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?

10. A Bee has a Chat

Disclaimer: Bleach and all characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. This fanfic is not being written for profit, but simply out of a desire to put some creativity demons to rest.

Reviews are welcome, as is constructive criticism. In the case of the later, be brutally honest, but don't be abusive. Flames will be ignored.

I see new people in the Story Alert and Favorite Story categories: welcome to Dragons of Egypt; thisisCMpunk; HopingFate; Shin-Revan; inuyouko; Nucule; SSA Ruth Leland; HyperionTheWatcher; Paddy O'Shay, the1990surge, The light of darkness, kero545 and Zeta Ridley. I'd also like to thank crossxavier for putting me on Favorite Story status.

Well, with this one it's ten chapters and 100,000+ words. I have, at the time of this posting, 50 Story Alerts, 37 Favorites, and almost 7,200 hits to this story. I'm not sure how that stacks up to some other stories, but it makes me feel good about myself and this effort.

Anyway, I hope everyone has liked the trip so far, because I have more planned on the way.

And one other thing: someone asked if this is an Ichi/Soi fic; I'm sorry to say it isn't, or at least I don't plan for it to be one. Sorry for anyone who's disappointed.

I'd also like to mention that there are some flashbacks here, but I think in this case they're somewhat necessary.

Now here's the next chapter, and I'll be waiting to see what people think of it. (Hopefully it won't disappoint... :)

---

Kuchiki Rukia could only shake her head as she stood on the...'electricity pole' – the term sat strangely in her mind. It was just as odd as some of the things that she'd seen here in the Living World, but it was only a minor oddity, a bit of novelty. Karakura otherwise looked depressingly bland and boring to the young shinigami.

Just the kind of place 'brother' would have 'advised' my taichou to send me to.

After all, wouldn't want to get scratches on my 'porcelain skin'...

Still, there was an excitement beginning to rise in the young shinigami's breast. Despite the bland appearance of the place, her taichou had stressed the importance of her job, of what doing well here might mean to her future.

And now that she was here...

If this worked out, it'd be the launching pad for her career.

She'd be able to show everyone what she was capable of, what she could do when given a decent chance...

The roar of a Hollow sounded in the distance.

Rukia nodded her head in acknowledgment.

This was going to be it. And no one was going to screw up her existence this time.

Not even the man she was forced to call 'brother'...

---

Shaolin took a sip of tea from the antique cup she was holding and nodded as Rukia related her story; the taste of the honey-sweetened liquid woke her up a little and soothed her nerves at the same time. She wasn't completely out of it; the ex-shinigami had managed to get some more sleep and a shower this past afternoon, but she had the feeling she was going to need as sharp a mind as she could muster this evening.

Sitting in front of her were a Kuchiki and a Shiba, two people from two of the Great Clans.

A century might have passed since Shaolin had had to deal with Soul Society court etiquette, but she still remembered the old ways; her upbringing and blood told her what was the right thing to do, the right way to act.

And so she was doing this a certain way...even if it was unsettling the two teens.

Shaolin was right now wearing a long-sleeved black kimono, one printed with golden flowers and honeybees; the feel of the silk on her skin helped to make her feel more comfortable and it provided the image she wanted right now when dealing with Rukia.

She was also wearing a pair of simple diamond studs to reinforce her image as the lady of this 'manor', a thought that briefly took her back to the place she'd received the earrings, that fall evening in...

Gods...had it been that long since she'd known Karl and his family...?

The ex-shinigami brought herself back to the present; she had more immediate concerns here.

She'd moved the furniture in the room to one side and set down a low table, on top of which were an antique teapot and three very old teacups. None of the things were exactly priceless heirlooms, of course, but they were worth a fair amount and looked it.

After all, being from a lesser noble clan herself, she needed to properly entertain her guest without overshadowing her.

Especially since said guest was now back in her gigai and in the plain gray jacket and skirt of a student from Karakura High School. Ichigo was back in his body as well – something which relieved the ex-shinigami to no end – and also in school uniform, and he was looking equally...unsettled at the formality around him.

He hadn't even touched his tea, and the older woman had a feeling he wouldn't; she hadn't liked sitting around with 'old people' much when she was of a comparable age.

Then again, maybe the unease was because at their last meeting Shaolin had...'insisted' that the two teens come here as soon as they could after school.

Or she'd spend the evening hunting them down and dragging them to Furin Hall by their hair...

The ex-shinigami set the tea in her hands down on the table and focused her attention on Rukia.

"So you arrived in Karakura...why did you go to Ichigo's house?"

Rukia looked directly back at Shaolin; apparently the young shinigami had regained some of her fire.

"I wasn't going there just for the hell of it, if that's what you meant."

Shaolin amended her observation; Rukia had regained a lot of her fire.

The ex-shinigami sighed and closed her eyes.

"I've already apologized to you, Kuchiki...san, about my treatment of you earlier."

"You just didn't like the way I treated Ichigo, is that it?"

The young man turned his attention to his 'partner'.

"Rukia, what the-?"

Shaolin held up her hand to calm him.

"Ichigo, let me handle this; I'm the one who brought the two of you in here, so it's my responsibility."

Ichigo paused, not looking very sure about such a course of action. Then he sighed and nodded his head, though he didn't look terribly happy about it.

Shaolin turned her attention back to Rukia.

"Would you care if someone was getting a loved one into serious trouble?"

That seemed to take the girl by surprise; Rukia looked like she wanted to say something, but then thought better of it and decided taking a sip of tea would be more appropriate.

"This is going to be a long night, is it not?"

Shaolin had to shake her head slightly in agreement; she knew it was going to get longer pretty soon.

"I went to Ichigo's place because I sensed a Hollow somewhere around there. But when I got there..."

Rukia shook her head in frustration, and then turned a glare on Ichigo, one he returned.

"...I couldn't really sense where the thing was exactly, thanks to this idiot's..."

Now Shaolin was the one glaring, at Rukia. The young shinigami stopped, glared back at Shaolin for a moment, and then sighed.

"All right...this man's reiatsu, and so I had to search around by foot to see where the Hollow was."

"And you invaded my bedroom!"

Shaolin stopped at that, while Rukia glared at Ichigo yet again.

"I wasn't trying to sneak into your bedroom you perv-... I was doing a random search and I just happened to enter your room first, okay!"

Ichigo still cast a venomous gaze at Rukia, and all Shaolin could do was shake her head again and sigh.

"I am sure the Kuchiki will love that one..."

The ex-shinigami had to agree with that; bad enough that a child of an august clan should be working with a 'peasant'...

There was no need for more grist in Soul Society's rumor mills.

"Calm down, you two. Now what happened exactly?"

Rukia started looking uncomfortable all of a sudden; the fire was still there, but now she was trying to avoid eye contact.

Ichigo sighed and turned to the ex-shinigami.

"She came through one of the walls and started talking to herself... I though she was a burglar, so-"

"Will you shut up!"

Rukia had turned on Ichigo with more than a little anger in her expression, but Shaolin could also see and hear the desperation in her voice. The assassin arched an eyebrow.

Ichigo turned a combative face on his 'partner'.

"I will not shut up; obasan needs to hear this! And besides, all I was going to say is that I kicked your ass!"

Shaolin closed her eyes and sighed again, this time internally.

"Oh gods...I can just imagine the fight..."

Shaolin could too, or at least see the highlights. All Rukia would have to do now is tell her family and...

And she opened her eyes and saw Rukia looking utterly ashamed and embarrassed.

Shaolin could understand that kind of feeling; being beaten by a 'mere human' had to be humiliating, but...

Then she noticed that, even as she was looking away, Rukia was absently rubbing her backside...

The assassin's jaw fell open a little, and she turned her attention to Ichigo.

"Wait a minute...you didn't mean you beat her up or anything? ...You literally kicked her ass?"

Ichigo nodded and kept his gaze on Rukia.

"Sure did. Sent her flying across the room-"

"Okay, that's enough! Savor your victory, you...ohhhhh!"

Rukia turned away from him and looked to the floor in shame and outrage.

Shaolin sat there shaking her head in disbelief and wonder, and then closed her eyes and put a hand over her mouth. She didn't want them to see her trying not to laugh.

Hana had no such restrictions; the assassin could feel her friend's mirth.

"Oh...oh...now there is something to put on your resume: kicked ass on a daughter of the Kuchiki..."

Even as she took a moment to let the waves of would-be laughter roll through her, Shaolin gave silent thanks to her godson.

She had badly needed something like that.

The assassin waited until she had gotten herself under control, and then opened her eyes and started looking at the two teens again. Rukia still wasn't terribly happy, though she didn't look quite as ashamed, while Ichigo had a serious expression on his face again.

"I assume Kuchiki...san-"

"Why do you have a problem using an honorific with Rukia?"

Shaolin paused to give a good answer to the young man's question; she'd have to do something about that from now on.

"Because it is an insulting one for the young lady's rank..."

Shaolin decided to frown on Ichigo.

"Here's a better one: why do the two of you use your given names with each other? Is there something I should know about?"

"Good one."

Ichigo tried his best not to seem too phased by the question, but Shaolin could see him pale a little at the insinuation; Rukia, on the other hand, looked like she was about to choke.

"Obasan...that's just the way people like us talk these days...you know that..."

The uncomfortable tone and the nervous display of the teens chilled Shaolin a little, and she knew she wasn't going to like what the big secret was. But for now she needed to continue with this part of their story, so she made a show of considering Ichigo's lame answer and tried not to notice Rukia's attempt to not look too desperate.

"All right, I'll accept that. In any case, I assume the young lady didn't stay on the floor for very long."

Thinking his ruse had worked, Ichigo relaxed considerably, as did Rukia; after a moment, their expression had changed and now it was Ichigo's turn to look ashamed and Rukia's to look satisfied.

"No, no she didn't, obasan... She bound my ass with some kind of spell, and then started going on about this whole mess with the shinigami and Pluses and Hollows and all that other crap..."

The assassin hoped she was keeping her expression neutral; she already wasn't happy with this girl about Ichigo getting dragged into this mess, but now...

She could feel a dark pit forming in her soul, and hear the same general emotion coming from Hana.

"Of all the unbelievably stupid..."

"I assume at some point the Hollow makes an appearance...?"

Ichigo's face turned very somber.

"Right after Rukia got done telling me all this stuff, we heard a noise at the door and..."

Ichigo just sat there, looking like he didn't want to go on. Rukia looked at him in sympathy and then turned to Shaolin.

"I opened the door...and saw his sister, Karin..."

"...she was covered in blood..."

Shaolin started at that; she gave her full attention to the now unsettled Rukia.

"She told us about the monster downstairs attacking her family...and then she collapsed..."

The girl's voice trailed off and it took a moment for Shaolin to figure out it was because of a hard glare she was giving Rukia.

"S-she was fine; just a surface wound, easily healed later..."

Shaolin found herself retracting the prayers of thanks she'd given to this twit the day before.

She also promised herself that, when she got a few hours to spare, Karin would be getting the biggest ice cream sundae of her life. And she'd definitely be getting some training.

But for now...

"Go on."

Rukia looked decidedly more uncomfortable from the tone of Shaolin's words, but she did as told.

"So...I go downstairs and find what I assume was Ichigo's father on the floor and...look, I'm sorry, okay?"

Shaolin closed her eyes and relaxed her facial features the best she could; she was beginning to find herself in a state beyond anger, a cold place of utter calm and tranquility that nevertheless reminded her of a coiled spring.

Isshin had been one of the most powerful shinigami, one of the most powerful people – period – that Shaolin had ever known...

And he and his family had been nearly exterminated in their own home the one time she was away for an extended period.

Shaolin took a breath to calm herself, but found it wasn't doing much for her imagination.

The ex-shinigami had been in Tokyo International just two or three mornings ago.

Now the memory replayed itself, only with a haunted Ichigo standing at the gateway, waiting for her; her going to him and asking what was wrong...

And him embracing her like a safety blanket, weeping about the loss of his family and how it was all his fault...

Shaolin kept her breathing even and used her clan's training to build a cage of rationality around the animal part of her soul.

Because that part of her wanted to reach across the table right now and snap Rukia's neck like a twig.

But that would cause a war...

And it would desecrate the atmosphere of her home...

And for some unknown reason she felt her godson had a liking for this girl, so he would be terribly upset...

So the assassin centered herself, focused her thoughts and placed a transparent wall between herself and the world around her, so she would be viewing instead of living in it.

She finished her work and then opened her eyes and found that she could at least stand looking at the girl.

"Shaolin, are you...?"

"Are...you all right, ma'am...?"

The assassin nodded at both questions.

"I'm fine, don't worry it... Now, where was Yuzu? And where were you, Ichigo?"

The young man flinched at the address and Shaolin immediately felt a twinge of regret since her tone was still a little dangerous. It wasn't his fault this had happened, and it had to be a painful memory.

It took a moment for Ichigo to recover, and then he started talking in a steadier voice than before.

"I broke loose from the spell...it seemed to surprise Rukia pretty good."

"I imagine it did; she did not know she was dealing with a Pure Blood, as opposed to a 'mere human'."

Shaolin nodded at both statements, glad at the relief she could now feel in Hana's voice.

"Anyway, I went outside and the thing had Yuzu in its hands...like some kind of rag doll..."

"...I get the picture..."

They all sat there in silence for a moment.

"I assume you tried to attack the creature, Ichigo?"

It took a moment, but he nodded his head.

"It had my sister, what the hell was I supposed to do?"

He paused and then looked a little embarrassed.

"All I had in my hands was a baseball bat; I took a swing with it, but it just broke in half on that monster's hide."

He jabbed a thumb at Rukia.

"Then Rukia here told me that that thing was after me...after my 'power'..."

He closed his eyes and bowed his head; Shaolin could easily understand what was going on in there, then and now.

"You felt like you did back when..."

"I did...a little..."

He sighed, ignoring Rukia's arched eyebrow, and then Ichigo looked Shaolin in the eye.

"When I realized what it was after I did the only thing I could think of..."

Shaolin began to visualize what the boy of six years ago would have done; she could see Ichigo standing in front of the Hollow, offering himself in exchange for his family...

"He ran away."

Rukia's chiding words brought the assassin's imagination to a screeching halt. She focused her attention across the table to find the girl casting a smug glance at Ichigo, who in turn was obviously in the process of trying to prove he wasn't a coward.

"I did not 'run away'."

"It sure looked like running to me..."

Shaolin turned on her godson; she most emphatically wanted to hear this part in detail.

"Well, what exactly did you do?"

---

"Hey you, you big ugly son of a bitch!"

The massive humanoid creature took a moment, and then turned towards Ichigo, Yuzu's bloodied body in its hand...

Gods, why did she have to get involved in this?

It only underscored what a monster this thing was that he was facing.

"Yeah, that's it! Over here! You wanted me?"

The...Hollow, the shinigami had called it...seemed to be thinking about it, and that fact made Ichigo swear to himself.

Why did the bullies have to be so damn dumb?

"C'mon you idiot, right over here!"

He waved his arms at himself.

"Don't you want a biiiig tasty meal like me, instead of that...nothing in your hands? C'mon, it's not hard..."

The creature still looked like it was taking its time...and then a flash of black and the petite shinigami was almost standing in mid-air, her sword out and slicing into the Hollow's arm. The creature let out a wail of pain and let go of Yuzu, who was promptly caught and brought to the ground as the small death spirit completed her arc.

Good...maybe she isn't all talk and no walk after all...

He locked eyes with the Hollow.

"Now, what the hell are you waiting for? Leave them alone and come after me, if you want me!"

He could see the shinigami turn her face to him.

"What are you doing you-?"

The rest was drowned out by a roar coming from the beast, who then started charging after Ichigo.

Gods, I hope this works...

As he started running, he prayed he hadn't bitten off more than he could chew...

---

"Like I said: he ran, like a coward."

Rukia couldn't help but leer teasingly at Ichigo for a moment, a gaze Ichigo chose not to respond to.

Shaolin steepled her fingers as she absorbed that; she still felt cold inside, but the pit wasn't as deep anymore.

She was beginning to feel that Ichigo might be saving her again.

"What was your reasoning behind doing that, Ichigo?"

The young man looked like he was thinking about it, while trying not to be ashamed of himself.

"I...I didn't want to fight it while Dad and Karin and Yuzu were nearby; I wanted to make sure that thing was away from them..."

Shaolin waited a moment on that, and then nodded her head.

"Rukia's right, Ichigo. You did act like a coward..."

Ichigo's shoulders sagged, while Rukia's smug smile only widened.

"...if you subscribe to the ultra-macho samurai bullshit of her kind."

Rukia's smile froze solid on her face and her eyes went wide with shock; Ichigo just looked at the assassin slightly dumbfounded.

"Wha...but...?"

Shaolin took a moment to collect her thoughts, as well as to try and not get too caught up in her memories as she did so.

"You weren't running because you were scared, you were running because you faced an opponent you couldn't beat simply by charging and swinging some blunt object. You wanted time to figure out how to beat that thing."

She turned her attention to Rukia and was about to speak when she noticed the look in the younger woman's eyes. Rukia looked like she was having a flashback of her own, one that troubled her.

"You have something to say about this, Kuchiki-san?"

Rukia hesitated.

"You just...Now that you said it, you sound like someone I know."

"And I'll bet most people don't care for that person's opinion?"

Rukia nodded.

"Well, that sounds about right for Soul Society. It may sound bold and dashing to just charge on in, but I've seen more than a few people get themselves and others needlessly killed because of the kind of thinking your kind like to follow."

Rukia looked disturbed by the conversation's turn.

"T-that's not how I see it."

Shaolin nodded in acknowledgment.

"That may be true, but...look where that kind of thinking has gotten you..."

Now the young shinigami girl was completely floored; she tried to open her mouth to say something, stopped and tried again, and then looked down at the table as her shoulders slumped.

Shaolin turned back to Ichigo.

"Now how exactly did you get Kuchiki-san's powers from there?"

---

This was getting ridiculous.

Ichigo was running again after having tried to throw another...something else at the Hollow. He thought it was some kid's bike this time, but he wasn't exactly in the mood to keep track of stuff like that right now.

He was just trying to figure out what the hell that thing's skin was made of and what might punch through it other than a shinigami's blade.

If he didn't, he wasn't going to be around much longer.

And then that thing was probably going to just run rampant through the town.

Maybe it would go back to his house, or maybe it'd go after Tatsuki or Orihime, or...

The creature made another swipe at him with its overlong arms, and he felt the claws connect with his leg. It didn't tear through his pants, but it was enough to send him to the ground face-first.

He rolled quickly to see the creature coming to stand in front of him. It let out what the young man could only see as a roar of triumph.

This is it, isn't it...?

He began to see his life flash before his eyes: days with Mom, time with Tatsuki and Uryuu when they were young, Dad and Karin and Yuzu at home, obasan at the dojo, Orihime pestering him with another 'token of affection'...

And then a certain black-clad figure flashed in front of his eyes.

She'd just appeared out of nowhere, right behind the Hollow, with sword drawn and held high above her head.

She was going for a killing blow across the neck, or maybe slicing down through the thing's skull; it didn't matter, just that this fight was...

The creature's face was just a hinged mask; there was no way for its lips to move.

But Ichigo could tell somehow that it was smiling.

"Yo, shinigami, look out!"

Even as he said the words, he saw the Hollow turn around and throw a massive swipe at the girl. She only had enough time for her eyes to widen in shock before the hand hit her, and then threw as much as knocked her into the pavement. As he picked himself up, he could see the claws on the thing's hands tear through her robes, spraying blood all over the place.

Her body bounced a little and then the shinigami lay still on the pavement, the Hollow standing over her now.

This isn't happening...

The one person with the one weapon that could kill this thing and...

"You son of a bitch!"

The Hollow turned its attention towards Ichigo now; the creature probably figured the harmless human wouldn't be much challenge, even as Ichigo ran up to it and...

Ichigo knew he was different; stronger and more durable than most people. It always kind of disturbed him, and he liked to restrain himself.

But now he poured all his strength, strength that was able to shatter concrete, into his right leg as he launched a high kick between the Hollow's legs.

The attack connected, and time froze...

Then Ichigo lowered his leg back to the ground, even as a high wail began to come from the Hollow's mouth. The beast fell to its knees as it clamped its hands over the afflicted area.

With the Hollow disabled for the moment, Ichigo turned and ran to the shinigami girl. He took a moment to look at her; she was groaning, still conscious, but she had a big gash on her side. Her sword lay on the street off to one side, as did a good deal of her blood.

Some part of Ichigo's mind puzzled over a spirit having blood at all, but then he realized he needed to get the hell out of there. Scooping the girl into his arms and grabbing her sword, he started away from the Hollow as fast as he could.

He ran, and kept running, past houses and fences and streetlamps and...he didn't know and didn't care what else.

All he cared about was the young woman bleeding her...he supposed it was life...out in front of him.

He finally stopped in a small park, going over to one of the trees and setting the girl down next to it; he laid her sword by her side.

Even as he did so, she began to stir, and opened her eyes.

"Wha...what...?"

"Don't move, you're in bad shape-"

He could hear the roar of the Hollow in the distance, a little higher in pitch now; he was sure the thing was on its way here as fast as it could run.

As the sound died away, he could hear swearing, and realized it was coming from the girl. Tears were starting to come out of her eyes, and she was trying to pound her fist on the ground.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it..."

He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently.

"C'mon, snap out of it...what's-"

"I can't believe this is happening; not now..."

Another roar in the distance.

"Well, I'm not too wild about what's going on, either. Look, that thing's coming over here, and unless you've got some way to kick its ass from here-"

The girl seemed to come back to reality at those words; she seemed to be pretty lucid for someone with as bad a wound as she had. She turned her attention to him, set her face, and then nodded.

"I get the point."

The shinigami lay there for a moment, narrowing her eyes in thought.

Another roar echoed through the night; the Hollow was getting much closer...

"Well?"

The girl took another moment, and then closed her eyes and sighed.

"There is a way...but it's risky..."

Ichigo looked off in the direction where he had heard the roar, and then back to the shinigami.

"Well, what is it?"

"I...can 'loan' you some of my powers. You would be able to fight the thing..."

There was some reluctance in the girl's voice, and Ichigo could tell she was hiding something.

"What's wrong? How do we do it?"

The girl hesitated, and then opened her eyes and looked straight into Ichigo's.

"I have to drive my zanpaktou through your heart."

Ichigo stared at her for a second, not comprehending, and then his eyes went wide as he realized she was talking about her sword. He pointed at the thing, even as the shinigami was weakly picking it up.

"Are you serious? That's gonna kill me!"

The girl looked annoyed and slowly shook her head.

"It's only supposed...to be used on other shinigami, but you have so much power...it might work... The odds are good that you will die anyway, but if it works...you'll gain the power to fight that thing..."

Another roar sounded through the night, and now Ichigo could hear the footsteps of the Hollow.

He wished he could think, wished he could come up with something better. But right now it was looking like he had two choices:

Possible death from what this girl was offering...or definite death from the Hollow.

He sighed and his shoulders sagged as he nodded to her.

"All right, I'll do it. But if I die, I'm gonna come back and kick your ass, woman."

She raised the blade up as best she could; Ichigo gently grabbed the blade itself and steadied it.

"The name's...Kuchiki Rukia."

"Nice to know you, Rukia. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."

Rukia started for a moment, and then frowned.

"Well...shall we get on with this...Ichigo?"

The young man nodded his head, and aimed the point of the sword at where he thought his heart was.

"Right, let's do this before I chicken out."

His acceptance of the use of his given name seemed to irk Rukia, and she frowned even more tightly as she drove the blade forward.

A bright flash of white light almost blinded Ichigo, and when it dissipated he felt a weight on his back, and the flowing sensation of silk on his body. He looked down and saw himself wearing the same black robes Rukia had been wearing before, and a massive leather belt around his chest...

And Rukia herself was still laying on the ground, clad only in a white kimono stained with the red of her blood, her blade nowhere to be seen.

"Are you all right...?"

The shinigami had a disbelieving, almost horrified, look on her face, and she was half-shaking her head even as she was taking in the situation.

"Wha-what happened...I... This isn't..."

A massive roar and the crash of foliage announced the arrival of the Hollow. Ichigo turned to face it, and by some instinct reached over his shoulder to draw the blade he now knew he possessed.

"Just hold on Rukia; let me take care of this."

Letting out a challenging war-cry of his own, Ichigo charged the beast in front of him...

---

"After that, I kicked its ass."

"Like you kicked Kuchiki-san's here?"

"HEY!"

Shaolin and Ichigo smiled at the outraged look on Rukia's face.

"My apologies, Kuchiki-san."

"She is just going to have to get used to the fact that she will never live that down around here..."

Rukia managed to get hold of herself, and then gave Ichigo a teasing smile laced with evil.

"At least I stayed conscious after that fight; you fainted..."

Ichigo started, his eyes going wide, and then his pride crumbled right in front of the two women. He stared at Rukia, mouth open as he tried to say something, and then his shoulders just slumped and he hung his head in defeat.

Shaolin kept her face neutral, but inside she felt sympathy for the young man, as well as something else. Even as she looked at her godson, the ex-shinigami felt a warm glow rise within her, filling up some of the void that had taken hold of her soul.

"Ichigo, before we go any further, I want you to know something."

She smiled warmly, and then reached over and put her hand on his shoulder.

Ichigo lifted his head and the two of them locked gazes.

"Obasan...?"

"You braved death to save your family that night, Ichigo, and I am very proud of you for that. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

She spared a glance at Rukia.

"Especially about fainting."

The young man took a moment to absorb that and then he smiled, a little more sheepishly than Shaolin was.

"Thanks, Shaolin-obasan."

The ex-shinigami pulled back to her side of the table, and sat there, admiring the man sitting across from her, knowing Masaki would be proud as well.

Shaolin waited for Ichigo to pull himself back together; after a few moments the young man took a deep breath and then looked at Shaolin with a steady gaze.

"Anyway, I wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway without Rukia's powers. If it wasn't for her-"

"Your family would have never been in danger."

The room went silent at Shaolin's quiet statement; Ichigo just stopped dead and stared at her, while Rukia had a look of mild outrage.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, here we go..."

Shaolin ignored Hana's comment as she felt the warm feeling fade and the coldness return; she focused her gaze and attention on Rukia. The younger shinigami just looked defiantly back at her.

"Ichigo's words...you haven't been trying to guilt-trip him since then, have you?"

She waved her hand at her godson for emphasis. Rukia firmly shook her head.

"No, I didn't; he just came up with that on his own."

"And you merely took advantage of that."

Shaolin coldly smiled as the girl's own features began to reveal some guilt; the ex-shinigami decided to press her opening.

"When you came to Ichigo's house, why did you stop to talk his ear off about your mission?"

The young woman stopped short.

"Well, because-"

"You knew there was a Hollow in the area, you knew something was blocking your ability to find the thing, you knew you had to search door-to-door for it. And yet, when you find a young human who can see you, you proceed to stand there and focus your attention exclusively on him.

"Why?"

Rukia sat where she was, stunned more than outraged or guilty now, and it took her a moment to come up with something.

"Well, I guess..."

"Let me save you the trouble. You ran into some nobody who didn't understand how important your mission was, much less how important you were. So you decided to blab about the war with the Hollows...the shinigami...and whatever else passed your fancy..."

Shaolin took another sip of tea, both to clear her throat and to let the implications of what she was saying sink in.

There was a hardness to Ichigo's eyes now, even as he avoided looking in Rukia's direction.

"And meanwhile, that thing was probably snacking on whoever it wanted. There was this kid's ghost I never did run into again after that day..."

Shaolin nodded and saw that Rukia's face was beginning to pale and her eyes were going wide.

"A professional shinigami would have seen Ichigo as a minor irritant; they would have bound him as you did, and then continued on their business. If they wanted to talk to him, they would have done it after they'd taken care of the Hollow.

"After all, that's supposed to be your job, isn't it?"

"Careful..."

Shaolin ignored her friend's caution; she knew she had a cover, but if she dropped enough specific information, Rukia would be fixing her gaze on Shaolin, not on Isshin and his family.

And especially not on Ichigo.

Rukia by now was just starting to look at the floor and shake her head; she looked like she was slowly falling into a pit as she started to see what Shaolin was talking about.

"I...Ichigo, I..."

Ichigo sighed and looked at Shaolin with a steady gaze.

"Obasan, she screwed up, but-"

"But nothing, Ichigo. She may have given you the power to help your family and yourself out of trouble, but she was the one who got you all into trouble in the first place."

She closed her eyes and sighed.

"If Karin hadn't made it to your door, what do you think would have happened?"

Now Ichigo looked profoundly disturbed; it didn't seem to be taxing his imagination to figure that out.

"He would have likely been talking to you about adoption right now...and the funerals for his family. That is, if he had lived..."

Rukia looked like she was trying to decide whether to panic or hang her head in shame; she chose to do the latter.

Shaolin locked eyes with her godson.

"Ichigo, whether you like her or not, whether you like fighting Hollows or not, I want you to understand this: you owe that woman nothing."

The young man seemed to take a moment to think on that, and then firmly nodded his head. Rukia merely sat in her place, her head hung in a posture of submission and defeat totally out of place with her clan name.

But that was just as it should be, as far as Shaolin was concerned. Rukia had been put in her place, probably for the first time, and her hold over Ichigo had almost certainly been shaken. Now Shaolin would have an easier time dealing with the situation.

She turned her attention to Ichigo again; she noticed that Rukia had recovered, but was still looking unsure about the situation.

"With that in mind, what did you think of being a shinigami?"

Ichigo looked a little taken aback by the question, and he actually made a show of thinking about it.

"It felt like dream, actually..."

Shaolin could feel her eyes widen a bit and the hair stand on the back of her neck. She didn't like hearing those words from a boy she wanted to remain among the living, but at the same time she understood what he meant.

Being human could be terribly limiting at times...

"...at least when I woke up in my room the next morning. I was back in my body, my room was the same...for all I knew, I'd just had a nightmare."

The ex-shinigami felt herself relax again; maybe she really was getting paranoid.

"Then I go downstairs...Dad and Karin and Yuzu were all right, but the hole the Hollow made in the house was there. They didn't remember anything, though."

Shaolin nodded her head.

"Bet you were relieved..."

"Yeah...I never realized before how much I'd taken them for granted... I think Karin and Yuzu got weirded out when I hugged them..."

"I bet they were..."

Shaolin smiled at the thought, and some part of her saw perhaps a little good in this. She'd seen more than one person realize the importance of life after nearly losing it; maybe that would be the case here as well.

If the Kuchiki or the Gotei 13, or a hundred other things didn't get involved...

"Anyway, I thought it was all over: Rukia had given me her powers for a few hours, the Hollow was dead, I was back in my body, and everything was back to normal, more or less. So I go to school..."

Then his expression became annoyed and he jerked a thumb towards the young shinigami.

"And then I find her in class that morning, acting like she owned me or something..."

---

"Hello, neighbor!"

Ichigo almost dropped his bag as he heard the cheery voice behind him.

What the...?

He turned and lowered his head and saw...

Standing right behind him was Kuchiki Rukia, an overly friendly smile plastered on her face, looking just like she had the evening before.

Except that she was wearing the gray jacket and skirt of a Karakura-

"What the hell are you-?"

He was cut off by Rukia's heel on his toes, and he only just suppressed the urge to cry out in pain. Before he say anything further, the short shinigami grabbed Ichigo's hand in a grip of steel and started to haul him out of the classroom.

"Hey wait a minute! Rukia!"

"Uhm, what's going on?"

Ichigo and Rukia turned their attention to the door, where they could see Tatsuki and Orihime making their way in. Or at least they were making their way in; as soon as she saw what was going on, Tatsuki seemed to make a point of stopping in the doorway.

Rukia looked very annoyed for a second, and then the bright smile was back on her face.

"Oh nothing...I was just going to have Ichigo...show me around, that's all..."

Tatsuki frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Really? That's funny. Because you know class is about to start, don't you?"

"Rukia, how about we..."

The petite girl just flashed her smile at Ichigo, though he could see an edge to it now.

"Don't worry, Ichigo, I've got this covered."

Tatsuki arched an eyebrow, while Orihime's eyes widened a little.

"You know her, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Uhm...not really, I..."

Before he could finish, Rukia hurled her foot down on Tatsuki's toes, causing the taller brunette to scream in pain.

"Tatsuki-chan!"

Even as Ichigo stared slack-jawed at the display, Tatsuki recovered and almost lifted Rukia off her feet by way of grabbing the front of her shirt.

"What the hell was that-?"

"Oh teacher, teacher...this girl is being mean to me..."

"Arisawa-san, what do you think you're doing?"

Everyone there turned to see Ms. Ochi coming into the classroom, sliding past a slightly horrified Orihime. She took one look at Tatsuki, who was still holding Rukia, and crossed her arms over her chest.

The brunette turned her attention to the teacher, letting go of Rukia in the process, and pointed at the diminutive student.

"It wasn't my fault, Ochi-sensei. This girl was trying to smash my foot into paste."

"Well that was because you were trying to beat me up!"

Tatsuki turned on Rukia, flames in her eyes.

"Did not; you started this!"

"Arisawa-san!"

Even as Tatsuki shot a disbelieving look at the the people around her, Rukia grabbed hold of Ichigo's hand.

"Look...Ochi-sensei?...I need to have a chat with Ichigo alone; we'll be back in a few minutes, I promise."

Even as she flashed a brilliant smile at the teacher, the older woman was considering the matter.

"Well...I'm not supposed to allow that. But Ichigo is is tardy a lot, and it seems to be important to you two so..."

Ms. Ochi's face lit into a bright smile.

"You two go do whatever!"

Tatsuki and Ichigo's jaws dropped, even as Rukia's smile widened and she gave a small bow.

"Thank you, sensei. Come along Ichigo..."

Before anyone could say anything else, she hauled her 'prisoner' out the door and past a-now outraged Tatsuki.

Even as he protested the maneuver, the girl dragged him all the way up the stairs to the roof entrance, threw the door open, and then practically hurled him onto the roof. After checking to make sure no one had followed them, she closed the door and let Ichigo pick himself up.

He glared at her with all the outrage he could, while she just looked appreciatively at the door.

"Not quite the fight I wanted, but it did the trick..."

"What the hell...? Do you know what you just-"

Rukia cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"Never mind that, Kurosaki-san; I need your help."

The words nearly threw him back onto the roof; he stopped, stared at her, and then started in again.

"What now? Is there another one of those things wandering around?"

She shook her head.

"Thankfully no, but I wouldn't be able to do anything about it if I wanted to."

"Why not?"

She pointed at him.

"Because you still have my powers."

Ichigo's jaw dropped a little and he took a moment to pat himself down.

"What...? I don't feel like..."

"You have them, trust me. Something went wrong with the ritual, and-"

"How do you screw something like that up?"

For the first time, the girl before him looked frustrated and worried.

"I don't know, okay? And more to the point, you didn't get half my power, you got almost all of it. I'm helpless..."

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked to the ground with a troubled expression. For a moment, Ichigo felt a little sorry for her; Rukia looked so vulnerable...

Then the fake smile was back on her face and she looked directly at him again.

"In any case, the Hollows are still out there, you have my powers, so...you're just going to have to do my job for me until my powers return."

The look he gave her must have said everything, because she started looking annoyed herself.

"Look, it's not for a very long time, okay? Just a day or two...I'm sure my powers should return by then..."

Even as she said the words, Rukia seemed unsure about them.

It was that quality that made Ichigo figure perhaps the girl was telling the truth.

"All right...I'll see what I can do..."

The smile came back to Rukia's face, and she started pulling out what looked like a cellphone and then started to tap some of the buttons.

"Great...now lets see if there's anything going on right now..."

---

Shaolin closed her eyes and absorbed the information she'd just had related to her.

"No wonder Tatsuki-chan doesn't like you very much. Although, she never mentioned that incident to me..."

She looked pointedly at Rukia, but it was Ichigo who spoke up.

"She keeps spraying the class with that memory stuff..."

The assassin froze and then stared at the two of them.

"You do understand, don't you, that stuff's a mild hallucinogen? Only to be used when you seriously screw up...?"

Rukia started at the insult the comment, and Ichigo didn't look terribly happy either.

"You mean Tatsuki's...?"

"No, she and everyone else is probably all right. There is a danger of building immunity, though; the human body can get used to just about anything if given enough contact with it."

And if that was what was happening to Tatsuki...

The ex-shinigami sighed and looked pointedly at her counterpart.

"Why did you do that, going to his school, intruding on their lives? Why didn't you talk to Kisuke-san about your 'problem'?"

She could almost feel Rukia stop and grow a little nervous.

"Kisuke...san? Wait a minute, you know him...?"

The ex-shinigami nodded and then opened her eyes to find that Rukia had indeed gone a little wide-eyed.

So, one more thing Rukia had held over Ichigo taken away...

Shaolin noticed Ichigo's puzzled look and turned towards him.

"Urahara Kisuke is what you might call a local...'fixer', and he's a good friend. In fact, I used to work for him directly."

"What's he like?"

She nodded her head sideways.

"A good person, overall. I wouldn't completely trust him, if I were you, but I think you'd like him. I'll introduce you to him if it comes to that."

She turned back to Rukia.

"Now, back to the earlier question...?"

The girl managed to recover from her shock, and then sighed.

"I don't have to tell you that..."

Shaolin made a show of considering the answer she was given.

"I think I know what it probably was. You're from an important family, so you probably didn't want to embarrass yourself. And so, rather than say anything or ask for help and thereby risk having your failure become public, you decided to draft 'the peasant' and hope everything would work out."

She arched an eyebrow.

"Am I right?"

Rukia didn't say anything, but the fact that she was squirming even more uncomfortably told Shaolin all she needed to know.

She had been trying very hard to not hate the girl, to give Rukia the chance to defend herself through word and action, but the more the ex-shinigami understood of the situation, the less she liked it.

Ichigo gave Rukia a curious glance, one tinged with worry, and then looked back to Shaolin.

"Anyway, she's been dragging me all over the place, fighting Hollows and basically making herself comfy in my life..."

Rukia seemed to come a little alive at that.

"Not that you have much of a social life to begin with. The way you treat your friends..."

Ichigo looked like he was going to protest for a moment, and then he hanged his head a little.

"Actually...I have been kind of a bastard the last few years, haven't I?"

Shaolin paused as she thought about what to say.

"Yeah, you have been kind of a pain..."

She could see Ichigo flinch a little.

"But...that's just a part of being young, I guess. I had kind of a wild youth myself."

Now the young man in front of her raised his head and looked at her with skepticism. She poured some more tea into her cup and nodded as she did so.

"Don't look so surprised, Ichigo. When I was your age, I basically told my family to go to hell; I left, traveled around, got into a lot of trouble..."

She fingered one earring absently.

"Got involved with a guy I know my family wouldn't have approved of..."

She smiled at him, and he smiled back sheepishly; Rukia looked...intrigued more than anything else.

"Thanks, obasan...I've...kind of missed you a little..."

"I've missed seeing you as well. Maybe we can change that, huh?"

Ichigo's smile broadened a little and he nodded.

"Now, how much has Kuchiki-san told you while you've been working under her? And I want you to seriously think about that question; if you say 'nothing', I'm going to take that literally."

Ichigo looked like he was thinking for a moment.

"Pretty much what you saw last night: Hollows, fighting them, they need to be killed with a zanpaktou so they can find peace..."

"And did she tell you that the shinigami don't terribly much like people who do that?"

Ichigo froze for a moment, and then turned a suspicious eye on Rukia, one that became even more so as he noticed Rukia getting uncomfortable again.

"She left that part out..."

Shaolin sighed again and gave a hard gaze at the young shinigami.

"I know for a fact that the shinigami really don't like people other than themselves hunting Hollows; they seem to consider it poaching or something."

Rukia's eyes widened.

"You sound like we're on some kind of nobleman's hunt or something... This is war!"

Ichigo turned his attention to Shaolin.

"Okay...how much trouble am I in?"

The ex-shinigami took a moment to order her thoughts, and then she sighed and just decided to say what she felt.

"Ichigo, despite their appearance and what they might say to the contrary, the shinigami only care about themselves and their order-"

"That's not true."

Shaolin and Ichigo turned their attention to Rukia and she looked at them in turn.

"We spend our time defending humanity and their dead from the Hollows. Ichigo, I wasn't lying about that..."

The ex-shinigami nodded.

"You're right, but you obviously didn't tell him that they don't allow anyone but an accredited shinigami to hunt Hollows. Two hundred years ago, her people committed an act of genocide to protect their monopoly; they wouldn't even think about killing you, Ichigo."

She cast a glance at Rukia.

"Especially since they would accuse you of intentionally stealing her powers."

Rukia looked like she might protest, but then she decided to just keep quiet when she saw the look of concentration on Ichigo's face.

They continued to sit there in silence for a few moments, and then Ichigo looked into his teacup.

"Obasan...thanks for telling about that. I kind of figured Rukia was leaving a few details out..."

Rukia started to look worried.

"Ichigo..."

"So...am I a dead man or something? I mean, I don't even know what happened exactly..."

Shaolin looked down into her own teacup for a moment, gazing into the sad reflection in the mirror the liquid made.

"Ichigo, I'm sorry this happened to you, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you about any of this before. It's just..."

Ichigo raised his head to look at her and shook his head. There was something in his eyes...

"Don't worry about it, obasan; I probably wouldn't have believed you anyway. I mean, I hadn't even seen a Hollow or a shinigami before Rukia came along. And I probably wouldn't have wanted to listen to you either."

He sighed, and then squared his shoulders.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking the last week..."

Shaolin smiled whimsically.

"You...think? That's a new one..."

The young man matched her smile.

"Yeah, well...nearly getting killed does that to a person, I guess. And so does seeing that you've been fighting these things for...how long?"

The smile dropped away from Shaolin's face and she knew she had a faraway look in her eyes now.

"Most of my life, Ichigo. And before you ask, I'm something of a special case with the shinigamis' 'poaching laws'..."

"That's why you kept disappearing from time to time, wasn't it? You were fighting those things, trying to protect people."

Shaolin quietly nodded.

"Then please let me help you."

The ex-shinigami's heart stopped, and she lifted her head to look at her godson. His shoulders were squared now; there was a resolute look in his eyes, as though he'd made a decision he wasn't going to be backing down from.

"Didn't you hear what I just said about her kind...?"

Ichigo nodded.

"I heard, but if they've already condemned me, I might as well continue doing this. I'll be doing some good, and I'm not going to be getting into any more trouble than I am now."

He reached across the table and laid a hand on one of hers.

"I've had to do this alone for a week now-"

"Hey!"

Ichigo flashed a smile at the outraged Rukia.

"Almost alone, and I can't imagine what it must be like for you, doing this your whole life. I guess what I'm trying to say is: you don't have to be alone if you don't want to be."

"The man has a point, Shaolin..."

For once in her existence, Shaolin wasn't sure what to do or how to feel. The idea of bringing Ichigo further into this world, of sending him to an early grave, utterly repelled her. It would be a betrayal of Masaki's memory.

But on the other hand...

Underneath the folds of the kimono, Shaolin could feel the damage she'd incurred on her gigai; it needed to be replaced, and in the not-to-distant future, or people would be asking questions. It made her feel vulnerable, and she had to wonder if she could defend Karakura by herself; the memory of what happened to Rin came to mind.

Also...it would be nice to have some help again, to work with someone she felt she could trust with her life.

The ex-shinigami also had a feeling Ichigo would continue to do this whether she liked it or not; he was his father's son.

She found that she couldn't quite look the young man in the face, but she nodded.

"Let me think about it for a little while, okay? Let's see what happens before we make any plans."

Ichigo nodded and pulled himself back to his side of the table.

"Fair enough, now was there anything else? Yuzu and Karin are probably getting worried about me."

Shaolin took a moment to pull herself back together, and then turned to Rukia. If there was the possibility of Ichigo being the ex-shinigami's 'sidekick'...

"What kind of training have you been giving him?"

The question seemed to shock Rukia, and that made Shaolin narrow her eyes.

"He's been your responsibility; he's been doing your job. You have been giving him instruction of some kind, haven't you?"

Even as Rukia looked like she was trying to figure out what to say to that, Ichigo just harrumphed.

"If you can call messing with a batting machine 'practice'..."

Shaolin's brain froze.

"What...?"

Ichigo described the 'training' he'd received, and as he did so the ex-shinigami found something beginning to snap in her mind; the cage she'd build around her animal self began falling apart, but it wasn't rage she felt anymore...

"How does one equate hitting painted baseballs with fighting Hollows? Does this woman happen to be related to Inoue-san...?"

Shaolin started laughing.

It was only a slight giggle at first, but it was like a dam slowly cracking; as the seconds passed more and more of the stress she'd been feeling the last few days slipped out of her and converted itself to laughter.

And her imagination wasn't helping...

She could see the baseball diamond, the black-clad shinigami filling the stands on a sunny day, while the various seated officers were on the field playing the game...

In the umpire's position was the Sou-taichou, of course...

Off in the stands, Kisuke was selling hot dogs and popcorn...

And she could hear the requisite music in the background...

She honestly tried her best to contain the images and the laughter. She knew there would be trouble if she insulted her esteemed guest.

But she couldn't help it; she found herself burying her face in the table to do something to contain this emotion boiling out of her.

"I...I can...can see baseball's...hit Soul Society..."

"I can just picture the jerseys..."

Shaolin couldn't get any more out; she was just too overcome with the utter ridiculousness of the situation. Her body shook and she started having trouble staying upright as she continued to laugh as hard as she could...

She managed to turn her eyes up and saw that across from her Ichigo was starting to smile and was even having a little chuckle of his own, probably releasing some of his own stress.

And Rukia...

The young shinigami just stared at the two of them, a look of utter disbelief and dismay on her face. She looked like she wanted to make them stop, but couldn't figure out how to say so.

All she could do was look helplessly back and forth between Shaolin and Ichigo.

Then tears started forming in her eyes, and her lip started to curl up...

And it just made Shaolin roar even harder, much to her mortification.

"Did...did you even...graduate...from the...?"

She just couldn't help-

"That's enough!"

By now, Rukia was standing fully erect, her arms stiffly at her side; tears were streaming down her face, and there was a look of pure outrage in her eyes.

Ichigo managed to straighten up, but not Shaolin. Her laughing died down, but she couldn't stop, couldn't stop her own tears.

"Damn it, stop that! Do you know who I am, you...peasant?"

"Hey Rukia-"

Rukia turned a tear-streaked face at Ichigo, even as Shaolin began to bring her laughing under control.

"I've had enough of this; I've been trying to be nice and... Do you think I like being here, stuck like this, in this body?"

For a moment, she looked like she was going to scream, and then the feeling passed. Instead she bowed her head and covered her face with her hands.

"I wanna go home..."

Even as Ichigo leaned over to console Rukia, Shaolin could feel the darkness in her soul fully dissipating. The danger was past; this woman was no real threat to her or anyone else.

She wasn't worth killing.

The assassin finally got herself under control and took a few deep breaths to steady herself, and then looked back at the two teens. Rukia was still having a good cry, but it seemed simply a way to relieve stress, much like Shaolin's laughter.

"You are going to be spending a very long time paying for that episode, you know?"

The ex-shinigami nodded her head even as she mumbled an answer.

"I know, but...it was worth it."

Shaolin took one last deep breath, let it exit her lungs, and then turned a genuinely friendly smile on Rukia while waving at the table.

"Please Kuchiki-san, sit down. We aren't finished here, and besides that I do apologize for that unseemly behavior just now. I have been under a great deal of stress lately and...I just couldn't help myself."

She shrugged for emphasis.

Rukia managed to get a hold of herself and took her hands away from her face, wiping the tears from her eyes as she looked at Shaolin with uncertainty. After a few moments, she looked around and seemed to realize she didn't have too much choice in the matter, so nodded and then sat down in her spot, allowing Ichigo to do the same.

The ex-shinigami took another sip of tea to give Rukia more time to calm down. The girl took a deep breath and looked down at her own teacup.

"I'm not an instructor, you know. I didn't exactly get very high marks at the Academy..."

Then the girl looked her older counterpart in the eye; there was something in her look that said she realized Shaolin knew more than she should.

Which was exactly what the ex-shinigami wanted.

"I did graduate though, thank you very much."

"I am sure her parents were so proud..."

Shaolin thought about that, and then nodded.

"Look, in all seriousness, I realize that you're in trouble Kuchiki-san; it must be tough 'being human'..."

It had been for her when she'd gone through the same thing; Shaolin squelched the tiny pang of sympathy that thought created.

"...so I'm going to talk to Kisuke-san and see if he knows something or someone who can help out with this. In the meantime, where can I reach you?"

Rukia's demeanor completely changed with the last few words; her sorrow disappeared, and in its place came a profound uncomfortableness.

As though she realized she was going to be getting on Shaolin's bad side again...

"Oh, well...uhm...I'll be around..."

Shaolin pinned the now-reluctant girl with a hard glare.

"Where can I reach you?"

Rukia hesitated, but then looked like she thought better of it and sighed.

"I've been staying at Ichigo's house..."

Shaolin looked over to the young man and saw him confirm the information with a nod.

But there was something in his expression...

She sighed and shook her head; one more headache to deal with.

"Guys, seriously, don't screw with me on this-"

Both teens flinched, and she held up a hand to silence any protest.

"I was at your house yesterday, Ichigo; Yuzu had set the table for four people. Isshin-san didn't know anything about guests, so where have you been staying, Kuchiki Rukia?"

The two young people stayed uncomfortably silent for a little while, and then Rukia finally spoke up.

"I've been staying in his room. His closet, if you must know."

Shaolin's brain shut down.

"I'm sorry...what did you say...?"

Rukia sighed heavily.

"Ichigo has my powers, and you never know when a Hollow will show up, so I felt like staying near him. And his closet's pretty nice, actually..."

"Yeah, but I've got to be careful every time I try to get dressed for school!"

Rukia turned to her companion.

"Get over yourself, Ichigo! If you have a problem, then just close your eyes...or better yet, knock before you open the door."

"It's my closet!"

Even as the two of them bickered, Shaolin thanked the gods that she was a decent actress, at least where concealing her emotions came in.

Rukia was insulted enough without Shaolin screaming at her.

"For how long have you been staying with Ichigo, Kuchiki-san...?"

The two teens paused in their bickering, sensing by the tone in Shaolin's voice that things were probably going to get ugly; they both squirmed a little before Rukia answered.

"Since...that first day..."

An entire week...?

Shaolin's jaw wanted to fall off its hinges.

Hana probably felt the same way, because there was a very long pause before she said anything.

"This is not happening..."

A daughter of one of the most powerful, most esteemed and privileged families in all of Soul Society...

Living in some teenaged man's closet.

Shaolin thought for a moment on how to phrase what she was thinking.

"Rukia...you're a very attractive young woman."

The girl seemed taken completely off-guard by the compliment.

"Well...thank you..."

"And I'm sure Ichigo finds you attractive as well..."

"I wouldn't-"

Then Rukia managed to get what Shaolin was getting at, her face turned bright red, and she huffed a few times before getting something out.

"That's outrageous. We haven't been...doing anything...!"

Shaolin enjoyed the look on the girl's face and then shook her head.

"That's probably not what other people are thinking..."

Ichigo was just shaking his head, a sour look on his face.

"You're not going to believe nothing happened?"

Shaolin leveled her eyes on him.

"Should I? What would your families think?"

The young man hung his head and sighed.

"Yeah, my life would be pretty much over..."

He turned to look at Rukia.

"It may already be over thank-...Rukia?"

Rukia was just sitting at her place, eyes wide with horror, her face the color of cement.

"Rukia?"

"Nii-sama's going to kill me..."

Shaolin's blood turned to ice as she heard the honorific, even as Ichigo's eyes went wide with shock and outrage.

"Nii-sama? You mean you've got an older brother...?"

He threw his hands up in the air, completely ignoring Rukia's current state.

"Gods, I can't...! You couldn't have mentioned before the fact that you've got a brother, could you?"

Some part of Shaolin's mind understood what Ichigo was getting on about; as an older brother he could understand the idea of breaking some cad in half for messing with his younger sister.

But that wasn't what Shaolin was thinking of, and it seemed Hana was thinking the same thing herself.

"Sinless Buddha... … At least we have a partial explanation for her adoption into the Kuchiki...someone in Kuchiki-taichou's profession would need an heir..."

The assassin took a moment to school herself, to keep from either falling into depression or into another laughing fit, and then leveled a hard look at the two teens that caused them to stop bickering.

"So you two...have been living together for all that time... I suppose Kuchiki-san's been getting in and out through your window, Ichigo?"

The young man's face went almost as pale as Rukia's.

"Uhm...ah... I swear, obasan...nothing happened..."

Shaolin wanted to bury her head on the table again; instead she arched an eyebrow.

"You're absolutely sure...? Because as an outsider, I can see two possible stories here...

"First: Kuchiki Rukia – a poor naive girl, unused to the ways of the world – gets either waylaid or seduced by a young man who turns out to be a sorcerer of some kind. He takes her powers, stuffs her in his closet..."

"Which you can be sure has anything from fiendish torture devices to cockroaches the size of house-cats in it..."

"...and then goes about the city doing...well, whatever he wants to with her powers at his command."

Shaolin paused to let that take effect. Ichigo was still pale-faced, while Rukia looked more than a little disturbed.

"The second story is that Kuchiki Rukia came to Karakura, decided to have some fun and, being something of a dandy, decided to get some poor fool to do her job for her."

Rukia started looking even more uncomfortable as she felt the stares of two people, and probably because that sounded more like what had actually happened.

"Of course, not having any money on her person, and this being an onerous job, Kuchiki-san had to find some way to make this worthwhile for a young, virile man..."

Rukia's expression flashed to outrage.

"You've got to be kid-!"

"I'm not, and that's how your clan would see this matter, young lady. Forget poaching Hollows; her brother will annihilate you, Ichigo, just for having laid eyes on her."

By now Ichigo was shaking his head in disbelief, even as Rukia looked at the floor again, her expression having turn again to one of shame.

"Ichigo, I'm-"

"How long is your tour of duty here?"

Shaolin's words cut across Rukia's apology; the young shinigami stopped and spent a moment thinking about it.

"One month..."

The ex-shinigami made a quick calculation.

"Then we have maybe three weeks until somebody comes looking for you, Kuchiki-san."

Rukia flinched.

"And before they come for your head, Ichigo."

The young man gulped.

"So...what do we do, obasan...?"

Shaolin sighed and half-wished it was vodka and not tea in her cup.

"You, Ichigo, are going home and then going back to school tomorrow. You'll do whatever you want, but just try to keep out of too much trouble while I see what I'm going to do about all this."

She turned her attention on Rukia.

"And as for you, Kuchiki-san, here's what I plan for you..."

---

"They had to have been...well, you know..."

Tatsuki was shaking her head as she said the words.

She'd just come from the door to sensei's room. Tatsuki hadn't meant to eavesdrop; she was just chatting with Orihime and helping her move into her room at Furin Hall. But then she'd heard the older woman talking with Rukia and Ichigo, had even heard some yelling and laughter, and had gotten to the point where she couldn't resist...

...and now the brunette wished she'd just minded her own business and stuck with helping her friend.

Earlier today Tatsuki would have probably flipped out and stormed the room to declare her outrage, but right now she was just tired. She just wanted to finish helping her friend and then go home and get some rest.

And besides, it was sensei's room and sensei's guests; Tatsuki had absolutely no right to do anything drastic.

And she knew Feng-sensei would take care of things.

But it was still depressing, finding out that things might have gotten that far between Ichigo and that...skank was the only word Tatsuki could think of...

It as much as helping Orihime was making her tired.

Right now she was outside near the gardens with Orihime, both having changed out of their uniforms to t-shirt and jeans for the move. She could see Orihime's eyes widen at the news of Rukia's...'activities' with Ichigo, and then narrow in thought.

"I see...I guess that means Kurosaki-kun's experienced now, doesn't it...?"

Tatsuki's jaw dropped a bit as she heard her friend, and then she thought about the words and tone in her friend's voice.

Orihime didn't sound worried at all, nor even upset. She actually sounded like a woman who had made up her mind about something...

"What, you're finally going to try to get serious with him, even after that-?"

"Tatsuki-chan... If Kurosaki-kun wants to do something like that, that's his business. It just means I have to work harder, that's all."

Tatsuki stood there for a minute, utterly blown away by her friend's attitude, but also seriously impressed by it. So she was going to-

"Tatsuki-chan...Inoue-san...what are you two doing here?"

The two girls turned to see Shaolin standing a few feet away, clad in one of her fancier kimonos. It made Tatsuki smirk a little at the sight; she didn't really see sensei as the 'court lady' type, but here the woman was proving her wrong.

"We were just talking..."

And then she saw Ichigo and Rukia not too far behind the older woman, looking surprised and maybe just a little...frightened...

She could just imagine why...

She couldn't help but smile at Rukia; the girl seemed more than a little chastened, more than a little lost.

"Talking about what?"

Orihime turned and bowed to Shaolin.

"If it's all right, I'm going to be staying here for a couple of weeks..."

A tired but genuine smile came over the older woman's lips.

"Of course, Inoue-san; you're welcome here any time. Of course, you'll be having company..."

Tatsuki just froze, and then looked at Rukia.

"She's staying here...?"

The older woman gave a weary sigh and nodded her head slowly.

"For a couple or three weeks; I'm not sure exactly. Is there a problem with that?"

Tatsuki wasn't quite sure what to say; sensei looked really tired, and it was only just a strong feeling, but...

Shaolin turned towards Ichigo.

"Go home, Ichigo, we can talk more later."

He looked like he wanted to protest, but then thought better of it. Instead he simply said his goodbyes and left, and then Shaolin turned her attention to Tatsuki.

"Let's go have a chat, Tatsuki-chan."

Gently resting a hand on Tatsuki's shoulder, the older woman led her away from Orihime and Rukia, off to one of the gardens that had been planted in Furin Hall.

Tatsuki had heard that Shaolin had planted these herself when she'd first come, which made the fact that they were here all the more special; she felt like she was going to be let in on some secret.

"Tatsuki-chan, what's been bothering you?"

The younger woman hesitated; now she felt silly burdening her sensei with her problems. It was clear the older woman had a lot on her mind right now. But since they were here...

"I don't trust her...I've got a bad feeling...especially with her and Orihime being in the same place for any length of time.

Shaolin arched an eyebrow.

"You mean you don't trust me to keep the peace?"

The tone was playful, but the words set Tatsuki on edge.

"No, no sensei...it's just...I don't know..."

She paced forward a little and then turned to face Shaolin.

"Something's been going on that's got me..."

"Scared...?"

Tatsuki looked to the ground and nodded.

"I really lost it today, didn't I?"

"I've done it too; don't feel too bad about it. Just don't let it conquer you, okay?"

She felt her sensei's hand on her shoulder again, and looked up to see Shaolin smiling at her.

"Trust me, Tatsuki-chan: I won't let anything happen to your friend. Okay?"

They were simple words, but for some reason they made Tatsuki feel better. She nodded her head.

"But why does Rukia have to stay here? Weren't you going to ship her out of town or something?"

The older woman shook her head.

"Tatsuki-chan...it isn't that simple. In fact, it's kind of...complicated. But I am trying to deal with the situation. Please trust me, okay?"

The idea that Feng-sensei would have to say something like that sent a thrill of horror down Tatsuki's spine, and she immediately regretted her words.

"I'm sorry sensei...I'll..."

"Don't worry about it, just get some rest, and I'll see you later."

Tatsuki bowed again.

"Thank you, sensei."

She watched as the older woman turned and made her way out of the garden, and then just stood there to breath in the perfume of the flowers...

And then she felt like someone was watching her.

She turned to one of the bushes and saw a pair of yellow eyes, and then smiled at the black cat she could see had been gazing on her and sensei during their conversation.

Tatsuki waved at it, and it seemed genuinely surprised to have been noticed; the eyes quickly disappeared and Tatsuki knew she was alone again.

She just shook her head at the encounter and then looked up at the moon.

"Please tell me this whole thing isn't going to blow up..."

They'd already had their lives torn apart by another stranger, twelve years ago...

---

As Shaolin saw Orihime off to bed and made her way to the other spare room she had, he eyes wandered over to her 'guest'. Rukia kept looking to the ground like some kind of prisoner heading to her cell, barely noticing when they came to the door and entered the plain-looking room.

It reminded Shaolin of...

The ex-shinigami shook the thought from her head and pointed off to one side.

"The closet is there; there are some futons and a blanket that should be good enough for you to sleep on. There's also some clothes that should fit you in there."

She'd have to apologize to Hiyori later, but it was that or have Rukia raiding...she didn't want to think about where the younger woman was currently getting her apparel.

Rukia nodded.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"And one more thing..."

The girl turned around to face Shaolin, a questioning look in her eyes.

"Tatsuki-chan's been acting weird, agitated... What happened yesterday evening that you didn't tell me about?"

Rukia didn't look like she wanted to say anything, as though she knew she was in deep trouble and didn't want to make things worse. Then she seemed to gather her courage and sighed.

"I'm...a kidou-user...at least, I used to be. My kidou's been failing the last couple of days..."

The assassin arched an eyebrow.

"So you were right about her."

The ex-shinigami tried to soften her expression so as not to completely scare the girl. What Rukia was admitting had to be hard; it would be like Shaolin admitting she'd been physically crippled.

"I don't know why...it's just... It failed on me again last night, when that attack came at those girls' apartment..."

"And you couldn't heal Inoue-san...?"

Rukia nodded sadly.

"The best I could do, the best I could think of was to have Ichigo break her Chain and then perform the konsou on her. And before you say anything, it was far from my first choice...it was just the only thing I could think of given the situation..."

She had a haunted look in her eyes.

"If I had known someone like you was around, I would have gone to you, but..."

Rukia struggled for a moment, and then seemed to give up. Instead, the young shinigami backed away from Shaolin a little, and then knelt and bowed her head to the floor.

"Please forgive me for the trouble I have caused you, ma'am."

Shaolin actually wasn't quite sure what to say.

Was the girl telling the truth? She seemed sincere enough...

She restrained herself from sighing at the thought and merely nodded her head, even though she knew Rukia couldn't see the action.

"I accept your apology...for now."

Rukia motioned her head in a nod, and then got back to her feet.

"Thank you, ma'am. And before you leave, may I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

Now the younger woman looked a little nervous.

"Are you one of the Quincy?"

It was the first time someone had directly asked her that in a long time. It wasn't true, of course but...

"Maybe. Is that really important, though?"

Rukia seemed to think about that for a moment, and then shook her head.

"No, I guess it isn't..."

"I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Rukia nodded and started heading for the closet, while Shaolin headed for the exit. As she made it to the door, the ex-shinigami took a moment to look at the scene her guest provided.

She could tell Rukia still had some pride left by the way she moved and worked; but it was also obvious that she knew she was trapped by fate, and that there was nothing she could do now but accept it and do the best she could.

All alone in a strange world, among people she had already angered...

It made Shaolin think back to when she was like that a century ago.

Had she...?

Had she done the same thing to Yoruichi-sama all those years ago...?

Was that why Shaolin was here now, in this place and time, guarding over another lost child...?

---

Author's Note: It occurred to me that there was something wrong with Rukia giving Ichigo half her powers. If you did that, you'd get one wounded shinigami at half-strength, and a second weak shinigami who didn't know what they were doing. Not a very good tactic when facing off against a Hollow.

But if it were one shinigami transferring their power to another one...that makes a bit more sense, as the second shinigami would be powered up.

And since couple of people asked, I don't think the Hougyoku gave Ichigo and his friends their powers (if I did write that, then I goofed, and I'm sorry); I think it was more a matter of triggering their powers before they would have naturally.

As for process...notice that Ichigo, Chad and Orihime were each in a similar position when they had their powers activate – each had a friend or loved one in danger, each felt they were powerless to do anything about it, but each wanted to do something about the situation 'if only...'. The Hougyoku merely provided the needed spark to activate their powers at that moment.

Tatsuki, on the other hand, always believed in her abilities during this time; she never felt like she needed outside help, and so her potential was never triggered. After the Substitute Shinigami arc, the Hougyoku wasn't around to do any kind of triggering, even though Tatsuki was starting to feel like she couldn't handle what was going on.

The reason for her breakdown (I'm thinking it's more post-traumatic stress as opposed to anything else) is partly a device I'm using so that she will have that kind of need in this time-line, and therefore her potential will be realized.

As for the fact that the Hougyoku is dormant and can't do anything...I'm going with the idea that Kisuke lied about that. Not for any malevolent reason, though; we're dealing with Sosuke Aizen, after all.

The evidence for this will start appearing in the next chapter.

---

And now for the reviews:

cerokun: Thanks, I'm really glad you like the story so much. And as for the whole 'canon' thing...oops... :)

EVA-Saiyajin: Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you liked the chapter. As for what Shaolin's going to do to Rukia and Ichigo...you've already seen what she's going to be doing to Rukia; Ichigo's going to be handled in the next few chapters. And Shaolin doing something amazing...I definitely have something planned, but I also have to be careful to find some way to hamstring her for a good deal of the story. After all, she has the power to simply sit Ichigo in a corner and take care of all the Hollows in Karakura herself (theoretically, anyway).

thisisCMpunk: I'm glad you like the story, but I'm sorry to say this isn't a Ichigo/Sui-Feng story. If you still want to continue reading it, I'll be glad to have you. If you don't, well...this is an entirely voluntary site; if you don't like something, you have no obligations to read it.

Ability King KK: Well, Sui-Feng had some good moments in her life in this AU; it hasn't all been one long tragedy. As for her and Rukia, I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

HopingFate: Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you like the story. I may not have gotten many reviews compared to others of this length, but I think part of that is simply that there aren't that many chapters yet. And I do appreciate each one I get; it's a satisfying feeling knowing someone liked my work enough to send a response to it.

Love Psycho: Thanks for the review and the magic pie. Rukia is being pretty nasty, but there is a reason for it, I assure you (after all, this is an AU). As for Isshin coming clean...well notice that in the canon series he makes a point of avoiding the other shinigami like the plague (I think Rukia's an exception because she obviously doesn't know who he is). And training I intend to begin addressing in the next chapter (Shaolin won't be training him quite yet, but the subject will definitely be on her mind over the next few chapters).

crossxavier: Thanks for the review, and it seems like that for poor Shaolin doesn't it? She's among humans and yet not one of them, and any friendships she makes would be temporary (which is one reason she'd have a relationship with another of her kind). It would be enough to make a person go bananas, wouldn't it? :) As for the conflict between Rukia and Shaolin...well, you've seen that it's going to continue.

The Fifth Horseman: Thank you for the detailed and insightful review, I really appreciate it. Shaolin does indeed have problems relating to being alone and also finding a place for herself; I'm thinking by now she's given up on any big dreams and is just trying to focus on some little personal dreams of hers. Of course, that's her problem in a nutshell, trying to see things as she thinks they should be, rather than as they are.

And I'm sorry about any grammatical mistakes that I made in the last chapter or this one, for that matter; I try to put this thing through the spell-checker, but apparently LibreOffice doesn't have much of a grammar-checker. And sorry about the confusion over the breakdown; I think I have a problem with when to divulge information and where, and I'm still working on that.

As for the Hougyoku...see my Author's Note above.

HedonismBot: Thanks for all the praise, and don't worry about taking your time reviewing. As you can see, I've kind of been taking my time uploading. In any case, I plan to keep continuing with this story, and I hope I'm able to keep up with your expectations. :)