I couldn't… Not after what happened today… Say is there like a motel or something in the Seireitei that I might be able to sleep at tonight? If I go back to the Kuchiki manor, one it will be awkward, and two I already have to spend the day with Byakuya tomorrow, and I'm not exactly looking forward to it." Ichigo explained.
"Nope sorry, I would say sleep here in the barracks but we're all booked up. Unless you plan on night patrol duty for extra kan, but wait that's technically considered a mission, and Captain Unohana's mandate says no missions at all, but she didn't specify what kind of missions, so you're prohibited from all missions." Sentaro explained with a cocky grin.
"Great thanks…" Ichigo mumbled as he stared down at yet another request concerning him.
"Ichigo you can't avoid the problem to make it go away. I know it's been at least thirty minutes since you last completed a page, and I also know that you know the rest of your stack there is merely requests for your presence. Look I may not be the wisest Soul Reaper there ever was, but if you don't talk you're bound to lose her, do you want that?" Sentaro explained.
"N-no, I don't." Ichigo replied.
"Right, well let me finish those up for you, and you go on ahead, just be sure to tell me about it first thing in the morning." Sentaro stated.
"R-really? Thanks! I owe you one Sentaro!" Ichigo called back as he bolted down the hallway. "Hmm there he goes… You sure we should do this Kiyone? He might never forgive us for this." He stated as he pulled out a paper that he had been hiding up his sleeve.
"Yes we have to! Imagine how big of a favor Hisagi will owe us!" Kiyone replied as she took the paper from Sentaro. "We request that the members of Squad Thirteen divulge any juicy stories to the staff here at Seireitei Communication Monthly. Any and all cooperation will not be overlooked by our staff. Thank you and have a great day." She read out loud before stamping the request with the word "approved". "Come on we need to get to the editors about this quickly!" She shouted as they hastily stamped the rest of the papers before leaving the office.
As Ichigo was walking home he was struggling to think of how to handle the situation. "Damn it Rukia, why did you have to ask me that, and I did you have to be so honest about it?" He wondered. "If she would have just said no I could have told her the same thing I told Byakuya, but now what am I going to tell him?" He wondered as he came across a store selling Chappy the Rabbit merchandise. "Hmm, okay Ichigo think, is Rukia someone you'd be content spending the rest of eternity with? Let's review the facts, she's cute but quick tempered, adorable yet childish at times, and she has an overbearing older brother, but she also loves me, but if that love is only the same kind that I explained to Byakuya, then this is all meaningless… No the way she looked earlier… There's no way that it isn't romantic… Now if I am alright with Rukia then I should definitely get her one of these rabbit things. Not only will it make her happy, but it might impress Byakuya to see how much I paid attention to her. At that point I would prove him wrong making me one up on him. Yes I am satisfied with this." He thought as he checked the money in his pocket. "Okay, I have two thousand five hundred kan, and yes! The biggest rabbit they have is only two thousand two hundred!" He thought in triumph as he moved to the counter with his selection.
"Oh, getting a gift for your girlfriend huh? That'll be twenty-two hundred kan please." A young female academy student spoke up.
Ichigo quickly completed the transaction before returning back to the manor. In the living room Rukia and Byakuya were getting impatient as they waited for Ichigo to return, and when they heard the front door open, Rukia jumped up to give Ichigo a piece of her mind. "Ichigo where the hell have you been?" Rukia asked as she glared up at Ichigo.
"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked nervously as he struggled to keep the Chappy doll concealed behind his back.
"I went back to the office to give you a hand with your paperwork anyway but when I got there you were gone! Where have you been?" Rukia asked.
"Well I needed some time to think about what happened earlier, and well I wanted to get you something to show you how much you mean to me." Ichigo replied as he began to blush.
"Idiot, what are you getting all excited about?" Rukia asked though she was unable to keep herself from blushing from what Ichigo said.
"Here, I remember you saying you like rabbits, so I got this for you." Ichigo stated as he held the rabbit out to Rukia who became instantly consumed by the rabbit.
"But this is the special deluxe doll it costs over two thousand kan, how did you get it?" Rukia asked.
"Well a few days ago someone asked me to deliver a message to someone for reasons that are to remain a secret for the time being, and Renji gave me five thousand kan… Wait uh, never mind Renji had nothing to do with it." Ichigo replied nervously.
"Oh are you talking about Renji sending secret messages to Rangiku, he only gave you five thousand? What a joke, he offered me ten thousand." Rukia replied. "Still Ichigo thank you so much, I love it." She stated before giving Ichigo a kiss on the cheek.
"Did she just… I must say that was more than I expected… What kind of power do those rabbits have over her?" Ichigo wondered as he followed Rukia into the living room where Rukia had already began explaining the rabbit to Byakuya, but after her explanation Ichigo saw something he thought he'd never see. He received an expression of approval and a nod from the man that only that morning, he thought of as "Captain-stick-up-his-ass".
That night Ichigo laid awake in his futon as he looked out the window at the full moon and for the first time since he left the world of the living he didn't feel the least amount of sorrow. "You know, he may be uptight about a lot of things, but I think I could get used to the idea of him being close by." Ichigo thought as he remembered the look Byakuya had given him. "Maybe we will be a good match together." He thought as he remembered the feeling of Rukia's soft lips brushing if only briefly against his cheek. "Well tomorrow's a new day. I wonder if Byakuya still wants me to come with him to his barracks?" He wondered as he thought about what was waiting for him the next day, but nothing he could have done would have prepared him for what he awoke to.
Ichigo was woken early to the sound of furiously loud footsteps that were rapidly approaching his room, but before he could even get a word out, the second he opened his eyes he wished he hadn't, because the sight he woke up to was an up close view of Rukia's knuckles. "Explain this you bastard!" Rukia shouted as Ichigo rubbed his eyes.
"I don't know my eyes tend to not work well when they get a fist first thing in the morning." Ichigo replied, but once his eyes stopped hurting he saw what Rukia was furious about. There on the front page of Seireitei Communication was the answer to the question. "What to think of the sudden development between famed hero Ichigo Kurosaki and elegant noble Rukia Kuchiki as they can finally relax and focus on their blossoming love for each other? What the hell is this?" He asked blandly as he glared at the cover story. "Does the article say who provided information?" He asked.
"No all it says is that the information was provided by anonymous members of Squad Thirteen, are you saying you didn't do this?" Rukia asked.
"No, but I think I have a hunch on who is behind this. Ugh, Sentaro is going to regret this." Ichigo replied.
"Sentaro? Are you saying you think Sentaro went behind our backs and had this published?" Rukia asked in horror.
"Yes, I do and his big mouth just keeps on increasing the issues I'm already dealing with." Ichigo thought as he nodded at Rukia. "Maybe it's not that bad though, maybe no one had a chance to read it yet." He continued, and with that said they continued on with their normal morning routine, careful to keep the new development a secret from Byakuya for as long as possible. Of course they weren't expecting the reception they were greeted with when they stepped out onto the streets of the Seireitei.
"Ichigo you bastard when did you do it, and Rukia why didn't you tell me?" Renji asked, and he had clearly been waiting for them along with several other Soul Reapers.
As Ichigo looked around he couldn't help but feel annoyed, and then something caught his attention. "There Rukia, it's Sentaro!" Ichigo called out and within seconds he had Sentaro by his collar. "Just give me one good reason why you did it." He stated as Byakuya and Renji moved to disperse the crowd.
"Well yesterday you seemed kind of down, and whether the story be true or false, seeing everyone gather here to support you is what I thought could cheer you up." Sentaro replied honestly. "Seriously you seemed down about losing your friends, I thought if I could show you that you still have friends you'd cheer up." He continued and Ichigo's eyes widened as he looked around at everyone in the crowd, some of the faces he recognized while there were many more that he didn't, but it was all the same to Ichigo, while their privacy may have been trampled, there were many people who wanted to cheer him and Rukia on, and that was more than enough.
"You're right Sentaro I have been rather down lately, and I thank you for your concern, but next time can you express it in a way that doesn't put me in danger of a black eye?" Ichigo asked with a chuckle as the three members of Squad Thirteen went to work.
Chapter 2 end - actually I started to struggle through this chapter, as a burn survivor with extensive nerve damage in my shoulders I had to take multiple breaks while writing, and that itself affected the flow of the chapter, still I am content with it's turnout. For those who may believe I am moving too fast with the story line… please keep in mind that in this fic I must explain everything that leads up to my first fic, now onto other matters, my other two fics I've started will be hereby suspended until this fic is finished, I tried to write all three simultaneously but it was too confusing to keep track of which one I was working on at the time. I will say this much though I will be skipping forward up to three years for the next chapter… see you then.
(Shunpo into the future!)
Disclaimer: I do not own bleach because I am not Tite Kubo. I just wish I could use shunpo in real life… I guy can dream can't he?