So I'm actually kind of surprised how quick I got this chapter out. I've been pretty sick for the past few days and haven't been able to do much of anything but I was sitting in bed and was in a really good writing mood so now we have a chapter! Hope you guys enjoy :)

Rukia looked down at the ground and squeezed her eyes shut. This was not happening. She kind of expected him to find out eventually but not this soon and definitely not like this. Now the CEO of Kurosaki Corporations knew exactly who she was.

"You're Byakuya Kuchiki's sister," Ichigo finally said his eyes wide with shock.

Rukia said nothing in return, waiting for him to absorb the information he had just learned.

"I…I had no idea," he said, his tone soft. Rukia finally met his eyes and saw something she wished she would never see from him.

Pity.

She was so sick of taking everyone's pity. That was part of the reason she tried to keep her true identity from Ichigo a secret. He was a CEO of a major company that had worked closely with her brother's company. He knew exactly what had happened and he knew exactly what she had been going through. Of course he would pity her.

But she didn't want anyone's pity. Yes, she had fallen about as far as a person can fall, but that didn't matter. Unlike most rich people, she was strong. She could handle herself and though it hadn't been easy, she had learned how to live on her own without her brother's wealth.

That didn't stop people from going out of their way to help her, though. Some of Byakuya's old business partners had offered to let her stay with them, give her new things, even pay for her school tuition, but she turned them all down.

Rukia Kuchiki was not a charity case.

She may have lost everything but she still had that stubborn pride her brother had hammered into her since she first was adopted by him. She would not accept petty gifts when she knew she had to work to get by herself.

That was why she didn't want Ichigo to know. She didn't want him to treat her like everyone else did. She didn't want him to start showering her with presents and money and god knows what else. She didn't need any of that. Not anymore.

And now one of the few people who had actually treated her as if she was normal knew exactly who she was. And everything would change.

"I-I have to go," she said quickly before turning and rushing off down the street.

"Hey! Wait!" Ichigo shouted after as he ran her down. Once he caught up with her he grabbed her arm to stop her but she didn't turn around to face him.

"It's not that big a deal," he said.

Now she turned around.

"Not that big a deal!? Are you kidding me? This changes everything! You know who I am which means you know what happened to me and now you're going to start treating me like everyone else does," she shouted at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Like a goddamn charity case! Like you have to try and help poor little Rukia Kuchiki, the pathetic little rich girl who had everything taken away from her because her damn brother was too much of an idiot to know what was happening to him."

"What are you talking about, Rukia?"

"I'm so sick of everyone walking on eggshells around me because they think I'm going to break. As much of a jackass as you are, it was still kind of nice knowing someone who didn't look at me like you just did. Who didn't think of me as some fallen angel. No one ever gives me credit. I've been working my ass off to get myself up off the ground and I don't need people like you looking down on me."

"Rukia, I never looked down on you," Ichigo said trying to reason with her. She scoffed at that. "I'm serious! Yes, I'm a little shocked to figure out who you really are but that's because I've been looking for you for so long and had no idea you were right there the whole time."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm Aizen's next target. That bastard wants to bring me down the same way he brought your brother down. And I have family who depend on me too. My sisters aren't as strong as you, Rukia. If they had everything taken away from them because of me I don't know what they would do. I don't know what I would do. I kept thinking about Byakuya's sister and thinking about the same thing happening to my own sisters and it freaked me out! So I tried to look for you to see if I could do anything to help."

"I don't need help," Rukia interrupted defiantly.

"I know! At least now I do. But you have to understand what's going through my mind right now. What Aizen did to you and your brother is horrible. You can't deny that no matter how much you've bounced back. I don't want the same thing to happen to me or my sisters."

"So what do you expect me to do? Give you tips on how not to get taken down by Sosuke Aizen?"

"Of course not. Rukia, I'm sorry. I really am."

"Sorry for what?"

"Everything."

Rukia looked into his eyes. She could tell he was sincere but she didn't know if that made her feel any better. Was he sorry that her brother lost all his wealth leaving her to fend for herself? Or was he sorry he acted like such a playboy to what used to be a distinguished member of Tokyo's upper class society?

"Ichigo…I have to go. I can't do this right now," she said before once again turning and walking away. Of course, she should've known he wasn't going to let her go that easy.

"Wait a second, Rukia," he said as he stepped in front of her and blocked her path.

"What?" she asked, thoroughly irritated he wouldn't leave her alone.

"I know this is a lot to take in right now. I know there's nothing I can really do to help you but…I need your help."

"What?"

"I'm scared to death right now. Already we've seen signs of Aizen's breach at my company. I can't let him get me. Not after all the work both me and my dad have put into this thing."

"What do you expect me to do about that?"

"Work with me. If we use you and your brother's knowledge of Aizen's tactics and the power I have as a CEO of a big company, we can take him down."

"Are you seriously suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"It would work! And if we expose Aizen's frauds to the public, we can maybe even return your brother's company back to him."

Rukia was silent for a while as she contemplated Ichigo's words. This fool was asking her to team up with him to bring down the biggest threat to modern mega business. It was a lot to take in and the prospect seemed kind of ridiculous, but she found herself leaning into the idea. She didn't really have anything to lose and if it worked, she could potentially get her and her brother back on two feet. No one would pity her. No one would try to help her. She would have done something amazing all on her own. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.

"So was this the real reason you were trying to track down Byakuya Kuchiki's sister?" she asked him.

"Partially. And I also did want to try and help you but I can see now that that would be not well received."

"No it would not," she said firmly.

"So, what do you say?"

Once again, Rukia mulled over his words. "It's a big task."

"I know."

"And it's extremely risky."

"Yeah."

"And there's also one kind of big issue."

"What's that?"

"You like me," Rukia said simply.

Ichigo grinned at that. "And why is that an issue?"

"Because you think this whole working together thing means that we'll be spending a lot of time together and if we spend a lot of time together then maybe something will happen. But let me tell you something, mister millionaire, that is not how it works with me," she said pointing a finger at his face.

"Fine. Noted," he said with a smile.

"I'm serious. You better promise not to try anything on me while we're doing this."

"So is that a yes?"

"Promise!"

"Fine, I promise. Are you in?"

Rukia sighed and answered in a defeated voice, "Yeah, I'm in."

Just then the sound of a car honking incessantly caused them both to jump. They turned and saw Hisagi waving at them from down the street.

"Looks like our ride's here. Will you let me drive you home?" Ichigo asked.

"Fine," she said with a sigh.

Teaming up with Ichigo Kurosaki to bring down Aizen was probably the last thing Rukia expected was going to happen on this date. She didn't know what was going to happen in the future and she was very uneasy about working with someone she had considered the most annoying prick on the planet at one point. It would definitely be interesting, that was for sure.

Ichigo drove her home in silence, finally giving her some space to think. She was shocked at how well he had handled the news of her true identity. She expected the date to end in disaster after Urahara spilled the beans (she reminded herself to yell at him for that later) but now she had recognized the millionaire bachelor somewhat as a partner in crime. And he was treating her like a normal person too. No snarky remarks or suggestive innuendos but as a regular human being who potentially had a lot to offer him.

She wasn't sure exactly how she felt about it but she hoped it would be better than the past relationship she had with him.

He pulled up outside her apartment building and offered only a small smile as his goodbye. Feeling generous, she gave a slight smile back and got out of the car. She didn't fail to notice his car linger as she walked into the building. No doubt he was watching her walk away with that ridiculous goofy smile of his. She rolled her eyes thinking about it as she walked into her apartment.

Immediately Orihime hounded her with questions. "How did it go? What did you guys do? Did he kiss you? Are you going on another date?"

"It went…well," was all Rukia said before she entered her room and closed the door behind her, leaving her roommate absolutely stunned.

So, this story is starting to go in a different direction than what I originally intended but I'm kind of liking it. Now that Ichigo and Rukia have teamed up (somewhat regretfully on Rukia's part) things are going to start to get very interesting. Let me know if you guys like it! As always your reviews are so nice to read and so motivating. Thanks for taking the time to let me know what you think!