Chapter 9: I Never Knew...but if I had Known…

Two weeks had passed and things were getting back to normal for the 6th division. Rukia had been discharged from squad 4 but still hadn't returned to duty. Ichigo remained at her side. Byakuya, on the other hand, continued to visit Yoruichi, but she became distant towards Byakuya.

The following week Yoruichi was released from squad 4; however, she was still not in condition to travel through the Senkaimon back to the world of the living. Byakuya had instructed his personnel to make arrangements for Yoruichi to stay in the guest room until she was able to return to the world of the living. Yoruichi really didn't like the idea of staying at the Kuchiki manor, but she had no other choice. There were always choices, she murmured to herself. Of all places to be; why here? She questioned. The personnel set up Yoruichi in her room while Yoruichi walked over and opened the floral panel door. She couldn't believe how beautiful the garden looked. Yoruichi decided she needed some fresh air after being cooped up in squad 4's barracks; she took her cup of tea and entered through the floral paneled door. She had forgotten how serene and quiet the Seireitei was, not that she really missed the place. As Yoruichi perched herself on the benched, she got a glance of that tree. That tree was the tree that she would always stand on whenever she came to teach Byakuya when she was his Senpai. She even remembered the day that she grabbed his red ribbon, that she now wears holding her ponytail.

Yoruichi glanced back and too noticed of the garden that held an array of flowers and ferns. How could an ice-hearted man have such a beautiful garden, she questioned. Taking another sip of tea, she pondered as to why she was so angry at Byakuya. Didn't the man just came and saved her from death's door; even getting revenge? Doesn't that prove he has a heart; or that he cares? Yoruichi sighed and took another sip of her tea. But what about the time on the bridge when he tried to kill her? She continued questioning. Was that for show? Why didn't he visit me in the world of the living? Why should he, he had married Hisana by then. Yes, he forgot about me and the time we spent together; however, another thought manifested itself to her, did he know about your feelings for him? Yoruichi was conflicted and lost. Maybe he thought me and Urahara had something going on, she pondered. Yes, they were best friends and may have slept together a couple of times, but it wasn't like she wanted him as her mate. In addition, Urahara still had lingering feelings for Kukkaku, what a mess she thought. However, she wasn't about to let it go at the moment, why should she when he is not willing to let go of his feelings for his deceased wife. No, there's no place in his refrigerated heart for me; she concluded as she finished her cup of tea.

Yoruichi was so engrossed in her thoughts that she did not sense Byakuya standing in the doorway.

"Are you sure it's okay for you to be out of bed?" Byakuya asked as if frozen in time.

"Well, well, well, is it okay with the great Byakuya Kuchiki that I am out of bed?" Yoruichi hissed.

"I see nothing has changed with you."

"What? I am the same Byakuya, but I do want to thank you for all what you did for me?"

"Sure, I must return to my duties; do as you wish."

"Is that it? Is that all you have to say after all this time?"

Byakuya closed his eyes as he turned to head back to his office, "I came to see how you were doing and now I must return to my duties. I have no idea what you mean about all this time."

"Byakuya, I want to know why you never visited while I was in the world of the living?"

"I had no reason to. Weren't you happy with your new found best friend?"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! I see now, you're jealous of Kisuke and me."

"I have no reason for such foolish behavior." Byakuya said as he left eye started twitching. The demon cat sure knew how to get under his skin.

"It wasn't all like what it seemed, Byakuya."

"Well, why don't you tell me Yoruichi; how it really was then. Didn't you leave Soul Society to join your rebel friends at the time? Did you even care about your position as a noble?" Byakuya questioned as his blood was starting to burn in his veins. Why was she being so difficult, he asked himself?

"Byakuya you know the whole matter behind that with Aizen and his tactics. Why are you now bringing that up? Wasn't it you the one that got married? You never showed me any type of feelings towards me except contempt. I would come over here to train you; and even when I teased you, the only thing that did was make you madder. So don't stand here blowing out your hypocritical smoke to me about why things are the way they are. Did you ever tell me how you felt about me, Byakuya?" Yoruichi said as she felt a wet sensation falling on her cheeks. She couldn't believe that man had made her cry.

"I am not a mind reader, Yoruichi and I never knew that you felt that way about me. If I had known, maybe things would have been different. Yes, I was the one to marry, but you must understand something-I never knew I had hidden feelings for you until I saw you almost dead. But since you want to focus on the past, perhaps we should just leave things as they are. Excuse me; I must get back to my duties." Byakuya said as he continued to his office. The nerve of that woman trying to shift the blame on him; she was the one who left, he remained. This was driving him crazy and how did he let someone get to him like this. Instead of going to the office, Byakuya headed for squad 11; maybe the idiot would make him mad and he could take out his frustration with a match.

Squad 13

"Have you given much thought on the situation, Ichigo?" Rukia asked as she glazed in the eyes of uncertainty.

"Well, not really, and you" Ichigo replied as he held her hand that still seemed cold.

"I am a Lt. and I have my responsibilities here Ichigo, it would be quite difficult for me to consider anything else; and you know I can only remain in the world of the living for so long."

"Yes, I know. I just don't want anything like that to happen again, I almost lost it. You know, even though Zangetsu is my zanpakutou, he is still a Hollow; and when I am in certain types of situations he manifests. I don't want that to happen again. Even more, I can't lose you, you are my world-without you where will I be?" he said as he reached over and kissed her forehead.

"Ichigo, I don't want you to have to worry about me, but I do understand and I feel the same way. If I was to ever lose you, I do not know if I could handle that. Being away from you those 17 ½ months were gruesome. We must figure something out. But for right now, you have school, and ni-sama his here along with Renji; so I will have protection. I don't think the focus was on me solely, it seemed to have something to do with Yoruichi and ni-sama. I will be fine."

"I don't care, I want to be close to you, but I get what you're saying. Perhaps, I can visit every weekend and maybe one day during the week. I think we should try this and see how this works out."

Rukia leaned over and rubbed her fingers throw Ichigo's hair, how he reminded her so much of Kaien with his kindness and loyalty, and told him she was okay for trying that. At that moment a hell butterfly appeared with a message for Ichigo from the Captain Commander instructing him to come to the 1st division office.

"I wonder what this could be about?" Rukia asked as she seemed excited.

"Probably about the reason why I told you I can't afford to lose you." Ichigo replied as he arose to go see the Captain Commander.

"Well you never know Ichigo. I'll be here when you get back." Rukia said as she held a snicker in her voice.

"Sure." Ichigo said as waving as he headed to see the Captain Commander.

Zaraki's Division Squad 11

"Well, what do we have here? What do I owe the honor and pleasure of the noble captain from the 6th division visiting a commoner?"

"Cut it out you fool. I just had to get away from annoying people."

"You mean an annoying female, right?"

"How would you know anything about that?"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! I know enough that they are annoying. Would you like to have a drink of sake noble captain?"

"Why should I drink sake in the middle of the day?"

"Isn't that the reason why you came here, so that you could drink sake? Besides, what better way is there to wash away annoying people as you say?" Kenpachi arose to retrieve a bottle of sake from his office along with two cups and sat back down as he handed a cup to Byakuya. "Sit, and enjoy yourself noble captain, I am sure it's not all that bad."

"I don't understand how she can expect me to read her mind. How was I to know she harbored such feelings for me-I never knew? Perhaps, if I am truthful with myself; maybe the reason why I had such pent up anger towards her was because of my hidden feelings for her." Byakuya said as he gulped down the cup of Saki.

"You sure talk a lot noble captain when you're drinking. Tsh, I never allowed myself to feel such useless feelings myself; though I did feel a twinge of those feelings when I fought Unohana."

"I didn't think someone like you could understand such feelings."

"Tsh, what's that you said?"

"Never mind."

"Perhaps you should just give her some space and time to think things out; here have another cup of Saki." Kenpachi said as he poured the cure of ailments in Byakuya's cup.

"Don't mind if I do."

First Division Office

Ichigo arrived at the 1st division's office. He wasn't sure as to why the CC wanted to see; although he had an idea. "Ichigo Kurosaki requesting permission to enter," Ichigo said as he stood in front of the closed double doors.

"You may enter Ichigo Kurosaki, glad you could make it. Ichigo as you may know since the Aizen invasion and the Quincy war; Soul Society has been without several captains to lead the Gotei 13. With that being said, I have transferred some captains to other divisions and I did it for the sole purpose of the reason why I have asked you here."

Ichigo scratched his head in usual manner, "What do you mean?"

"Just let me finish. During the Quincy war, or should I say afterwards; I allowed you to remain in the world of the living by putting a limiter on you. The reason why I did this is because I didn't want to uproot your life so-to-speak. Besides, you are basically using a Gigai anyway in that it wouldn't be an issue in you returning to Soul Society as you are. Anyway, I have transferred Captain Hitsugaya and Rangiku to squad 8 in order for the 10th division to be ruled by the Shiba clan. I have made you captain of the 10th division, but you will need to meet with the other captains in determining who your Lt. will be. Whatcha say Ichigo, think you're up for the job? You do realize you have no other choice because the limiter is not made to control the power that you possess; and it's better that you should reside in the Soul Society versus being in the world of the living."

Ichigo was taken back with the words that the Captain Commander had spoken. When did the Captain Commander realized that he was a Shiba? Dam Ouestu probably told him, seeing how all the Royal Guards knew of his heritage, Ichigo mused. "Looks like I have no other choice." Ichigo replied as he folded his arms and thought of how clever the Captain Commander truly was. Looks like my problem is solved he said to himself smiling.

"Thank you Ichigo. Oh by the way, when you take your position as the captain of the 10th division you will go by Shiba Ichigo. In addition, you will need to enter the academy to learn the basics for a few weeks. I will give you a chance to say goodbye to your friends in the world of the living. That will be all."

"Thank you Captain Commander." Ichigo said as he bowed and exited the first division. Ichigo wasn't all that despondent and sad; as he already knew it would be just a matter of time before he would have to leave the world of the living. He noticed something the Captain Commander said about saying goodbye to friends, but not about family. Did this mean that the Shiba family would now be allowed to come back to Soul Society? He didn't know how that was going to work out, since his sisters are human, but he knew it was the best solution for his problem.

Squad 13

Ichigo returned to tell Rukia about the meeting with the Captain Commander, too much of his surprise she had already known the reason for the meeting.

"So you knew! Why didn't you tell me?" Ichigo said as he stood near the short raven-haired beauty.

"It wouldn't have been a surprise if I had told you Ichigo. Well tell me, what are you thinking?" Rukia asked, hoping that it wasn't too much for him.

"It wasn't like I could turn the captain of Soul Society, so yes I will be the new captain of the 10th division, but I will need to find a Lt. soon after meeting with the rest of the captains. I guess a certain captain I know won't be too thrilled about seeing me every day." Ichigo said smiling at the woman he vowed never to leave again.

Rukia laughed and hugged Ichigo. "Welcome to the Soul Society Captain Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Sorry, but that is Captain Shiba Ichigo and don't you forget it." Ichigo and Rukia both laughed as they both sat and watched the sunset. Rukia looked at him and felt even more drawn to him than before. It wasn't like she didn't know he was a Shiba, but she knew when he was ready to talk about it; she would be there to listen. They both knew that this was the beginning of their new life together.

Squad 6

It was dark and the moon glowed over the Seireitei as Byakuya returned back to squad 6 from his visit with Kenpachi. He would have never thought that Kenpachi and him would ever be friends. But he was wrong about the idiot; in fact, he had come to like him as a friend. Because sometimes even nobles need someone they can talk to; someone who knows more of the ways of the world –sometimes.

Byakuya wasn't feeling any pain as he entered his manor; he was surprised to see Yoruichi setting in the garden. He wondered if he should go out there and talk to her, but decided to walk towards his bedroom instead.

"Byakuya" Yoruichi called out calmly. "Would you mind coming out here for a few minutes?"

Byakuya felt this wasn't going to turn out like he had hoped it would; but what was he hoping would happen? It wasn't like he had given it anymore thought once she was healed and after that last conversation he decided that perhaps things should remain the same between them. Sure, he had feelings for her, but he wasn't going to chase after her if she didn't feel the same way.

Byakuya turned around and headed towards the garden and was in awe of his ravened eyes had gazed upon. The tall, slender mahogany Yoruichi had stood up facing him wearing a lavender silk gown that wrapped the curves of her body. She was the goddess of beauty itself and the sheer thought of touching her perfect body caused his blood to boil.

"Byakuya, are you okay?" Yoruichi asked as she reached out her hands to him.

"I am fine," was all Byakuya could say.

"Come, Byakuya we need to talk. Would you like a drink?"

"Yes, that would be fine, thank you." Byakuya replied. Yes he needed a drink to douse out the fire in his veins. I need more than a drink, my dear. I need to hold the wetness of your sweet lips next to mine as I partake in the sweetness of ecstasy. I need to touch every curve of your soft body and place it near to mine. I need…he was interrupted in thought by Yoruichi.

"Byakuya, I am sorry for my actions earlier when we spoke. I understand that you didn't know I had such feelings for you and it was wrong of me to assume that you did know. I guess what was really eating at me was that I was on my way over to speak to you, when the incident with Kisuke happened. I had to help my friend Byakuya; I couldn't just let him be prosecuted over false accusations-so I left. I also understand the reasoning why you are upset with me over my responsibility as a noble, but sometimes you have to do things that outside of the law for the greater good. Then I learned you got married and I knew that I didn't have a chance in hell with you. I was mad and hurt because someone else had captured your heart and there was no place in your heart for me."

"Yoruichi"

"Just let me finish Byakuya. Then I learned your wife had died, but about this time you seemed cold and distant; and I didn't know how to approach you. Kisuke is my best friend, and I won't lie and say that nothing has ever happened between us. But, it wasn't the same, especially knowing that he has feelings for someone else. I remain in the world of the living because I want to Byakuya, I like being me-I like being able to enjoy life without all the noble carrying on. But, I am also lonely too Byakuya and I do miss you. I guess we can just be friends because it doesn't seem like you want anything else besides that."

Byakuya looked at Yoruichi and was a bit lost for words. "Yoruichi, I never knew those feelings and I didn't know either that I had a desire for you as well." Byakuya walked up to Yoruichi and placed her body next to his and kissed her soft lips with the feeling of ecstasy flowing through him. He released his lips from hers, "You don't ever have to feel alone anymore, because I am here to take care of all your needs. I am yours and you are my demon cat." Byakuya said as he replaced his lips to hers whispering the words that Yoruichi thought that she would never hear him say… I love you.