A/N: Yes, I'm that fast!
But... this chapter is still a build up. I had to let them get to know each other more. Things are going to get shaky! That's all on that subject(insert evil laugh).
Then again, this is still really important for their relationship and I hope you'll enjoy reading it. It's practically all about them and them only! And something else... I love Matsumoto. She is golden in this chapter!
And thank you for your wonderful words. I know I tend to bore you with this, but I really, really appreciate your support!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!

Together Alone

Only Mine

Toshiro's eyes widened the moment her words reached him. He stared at petite shinigami in front of him and could see her smiling softly. It wasn't an insult, that much he could read. Soft expression she held before him told him that. He didn't move, just kept staring at her and saw her sigh amusingly, lowering her head a little.

"You make it sound as if I didn't want to." Her voice was as soft as her eyes, which he saw second ago, but were now covered in raven locks. They were standing in front of his division building, the moon only light present. When he saw that she wasn't moving, he lifted her head to look at her eyes. The sight before him made him smile. It wasn't a smirk, or devilish smile…it was an honest, soft smile, which left Rukia surprised. With his other hand he removed pieces of hair from her face as soft as he could.

"I really am an idiot." That made Rukia grin, and he could read I told you so under it. He lowered his head and kissed her for the first time that night. And Rukia was sure it would leave her awake for most of the night. His soft lips that were dancing with her own, his hand on her cheeks, his scent and touch was overwhelming for her. And the kiss… The moment they tasted each other she felt weakness in her knees and had a strange urge to pull him closer, but luckily for her he did that seconds after she considered it. She felt wind on her skin, cold, icy wind, which made the kiss only hotter than it already was. Heat was rising in her body, making her shiver because of the colder air around her, but somehow…it wasn't cold at all. He felt that, she was sure because he slowly broke the kiss, and spoke once again.

"Are you cold?" Her eyes were still closed and she let out a deep breath. Truth to be told, she wasn't in the condition to speak, but knew she had to. She wondered if he even knew what he was doing to her right now. But she was silent for more than she thought she should be and the next thing she felt was two arms around her pulling her closer. Rukia opened her eyes, inhaling his scent, and rested her head on his chest. He buried his head in her hair and closed his eyes. That usual silence hugged them for few moments, before Toshiro spoke again, resting his chin on her head.
"That night I found you in the woods…" His voice was a little distant and Rukia remained quiet in his embrace. "…when you told me that something made Sode no Shirayuki sad…that loneliness made her sad..." She felt his grip around her become tighter. "I won't question who was responsible for that, but…" That part of his sentence was rougher, she could sense it, but as soon he continued that softness returned. "I told you back then I wouldn't let you fight it alone and now…I want you to know that I will make sure you never feel it again."

He finished and buried his head in her hair again, taking one deep breath in. She wanted to say something, to thank him, tell him how that made her feel, but she could not find the words. So she put her arms around him, which were up until then hanging down her sides, and pulled him even closer, making her own grip as tight as his was.
But Toshiro lied. He was not really aware of it, but he did. When he said he would not question who made her feel the way she felt that night he found her broken, he lied. He already questioned it, several times. And all the time he was in human world it was on his mind constantly. Even when he didn't know what that girl was to him he questioned it. And even felt resentment towards the cause of that feeling. And maybe that was the reason he asked that human boy if he really was her friend. He never felt anything similar towards her other friend, her childhood friend Abarai Renji. Not even close. But when it came to Kurosaki Ichigo he became unsure of everything that substitute told him.
Right now that wasn't really important to him, because he had her for himself. She was right there in his arms and he did not have any need to think about anything but her. Her scent, her body, her touch… Her.

"Where were you?" The moment he set foot in his office the voice of that woman filled the room. He glanced her way and continued to walk to his table. "Oi Captain! Did you hear me? I asked-"

"I had work to do. And besides, it's none of your business." He said sitting in his chair. It was already little past eight in the morning and he was on the training grounds since six…but not alone.

"How can you be so cold? I was sitting here, waiting for you and you won't even tell me where you were…" Matsumoto whined jokingly, looking at her Captain that was already working on papers in front of him. "You are so secretive lately. If I didn't know any better I would say you were hiding something from me." She said and grinned.

"Matsumoto, I don't have time for your games. Go do something useful." His voice was strict and he remained working, not even moving his head to look her way. Matsumoto lifted one eyebrow. He seemed strange. Really strange. Usually he would yell at her right about now. Or he would just leave his own office, not having enough patience to talk to her. "And take your feet of that table." He said as a follow up, just motioning with the brush in his hand, still not looking at her. Something is going on here.

"So you are hiding something?" She said sitting up straight. He didn't even move. "Is it a girl Captain?" She said excitedly. He twitched. "It is, isn't it?"

"MATSUMOTO!" He yelled, causing her to stop her ranting. "Leave me alone and go finish your work." Toshiro said more calmly, trying so hard not to strangle her.

"Aw Captain, you are so mean sometimes." She whined, and threw herself back on the sofa sighing. "I always tell you when I find someone."

"Yes, and I keep telling you that I don't care. Even if I did, I wouldn't be able to remember them all." Toshiro said harshly and that made Matsumoto laugh. After that everything fell silent in the office, the only sound present was Toshiro's brush hitting the paper. Matsumoto was busy thinking about one person in particular. There was only one suspect in this situation, but she wanted to ask him that the best possible way she could, so she would be able to read his reactions only, because he wouldn't respond other way.

"You know, I saw Kuchiki girl yesterday…" She could see him behind her sofa. She didn't finish her sentence, but he didn't move either.

"Why are you telling me this?" His voice was neutral.

"I just though you wanted to know that she looked better since that fight." Matsumoto's voice was much softer than moment ago. "She seemed rested. Although, Abarai says she tends to push herself more than she should." At that he lifted his head to look at her, frowning.

"Abarai?" Toshiro questioned, before even thinking it through. Matsumoto wanted to scream from happiness, but remained slightly serious and continued her speech.

"Yes. He said he saw her yesterday and tried to make her go home and rest, but failed. And that day, when we were fighting in human world, he tried to stop her too. You know, so she wouldn't go against her orders. But he said she was set on coming to help us and that when she decides something there is no possible way of making her change her mind." Now his expression changed again. It wasn't anything drastic, it was just…softer. "But you should try talking to her." She said through a smile.

"Why me?" And that was his biggest mistake. Not only did he respond to quickly than he should, but also his voice was shaken... at least more than usual. Matsumoto remained as serious as she could manage.

"Well, you're friends. And that's what friends do for each other." She said as if explaining a little child what friendship was, and then grinned. "And besides, that way you'll have a chance with her. You know, to get in her pants."

"MATSUMOTO!" But it was too late, because she was already out of his office, before he could even respond to that. And what would he say anyway. He could just yell at her and tell her to mind her own business, because there was no way he could defend from everything she said. He was a fool for even letting her get to him. She practically tricked him to find out what she wanted. He just prayed to gods she would not take this too far.

"They said they would be back in a week. Teams are being organized as we speak." Orange top said walking home from school with two of his friends beside him. "I still don't get why they are taking this much time…" He said scratching the back of his head.

"Do you think that Kuchiki-san will be back with them again?" Chad asked looking in his friend way, while Ishida just glanced their way, lifting his glasses up, waiting for Ichigo's reaction. Frown, that's all he got.

"How should I know?"

There, it's done. Finally, he finished everything he left before he went on that mission. He lifted his head to find darkness behind his window. He couldn't tell how much time he spent at that table, but was sure it was a lot, because night already came.
He stood up and stretched himself, feeling numbness leaving his body, although his neck hurt a little, probably because he sat in the same position for gods knew how long. The first night air woke him up immediately and he started walking slowly through the halls of his own division. He promised her they would see each other tonight, but they never said where so he stopped and closed his eyes, concentrating on her reiatsu. It didn't took him long to find her. He smirked and flash stepped to his desirable location. He knew exactly where she was.

The thing was, it wasn't as late as he first thought it was and he saw a lot of shinigami around 13th division, so he frowned. But he wasn't going to back down now. His light steps echoed through the halls as he walked to reiatsu that called him.

There was a light tap on her wooden door and she lifted her head from some papers on her table confused, but as soon as she turned her attention towards the person behind it her eyes widened. She stood up quickly and opened the door to find one white-haired Captain standing there.

The only thing he heard before he was being pulled in was something about him being crazy and the next thing he knew he was standing in the middle of the room that belonged to Kuchiki Rukia. He glanced around it quickly, adjusting to his new surroundings and found out that Kuchiki Rukia was really serious about organizing things. More than him actually. Almost everything was in line, neatly folded, the only mess present were papers on her table. And her room didn't differ much from his. There was a table and few chairs, one bed, closet, shelves with books, door that probably led to her bathroom, and one door beside those, which he wasn't sure where it led. Although, it was much warmer that his own room, because it was filled with things she probably liked. And that's when he saw one huge pink bunny in the corner of her bed, but didn't have time to question it because he heard her speaking again.

"What are you doing here? Somebody could-"

"I promised I would come as soon as I finish my work." He said, looking at her. She was a bit startled, he could see. He would have been too, but he really didn't have enough time to think about what he was doing. Deep breath left her and she smirked.

"It's not even eight. How are you going to leave this place now? The halls are filled with people."

"I guess I'll just have to stay here until they leave." He smirked too and Rukia's eyes widened slightly.

"What?" He wanted to laugh when he saw her expression, but the only thing he allowed was smirk still set on his face.

"Why are you so surprised? You are the one that pulled me in." He said and took one step closer to her. "You are the one that wanted me in your room." And because of that he could see blush forming on her face. She frowned, but didn't move.

"It's not as if I wanted to. I had to pull you in, somebody could have seen you standing in front of my room like that."

"So you want me to leave?" He said more seriously, but still failed to wipe that smirk from his face. He turned around to grab a door handle."Fine. I'll just-"

"NO!" But as soon as he did that he was being pulled again. Rukia pulled a little harder than she intended and they bumped into each other. That made her blush even worse. Just recently she actually imagined he would find his way here, in her room, and now that he did…she was nervous. Really nervous. Toshiro caught her in his arms the moment they crashed into each other.

"Now you want me to stay? Decide already." She felt his breath on her lips, because they were standing so close to each other.

"Oh shut up!" That was all he heard before she pulled him down and kissed him. He responded immediately and pulled her even closer deepening the kiss moments after they lips met. But something was different now. He had to fight for dominance this time, because the petite shinigami he kissed was doing it as passionately as he was. This was new for him. But he liked it. He probably caused it, making her slightly irritated. Toshiro remembered how angry and even scary she can get. He forgot it due to her gentle side that appeared every time he came close. She didn't grip his haori this time, her arms were settled around his neck, while his were around her back. Oh, he liked this. Made him feel as if they were equal…and they were, aside from him being a Captain and her being a lieutenant. They were not those things now.
He turned her around slowly and pinned her to the wall, but not doing it really roughly, still not breaking the kiss. Even though they were getting more and more relaxed around each other he was sure she wasn't ready for him to lose his control…yet. Although she didn't mind this at all. He knew that because her response was a soft moan. He broke the kiss then, allowing them some much needed air and moved to her neck. He stopped for a second, because he felt her grip his hair roughly, but continued to kiss her neck as soon as he saw she wasn't doing it to stop him from what he started. While he placed an open kisses to her neck, he lifted her leg to his hip, making more room for him to come even closer. She surrendered, he felt it, because her whole body was responding to his every touch. Their breathing accelerated. But then she pulled him up and kissed him once again and that earned her a growl from that white-haired Captain. He wasn't sure if she was even aware of what she was doing to him. But he liked this side of her. A lot.

And it was the first time Rukia heard him respond to her like that. It made the heat between her thighs get even worse. His body was pinned to her and she moved under his every touch, failing to quiet down her moans. He was making her weak. She felt as if she would melt any time soon.

His hand traveled down to the place where her shihakusho was tied, on her stomach, before he could even stop himself. He needed her. But… she wasn't ready. Toshiro felt her whole body stiffen the moment he touched the laces on her clothes, so he stopped and broke the kiss, their eyes locking.
Violets were startled a little and he saw she was trying to breathe evenly, and that wasn't really working out…for both of them. His hand went up and he cupped her face, caressing her cheeks with his fingers. She relaxed a little, her leg falling down so she can stand properly. He tried to make her feel as relaxed as he could. Toshiro really didn't want to rush her into anything, no matter how bad he wanted it. No matter how bad he yearned for her touch, her bare skin…for making her his. He wanted to claim her, mark her. Make everyone know that this girl here belonged to him and him only. But…not as bad as he wanted to make her trust him. And she wasn't there yet.

"Will you please tell me why do you have that pink rabbit thing in here?" His voice wasn't back to normal, even though he tried his best to sound as that. Husky, deep tones left his mouth, but he saw her relaxing. They were still pinned to one another, he wasn't ready of letting her completely. She didn't mind that, he could see. But she frowned slightly, and Toshiro wasn't sure why exactly.

"That's not a pink rabbit thing." Rukia's voice was strict. "It's Chappy." He lifted one eyebrow, not really believing what he just heard.

"Chappy?" Amusement could be heard in his voice and her frown only got heavier.

"Yes, Chappy." Her voice was even more alarming now. He knew if he pushed just a little more she would get angry…really angry. Toshiro saw that side couple of times now.

"Okay." There was no need to go into an argument over a stuffed animal. Right now he really wasn't in the mood for that. But it was amusing. He never thought she would have something like that in her room. Lieutenant and a noble Kuchiki Rukia had a stuffed, pink animal on her bed. She sure knew how to surprise him over and over. He leaned down and kissed her again, but this time slowly and softly and she relaxed completely, probably letting go of the fact that he just called her Chappy a pink rabbit thing.
He broke the kiss then and moved away from her, allowing her to straighten herself and move away from the wall.

"Since you have no other choice than staying here with me…" Oh he had other choice. He could have just flash stepped away from her room so fast those people out there wouldn't even know that he was here. They would probably think it was the wind. But yeah, let's stick to that first story…he had to stay here. She moved a little farther, approaching those two doors in her room. "Are you hungry?" Rukia turned around and looked at him over her shoulder.

"Not really." She wanted to laugh hearing the annoyance in his voice. This was that Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro everyone else knew. But she just smirked and left him alone in her room, going to that door he didn't know where it led.

And he was left there a little confused.
"Tsk." He walked to her table, frowning and sat on one of the chairs there, placing Hyorinmaru aside. This was strange for him. He would never imagine he would find himself in her room. Not that he minded. But still, now he could clearly see there were still sides of this girl he didn't know. Aside from that pink rabbit, her shelves were filled books and some kinds of notebooks he didn't recognize. Everything was in darker wood tones and warmer tones, except for that rabbit and one picture that was hanging on the wall. It was grayish, except for one cherry blossom in the middle. From where he sat it looked as if it was on some kind of hill and it was the only colorful thing on that picture. It somehow looked lonely. Or lost, he couldn't tell.
He glanced towards the papers on her table, picking one up, not even aware that he was doing it. She was clearly working. But the paper he picked up had her schedule and he frowned. Not only did it was filled with obligatory work hours, but it had extra more on it. This girl was worse than him. Abarai says she tends to push herself more than she should. Matsumoto's voice filled his head. Guess that baboon knows her very well, he though harsher than he wanted.
He placed the paper back and sighed, closing his eyes. He was definitely starting to feel tired. It was a long day. Aside from all that paperwork he had to finish, he worked on the upcoming mission too. He was up early, with Rukia on the training ground. They both needed the exercise, but he was doing it more for himself. He wanted to know her exact level, so he would be sure she was going to be fine accompanying him on the mission they were both called. She was strong, held herself good and had decent footwork, but he was still worried. The only thing on his mind the whole time they spared was that scene from human word…Rukia lying in the puddle of her own blood. He was determined not to let that happen again.

"If you fall asleep there, I won't move you and you'll feel the result in the morning." Toshiro opened his eyes and saw her near him, holding a plate of food and tea. He just smirked. She placed it on the table, moving her papers aside. So the room behind those doors was kitchen. He didn't have that in his quarters, probably because his office was linked to his room and the kitchen was part of the office.

"I told you that I'm not hungry." He said looking up to meet her eyes.

"Well, neither am I, but we need to eat." Rukia said still standing.

"Fine." Every time she heard that annoyance in his voice she wanted to laugh. And then she remembered how that once scared her. I guess that's his defense. I should have thought of that. It takes less energy than yelling at people. "Why are you smiling like that?" She then realized she really let the grin appear on her face. His own words held a hint of amusement and small smirk could be seen on his face.

"I-I'm not smiling." She said startled, but quickly after that he pulled her down and she ended up sitting in his lap.

"Mhm." Was all he mumbled before he caught her lips again.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm positive. I saw him." Blond haired woman said, hiding behind the bushes with her two friends in crime.

"But in her room? I don't think Rukia-" Red headed man said confused.

"I'm telling you, I saw it. Tell him Hisagi!"

"Yup, he went in." Hisagi said, hiding with other two, although he wasn't really sure why he agreed to this.

"Man, oh man, if Captain Kuchiki finds out about this-"

"He will not! You will shut your mouth hole and leave them be." Matsumoto said pointing a finger at him. She then turned around to look at Kuchiki Rukia's door again, as if waiting for something to happen or praying to gods to give her ability to see through walls. "I knew it! I knew that he was hiding something from me. And it's her. Oh, this is great! Finally-"

"Matsumoto, keep your voice down!" Hisagi said alarmingly. "Somebody is going to hear you and they will want to know what the hell are we doing hiding in the bushes near 13th division lieutenants room.

"But why didn't she tell me about this? I'm her best friend damn it, I deserve to know!" Renji whined.

"Oh this is wonderful! As soon as we're done here, we are going to celebrate!" Matsumoto exclaimed, clapping her hands. That earned her a shush from Hisagi.

"Done here? What are we actually doing here Matsumoto? If they see us…Oh gods, if Rukia sees us she'll be furious." Renji said, little scared.

"What about Captain Hitsugaya? I don't want him to be angry at me. He tends to get…scary." Hisagi joined.

"Oh shut up, both of you. They aren't going to see us."

"Wait…when did you see this? And for how long were you two hiding here?" Renji asked, confused once again. He randomly got involved in this, during his everyday walks. He was not sure what was happening once Matsumoto dragged him down with him.

"I don't know… an hour ago."

"WHAT?"

"Shhh." Hisagi said, placing a finger to his mouth.

"And he is still in there?" Renji said, almost whispering.

"Yeah!" Matsumoto said through her grin.