Here's chapter 4. Read and review, please ^^

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own Bleach. Sorry.


Byakuya, Miyuki, and Yamamoto were all in Yamamoto's office. Yamamoto was sitting at his desk, Byakuya was standing, and Miyki was leaning against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. "What do you think about Kuchiki-taicho's decision to leave?" Yamamoto asked, surprising Miyuki.

"Well, I hardly believe my opinion is relevant now, as we've already acted... However, I agree with it. It was the best decision we could have made. The only reason I even hesitated was because Matsumoto-fukutaicho raised a good point, and I was against leaving any potential survivors to die. However, if we'd stayed then it would have taken many months to dig through just half the rubble. No doubt whatever took out that building would have returned. I would never consent to putting anyone in that kind of danger without knowing what they're dealing with." Miyuki said with a light frown on her otherwise expressionless face.

"We should monitor the Human World closely. If it was indeed a Vasto Lorde, it may enter the Human World to feed due to the lack of hollows near Las Noches." Byakuya noted emotionlessly.

"A good point. We eliminated most of the ones that were left in the area." Miyuki said, frowning a bit deeper as she remembered the enemy who seemed to be immune to her illusions. "I do worry about something, though..." Yamamoto opened one eye, and so she continued. "We killed the Arrancar's we encountered, and all the ones in Las Noches are presumably dead, but Arrancars exist even without Aizen there to gather them up. It could be quite possible that.." She trailed off, shaking her head. "Sorry, I let my thoughts get out of hand... What if these Arrancar's continued to be made without Aizen?" She asked with a frown.

"It's a possibility, but doubtful without the Hogyoku... You're bleeding, Miyuki." Yamamoto said, and Miyuki blinked in surprise. She looked at the floor to see blood was dripping onto it from her back.

"Ah... Sorry. One of the Arrancar was somehow immune to my illusions and he got a few blows in before I killed him." Miyuki said emotionlessly. "I should get out of here before I ruin your floor further." Miyuki said, bowing quickly.

"Very well." Yamamoto said, turned to Byakuya. Obviously dismissed, Miyuki left the room hurriedly. Hanataro healed this injury the moment I got to him... What in the world is going on?


"How's the tea?" Ukitake asked Miyuki after she sipped it. She was in his division, sitting in a room that had three walls, simple archways leaving the fourth wall open. It revealed a beautiful scenery, with dozens of cherry blossom trees in full bloom.

"It's perfect, Ukitake-taicho. How have you been?" She asked him with a smile.

"I haven't been any worse." Ukitake answered honestly.

"That's good, I suppose. It's good you aren't getting worse." Miyuki smiled at him.

"What about you? I hear you visited the 4th Division today." He commented with a hint of worry.

"Oh, an Arrancar slashed my back open. The guy was somehow immune to my illusions, so it ended up being a battle of speed. I won." Miyuki added with a successful grin.

"It's good you haven't lost your touch after so long out of battle." Ukitake said with a smile as he drank his tea.

"Are you kidding me? The training they have you do in the Guard is easily twice as harsh as the worst battle I've ever been in." Miyuki said with a small laugh.

"Really?" Ukitake asked in suprise. "What things do they train you in?"

"Ah... I can't tell, sorry." Miyuki said apologetically, sipping her tea. "I'll probably never even have to use most of the things they taught me. Which is a really good thing, I'll have you know." She said before smiling. "However, I'm still horrible in battle. I've never needed anything but speed and my Zanpakuto release, so I've never mastered any kido above forty. Even that's still pretty weak. I still only know basic fighting, too. I'd lost in a fist fight with a six year old." Miyuki let out a laugh.

"Hey, don't underestimate those kids. They play dirty." Ukitake said, fueling Miyuki's laughter and making him laugh as well. They continued laughing until Ukitake started coughing from it. Miyuki jumped to her feet and ran around the table, crouching beside Ukitake and carefully rubbing his back to help ease the coughs.

"Shunsui-taicho needs to learn to do this before he accidently kills you by making you laugh to death." Miyuki said with a grin. Finally, Ukitake managed to stop coughing, and Miyuki sat back down on her cushion.

"Thanks, Miyuki." Ukitake said, clearing his throat.

"No problem. Drink your tea." Miyuki instructed.

"You sound like Unohana." Ukitake said with a teasing smile before he sipped his tea obediently.

"Yuck. I'd hate to be Unohana. Hanging around you sick oldies day in and day out." Miyuki teased back.

"Oldies? I resent that." Ukitake chuckled.

"No, dear sir, you represent that." Miyuki said with a smile.

"Really, Miyuki... How have you been?" Ukitake asked seriously, dropping his smile. Miyuki sighed, her smile fading as well.

"Can't hide anything from you, eh? I guess that's what happens when you hang around the same person for sixty years." Miyuki smiled lightly at him. "I'm hanging in there, Ukitake-taicho. It's difficult being here. I hate seeing him like he is now. When we were kids, he never hid anything from me. We were like each others escape from the world of Nobles, you know?" Miyuki sighed heavily. "Then his parents died, and he started getting more serious and distant. I didn't mind, but now... What happened to him, Ukitake-taicho? Why is he so much more distant and withdrawn now then he was when I left?" Miyuki asked fretfully.

"Hisana died about fifty years ago, five years after you left. Once she died, he started acting like this. Honestly, I'm not surprise. His parents, grandfather, wife, and you - his only real friend - were all gone. He likely felt like everyone close to him would suffer, and became so withdrawn. At this point, it's become a part of him. He'll probably never go back to how he used to be." Ukitake said with a sigh.

"Great. So I helped make my only friend an anti-social Noble pain in the ass." Miyuki said with a disgruntled sigh. Ukitake chuckled softly.

"I suppose, though I wouldn't have phrased it quite like that." He chuckled, and Miyuki smiled lightly at him.

"If I'd phrased it any other way, it wouldn't have been amusing." She pointed out before rolling her shoulder. "For some reason, everytime I see him I feel like... choking him with that bloody scarf of his.. Or stabbing him with his kenseikan." She said crossly, and Ukitake chuckled again. "Hey, shush." Miyuki pouted at him before they both grew serious once more. "I don't like it, and it's strange for me. I don't usually have such violent tendancies. I shouldn't even be angry with him..." Miyuki lowered her gaze to her tea, looking sad all of a sudden. "All he did was marry the woman he loved, and it wasn't me. I have no reason to hold that against hi-"

"Ukitake-taicho..." A woman called from the archways, and Miyuki and Ukitake both looked over to see a girl standing there.

"Yes?" Ukitake asked with a smile as Miyuki stared at the girl in pure shock.

"I wanted to know if I was going to be sent back to the Human World anytime soon..." She trailed off, looking at Miyuki with a frown.

"Who... are you?" Miyuki asked, still looking stunned.

"That's Kuchiki Rukia, Miyuki. Kuchiki-taicho's sister." Ukitake said, looking at Miyuki worriedly. "Rukia, this is Miyuki Maruyama. My former fourth seat, and former Captain of the 10th Division, and soon to be Head of the Maruyama Clan." He said, and Rukia immediatly bowed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Maruyama-sama." Rukia said, and Miyuki tensely stood.

"Straighten yourself up, Kuchiki-san." Miyuki said coldly, and Rukia did so. She could tell that Rukia was taught to show respect, and due to Miyuki being the next Head of a noble family, she was offered that respect. "You're the sister of the Head of the Kuchiki Clan. You have no need to bow to me... Ukitake-taicho." Miyuki looked at her former captain to see he was still sitting at the tea table.

"Go ahead, Miyuki." Ukitake said with a smile, answering my unspoken question. "Ah, Rukia, I will station you in Karakura town soon, if you want me to." He added, looking at the Kuchiki girl.

"Thank you, Ukitake-taicho." Rukia said with a tense, controlled expression. Hmph... So much like her 'brother'.

"Kuchiki-san, would you come with me to my family manor?" Miyuki asked formally, her expression blank. Rukia looked at her with suprise written on her expression.

"Um.."

"Go ahead, Rukia. Miyuki is very kind, don't worry." Ukitake said with an assuring smile.

"All right, then..." Rukia said hesitantly. "Now?"

"Yes. Follow me, if you will. I'll keep my steps controlled so I don't get too far ahead of you." Miyuki said with a small smile. Though her words were phrased in a slightly demeaning way, her tone showed she was just being polite and understanding, reassuring Rukia's doubts.


"This place is amazing!" Rukia exclaimed a half hour later before looking down at her lap, embarrassed. She and Rukia were sitting in Miyuki's lounge, a beautiful room with many plants and walls made of glass so they could see into the massive garden. The lounge was build smack in the middle of the garden, so the view was amazing. Many white sofa's and lounge chairs were in the glass room.

"Ah, thank you." Miyuki said with a small smile. They were both sitting on couches that were facing each other. "It was my mothers. A horrible woman, but she had very good taste in design." Miyuki smiled softly.

"Oh... Why exactly did you bring me here, Maruyama-sama?" Rukia asked in slight confusion.

"Just call me Miyuki. I don't even let the Soutaicho call me anything else." Miyuki said with a small smile. "As for your question, how much of your family history are you aware of? And I mean before you joined the Kuchiki clan."

"Well..." Rukia shifted uncomfortably. "All I really know family wise is that Nii-sama's wife was my sister..." She said hesitantly.

"I see... That explains it, then..." Miyuki sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry, but what does it explain?" Rukia inquired, confused.

"Why you look so much like Hisana." Miyuki explained as she covered her eyes and forehead lightly with one hand and took a calming breath.

"You knew my sister?" Rukia asked, startled. Miyuki lowered her hand and nodded.

"Of course I did. I was best friends with your brother-in-law for his entire life before Hisana." Miyuki said with a hint of bitterness. "I won't lie to you, Kuchiki-san. I hated your sister, and she never did anything to deserve it. In fact, I hated her so much that the moment she and Bya- Kuchiki-sama," Miyuki corrected herself quickly, "-married, I left Soul Society. I've been away for fifty five years."

"Why... did you hate her?" Rukia asked, frowning.

"For something she didn't deserve me to hate her for. I hated her for no reason other then jealousy. Your brother and I were best friends from day one, Kuchiki-san. Honestly, we used to get into the worst messes without even meaning to." Miyuki smiled wistfully.

"I can't imagine Nii-sama ever being like that..." Rukia said sadly.

"Ah, you didn't know him back then. He was very different... It's been over a hundred years since we first met, mind you." Miyuki said with a smile. "One hundred and eighteen years." She sighed before gently shaking her head as though shaking away the memories. "We met when I was nine, and he was ten. We went to the academy together, graduated together... Achieved Bankai together." Miyuki smiled again, letting out a laugh. "In fact, I remember he was so startled when he used Bankai the first time, he almost shreded me!" Miyuki laughed, and Rukia smiled now as well as she imagined that.

"He used to be a hot-headed pain in the ass, Kuchiki-san. Nothing like he is now... But we both were hot-headed, and it almost got us killed on more then one occasion. Like the time I almost jumped off a cliff just to prove to him I could save my life using my Bankai." Miyuki shook her head as she laughed, and Rukia laughed as well. "Good times... I actually got Bankai a few months before him, so I was given the only Captain's position that was open. The Tenth Division's. First thing I did was make Rangiku my lieutenant."

"Really? She's been the lieutenant all this time?" Rukia asked, her eyes wide.

"Yup. One of these days she'll learn to do paperwork." Miyuki grinned, and Rukia smiled as well. "In fact, I'm the one who gave her that scarf she never takes off. She's served as a lieutenant to three captains now." Miyuki added proudly.

"Someone was Captain of the 10th Division between you and Hitsugaya-taicho? Who was it?" Rukia asked curiously, and Miyuki hesitated before answering.

"Yes... Isshin Kurosaki searved as a Third Seat under me until I left. After I helped him get Bankai, when I left... I had him replace me." Miyuki paused at Rukia's stunned expression.

"Isshin? Ichigo's father?" Rukia asked, her eyes wide.

"You know him, then? Yes, he was the Captain of the Tenth Division for six years. In fact, he was exiled only a week before you arrived, so it's natural that you didn't know this..." Miyuki noted aloud, frowning.

"Why was he exiled?" Rukia asked immediatly, and Miyuki narrowed her eyes to mere slits.

"Kuchiki-san... I was the kind of Captain who bailed her subordinates out of trouble unless they did something very wrong... Something that broke my own code of honor, basically. Even if one of my subordinates killed someone, I would discuss why they did it with them... and if I approved of their reasoning, for instance they were protecting someone from the person they killed or something, then I would protect them. I would go so far as to lie and hide evidence for them." Miyuki said calmly, and Rukia stared at her. "I was very protective and took care of my subordinates. They were friends and family, not weapons against Hollows."

"And so I protected them like I would my best friends... However, once I left, there was no one to protect them." Miyuki folded her arms across her chest as she leaned back in the couch.

"What... did Isshin do?" Rukia asked worriedly.

"Well... Let me explain something. Isshin and I were very close since before I became a captain. Not as close as By- Kuchiki-sama... and I were, but we were close. Or rather, it was a different kind of close. Isshin was like a brother to me. I went very, very far to protect him. Don't misunderstand me, Kuchiki-san. I highly disagreed with what Isshin was doing. However, I would never judge someone for their choice in love, no matter how illegal or detestable it was to most people." Miyuki sighed heavily, and Rukia was staring at her like she was dreading the next words. "Isshin fell in love and had children with a hollow."

"...What...?" Rukia breathed, her eyes wide.

"Ichigo is the child of a hollow and a shinigami." Miyuki sighed.

"How is that even possible?" Rukia demanded with wide eyes.

"I'm not entirely sure. Misaki was a damn strange woman, though. It isn't too suprising, though I'm worried some of the Arrancar could..." Miyuki trailed off, frowning. "Never mind. It doesn't matter." Miyuki frowned further. "Either way, that's something you definately need to know about Ichigo. He's half-hollow, half-shinigami... Kuchiki-san, I see the same feelings in your eyes that used to show in mine. Don't let him get away like I did, all right? It doesn't matter who, or what, he is. If you love him, then I'll do the same thing for you I did for my subordinates. I will protect you."

"Why... would you do that? You hated my sister..." Rukia said, confused and shocked.

"That's the exact reason, Kuchiki-san. I hated your sister, and I regret it. She was a kind woman, Kuchiki-san. She didn't deserve the way I treated her, so I'm going to make up for it. Besides, I like you... And if Kuchiki-sama is protective of you, then there's nothing I won't do to protect you. He's already lost too much in this life." Miyuki said softly, flicking her long purple hair so that it sat over her shoulder. It was tied up in a high ponytail, and now the ends were sitting just past her shoulder instead of touching her back. Her back was already starting to bother her again.

"...You love Nii-sama, don't you?" Rukia guessed, and Miyuki wasn't surprised. It was pretty obvious by how she'd spoken the entire conversation.

"It's a one-sided love. That's why I hated Hisana so much... It hurt me an unbelievable amount to sit through their wedding, and I left the moment it was over. That was the last time she ever saw me, and Kuchiki-sama didn't see me again for fifty five years. You... really remind me of her." Miyuki said, her voice soft with emotion and her eyes filled with regret.

"Your necklace is beautiful." Rukia noted, and Miyuki's hand flew to the large, amethyst buttefly choker that was around her neck.

"Thank you... It was a gift... You know, I became a captain nearly fourteen years before your brother." Miyuki said with a mischevious smile.

"Really?" Rukia asked, leaning forward.

"Yup. Like I said before, we reached Bankai around the same time, but I got it just before him so I was given the only open captain spot. Took fourteen years for the next geezer to die. Unforunately, it was Byakuya's... Kuchiki-sama's grandfather, who was like a father to me, that died. As a matter of fact, I spent more time at the Kuchiki Manor then my own family's." Miyuki laughed lightly, and Rukia smiled brightly.

"I can't imagine why. This place is gorgeous!" She said and Miyuki giggled.

"Only because my family has been around a couple years longer then the Kuchiki. We got the best manor, the best grounds, and the best plants! But, as I'm sure you've realized, not all Noble's are good people. My family just happens to be filled with them." Miyuki said with a smile. "I'm seriously starting to think my father is going to step onto holy grounds one day and explode for it he's such a bastard." She laughed, and Rukia giggled lightly. "I ended up getting closer to the Kuchiki family then my own. They even tried to get me to marry into their family once, you know."

"Seriously? To who?" Rukia asked with a laugh.

"Oh, you wouldn't know. He mysteriously dissapeared an hour later." Miyuki said all-too-innocently. "But I'm serious, Kuchiki-san."

"If you want to insist on me calling you by your first name, you should do the same..." Rukia cut in and Miyuki blinked at her before nodding.

"A fair request. All right, then. Like I said, I'm serious... Rukia. If you decide to pursue your relationship with Ichigo, then I assure you... No one will ever find out who, or rather what, he is. And if anyone does... Well, let's just say I'm really good at lying." Miyuki said with a smile.

"Why would you go so far for me, Miyuki? We don't even really know each other." Rukia said with slight discomfort.

"I already told you why, Rukia. You're important to Byakuya, and I'll protect you for that. Besides... You're too much like how I was, Rukia. I'm going to protect you from becoming who I am now." Miyuki said indifferently.

"And who are you now?" Rukia inquired seriously, and Miyuki looked at her with a frown.

"A well-bred weapon." Before Rukia could ask what she meant, a hell butterfly fluttered in from the glass door that was slightly ajar. Miyuki lifted a hand and the butterfly landed on her fingertip.

"Maruyama Miyuki, report to the Soutaicho's office immedaitly. I repeat, Maruyama Miyuki, report to the Soutaicho's office immediatly." And the the butterfly fluttered away before Miyuki could take a swat at it.

"Dang things... Honestly, I feel like I'm being used by that irritating old fart." Miyuki scowled, and Rukia stared at her with shocked eyes. "What? You don't think all us Nobles have to be polite and stick-up-the-ass uptight all the time, do you?" Miyuki grinned broadly. "Come on, I'll walk you to the Kuchiki Manor while I'm on the way to the oldies office."


This chapter cleared a few things up as well. See? Miyuki really does have feelings =( Review, please.