Not-so-long-author-note: Hey! This is the eighth chapter of It Takes Two to Make a Heart! I'll say more in the author note below, SO PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR NOTE BELOW.

This is rated T for mild language.

Warning: Possible spoilers

It Takes Two to Make a Heart – P.E. Problems Please

Rukia remembered having called Kaien a Renaissance man, after he had taught her what that meant in her music history lesson. And it really wasn't that far of a stretch.

"…And the eyes of the art and music world fixated its gaze on people like Leonardo da Vinci, who seemed to be unable to do any wrong. Blessed with an innate talent for seemingly everything, with a capricious attitude to life in general and an extraordinary precocious mind… Bah!"

Rukia flinched as the last part of the sentence was uttered in a short bark of frustration. Not a second later, a book whizzed by her head, chucked by its irate owner, to crash into a tree behind her, showering her with an abundance of leaves.

"K-kaien-dono! What was that for?"

Said male grumbled a few times to himself, seemingly ignoring her for the time being. She quieted then, in favor of studying his distracted face, something she still had difficulty bringing herself to do when his aquamarine eyes were focused on her.

His strong jaw line led to a powerful neck that gave way to large broad shoulders and an equally broad chest, now clothed in a casual plain white T-shirt and jeans. Even his currently crouched figure couldn't hide his long legs and toned, but not overly muscular arms.

Her eyes slid up to his face again, noting his aristocratic nose, and his bright eyes, with pronounced eyelashes on the bottom, visible underneath his deep, dark spiky purple hair.

When he suddenly stood up, she didn't flinch, and watched as he made his way over to her direction to pick up the book, dust it, and sit down next to her on the smooth log.

"Sorry Kuchiki, the book was being too annoying with its vocabulary," Kaien explained, as if it were a normal everyday and justifiable reason to fling books around. She only hummed in understanding, not knowing what else to say.

Kaien set the book, a rather thick book with a brown cover, into the grass at his feet, the same grass that extended out in front of the two into a lush garden, dotted with stone sculptures, ponds filled with koi fish and quaint bridges.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he stated, "Basically, the book says in about five pages that Leonardo da Vinci was what we would call a "Renaissance man" in his era."

"What is a "Renai…ssance man?" Rukia questioned, stumbling over the pronunciation, and flushing under his teasing grin at her troubles.

"Hm… Well, the book goes on and on and yadda-yadda about it, but in a nutshell, it means as close as to a perfect guy as you can get. Not exactly in looks or money, but a guy who's good in everything he does. Leonardo, like you learned just a couple of hours ago, was not only an artist, but an inventor and smart-ass scientist, among other things."

Rukia looked on as he continued to explain, a single thought replaying itself over and over in her head.

The man before her, Shiba Kaien, was to her, the living embodiment of a Renaissance man.

And he still was today, even when he was supposedly dead.

Ichigo swore at times that trouble was a puppy starving for affection, one that dogged your ankles and followed you where you went. He swore that puppy followed him 24/7. Seeing yet another facet of the mysterious Kuchiki unfolding in front of him, he wondered, not for the first nor last time, why everything was exploding around one Kuchiki Rukia.

Said troublemaker now had her gaze transfixed on the man in front of her, who was grinning down at her in a sheepish manner.

"K-kaien…-dono…?" she managed to croak out.

It seemed almost deafening for Ichigo as well as the class, silent as they were. But the two objects of their gawking paid them no heed. To him, it was as if they were wrapped in their own little bubble-world.

"Yo," the tall man uttered in a softer tone. Rukia opened her mouth, seemingly ready to say something, before she subsided and instead settled for gazing up at him with conflicted emotions.

He was alive.

He was alive, standing in front of her, like the day that they had first met, as if he had never left.

He was alive, with his aquamarine eyes, his bold lower eyelashes, and his untidy long dark hair.

He was alive, with his rough attitude, his carefree attitude, his warm attitude, and his vibrant and lively attitude.

He was alive.

Eyes watering with tears threatening to spill over, the petite girl had finally mustered up the courage to say something half-intelligible when the classroom door burst open with a resounding bang… as if someone's impudent foot had smashed it inward. Startled, she swept around and Kaien simply whistled in appreciation as Hirako Shinji finally strolled in with a deadpan expression firmly planted on his face, oblivious to the fact that he had blatantly kicked a respectable school's door inward as if it were an everyday thing. Rukia's new classmates gaped at the phenomenon and watched the door bouncing off the wall in a mesmerized fashion before snapping attention to their soon-to-be music history teacher.

Tall and lanky, he was dressed in a simple orange button-up shirt and long black pants that fit his thin legs. A colorful and clashing tie sagged in a slightly unprofessional manner in front of his shirt, drawing attention to the ends of his blond bob cut and his bared front teeth. With a hunched back, he shuffled to the front of the classroom and addressed the classroom in a bored tone.

"Why don't we just skip the dandy instructions and shimmy our way down to some good ol' music? I could use some jazz, my daily cup of joe…" he trailed off when he noticed Kaien and frowned.

"And who're you?" he drawled flippantly, as if he didn't care about the response either way.

Kuchiki and Shiba both blinked at his question, before Kaien recovered and trumpeted loudly: "Shiba Kaien, your new-"

"My new teacher-assistant, right?" Shinji finished, already sifting through the papers Kaien had left on the desk and not sparing him a glance.

"What the-! You bastard, I bet you knew already!"

"I never said I didn't know you explicitly, did I, idiot?"

"Why you sonuva-!"

The class was left floundering at Hirako's nonchalant antics and the current bickering, utterly confused as to how to respond to the situation.

Rukia sighed. She was in for a weird class, alright. Not to mention she'd have to sit next to Ichigo for awhile. But… and here she glanced up at Kaien, up at his white office suit-clad self, who was now restraining himself from having a full-blown verbal war with his superior, though he was close to the boiling point.

But…

"Let's start the lesson, shall we?"

It was all right…

"You ignoring me now?!"

Because…

…It would be worth seeing his face again.

"You're finally here!" griped an amused Kyoraku Shunsui as he stepped back from the hug he had imposed on his guest. Drawing back, he observed his companion, who was looking worse for the wear with his clammy skin and pale face.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," managed Ukitake Jushiro, pushing back a strand of white hair back from his forehead. The bang stubbornly settled in front of his face, contrasting with his brown eyebrows. He sighed in defeat. The 13th Captain hobbled around his new desk for the school year and settled himself down.

Kyoraku made himself comfortable in one of the chairs in front of the mahogany desk, and propped his sandal-clad feet on top, earning him a mild reprimand of "Kyoraku!" which didn't hold any real conviction or displeasure.

After exchanging some pleasantries about the weather and such, both occupants of the room narrowed their eyes and eyed the door. Kyoraku stood up and muttered what sounded like a short chant. Ukitake watched him settle back down and questioned, "Is it…?"

"Mhm, Kido," his partner confirmed, grunting as he settled himself back into the chair, "our lovely automatic command system."

The white-haired captain nodded in understanding. A secret to all but the Captains and Zippers, laced throughout the entirety of the school were microphone-like structures inside the ceilings and walls, all wiring back to a main command-control room that Kurotsuchi Mayuri took delight in monitoring. Though they recognized and responded to the Captains and Zippers based on voice samples given beforehand, they couldn't record anything else. It would be messy if it were to be found by any students, but in technical terms, it wasn't infringing on anyone's privacy.

The Kido system helped the senior members of the school accomplish a variety of commands, including the order to sound-proof a room like the brunette Captain had.

"The only drawback," Ukitake observed as Kyoraku leaned back in his chair, "is that we have to be in the school to utilize it. Anywhere else… we're at a disadvantage."

"So serious already in topic," jested his friend, but the look in his eyes was serious.

There was a companionable silence for a while, marred only by the low hum of the sound-proof system Kyoraku had activated.

"So you've heard that Kaien's back, right?"

"Aa, I did. Strangely, it wasn't as shocking as I thought it'd be."

Shunsui nodded, and remarked, "Shinji-kun's picked up some weird vibes from him and sent a report to me earlier this morning."

The pale captain's eyes saddened but he understood. "I don't want to be suspicious of him," he admitted, his left thumb stroking the back of his other hand. "Not after everything's that happened to him."

This time, a depressed silence hung over them, before Ukitake cleared it up by stating, "I can't imagine what Rukia and Byakuya must be thinking right now."

Shunsui had long dropped his cheerful and flippant façade and was now stared pensively out a window, observing a rowdy group of students blissfully unaware of the secrets the school held and the chaos that was likely to follow.

"Things will not end well, hoo boy."

Rukia left class a little more buoyed from having met Kaien and promising him to catch up later, but her mood soured instantly when she took a look at her next class.

Kendo?

Well, in hindsight she mused as she trudged down a hallway, this should have been the first clue that something was off, if not seriously, with Byakuya nii-sama's mind.

"Kendo, nii-sama? But isn't it opt-?"

Said brother held up one hand to interrupt her as he sat at his polished desk, poring over the many documents spread over the glass surface. Rukia waited patiently for him to elaborate, used to the awkward stretches of time between his answers. When he finally answered again, he didn't look up at her. That too, she was used to.

"The academy I have enrolled you into is suitable for budding female social elites. Self-defense is also vital for some of the more prominent members. Take care to learn and not disgrace the Kuchiki name."

Face guarded, she bowed in understanding and silently retreated backwards out of his office. Once outside, she let a small smile creep onto her face.

It had been a slightly odd but touching act from an otherwise aloof brother, to ensure her self-defense when the class itself was only optional. It had also been one of a few instances in her memories where he had openly or as openly as his personality permitted, acted as a brother would.

All of this did no good to alleviate her fears of her next class though. Not when her classmates and soon-to-be sparring opponents were all male.

"By the way, Kyoraku…" began assistant vice-principal Ukitake, "doesn't the kendo class start today?"

His fellow assistant vice-principal hummed in agreement, currently more interested in appraising an artfully done portrait of himself.

"I thought it was interesting that they would have such a class here, but which of the Captains or Zippers will be teaching it? We're all fairly qualified, but we're spread out as it is teaching other subjects," Ukitake pushed.

The brunette companion broke his gaze from his portrait and stared thoughtfully into space.

"If I remember correctly, Old Man Yama said…"

In an open, meticulously trimmed grass field, the kendo class' instructor sneezed once and scowled.

Barefoot and clad in a sleeveless white tank and dark navy cargo shorts that showcased his muscular frame, he peered around his new "classroom", eyeing the large marble shed stocked with an array of weapons and the perimeters of the field, whose borders stretched out farther than the eye could see. Off in the distance, the hazy outline of the main school campus was visible, behind the concrete locker rooms, which were closer in comparison.

As the teacher continued to observe his surroundings, the Stitch class watched him nervously. All students, including Rukia, were garbed in short and airy white T-shirts and simple red hakamas on the bottom. General footwear consisted of sneakers.

"All right," he growled, "Normally I wouldn't give a shit about teaching class, but seeing as we'll be fighting and some of you look strong, I'll stick around."

"Jeez," muttered Ichigo, who was standing to the side of Rukia, "out of all the Captains, we had to get Zaraki Kenpachi."

Out of all the groups of students possible, I just had to get Kurosaki Ichigo in my PE class as well, thought Rukia darkly.

"Kenpachi?" questioned Keigo Asano, one of Ichigo's "acquaintances" on a good day, a "stranger" on bad days.

"One of the more violent Captains, or so I've heard," murmured Rukia, never taking her eyes off of the imposing man's back.

Zaraki Kenpachi was almost a legend, even among the remarkable Captains. All sorts of rumors had spawned about the famous or infamous 11th Captain ever since he had blazed his way through an international-level kendo competition. Though some of the rumors, to his credit, were true, the majority were false. This, however, didn't deter the formation of a group of followers, who worshipped and honored his strength with an almost religious devotion.

Though he only owned one company compared to the Captains, it mainly dealt with supplying and training the world's strongest athletes, whether in strength, swordplay, speed or flexibility. In fact, many of the world's Olympians had originated from this company and thousands more clamored to enter to raise their prospective chances of a victory.

However, Rukia contemplated, she had no inkling as to who the Captain's companion was, a short girl with bright bubblegum-pink-colored hair that curled up at her shoulders, who was watching with an air of curiosity. What was even stranger about the newcomer was the odd level of maturity and experience in her eyes as she surveyed the students in front of her.

"Alright you maggots! Line up for roll call!"

His raspy voice carried far and coupled with his impressive build and height, the boys and Rukia were left scrambling to obey. Holding a clipboard with several papers, he gave a cursory glance over the list, then over the frightened and stiff line of students.

"Eh, looks about the right number. Everyone's here," Kenpachi uttered nonchalantly, flinging the clipboard into the grass beside him.

All students sweatdropped at his action, wondering at his flippant attitude towards their attendance.

"Alright you weaklings, listen up! Pick a partner, one of those wooden sticks and start swinging!"

Everyone was too scared to voice the obvious dilemma except for one courageous, if not stupid Keigo Asano.

"But sir," he piped up, "you haven't taught us how to-"

The swish of a blade and a few cut strands of grass and hair was the answer he received and he clammed up immediately, shivering on the spot.

"Get to it!" the huge man grumbled, before he lumbered over to his small companion, who was steadily appearing more impatient by the minute.

"Ken-chan, where's the exciting thing you promised?" she complained loudly, as the two of them settled into the grass and stared out at the fumbling and confused students. He grunted, and his eyes focused with an uncharacteristic lack of bloodlust and more of seriousness at the only female in the group, who was still looking warily for a partner.

"Hell if I know yet," he retorted, eyeing the small girl, before returning his gaze to the older female on the field.

"But the old fart says it's right here."

Farther out in the field and unbeknownst to the pair's conversation, Rukia nervously eyed the milling crowd of boys, trying to pick one who might go easy on her. Though she had promised Byakuya nii-sama to give her all in the kendo class, she was painfully aware that even her fit physique may not take well to the blows of an average boy.

"Oi, you!"

Rukia ignored the call, which was likely meant for another and continued to rake her eyes through the group of males still grabbing wooden sticks from the nearby shed.

"Hey!"

Slightly annoyed, she turned to face the source of the yells, only to lock eyes with one Kurosaki Ichigo.

The orange-haired teen jogged up to her with little effort, only panting slightly. She noticed he held two sticks in his hand before meeting his eyes again.

"I have a name you know," she reminded him as he finally closed the distance between them.

"Okay, okay," he muttered, rolling his eyes, "Do me a favor and spar with me."

Eyeing his muscular build in apprehension and suspicion, she questioned him with a "Why should I?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Ichigo said "Look, long story short, I can't go all out in front of that instructor." Seeing her confused expression, he explained, "There're just some reasons, okay? I promise I won't go all out with you."

Somehow, hearing the promise of an easy spar from the fiery-haired teen irritated her. Casting aside her earlier fears and with veins popping, Rukia shouted, "I'm not a weak little girl! Come at me with all you have!"

Ichigo blinked, before he sighed.

"You asked for it."

Tossing his spare wooden sword to her, he settled into a confident and relaxed stance. Rukia fumbled and played hot potato with her stick before managing to grasp it, and noted his stance.

He's done kendo before, she mused, judging by how he's gripping and standing.

She tried to copy his stance and found it awkward to match the angle of his legs. As the two stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move, they became aware of a commotion, growing louder in volume as if it was approaching them.

"I'm telling you, I don't think we're supposed to be throwing these sticks like javelins in a kendo class."

"Aw, it's fine, the teacher's not paying attention anyways," answered a snotty voice.

"Hey, stop it man, if we're caught, we're dead!" yelled a panicked voice.

There was a whooshing sound, and several cries rent the air.

"Hey, you crazy?!"

"Run, you guys!"

"Look out!"

"Look out!"

"Look out!" Rukia stared in wild confusion as Ichigo ran towards her with a horror-struck face, arms outstretched for something seemingly behind her.

Whirling around to deal with the problem, she suddenly saw an explosion of dizzy colors before black overtook and swallowed her vision.

Super-long-author-note:Hey guys, as usual, thanks so much for all the visitors and hits to my stories! While I'd love to hear from you guys by review or messaging, your interest in my fics has made me quite happy!

PLEASE READ THIS. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.Holy shoot, to the people who've read this fic on my old account, it's been several months since I've last updated, right? T.T Goodness, I think misfortune likes me. I'm really sorry for making you wait guys!

To any readers of my works on my original account as well: First off, the lung and stomach cancer battle. It's actually going pretty good! My condition's been getting better but it still takes a chunk of each day for treatments, medicine, etc. And I have finals and (excuse my language) a crapload of projects right now on top of that. Not to mention this chapter was lost when my computer crashed and decided to hate me. I felt pretty depressed about that and had some author's block about rewriting the whole thing. But I got the kinks out, and here you go! I also had to move (won't say where) to a cleaner environment in hopes of recovering my health. By the way, I'm NOT a ripoff of the author Suisho x Hirako Shinji. I AM that author, but I can't seem to access my account no matter what I do, so I had to create a new one. Sorry if you have to favorite/alert/review again. Feel free to do so or not. I will fix the small details but no plot details as I upload each chapter again. I'm sorry once again, and welcome back to those who're still staying with me! Love you all!

I still won't be able to update fast even with my slow recovery. I haven't gotten around to writing the next chapter at all. Expect a few weeks or even one or two months in between updates. I won't forget you though!

Zee, um, so Kaien's apparently alive and there's going to be a lot of hullabaloo. Otherwise, expect a lot of flashbacks. For a monumental event like this to be of significance, you need to have some background, so I'll be building that up. Yeah, I know the Ukitake and Kyoraku scenes were drawn out, but little scenes like that help me to build character, for those who are less familiar with some Bleach characters' personalities. Hoped it showed their friendliness and friendship. Yah, welcome Zaraki fans, if there are any among my readers. He finally appears and he already expects something of Rukia. This (and everything else) will be explained as the chapters progress. This chapter wasn't very exciting romantically, but I think a story should pace itself.