Look, it's back! I had about 75% of this chapter written for a couple months, so I figured I might as well as finish it. Sorry this chapter is a lot shorter than the others, but if I tried to make it any longer than I probably would have given up on it again. But hey, it's done, so that's something.

I'd promise the next chapter soon but I would most likely be lying.

Also, does anybody have ideas for a cover image? I'd rather not pull a random picture from the internet without getting permission from the artist.

IV; In Loving Memory

"Court dismissed."

I felt no remorse as I watched the bailiff lead the screaming Mabashi out of the courtroom. He was a disgusting man, and was better off rotting away in prison for the rest of his life.

You think performing a social justice like this would make me happy. Hell, on a daily basis I'm helping to make this city safer, and everyone in this courtroom would thank me for my services. But that wasn't good enough for me.

Just the fact that people like Mabashi still existed on this planet made me want to scream to the skies about how unfair it was for the victims. Those thirteen women who had their throats slit after rounds of sexual torture - they were gone, and in their places were gaping holes in the hearts of their friends and families.

A hand heartily slapped my back, snapping me out of my daze. "You did a good job, bro. You know that, right?"

This was something Renji told me after every 'victory' for our side and after a while, it really didn't mean much anymore. Heh, but if I ever told him that, he would launch such a bitch fit. So instead of completely ignoring him, I simply said, "Yeah, yeah, I know." He looked at me unconvinced at first, but I flashed him what I hoped was a cheery smile.

He huffed out a breath and shrugged. "Are you leaving for the day?"

"Yeah. You'll take care of the rest of the paperwork?"

"Count on it."

I nodded curtly in his direction and then set off to retrieve my car. Settling into my convertible, I eased into the traffic of the city; whenever I was feeling anxious, I made this trip to soothe my mind.

On the outskirts of town was a small flower shop. My flashy car was pretty obnoxious for this part of the neighborhood, so when I got out I think I did something close to a triple check on the lock. When I entered the building, a middle aged woman greeted me with a smile. "Oh, Byakuya! It's good to see you again. My, you look as handsome as ever!"

"Thank you, Judith. It's always a pleasure to be greeted by such a lovely woman," I said smoothly, although my mind was distracted; responses like this were basically second nature to me.

Before I could even tell her what kind of flowers I wanted, she began bustling her way to the back of the store. "Did you lock up another baddie?" her muffled voice called out. Judith was cute like that, using words like 'baddie' to describe convicted felons.

I told her about what had happened today in court while she came out from the back with a bouquet of white roses. She nodded approvingly as she rang up the bill on the register. I paid for my purchase and reached to take the flowers from her hands, but instead she set the flowers on the counter, stood in front of me, and then suddenly gave me a fierce hug. After she let go, she looked at me fondly and said, "You seemed a little down today."

I attempted to keep the brief moment of surprise off my face, but I must have failed miserably because she took one look at me and giggled cheerily. I began sputtering out a response but she simply shoved the flowers into my arms and shooed me out the front door, all the while saying, "You're a good man, Byakuya, don't forget that. And tell her I said hello." And just like that, she shut the door in my face and left me standing there, staring incredulously at the street while holding the bouquet. I smiled slightly and got into my car.

Judith was a woman who was keenly aware that the little things make all the difference.

After several minutes of driving, it was clear that I was well away from the city as my surroundings turned into a suburban environment. The familiar houses stirred up nostalgia in my heart; the kind of nostalgia that made me wonder why I even made this trip in the first place.

Eventually, I pulled into a parking space across from a small cemetery. Lucky me, it seemed like I had the place to myself for the day. I walked along a cobblestone path until I reached a simple tombstone that was plainly marked:

IN LOVING MEMORY OF

HISANA KUCHIKI

1989 - 2010

I placed the flowers by her tombstone and took a seat on the ground, not caring much about my suit. "Hey, Hisana," I said quietly, "Judith sends her greetings." For a while, I simply sat there next to her, enjoying the peaceful breeze and fresh air; a liberty that was near impossible to have in the city.

A shaky breath left my mouth. "Hisana, I fucked up. And I know you don't like it when I curse, but that's just how bad of a mistake I made." I paused and pulled at the grass anxiously; even when she wasn't really there, I still felt nervous about owning up to my mistakes. "When I went to go pick up Rukia I saw her making out with her boyfriend, which of course made me mad since she never told me about him. But then I really flipped out when I saw that she had a hickey." Saying this out loud made the immaturity of my actions hit home; I suddenly felt like a child and all I wanted to do was just curl up into a ball and forget about everything, but I trudged on. "I don't know why I got so mad. She's certainly old enough to be dating but I guess I just don't want anything bad to happen to her - after what she's been through, I just want to shield her from all the shit in this world, even though I know that's not truly possible. But the idea of seeing her heart break? That seems like something that I can protect her from..." I yanked out a fistful of grass and shook my head in disgust. "And of course, the way I protect her from heartbreak is by inadvertently calling her a whore. Good job, Byakuya."

I sighed heavily and forced myself to being rambling off about all the other things that had been happening to me recently. I talked about the different trials I worked on, the events going on in Rukia's life, and when there was nothing left to say, I sat there in silence and contemplated my problems. I knew that Hisana wouldn't be proud of the way I had acted; hell, nobody would be proud of what I said, myself being at the top of that list. I had to do something.

Brushing the dirt off my pants, I stood up to leave, but not without one last look at the tombstone. "Don't worry Hisana, I'll fix this."

On the car ride home, I felt determined to apologize to Rukia and planed to tell her that she and her boyfriend had my blessing. Although the thought of Rukia with that orange-haired punk still irritated me, I pushed those feelings to the back of my mind. It was time to act like the adult for once and just deal with the fact that Rukia was growing up, and if she trusted him, then I had reason enough to trust him as well.

When I was back in the city, I stopped by a small food store and picked up some rice dumplings - her favorite snack - as a peace offering. Hell, maybe I could even take her out to eat as well. I spent the remaining time in the car humming happily along to the song playing on the radio.

I parked the car, entered the building, and made my way into the elevator, the song that I was humming earlier now playing on repeat in my head. Before I opened my front door, I shot a glance at my watch - 6:23 P.M. Alright, Rukia would probably be home by now. I opened the door and flipped on the light.

"Hey Rukia, I'm home!" I called out. "I need to talk to you and hey, I brought some rice dumplings also." I shook my shoes off while the sound of faint voices came drifting from another room. Around my feet were our collection of shoes, and the ones that Rukia typically wore were among the pile... Along with another pair of sneakers that I didn't recognize. "Rukia?" I asked a bit more tentatively.

For a moment there was no answer and I felt my body tense up, but then I heard the familiar, "Yeah I'm here, Bya-nii!"

I visibly relaxed and said, "Well come on over here!"

"Well actually, I have something I need to talk to you about also." Rukia finally walked into view, but she wasn't alone. Trailing behind her was a tall, orange-haired boy.

It literally took all of my willpower to keep my fists from clenching at the sight of him.

Rukia took a breath, squared her shoulders, and evenly met my glare with her own fierce stare. "I want you to meet Ichigo, my boyfriend."

Thanks for reading! It would be lovely if my return back to Spice! would be greeted with reviews from my wonderful readers~