Hehe, with this chapter, I'll have updated this story Nine Times :D As I said in the last chapter Author's Note, this chapter will be mostly IchigoxApacci, at least, starting the pairing. You'll also see more of the defecting Arrancar, or at least the Espada.

Without further ado, the review corner.

Nightkill:I did try and make it close to what would happen in the actual anime, thanks.

Freehawk:Thanks very much. No, I don't intend to add them... cause I haven't seen them. I hate filler :P

marc:The truth is, I saw a video on youtube labeled 'Ichigo's Vasto Lorde Form' and it kinda stuck. It does look like a Vasto Lorde *Shrug* Sorry for the confusion. And the answer to your second question is because I screwed up, but let's just say that he knew he would have gotten beaten, as he was drained from fighting Grimmjow.

Xemmnas:Thanks for your comment. Yes, at the last second I decided to add the small Ichigo vs Yamamoto. And no, if it disappoints, sorry. Mila-Rose won't be joining the harem, I decided against it. HOWEVER, someone else will be joining(Whom I will not disclose at this time) No, not Harribel or Nel

NaruTayu FTW:First off, NarutoxTayuya is my favorite Naruto pairing. Secondly, thank you for your review and nice comments ^_^ And I'm gonig to take your idea into consideration, thanks for that.

Seiei:Indeed, it was embaressing to see Ichigo get his ass kicked so easily by Grimmjow. Hopefully, I'm doing a good job making him stronger. And your Mila-Rose suggestion has been noted.

DBZLOVER:Thank you very much

darkmachines:The Privaron, as well as that particular fraccion, will be introduced soon :)

nxkris:Thank you for the review. I hope Grimmjow annoying you won't get in the way of enjoying what I have planned for him later.

King of the Fallen:Well, here's your update XD

Kaiser969:Glad you enjoyed the fight and the aftermath! And if Loly remained loyal to Aizen, it wouldn't be Ichigo that did something, it would be Menoly to knock some sense into her sister.

God:You may suggest it... hopefully you'll like the end of the chapter

Desuse:Thank you for your review, I have that sign ready for you, by the way. And the reason I describe things so vividly in fight scenes is so people know exactly what is happening, without having to wander too much. It'll also help people realize that this is a different Ichigo than in the anime and manga.

Oh! And your suggestion in your PM... let's just say I hope you enjoy the end of the chapter *Smirk*

Guyshuriken:Lol XD Yeah, and GOD seems to be incredibly interested on whether or not there will be lemons in this story, and the content of the pairings.

Beloved Nightmare Union:Glad you like the story. You are correct in your assumption of Baraggan, just so you know.

Grinja:Sorry if it will disappoint you, but she won't be sneaking around :/ I personally liked what I did better.

Sentiment Remains:Glad you loved the fight, I put about... a minute of thought into it XD And yes, Apacci joining the fray will be crazy, makes me look forward to adding Sun-Sun

VampireNecromancer:Glad I'm living up to your's(and everyone elses) expectation of the story. I'm also glad to see people think I'm getting Harribel down good. Of all the characters, I was sure I'd mess her up.

bloodyemperor:Thanks much. You have to wait no longer!

MizoreShirayukiFan:I like IchigoxHarem stories too, only IchigoxFemale Arrancar harem stories though, which are even rarer than the IchigoxFemale Shinigami harems*Sigh* Oh well, what're you gonna do, right?

OK! That will(Finally) wrap up the Review Corner XD Before I begin, if you read through the review corner, then you saw I mentioned there will be another addiotion to the harem. I'll give you a hint, it's a girl. Work from there.

(Kurosaki Clinic/Out front)

"An arrancar?" Ichigo repeated with a blink.

Apacci nodded in reply. "Yep! Harribel-sama sent me to fill you in on what you just got yourself into."

Ichigo couldn't help but note how convenient that was, considering not five minutes ago he was wondering how he would get this information. Before anything else, there was something else he wanted to know. "Is that all you're here for?"

At this, Apacci scratched the back of her head a little sheepishly. "Well, actually, I was told to spend the night here, with you, and report back to Las Noches this time tomorrow."

She knew it sounded weird, and intruding, but it was her orders. Hopefully, she could try and convince Ichigo to just go with it.

"Alright, no problem." Ichigo spoke up, suddenly, with a shrug. While, at first, he wanted to ask why with him, but then he figured Harribel must have wanted to know more about the World of the Living, or him. Besides, this girl didn't seem all that bad, so he didn't want her to get in trouble just because he had his doubts.

Apacci blinked in surprise. "Really? Just like that?" She had expected Ichigo to put up some sort of argument as to why she couldn't stay with him.

"Well, if you were ordered, I wouldn't want to get you in trouble. Besides, it's no problem. I've got plenty of room." Ichigo told her, crossing his arms.

Apacci regained her composure right away. This was a pleasant surprise. "Well, I guess I'll start." She was stopped when Ichigo held his hand up to stop her politely.

"If you want, we can go inside. It's a little more comfortable than standing in the street, considering I don't know how much you have to tell me."

"Hm. Ok, sure." Apacci replied with a shrug. She did rather like the idea, at least she'd be able to see his room. The thought almost made her smirk in anticipation. When Ichigo turned and opened the gate and began walking towards the front door, he motioned for her to follow, which she did so.

When Ichigo was about to open the front door, he stopped and cursed. Apacci saw this and asked "What?"

"If you're going to be staying the night, then I'll have to think of a reason why to explain to my dad. Crap." Ichigo told her, scratching his head furiously. It was obvious he wasn't good at thinking of lies on the spot. He was saved when Apacci sighed in an over-dramatic way.

"Hehe, don't worry. I got something."

Ichigo looked at her, intrigued, but didn't bother to ask what. He only nodded and opened the door.

"Dad, Yuzu, Karin, I'm home!" Ichigo called out in the house. When his dad appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and made to attack Ichigo, he stopped, looking at Apacci.

"Ichigo, my boy, who's this? Another girlfr-gah!" Isshin's question was cut short when Ichigo's fist planted itself in his stomach. Apacci only blinked at the scene.

"Shut up! Nothing like that. She's just going to stay the night cause... cause..." Ichigo looked back at Apacci expectantly, who only cleared her throat and began telling her fake sob story.

"Well, it all started when my dad came home drunk again this morning after a night out. He and my mom got into another fight when she caught him trying to sneak in."

Apacci dragged out her story on how this always happens, and how her dad would hit her and his mom, to try and make it all the more tearful and sad. Ichigo only sweatdropped when fake tears started to appear in Apacci's eyes.

"So I finally decided to leave them and try and find somewhere to stay. It took me hours of walking, with no food or water, to try and get to Loly and Menoly's house, but they weren't home, so I decided to try Ichigo. Loly and Menoly had told me about him, and I thought he could help me out when I needed it most."

When she was done with the lengthy and heartfelt explanation,[1]both Isshin and Yuzu were staring at her with tearful eyes. Suddenly, Yuzu jumped into her dad's arms, crying out "Let her stay, dad! She deserves it!"

Isshin only replied, just as much in tears, "I was thinking the same thing!"[2]

Ichigo could only sweatdrop again at the sight. Apacci turned and flashed him a peace sign with a grin on her face. "Easy enough!"

"Ssh, they'll realize it's an act."

(Upstairs)

"So, what did you think? Not too bad, huh?" Apacci gloated, grinning all the while. Ichigo could only roll his eyes.

"Please, trying to fool my family is like taking candy from a baby." Ichigo replied with a bored look.

"Spoilsport." Apacci shot back, sticking her tongue out. Ichigo closed the door to his room behind him as they entered. He wanted to hear what Apacci had been ordered to tell him. The sooner he knew everything he needed to know, the better.

"Alright, if you don't mind, would you tell me what you came to tell me?" Ichigo asked her seriously. Apacci nodded and opened her mouth to start, but closed it immediately after. She looked around and laid her eyes on his bed. She made her way over and sat down on it and made herself a little more comfortable. Ichigo sweatdropped.

"By all means, make yourself at home." He said, a little sarcastically. Apacci blinked, then grinned. She laid down on his bed, propping her head up with her hand.

"Thanks!" Again, Ichigo sweatdropped, but decided to not make another comment, he only leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. Seeing he was ready, Apacci cleared her throat and began.

"Now, Harribel-sama sent me here to tell you anything and everything you might need to know. To start off, we have four Espada with us, including Harribel-sama."

"Espada?" Ichigo interjected with a raised eyebrow.

Apacci sighed in an over-dramatic fashion. "Espada are the top ten strongest arrancar under Aizen's command. They are given a number that signifies they're strength, compared to the other Espada."

"And what numbers are on our side?"

"The Noveno, Aaroniero, the Sexta, Grimmjow-." Ichigo's eyes widened at this. He had barely beaten Grimmjow, and he was only the sixth strongest? "the Tercera, Harribel-sama, and the Primera, Stark-sama." Apacci informed him, giving him a second for any questions, which he did have one.

"How strong would, say, the Sexta be compared to the seventh?" Ichigo asked her, raising an eyebrow. Hopefully, her answer would be able to allow him to gauge the stronger espada's strengths.

"More than double, the same could be said for everyone else. Aizen didn't want an Espada to be barely stronger than the rank below him or her. At least double the power of the previous rank." Apacci told him. Ichigo froze at this. If that was the case, how strong was this Harribel? Or Stark? At least two of the strongest Espada were on his side, that was good.

"Now, there are also us Fraccion. We are hand-picked by a single espada to serve them. I'm a fraccion, with two others, under the Tercera." Apacci said this with pride, obviously very proud of the fact. "If you count all the fraccion, then there a total of fourteen of us. Fifteen, including you."

"That's it?" Ichigo asked, slightly surprised at the amount. True, it was arrancar defecting from Aizen, but he had hoped there were more than only fourteen of them. A pillow suddenly hit him in the face.

"Hey, we're doing the best we can, there are only so many arrancar that will defect from Aizen!" Apacci huffed and tried to pout cutely. It worked as Ichigo tried to bring his hands up in defense.

"Sorry, sorry. You're right." Ichigo put his hands down and got serious once again. "So, is that everything?"

Apacci thought for a second. "Pretty much. I'll be returning every couple of days, probably, to update you."

"Alright, sounds good. So... what now?" Ichigo asked her. Apacci actually scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"Well, now I guess I wait until I was ordered to go back." Apacci noted her behavior and tried to cover for herself. She grinned and said, "I'm sure we can find something to do in the meantime."

Apacci was hoping to get a reaction from Ichigo at the innuendo, but when he only shrugged and said, "Maybe, I've got stuff to do."

Apacci pouted, which Ichigo sighed at. "Alright, we can do something tomorrow to pass the time, ok?" He asked, trying to reassure her. He relaxed when Apacci nodded in delight.

A thought came to Ichigo's mind, which he voiced right away. "Say, you mentioned Loly and Menoly's names earlier. Do you-?"

Apacci cut him off. "I was waiting for you to ask something about them. Of course I do, they're pretty good friends of mine." Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"Then, you know about-?"

"Yep. I caught them sneaking back into Las Noches one day and, rather than telling Aizen about it, I wanted to know what they were doing and they told me." Apacci said with a slight wave of her free hand.

"Thanks. You know, for not ratting them out." Ichigo said this sincerely, staring at her intently. Apacci blinked and almost blushed, but caught herself.

"Y-yeah, no problem. I'm not one to do that, anyways."

"How are they?" Ichigo couldn't help but swallow at the question, fearing the answer. Apacci scratched her head and looked up in thought.

"They're alive." Ichigo sighed in relief. "Loly healed right up and is walking around. Menoly, though, is still recuperating in the infirmary. She's doing pretty good though, probably be up and about tomorrow."

When she looked back at Ichigo, her rather care-free expression disappeared. Ichigo's eyes were narrowed and looking down at the floor. It was obvious he still felt bad about their injuries. Apacci thought for a second, then spoke again. "They loved you, ya know?" She said suddenly. Ichigo blinked in surprise and looked up at her.

"What? How do you know?" He asked her. Apacci scoffed.

"Puh-lease, I could tell right away. It wasn't that difficult, considering they talked to me about you every chance they got." When Ichigo's expression only hardened in remorse again, she continued. "I think they still love you. As corny as it sounds, I don't think they know it."

"I'm going to go to them. I'll find them and work things out." Ichigo declared, his gaze full of determination. Apacci looked at him with surprise.

"If they don't defect with us... then what?" She asked hesitantly.

"I had planned to go to Hueco Mundo to find them before I decided to help you guys. It doesn't matter to me, so long as I can at least apologize to them. If they don't want to have anything to do with me anymore, then at least I'll have told them."

Apacci could only stare at Ichigo. She could see it now. This was the man Loly and Menoly fell for. Not only handsome, but strong and loyal to those he cares about. What about her? Did she want a guy like Ichigo. She thought about it very briefly, then knew the answer. Yes, she did. And she had to admit, she would love for a guy like that to fall for her.

It clicked in her mind. Harribel would most likely be sending her here every few days to give Ichigo updates on their situation. Maybe in that time, she could try and get him.

"It's late, so I'm going to get some sleep." Ichigo's voice brought Apacci out of her thoughts. "Since you're already there, you can take the bed I guess. Don't worry, my little sister cleans all the sheets in the house pretty regularly."

Apacci could only say, "Oh, thank you." To which Ichigo only waved his hand at.

"I can just set up a mattress on the floor for tonight." Ichigo walked over to his closet and opened it and found nothing but spare mattresses and sheets. Wait, closet... Rukia.

Crap. Rukia was probably still with the others, which was why she wasn't back yet. He had no idea how Rukia would react to Apacci being here. He definitely wouldn't tell her of him helping out the arrancar, for now at least. Hopefully, he'd get a chance to explain if she got a little angry. Ichigo could only scratch his head, wondering what he would say. Oh well, he'd leave it for now and deal with it when the situation came up.

Ichigo pulled out a mattress and set it down on the floor. He looked back up at Apacci to ask if this was far enough from the bed.

"Is this- H-hey! Wait!" He yelled out, holding up his hands.

Apacci had the hem of her shirt gripped in both of her hands, and was already mostly done taking her shirt off, exposing her white bra, and her cleavage, to him. She stopped and lowered her shirt slightly, an eyebrow raised.

"What?"

"W-what are you doing?" Ichigo asked her, still averting his eyes from her toned stomach.

"Getting comfortable. I don't want to sleep in these clothes." Apacci replied as if it was obvious. Though, inwardly, she counted it as a win that the sight of her almost topless got a decent reaction out of him.

"W-well, if you want, I can go try and find something for you to sleep in. I mean, maybe my sisters have a t-shirt or some old pjs or something you can borrow?" Ichigo suggested, his blush starting to disappear. Apacci shrugged.

"Sure, that'd be fine, I guess." At that, Ichigo left the room, almost looking to be in a hurry. Apacci could only snicker at his antics. If this was the reaction she got out of him every time she did something like that, it would be fun to tease him.

Already, Apacci was thinking of ways to tease Ichigo. Some ideas made her smirk in mischief, some almost made her blush. At the very least, it would give him a hint at her intentions. And, from there, she could figure out what to do next to get closer to him.

Ichigo returned rather quickly, a white t-shirt and a solid black pajama bottom in his hands. He tossed them to Apacci, which was caught easily, and said,

"There you go, you can change in the bathroom."

Apacci almost pouted. There went one of her ideas already. Oh well.

"Ok, thanks." Apacci stood up and went into the restroom, closing and locking the door behind her. When it was quiet in his room, Ichigo sighed and scratched his head, thinking,

'Wow, what a day.'

Inside the bathroom, Apacci set down her change of clothes on the counter and began undressing. A few seconds later, she was standing in nothing but her bra and panties, both of them a solid white. She reached for the shirt but then stopped and looked at herself in the mirror. Remembering all the comments and insults about her figure from Mila-Rose she frowned deeply. Apacci brought one hand up and poked one of her breasts, slightly scowling now. Mila-Rose was right, she hated to admit. Sure she had curves, but nothing really 'stuck out' on her body, at least, as much as she wanted them too.

Suddenly, her determination and confidence returned with a scoff.

'Please, I'm not going to let that stop me. Big boobs or no, I can still get Ichigo.' Apacci nodded at herself in the mirror and got to changing into her temporary nightwear. It only took a few seconds for her to gather her gigai's street clothes and exit the bathroom.

Once she was in Ichigo's room again, the first thing she noticed that Ichigo had decided to change as well. He now wore a plain white tank top. Which showed off his muscles rather well, Apacci noted to herself. He wore the same jeans he had been wearing the whole day, but was now barefoot. He looked more comfortable and relaxed now, and was, apparently, getting ready to go to sleep. As he was adding the sheets to his make-shift bed. Apacci noticed he had laid it down halfway across the room, almost as far away from the bed as he possibly could. At least he was trying to be modest, something Apacci could appreciate.

Before Ichigo laid down on the mattress, he looked over at Apacci. "Sorry, but I'm going to go ahead and get some sleep. I'm sure you know, but it's been a long day for me."

Apacci nodded in understanding and replied "No problem, I was going to go ahead and hit the sack too." She made her way over to 'her' bed and set herself down on it, hesitantly pulling the covers over herself. She found it quite comfortable, actually. She turned and saw Ichigo make his way towards the light and, before he switched it off, she spoke.

"Hey, Ichigo?" It was the first time Apacci had addressed him with his name, and it almost felt good to say it. Ichigo turned back with an eyebrow raised.

"Hm?"

"Thanks, you know, for letting me stay here and all." Apacci thanked him sincerely enough, propping her head up with her arm and grinning at him.

Ichigo answered with a small grin of his own and a "No problem." With that, he turned off the lights and made himself comfortable in his own bed. Soon after, they both fell asleep.

(Later that Night)

Ichigo was sleeping rather well. Inhaling and exhaling quietly, one arm over his eyes as he rested his head on his pillow. He seemed pretty undisturbed, even with the extra company sleeping not but a few feet away from him. He would have stayed this way, if not for the hand that suddenly clamped down over his mouth.

Ichigo woke with a start, his eyes widening at being denied a breath of air so forcefully. Before he could make any sort of move, he was dragged into the closet by his attacker. The closet door was closed as he was brought in. Apacci only stirred slightly in her bed, not in the least affected by what had just happened.

When the hand was removed, Ichigo prepared to give this guy a piece of his mind, in the form of an ass-kicking, but stopped when he saw who it was that had woken him so suddenly.

"Rukia? What the hell are you doing?" Ichigo half-yelled, half-whispered. Rukia huffed and half-yelled, half-whispered, in return.

"What am I doing? What the hell are you doing? Who's that?"

"What do you mean, 'Who's that'?"

"You know what I mean! Who is she? Why's she sleeping in your bed?"

"She's a friend of mine and needed a place to stay."

"Just a friend of yours? Why's she sleeping in your bed then?"

"Oh, come on. What's the big deal? It's not like we're sleeping together!"

"Still, why is she sleeping in your bed of all places?"

"Jeez, why are you getting so worked up over this?"

"A little warning ahead of time would have been nice! I almost attacked her, thinking it was you!"

"How could I warn you? I was-wait a minute. You were going to attack me?"

"Yeah, I was!"

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Ichigo sweatdropped at her answer. He didn't really have anything else to say now. Rukia, seeing she had won for now, crossed her arms and would have smirked triumphantly, if Ichigo didn't speak up again, only whispering this time.

"Look, just let her be, ok? She'll leave tomorrow." Ichigo told her with a sigh. Rukia's expression remained the same for several seconds, showing her disapproval, but did soften into agreement.

"Alright, Alright. Sorry, I guess I overreacted."

"Yeah, you did." Ichigo replied with a straight look on his face. Rukia growled, which Ichigo prepared to defend himself, but Rukia only pointed at the door to the closet. "Just go back to sleep. I'm tired."

Ichigo nodded and opened the door to the closet slowly, making sure to be quiet. He sighed in relief when he noticed Apacci was still sound asleep. Quietly making his way back to the mattress, Ichigo set himself down again. He made himself comfortable once more and soon drifted off into a, hopefully, undistrubed sleep.

(Las Noches/Stark's Palace)

"So, he beat Grimmjow, hm?" Starrk asked Harribel, the same bored look on his face as he rested his head in his palm. Of course, this did interest him a little. At least the Shinigami he and Harribel had agreed on asking had turned out to be worth something.

"Yes. Grimmjow is currently recuperating in the infirmary. Knowing him, he will be up and about again by the end of tomorrow. Aaroniero?" Harribel asked, turning to face the Noveno Espada who had come to the palace by her request, so he, too, would know what their current situation was.

"Yes, Harribel-sama?" The deep voice of Aaroniero replied.

"In the past couple of weeks, you have gone out to devour more hollows and gain more power, correct?"

"Yes, I usually go out to do so, every few days." He replied, nodding his head slightly.

"I would like you to search your memories for anything on Ichigo Kurosaki. Hopefully, you have devoured a hollow who may have been lucky enough to have consumed a shinigami." Harribel told him. Starrk, intrigued, stayed silent and simply watched Aaroniero.

Aarioniero stood there, not moving at all for several seconds. He spoke up again,

"Ichigo Kurosaki, Deputy Shinigami. Less then a month ago, he, along with several other humans, managed to infiltrate and defeat other Shinigami of the captain-class. Kurosaki managed to defeat both Captain of Sixth Company, Byakuya Kukichi, and Captain of Eleventh Company, Zaraki Kenpachi. Though, from what I'm remembering, both battles were close and barely won. Which means that-."

Harribel cut him off. "In the past two weeks, Kurosaki has improved dramatically. I can say it's safe to assume that he will continue to develop at the same rate. Stark?"

"I agree. So, is waiting for Kurosaki to become stronger a part of our plan now?" Starrk asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"From what Aaroniero said, I do not believe we would have to wait long. Either way, it would still be beneficial." Harribel replied intelligently, thinking things through. "Aaroniero, what is your opinion on this?"

The tall Espada made no movement, but his voice was that of surprise. "My opinion, Harribel-sama?"

Harribel nodded. "Yes. No matter what rank you may hold, we are in this together. I would like to hear your opinion as well before a decision is made." Again, Aaroniero stood motionless. The only sound coming from him was the bubbling underneath his facemask. It was obvious he was thinking things through carefully. A few seconds later, he answered.

"Giving Kurosaki time to improve would be beneficial. While he is training, we will also be improving our own abilities and recruiting others. If his abilities continue to improve at the rate we have concluded, three or four more weeks would be enough for him to improve to a level close to Starrk-sama's. By then, we can have recruited our own troops and trained them to hold their own." Aaroniero told them both respectfully.

After he voiced his opinion, Harribel nodded. "Thank you, Aaroniero. Starrk?" She asked, turning to face the Primera again.

"A month of waiting would be enough for Kurosaki, but Aizen may make a move against the Shinigami before then." Starrk answered, now speaking seriously, or at least, more serious than he usually did.

"Yes, you are correct. However, I believe we should wait things out as long as we can. It might be risky, but, if it works, we will be better off." Harribel replied, allowing herself to adjust her arms as they remained crossed under her breasts, as usual.

"Making a deadline and simply hoping nothing goes wrong does not seem like a sound plan, Harribel-sama." Aaroniero spoke up, a little unconvinced. Harribel nodded in agreement.

"I know. This is what we have to work with at the moment, though. So, this is the best we can do. Have you searched and found any others that might be willing to defect?"

"There is one I found. An arrancar by the name of Luppi Antenor. He has shown several indications of disagreement with Aizen and appears to be intelligent. I believe he could be approached safely, Harribel-sama. I rank his power to be that of just above Septima level."

Harribel raised an eyebrow at the name given. She had seen this arrancar before. Sometimes alone, in thought, sometimes speaking with Gin. He definitely had a decent amount of reiatsu, and it had surprised her when Aizen hadn't put him in the Espadas. Maybe she could use that to her advantage.

"Anyone else?" She asked, gesturing with a nod to continue. Aaroniero stayed silent briefly, then continued.

"Yes. I believe the Segunda Espada, Baraggan Louisenbairn can be approached with this matter." He said cautiously. When Harribel and Starrk both simply raised an eyebrow, he continued. "As the former King of Hueco Mundo, I believe Barragan despises Aizen for, not only being stronger than him, but also commanding him. I feel that, if the right words are said, the Segunda Espada will join us."

Harribel seemed to mull this over. Aaroniero had a point with this. She just hadn't given it any thought, considering the Segunda's usual attitude. Then again, how he acted was of little concern. So long as he will make his move with them when they say it's time, then there would be no problems. "There is, indeed, a good a chance of him joining us. I am sure Baraggan would be open to the idea of defecting from and killing Aizen. In that case, I will try and meet with-."

"No." Starrk cut her off, surprising her. He sighed and continued, eyes glazed. "If Baraggan is going to be approached, then I will be the one to do so. No offense, Harribel-san, but I do not believe he will take you seriously, you being a lower rank than him."

Harribel could see the logic in Starrk's statement. "If you believe so, then it might be best." She replied.

Starrk nodded and then asked spoke again. "Right. Is that all for now?"

"I believe so. I may have more to say when my fraccion, Apacci, returns tomorrow." Harribel answered the Primera, nodding. Aaroniero remained silent.

"Then, if you don't mind, I'd like to get a little sleep." Starrk told them, waving his hand in almost 'shoo' manner. Harribel made no other motion to either of them as she used a sonido to return to her own palace. Aaroniero bowed to Starrk before doing the same as Harribel, returning to his own palace.

(Kurosaki Clinic/The Next Day)

Ichigo awoke the next morning with a muffled yawn and a stretch. Despite the midnight disturbance, he had slept rather well. He looked over to his right up at his bed to see Apacci still sleeping. There was even a small trail of drool coming out of the side of her mouth due to it being open as she breathed in and out. Ichigo had thought it looked cute, but looked away and up at the ceiling. He stared rather blankly, both his eyes glazed from having just woken up. He knew he had some stuff to do today, he just didn't want to get up right now. As he laid there, he got a bad feeling that he was forgetting something. He scratched his head in thought, wondering what it could be.

tmp, tmp, Tmp, Tmp, TMP, TMP, TMP!

'Oh fu-That's what it was!' It was the only thing that went through Ichigo's mind before the door to his room was suddenly tackled off it's hinges.

"GOOOD MORRRNIIING ICHIGOOO!"

Ichigo cursed when Isshin flew over him, intending to attack him, or rather, Apacci, in his bed. Though, he didn't need to do anything. As it turned out, the door being broken had awoken Apacci with a start, and when the first thing she saw was a man jumping towards her, she reacted. She quickly brought her foot up and gave Isshin a kick in the throat. Following Isshin's momentum with her foot, Apacci sent him crashing out the window behind her and landing in the street below. Of course, when Apacci looked out to see who her attacker was, she flushed furiously. Not only did she hurt Ichigo's dad, but his window was destroyed. She turned slowly to look at Ichigo, who was only gaping at her.

"S-sorry! I didn't know who it was, and he caught me by surprise!" Apacci told him frantically, trying to cover for herself. Though, she was confused when Ichigo chuckled.

"Wow. I like you already." He said with a grin. Though, he was unaware of Apacci's internal reaction to that statement.

Now that they were both wide awake, Ichigo's first thought was to get Apacci out of the house before Rukia woke up, or at least showed herself. After all, who could sleep through that? At first, Apacci seemed a little annoyed with being rushed and not being told why, but when Ichigo had said that they could do something today to pass the time until she needed to return, she brightened. After all, she relished in the opportunity to spend time with Ichigo.

The majority of the day was spent walking around. Ichigo had shown Apacci some of the sights around the district of Karakura Town he lived in, much like he had done with Loly and Menoly. They had made some stops per Apacci's request to do so when something caught her eye. They had eaten lunch together and had continued with their day. Currently, it was close to when Apacci would be leaving, so Ichigo had gradually begun to lead her back closer to his house.

Now, while Apacci had enjoyed herself today, she was a little put off at something. Every chance she got, she would try on something on Ichigo. Whether it was something as simple as a brush of her hand over his, or leaning into him more than necessary when in a crowd of people, he never seemed to pay any real attention to it. Her thought's of him not finding her attractive were laid to rest when Ichigo had absent-mindedly complimented her on the way she looked, passing by a display window.

Her goal for today was for Ichigo to get an idea of how she felt. Even if she had only met him a day ago, she knew him rather well thanks to Loly and Menoly and was definitely interested in him. Getting him to know that she was would be a step forward in the right direction. She liked to think that she had made an impression on him, but denied it to herself.

Apacci had to be sure. It had to be certain that he was aware. It had become her goal. She began to rack her brain for ideas on what to do. She knew Ichigo was leading her back close to his home. Most likely, when they arrived, he would expect to see her off immediately and be on his way. Judging from her memory, she only had a couple of minutes until that would happen. A couple minutes to come up with something.

Then, an idea came to mind. Apacci almost stopped walking when it struck her, but continued at the same pace, behind Ichigo on his right. The idea mad her smirk in excitement. It could... no. There was no way it wouldn't work. She just had to wait for the right moment. She decided to do it when Ichigo stopped to see her off.

There was a very giddy feeling in her stomach as she waited. It would work, she was sure of it. It only took another minute before Ichigo stopped walking. He looked like he was about to turn around and say something when Apacci spoke up.

"Hey, Ichigo?"

Ichigo turned around and prepared to answer, "Yeah? What is-ulp!"

Ichigo was cut off when Apacci suddenly lashed out at him, grabbing his head from behind. Before Ichigo could do anything to react, Apacci had brought his head down slightly and almost smashed her lips onto his. Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise.

The only thing that registered in his mind was that Apacci had soft lips, right before he lost all train of thought, his jaw going slack in utter surprise. Of course, Apacci only used this to her advantage. The moment she had felt Ichigo's lips open enough for her, she slid her tongue into his mouth. It only took her a few seconds to completely explore the inside of Ichigo's mouth with her tongue before she retracted it and pulled away from Ichigo. Whose expression was still of surprise, his eyes widened and his mouth still hanging open.

Apacci licked her lips slowly, looking to be savoring the taste.

"Mmm." She moaned quietly. 'He tastes good.' She thought to herself. Despite her sense of accomplishment and confidence, there was still a pinkish hue on her cheeks from her action.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later, Ichigo-kun." Apacci purred. She turned and distanced herself from Ichigo before opening a garganta. With one last cute wave with her fingers, Apacci disappeared into the garganta, it closing behind her.

Ichigo finally shut his mouth, but his blush was still present. He could only stand and blink for a few seconds before he asked himself a question.

"W-what the hell just happened?"

(End of Chapter/Otter's Nose)

There you go, Chapter Nine. It was fun to type out, and I'm looknig forward to typing out Chapter Ten. I have a LOT of stuff planned for it. If you really want to know who will be joining the harem, just PM me and I'll tell you*Shrug*

[1]Lol, the intro to WATCH ME BLEED by Scary Skids Scaring Kids

[2]Cut music :P

Musical Inspiration for this Chapter:

... so, yeah, I didn't have any musical inspiration for this chapter... So, without further ado! Conway Twitty!

Conway Twitty: He put an arm around her shoulder and, with a voice that sounded older, he said, "Mom, I got something on my mind."

:D

And that will end things today. Please read and review. Constructive Critisicm is welcome, but flamers will be hunted down and beaten up by me personally, I assure you.