Chapter 6

In the weeks that passed, Rukia and Renji returned to their routines. They found it easier than interacting some days – which they chalked up to the ebb and flow of marriage itself, and most days they were civil. Renji noted Rukia did her best to be amicable and though he appreciated it, he noticed how she turned away at his bids for affection. Yes, Renji had removed Ichigo the wild card, but failed to acknowledge the true uncontrollable factor: Rukia's feelings. He realized at some point, and remembered now, as his girls sat at the table for breakfast, that if she was okay with this then he had no choice. Ichika didn't seem to notice the rift, Rukia herself was less irritable, and sometimes pleasant. He could deal with the lack of physical affection if it meant his little family would stay as it was.

However, Ichika did notice, being quite observant and bright (though her parents would say otherwise, using the word arrogant or cheeky – whatever that means). This particular morning, she came to the conclusion that her mother seemed quite sad. She knew because usually, she's chattier at the breakfast table, asking papa about work related things and then papa (who also seems a bit off) would argue that work talk wasn't fitting at home and they could discuss it at their place of work instead. She also knew because her mother's smile didn't tug at the eyes like it usually did, and father's smirk looked more like a frown than anything else. She overheard a few conversations by her room when her parents thought she was sleeping – something about Kazui's parents and something about the couch. When they were apart, they were fine, the things about the smile would disappear and it seemed normal, but together it just didn't feel the same as before. They weren't fighting as much (which Ichika actually found quite fun, at least, they seemed to have fun when they argued), really, they weren't talking much in general.

Which led Ichika to ask: "Do you not like each other anymore?"

Renji glanced at Rukia who turned to address the question. "What do you mean?"

Ichika took a pause to think. Renji sat down.

"You're not talking as much anymore," Ichika said.

"Just because we're not talking doesn't mean we don't like each other." Rukia replied gently.

Ichika turned to her father, who nodded in agreement.

"Then why does father sleep on the couch?" Ichika asked.

Renji placed his hand on Rukia's, and said, "Sometimes we have disagreements and we need some space from each other to think and calm down, just like when we send you to your room when you've done something you need to think about."

Ichika saw the slight frown in her mother's face. "Is that also why we don't see uncle Ichigo and auntie Orihime anymore?"

Rukia stood from her chair, and smiled at Ichika. "You're quite observant, aren't you darling?" She gave her a mighty hug, "Mother and father aren't seeing them because we're busy, but if you ever want to visit them after training, you're welcome to go."

Ichika returned her mom's hug. She enjoyed the smell of her shampoo, and snuck in a kiss on her cheek. "Okay, mother."

"Why do you ask, darling?" Rukia continued, now kneeling before her.

"Kazui said that he thinks his dad's been replaced by an alien."

Rukia and Renji couldn't hide their amusement at the statement. Ichika, realizing that she had all their attention continued.

"Kazui said that his dad's an alien because he's doing strange things. Like, sometimes, when his dad thinks he's sleeping, he'll leave the house in the middle of the night and not come back until close to morning. Kazui says that his dad is really nice now, but like, in a way that's not really that nice – like when Kukaku sensei pretends to be nice to Ganju sensei when he makes her mad kind of. But then he says that it seems that auntie Orihime seemed happier but sad at the same time – that part I don't understand but-"

"Ichika," Rukia interrupted, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's not good to be a gossip. I appreciate you're concerned about Kazui and us, but there are some things friends tell you that you must keep to yourself. Unless Kazui needed help from adults that aren't his parents, you don't need to share all those details with us, okay?"

"But mother," Ichika said, "I didn't finish! Kazui says that when he and his dad are napping in the afternoons he hears him say your name… which is Rukia, right?" Ichika almost whispered her name, and then giggled. "Kazui says his dad's dreaming about mother."

There was an awkward silence. Rukia wasn't sure what to say, and Renji did his best not to get upset.

"I dream about Kazui sometimes too, like about when we're at the dojo, or when he blows himself up with kido." She giggled.

"Alright, time for school." Renji said, picking her up effortlessly with one arm. Ichika shrieked and laughed.

"I'll see you at work?" Renji called out to Rukia as he climbed the stairs.

Kazui stared at his father with cautious curiosity. He watched as his father effortlessly prepared breakfast for them, placing the plates gently in front of him and ruffling Kazui's hair on the way back to the kitchen. Mommy came down to the kitchen in her school clothes, and sat beside Kazui.

"How did you sleep?" Orihime asked, smiling at him.

"Good, did you sleep, mommy?" Kazui asked, starting to eat the cereal in front of him.

"I did sleep," Orihime replied, and watched as Ichigo took a seat. "Good morning," she smiled.

Ichigo smiled at Orihime, displaying the eyebags from yet another night of broken sleep. "Morning," he replied, starting his own breakfast.

"That's not daddy," Kazui said with a mouth full of cereal.

"No talking while you're chewing, love." Orihime said, patting a trail of milk on her son's face dry with a napkin.

Kazui turned away from the napkin, and pointed at his father. "You're an alien daddy!" Kazui said.

Ichigo looked at the child in amusement, "What are you talking about, bud?"

Kazui took in another spoon of cereal, and looked at his father in absolute certainty. "You're a different daddy." Kazui explained. "Your smile is different, and you don't play with me like you used to, and I hear you sighing a lot, and sometimes when I wake up sometimes in the middle of the night – only sometimes, I stay in bed, I do – I hear you and mommy whisper talking really fast, and then other times I hear you leaving the house." Kazui took a breath, "Are you going for secret missions? Are you going to see the other aliens you work with? Do you have my real daddy?"

Kazui left the pair stunned. Orihime couldn't figure out what to say, despite years of experience working with strange things children have said. Ichigo swallowed the shame into his gut, where it could fester with all the rest and reached to grab his son's hand.

"I'm your real dad, Kazui." Ichigo began, "Sometimes, people have a hard time being themselves when they're having a hard time. Remember how sometimes Ichika can say mean words when something doesn't go her way?"

Kazui nodded, placing his other hand on top of his father's as they always did when they played. "And then after she says sorry. She says she's trying to get better at it, but sometimes I think she's just getting angrier." He laughed.

Ichigo smiled gently, "Dad's having a bit of a hard time too, work can be hard and sometimes dad gets tired."

Kazui took a moment to process the information – his dad wasn't an invincible towering warrior like mommy described? He looked at his mother for affirmation, and she smiled and nodded.

"It's okay to have a hard time sometimes, that's life, sweetie." Orihime added.

"Okay daddy," Kazui replied. Ichigo motioned for a hug and Kazui happily obliged, leaving him with a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

Ichigo watched as Kazui returned to his breakfast. Orihime returned to hers, glancing quickly up at Ichigo who looked to be holding back tears.

Uryuu arrived at the hospital that day surprised to find Ichigo loitering in the cafeteria, coffee steaming in his hands, forgotten it seemed, as he stared through the window deep in thought. The surgeon sat across his long-time rival in silence. He unpacked his lunch and began to eat.

Ichigo blinked in surprise as he returned to reality, and he finally met eyes with his friend as he looked up.

"You look terrible." Uryuu began, "It's refreshing, really."

Ichigo let out a dry chuckle, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Not sure, saw you sitting here looking absolutely despondent – I suppose my bleeding heart couldn't help itself." Uryuu took a sip from his tea.

Ichigo shook his head with a sad smile.

"Not sure what to say… Kazui did sucker punched me with a ton of guilt this morning. Damn kids can be so observant." Ichigo said, fiddling with his coffee cup as he spoke. "Be honest, am I obviously suffering?"

Uryuu let out a dry laugh, "Yeah, even the nurses picked up on it. Granted, you're not the cheeriest guy but at least you're civil. These days it's like talking to a brick wall – allegedly."

Ichigo sighed, "I don't know what to do, she's in my head and I can barely function."

"How did you function last time? You know, after you found out she was pregnant and getting married to Renji?" Uryuu asked, sitting back and now working on his coffee.

Ichigo paused for a moment. "It certainly wasn't easy, but it helped to dive into work. Plus, by the time it really hit me, Inoue was pregnant – I had other things to worry about."

"There's your answer."

"What? Get Orihime pregnant again?"

"No, you idiot, throw yourself into work, do something to keep your mind off of it." Uryuu replied.

Ichigo looked at his old friend thoughtfully, wondering how long he could play it off. The difference between the two events were not entirely stark, but what nagged him the most was the potential – the sliver of chance that maybe she felt some sort of love towards him, too.

"Though, throwing yourself into work may make it that much harder on Inoue." Uryuu muttered, sipping on his tea, gauging Ichigo's reaction through the steam.

"I don't know which way would make any of this easier." Ichigo admitted, running a hand through his hair. "The kids getting caught up in it-"

"Inevitable." Uryuu interrupted, "it's probably worse for the kids if you two can't get your heads in the same place."

Ichigo buried his head in his hands, letting out a pained sigh. "I hate it when you're right."

"You only come to me when you need to hear the truth," Uryuu replied.

"Yeah, yeah, don't rub it in," Ichigo glared. Uryuu smirked in reply, as they finished their hot drinks in friendly silence.

Rukia was familiar with throwing herself into work. It was how she dealt with Kaien's death, with her return to Soul Society after being branded a traitor by the government she loved so much, and with the end of the Winter War. Rukia knew how to drown herself in work, so much so that she was frighteningly productive, exacting, and just as cold.

In response, the entire division stayed quiet, afraid to the be the receiving end of her icy demeanour. It's not that she was mean, she was sharply curt, and didn't appear to have any patience for any questions or discussions that lasted more than thirty seconds.

Nearing the end of the day, Rukia took a moment of silence in her office. On her desk, papers piled neatly in two (complete and incomplete) and captain garb swung over the back of her chair. She sat by the large window overlooking a modest garden, slowly sipping the tea in her hand. For a moment, a feeling of pride washed over her as she acknowledged the end of another productive day. Its brevity felt acutely when she took a breath in, and he returned to her thoughts. She let out a curse, and could barely hold back a smile. Her chest ached, which she'd gotten used to, and she let the feeling visit for a moment. She missed him immensely, and she gave herself the chance to enjoy the yearning this time (not that she could do much about it anyway). She closed her eyes, and his smile materialized in her imagination, the feel of him beside her in battle, his passionate loyalty, heart steady, and focused face.

Her eyes opened, as a breeze blew into her office. A small tear escaped, which she nonchalantly wiped away, and she set down her cup. She picked up her sword and fastened it to her waist.

Rukia considered herself lucky, despite it all. She was used to this, she reminded herself again, there was to be no resolution if they ended up together: between the real world and soul society, between his son and her daughter, between his living heart and her nearly immortal soul. She spotted Renji standing by the exit of her division, and was reminded that this was how it was supposed to be.

Ichigo arrived home to Inoue's smile. She gave him a hug, explaining that Kazui was away for extra curriculars that evening. Ichigo replied with his usual, "no wonder it's so quiet," followed by a short chuckle. She received his things and set them aside and watched as he removed his shoes and tie.

"We've got a bit of time before I have to pick him up, did you want to spend some time together?" She placed a hand lightly on his forearm.

He looked down at the gesture and felt a wave of exhaustion hit him. He was in no mood, and the hollow in his head mocked him distantly (Pussy!). Ichigo let out a polite smile. "I'm sorry Hime, not tonight, okay?" Then he kissed her on the forehead and headed for the shower.

Inoue's spirits fell. A month without Rukia and it was back to square one. What efforts witnessed previously no longer existed, and they had returned to their routine. For a moment, Inoue considered the return to "normal" as better than when he was distant. Sure, they returned to making love, and while she didn't have much personal demand, he once did. Once. She looked up the stairs sadly, her gut aching at the thought of their connection crumbling. At the very least, she thought, Rukia wasn't around to make things any harder.

Ichigo took a cold, long shower. The weeks passed too slowly, and his ability to maintain his façade was weakening. Inoue was happy, at least, he thought to himself. He tilted his head back as he let the icy water hit his back. It was all he could do to stop thinking of her, as his heart began to quicken with excitement. He regarded his erect penis in defeat, as thoughts of her flooded his mind, she was beautiful even in the little he had seen of her – he could imagine.

When Ichigo asked if people noticed, Uryuu decided to be as gentle as he could. Yes, they did notice. They noticed now, as Uryuu watched Ichigo's tired eyes and exhausted presence in front of the computer. That day alone, Uryuu caught a few errors in his friend's work, luckily it wasn't caught by anyone else less forgiving.

"There's an extra r in 'diarrhea'," Uryuu said, as he sat beside Ichigo at a vacant computer. The machine came to life with a swipe of his badge.

"Right," Ichigo replied, as if wakening after a sleep, "I always get that one wrong." He chuckled.

"Shouldn't you be used to it by now?" Uryuu asked, typing quickly without looking at Ichigo.

"Used to what?"

"Missing her." Uryuu replied.

Ichigo paused from his work, and turned to Uryuu. "Am I supposed to be?"

Uryuu stayed silent, unsure what to say. Ichigo didn't carry despair well, or at the very least, did not hide it very well. He knew about his friend's skill with ruminating, painstakingly stoking the fires of regret, of guilt, of shame. Uryuu took a moment to consider his next move, a moment shortened by the defeated sigh of his colleague.

"You know very well that Renji is taking excellent care of her, that even if he wasn't the most interesting guy, he's taking every moment to shower her with the attention and love she deserves."

Ichigo didn't respond, staring at the blinking cursor in the half-filled document on his screen.

"And you know she's doing well. Her kind know how to pretend, their livelihoods depend on it."

"What's your point?"

"You're here suffering and she's probably fine, Ichigo." Uryuu continued, "All while Inoue is wondering about what her husband doesn't see in her. Probably clueing in that she was nothing but a pretty little rebound, and that your son was a convenient lock that you both created."

"That's too far-"

"Rukia is screwing her husband, loving her career, honoring her values, diligently attending to her duties, and here you are, imagining her in all the ways you could never have her."

"That's enough," Ichigo said firmly, taking care not to draw attention.

"What's enough?"

"Fuck you! You would never in a million lifetimes attempt what I'd done."

Uryuu's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"I've seen how you look at her, my wife. You're in love and you have been all this time – what have you done about it?" Ichigo whispered harshly, wondering where this came from, failing to quell the pain in his chest now lashing out at his dearest and oldest friend. "Now is the time to steal her, you fool." Ichigo said quietly.

Uryuu sat back, arms crossed, and locked eyes with Ichigo.

"Lord knows I don't want her." Ichigo added.

Uryuu watched as Ichigo stood smoothly and exit the unit with doors slamming. The rest of the staff looked questioningly at Uryuu who just returned to his work. As the unit returned to its usual buzz, Uryuu thought about the statement. Then, realized the gravity of the idea. He quickly gathered his things and chased after Ichigo.

He found Ichigo strolling slowly down a long corridor of the hospital. It being a slow day, Ichigo took a moment to pause and stare out of the windows. Uryuu caught his breath and stopped beside his friend, letting out a sigh.

"I'm sorry," Ichigo began, looking at his old friend with a hurt face.

"Don't look like that," Uryuu replied, reluctantly placing a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "I'm sorry too."

Ichigo buried his face in his hands.

"If you don't want her," Uryuu said, "And it seems Kazui is noticing… Ichigo, what would make you happy?"

Ichigo leaned back, laughing dryly. "I don't know man," He started.

"You do know," Uryuu said gently, in a tone mostly reserved for his patients. Uryuu saw his friend's struggle, and when they were kids the unspoken worked. But now, with Ichigo lashing out inappropriately, unable to sleep, making errors that could one day be deadly, Uryuu felt compelled to say something. "You've put everyone ahead of yourself, Ichigo. It's annoying, really, makes the rest of us look terrible. But I think it's time you really put yourself first."

Ichigo turned away from Uryuu, letting out a curse under his breath. "Easier said than done," Ichigo replied.

"What's the worst thing that could happen?" Uryuu said, looking at Ichigo.

"I could lose everything," Ichigo said quietly.

"If you mean Inoue and Kazui – I don't know that you could ever lose family." Uryuu said, "They love you enough to want you to be happy, too."

Ichigo – unsure if it was the deliverer of the advice or sheer exhaustion – felt his walls fall and tears with it. He hid his face, unable to stop the rush of emotion.

"If she doesn't want you," Uryuu began, "You'll be okay. You spent years knowing that, and survived, you can do it again."

Uryuu placed a spare key in the pocket of his colleague's coat. Pat him on the back, and returned to his office.

Inoue greeted Ichigo warmly once he arrived home. They shared a brief hug, and she helped him collect his things. He immediately ran up for a shower, and Inoue retreated to the kitchen to prepare dinner. The routine remained, above all. The automaticity of the errands and chores maintained the performance of a functional family. She began placing the dishes onto the table one by one. Kazui ran in with a giggle, and gave her leg a hug and climbed into his seat. Inoue smiled at her son, afraid of how much marital discord he'd commit to memory.

"Mommy, I want juice tonight!" He said excitedly, tapping his plastic cup on the table.

Inoue nodded and poured him a little. Ichigo came down the stairs fresh from a shower, and Inoue watched as he sat. She took a seat across from him and they began to eat in the way they always do. The boys had a conversation about their days, Inoue contributing her own. Once finished, Ichigo did the job of tidying while Inoue and Kazui went to relax for the evening.

Suddenly, the pair found themselves alone, again. Kazui tucked into bed, Ichigo flipping through channels while Inoue read a book. Inoue shut her book, and placed it onto the coffee table in front of her. Ichigo barely noticed, finally having settled on the late-night news.

"Ichigo," she began, "kiss me."

Ichigo looked at his wife with his familiar frown. "What's going on?" He asked.

"Can't you kiss your wife?" Inoue asked.

Ichigo sighed, "Of course I can." He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"No, Ichigo, kiss me." Inoue said.

Ichigo looked at her with a bit of confusion, "Are you okay?"

Earlier that day, she ran into Uryuu. People sometimes confused her kindness and sunny disposition with air-headedness – but Inoue herself wasn't blind. There was polite conversation, he invited her to coffee. She said yes.

"Are you?" Inoue asked.

They went to coffee and they caught up. Innocent, friendly, nothing beyond that.

"I'm okay," Ichigo replied, "tired but I'm here. You seem upset."

He walked her home.

"I am upset," Inoue said.

When they arrived at the Kurosaki residence, Uryuu smiled and bid Inoue well-wishes.

Nothing happened, but why was it in those moments she felt more like herself than she ever did around her husband?

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"You don't love me, anymore." Inoue said, surprised at the strength of her words, "I don't know that you ever did."

The undoing began slowly.

Inoue noticed it first at the wedding. Ichigo with drink in hand, despite knowing full well that he had exams in the next week and getting wasted would not help. She watched him stare at her, sneak glances, and play along with the festivities. Ichigo was not happy, and when he took Inoue home that night and ravished her almost angrily, Inoue ignored it. She thought it would be the last of those feelings, now that Rukia was married and he was committed.

She confirmed to herself that Ichigo no longer loved Rukia when he met Ichika. They held the baby in turns, cooing at how cute she was, mocking Renji's paternal skills and protectiveness. But it was still hard to ignore the way he loosened around her, relaxed, laughing… truly laughing. Inoue laughed along, and thought perhaps, the child would ultimately lead their lives in opposite directions. After all, she was pregnant too. The relief on Rukia's face that night wasn't entirely welcome.

Inoue wasn't surprised at how easily Ichigo filled the role of fatherhood. He was nurturing, protective, and had a way with children. Perhaps it was his experience with his younger sisters, or his sense of duty to the vulnerable and weak. Either way, Inoue had a smooth transition throughout post-partum. He was present, served her hand and foot, cared for her on the same level as the baby. Yet, and Inoue still couldn't put a finger on it, she couldn't feel the dedication and was never able to really see the fire he had towards Rukia for herself. It didn't matter, Inoue told herself, their love was different: safe, slow, and sweet. This was the Ichigo she fell for, all those years ago.

When Ichigo said that he'd be seeing Rukia every so often for drinks and catching up she didn't feel threatened. However, when he seemed so light and happy every time he returned, she began to doubt. Regardless, she trusted the both of them, and leaned into the meeting as a friendly way to let loose that wasn't with Chad, Uryuu or Keigo. She appreciated the way he smiled, and enjoyed her company those nights in the days proceeding.

Yes, the undoing began slowly, the cracks gradually growing and spreading beyond control. It was insidious, and Inoue herself didn't realize how many clues she'd chosen to ignore.

When Ichigo and Rukia didn't see each other anymore due to worldly duties, he didn't look her way unless necessary. Niceties exchanged, Kazui placated. Inoue swallowed hard, acknowledging the suspicion that she was just a rebound.

The "Hime" politely said, the gentle redirection, the moments of comforting, weak promises all made so they could carry the charade on.

Ichigo was a coward.

Inoue was not.

The illusion shattered the night he disappeared with Rukia on a patrol that so rarely happened now that the worlds were in balance. The truth continued to bare itself every night that Ichigo climbed out of bed in the dead of night and return in the morning with heavy eyes. She had cried, too, those nights. The shame of being undesirable taunted her from the empty side of the bed they shared for years.

When Uryuu spent time with her that evening and she actually felt listened to and desired, the problem became clear – he had already left, and she realized that she needed to go, too.

"What?" Ichigo asked, full attention now on his wife. "Where did you get that idea?"

Inoue glared at him, a newfound anger surging in her chest. "How would I not? And, frankly, Ichigo, do you think I'm stupid?" Her eyes began to wet and hot tears ran down her cheeks.

"Orihime-"

"Don't. Don't interrupt me." Inoue began, she took a moment to wipe her tears and turned to Ichigo, "You're just so nice, all the time because you have to be. Do you think I can't handle the truth? You rejected me once, I took my time, I came out of it alright and then – oh god, when we met that night was that when you found out about Rukia and Renji?"

Ichigo watched in shock, "I thought we were working things out, I-"

"You call this working?" Inoue asked, voice cracking, "Ichigo, you're staying because that's what you think is right, not because it's what you want."

Ichigo looked at Inoue in surprise. They had fought before, multiple times, it was usually because he was being an idiot but she would always forgive him. She had never accused him in this way, and never had he felt this incredibly heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. She could tell, too.

"Orihime, I'm sorry." He said immediately.

Inoue's eyes locked with his, tears still flowing. "You should be."

They exchanged a painful silence. The television had blurred into the background as Inoue's crying drowned any other noise.

Ever since the war ended, the divisions were still tallying damages. It was proving a long arduous process, and even nearly hitting 10 years since, the bureaucracy knew no such thing as time. Meetings like this one, Rukia was familiar with, and usually uneventful, was treated more like an update than anything else. She arrived in a timely manner, as more captains and vices poured into the room. She smiled briefly at Renji who gave her a swift nod.

Shunsui, now well-known for his disregard of rigid rules, bid them all to take a seat. His vice-captain doled out the schedule while reading them aloud. Rukia was half listening until he mentioned the last part of the agenda.

"Living world involvement."

She blinked, and glanced quickly at the agenda. Her division was unofficially responsible for inter-dimensional relations, and she hadn't received anything about this in the meeting – so what on earth could it have been about?

Rukia diligently paid attention, as her vice captain took notes. She scared herself at how brilliantly she was playing the part, all the while her heart was beating fast, and she took a moment to slyly dry her hands on her robes.

"On to the final matter," Shunsui finally said, "There hasn't been much activity on Earth." He shuffled the papers on his desk. He took a pause to clear his throat and sip some tea. "There is the matter of the individuals of interest."

"The vizards have been efficiently reinstated where necessary, and those who are MIA are being slowly weeded out – though rest assured, they won't be much of a threat." Shinji explained.

"As for the kids, they've explained they're thankful for their abilities but prefer not to be involved." Rukia added.

Shunsui regarded Rukia for a moment, an act she was used to and learned was when he was thinking.

"There's been activity reported from one Kurosaki Ichigo," Shunsui began, "He doesn't officially have a limiter and the magnitude of his reiatsu can be concerning."

"Activity?" Rukia asked.

"The other four don't pose much threat. His son may one day be a threat, but he has limiters except when he's training, as you know." Shunsui said. "I don't think that it'd be overzealous to send you to him to discuss this."

Rukia took a moment, "This hadn't been an issue initially, I respectfully ask for evidence of disturbance."

Byakuya silently shook his head. Renji smirked, arms crossed and leaning back in his chair.

"Rukia," Shunsui began, "you know the monstrosity that is Kurosaki Ichigo. Even his father when he had re-awakened powers requested the limiter. It's unfortunate this didn't cross my mind earlier, but I would appreciate it if you spoke to Ichigo about the matter. That boy's powers aren't out of control, but they would still attract any regular hollow with a decent nose."

"Understood." Rukia replied.

Shunsui smiled, "Good. Meeting adjourned."

Rukia returned to her office with a frown. As the designated liaison she had no choice but to talk to Ichigo herself. Renji wouldn't mess with orders from the top, and because Ichigo was considered a friendly, she wouldn't require an escort. Shit. They'd need to meet alone.

Rukia had to admit that she didn't know how to handle that.