A Bee Among Strawberries

by eusocialdragon

Sui-Feng AU. 100 years after she left Soul Society, Shaolin Feng gets caught up in the events of the Substitute Shinigami Arc. But will her actions help Ichigo, or advance the designs of a sinister conspiracy?

8. A Bee at School

Disclaimer: Bleach and all the characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. This fanfic is being written merely for the enjoyment of myself and whoever happens to like it.

Reviews would be most welcome, as would constructive criticism. In the case of the later, you can be brutally honest, but please don't be abusive. And flames will be ignored.

There have been more Favorite Story and Story Alert arrivals; welcome aboard shooped, Slayer Anderson, Orchamus, Addie Card, Flower in the River, Anon e Mouse Jr., Latios, ZiPeppe, XKuroSoraX, WeirdRaptor, and 0o TheLadyLuna o0.

This story has also made its way to its first community – Crystal Shards – and I'd like to thank the administrator, Christopher Robin R2, for that.

I'd like to take the time right now to thank Nexus the 13th for pointing out a logic error concerning Rukia in my last chapter, which I've corrected. I will try my best not to let it happen again (though I can't make any promises). And it does make me want to ask if you people think I might need a beta reader for this work; seeing as how no one has said anything like that, I'm currently assuming I don't need one, but it never hurts to ask.

And I also want to apologize to all of you for how long it's taken me to get this chapter out; I know some of you are used to longer waits than this, but I'm sure I can do better than what I've been doing lately. I'm going to see what I can do to speed up the flow of chapters (though I again make no promises).

Anyway, here's the next chapter, I hope you all like it (and I hope it doesn't ramble on too much; it's a long one)...

---

"All right class, let's go over the forms again."

Feng-sensei's voice made two students immediately get up off the mat and proceed to face each other. Tatsuki watched as they bowed, and then started to spar; they were advanced students, acting as a sort of example for the rest of the class.

While the two of them practiced, Tatsuki looked over the couple dozen other students lined against the walls, Ichigo and Orihime included, and smiled a little. It made her feel good that the place had filled up again; it meant people trusted sensei, that the last traces of the mess over Ichigo's mother were passing away.

Tatsuki looked over to where sensei was presiding over the match, a look of stern examination on her face. The last scars seemed to have faded from her exterior as well, and now she was only interested in her students' training; she was focused on the present instead of the past, and that was good.

Sensei could get into some horrible depressions when she wanted to.

As she continued to watch the match, Tatsuki thought about her time on the mat, some of it with Feng-sensei herself. She was the best student in class these days, and would have probably wiped the floor with anyone else; it was probably why she was sitting to one side instead of actually participating right now.

Then she saw Ichigo rolling his eyes at the scene.

Tatsuki didn't say anything – the disruption would have been disrespectful in sensei's dojo – but the sight infuriated some part of her.

He was another of the advanced students, and maybe she'd admit that he was approaching her level; he might actually beat her one of these days. But he could be more humble about it, be more respectful of the other people around him who weren't as good.

Just because he'd won a few fights at school...and with sensei's training, no less...

The two students on the mat finished their 'match', bowed, and then went back to their places. Feng-sensei nodded in approval and then turned to the class.

"That was good. Kurosaki-san, it's your turn."

Ichigo just sat there and looked like he was thinking about it, like he might refuse his sensei's request.

Tatsuki could feel her blood getting up even more for a moment; she closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths.

This had been happening more and more over the last couple of years: Ichigo had been getting more and more rebellious, and had been retreating into his own world. One that unfortunately seemed to include him being a jerk to everyone around him...including his 'obasan'...

Sensei's nature hadn't helped either; Tatsuki knew from experience the woman could be a little...'controlling' when she wasn't careful, and for a middle school boy starting to feel his hormones, that was just anathema.

It made Tatsuki glad she was a girl.

After about half a minute, Ichigo nodded his head; he slowly got up and then started for the middle of the room, taking his time and somehow slouching and swaggering at the same time. He ignored the hot stares being leveled at him, including the one sensei was using; in fact, he seemed to be making a point of thumbing his nose at the older woman.

Tatsuki would have wanted to go hit the idiot on the head...hard. How dare he do something like this, in public, embarrassing someone who had never been anything other than nice to him outside the dojo?

But then again this was the result of him being sent to Mashiba; that place was pretty rough, from what Tatsuki had heard. She and Uryuu had gone to different middle schools, and sensei was an adult, so none of them could help protect 'Mr. Sunshine' from the bullies there. And Ichigo's father looked like the kind of person who would tell his son to 'man up' about his problems.

And now the result of all that was standing in the middle of the room – power, with only enough discipline to make him really dangerous. A violation of what sensei taught and believed in.

Deep down Tatsuki knew he wasn't that bad, at least not yet, but he was sure putting on a convincing act right now. Just standing there in defiance, closed off from the world and the people in it, daring them to punch through his soul's armor plating.

Fortunately, Feng-sensei had the ability to do just that; the woman continued to give the boy a stern glare, and after a few moments Ichigo started to look at least a little ashamed. The sight made the class breath easier, and it made Tatsuki wonder once again how the woman had done it.

But Tatsuki knew even sensei's hold on the boy was starting to slip the last year or so. It made classes with him in attendance...'fun'; the rest of the students weren't upset that his attendance record was getting worse.

When she really thought about it she probably just felt sorry for the guy as opposed to really angry.

Which was about the same thing in Arisawa Tatsuki's book...

Another moment, and Feng-sensei felt she was in control of the situation with Ichigo; the older woman turned her attention back to the class.

Tatsuki hoped she'd be picked as that brat's sparring partner. Maybe she could recover some of sensei's honor and beat some sense into Ichigo...literally.

"Inoue-san, join him on the mat."

Orihime?

Even as Tatsuki recovered from the mild shock, the girl smartly came up and stood before her opponent. She made an excellent contrast with her opponent, with her eager smile and stance, and Tatsuki could feel the mood in the room brighten.

The girl had that effect on people...just the way Ichigo had back when he'd first come to the dojo. And she was certainly the most popular person here, due to her appearance as much as her bubbly personality.

Orihime had also been changed a little by being here; Tatsuki noted happily that the girl's ginger hair was longer, thanks to being among friends as much her personal protection at school. And even in the fairly loose clothes it was obvious to everyone, especially the male students, that Orihime's body was filling out quite a bit.

The guys here were too proper to make advances on her, though.

Well, maybe with the exception of the guy Orihime was currently facing...

And that was what was worrying Tatsuki as the two bowed and took their stances on the mat; her friend was still too soft, too nice, when dealing with people who meant her harm.

Like the guy she was currently facing...

Who she still had trouble meeting in the eyes; even now, there was a small half-smile on her face and a look in her downcast eyes...

There was no such look in her opponent's; Ichigo's face was hard, the veteran of who-cared how many schoolyard fights. He was not going to be kidding around here...

Looking at the two of them, Tatsuki made a silent promise: friend that he was, if Ichigo made Orihime cry in front of everyone, she'd be having a long 'talk' with him on the river embankment...

"Begin!"

Ichigo waited for a moment; when Orihime didn't do anything other than smile at him, he threw a punch at her. The shy girl quickly blocked it and followed with a strike of her own, the smile on her face unchanged.

He blocked and then followed with a roundhouse kick; Orihime dodged and then fell back.

Tatsuki relaxed a little, and even felt a small amount of pride as she watched; those after-hours sessions with Orihime were paying off. It made Tatsuki feel even better to catch the approving glance Feng-sensei threw her way.

Orihime had only been here a few months, but she was already getting good.

Good enough, apparently, to make Ichigo decide to try something more aggressive.

He closed the distance between himself and Orihime, feinted, and then threw a punch at her head. She quickly moved her head out of the way and grabbed his arm. Then she swept her leg around, catching his own and knocking him off balance.

But then she seemed to lose concentration, because she forgot to get away from him as he started to fall. She got caught up in his legs and started to go down with him...

A moment later Ichigo was flat on his back on the mat, Orihime on top of him; soon the two were struggling together in a mass of flailing limbs, trying to separate from each other.

"Get off of me!"

"I-I'm trying, I'm-"

As Tatsuki watched the 'show', she could see the amusement in the rest of the class, and she could almost feel sensei having the same attitude. She kept her own expression neutral, and it help that she felt it served Ichigo right for his earlier attitude.

After another half-minute or so of struggle, Ichigo managed to grab hold of Orihime's torso and then almost threw her back; she lost her balance again and fell on her backside. The two of them spent a moment catching their breath and trying to get over what had happened.

Then it seemed to dawn on Ichigo, and apparently on Orihime as well, where he'd grabbed her; she stopped her hands as they were going to her chest, while Ichigo just stared a little at his own hands.

Tatsuki saw both her friends' faces go the same shade of red at the same time; it didn't help that some of the class was trying hard not to laugh. Tatsuki among them...

Orihime recovered her wits, and then got up and bowed so low she almost fell on top of Ichigo again.

"I'm really, really sorry, Kurosaki-san. I mean, I-"

"Just get away from me."

The boy's words immediately killed the amused atmosphere of the room, though Orihime's face and posture didn't seem to be affected by them beyond a little disappointment. Tatsuki and the rest of class watched the girl slowly go back to her place in class, her shoulders a little slumped. For his part, Ichigo didn't look terribly concerned with his 'partner's' feelings as he picked himself up and went back to his own place.

Tatsuki couldn't help but shake her head at the sight.

One of the scars from Kurosaki Masaki's death that would never heal...

It made Tatsuki so mad and frustrated with Ichigo; Uryuu had lost someone he cared about, and right before his own eyes too, and though affected by it he'd gotten on with his life for the most part.

Why couldn't Ichigo?

As soon as the boy had sat down, Tatsuki glanced again at Orihime; she was sitting straight, but she had her head bowed and she was obviously trying to restrain her arms from wrapping themselves around her body.

The sight made Tatsuki want to beat Ichigo into the floor right then and there. How could he do that to Orihime? And in front of...

And then she noticed the small smile on Orihime's face.

What the hell was she smiling for...?

And then as she thought about the 'feel' coming off her friend, it hit Tatsuki like a fist in the face.

Orihime liked what had happened...she...

She liked Ichigo like that?

Ichigo?

Tatsuki turned her attention to Ichigo, who was ignoring the fresh round of heat being directed from sensei and the rest of the class. He knew his 'obasan' especially didn't care for things like what he'd just done, but the boy obviously didn't care.

The words had already been said and the actions taken; he probably figured he'd deal with the consequences when they came.

He always did.

But he did cast a glance in Orihime's direction, and there was just the slightest hint of regret and shame in his face. Tatsuki looked back to Orihime, and noticed the girl was looking at Ichigo, though with a smile rather than some darker expression.

It just made Tatsuki shake her head in disbelief, and made her forget about violence against Ichigo.

Of all the ridiculous...

But it also made her think.

---

Daydreaming.

She couldn't believe she was daydreaming in the middle of class; that was always more Orihime's style, when she even did something like that.

But Tatsuki couldn't help it...there was just something...

Her mind was distracted on some level, and it seemed to want to just page through memories about other times in her life.

Memories that kept hauling her back towards Ichigo and Orihime...both of whom were with her in the class where she should have been trying to pay attention.

It was a simple room with chalkboards around it, and a row of windows on one side, open now so that the morning air could circulate along with the sunlight streaming in.

Everyone was doing what they normally did; Ms. Ochi was teaching her lessons, regardless of whether anyone was actually paying attention. She could see several of the other girls off in their own part of the sea of chairs. Keigo and Mizuiro were together as usual off to one side, with Ichigo's other friend Chad towering over them both.

Ishida Uryuu was off in one corner of the room, unreadable neutrality on his face as usual, though from time to time he'd glance at Ichigo and Rukia and...Orihime and herself...? And in the latter case it seemed to be with concern; it made Tatsuki snort in amusement that he'd have that kind of feeling now.

Orihime was sitting near the windows, a small smile plastered on her face, looking for all the world like she might be daydreaming herself. But there was something off; she'd been periodically glancing to the middle of the room, her smile slightly disappearing whenever she did so.

And Tatsuki could see why, with Orihime's crush sitting next to another girl.

The idea of getting Orihime and Ichigo together had just started as a lark, especially when Tatsuki had figured out her newer friend actually liked Ichigo. As time went on, and Orihime's fondness for the man grew with her curves, the idea became more and more entrenched within Tatsuki's mind.

Most of the other girls were turned off by him, and he didn't seem interested in anything but beating up bullies, so...what the hell.

The fact that he occasionally paid attention to Orihime helped convince Tatsuki that she wasn't just wasting her time. Even now, a mixed look of shame, concern and relief was barely noticeable on the frowning expression he always wore, but it was there. And it was there on the one or two times during class he'd looked at Tatsuki, which was weird, but nice.

She'd never openly admit it, but she missed the person he had been before his mother died...

And now some nobody they'd never heard of was pushing her way into Ichigo's life, and their own. When Tatsuki thought about it, she really wasn't worried about the man being with someone else; Orihime didn't seem to care about that, so Tatsuki decided she wouldn't either.

But maybe...maybe it was that Rukia had found some way to penetrate Ichigo's shell, like Feng-sensei had. He talked to her, hung around her, treated her like a human being instead of an NPC in one of Keigo's role-playing games.

Maybe it was just simple jealousy.

But there was also something going on between those two, and now that she had begun to hit on it the day before, it wouldn't leave Tatsuki's mind.

And what she'd heard this morning, amusing as it might have been, hadn't helped...

"Is it just me, or does Kurosaki-kun look super-scowly today...?"

Tatsuki took a moment to look in the direction Orihime was motioning in. Ichigo was walking towards school dressed in the gray blazer and pants of Karakura High with Rukia pretty much right next to him.

Just as...well, the new usual.

But he was frowning a bit more than normal. Most people wouldn't have noticed much difference; it had taken Tatsuki more than a few arguments and a lot of effort over the last few years before she'd figured out how to read that stupid 'look' he was promoting.

Tatsuki took another moment and then shook her head.

"Nah, he's all right. In fact, I think he's just...well, thinking."

Orihime arched an eyebrow.

"About what?"

Tatsuki thought that was a very good question. It didn't help that Rukia had a smile on her face that had a slightly superior look on it; Tatsuki felt it was just a facade, though.

For all the world, they looked like they'd had a very good night just now. But there was just something that just didn't feel right about that idea...

Orihime had meanwhile come up with her own conclusions.

"Maybe they were talking about what happened yesterday with those bikers."

Innocent as that was, that made sense to Tatsuki too, though something told her Rukia was the kind of person to rip Ichigo a new one over the bikers.

Which would probably get him tearing Rukia down in turn.

A little back and forth like that, and she could see the two...she had to consider the possibility they were lovers...would be much angrier than they were right now.

Whatever was going on, Tatsuki felt like she and Orihime needed to hear more.

"Let's go follow them and see if anything happens."

"You mean like...tailing them?"

Orihime didn't look so sure about the idea, and it caused Tatsuki to sigh at her friend.

"It's not 'tailing'...we just happen to be going in the same direction as some good friends, and we're a ways behind them, that's all."

The ginger-haired student still didn't look entirely convinced of the idea, but then gave an 'Oh well!' shrug and fell in line.

Tatsuki focused her attention on Ichigo and Rukia and she accelerated her pace, assuming Orihime was following behind.

Soon she was close enough to see that they were talking about something...but what, she couldn't tell from so far away.

She'd seen Feng-sensei follow people before and knew some of the 'rules' by heart: don't try to really hide, don't draw attention to yourself, don't focus your attention on your target but do keep them in sight-

"Here, put these on."

Something was thrust into Tatsuki's hands, causing her mind to come back to reality. She looked down to see a pair of bright red headphones with a wire leading off to...

She could feel her jaw open a little at the sight of the hand-held parabolic listening device in Orihime's hands, a second set of headphones already gracing her ears.

"What are you...?"

Orihime put a finger to her mouth to silence Tatsuki, and then just gave a knowing wink.

Tatsuki looked at the ginger-haired girl for a moment like she was insane. Then Tatsuki sighed and put the headphones on. Orihime squeezed the trigger on the device, and after a moment...

"So...you never told me who you went to see last night..."

"No, I guess I didn't..."

Wait...Ichigo wasn't...

She stared at Orihime, and saw the ginger-haired girl staring back at her with the same expression. They turned back and saw that Rukia was trying to keep a calm face, even as her attitude and voice indicated she was worried.

"Ichigo...I need to know who you saw; it's important."

Oh ho...maybe it is what I thought...

The idea that she'd been upstaged by a third girl didn't seem to be sitting well with the new kid. Or at least she wasn't handling it as well as Orihime was with Rukia's 'arrival'.

Ichigo just continued to look at the sky, only the slightest smile on his lips.

"Yeah, I suppose it is..."

Tatsuki had to admit, it was fun looking at the way Rukia's body showed how she was trying to contain her frustration. And then she lost it; Rukia turned to her companion, an outraged look on her face.

"Ichigo!"

Ichigo turned to Rukia to answer, and then he got a look in his eyes that seemed to say-

Tatsuki and Orihime quickly hid in an alleyway they were passing by; Tatsuki pressed herself against one building's brick wall, while Orihime simply moved the listening device around aimlessly. Tatsuki thought she could hear some cats fighting in the distance.

An apt metaphor for what Ichigo was going through.

After a couple of moments, Tatsuki looked around into the street to see if Ichigo was still looking behind him. He wasn't, and so the brunette signaled to her partner to come on out.

Another couple of moments, and they were back to...following Ichigo and Rukia. Tatsuki could hear the young man sigh and saw him shake his head.

"All right, don't get your panties in a knot. I went to see my obasan."

The word made both girls stop and exchange surprised looks.

Ichigo had met with sensei?

Maybe this whole thing might be resolved faster than Tatsuki had thought...

Rukia, for her part turned a look on Ichigo that was equal parts disbelief and amusement.

"Your...your obasan?"

The way Rukia said the words shocked and infuriated Tatsuki; how dare this...nobody talk about Feng-sensei like that?

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me..."

First this bimbo had barged into Ichigo's life, then she was dragging him off to who knew where, and now she was insulting sensei...!

Ichigo seemed to feel a little like that himself; he gave Rukia an insulted glare.

"What's funny about that?"

Then the sound faded away; Tatsuki couldn't catch the next bit from where she was. She turned to her friend and to her surprise found Orihime turning the dish away from the people in front of them, a look on her face that somehow was both spacey and focused at the same time.

"What are you doing?"

Orihime ignored the hissed complaint, and continued to move the dish around a little more.

"You don't have my experience...which, I might add, is..."

Rukia was keeping her voice down, but there was the superior attitude to it she'd shown Tatsuki the evening before. Even from this distance, Tatsuki could see it was irritating Ichigo to no end.

'Experience', huh?

For just a moment Tatsuki instincts imagined what that meant.

But then she began to wonder...

There was a seriousness and sureness to the words that seemed to indicate that Rukia wasn't talking about the obvious. And there was the fact that Ichigo had called on sensei for help...

Tatsuki could see Rukia looking up at him, glaring again, though there wasn't much strength to it. In fact, she looked like she'd had kind of a rough morning.

"Teaching you...?"

Ichigo again returned her glare, one Tatsuki wanted to throw Orihime's way as the girl waved the dish around yet again.

"It's the least you could do, seeing as how I'm doing your job for you."

A job...?

More of Tatsuki's fears about the new girl were coming back to her. When she'd gotten up this morning, Tatsuki had resolved to lighten up about Rukia; she'd almost certainly been over-reacting to what was going on.

But now...

Rukia looked for a moment like she was thinking, and then she smiled and shook her head.

"Thanks for the joke, Ichigo; I needed that."

Ichigo turned to face his 'companion', his eyes wide.

"What the...?"

Orihime suddenly turned off the dish and hid it behind her back, and then she started swaying her head as though listening to music. Tatsuki pulled off her headphones and just rolled her eyes heavenward, hoping that the two people in front of them wouldn't notice what was going on.

But this time Ichigo and Rukia seemed oblivious to anything outside of the two of them; after a few moments, Orihime quietly turned the dish back on.

"...this is just temporary, remember; as soon as I'm...better, I'll leave. Until then, I'll only tell you what I need in order to help you get the job done."

"Like you've been 'helping' me so far?"

Rukia closed her eyes and sighed; when she opened them again she looked at one of her hands.

"I...I don't know what happened over there...it's still like that now, kind of..."

He arched an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?"

Rukia turned her head to him, and Tatsuki could see that she was actually troubled. For the first time, Ichigo was actually looking at his companion with concern.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know, I don't think so. I should have recovered days ago. But...I don't know..."

She shook her head sadly.

"I know you don't like doing this stuff, that it's a 'distraction'..."

Ichigo frowned.

"I didn't say that-"

She held up a hand.

"You've had that attitude for a while now. I don't blame you; you shouldn't be having to do this. Maybe if things had been different..."

She shook her head again, and for just a moment Tatsuki thought she could make out something under Rukia's breath...

"...I hate this existence..."

"What are you two doing?"

Tatsuki froze solid on the sidewalk, and then turned to see Kunieda Ryou and Natsui Mahana standing behind her, a suspicious smirk on the taller girl's face.

Aw, man...what do I-?

Orihime had continued to slowly scan the area with the small dish, and only after a minute did she seem to notice their 'guests'. She calmly took off her headphones and let them rest around her neck while she smiled at Ryou.

"Oh, hey Kunieda-san, Natsui-san!"

"Checking up on your would-be 'boyfriend'?"

Ryou pointed at Ichigo and Rukia in the distance.

Orihime turned to look at the people being pointed to and then looked scandalized.

"No! I'd never do such a thing...okay, at least not in public..."

The two newcomers looked like they didn't believe a word of it.

"Right, so what were you doing?"

Orihime's expression became serious. Or at least as serious as Orihime could look.

"Aliens."

The expression on the two girls' faces was eloquent.

"What?"

Orihime nodded her head vigorously and held up the dish.

"I've been checking for alien energy signatures with this. Tatsuki was nice enough to help me out and-"

The light-bulb turned on in Tatsuki's head; she turned on her friend and glared at her, even as she removed her own headphones.

"You mean that's what we've been doing this whole time? You've got to be kidding me!"

Ryou and Mahana looked very puzzled, as though they didn't want to believe what was going on. But after a few moments they just shook their heads and started to move away from Orihime.

"What an airhead..."

"The only aliens around here are the ones invading her brain..."

Orihime pouted, a hurt look on her face as she gazed at her toy.

"But I just got it in the mail last week..."

It made Tatsuki internally shake her head in admiration; Orihime had been pretty clever moving that dish around. Maybe they didn't get as much of the conversation as they would have liked, but the action gave some validity to that fig-leaf of a story about aliens. Enough that people wouldn't immediately be talking about the two of them spying on Rukia and Ichigo's conversations.

Inoue Orihime might be odd, but her grades confirmed one thing Tatsuki knew.

Her friend was most definitely not stupid.

And in the meantime Tatsuki could savor the priceless looks that Rukia and Ichigo were throwing her and Orihime's way, now that they had finally discovered they were being watched...

A little later Chizuru had come up and tried to play 'marriage counselor' or something. Tatsuki hadn't wanted to know what was going on, though she could guess; having Rukia attached to Ichigo meant Orihime was 'free' for that...beast.

Even now, the redhead was casting the occasional glance at Orihime, and even one or two challenging ones at Tatsuki. It got her blood up, so she tried to think of something else.

What had Rukia meant by 'a job'? Nothing legitimate, that was for sure; Rukia was too new to have found some kind of work around here. And whatever it was Ichigo didn't like doing it, though Tatsuki had to admit her oldest friend wasn't exactly a salaryman-in-training.

What was he doing that would require sensei's help?

She was getting a bad feeling that that fell in the realm of 'You don't even want to know' territory...

"Tatsuki-chan...are you zoning out again?"

Orihime's words broke Tatsuki's line of thought and she shook herself back to reality. Looking around, she could see that class was breaking up; she'd completely missed the bell.

I really don't have my head in the game, do I?

"Oh...yeah, just thinking is all..."

Orihime smiled as Tatsuki got out of her own chair. As they started walking out of the room, the ginger-haired student shook her head.

"All right, but please be careful; I'm supposed to be the space-cadet, remember?"

Tatsuki almost want to laugh at that, and the thought helped invigorate her a little.

"Okay, okay, I'll try to be more 'with it'."

"Good, now we can take part in the most important meal of the day!"

Tatsuki looked at her friend a little weird as they entered the hallway, joining the other students filing out of the room.

"Why is lunch the most important?"

Orihime beamed, and Tatsuki braced herself for one of the girl's odd answers.

"Because, that's when we girls go out and strut our stuff in front of the boys!"

Orihime made what would have been a seductive pose...if she wasn't obviously just pretending. And Tatsuki would have laughed...if it weren't for the fact that, at heart, she was absolutely right.

Well...Tatsuki didn't go trolling for guys, but she knew more than a few who did...

"Oh, Tatsuki-chan, I almost forgot: weren't you going to tell Kurosaki-kun off about what happened last evening?"

At the mention of the time, most of the students in earshot turned their attention on Orihime and Tatsuki. Ichigo and Rukia stopped and immediately tensed up, a worried look in each of their eyes.

It caused Tatsuki to stop for a moment herself.

Why would Rukia be worried? She was the victim...

Kojima Mizuiro was the one who opened his mouth first.

"What happened?"

As she turned her mind to the evening before, some part of Tatsuki wanted to hurt her oldest friend, but instead she satisfied herself with glaring at Ichigo.

"Orihime and I ran into Rukia yesterday after school...alone. After you two left here...together."

Orihime gave one of her patented smiles and nodded her head.

"Yeah, and then those White Tengu guys ran into us and..."

The ginger-haired student's voice trailed off as she realized that everyone was now looking at Ichigo, and not in a good way. He in turn gave Rukia a hard look.

"You didn't tell me that-"

"You were attacked by those biker thugs? Those bastards!"

Tatsuki's attention went back to where Chizuru had just appeared next to Orihime, an outraged look on her face.

Orihime just smiled at the red-head in response.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Honshou-san..."

Chizuru stared at Orihime in disbelief.

"Don't worry about it? You could've been killed!"

Orihime just smiled and shook her head.

"Actually, we kicked their butts!"

To illustrate, the ginger-haired student got into a mock fighting pose and proceeded to throw a couple of punches; Tatsuki wouldn't have been surprised if the girl was daydreaming about beating down some imaginary bad guys.

Everybody in the hallway just looked at her weird; everybody except for Chizuru. She lapped it up, her eyes gaining a look of idol-worship in them.

"Oh, my Hime! Brains, beauty and brawn! You are perfection itself, you are...!"

Ignore her...she hasn't touched Orihime yet...you have more important things to do...you don't want to be sent to juvenile hall for murder...

Rukia simply smiled and then turned to Ichigo.

"That's why I didn't mention it to you: everything worked out."

The orange-haired student wasn't even remotely convinced, and he looked at Orihime and Tatsuki with an obvious mix of concern and shame.

Even though he could be an idiot about it, Tatsuki knew he still tried to protect people...and now the new girl had kept him from doing that.

Tatsuki could see she'd once again have to pull his head out of his-

"Yeah, and it wasn't as scary as those Yakuza guys last night..."

Most of the people in the room just stopped and stared at Orihime, including Tatsuki.

Oh no...

"What?"

Tatsuki internally sighed; her friend was going to be giving that same story she'd used last night...

Now that she had an audience, Orihime started gesturing as she told her 'story' with a wide-eyed seriousness.

"There were a bunch of guys who came into my apartment and shot the place up! They were really scary and had machine guns, and I think one of them had a bazooka or something, and..."

It only took the poor girl a few moments to realize that everyone in earshot was either staring at her or shaking their heads in disbelief. She stopped her manic arm waving and her shoulders slumped as she sighed.

"...And you guys don't believe me..."

One of the girls collected herself enough to address Orihime.

"Is there any reason we-"

Tatsuki sighed and turned to face as much of the crowd as she could.

"It was a gas explosion; at least that's what Ichigo's dad said when we woke up. Blew one wall off the side of the apartment."

The dead-serious way Tatsuki said it caused everyone in the hall to stare at her with concern, including Ichigo.

"Wait a minute...dad...?"

Tatsuki nodded, and felt herself feel a little better at the belief and respect she commanded; it always helped to have a good reputation. It made it easier to get people to listen to you and do what you wanted.

Another wonderful lesson from Feng-sensei.

One of the other students collected themselves enough to speak.

"And the two of you are completely unhurt?"

Tatsuki made a show of thinking about it for a minute, and then shrugged.

"As far as we could tell; we were in the other room when it happened."

It took a few more moments, and then the people present absorbed the news and started doing things like shake their heads in disbelief or look at the girls in wonder. Mizuiro in particular was looking seriously impressed with them.

"Man, talk about miracles..."

Tatsuki had to agree with the man; the other paramedics and cops who had come to the scene had basically said the same thing.

Orihime and her should have wound up in the hospital, or at least gotten some cuts and scrapes for their trouble.

But, no, they were fine...

Or at least they would be fine if Tatsuki could find it in her heart to throw Chizuru out one of the windows. The redhead was still near Orihime; in fact, she'd gotten a little closer, and...

To the brunette's surprise, the usual playfulness was gone from Chizuru's face. For the first time Tatsuki had known her, the woman was looking at Orihime with an utterly serious look of concern.

"Orihime...are you two really all right?"

The serious tone of the words matched the woman's face, and for just a moment Tatsuki began to wonder if maybe Chizuru wasn't entirely bad...

Orihime for her part just gave one of her bright smiles and rubbed the back of her head, as though she were now embarrassed to have even brought the subject up.

"Oh yeah; after Kurosaki-kun's dad looked us over, we went to Tatsuki-chan's place to spend the rest of the night. I mean, we're fine."

Chizuru still looked unsure.

"Well...that's good, but..."

"Oh, and don't worry about where I'm going to sleep; I've got a room of my own at Furin Hall. I'll just stay there until my apartment gets fixed."

The red head seemed to think about it for a moment, and then looked at Orihime again with the same intensity as before.

"Orihime, if you ever need any help, you know you just have to ask, okay?"

The ginger-haired student seemed taken aback for a moment, and then nodded her head happily.

"Thanks, Honshou-san."

The pretty picture lasted for just a moment before Chizuru started getting a lustful look in her eyes again. Tatsuki felt her blood boiling again at the scene, but before she could do anything about it a boy from another class motioned for attention.

He was standing near the hall windows and Tatsuki filed away the fact that he had a pair of binoculars in his hand; she was probably going to pound on him later this semester if she was right about what he usually used those things for...

"Hey guys, I see Feng Shaolin down in the quad!"

Tatsuki immediately began to relax, and she exchanged a smile with Orihime.

Although Tatsuki still had this feeling...

---

Sui-Feng checked behind her as she 'stepped' through the forest.

The gold ribbon tied to her waist was still flying through the air – all ten meters or so of it – kept aloft by her speed and agility through this place. For just a moment, it looked like it might hit a tree, but a quick side-step and the ribbon snapped away from its would be captor...

...only to almost be snagged by a tree on the other side of the 'path' the assassin was taking. Another quick move to the side as she raced through the forest saved it from that, only to send it at yet another tree...

And another and another...

It irritated Sui-Feng to no end, but that was the point of this exercise: move through the forest at top speed, avoiding obstacles and making sure that the ribbon both never touched the ground and came through unscathed. It was supposed to simulate making your way through an area quickly, while still keeping an eye on what was behind you.

At least that's what the elders kept saying; personally the young assassin thought they were just trying to torture her.

She supposed she should have been proud; most people in this line of work only did this on an open field, a test of pure speed.

But Sui-Feng wasn't the only one here, the one competing for the attention of the clan. And as if that weren't enough...

Shihouin Yoruichi herself was observing this 'spectacle'.

The assassin knew she could not screw this up; clan honor and reputation were on the line.

Thankfully, there wasn't much of the course left to go, and the ribbon, as far as she could tell, was still intact; she just had to be careful about her next selections of 'steps' and she would have made it.

And at the end would be-

A flash of silver up above caught Sui-Feng's eye, and almost made her trip up on a stone.

Mei Xing...

Sui-Feng saw the woman pass over her, and she could almost feel the other woman's calm determination from down here. The other assassin arced gracefully through the air – no doubt she'd leaped from a tree branch or something – and then disappeared into the forest ahead of her.

The young shinigami shook her head in frustration, even as she landed on a boulder and then 'stepped' to a patch of grass.

Sui-Feng's cousin was always showing her up in front of the elders, always making her look weak or stupid or slow.

But Sui-Feng was determined not lose to that woman this time.

The Defender of the Realm was watching.

Sui-Feng's heroine was watching...

She would not look bad in her goddess' eyes.

The assassin picked up her speed, careful to keep an eye out for where to go when she 'stepped'.

A set of tree branches, then a small rock by a stream, then another patch of grass. One's eyes had to be sharp if one was to use shunpo to its most effective, as that allowed one to see and plan longer 'steps'.

And she was the best.

She knew she was the best.

Better than Mei Xing definit-

She landed on a tree branch; it looked sturdy enough, but as soon as she touched it the thing broke clean off.

Sui-Feng 'stepped' again, this time to a creek where her foot brushed gravel...that shifted like sand and caught her foot. She looked over, saw the ribbon begin to sag, looked down and saw a flash of silver moving deeper into the rock and...

That bitch, she's using her zanpaktou!

Sui-Feng tugged as hard as she could and managed to pull herself free. She shot forward, 'stepping' along two tree branches and then another boulder before feeling the satisfying snap of the ribbon going taut again.

Now all she had to do was finish this race without Mei Xing causing her further problems.

A few more 'steps' brought the assassin out of the forest and to a small escarpment. Looking out over it briefly, Sui-Feng could see a creek and a field beyond it. Beyond that, she could see the place where her superiors were gathered at the 'finish line' for this exercise.

She had almost made it...

Just a little bit more...

A glint of silver caught the corner of her eye, but before she could react she heard a cracking in the rock. Almost as soon as she'd made her next 'step', the face of the cliff collapsed and soon it was just a mass of boulders making their way to the creek below.

The young shinigami tried to keep her footing, tried to get out of harm's way, but there was too much confusion, too much chaos in the dust and rubble. It was all she could do to keep her balance and not be ground up by the debris.

It didn't help that she could see Mei Xing arrive on the field below and streak across it in a silver line.

But her own ribbon...she could almost feel it falling and catching...

Sui-Feng steeled herself. She would not lose, not when she was this close.

She had only one shot at this.

She tried to gain as much balance as she could, tried to calm her mind, keep her eyes steady and pick a target...

The ribbon caught, and for a moment Sui-Feng was yanked back. She started falling into the mass of rubble and wondered if this was it...

Then she felt a breeze blow past that had nothing to do with the churning mess around her. In fact, she thought she could feel the energy of a person in it, the slight presence of someone blowing on the wind.

But that couldn't be.

What did happen was she regained her footing, and she could feel the ribbon fly free again.

Sui-Feng quickly thanked the gods, and then turned her attention back to trying to get out of this mess. She picked a target, centered herself, and then made the leap...

There!

The young shinigami landed on the far side of the creek, and then started moving across the field; even as she heard the debris from the cliff crash into the water, Sui-Feng could also feel the ribbon at her back snap behind her and follow her across the field.

She was going to make it!

But not before her cousin; the woman was already standing in front of the elders, her ribbon a silver line on the ground.

Some part of Sui-Feng felt rage and shame at the fact that Mei Xing had actually beaten her to the finish line, had won the race. The young assassin knew she would be given a talking to by her elders for coming in second, and she supposed she deserved it.

But it didn't matter right now; the feelings flowing in her merely served as fuel to make her fly across the field, golden sun warming her and her golden ribbon.

She felt a little upset and angry, but she also felt...proud for some reason as she made her last 'step' and came to a rest at the far end of the field. A moment passed, and she could feel the ribbon slowly settle; as it landed, Sui-Feng could feel her own soul begin to rest a little as well.

The part of her life, at least, was over.

But now came the next test of her nerves. The assembled elders waited patiently as some more recruits came in, each 'stepping' in a line next to Sui and Mei Xing. It helped the assassin's pride that she wasn't the last to make it here by any means, but she was careful not to get too arrogant.

It wouldn't be seemly to act that way in front of Shihouin-hime, wherever she was...

Another few minutes passed, time spent waiting until the last of the racers had arrived and their different colored ribbons lay on the ground. The look on the recruits was as varied as their 'cargo' – some were proud at how they'd done, others were nervous or exhausted, while others just seemed to want to go home no matter the results.

She looked over to the older Feng members, who themselves were examining and talking over the results of the 'exercise'. They were a stern lot, hard to please at the best of times, and they looked no more lenient this time around.

Sui-Feng strained her eyes as she looked at the group; she had to be there...somewhere...

There she was, coming out of the crowd to examine the recruits...

It was the goddess herself!

Shihouin Yoruichi was dressed simply this day, in the black outfit of the Onmitsukidou, her long hair done in a simple ponytail devoid of ornamentation. But even from here Sui-Feng could feel the charisma and reiatsu of the woman mix into something more heady than any perfume. Even tired and battered as she was, the 'feel' of her lady energized the young shinigami; it was all she could do to simply stand ram-rod straight instead of luxuriate in the...

She was so preoccupied that she only just noticed Shihouin-hime examining Mei Xing's ribbon. The other woman was standing at attention almost mechanically, no nervousness or excitement showing in her features; only a calm detachment as her clan's mistress ran the length of the silver cloth through her hands.

Sui-Feng watched...waited...

Shihouin-hime was almost agonizingly slow to look over the ribbon, and as each meter flowed past, Sui-Feng looked in vain for any imperfections, any tears or fraying of the cloth.

But it was just one long, perfect stream of silver, right to the end.

The young shinigami tried to keep the disappointment and frustration out of her posture and her facial expression.

Her cousin had done it again. And now...

And now Shihouin-hime was headed right for her!

Sui-Feng did everything she could to stay calm and detached, and yet alert and ready, and yet...

Oh, who am I kidding...?

The dark-skinned woman came right up to Sui-Feng, a small, bemused smile on her face. The smile grew a little wider after a moment, and it took all of the younger shinigami's resolve to just stand there, holding herself neutral, instead of...

Well, she wanted to leap in joy or die of nervousness or-

She hadn't noticed her lady stepping behind her, and then looking over the gold ribbon Sui-Feng had tied to her back. The woman ran the cloth more slowly through her hands than she had Mei Xing's, and she inspected it more carefully.

And Sui-Feng's heart crashed when she saw why.

The bright gold of the ribbon had become dulled by dirt and leaf stains. Its smooth sides and even weave were frayed in a number of places. And there was even a piece missing from the middle of it.

Sui-Feng couldn't believe this.

She'd been so careful...she'd tried so hard...

And now her lady was getting to see each and every failure her underling had committed.

It was humiliating.

She simply stood there silently as Shihouin-hime finished with the ribbon and then came back up to face her. There was a serious look on the older woman's face.

"Your name is Sui-Feng, right?"

It was all the young shinigami could do to nod.

"Yes...yes, milady..."

Shihouin-hime simply digested that for a moment and then nodded.

"You're going to need to keep improving on that, you know?"

I'm not going to cry...I'm not going to cry...

"Yes, milady..."

Then the dark-skinned woman smiled and grabbed Sui-Feng's hand. Before she could do anything, she felt something pressed into it.

"Please do so; I'd hate to make a habit of doing that for you."

Sui-Feng didn't say anything as her mistress let go and started to walk away.

Habit of what?

The young assassin turned her attention to her hand and looked at what had been given to her.

It was a small piece of gold cloth...about the size and shape of...

Then it dawned on her what had happened back at the cliff.

Did...did Shihouin-hime...?

The thought rocked her to her heels, and then she felt the deepest joy and resolution fill her.

She would do better...she would make herself worthy of Shihouin-hime's attentions...

And one day she would wipe the floor with her cousin...

---

"I hope I don't have to deal with Mei Xing again..."

"Our favorite 4th Seat? Why would you be worried about that?"

Shaolin stood at the edge of the grounds for Karakura High, in a spot with a good view of the school track. It had probably been that which had caused the long-ago memory to resurface.

That and the thoughts that had been keeping her up much of last night after Ichigo had returned her home...

She shook herself and focused on the present again.

"I'll get to that in a little bit. First a little more 'putting out heads together'; I don't like what I'm sensing at this place..."

"Yes, I do not like it either."

As she walked onto the campus proper, heading for the school's main building, Shaolin could feel the residue of Ichigo's reiatsu. It was all over the place, and the assassin wasn't surprised. Even as a human the young man pumped out a large amount of energy, enough to make it easy to track his general location in Karakura.

But now he was a shinigami, meaning that he signature around here was even more powerful; she'd probably be getting sick and tired of 'smelling' him soon enough. And Shaolin could feel this 'Rukia's' reiatsu intermingled with Ichigo's; even in the residue, she could feel the same snowy chill as last night.

She was not happy about that...not happy with the way Ichigo was being used.

Well, she was about to end all that...

Shaolin shook her head.

"She probably performed the ritual before they went to school; primed him in case she needed her...servant."

"I know you will not like this, but that is not a bad idea considering the situation. She may very well need someone like that in case this place gets attacked."

Shaolin couldn't argue with Hana's logic; this was yet another place the Hollows would love if they ever discovered it.

Even so...

"I'm not allowing this to go on, Hana. At least, not the way it's been going on."

There was a long pause.

"Are you going to try training him?"

The sudden question caught Shaolin off-guard.

"You mean Ichigo?"

"Yes."

Shaolin thought about that for a moment.

"How about we get this problem with Kuchiki-hime taken care of? Then all of us – and I'm including Ichigo and Isshin-san with this – can talk about training."

It still bothered her that Isshin would have so readily accepted the idea of training his son, after all the excuses and outright obstructionism before. Add to that Ichigo's attitude the night before...

Something told Shaolin that the was a nasty surprise waiting for her.

"Then how about we discuss what this matter about Ichigo-san's reiatsu says about Kuchiki-hime's attitudes, and perhaps you will also deign to tell me what you plan to do once we run into her?"

Shaolin smiled at her invisible companion's comments.

"I've done some thinking about that... Knowing Ichigo, he probably either told the girl everything about me, or almost nothing."

"Which means that if she is still using that ritual you mentioned yesterday, either the latter is the case, or the woman is exceedingly arrogant or deranged."

Shaolin sighed.

"I can just see it now...I confront her, and then she points at me..."

"And says something to Ichigo-san like 'To me my lackey! Defend your master unto death!'..."

The ex-shinigami visualized that for a minute and then shook her head.

"Fun as this exercise is, that's not necessarily what's happening. Our noble friend might have figured out from Ichigo's description what she was facing, and then decided that hiding would be a good strategy."

She could just sense Hana nodding in understanding.

"Giving Ichigo-san...how much of her power?"

"About half, give or take."

"Half her power, then... That would lower her profile...make it easier for her to hide here... A good idea, but most people of 'good breeding' would probably just make a run for it; that is the simpler alternative."

Shaolin couldn't help but smirk.

"Yeah, you're probably right, Hana...Ichigo probably didn't tell her much. So we have the element of surprise..."

"Which, as an assassin, you of course like."

Shaolin had to agree with that; maybe it was training or simply nine generations of Feng blood in her veins, but she liked shadows and evening on some level.

Not darkness, though. Even her night-vision had its limits...

"Now, let's move on to the next thing...something that kind of kept me up this morning."

"The nightmare?"

The ex-shinigami shook her head, as much to clear it of the memory as to say 'no'.

"I managed to get a feel of Kuchiki-hime's reiatsu last night, and it's been worrying me the more I think about it."

"How so?"

"She isn't a natural-born member of the Clan."

There was a pause.

"Which does not exactly make sense, considering the picture we have drawn of her versus the one you gave me of the Kuchiki yesterday."

Shaolin stopped for a moment to ponder some of the cherry trees planted on the school quad. It irritated her that she'd missed their blossoming this year; she could have seen them with Ichigo as she took a look at his new 'digs', and none of this would have ever happened...

Oh well, Hiyori couldn't possibly have known about this mess.

She sighed and got back to the conversation.

"If Rukia had been adopted young, the Clan would have never allowed her to grow up the way she seems to. They probably would have killed her first."

"And if they had adopted her at an older age, they would have known what they were 'buying' and would have never let her out of the house."

There was a long pause; Shaolin used the opportunity to try to imagine the trees here in full bloom.

"I would kill to know what sort of favor would have to be traded for something like that. If that is what we are dealing with, of course..."

The ex-shinigami smiled at her friend's comment, and started towards her rendezvous again.

"Probably nothing cheap. But that's not the only possibility."

"And that is what kept you up?"

Shaolin nodded, a now-serious look on her face.

"Hana, the only reason we think this person is a Kuchiki is because Tatsuki-chan said she was using the name."

"That would be exceedingly dangerous. I may not know the ins and outs of Soul Society nobility, but impersonating a member of a Great Clan..."

The ex-shinigami sighed.

"This city probably is some backwater nowhere; if they were careful, they might be able to pull it off..."

"Talking to jii-sama is not exactly being careful, Shaolin..."

Shaolin had to agree with that.

"...unless, of course, he willingly gave this girl a gigai and this whole thing is one of his 'experiments'."

"Yeah, I thought that might be what's going on, too. Gods alone knows how many times that man has blown up his own shop."

Shaolin remembered one time in particular when she pulled his still-smoking body out of the charred ruins of the Shoten. He'd collapsed to the ground, his body not moving and...

It was probably the only time she had ever pressed her lips to that of another person since...

The memory still brought a blush to the assassin's cheeks.

"I doubt he would try to use the name 'Kuchiki' for an agent; the girl could have used any other name, and it would have been just as good to the students here."

"And less dangerous for Kisuke-san."

Shaolin stopped for a moment on the pathway, and her eyes looked for something that wasn't there in the clear early summer sky.

"That leaves the last possibility...that someone in Soul Society is playing games again..."

"And hence your worry about running into your cousin again."

The ex-shinigami closed her eyes and took in a calming breath; she wasn't feeling worried, but the action did relieve some of the tension.

"It may not be 2-Bantai; it may just be politics as usual over there."

The thought left a sour taste in her mouth; how dangerous was the 'Hollow threat' again, if they could afford to pull stunts like this?

"But if it is the Onmitsukidou, all bets are off on Kuchiki-hime's identity and what she is here for."

Shaolin continued towards the concrete and glass building again; she needed to be to the rendezvous point on time.

"'Kuchiki Rukia' could simply be some nobody they pulled out of the rank and file, from any unit..."

"...Or, she could be from 2-Bantai itself; there would be no way to tell."

The was a pause.

"I suppose you think they have come for the Hougyoku?"

Shaolin actually smiled a little at that.

"Maybe she's here for the Magic Marble. Then again, it's been here for almost a century; you'd think 2-Bantai would have made a play for it earlier."

"Then perhaps Rukia really is out to get Ichigo into trouble, just as Arisawa-san feared."

The ex-shinigami arched an eyebrow.

"You mean to draw Isshin out? They're a couple of decades late for that. Then again, they could be after me."

"I doubt it. You travel a lot and make too much noise when you do; why not attack you in a place where you have no allies? And, if they want to get your attention, why not use a handsome young man for the bait..."

Shaolin sighed and shook her head in disgust.

"You, Kisuke-san...even Suzumebachi... Will you all give that stuff a rest?"

"Maybe we are all trying to tell you something."

Shaolin shook her head again, this time to clear it.

"How about we stop for now, Hana; we're not going to get very far without more information about Kuchiki-hime. Otherwise we're going to fall into trading conspiracy theories again."

There was a pause.

"Shaolin, I am an artificial soul designed for combat by a black-ops project of 2- and 12-Bantai. I am a conspiracy theory."

The assassin got a little laugh out of that.

"All right, I'll make sure to watch for black helicopters."

She looked again to the fenced roof that was to be their meeting place with Ichigo, still some distance away.

"Let's go see what we're dealing with, shall we?"

---

"So...what exactly am I going to be dealing with?"

Rukia's question showed more than a little curiosity, something Tatsuki couldn't blame her for.

Ichigo had headed for the roof of the main building during the lunch period, and he'd made a point of almost literally dragging Rukia along. A nice change of pace, as far as Tatsuki was concerned, and the roof was a good place for a confrontation. It was isolated, fenced in, and only had one exit from it; a great place to corner and contain the slippery little vixen.

If only it weren't so crowded.

At first, few had known what was going on when they saw Ichigo and his 'companion', but then word got around that Feng Shaolin was on the campus, and it became clear to everyone...

The reckoning was upon Kuchiki Rukia.

Tatsuki and Orihime had of course followed the pair.

Then Chizuru had followed the both of them.

Keigo and Mizuiro had followed the five of them.

And then everyone they passed in the hallway had followed them...

Now it looked like half the school was on the flat space, waiting with baited breath to see what Feng-sensei would do to this...outsider.

Tatsuki and Orihime themselves were a little distance away from Ichigo and Rukia. Beyond still feeling uncomfortable about being near Rukia, Tatsuki didn't want her or Orihime getting caught up in any trouble and she wanted to see the show from a good seat.

Although with Chizuru hovering at just-out-of-killing range from Orihime, Tatsuki had to wonder just how good the 'seats' were...

At least Rukia was apparently taking the hint that she was in deep trouble.

Even though the petite student wasn't looking visibly nervous, there was just something about the vibe she gave off that said she was feeling the heat.

And there was a part of Tatsuki's soul that deeply hoped the girl was feeling honestly scared.

Rukia looked around again; Mizuiro and Keigo had come closer than most people. The small student turned to them and gave an outwardly confident gaze to the pair.

"Let me guess: you guys have been taking bets?"

Mizuiro probably had the most honestly innocent smile Tatsuki had ever seen on anyone, though his eyes had the same interest as everyone else.

"...There might have been one or two..."

Rukia made her own interested smile.

"How are my odds?"

Keigo made a show of thinking about it for a moment, and then he shook his head sadly.

"Not good, Rukia, not good. Do you know anything about Feng-san?"

The petite girl just looked at Ichigo with a sort of playful annoyance that belied her interest in the subject on the way to school. The object of her attention just tried to ignore her and scan for the woman who might cut this ball and chain from him.

"Ichigo...forgot to mention that to me."

Keigo gave an eager smile.

"Well, she runs Furin Hall, the local martial arts dojo; she's pretty kick butt."

"And she's pretty hot, too."

The comment coming from Mizuiro shocked Tatsuki; even more shocking was that it was said in such a neutral voice that she was wondering if the young man really was just making an unbiased observation.

Keigo seemed to have no such concerns; he turned an utterly scandalized face on his companion.

"Dude...she's old enough to be your mother!"

The shorter teenager didn't bat an eyelash.

"I'm calling it like I see it, Keigo. Besides, she doesn't look that old."

Even as Keigo continued to sputter, Mizuiro turned his attention to Ichigo.

"Anyway, she's the one who trained Ichigo here, taught him everything he knows from what Keigo hears."

The petite girl's expression was turning even more playful, much to Ichigo's discomfort. Tatsuki felt like she wanted to deck Rukia for that, but there were witnesses...

"Ohhhh...everything? Ichigo, you really have been keeping me in the dark, haven't you?"

Ichigo just continued to gaze off to nowhere in particular.

"It's nothing; shut up guys."

Keigo just shook his head in mock-disbelief.

"Nothing?"

He sidled up to Rukia and motioned to her orange-haired companion.

"The man's too modest. Rukia, you do know who you're in the presence of, right?"

Rukia now wore an expression of wide-eyed ignorance and shook her head; it disgusted Tatsuki because she could see the girl's reaction was fake, but it seemed to convince Keigo to go on.

"This is one of the guardians of Karakura High – one of the Demons of Mashiba Middle School. The other one's Chad over there."

From a place off to one side, the tall half-Mexican just raised a hand in salutation and then...went back to whatever he was doing.

Rukia's eyes went wide at the discovery and then she looked at Ichigo again, this time with a mock-breathlessness.

"Really, a 'demon'?"

Even as the object of Rukia's attention rolled his eyes, and Tatsuki crammed down the urge to vomit, Keigo nodded his head vigorously.

"Yeah, he's the reason this is going to be one of the safest schools in the country; with the kind of record he has from his middle school days he-"

"Scared the hell out of you, Keigo."

Keigo stopped and then stared slack-jawed at his friend's nonchalant interruption, an expression Mizuiro characteristically ignored.

"At least, until he found out he could suck up to the 'mighty one' here..."

As the shorter teen pointed at Ichigo, the expression on Keigo's face turned into a mixture of outrage and horror.

"HEY!"

His chance at impressing everyone ruined, Keigo turned to a handy piece of chain-link to momentarily sulk.

Rukia for her part was still looking at Ichigo in almost wide-eyed wonder.

"Ichigo, I had no idea..."

Then Rukia's face turned thoughtful.

"But then why am I in trouble?"

"Let's put it this way: Feng Shaolin still calls 'the Demon' over there 'Ichigo-kun' from time to time."

Tatsuki just swung her head around at the owner of the comment. Ishida Uryuu was just sitting next to some of the fencing a little ways away with a textbook in his hand, prim and proper as always; the only sign that he was participating in the 'debate' being the small smile on his face.

Ichigo, hearing the honorific, turned an outraged expression towards his and Tatsuki's former comrade.

"Uryuu, you...!"

The man in question made a point of continuing to read his textbook and work through his lunch, radiating a smugly superior attitude in his isolation. It only served to make Ichigo even angrier.

Tatsuki couldn't blame Ichigo; she liked her close relationship with Feng-sensei, but the idea of being called 'Tatsuki-chan' by her...it was getting a little old at times...

Ichigo took a few more moments to give Uryuu the glaring of a lifetime, and then decided to give up and try ignoring the man.

"Damn it!"

Rukia ignored Ichigo's outburst and seemed to think on what had been said.

"So...they're really close?"

From his spot off to one side, Chad gave a simple nod.

"She's a friend of the family. Good people."

The look on Keigo's face was far more sly as he kept his attention on Rukia; Tatsuki didn't like it at all.

"Well, she acts like it, but don't be fooled..."

He came in even closer, his expression now almost conspiratorial and lowered his voice.

"I hear she used to kill people for a living, like some sort of mercenary, or-"

Mizuiro just looked heavenward for a moment.

"How about you say what you're really thinking, Keigo: that she's some kind of ex-Yakuza or Triad enforcer, who had run from the syndicate to-"

"Okay, that's enough, Mizuiro, do you want to get me killed?"

Keigo went a little wild-eyed, and turned those wild eyes to Tatsuki, apparently trying to see what her reaction would be.

Tatsuki just stared at him.

"What?"

Okay, maybe she was a little bit of a cheerleader over sensei sometimes, but did that coward really think his life was in danger around her?

Mizuiro took a quick look of his own at Tatsuki and simply shrugged.

"You started it, Keigo."

"Well, at least it's better than what some people think Feng-san is."

Tatsuki turned to look and saw a couple of other students looking at her and Orihime as they spoke. They weren't from Karakura but from one of the neighboring towns – she forgot where exactly.

"Yeah, I mean you know what they said about her way back when?"

Tatsuki realized what Keigo had been worried about just a moment ago.

That was just never going to go away, was it?

Something clicked in Tatsuki, and all of a sudden she wanted to beat those people into pulp. She wanted to tear them apart. She wanted to-

"Guys...please don't go in that direction when talking about Feng-sensei."

Everyone turned their attention to Orihime; her voice was uncharacteristically serious, as was the look on her face. The words managed to stop Tatsuki as well, and she was suddenly calmer, and...

She didn't want to say she felt ashamed, but...

One of the girls raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?"

Orihime just shook her head a little and sighed, and then looked directly at Tatsuki as she spoke, making sure she had eye-contact.

"Because the police cleared sensei years ago. And I really don't want to have to have to fight Tatsuki-chan again..."

The other teens just looked at Tatsuki with momentary interest; the two girls were sparring partners, and so they'd 'fought' each other before.

But she knew what Orihime was talking about.

Their first meeting...

Now all the fire in Tatsuki sputtered out, and she really did feel ashamed. She almost couldn't face her friend now, but she could see that Orihime was just looking at her calmly.

The crisis was over, nobody was going to get hurt.

Orihime then turned her attention back to the rest of the people gathered and put on a face that was trying to professorial; it somehow managed to make her look a little haughty.

"Besides, I happen to know from personal experience that Feng-sensei is not Yakuza. She's invited Tatsuki-chan and I to a hot springs a couple of times, and I assure you she doesn't have an inch of tattooed skin on her body."

That stopped the gathering completely.

Pretty much every male in the area turned to Tatsuki and Orihime, who was just smiling innocently as she stood in her gray school uniform. Tatsuki could pretty much tell what image they had in their minds, due to the looks on their faces; even Uryuu, Chad and Ichigo were blushing. Mizuiro seemed to be about the only one there who wasn't showing much reaction other than base curiosity.

The other girls, with the notable exception of Chizuru, first looked at Tatsuki and Orihime in shock, and then with jealousy as they realized the way the boys were acting...

Tatsuki had to admit, it was actually kind of flattering to be part of such a show, although she was sure the center of people's imagination was Orihime.

She was definitely sure of that with Keigo, who was staring at the ginger-haired student's...assets; he looked like he was trying mightily to decide on whether to resist temptation or become the first man to reach orbit by way of explosive nosebleed.

To Tatsuki's utter disgust, Chizuru had the same look on her face.

It sent a shiver down Tatsuki's spine seeing that and made her want to...

"...Uhm...okay. Hot springs... So you're both pretty close to her, too?"

Rukia's interruption brought everyone back to reality; Chizuru and Keigo managed to control their drool, and Tatsuki had to reluctantly thank the new girl. The mention of her relationship with sensei helped get Tatsuki's own mind off sending Chizuru to orbit minus the nosebleed.

Tatsuki's own direct nod at the question wasn't as fancy as Orihime's vigorous one, but she felt the same warm feeling her friend probably did.

"Oh, you bet. In fact, if Ichigo is like the son Feng-san never had, Orihime and Tatsuki are like her beloved daughters."

Orihime stopped her nodding and looked a little embarrassed at Keigo's words, and Tatsuki had to admit she felt a little sheepish herself.

Favorite students? Yes, Tatsuki would definitely have been proud to admit that.

But actually being compared to a daughter?

Now that it was said that she didn't know how to feel.

But she did notice how someone else felt.

It only lasted a second, but Tatsuki caught a look of horror in Rukia's eyes, as well as her face going pale. And it was only with some difficulty that the smaller girl managed to plaster a smile over it.

It sent a thrill down Tatsuki's spine; this was going to be good when Feng-sen-

Then it hit Tatsuki.

There was no reason for the girl to be frightened of Tatsuki, and most definitely not of Orihime. Only of sensei's reaction to...

And then the feeling hit her again.

Tatsuki's heart began to speed up, and she could feel her throat tightening up.

She could feel that same release of restraints that she'd felt with those students just now...

She felt a fear for Orihime.

And anger at Rukia.

And at herself...

No, Feng-sensei will take care of it; she'll definitely take care of it.

There's nothing to worry about...

A beeping sound came from one of Rukia's pockets. The girl pulled out her cell-phone, flipped it open, and after a moment shut it and stuffed it back into her pocket.

She gave Ichigo a determined look; he responded with what looked like the start of a groan.

Oh, you've got to be kidding me!

"Ichigo, we need to go now."

The young man looked indecisive.

"Ichigo!"

He still wouldn't move.

"Oh for crying out-"

She grabbed one of Ichigo's hands and then started pulling him towards the roof entrance. To the stunned onlookers, she just flashed a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry everyone, but...you know..."

Another moment later, and Rukia and Ichigo were through the door, to the collective disappointment and bewilderment of the crowd.

Tatsuki stood in disbelief for a moment; all thoughts of the night before left her mind as she processed what was happening, and then she swung her head around wildly to see if there was any sign sensei was near.

There wasn't, just like her rational mind knew there wouldn't be.

But Tatsuki didn't care what her rational mind was saying any more. As she looked at the still-open roof exit door, she could only think of one thing...

That...that bitch was going to get away again.

She couldn't let that happen; she just knew she couldn't.

Shaking her head with increasing force as she moved, Tatsuki made for the door and the stairwell beyond, a worried Orihime following close behind.

"Oh no you don't lady, not this time!"

---

Shaolin was starting to feel a little...unnerved by the way people looked at her as she walked through the hallway of the school's main building. It wasn't anything specific, and the students weren't staring at her strangely or anything. It was just...

When they looked at her, there was a sort of excitement in everyone's eyes. And expectation that something was going to happen...

She felt like the lone swordsman in an old samurai movie, her opponent waiting in the middle of town for their duel, and everyone else present quietly waiting for the event.

Which was more or less what was going on.

She decided to quietly voice her concerns to her friend.

"You know, I'm beginning to wonder if meeting here was such a good idea, Hana. Everyone's a little too...interested in me..."

"I am not surprised; enough people know about your relationship with Ichigo that, after a few weeks, everyone here will have heard about it."

Shaolin sighed.

"Both good and bad, I assume."

"Probably... At least she presumably will not be starting up any rumors about you being...well..."

The assassin closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. The memory didn't hurt all that bad anymore, but it was still irritating as hell.

"The Karakura Slasher; I know. Go on..."

The gikongan took a moment before answering.

"In any event, everyone here knows that you are protective of him, and that you have been away for a few weeks. And during the time you were away..."

Shaolin nodded in understanding.

"Kuchiki Rukia appears and starts moving in on my 'Ichigo-kun'."

"I figure the entire school has been awaiting your arrival with baited breath for the last several days. They smell a fight, and they will probably all want to see it."

Shaolin nodded again and then started for the door.

"Well, I don't know about a fight, but I'll let Kuchiki-hime decide what kind of show they get."

"Hey, c'mon, let go!"

Shaolin turned her head at the sound of Ichigo's voice coming from up ahead.

"Apparently, she has decided to put on a good one..."

"Ichigo, we need to-"

"Don't even think about it, woman! Not this time!"

The latter voice was definitely Tatsuki's, and she could only assume the other one belonged to Rukia; Shaolin had never heard it before. She started making her way to the stairwell, only to be interrupted by the sight of a short girl practically dragging Ichigo down the stairs by one arm.

"Oh, no you don't!"

Before they reached bottom a very determined and wrathful Tatsuki appeared, Orihime right behind her, and managed to grab Ichigo's other arm. Orihime grabbed Tatsuki and the stair railing, and in just a moment the three girls were having a full-on tug-of-war, with Ichigo in the middle.

"Let go, you mindless-!"

"No, you let go, you vertically-challenged-!"

"Tatsuki-chan, stop it, you're going to hurt Kurosaki-kun!"

"Yeah, c'mon, you're pulling my arms off!"

"All right, that does it. Forget the gigai; when we next talk to jii-sama, I am going to demand he at least make a phone with a camera in it so I can see things like this..."

Shaolin took a quick look around, and found that everyone in the hallway had of course stopped to gawk at the scene. Up above Orihime, the assassin could see more people on the stairs behind the foursome, all watching the scene play out.

Then Tatsuki noticed her and pointed wildly at the brunette further down the stairs.

"Sensei, that's her, that's her!"

The girl being pointed at looked at Shaolin with horror, and then proceed to tug even harder at Ichigo's arm.

Orihime just looked at the ex-shinigami with a pained expression that seemed to say 'sorry...'.

And poor Ichigo looked like he was trying to decide whether he wanted to scream for help or just scream in frustration.

It made Shaolin almost want to just turn around and come back later – she was sure Ichigo was strong enough to handle...

"Okay, that's enough!"

With a mighty effort, Ichigo managed to yank both of his arms in. He looked pleased with himself for a moment, but then realized that he'd thrown all three girls off-balance.

A moment passed, and then Tatsuki, Orihime and Rukia crashed into him from both directions. The force of the two girls above Ichigo knocked the mass down the rest of the stairs and into a heap on the floor below; after a moment of silence, everyone started laughing.

Shaolin sighed inwardly, and then she started heading towards them.

She might as well try to salvage what she could from the situation...

As she approached, the four teens – it was easier to think about than 'three teens and a probably hundred and fifty year old shinigami' – just lay there groaning in pain from the fall. Shaolin came up to the mess, made a show of looking at it, and gave a strained smiled at the man in the center of it.

"Hey, Ichigo. ...Did you need help?"

Ichigo just looked around as he was starting to come to his senses.

"No, I think I can get up just fine."

Shaolin shook her head and indicated the three girls around him.

"No, I meant with this. Collecting a harem can be pretty hard work, and..."

It took him a moment to see what she was getting at; due to the way everyone had fallen, Ichigo had wound up with Tatsuki pressed up to one side of him, Rukia on the other, and Orihime more or less on top of the pile.

Ichigo's face went an amazing shade of white at the same time his eyes practically popped out of his skull, even as other young men around him looked on the scene with mock- or real envy.

"Obasan!"

His shout and struggle to get out from the mess brought the girls to, and then they realized what was going on. As the hallways filled with laughter, the scene in front of Shaolin exploded in a series of female screams and the combined struggle of four horrified and publicly embarrassed teens.

They all managed to separate and scramble to their feet, and soon they were standing in a row in front of the ex-shinigami a different expression on each of their faces.

Ichigo was still horrified at what had just happened, even though his eyes said some animal part of his mind liked what had just happened.

Orihime, maybe not so oddly, had a similar look on a face that was turning a bright crimson, though it was also tinged with real worry; she was trying to physically restrain a Tatsuki who looked like she was one step away from killing Rukia for this outrage, regardless of who might be watching.

"You...you...I'm going to-!"

Shaolin gave her student a look that silenced Tatsuki and then held it; after a few moments the dark-haired girl seemed to remember herself a little and settled down.

That taken care of, Shaolin turned her attention to the girl she assumed to be Kuchiki Rukia.

The first thing the assassin noted was the girl was short, given this time period; a century or two ago her height wouldn't have raised a single eyebrow, but now she was something of a midget. Shoulder length black hair which probably looked perpetually a little 'messy' framed a round face that nevertheless had a certain 'look' about it...

A look of quiet haughtiness that was mirrored in the girl's indigo eyes.

She didn't look uncomfortable in the gray blazer and skirt of the school uniform, but she also looked like a silk kimono and gold hairpieces would have been more appropriate attire.

All in all, she did look something like a Kuchiki.

And right now the girl also looked absolutely outraged, and more than a little upset; the ex-shinigami was sure her younger peer would be going off into some corner later to cry at the humiliation she'd just suffered.

But Rukia also looked like she was in a serious hurry, her eyes darting between Ichigo, the hallway, and her 'captors'.

Shaolin could imagine what Rukia was doing, but she had to wonder what everyone else was thinking.

"I will ask later, but I imagine from what I have heard that the students here will be telling some stories..."

Shaolin sighed internally yet again.

She figured she might as well be direct.

"You're Kuchiki Rukia, aren't you?"

The girl took a moment to respond, still looking like she was recovering from what had just happened as much as trying to figure a way to escape this trap with her 'charge'.

"Yes...yes, I am. And I suppose you are the Feng Shaolin I've been hearing about?"

Shaolin nodded, not caring much for the way the girl was looking at her or her behavior, and gave her a hard glare.

"And I've heard almost nothing about you...except for some 'rumors'. Care to explain what you're doing with my godson?"

Rukia stopped short at the abrupt answer, the rushed look disappearing from her features, and then her expression shifted to a haughty demeanor.

"That's none of your business! ...And what have you heard?"

Shaolin crossed her arms over her chest and spared Tatsuki a glance before pinning the Kuchiki scion with her eyes.

"That you've been hauling him off at all hours, like you are right now, making him miss school... And now this..."

She waved a hand at the four of them, and all of them started getting a little red-faced again.

"I won't have some bimbo I've never heard of before-"

"Bimbo?"

Tatsuki and Orihime's eyes went wide with amusement at the word, while Rukia looked around her, trying to figure out what the term meant. Then she gave up and just glared at Shaolin.

"I am not a...a 'bimbo'!"

She turned again to the orange-haired teen, who was simply standing there and watching the show.

"Ichigo! Do some-"

He shook his head as a satisfied smile began forming on his face, one that seemed to match the look also appearing on Tatsuki's; Orihime just looked like she was trying to back off from the scene now.

"No way, Rukia. I've been doing enough of your crap the last while; can't you take care of this one yourself?"

Rukia looked like she'd been slapped, and Shaolin couldn't blame her.

"Apparently she does not have as firm a grip on his heart as everyone thinks... Then again, last night could not have helped their relationship."

Even as the ex-shinigami silently agreed with her friend, she could see Rukia try to collect herself. The the girl turned back to Shaolin, an even more indignant look on her face even as she began to look rushed again.

"I am not going to be intimidated by you; I do have my pride, you know. And like I said, what Ichigo and I do away from here is our business."

Shaolin's smile started to become internal; she knew the girl was cornered, and she would be cracking soon. And she needed to get this done soon.

The ex-shinigami didn't like the idea of a Hollow running loose in Karakura any more than Rukia hopefully did.

"Until it becomes someone else's business-"

A loud beeping turned everyone's attention towards Rukia. The girl tried to ignore the sound for a moment, and then gave up and sighed.

"Look, it's been really nice meeting you, but Ichigo and I-"

"No!"

Everyone turned to look at Tatsuki, who had the beginnings of fresh outrage on her face. Orihime moved up to her friend so she could restrain her if necessary.

"You are not leaving with him until-"

"Tatsuki-chan, that's enough; I'll handle this."

Shaolin held up her hand for emphasis, and the brunette went silent again. Tatsuki had obviously managed to calm down a little from earlier, as there was now some shame in her expression, and she nodded her acceptance of her sensei's wishes.

The ex-shinigami turned her attention back to Rukia, who really did look like she was about to haul Ichigo out of there come what may.

"Where are you two headed; who are you going to be meeting?"

Rukia looked shocked for a moment, and then seriously annoyed and more than a little worried. Shaolin wasn't surprised; the girl probably thought she was dealing with a human who was horning in on her territory.

"I can't-"

"Tell you what: I'll go with you two and...help out. Maybe have a 'chat' with whoever it is over there..."

That froze the two teens on the spot, though Ichigo didn't look like he minded the idea so much.

Tatsuki definitely looked like she thought it was a great idea.

Rukia, however...

"Uhm...that's not..."

"Oh my gosh!"

A red-headed student almost magically appeared in front of Shaolin, a wide smile plastered across her face.

"You must be Feng Shaolin, right?"

"Oh gods, not another autograph-seeker..."

Shaolin didn't think so, especially since there was a somewhat malicious and lustful gleam in the young woman's eyes.

"You're so cute!"

Before the ex-shinigami could even move, she found herself caught in a bear hug from the red-head.

"I mean, I heard all about you from Tatsuki-san, but you're just..."

It took a moment for Shaolin to get over the shock of another female publicly hugging her. It didn't help that she could see Tatsuki and Orihime's expressions turn into looks of complete disbelief. It also seemed to shock everyone else, as they all froze on the spot.

Rukia took that moment to start pulling Ichigo down the hallway, taking full advantage of the distraction. Even though he was obviously dragging his feet a little and looking back every couple of seconds, he went along with it.

Probably out of some sense of duty Rukia had installed in the boy.

Well, Shaolin would have something to say about that, as soon as she took care of this.

She could see that once again the look on Tatsuki's face was one of outrage, her jaw hanging open even as her body tensed and her fists began to get set to do...something that would probably get her in a great deal of trouble. Orihime began to half-bury her head in one hand even as she clasped the other on her friend's arm.

"You...you...!"

Chizuru stopped her talking and turned to face Tatsuki.

"You what...?"

That sent Tatsuki even more over the edge; now Shaolin could almost hear the sound of a tea kettle whistle around her young student.

It worried Shaolin; normally Tatsuki had excellent control of her emotions, but she was really flying off the handle here. The ex-shinigami wondered if maybe there was more than embarrassment going on, if the memory replacer had worked properly.

She'd have to talk to Tatsuki about it.

And Rukia...

Shaolin held up a hand to quiet Tatsuki, hoping that it would work; at the same time the assassin smoothly brought her other hand to Chizuru's shoulder.

"You're Honshou-san, aren't you?"

"Wow, you know my name?"

Shaolin nodded and leaned in to speak in the girl's ear.

"Inoue-san told me about you; how you do stuff like this to her. Well, don't do it to me..."

Chizuru looked at the ex-shinigami strangely; before she could respond, Shaolin gave a quick pinch in the right place, and the red-head tensed a moment before gaining a blank expression on her face. Even as confusion entered Tatsuki's face at the sight, her seeming arch-nemesis slid off of Shaolin and went to the floor in a heap.

Shaolin lowered both hands and gave her students a quick smile. Orihime gave a similar smile in return; she seemed to say 'Thank you' with her eyes. Tatsuki just stared at the scene for a moment, and then the rage just disappeared, to be replaced by a mixed loom of weariness and shame on her part.

Satisfied that a disaster had been averted, Shaolin quickly made her way down the hall, heading for...

Wherever Ichigo and Rukia were going.

---

Authors Note: If you're all wondering what the 'Karakura Slasher' is, consider how Masaki's death would have looked to the local police force and evening news at the time. And in this timeline, they had a wonderful suspect...

As for the harem thing near the end of this chapter – I have no intention of this becoming a harem-fic, though I might wind up playing off the concept's conceits. Otherwise, all the people here will either be in monogamous relationships or love triangles.

And as for answers to the reviews:

Ability King KK: Glad you liked the interactions between Ichigo and Sui-Feng (I was hoping I hadn't gone too overboard). As for what the woman's going to do to Rukia...well, that family name means Sui-Feng can't do anything too overt...

Nexus the 13th: Glad you liked the chapter. And thanks for pointing out the matter of Rukia's spiritual energy...that was a screw-up. While she may turn out to be secret nobility (Sode no Shirayuki just doesn't look like the weapon of a peasant girl), you're right about Rukia being a Kuchiki by adoption. I've edited the chapter in that spot (just a couple of quick lines) to take care of that error; hopefully this won't happen again.

HedonismBot: Thanks for the praise on this chapter. I'm glad you liked the dream sequence; that was another of the places where I hoped I hadn't gone completely overboard. Sui-Feng is going to have a few things to say to Rukia, and not a whole lot of them good. And as for training Ichigo after the meeting with Byakuya...that's still a long way to go...a lot can happen in that time...

Flower in the River: Thanks for the praise. I'll try to keep up the good work as I go along.

0o TheLadyLuna o0: Glad you liked the story so far. I hope I continue to entertain you with it.