AN: Hey there! Thank you very much for all the reviews/ follows/ favorites! :3 I am so excited for this chapter! Ahhh! Tell me what you think about it! Btw, this chapter DOES have a WHOLE lot of Ichiruki-ness. I promise that I do have my reasons for it :D To add some drama to the *not-already-filled-with-crazy-scenario-possibilities* plot. XD I figured it would add depth and characterize them a whole lot more. I hope that y'all enjoy! Thanks again!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach, or Byakuya *sobs*. Oh, how I wish I owned Byakuya *fangirls and nosebleeds*

Ch. 3

Byakuya watched the scene unfold, taking in important details. Rukia clung tighter to his hand, and slightly moved behind him. This boy, who she called 'Ichigo', rushed towards them. His orange hair was blinding, and Byakuya had to squint for a moment. Byakuya then stepped completely in front of Rukia, and Ichigo slowed and eventually halted.

"Rukia! I tried calling you; what happened?" Ichigo said, breathlessly. Rukia shook her head, and Byakuya translated.

"She has been staying with me, and had no need for access to a telephone." He said sternly, glaring at the boy. Rukia tugged at his sleeve, and he glanced at her. Her eyes spoke volumes, and he sighed. "She wasn't trying to ignore you; she's been trying to gather her thoughts before she speaks to anyone."

"The fam has been so worried about you!" He saw her face drop, and she smiled sadly to herself. Ichigo gritted his teeth and reached for Rukia, "She has been staying at my house, with my family, and I think that she can voice her own opinions. Right, Rukia?" He grabbed her arm, forcefully, but not hard enough to hurt. Ichigo noticed how her whole body tensed and shook.

Byakuya shoved him away, and faced her, to calm her down. "Look at me; only me. Rukia, Rukia?" She looked into his eyes fearfully. "Good. Rukia, would you like to go home?" She bit her lip, and nodded. Byakuya turned to Ichigo, "I will be taking her into my custody, because currently she is distrustful due to certain circumstances. If you write down your phone number, I will call you on occasion and inform you of how she is doing."

Ichigo was speechless. This man was telling HIM what to do? This nobody from nowhere? Byakuya appeared to have read his mind. He pulled his wallet from his pocket and showed Kurosaki Ichigo his ID. "My name is Kuchiki Byakuya, 28th heir to the Kuchiki branch of the Gotei 13. I work at the hospital over on 6th street; it belongs to me."

Ichigo shook his head furiously. "Oh no. Hell, no. Rukia is barely above the legal age, and nothing will happen to her on my watch! Come on Rukia, let's go home." Ichigo practically begged. Rukia let a pained look appear on her face, and shook her head no.

Ichigo glared at Byakuya. Byakuya glared back. Then, Rukia nervously tugged on his sleeve, and he looked at her. Ichigo didn't miss the tender look in his eyes as he looked at her. Byakuya nodded, their words unspoken. Ichigo felt a pang inside; Ichigo always had to ask what was going through her head; with him, she didn't need to talk at all. Ichigo frowned, his scowl deepening. Byakuya and Rukia turned their backs and began walking away.

"I'll get the police involved!" He finally shouted, trying to get their attention. Byakuya hesitated but kept walking. Rukia froze. She turned slowly and her eyes registered Ichigo's desperate look before everything faded to black.

Byakuya had paused for a moment only to see Rukia collapse. He rushed to her side and checked her pulse. Seeing that she had fainted, he gently scooped her up and looked at Ichigo, "I swear I won't hurt her. I want her to get better." Ichigo frowned, but relented temporarily.

Rukia woke up on her bed in Byakuya's home and looked around. It was the same as it was the first time she woke up there. This time, however, Byakuya sat in a chair, his head resting on the bed. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. She gently tapped his shoulder; he awoke with a jolt. His sleepy eyes focused on her before quickly waking up.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, putting a hand on her forehead. She shrugged. "Listen, Rukia, I was thinking about what Ichigo said. It's probably a good idea to file a police report on what happened. What do you think?" Rukia became a shade paler, and then reached for the pad resting on her bedside table.

'I don't know if I can do it. I can't even bring myself to speak.'

Byakuya thought for a moment, then spoke, "So you can speak. I was wondering how you could when you said 'Ichigo'." Rukia blushed at this, and Byakuya pretended not to notice. She wrote for a few minutes, and Byakuya wondered if she was doodling again. She finally handed the pad to him and he read.

'I've been staying with Ichigo since I moved out of the orphanage 2 years ago. I may appear small, but I'm actually 18. And… I have been in love with Ichigo since I met him in secondary school*. He, however, has not returned my feelings. I don't know how to tell him that… this happened. He feels like he has to protect everyone close to him; it would crush him. I can't burden him any further. Also, if I tell him my feelings, and then tell him what Renji did to me, he'll date me. However, it'll only be because of an obligation to protect me. I don't want that!'

Byakuya looked at her closely, and saw the dark circles under her eyes. He spoke, with heaviness in his heart, "Rukia, I think that it would end up better in the long run if you told him. You and I are practically strangers, and he is someone very close to you. I think that if you told him everything, that he would listen and make judgments based off his own conclusion." Rukia looked down and then back up at him, a shy smile on her face he had never seen before. He felt his heart skip a beat, and he willed it to stop.

She opened her mouth and tried to say something, coughed, and tried again. "Thank you, Byakuya. You are very wise." Byakuya felt a shiver down his spine; her voice was soft-spoken and sweet, but had a firm and determined tone. He nodded.

"When will you go?" He asked.

"Most likely as soon as I get up; otherwise I'll talk myself out of it." Rukia said, smiling embarrassedly.

"I'll get Yuzu to pick out some fresh clothes for you, as well as anything else that you might need." Byakuya turned and made his way out of the room. Rukia gripped the covers nervously, trying to figure out how to tell Ichigo. Fear gripped her, and she slowly took breaths in to calm herself.

Before she knew it, she was ready to go, with her one bag packed and in Byakuya's car. "Now, you'll have to give me directions. I have no idea where Ichigo lives." Byakuya said, hopping behind the wheel. Rukia slid into the passenger's seat. She gave him detailed but concise directions, and they were off. The car ride was much too short for Byakuya. He wanted it to last for an eternity. He didn't know why, but when he was with this woman, his defenses were more relaxed.

No, that probably wasn't a good thing. It probably was a good thing that she was going. He had practically become a different person around her; this was completely unacceptable. He removed her bags from his trunk and walked her to the door. She turned on the doorstep and looked tenderly at the man. To his credit, he didn't flinch under her deep perusal. She took a step towards him, taking her bags from him. Her floral scent wrapped around Byakuya and he wished he could find words to express thoughts that he couldn't put his finger on.

She smiled genuinely and bowed deeply, her voice cracking, "Arigato, Byakuya. You have done more for me than I could ever repay. If you ever require any assistance, I would be more than willing to do what I can." She lifted her head and smiled bravely. "Ja ne!"

She turned and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. A grumpy-looking Ichigo opened the door, ready to yell at whomever dared bother his Saturday to sleep in. Upon seeing Rukia, he broke into a huge grin, and enveloped her in a huge hug. Byakuya's chest tightened, and he coughed. Ichigo pulled away to look at him.

"Rukia, if you'll excuse me. I'm off to work. If you are ever in need of anything, I took the liberty of putting my calling card in your bag." Byakuya bowed deeply. "Ichigo-san, please take good care of Rukia. She may be strong on the outside, but she is also delicate." He remained in that position until he heard the young boy scoff at him.

"Bakayaro. My name means 'one who protects'. I will always protect her." He crossed his arms over his shirt emblazoned with the number 15. Byakuya deadpanned.

"Doesn't 'Ichigo' mean strawberry?" He tilted his head to the side, and Rukia giggled.

"Byakuya, Ichigo means both things. However, if you call him strawberry, he'll get angry," Rukia stage-whispered. Byakuya let a small smile tilt the edges of his lips upward.

"Arigatou, Rukia. Ichigo. Ja ne." He turned and walked to his car. As he drove off, he saw Rukia wave as Ichigo placed his hand on her shoulder. They look like the perfect couple, he thought. Why am I letting this bother me anyways? I need to focus more on work. I have been lazy while she stayed with me.

If anyone happened to listen to his thoughts, which he doubted would happen, they would find that he was able to efficiently run the hospital even from his home. However, he worked even harder while at the hospital. No one knew how one man could keep up with so much work and so many patients.

Rukia felt her heart drop and her smile wilt as Byakuya drove away. She turned to Ichigo and mumbled, "Gomenasai for not coming home sooner. I-I have something important to talk to you about though." Ichigo looked thoughtful.

"Let's go out and eat something, and you can tell me over food. Food makes everything better, ne?" He grabbed a jacket and his keys before opening the passenger seat door to his rusty old truck. She clambered in, and he turned up the radio, letting the bass vibrate through the speakers and send waves through their bodies.

"So, what is this that you had to spend so much time away from the family to think over?" Ichigo asked curiously, unsure of how she would answer.

Rukia hesitated before answering. Screw it all, if I don't tell him now I never will! "I-Ichigo?"

"Hai, Rukia?" He leaned in closely as she lowered her voice so as not to be heard by others.

"I-I went through a very, um, sensitive situation. I was, uh, s-sexually assaulted," she held back tears, "by a very dear friend of mine." Ichigo went rigid in his seat. She took a breath and continued, stumbling over her words.

"He left me in a alleyway, and, and then.. K-Kuchiki B-Byakuya found me. He saved me. I dunno what would've happened to me, Ichigo. If he hadn't been there, I don't know." She risked looking into Ichigo's eyes, expecting to see disgust and contempt. However, she only saw concern and another emotion she couldn't recognize. He began to speak, his voice husky with emotion.

"Rukia, I am so—"

"Don't you dare apologize, Kurosaki Ichigo. I don't want you to feel guilty; I snuck out to visit him, and didn't tell anyone. It's my fault; he was drinking, and I don't even know if he knew what he was doing to me."

Ichigo placed his large, tan hand over her tiny, pale one. "Do I know the.. person who did this to you? If so, believe me, I will kick his—"

"Yes." Rukia said, taking her hand away and fingering the material in her lap.

"Who. The. Hell. So I can drag his ass to hell and back, only to kick it back there. He deserves—"

"Ichigo," Rukia interjected, softly. "It was Renji. And I have considered getting the police involved." Ichigo sat dumbstruck for a moment. He then leaned forward to brush away the tears on her porcelain cheek. His thumb rested on her cheek a moment longer than necessary, and in that moment, he made his decision.

"Rukia," he said, grabbing her attention.

"Hai, Ichigo?" She said, her voice trembling. Ichigo noticed how she shook, like a leaf in the wind. She seemed so fragile, like her world could shatter in a moment.

"I know that you had a bad experience with him, but.. is there any way I can replace that memory with a good one?" Rukia's face froze, and he realized the sexual insinuations with that kind of phrasing. He shook his head, his eyes wide.

"I.. I didn't mean it like that! I meant, could I date you, and perhaps make you see that not everyone will hurt you?" Rukia took all this information in, and her face slowly relaxed. It no longer held the mask of indifference, nor of fear. It held relief, that she could say what she needed to say without worrying about saying it wrong.

"Arigatou… Ichigo." Rukia smiled the way she used to, without a care in the world.

Renji stood behind a wall, listening closely to every word spoken. His countenance changed from somber to a neurotic smile that would frighten children. He walked away, his hands shoved into his pockets. This was a lot of information to report, and a possible problem; Kuchiki Byakuya.

AN: To be honest, this has been the hardest chapter so far! Just all the technical details and crap. I'm so ready to get on with all the action and stuff I have planned! (Not really action scenes, but... I'm sure you can figure out what I mean) ;P

Oh, and I apologize to all you readers only reading for lemons/ smut. I will NOT be writing any of that here. The first chapter was the only exception to that rule. I will be writing kissing, etc., but no citrus fruits will occur. Arigatou again! 3 -jewelprincess7