pan was absolutely pouring when Rukia and Izuru entered the World of the Living. The second they entered, they were soaked to the bone before even entering their gigais. Without rain gear, having dressed for the sunny weather the Seireitei presented, it was a wonder why the duo even tried.

Izuru looked up at the sky. His eyes flinched closed on instinct. "Ichigo turns ten next month…"

"Yep!" Rukia chirped happily. "I can't wait to plan a nice, big birthday party. There's going to be cake and ice cream and-"

"Doesn't it rain when Masaki dies?" Izuru interrupted. "Didn't you once say Ichigo was 9 when he lost his mom?"

Rukia paused and looked up at Izuru. "Oh, shit… We better hurry then."

Izuru was already running up ahead. "The canals!"

Rukia was running as fast as she could in a human's body. "We should ditch the gigai…" She breathed. "We'd run faster!"

Izuru was already popping a candy. "Find Isshin or that blond shinigami with the bucket hat! I can't remember names!"

The smiling gigai ran off in a different direction.

"Kisuke Urahara!" Rukia shouted loudly. Popping her own soul candy. "Go make sure the girls are okay!" She knew they'd be fine but she couldn't help but feel worried. The gigai nodded with a bright smile and saluted her before running off in the direction of the girls, or so Rukia assumed. After that was settled, she started shunpoing in the direction of the canals.

"I can sense Ichigo!" Izuru called out, leading Rukia. "Doesn't Masaki have her Quincy powers taken by… fudge, what's his name? Ya-witch?"

"Ee-wock?" She asked, "I know who you're talking about but I've never figured out how to pronounce his stupid name!" She yelped as she nearly slipped on a slippery patch of concrete. "How did I slip?!" She shouted, "There!" She pointed to the hollow's lure and a 9-year-old Ichigo who had yet to notice. "Fuck…" She groaned, she really wanted to take out the hollow now but knew she couldn't quite interfere just yet.

Yeah, tell that to Izuru who was already crossing the nearby bridge.

Rukia yelped and followed after the blond. "Wait!" She said loudly. "Our plan!" She moved to grab his shihakusho.

"Fuck the plans, you should have considered I'd get emotionally attached!" Panic was oozing from his entire soul, his eyes almost white and breath heavy. "You're the one that introduced me to her! I was fine only knowing about her in the background. Then you had- you had to make me care about her! I don't want her to die!

"I don't want her to die either- but she can't live without her Quincy powers! Uryu's mom couldn't! But we planned to save her soul! Remember? She may die on this plane but we'll keep her from disappearing!" She dragged her feet to slow him down. "We can't fuck up the plot any more than that!"

The look Izuru gave Rukia would have set her ablaze in another world. "You'll be the one telling Ichigo then… Because the plot isn't worth the pain he's going to endure, you know this better than anyone." His eyes snapped to the left. "Shit."

Izuru shunpoed out of her grasp, Wabizuke diving onto the Fisher hollow at the same time his claws drove deeply into Masaki's back.

Rukia whimpered softly as she watched from a distance. She gripped the hilt of Yuki tightly and let Izuru handle the hollow as she moved to kneel next to an unconscious Ichigo, for how else would he stay awake after hitting his head like that. She knew he'd soon wake up but for now, she needed to talk to Masaki who sat next to her body with wide eyes.

"Masaki…" She whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Masaki asked, still in shock from what just happened. Her body was just lying there, her chain of fate having been severed as soon as her body hit the ground.

"I just… I wish we could save you." She took a seat next to her, watching as Grand Fisher faded away from the fatal blows Izuru dealt. A slow, painful end, as Izuru's Zanpakuto was not designed to take lives in any way but execution style.

"In a way, you did. I haven't been eaten. I doubt I would have lived long without my Quincy powers, anyway." She smiled slightly, moving her hand to gently pet Ichigo's hair. "Take care of him for me." She looked at Rukia. "Take care of all of them."

"Masaki…" Rukia teared up.

"Oi," Izuru barked, walking over with a stoney face. "We need to take Ichigo home before he catches his death in the rain… and I need to ask for some favors." He looked at Masaki's soul, making a point to not look at her corpse. "It's going to take a couple of days. Think you can handle waiting until we purify you?"

Masaki looked at Ichigo who seemed to start stirring. "Yes, I can wait." She said softly. "I feel like they will need a few days as well." She smiled. "I know Ichigo will see me… do you think it would be best if I hide at Kisuke's? You think they would understand if I did?"

Rukia frowned and let the rain hide her tears. "Yes, I think it'll be alright."

"Rukia… Can you take Masaki to Kisuke? I'll…" Izuru looked up at the bridge, where Kisuke and the smiling gigai were waiting. "Nevermind. Take Ichigo home… I…"

Izuru covered his glossy eyes with a palm, sighing slowly. "Masaki, your family name is now Kira." He walked away to return to the Seireitei.

"I understand…" Rukia murmured.

Masaki blinked with wide eyes. "What just happened?"

"You've been adopted for your safety. I don't know what he plans to do to make it official paperwork-wise, but you should take on the name." She smiled softly. She moved to pick up Ichigo. "Go with Kisuke, I'll… break the news to your family."

Masaki let a few silent tears fall. "Okay."

Kisuke accepted her, putting an arm around his friend's shoulder, and led her to the candy shop. Chatting her ear off to try and make her feel even a little bit better.

Rukia quickly took over her gigai and lifted the sleeping child into her arms. She walked towards the Kurosaki house. It was thankfully nearby, so she didn't have to walk far with the child who was at her shoulder in height.

There in the house, she laid a soaked Ichigo on the couch, she took a seat as well and took the quiet time to cry. This was how Isshin found Rukia, the 5-year-old twins surrounding their aunt/older sister figure with concern in their eyes. She looked up at Isshin and hiccuped. "She's gone Isshin…" She cried.

Isshin's eyes widened and he fell to his knees. "No…" He whispered. "How? What happened?"

"A hollow…" She shook her head. "We weren't fast enough." She rubbed her eyes, "I'm so sorry."

Isshin moved to hug the small raven-haired girl, followed by the twins who didn't know what was going on but knew their precious onee-chan was crying. He gave every girl kisses on the head, muttering reassurances that they would be okay.

It wasn't until later that day that it was explained to the girls and Ichigo that their mother wasn't coming home.

Later that day after helping Isshin put the kids to bed, she went home. Her eyes were puffy and swollen from spending most of the day crying.

Byakuya came out of his office and frowned a bit at the sight of his sister. "Rukia?" He murmured, though he seemed to almost regret his decision to call out to her. Rukia's head whipped towards his direction and her bottom lip trembled and she made a beeline towards him.

"Aniki!" She whimpered, calling him by his official older brother title instead of the cutesy nii-chan he was accustomed to make him realize just how upset his sister was.

"What's wrong?" He asked as she hugged him, sobbing into his shihakusho.

"I…" She hiccuped. "I had to watch a very dear friend get killed by a hollow today." She sobbed. "Aniki, it was terrible."

Byakuya awkwardly began to pat her back. "In the World of the Living?" He asked.

She didn't answer and just sobbed harder. They stood like that for almost an hour, Byakuya's hand eventually finding its way into her hair and soothingly rubbing circles on the back of her head. He found that her sobbing settled down when he did this so he just kept doing it until she fell asleep. He lifted her into his arms and took her to her bedroom, where he laid her down on her futon.

He frowned. He never saw his sister lose her composure like that. This friend must have been very dear to her. He decided to make it his personal mission to find this friend. Maybe it would make her happier if he could find their soul, and maybe hire them to work in the manor? He frowned as he walked back to his office.

Little did he know, his little sister and her best friend had an idea already in mind.

"What'cha need us for, Izurun?" Yachiru asked with a wide smile. "You asked for this meeting so suddenly."

Izuru stood before his fellow club members, head hanging low. Momo specifically was absent from this meeting. When he slowly, painfully, lifted his head the women all gasped. Eyes puffy and red from tears, mouth twisted to one of anguish.

"I need a favor from all of you. Please… I don't care what price I have to pay later. I need… I need help."

Rangiku was the first to her feet, rushing to the blond. "Izuru… What happened? What do you need?" She whipped her head around to the other girls. Usually, Izuru was the rock of their club, letting everyone go to him for their emotional needs.

"There's a- a soul…" Izuru choked. "Someone dear to me a-and Rukia. I need to purify her soul… I need…" He rubbed one of his eyes with a wrist. "I can't… If she ends up in one of those districts…"

Unohana slowly rose from her seat, pulling the man into her arms. "Shhh…"

"Of course we'll help, Izurun!" Yachiru shouted. "We'll make teams. Oooh, maybe Kenny will let me borrow some friends! And no talks about favors, you're in this club with us!"

"That's right…" Unohana said soothingly. "I will not be present, but I will send a few people."

It was only at this moment that Izuru allowed himself to cry.

(linebreak)

Lead. That was how Izuru could describe his body. He sluggishly made his way back to the 3rd, each step a struggle. All he wanted was to find a spot to curl up and cry even more… that was not what was given to him.

"There you are, Izuru~" Gin practically purred as he appeared behind his lieutenant. He loomed, slowly turning the shorter man around to get a good look at him. Gin paused. "My, this isn't like ya! Normally, yer all gloomy, but now you just look… pathetic?"

"... Go shove a cactus up your ass, sir." Izuru replied back hollowly. He wasn't looking directly at his captain, more so through his captain. "Leave me alone."

Gin raised a brow. "What happened? Normally your trips to the World of the Living make you happy and fine!"

Something seemed to snap within Izuru.

"Fine? FINE?!" Izuru shouted out. "I haven't been fine in years! The- the paperwork I have to slog through just so I can earn the privilege to visit the stupid human world?! All the dumb walks just to keep you pleased with my presence?! The training, the- the stupid persimmon trees where I have to prune them once a year so they don't shed leaves everywhere so people don't-"

He rubbed his hands aggressively, yelling. "I'm not fine! I won't be fine! I can't be happy- I don't deserve to be happy. Not if I can't even protect-" Tears ran down his face. The humiliation of crying in front of a man who could kill him without a second thought. He pulled out his Zanpakuto.

Gin rested a hand on his own. His spiritual pressure leaked out slowly, reaching out for the blond's throat. "Izuru…"

"IS THIS ENOUGH DESPAIR FOR YOU, YOU EMO STUPID STICK?!" Izuru yelled at his sword, wobbling it like a sheet of aluminum foil. "ARE YOU HAPPY?! CAUSE I AM NOT HAPPY!"

Very slowly, and cautiously, Gin reached over and took Wabisuke. Once the sword was on the ground, he carefully pulled Izuru into a very stiff hug, patting blond hair.

"Just replace me with someone else, Captain. I'm worthless. I can't even save a simple soul- how am I a lieutenant?" Izuru muttered into Gin's chest.

Gin hummed, the smile never leaving his face. "No no. Yer not leaving my squad. Yer the perfect lieutenant for wha' I need." He began leading the younger man into the squad's compound. "Let's get ya to bed. I'll bring ya some snacks."

Izuru didn't fight as Gin decided how the rest of the day would go.

If anyone questioned why a bunch of seated officers were at the soul entry stations, they didn't verbalize it. Nor did they question why each one was holding a photograph of a young brunette-haired woman. There was a non-stop flow of souls entering, each one getting a number and an area to live. There was no time for questions.

Izuru waited with Rukia near one of the gates. His heart pounding in his chest… or whatever Soul Reapers have. They should have split up. They really should… but Izuru firmly knew if either one of them left… Neither could function.

"This is like… the worst way to handle souls," Izuru commented. "How did the Seireitei handle World War II? Wait… technically speaking we were there."

Rukia smiled ruefully. "Yeah, it was pretty crowded for a while, remember?" She murmured. "We had to do a lot of paperwork during those days." She sighed.

Izuru paused, looking to the side. "Yeah, Kira remembers that. They had to clear out a bunch of districts near the end… He didn't sleep for a week straight."

Just then, a hell butterfly floated towards them. Izuru's eyes widened. "They found Masaki! The west gate!"

Rukia gasped lightly and took off in a shunpo. "Come on!" She shouted with the blond closely on her tail.

The two skidded to a stop outside a little rundown shack where Rangiku stood outside, talking with Renji as they looked over. "Oh!" Rangiku said with a bright smile. "She's in here." She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder with a bright smile.

Rukia's heart trembled with excitement. "For real?" She asked. Even though it had only been a few days it felt like weeks and she really just wanted to hug her dear friend close.

Izuru was already going inside the shack, patting the two Soul Reapers on the shoulders as quiet thanks.

Rukia followed Izuru closely and nearly squealed. "Oh, Masaki!" She ran to the brunette and hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you made it here safely."

Izuru joined in the hug. "Rukia, it almost sounded like you doubted our friends."

Rukia pouted at Izuru. " I didn't doubt them. I just… I worried… a lot." She smiled a bit.

Masaki laughed lightly. "You guys," She smiled. "I'm glad to be here, even if it was under not-so-bright circumstances."

Rukia paused and nodded slightly, her smile falling just a bit.

"So…" Rangiku started carefully, "how do you know her?"

Izuru jumped to his feet. "Oh, she's a distant relative of mine we met during our trips. Kira Masaki… yeah. We visited the land where the living side of my bloodline resided."

Rukia nodded. Though she knew it was gonna be hard to believe considering they didn't look anything alike. "I noticed their surnames and decided to bring Izuru with me the next time I visited and we became friends."

Renji hummed and nodded with his eyes closed, his hand on his chin while his elbow was resting in his other hand. "They do look alike."

Everyone quietly stared at Renji.

Rukia couldn't help but think she was in love with an idiot.

Izuru leaned in close to Rukia, "Why are you in love with this idiot?"

Rukia nearly choked on her laugh. "He's cute, leave him be." She snickered, silently wondering if Izuru developed mind-reading abilities.

Rangiku blinked. "Okay… I'll pretend like I'm following along. Well, we'll leave you two to get your… 'relative' settled."

"Yes, thank you. Thank you so much," Izuru said enthusiastically. He turned to Masaki, taking her hand. "Come on, I'll take you to the Kira manor."

Izuru led the two women to his family home. Listening as Rukia filled Masaki in on how the Seireitei functioned, how she could be a Soul Reaper now, etc. They reached the nobility district, where they reached a clean, well-kept manor. To someone like Masaki, it was a massive land of gardens and wings.

To Rukia… however… It was quaint.

"Go on, call it tiny." Izuru glared down at Rukia as she was staring at the manor like a small child would a Barbie Dream House.

"It's so cuuuute~!" She cried. "Look at how small it is!" She laughed lightly. "I love it!"

Izuru rolled his eyes and looked over at Masaki. "My family is a new money nobility. Merchants who had luck in knowing what people wanted to buy and kept at it. I… don't have any family left, so the manor mostly consisted of a handful of servants. We'll introduce you as a member of the Kira family and you can live here."

Masaki nodded, she seemed nervous. "What if they expect me to act like a noble?" she asked. "I'm by all technical terms a commoner. I know you said you're new money… but…" She sighed, she wasn't usually worried about fitting in but she wanted their story to be believable.

"You're from the 20th century, most nobility rules kind of fling themselves headfirst out of the door in that time unless you were directly born into the royal family." Izuru waved her off and entered the manor, where they were greeted with a modest line of 12 servants- primarily women but a couple men as well.

Izuru made a wide gesture to Masaki. "Everyone, this is Kira Masaki. A relative of the Kira bloodline from the World of the Living. She just passed and was found through the dedication and hard work of the Soul Reapers of the Seireitei. In my absence due to my duties, she is the lady of the house. Treat her with kindness, and teach her well. The 20th century has lost much in the ways of nobility, so please be patient with her."

The servants slowly bowed with varied degrees of "yes, young master" and "we will do our best".

Rukia smiled slightly. Masaki smiled as well, thanking them all. She was happy to have been found by her friends.

With the servants gone, Izuru turned to the girls and gave Masaki an intense once-over. "You have spiritual energy… The manor library has books, so you can study Kido, Zanpakuto, and the basic duties of a Soul Reaper."

Masaki laughed dryly, "To think, we could have been enemies… now I'm learning to become the thing my bloodline swears to eradicate."

"We beat you to it," Izuru commented, smirking. "You should become a Soul Reaper… Stay away from Squads 3, 5, 9, and 12… Eh… avoid 11 too, while we're at it."

Rukia nodded in agreement. "Squad 12 is especially bad- you'll be experimented on no matter what you do."

Masaki shivered, "Great… Any squads you actually recommend?"

The duo paused. They looked at each other, as if speaking a silent language that Masaki would never learn. Then, in unison with clear voices, "Squad 4 and 6."

Rukia and Izuru made their way to the 3rd squad barracks, where Izuru reluctantly knew he'd need to work on some paperwork otherwise it would pile up. Where all this work came from, they would never know.

Rukia sighed, she also needed to head to 13th to get Kaien to do his paperwork. She sighed deeply. This was where they ran into the Captain of 6th.

Izuru bowed lowly, "Captain Kuchiki."

Byakuya looked down his nose at the blond before glancing at his sister. "I've decided to help you in the search for your friend."

Beside her, Rukia can almost hear the laughter threatening to bubble out of Izuru.

"Nii-chan… we already found her." She said softly, the slight widening of her brother's eyes left her feeling a bit guilty. "She turned out to be related to Izuru… So she's staying at his manor."

"What?" Byakuya asked, his left eye twitching slightly as he fought hard not to shoot the blond a scathing glare.

Rukia laughed lightly. "Nii-chan…" She shook her head. "I should get to Kaien, he needs encouragement to do his paperwork!" She chirped and shunpoed away.

His eye twitched harder and turned his gaze to the blond.

"... So, would it kill your glare if I just tell you I'm into men?" Izuru slowly blinked, the kind where the left eye started and the right eye followed suit. "Rukia really likes ice cream by the way. It'll make her feel better."

Izuru then shunpoed away, leaving behind a very mentally broken Byakuya.

I'm so sorry for the late update! Life got really hectic and I just sorta... forgot. I'm sorry! Forgive me! If you enjoyed don't forget to leave a comment and drop a fave and follow!