Work was resumed normally after the Christmas break. But admittedly, it hardly felt that way as Ichigo made his way across the fourth floor of Seretei. Half of the cubicles were empty, the writers who usually worked there taking the week off between Christmas and New Years. And the ones that were occupied included a good amount of people playing computer Solitaire. Go figure.

The orange-haired writer shook his head as he entered his office and flopped down on his chair with a foam cup full of hot coffee in his hand. He took the mouse of his computer and cleared the screensaver, readily popping up files to get to work as he sipped the dark liquid. He cringed as he felt the scalding drink on his tongue, and was just about to splutter the thing -never having been a big fan of coffee, he should have known better- but stopped when he heard the doorknob turning to let someone in.

He forcibly swallowed, grimacing as he did and hurriedly putting the foam cup down on his desk. He turned to look at the person who had entered, presuming it to be Rukia seeing as how she was the only one who made it a habit to forgo knocking, but felt himself go rigid when he regarded who it was.

"Aizen." He said stiffly, forgetting about his burnt tongue.

The tall man was wearing his hair in its usual messy fashion again, and the black-rimmed glasses were in place, giving his face a more youthful appearance. He smiled placidly at Ichigo. "Mr. Kurosaki, good to see you hard at work so early."

Ichigo gave a curt nod, not taking his eyes off the bespectacled man. "Is there a reason you wanted to see me, Sir?"

"Nothing serious, Kurosaki." Aizen chuckled lightly. "I just wanted to see how all of my workers are doing. I am your boss now, remember?" The way he said that sounded like a lighthearted joke, but Ichigo could just catch the gleam in his brown eyes, hidden behind glasses. There was a hidden edge beneath his easy manner.

"How could I forget?" Ichigo replied, careful to keep his tone neutral, but aware that the slight edge in his own voice would be noticeable to anyone looking closely. "Mr. Aizen."

Ichigo caught a faint glimpse of amusement on Aizen's otherwise smooth face, but met his gaze evenly.

"Well I do hope you make sure to remember that." Aizen said, smiling casually. He was quiet then, and he turned his eyes away from Ichigo, as if examining the office. Ichigo wondered if he was going to say anything else, but knew better than to actually interrupt the silence.

At last, after what seemed like an eternity later, the brown-haired man spoke up. "I've noticed you seem quite a bit more friendly with your coworkers now than you were the last time I came here."

Ichigo had to work to keep his already tense demeanor from becoming too obvious. It was hard not to visibly react though, but he managed to keep the reaction down to narrowing his eyes in suspicion. When he didn't say anything, Aizen continued.

"Honestly, you had gained such reputation as the 'loner' type." He gave a humored chuckle. "Just be careful not to let it distract you from your work. Or, as a matter of fact, not to distract them." He chuckled again, lower this time. "We wouldn't want any of them having their jobs put on the line. That would be quite unfortunate, don't you think?"

Ichigo felt his heart begin to pound harshly against his chest. The implications this man was making…

Aizen let his eyes wander towards the door that stood ajar behind him, then back to Ichigo. "Particularly that poor Kuchiki girl. It would be a shame for her to jeopardize her job after having just gotten it."

Ichigo's insides went cold.

This man…Did he know? Had he found out that he had told Rukia…?

No. That was impossible. There was no way for him to know such a thing. He knew Rukia would never let something like that slip, and he himself had given no indication…

He thought back, rummaging through the memories of the past weekend.

He doesn't need to know, Ichigo thought, dread setting into his stomach. Anyone paying attention could have noticed him and Rukia getting closer, particularly just looking at their interactions during the Christmas party. He had been stupid to think that Aizen would overlook something like that.

Aizen's brown orbs seemed to be appraising the turmoil visible in Ichigo's eyes. The smile was still ever-present on his face, but it was different now. There was a slight, predatory edge to it that hadn't been there before- or at least, hadn't been quite as noticeable.

It took a lot of self-control, but Ichigo managed to push back the torment of emotions gnawing at his insides and conjured up a decently neutral reply. "Of course, I wouldn't do anything to interfere with my friends' responsibilities. There's no need for you to worry about something like that."

"Oh, I'm sure you're right." said Aizen, his eyes squinting closed as he smiled more widely. "But as your boss, it's my duty to keep my eye out for any possibility. I hope you understand."

Oh I understand. Ichigo thought darkly. Loud and clear.

"Right." Ichigo said only, turning away from the man before he went on. "Is that all you wanted to tell me?" He strained to keep the thickness out of his voice.

"Yes, that'll do for now." Aizen responded lightly. "Until later, Kurosaki."

Ichigo didn't turn to see him leave, but heard the door closing after his footsteps. As soon as he knew he was alone, he let his hands turn into fists and slammed one down on his desk, feeling his frustration and anger load up inside of him.

He should have been more careful. Chad should have been enough of a warning for him. He was an idiot not to know this would happen.

Aizen's warning had been clear. If he caught him meddling where he wasn't supposed to, it wasn't just him on the line. Because of his stupid carelessness, now the people around him that had nothing to do with this might suffer the consequences. Even…

"Ichigo?"

He nearly cried with relief and howled in frustration at the sound of the voice.

"Rukia, you shouldn't-" he started, but she was already closing the door behind her and closing the distance in a few steps toward him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her brows knit with worry as she looked at him.

Ichigo figured she must have seen Aizen leaving his office and, of course now that she knew everything, she rushed in to check on him. He wanted to simply shrug away her concern and act as if nothing had happened, but he knew at once that would be impossible. He was sure the distressed state of his thoughts must have been showing clearly on his face, and this was Rukia he was talking about. She would be the first to notice even the slightest thing that was off; she had a way of doing that…

"I have work to do Rukia," he said, ignoring her question. "You ought to go back and do the same."

Predictably, she did no such thing. Instead, her frowned deepened and she appraised him carefully, waiting a moment before speaking. "Did he say something to you?" She asked, her voice dropping down to a secretive volume. She didn't need to clarify who 'he' was.

Ichigo averted his gaze, trying to escape her observant eyes. "No," he said, purposely letting his frustration sound like exasperation. "I just need to be left alone so I can get some work done, alright?"

He wanted to flinch at the cold harshness in his voice, but managed to hold his expression steady.

Rukia blinked, obviously surprised by his hard tone. Then spoke, in a calm tone that made it impossible for him to tell whether she was put off by his treatment. "Okay. I'll be right outside then." If you need me, Ichigo mentally added the unspoken part of her sentence.

He nodded stiffly, still not looking at her, and had to wait a long moment in silence before he heard her exit.

When she was gone, he sighed wearily, letting his shoulders slump forward before putting his fist against his forehead and groaning.

What was he supposed to do now?

-x-

Rukia drummed her fingers on the flat surface of her desk and rested her chin in her other hand. Her eyes stared blankly at the screen of the computer before her, which had been idle for nearly ten minutes now but had not yet gone into screensaver mode. The fact registered vaguely in her mind, but caused no reaction.

The truth was, Rukia could not concentrate. Her mind kept drifting off to thoughts of the previous weekend, of her time with Ichigo, of his story and his desire to expose Aizen as a criminal, of Ukitake's retirement and Aizen's new position as their boss, of the same man's visit less than an hour prior to Ichigo's office and his subsequent reaction to her… And against her wishes, her thoughts also returned her to the more intimate moments she had shared with her coworker and friend.

Her mind was restless with wonderings and the fact that nearly everyone who worked at Seretei was absent today. She didn't even have Kaien's periodical popping up to ask her for office supply. The lack of people should have worked to keep her from getting distracted, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Her gaze now drifted along the half empty maze of cubicles, before lingering on the closed door to her right.

She wondered again about Aizen's visit to Ichigo's office. The man had to have said something to cause Ichigo's harsh reaction to her. It was like he'd been desperate to get her out of the office the minute she had stepped in. Rukia was used to his apparent annoyance whenever she let herself in, but she was well aware that most of it was for show. He'd never really seemed so angry that she was there.

The thoughts kept chewing at her head until they were interrupted -blessedly- by a familiar, chiming voice.

"Rukia!" Orihime appeared from behind a row of cubicles to her left, her dark orange hair immediately standing out against the neutral office colors.

Rukia smiled, grateful for the distraction. "Hey, Orihime." She noticed immediately that Orihime was wearing a festive-looking pink sweater, complete with a pair of antlers on her head. She was also carrying an old-fashioned-looking basket, filled with what looked like oddly-colored muffins. The dark-haired woman grinned at this, even chuckled lightly as she marveled at the ever-present childlike enthusiasm of her friend.

"I'm glad you're here," said Orihime as she arrived to stand by Rukia, who stood from her chair to meet her, also taking the opportunity to stretch out a little. "I brought all these homemade cupcakes for everyone and hardly anyone seems to be here." she explained sadly. "I keep forgetting that a lot of people take this week off."

"Don't you ever take some time off during the season?" Rukia inquiring, aware of Orihime's nearly flawless attendance to work.

The taller woman shook her head. "Uryuu is always busy at work, and all my friends are here. Why would I want to stay home all alone?"

The pure sincerity in her answer took Rukia aback for a moment, before she smiled, understanding more than she let on as she nodded.

"Anyway," Orihime continued. "I came to give you this." As she spoke, she took one of the cupcakes from the basket and offered it to her.

As Rukia took the cupcake decorated with mysteriously colored frosting, the word homemade kept repeating itself in her head. She managed a polite smile as she gently placed the treat on the side of her desk. "Thank you, Orihime. I'll save it for later, wouldn't want to spoil my lunch." She grinned nervously; the other woman didn't seem to notice. "I'm sorry, I didn't get you anything." She then apologized sheepishly.

"Oh you don't need to get me anything, Rukia!" Orihime replied more enthusiastically than she had anticipated. "I'm just glad to have you as a friend!" With that, she leaped forward and pulled Rukia into an unexpected hug that nearly left her breathless for a second.

Rukia blinked, flushing in surprise, before awkwardly returning the embrace. "Ah, me too." She said, smiling warmly.

Orihime beamed as she pulled back. "I better go now, I have to finish giving these out." She motioned to her cupcake-filled basket. "Do you know if Ichigo is in his office now?"

At this, Rukia's smile fell away, though she tried to keep her expression light. "Yes, but…" She remembered his harsh words and his hurry to get her out. She bit her lip in hesitation before silently making up her mind. Orihime watched her curiously. "He's…I think he's not feeling too well. He seems to be in a bad mood- worse than usual, anyway." She attempted to joke lightly, but the attempt fell flat. "I was hoping…Well, maybe you could see what's wrong with him. He seems close to you, he might talk to you about it-"

Before Rukia could keep going with her line of thought, Orihime shook her head softly. "Ichigo is not very comfortable opening up to people. I've known him since high school, and I still have trouble getting him to tell me things sometimes. Even after all this time, there are still many things he hasn't shared with me."

Rukia couldn't help but notice the sadness in Orihime's voice as she said this, and the way her brown eyes fell almost longingly on the closed door to his office. "Orihime…" Rukia muttered, wanting to ask but feeling that it wasn't her place to do so.

Looking back to meet her eyes, Orihime smiled again. "I know what you're thinking." she said easily. "I did have feelings for him once…I was in love with him, or at least I thought I was. I was young, and I thought he was the love of my life."

"What happened?" Rukia couldn't stop herself from asking.

Orihime's gaze was distant, as if replaying old memories. "Well, the feeling wasn't mutual. Even though we were in the same group of friends, he hardly ever seemed to notice me. In fact, it wasn't until we went off to college and happened to have some classes together that we really became friends."

Rukia tried to imagine Ichigo in high school and college, and Orihime with him. Young and desperately trying to get someone's attention; Rukia knew what that was like. "Did you ever tell him?"

Orihime shook her head. "By the time I felt comfortable enough to tell him, I realized that my feelings had changed. Or maybe they were never there in the first place, I'm not sure now. But by that time, I saw him only as a big brother, nothing else. I did meet someone, he helped me understand my feelings a lot better."

Rukia felt herself smiling as she asked. "Uryuu?"

Orihime smiled but shook her head again. "His name was Ulquiorra. He passed away in an accident not long after I met him, but while I knew him, he helped me a lot. Uryuu and Ichigo were the ones who got me through after his death."

Rukia was silent, absorbing all the new information. She would have never thought cheerful and innocent Orihime would have gone through all that. And she was most surprised by the calm way in which she spoke about it all. She was still smiling softly and her doe eyes still looked as youthful as ever, but despite all that and even with her childish attire, she seemed to radiate an air of maturity that she had never noticed before. She felt her respect for the woman grow considerably. Before Rukia could voice any of her thoughts, however, Orihime spoke up again.

"But you see, what I was trying to say earlier is that Ichigo is the type of guy who builds up really thick walls around himself, and doesn't let them down easily." She explained. "When something is bothering, he won't tell anyone about it, no matter how many times you ask. That's just the way he's always been." She paused for a moment, looking towards his office then back at Rukia. "He might tell you, though."

"Eh?" Rukia couldn't hold back the surprised sound.

"He really seems to let his guard down around you." Orihime noted simply. "He's seemed a lot more carefree these past couple of months than I've ever seen him."

Rukia felt a warmth spread in her chest at the words. She tried not to linger on the feeling it gave her that she might affect Ichigo in such a way, and kept her expression casual as she managed to scoff. "If that's him being carefree, I'd hate to have known him when he was more serious."

Orihime laughed, then said, "I'll go and give Ichigo a cupcake now. Who knows? It might just cheer him up! My cooking is famous for its effects on people!"

Ah, Rukia thought, smiling. There she is again.

-x-

The next two days at Seretei passed with barely a sign of the orange-haired reporter.

If not for the rare glimpses that Rukia caught of him in the morning going into his office, she might have thought he hadn't come in at all. It was strange; before, she hadn't really thought of how much time she and Ichigo actually spent together. It had just been a given that she'd see him every day. Whether it was him helping her with writing a piece, or just to exchange some casual words (which often included a trade of light insults), he had become a constant in her days. The line between that constant feeling like a nuisance and starting to be something she looked forward to had blurred, but she couldn't deny that seeing Ichigo had become as natural as morning coffee to her.

Which was why it was painfully obvious when he all but vanished into his office for two days. Ever since Tuesday morning, when he had all but kicked Rukia out after his visit from Aizen, he had disappeared. If she didn't know any better, she would say that he was avoiding her.

The question was, why?

After the latest weeks, and especially during the last weekend, Rukia had felt she and Ichigo had grown closer. No, she didn't just think so; she knew their relationship had gone beyond just friendly coworkers. She wasn't sure if the term 'friend' was even appropriate anymore.

Then again, she thought. If he isn't my friend, then what is he to me?

That, she decided as she sat patiently in her cubicle Thursday afternoon, was a question that would have to remained unanswered as of yet. However, the matter of why Ichigo had basically become a ghost was going to be resolved.

A part of her thought that maybe it was precisely because they had gotten closer that he was shying away now, putting a distance between them before things could get out of hand. But for some reason, her heart rejected the notion as quickly as it had come. She knew, without needing to be told, that Ichigo wouldn't try to push her away; not now, after he had opened himself up to her so completely.

So her only other option was to assume that Aizen, when he talked to him, must have said something to cause this behavior. After all, it wasn't just her that he was ignoring when he cooped himself up in the office like that. Whatever was happening with him, she was determined to find out.

The sound of a door creaking open pulled Rukia out of her thoughts.

Now is my chance, she thought quickly, careful not to make any sudden movements. Ichigo's form was visible almost instantly, as he stepped out and started to walk by her cubicle. As he had for the past couple of days, he didn't so much as glance in her direction; but it didn't take her by surprise now. She counted to five in her head, slowly, before getting up and starting in the direction of the elevators.

She had to walk fast, and as she neared them, the metal doors to one of the elevators were already sliding shut -the orange-haired man already inside starting to disappear from view.

With one quick sprint, Rukia managed to slide a hand in between the shutting doors and cause them to bounce back just in time. Careful not to let the triumphant smile make its way unto her lips, she slipped inside quietly, aware of how the man's eyes looked pointedly away from her.

She wordlessly settled herself with her back against the wall, seeing the doors slide successfully shut this time and locking her in the small space with Ichigo for a few seconds. She knew she had to use those seconds well; as soon as the doors opened again he would be gone in the blink of an eye.

She watched as the numbers 3 and 2 lit up along with the 'ding' sound as they descended without saying a word. When they started towards the ground floor, she opened her mouth without looking at the man beside her.

"You've been avoiding me." she stated as matter-of-factly as possible. Despite the space between them, she could still practically feel Ichigo tense up at the sound of her words.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said, obviously trying to sound natural but the stiffness showing through clearly. And just as he spoke, the doors slid open on the parking level.

As she had predicted, he started walking away as soon as they did; but Rukia had already started the conversation. She was on his heels immediately. "Ichigo," she called to him. "Won't you at least tell me why?"

This caused him to stop, his back still turned towards her. She saw him hesitate, and he turned his face just slightly to glance over his shoulder. For a moment, it seemed like he would speak, but then he was off again, and Rukia was after him. He didn't stop his fast stride until he had reached his black Toyota and -after the quick press of a button- started opening the door to the driver's side. But before he was finished pulling it wide enough for him to slide in, Rukia was there, standing before him with only the sleek black door separating them. She was just barely tall enough to look at him over the window, and silently took a moment to thank the heavens for that fact.

Her eyes didn't waver from him. "I want to at least know why you've decided to start acting like you don't even know me all over again."

Ichigo met her eyes then, and his hazel gaze was utterly conflicted. She could see the indecision in his eyes; torn between turning away again or telling her what she wanted to know.

Rukia let her own gaze soften. "Please." She added with uncharacteristic softness and sincerity. For a moment, she removed all pretense of indifference or nonchalance and allowed her honest feelings to show through.

The verbal plea along with the way she spoke seemed to have the desired effect on him. He looked slightly taken aback; he hadn't been prepared for her to show herself being vulnerable. It left him proverbially naked in turn.

After a split second decision that she witnessed in his eyes, his face hardened into a well-set scowl and he growled. "Get in."

Rukia didn't need to be told twice. She made her way around to the passenger's side while Ichigo climbed into the driver's. He didn't say anything as he started the car and swiftly pulled out of the parking lot. It wasn't until they were on the road that he finally spoke up, not looking at her.

It wasn't what she expected to hear. "Do you have your seatbelt on?"

Her face turned into a question mark for a brief moment, before she hurriedly put her seatbelt on. At any normal moment, she would have laughed at his concern over something so seemingly trivial, but at the moment, she found a certain amount of comforting warmth in it; a reassurance, small as it was, that he did, in fact, care.

After hearing the click of the seatbelt, Ichigo breathed in deeply. Rukia saw his hands tighten on the steering wheel. "It's…it's Aizen."

That confirmed her suspicions, but it still didn't explain everything. "What did he tell you that day?" she asked, not bothering to beat around the bush. They both knew the time she was referring to.

She saw him glance at her out of the corner of his eye briefly, before turning his eyes back to the road and answering. "I don't know how," he seemed to be concentrating on keeping his voice even. "But, he knows…about you."

"About me?" Rukia asked uncertainly.

Ichigo paused for a moment, before correcting himself. "About us."

Rukia could only blink, unable to understand what he meant. "Ichigo, what-"

"When he came into my office," Ichigo said, and his hands were turning a ghostly white over the wheel. "He said some things…He didn't say it outright, but the meaning was obvious. He thinks that I've let my tongue lose, or will do it soon, and he basically made it clear what the consequences would be if he finds out that you've become involved in my attempt to bring him down."

Rukia's eyes widened. "But how could he…?"

"It's not just you." Ichigo was shaking his head now, his hands compulsively tightening and enlightening over the steering wheel. Everything that he had kept bottled up seemed to leave him in a torrent now. "Everyone, everyone that he's noticed is close to me. It's not just my job, my neck on the line anymore. You, Orihime, Rangiku, Kaien… Whoever I've been involved with will be suspected. I had to cut ties, had to stay away from all of you so it would clear off all suspicion, so he wouldn't have an excuse to…" As they came to a stop at a red light, Ichigo turned to her and his eyes were wild, desperate. Scared…

He was scared for them. For her.

Understanding finally settled on her. "Ichigo," she said his name slowly, calmly. His expression didn't change. Swallowing, Rukia voiced another question troubling her. "How does Aizen know you're after him?"

Ichigo looked away now, just in time to see the light turn and start the car forward again. Rukia barely paid attention to where they were going, her eyes never leaving him. "You remember, back when you first started the internship…" He trailed off for a moment, and Rukia felt the memories of their early days reenter her mind. "You remember what Ukitake said, about my job being on the line? I was in a probation of sorts. They made you my responsibility to prove myself."

Rukia nodded grimly, remembering quite clearly. "You never told me why your job was at risk in the first place."

Ichigo was silent for a long moment, driving the car into a right turn and stopping. Rukia took a moment to see that he had pulled up into the empty parking lot of a closed business, then turned her full attention back to him. He had kept his hands on the steering wheel, despite the car having stopped, and his eyes were on them.

"I snuck into Ukitake's office." he started. "I went through all his files, checked through document in his computer; all in search for something that my get me on Aizen's trail. It was useless, of course. The search turned up nothing incriminating or even remotely suspicious. Just another dead end." Ichigo said, and Rukia could tell from the way he said it that it was something he was used to. He really must have been on this search for some time. "But this time, I was caught. Turns out, Ukitake kept some of his cough medicine in the office. He ran out of it that night in his house and had to go get what he had in the office, in the middle of the night… Just as I was getting ready to leave." He chuckled bitterly. "Some luck."

Rukia watch as he scowled, still not looking at her while he recounted the story. He went on with the rest in a matter-of-fact tone.

"After that, I had no choice but to tell him what I was doing. I would have tried to cover up, of course, but the evidence was all there around me still. I had no choice." Ichigo explained. "The most I could do was soften the story and say I had just gotten a gut instinct, nothing more. Fortunately, Ukitake didn't press the matter. But of course, he could have fired me. Most people would have done so on the spot. But he gave me a chance…" Ichigo broke off and ran a hand through his unruly orange locks. "That guy is too nice for his own good."

There was a bitterness in his tone, and Rukia could just imagine how he felt. After all, she herself was shocked to hear the news of his retirement so unexpectedly. And he had seen Mr. Ukitake's face… He looked so sad…

"At any rate," Ichigo went on. "I got off easy, but not unscathed. Of course, Aizen needed to be told about what happened. He's had his eyes on me ever since, but he wasn't in the power to do anything about it. I guess we were both chasing each other; a race to see who would catch the other first." His expression darkened. "It seems he's caught me though." He swore under his breath.

Rukia debated for a moment whether she should tell him about the favor she had run by her brother…But quickly decided against it. Ichigo was obviously tormented by the fact that his actions might cause her and his other friends' their jobs, -maybe more, she thought as she recalled his friend in the hospital-. She wouldn't add to his worries at the moment.

They were both silent for a few long seconds that stretched out slowly. When the silence was broken, it was in the most unexpected way.

"OW!" Ichigo yelped, clutching his upper right arm. "What the hell?"

Rukia relaxed her fist at her side before folding her arms over her chest. "That was for keeping all this to yourself and avoiding your friends for two days. Don't ever do that again!"

Ichigo's expression changed into one of surprise, and Rukia huffed before looking away. She stared out her window as she spoke. "You made everyone worry, you idiot." Despite her insult, her words were somewhat gentle. "Learn to be a little considerate of others, would you?"

Beside her, Ichigo's face softened, a small smile playing at his lips. She saw him from the corner of her eye, but kept her expression as a scolding one. There was a pause before he spoke. "Were you worried?"

The question took her by surprise, and she reacted instinctively. "Of course, you dolt!" She whirled on him, glaring vividly. "What did I just say? Is it that hard for you to understand that other people care about you, Ichigo?"

Ichigo blinked repeatedly, but then the soft smile returned to his face. "Ah…I guess you're right."

"Of course I am." Rukia snapped haughtily. "And don't ever make me confirm such a foolish thing again."

Ichigo's smile was still in place, and he looked significantly more at ease than he had the whole ride. But after a few moments, his smile dropped and his frame sagged forward slightly. Rukia noticed, and she turned to him. Without warning, she reached out and placed her hand under his chin, using the tips of his fingers to make him face her. He looked surprise at the contact, but didn't protest.

She met his gaze earnestly. "We'll be okay. Orihime, Kaien, Rangiku…And myself." she spoke evenly, but softly. "We can all take care of ourselves. You've taken a great deal by yourself, Ichigo, and you haven't asked any of us for help. So, at least let us be there for you." She smiled, and started to pull her hand back when he stopped her.

The surprise showed on her face when she felt Ichigo's large hand wrap around her slim wrist, holding it between them. From the look on his face, it seemed that the action had surprised him as much as it had her.

When he realized what he was doing, he opened his hand and let her go, almost immediately using that same hand to run through his hair and scratch awkwardly. Rukia felt her face fall slightly, but tried not to show it.

"We should get back." Ichigo spoke, his voice slightly huskier than usual. He had already turned away from her and stared intently through the windshield at the nearly fully-darkened sky. It was getting late.

Rukia nodded mutely and turned away as well. "My car…" she started.

"Yeah, I know." Ichigo was already starting the car. "I'll drive you back to Seretei."

-x-

When Ichigo pulled up beside the building with the words 'Seretei Daily' out front, he couldn't shake the strange feeling in the air. It was like the atmosphere was charged with unseen electricity, just waiting to spark between him and his passenger.

After she had caught up to him and effectively ended his already-frail attempt at avoiding her for her sake, he had actually felt lighter than he had in two days. It was a feeling like an oppressive weight had been removed from over him, and he could move freely again. However, that feeling had been replaced by something entirely different the moment he had reached out to grab her hand. He had barely even known what he was doing, but as soon as he did he felt the charge in the atmosphere. And the entire ride back, in silence from both parts -he didn't even dare to break it with music-, he could still feel the strange prickling sensation that made the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Once the car had stopped and they both sat unmoving, staring at the building, he had the uncanny feeling of dropping off a girl at the end of a date. The reluctance to move and the awkwardness of not knowing what to say was there…Which was odd. He had never truly had an awkward silence with Rukia; they could just as easily talk and banter as they could share comfortable silence. It was a quality that he didn't share with any other person he knew, and one he had not truly appreciated until now.

He realized that the awkwardness was largely due to the fact that he felt he needed to say something this time.

She had already begun climbing out of the car when he broke the silence. "Rukia," he turned to her and she paused, one leg out of the car. He had to swallow when he was met with her violet gaze. "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve." He said, and he was reminded of how just a few days prior he had been having almost the same conversation with her. Despite remembering the results that had had, he went on. "I don't really have anything planned but…"

Rukia looked at him with wide violet eyes. Ichigo had to steel himself to go on, inwardly cursing himself for acting like such a school boy.

"If you want to come over…" He said, avoiding her eyes. It was as suave as he would ever get, apparently.

"Sure."

He had to check himself to make sure he had heard her right. She had agreed?

Ichigo turned to face Rukia again and saw her smirk. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

He felt himself grinning in return, though a part of him felt that he should have been the one asking that -he dismissed this annoying part by reminding it that she had agreed and that was that-. "Yeah, see you then."

With that, Rukia finished climbing out of his car and, after turning to give him one last smile, shut the door and walked off into the building to head down to the parking lot.

Ichigo felt his grin stretching from ear to ear as the nervous fluttering in his stomach settled into a content warmth. He sat back in his seat, grinning stupidly until he saw Rukia's car exiting into the road; then he rode off, heading to his house, thinking that he should probably stop to buy some groceries now to fill his fridge after being ransacked by his glutinous father.

Tomorrow should be an interesting day.

-x-

Hidden in the shadows of the night, no one noticed the men standing at the fifth-story window of the Seretei building, staring through the gap between the shades and seeing the two cars speeding away from the area at the late hour.

"Ya were right as usual, Mr. Aizen." Said the first man, his grinning features lit only mildly by the lights coming through the window.

"It appears so, Gin." the brown-haired man turned to his companion. "Reading people is exceedingly easy, when one knows what to look for."

The silver-haired man chuckled. "You can be real scary, ya know that, Mr. Aizen?"

Light glinted off the second man's glasses, but he only smiled in response.

"So what are yer plans for 'em anyway?" The silver-haired man asked after a moment.

"That, Gin," responded the bespectacled man. "Is still to be decided. But you can be sure it will be enough to fend off your boredom for a while."

"Hmm? Scary indeed..."

A/N: Okay so, that wasn't originally supposed to be a whole chapter. This was supposed to be only part of chapter 14, but as it was, it took a lot longer than I had anticipated. I thought about making it a really long chapter, but I felt that would make me have to limit what's coming next too much, so I decided to just publish the shorter chapter. But hey, it was a ridiculously early update (not even a week passed!) so I hoped that would make up for it ;P

Personal note- I liked the Orihime scene. Some RukiHime bonding is always good IMO. Some might think Orihime is slightly OOC- but this is just how I envision she will be when she -finally- gets over her "Kurosaki-kun!" stage. So we had mentions of some good ol' onesided IchiHime and yeah, a little mention of UlquiHime there as well ;) But the ultimate winner of her heart is Ishida-kun. Because who said nerds can't be sexy?

Oh and, kudos to anyone who caught the 'Aren't we friends?' manga speech reference in this chapter ^.^

To: Black Sun Upon An Icy Sky, love-mikan, ali6220, Vman9000, novicestar, pamianime, youtubesam, IchiRuki2.0, shnizlefritz, Kuroi-cho-tsuki-shiro, VioletCrush, Iuterpi, Alyssa, AiyaZen, TruantPony, Rukia Martinez, Poisonfish, Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius, Mokimoki-chan, BleachOrcalover13, ADVluv4life and dArkAnge04

Thank you for all the reviews, as always!:D Seeing your interest in the story keeps my hyped up, and eager to write more :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it wasn't supposed to be a whole chapter in the first place haha xD

Next chapter: New Year's Eve at Ichigo's house :)