I like Chad/Tatsuki pairing because of the fic I've read about them.

By time she met him at the backdoor, Ichigo seemed in a better mood and didn't mention their little confrontation, for which she was extremely grateful. By pack standards, he would have been justified in ripping a strip off her and she still wasn't sure why he'd let her go, however Rukia wasn't going to question her good luck. At least her mate didn't seem to be one to carry a grudge, she decided.

They walked to the infirmary since the building was just a short distance from the main house. As they walked along, she could smell the faintest scent of water. She questioned Ichigo about its location.

"Just over that rise, there's a small stream that feeds into the river. If you follow it along for a few miles you'll come to our lake. It's not large but sufficient for us do to some swimming and a bit of fishing in the summer. There's also a waterfall, but it's hard to get at due to the ravines. I'd advise you to go there only when accompanied by myself or one of the more experienced runners. It can be quite dangerous, wolves have fallen and died there before."

The challenge of climbing through the ravines sounded rather appealing, and Rukia made a mental note to ensure that Ichigo took her there in the near future. "I can't wait to go exploring." She grinned up at him, her joy at being near the wilderness eclipsing any awkwardness that might have remained from their earlier conflict.

"Yes, I'm sure you're eager for a good run." He paused and seemed about to add to his statement when someone called his name.

"Ichigo, you're back already. I thought I told you to go home and get some sleep." An efficient looking woman in her forties stood outside a simple, white building. Her hair was drawn back in a long braid and she was wearing a lab coat.

"I did go home, Unohana-san, and now I'm back." Ichigo nodded at the woman and then put his hand around Rukia's waist, drawing her forward. "Rukia, this is Unohana Retsu, our nurse-practitioner. Unohana-san, this is Rukia, my mate."

Unohana looked Rukia up and down as if she was trying to decide whether or not this new wolf passed inspection. She must have met the nurse's standard because she gave the briefest of nods before turning and addressing Ichigo with a smile.

"Chad is awake now and doing well. He's fortunate that he'd shifted back into human form just before getting hit. The extra chemicals in his blood helped minimize the damage."

The nurse was holding the door open expectantly, and Rukia murmured her thanks as she passed by. The woman stared at her for a few seconds then smiled. Rukia shuddered, there's something creepy about that smile. She moved fast and followed Ichigo. As she looked around, her nostrils flared in response to the medical smells, she hated hospitals and doctors and this space was definitely a medical facility.

Ichigo led the way over to the lone occupied bed and introduced her to Chad. It was hard to judge his appearance since he was lying down and rather pale, he seemed pleasant enough, nodding at her and smiling weakly. His mate, Tatsuki, was standing beside him and trailing her fingers through his hair in a comforting gesture. Rukia recalled they were newly mated and imagined the separation was especially hard on them.

Ichigo said that he wanted to talk to Chad alone and the two women stepped outside onto the small porch that skirted the front of the building. Tatsuki stretched her lean athletic figure and turned her face towards the sun, her black long hair streaming down her back.

"It feels good to be outside. I'm stiff from sitting beside that bed all night but I didn't dare go home, not even once he was patched up."

"It must have been really hard on you, not knowing what was going on while they were searching for him." Rukia smiled sympathetically at the other woman.

Nodding, Tatsuki wrapped her arms around herself. "Yeah. As soon as he was injured, I knew something was wrong even though he immediately blocked our bond. Crazy fool said he didn't want me to worry." She snorted. "As if being kept in the dark and not knowing what was happening would make me feel better. Men, they just don't get it sometimes, do they?"

Rukia gave a half smile and shrugged. "I couldn't really say. We, Ichigo and I, haven't known each other that long."

"I'm sorry, I forgot. I'm just so caught up in Chad that I'm not thinking. Yesterday was your first day and—"

" had more important things to worry about." Rukia hastened to reassure her.

"I'm still sorry I wasn't there yesterday when you arrived. I really wanted to be. We were all so excited when we got the news that Ichigo was finally bringing home a mate. Everyone has been secretly hoping he'd find someone suitable before Riruka—" Tatsuki stopped herself mid-sentence and Rukia wondered what she's going to say.

Before what?

From what she'd seen so far it was definitely a possibility that Riruka had been in the running for the position of Ichigo's future mate, but if that was the case then why hadn't he bonded with the woman already? Why had he agreed to this political joining if he cared for someone else?

Tatsuki continued talking, disturbing her train of thought. "So…Tell me about yourself."

The two of them sat on a bench outside the infirmary and started talking, soon discovering that they had several things in common. Rukia began to feel more at ease and Tatsuki seemed to be forgetting the drama of the past day, at least for a while. They were so engrossed in discussing a recent book they'd both read that the sound of the door opening behind them caused them both to give a start.

It was Unohana announcing that she was going for lunch but would be back in half an hour. Tatsuki agreed to watch Chad and page her if there was any problem. Unohana seemed to be a silent type, who didn't have time for idle chatter. The nurse gave them both a smile, the creepy one, and strode away.

Rukia hoped she wouldn't be in need of the woman's services any time soon. While she was probably good at her job, Unohana didn't seem that friendly towards her. Tatsuki leaned over and whispered in Rukia's ear, while keeping one eye on the retreating figure of the nurse.

"I've never seen Unohana-san being friendly at anyone except our Alpha. Everyone else is a bit afraid of her and I think she likes it that way."

Rukia looked at her new friend with relief. "So it's not just me?"

Tatsuki couldn't suppress a laugh. "Nah, she treats everyone that way. I often wonder if she thinks that if she's scary enough we'll all stay away and she'll have less work to do."

Stifling a chuckle, Rukia decided that Tatsuki had a fun, quirky personality. By the time Ichigo was ready to leave, she had agreed to meet Tatsuki for lunch the next day. Happy to have made a new friend, Rukia hummed to herself as she and Ichigo walked back to the Alpha house.

"You and Tatsuki seemed to hit it off." Ichigo commented as they walked down the driveway."

"She's about my age, and has a great stash of books that I can borrow."

"She's a runner as well, out every day rain or shine."

"Really? Great! Maybe she'll let me go with her." Rukia bounced at the prospect. Things were definitely looking up.

"It's all right with me, as long as you keep to the areas we have marked off as safe. After Chad's accident, we'll be patrolling the pathways daily but we can't do the whole territory. No free roaming for the next while." His decree brought something else to mind.

"Ichigo, last night Rangiku-san and Orihime mentioned something but they wouldn't explain and said you'd told them not to tell me."

Ichigo was silent for a moment, possibly considering his answer. Finally, he gave a heavy sigh. "They're right. It's a rather complicated situation and I want to make sure that you have all the facts, not just some part truths." He looked around and spotted a log near the edge of the woods. He sat down, sitting down beside Ichigo, she waited for him to speak.

"Remember how I told you that Gin had been killed in a car accident? He was coming home, took a curve too fast, and ended up going over the edge of the cliff and breaking his neck. The strange thing was that Gin wasn't a fast driver and had driven that road all of his life. When we checked the vehicle afterwards, we found that there were no brakes. There was a hole in the line and the fluid had all leaked out."

"Were the hoses just old and worn out."

"No. It was a brand new truck. Rangiku had given it to him on his birthday, just two months previous."

"Then… ?"

"It could have been a flaw in the material, but we suspect that someone actually tampered with the brakes."

Rukia's eyes widened. " Did you call the police?"

"No. We left it as driver error. The police would have asked too many questions. The risk of being discovered was too great and outweighed the need for a formal investigation. Nothing could bring Gin back."

"But who would do such a thing? And why? Surely you need to find out."

"At the time we didn't really have any leads. Uryu and I have some suspicions, but no proof. Actually, only a few of us even know about the brake line. We didn't want to upset the whole pack. I'll expect you to keep this to yourself." Ichigo looked at her and she nodded.

"This was just recent, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, two months ago."

"And then you took over."

Ichigo nodded. "Right after Gin's accident, the Elders met to decide the leadership, but the decision was split and it caused a big controversy, which was unfortunate given that everyone was still upset over losing our Alpha. "

Ichigo rubbed his hands over his face, obviously upset by the memory.

"Grimmjow and I. We were co-Betas and it should have just been a pack vote, but for some reason Grimmjow was adamant that the position be decided by a challenge. Several people tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen. We fought and it was pretty nasty. Grimmjow and I are pretty evenly matched but my advantage is that I know how to wait and choose my moment. In the end, I won but I wouldn't kill him. He was bitter over the loss and left. I offered to let him stay, but he didn't' want to. It was probably for the best."

"Do you have any idea where he is now?"

"We'd heard that he planned to leave the area, but a few of the pack think they've seen him in the distance."

"Maybe he's cooled down and wants to come back?"

"If he does, he's never approached any of us and even if he does ask…Well, let's just say it's complicated." Ichigo sighed. "You see, we kind of suspect Grimmjow had something to do with the faulty brakes, though hard proof is missing."

"And you still let him live?" Rukia was shocked.

"We didn't come to that conclusion until after the fight. That's when things started to add up."

"How so?"

"Well, after Gin's accident, there were lots of little things going wrong around here. Our electricity was turned off for non-payment, even though the bill had been paid. The Fire Marshall was out, wanting to inspect all of the buildings because of an anonymous tip. We've had traps set on the property, hunters spotted on our land, an oil slick near the mouth of the river that killed off some of the wildlife. It feels like someone is trying to undermine us. Now we have Chad being shot last night." He shook his head and looked as if the weight of the world was settling on his shoulders. "Once word spreads through the pack about that, there'll be a lot of questions to answer."

"But all of the items you mentioned are just coincidences right?"

Ichigo looked at her steadily. "Chad just told me that he scented Grimmjow immediately before the gun went off."

Rukia felt her mouth fall open in surprise. "Grimmjow shot a member of his own pack?"

"Quite likely. We thought his scent was around the traps too. It was vague, but detectable. And the oil spill? Boot prints left behind looked like the kind that Grimmjow used to wear."

"So are you out trying to catch him?"

"We have patrols looking, but he's too clever a wolf to stay out in the open. He's holed up someplace, we just can't figure out where that might be."

"So why did you need to tell me all of this? Rangiku said there was something personal involved."

A curious blend of sadness mixed with anger seemed to wash over Ichigo's face. He picked up a stone and tested the weight in his hand before hurling it into the bush. Looking at her out of the corner of his eye, Ichigo answered her question. "There is something very personal involved. Grimmjow Jaggerjaques is my oldest friend in the world. We're the best of friends since pups."

Rukia couldn't keep the shock out of her voice. "Your bestfriend wanted to kill you in a challenge? And now he's out there sabotaging the pack?"

"All signs seem to point that way. And as I said earlier, some even think he's responsible for Gin's accident."

"Did he really want to be Alpha that badly?"

Shaking his head, Ichigo picked up a stick and snapped it in half. "I didn't think so. He never questioned Gin over anything and seemed content as Beta. We both were. Gin Ichimaru was a good leader and a power struggle was the farthest thing from anyone's mind. Grimmjow was even talking about settling down and then out of nowhere this flared up."

Not sure what to say, Rukia reached over and laid her hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks. I might as well tell you all the bad news at once. There's one other problem facing the pack. An oil company called Northern Oil wants to do some test drilling on our land in the North."

"I've heard about that. Orihime mentioned it."

"Of course we won't allow it, but the company is trying to pull some legal strings to get their way. At one time, a few of the pack members were leaning towards allowing them in, there's a lot of money on the table, but in the end, it's not worth it. Letting the company in would endanger our territory, cause environmental damage, and increase the chances of exposure. It caused some dissension in the pack, but I've had a few meetings and everyone realises keeping them out is for the best."

"But will the oil company listen?"

"They're going to have to. Rangiku-san has a daughter, Ayumi. She's in university now studying Environmental Science. I've had her do a study of the land in question and we have a pretty good case for keeping them out. The area is the home to several endangered plants and animals. Ayu's working with some of her professors to get the northern corner of our territory listed as environmentally sensitive and a protected habitat."

"Well, that sounds promising."

"It is and thankfully it's a bit of good news for a change."

Silence fell between them and Rukia noted how tired Ichigo looked. Stress lines showed on his mouth and the muscle in his jaw continued to work. She wished she could ease some of his worry and instinctively began rubbing her hand in comforting circles on his back.

Ichigo looked at her appreciatively. "Just between you and me, Rukia, being Alpha is giving me a huge headache." He chuckled and stood up, tossing the stick he'd been worrying aside.

"Come on, we'd better get back. Who knows what calamity might have occurred in the past hour." Taking her hand, Ichigo headed back to the house.