The moment that Balam was gone, Ichigo allowed herself a moment to sink to the floor in exhaustion. God, she felt like crap. Her head was pounding, and she was starting to feel a bit dizzy to.

"Ichigo, dearest? Are you alright?" Sullivan asked in vague alarm as he looked at her slumped over a bit on the floor. His heart leaping in alarm because Balam and Rukia had told him that she was okay before.

So why did his dearest child not seem okay right that moment?

She didn't answer him for several long moments, and the longer it took for her to respond, the surer that Sullivan was that something horrible was very, very wrong with her when finally, she said.

"I'm okay, papa. Just desperately in need of a long nap."

Which wasn't exactly a lie. But nor was it the entire truth either.

She knew that she was still suffering a backlash from helping Mizuiro. She could tell by the way that her body was aching and how she almost felt feverish now. Am I actually starting to get sick because of the backlash? She wondered worriedly. She had no idea since this was new territory for her just as much as everyone else.

However as tired, achy, and feverish as she felt. Now wasn't the time to give in to her body's demands to rest and recover.

She needed to begin running damage control to prevent Balam from becoming collateral damage if the wrong people found out about Rukia's blunder binding the two of them together. She. Absolutely, Would. Not. Have. His. Blood. Shed!

Feeling a pair large hands settle gently on her shoulders, she lifted her head to see Sullivan kneeling down in front of her looking concerned.

"Dearest, if your still tired, then you should rest." He said gently but firmly. "I can tuck you in and stay with you if you like. Opera can even curl up with us and Rukia and Mizuiro can as well if you wish it."

Clever man. She thought ruefully. He knew that she liked having everyone where she could see and feel them nearby when something was wrong. It was tempting. Very tempting with how badly she was feeling.

But she had to refuse.

"I'm sorry. But I can't rest yet." She said with a slight smile. Taking Sullivan aback a bit as she asked. "Instead, can I ask you a favor?"

"Of course you can." Sullivan said as he slipped his hands underneath her arms and then stood up, taking her with him so that she wouldn't be sitting on the floor anymore. However, that didn't mean that he was eager to put her down just yet.

"I need you and Mizuiro to work together to create a marriage contract," Sullivan's worried expression shifted a bit into curiosity about what she was thinking, but he didn't wish to interrupt her with any questions just yet. "One that will be appealing to both Balam and myself. I want him to be able to agree to signing it as soon as possible."

"May I ask your reason for wanting such a contract written up?"

"I still don't know a lot of stuff about the Netherworld, but I think I recall seeing something about nobles occasionally arranging marriages for their kin and their children. To prevent the bloodline from dying out." He nodded his head as she continued. "Since that's the case, then we need to be able to bring Balam into the family completely. This will prevent others who will be up in arms by my marriage from being able to touch or harm him without suffering serious repercussions from doing so. It will also keep some of the heat off of Rukia too since arranged marriages are respected by everyone. If we make it appear as if you have chosen and accepted Balam, then he's less likely to suffer any terrible troubles in the future."

Sullivan blinked at his child and let the gears in his head churn furiously as he finally set her on her feet as he said, "That sounds reasonable. What sort of things should I put in it to appeal to you both? You are very different people with equally different things that interest you."

"That's true." Ichigo said as she thought for a minute about what could possibly be appealing to her demon husband when Opera walked over and whispered in her ear.

"Balam likes humans."

"Huh?" Ichigo said as she twisted her head to look at him.

"To many in the Netherworld, humans are considered a delicacy. However, to a precious few like Balam, humans are an endangered species and meant to be protected from harm. He studies how they live in an effort to better understand them. He is, for lack of a better word, enamored with them."

"I see. Then he's a very lucky demon since I have a vested interest in making sure that they survive for many, many eons yet." Ichigo smiled at the hell cat in gratitude and then turned her attention back to Sullivan. "Put in the contract that he will see and even be able to study his endangered species up close. I can give him some books on humans. Things like their history, science, and maybe even their biology. Maybe even have him meet Chad or one of the others if he wants."

"Oh, he would love that." Opera murmured as Sullivan chimed in.

"Yes, Balam would indeed love that. The information would definitely help him with his research by leaps and bounds. But are you sure that you wish to go that far, dearest?"

"Would it be bad if I said yes?"

"Well, no. Not exactly." Sullivan said thoughtfully. "However, it is against the law for demons to go to the human world. And humans that are found in the Netherworld are typically given over to the border patrol for their own protection-"

"Chad has spent time here before."

"Well, yes. But there are certain extenuating circumstances that allow for that." Sullivan pointed out. Basically, pointing out to her, that her rank as the Soul King was the extenuating circumstance. After all, it was unheard of for a King of any sort to be without some sort of guard or protector.

This of course miffed Ichigo since she disliked having her rank mentioned like this. Even if it was for a good reason. But since her presence in the Netherworld could eventually cause Sullivan and Opera issues then it was probably time to make herself known to certain individuals. This of course meant introducing some of her guards to those individuals as well so that they could memorize their faces, scents, and race.

It was a risky move.

However...it was simply a risk that they would have to make. Which meant that she would have to introduce herself as the Soul King to a select few very trusted people. Possibly those of Sullivan's inner circle, if he had one.

"Then we will simply have to make others aware of those extenuating circumstances so that we, Balam, Chad and the others can't be bothered or harassed later on by some of those people."

Sullivan and Opera's eyes nearly popped right out of their sockets in surprise.

The two recovered quickly though and Opera felt it was necessary to ask, "Does this mean that you intend to introduce yourself as the Soul King to others, my lady?"

"To a select few. Yes. Everyone else will simply have to be left in the dark for the time being," She said, and watched Opera's ears droop a bit in disappointment while Sullivan merely stared at her in keen interest as she went on to say. "I will however introduce myself to everyone else as the daughter of Lord Sullivan as well as a high-ranking member of the deity race."

The evil little smile that she sent their way had both demon's all but vibrating in place from excitement as Mizuiro wandered over to her and slung an arm around her shoulder as he asked, "When do you want to begin?"

"As soon as possible. We'll start with only those that we can trust implicitly with the information of who I am for the time being. Everyone else will simply have to wait until I'm properly introduced to them as Sullivan's child. Will that work?" She asked Sullivan and Opera.

The two demons both replied with a loud and enthusiastic, "Yes!" and "We will begin the preparations immediately."

Upon leaving Sullivan's home, Balam made his way straight to the Babyls teacher's dorms. Where those who were employed by the famous demon school resided.

Why was he going there, you ask?

It was simple.

He'd had a lot of things happen to him in the past couple of hours and he needed to be able to speak with someone that he trusted about it all. So, he was going to see his closest ally... Kalego Naberius. Since he would be the best person to inform of certain things.

Things like his impromptu marriage to Lord Sullivan's heir via a super irresponsible minister/Security Devil. As well as his new wife's condition due to her grounding. Since thus far those were really the only two things that bothered him the most at the moment.

Everything else he could deal with easily on his own since the rest seemed pretty trivial compared to those other two things.

Upon reaching the dorms, he landed on the terrace of his own room. Though he rarely used it unless the school was shut down for holidays, weekends, teachers/staff meetings, etc.

Slipping into his room, he took a quick cursory glance around his home away from home and inwardly cringed at what he saw.

Now, don't get him wrong, he was a typically clean demon to begin with. It was simply a part of what other's called 'adulting'. However, despite the fact that he was typically a clean demon... Things did sometimes get away from him. It was usually if he was doing research or some experimenting that this tended to happen.

Which was probably why his home looked like such an utter disaster to him at the moment.

Though maybe he was judging himself a bit harshly because his home looked inappropriate for a demon that had just been married.

Taking a moment to think of whether or not he would actually want Ichigo in his home- especially while it was such a mess- he wasn't the least bit shocked to feel that he would rather burn the dorms down than have his new wife step foot into this horror show for even ten seconds.

"I'll have to clean this mess up." He muttered to himself before then glancing towards his bedroom where his nest was and narrowing his eyes a little bit in thought as it occurred to him that he would have to make a new nest.

A nicer and more comfortable one for he and Ichigo to rest in would be necessary.

Later, that is. Once they knew one another better.

Though if his wife at some point wanted to sleep over, well... he doubted that he could mind that much since 'friends' might actually do that sort of thing. Though he would be certain to ask Ichigo on Friday when he next saw her, just in case it was since he wished to be prepared.

Lifting a gloved hand, he ran his fingers through his long white hair for a second, absently noticing how long and wild the strands had gotten in recent months.

That would be another thing that he needed to fix soon. Especially if he didn't want to embarrass Ichigo or himself when they did something out in town together.

Closing the sliding glass door to his terrace, he then locked up his home and then walked out the door to go and see Kalego. His mind was whirling with all kinds of thoughts, some random and nonsensical and others...perfectly normal- or at least he hoped they were given some of the thoughts that slithered through his mind about his wife.

Things like, she was very pretty.

She smelled nice too. She also had a lovely disposition despite her suffering from being grounded. She smiled a lot and was warm and friendly. And she appealed greatly to his protective instincts as someone who was a guardian.

Anything else- anything questionable that is- that passed through his mind was ruthlessly squashed and shoved aside for later examination.

Finally, he reached Kalego's, and took a second to knock on the door. If his ally wasn't up yet, then he could simply let himself in with the key that the hellhound had given to him and wait for him to wake up.

Maybe he could even cook them both breakfast while he waited since he knew that Kalego wasn't much of a morning person.

Or a people person.

Actually, come to think of it, Kalego was more than a tad bit feral in the mornings, isn't he? Maybe I should come back later. Balam mused to himself. Yet despite his thoughts on his ally's lack of sterling morning personality he started to reach for his pants pocket to get the spare key when the door opened and the other demon appeared in the doorway, glaring at him a bit.

Kalego took a second to rub his face with one of his clawed hands and then yawned so widely that his jaw cracked before finally saying, "Shichiro what are you doing here at this ungodly hour?"

"Something happened," Shichiro said, catching the hellhound off guard a bit. He knew this because his ally went from still asleep to wide awake in zero point two seconds and was now listening intently to anything that he may have to say. "No one is hurt though!" He hastily assured the man. "But...I do need to speak with you about some things."

His ally stared at him hard for several seconds but then stepped back to allow him into his home. No sooner than Shichiro stepped through the door, than Kalego slammed it shut behind him and locked it again before growling at him.

"You will tell me everything so I can decide who I need to maim after breakfast."

Shichiro chuckled at his ally's words, but silently agreed that he would tell him everything and leave out no details at all. After all, Kalego would probably feel like maiming someone even more once he realized that Opera had a tiny bit of involvement in his situation.

"Well come on, you might as well begin speaking now while I put on some coffee. Unless you'd rather have tea, that is." Kalego grumbled as he meandered by him to head into the kitchen.

"Coffee would be great actually."

"Good. Now start talking."

"Uh, okay- well to begin with I was summoned to Sullivans home this morning." Shichiro began as he followed closely behind him so that the hellhound would be able to hear everything without him repeating himself.

Kalego interrupted him to ask in a disdainful tone, "Oh? What did the imbecile do this time?"

"There was a medical emergency of some kind, and they didn't trust anyone but me to treat the injured party."

"Go on." Kalego encouraged as he glanced at him from over one of his shoulders while he grabbed his coffee pot and put it under the facet to fill it with water.

"Well, as it turned out...the injured party was Sullivan's heir." No sooner than he'd finished saying that than Kalego set his coffee pot on the counter and turned to face him with a frown. However, he didn't bother speaking this time, so Shichiro went ahead and plowed on. "Apparently she had collapsed and coughed up blood for some unknown reason. They were very worried that something might have been very wrong."

"I can't say that I would blame them especially if the girl was healthy before that. It's unnatural for a fledgling-"

"Woman, Kalego." Shichiro corrected gently. "Sullivan's heir is a grown woman."

The hell hound bared his fangs for a second before growling out, "That twit chair demon would have been better off with a fledgling. At least they can be taught."

If Shichrio had had the ability to thin his lips in displeasure, he would have done so right then. After all, to him, Ichigo had seemed rather good mannered. At least to him anyway.

"Shall I keep going or are you going to keep saying disparaging things?"

Kalego waved his hand at him to urge him to continue while he went ahead and started to fix the coffee.

"Anyway, by the time I had gotten there, Sullivan's heir had regained consciousness and was sitting up. Sullivan, being who he is, was cuddling her." Then he added as if he had almost forgotten, "Also, there is a very young new security devil- a woman named Rukia. She's a menace and totally unafraid of Opera-senpai's wrath."

Kalego make a small choking sound at hearing Opera's name but otherwise didn't really react to the news of a female security devil being present in Sullivan's home.

As Shichiro shifted gears again and began to tell his ally about his examination of the woman's body as well as what he had found.

And by the time he finished telling Kalego of the woman's grounding- the hell hound was giving him his full and undivided attention. But that wasn't all that he was giving Shichiro.

The gargoyle knew that his ally had no love for Sullivan nor their senpai Opera, but the mere fact that some innocent woman had suffered being grounded while she had still been just a child, had the hell hound gnashing his teeth with rage and looking very much as if he were going to actually commit murder at some point in the near future.

"So, let me get this straight," Kalego finally said once he finally had his temper back under control again. "The chair demon's heir is a grounded female? One who has endured torture and suffering beyond imagining? And somehow managed to remain sane?"

"Uh, yes."

"Alright, is there anything else that I should know?" His ally asked him.

"Yes," Shichiro said as he started to fiddle with his fingers as he slowly said, "I sort of also got married to her too."

Kalego stared at him, hard for several heartbeats. And then burst into hysterical laughter.

Not because Shichiro marrying someone was particularly funny to him, even he knew that his ally was a catch as far as avian demons went. But rather because of whom he had found himself married to.

Shichiro, to his credit knew that Kalego wasn't exactly laughing at him.

His former classmate and close companion could be more than a tad insensitive at times, but not about something of this nature. No- Kalego was likely laughing because he was now married to Sullivan's child and heir. Which was something in his ally's mind that wasn't to be wished on anyone, except maybe his worst enemies, that is.

So of course he was going to laugh. It was simply the hell hound's natural reaction to something so ridiculous.

It took a few minutes, and Kalego being dangerously close to tears before he finally stopped laughing and started to sober up.

"Forgive me, Shichiro. I couldn't help but laugh due to how you've found yourself caught by someone in that nuisance Sullivan's family. I can't imagine his heir being much of a demoness regardless of her status as a grounding survivor though. She's probably too much like that twit."

Shichiro understood that Kalego often looked upon Sullivan with barely concealed disdain. However, he couldn't help but feel a bit upset that his ally would think poorly of his bride simply because she was Sullivan's child and heir.

"Actually, I don't think they're alike at all. For starters, Ichigo seems...more like someone who is actually very thoughtful and kind. She went out of her way to reassure me that despite our sudden marriage that we should take the time to get to know one another better without feeling pressured into anything that may make either of us uncomfortable."

Kalego looked more than a tad bit skeptical about that, but at the same time intrigued.

"Truely? She's nothing like him?" He asked, probably feeling as if he were traying to jest with him.

"No," Shichiro said with a small shake of his head before tacking on. "At least I don't think so."

The hell hound hummed for a moment before flashing him a fanged smirk. "Then I wish to meet this rare paragon of virtue that you've caught yourself."

Shichiro jolted a bit at his words and wondered if Kalego was planning to bully his wife or something. That smirk of his suddenly had him very worried even as he blurted out. "I won't see her again until Friday evening."

"Nonsense," Kalego said as he waved a hand at him. "You're married. Husbands and wives should see each other more often than that. Why don't I invite her over for lunch or something. Though if you'd prefer, I can make a reservation at one of the restaurants in town and we can meet her there. It would be just the three of us. So, there would be little pressure." He suggested with a careless shrug.

Though Shichiro was aware that it likely wasn't out of the kindness of his own heart in the least that Kalego had made the suggestion to begin with. And as much as he felt that he should say no to the hell hound's offer.

Shichiro couldn't help but feel a little bit greedy at the moment. Even though he had promised to see Ichigo again on Friday, he also sort of wanted to see her again sooner. He wanted to spend more time with her and was just a bit embarrassed that he desired such so soon after making his promise.

He couldn't help but wonder if she would be bothered by seeing him again today. After all, she may already have plans for the day. There was also a chance that she may have decided to rest like he had advised Sullivan and Opera that she needed to do.

Sighing, he took a moment to weigh the pros and cons of allowing Kalego within even ten feet of his wife at the moment, he decided to allow it purely out of curiosity's sake. However, his decision wasn't without certain stipulations.

He was going to shut down whatever devious plan had taken root in his ally's mind before it could do her harm.

"Alright, we can do that. But only if you be on your best behavior around her." He said as he gave the hell hound a pointed look. "You will not make any attempts to intimidate, bully, or threaten her. Am I understood?"

Kalego sputtered a bit but eventually grumbled a depressed sounding affirmative. He wouldn't try any of those things under penalty of an obviously painful beatdown at Shichiro's hands.

And with that out of the way, Shichiro reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his hell phone to call Opera and let him know the plan and see if Ichigo was available.

Unfortunately, despite her desire for a nap as well as Opera having tucked her into bed after feeding her some soup, buttered toast and fruit... Ichigo simply didn't have the chance to rest.

Because after sending Rukia to Soul Society to face the music for what she had done earlier that morning- a storm had converged on the Sullivan household.

And by storm, she meant Shunsui, and every other Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads as well as several lieutenants had decided to come to the Netherworld and call a meeting to get the deet's on the situation.

This of course meant that Sullivan and Mizuiro hadn't been able to start on the contract that she had asked them to work on. And it also meant that poor Opera was stuck arranging for tea and snacks to be put out almost immediately after the table had been cleared of the breakfast that he'd made for all of them.

Since their guests had dropped by so suddenly and without any warning and he didn't wish to embarrass his master nor her by making it seem as if they had poor manners and weren't able to adjust accordingly to host them.

So here she was, sitting at the head of the table with Sullivan on her right and Mizuiro on her left. And everyone else sitting wherever there was an empty spot at the dining room table.

Holding an impromptu emergency meeting about her sudden marriage to an unknown demon.

And her head was pounding so badly that she kept gnashing her teeth and shooting dark looks at everyone that so much as opened their mouths. And while some of her friends was fast to notice that she was a bit...off.

Whereas some didn't seem to catch on at all, while others were outright ignoring any warning signs that she was displaying as far as her health went.

Which was possibly because she was immune to all illnesses and diseases. So, the probability of her feeling unwell to any degree was something that some of them didn't quite seem to comprehend.

Ichigo wasn't so out of touch with the world around her that she didn't understand that. But still...they were a loud and rambunctious lot. Especially when they were worried about something. And at the moment they seemed to be content to simply argue with one another. Which was just fine by her, despite the noise level.

Sighing, she sat back in her seat and rubbed her forehead in a futile effort to ease the pain there. She was a heartbeat or two away from actually becoming nauseous when Opera set a cup of something boiling and questionable looking down in front of her.

After which the cat demon leaned over a tad and whispered into her ear. "My lady, I made a potion for you to help with your headache and nausea. Drink it quickly, okay."

Ichigo didn't bother asking him any questions about what could possibly be in the potion since she was desperate for relief. So, she grabbed the cup of boiling stuff and quickly downed in all-in-one gulp and then placed the cup back onto the table and took a moment to blink at the utterly horrible taste of the potion still lingering in her mouth.

But was quickly able to shrug it off once she felt her headache automatically begin to ease up and her stomach started to settle.

"Opera I don't know what was in that, but please keep the ingredients on hand from now on. Just in case." She said, though not loudly.

The cat demon smiled at her and nodded his head in understanding while the volume around them suddenly began to drop. Catching their attention, given the way that she straightened in her chair and took a moment to scan the other occupants of the room while Opera took up his chosen position next to, but in-between herself and Sullivan.

Finally, someone- Shunshui, cleared his throat and smiled at her as he started to speak. "First of all, Ichigo. I'm digging the kitty look. The cute little ears and tail suits you. Second of all, congratulations on your marriage-" There were several murmurs from some of the others present congratulating her as well. "However, we can't help but feel concerned given how quickly your marriage took place since you've been here for such a short amount of time. As well as the fact that we weren't informed by the fact that you were even seeing anyone. Much less considering a marriage to someone."

Ah, and that was part of the problem. Ichigo thought to herself as she reached up to rub the back of her neck uncomfortably. They had been kept out of the loop as far as any plans for her immediate future went.

"Please understand that we aren't trying to be mean or cruel or even inconsiderate of your feelings nor those of your spouse's. This meeting isn't because of the fact that you've married a demon. It's because you are the Soul King and there is a lot on the line- future-wise and being cautious of certain individuals with possibly evil intentions is simply a given."

There was a murmur of agreement from many around the table. Though she could tell that many weren't weighing in with their own thoughts just yet.

"My point is...what can you tell us about your husband. Hn? Do you know him well? Can he be trusted with certain secrets?" Shunsui asked with a slight smile as he propped his cheek in one of his palms and waited for her to tell him what she knew.

Ichigo took a deep breath and started to open her mouth when a phone rang right next to her. Causing her to turn her head, simultaneously with everyone else awaiting an answer from her, towards Opera.

"Ah, pardon me. I will see who is calling." Opera said as he reached into his pants pocket and withdrew a cell phone and flicked it open before making a happy chirping sound and informing her, "My lady, your husband is calling. What do you wish to do?"

Ichigo huffed as everyone looked at her expectantly as she said. "Answer the phone and put it on speaker, please."

Opera nodded his head as he did as he was told and answered the phone. "Hello, Balam. What can I do for you?" He asked as he gently set the phone- on speaker- down on the table in front of his lady so that she would be able to speak if need be.

"Opera, for give the abrupt call. But I wished to know if my wife was free to eat lunch or dinner with myself and Kalego later today. That is, if she doesn't mind seeing me again so soon."

Ichigo cocked her head a bit at the question. But what pulled at her more was how uncertain the guy sounded about his request. It was almost as if he felt it was some hardship for her to see him again so soon. Does he have low self-esteem? She wondered as Opera looked at her expectantly.

"I'm free," She finally replied firmly enough for her husband to hear her. There was something like a squeak from the other end of the line as she asked. "You said that someone would be joining us? So, I'm guessing this isn't a romantic date?"

"Uh, yes. I apologize about that, but I don't want you to feel pressured into anything." Balam said, earning a few soft 'aww's' from several of the Soul Reapers as Ichigo shot them a look that should have sent the idiots scampering for cover as her husband explained about the third person who would be joining them. "Kalego is my closest ally and comrade. And he wishes to meet you."

Which basically translated to her as, My friend wants to meet you. He's curious. And honestly there was nothing wrong with that. At least not to her. Even more so since her friends were pretty curious too given how many of them were leaning forward, waiting for her to speak again.

"I understand," She said after a few moments of careful silence. "I'll need to prepare, and maybe let papa arrange for some bodyguards-" At the mention of 'bodyguards' Shunsui pointed to himself and then Byakuya, Renji, Rangiku, and Toshiro. "As well as make arrangements for them to be close by so that they can keep an eye on me without being too disruptive. Is that okay?"

"That's fine. Would you like the details so that you can plan accordingly?"

"Yes, please."

"Alright." Balam said before telling her that there would be reservations made at a local restaurant in town.

Ichigo looked at both Sullivan and Opera once she had the place's name and saw that Opera had his hand over the elderly demon's mouth and was refusing to allow him to say anything as the cat demon whispered to her.

"I'll make the reservation for the others so that they can be nearby."

Ichigo nodded her head at him and watched in amusement as the smaller demon scuffed her papa to shut him up and then dragged him off.

"When would you like me to meet you at the restaurant?" She asked as she watched how giddy some of her friends were acting, albeit silently.

"Can you be there at one? I mean I know that it's only an hour and a half away and rather sort notice but-" Balam asked, sounding both slightly happy and nervous at the same time.

Ichigo smiled, finding his happy/nervous energy over the phone rather adorable as she cut in to stop his rambling. "Of course, I'll be there promptly. Even if it means I have to ditch my bodyguards."

She shot a quick pointed look at some of the Soul Reapers.

All she got from Shunsui was a smile that practically screamed of those stalker-ish vibes that he was so well known for when it came to Nanao. Renji gave her something similar, though his smile was more deceptively kind.

Both smiles made her shiver. And not in a fun way. So, she was already certain that her husband would be doing his damnedest after today to avoid her like the plague. Especially if certain little Reaper's got their hooks into him.

"I'm going to go ahead and begin preparing then. If there's anything else that you need or want-"

"Do friends sleep over with one another sometimes and cuddle?" Balam blurted out all of a sudden, startling her a bit. She had to think for a second just to come up with an answer to his question. While those closest to her, mostly Mizuiro, Rukia, Renji, and Rangiku all, 'aww' ed again.

Loudly.

Which Balam managed to hear this time given the strange squeaking sound that escaped him again before he asked. "I-Ichigo, forgive this next question, especially since I'm not trying to pry. But do you have company? And are they listening to us talk? I just thought that I heard someone 'aww'."

Ichigo sighed and drummed her fingernails on the table for a second as she weighed the pros and cons of telling him that she did indeed have company. They were a bunch of nosy and noisy pests.

But they were company, nevertheless.

However, when she started to reply, Mizuiro suddenly leaned over the phone and answered for her.

"Hi dad! It's me, your new son, Mizuiro. We do have company over at the moment, but don't worry any. They and mom were just wrapping up some business stuff. It's all work related. But yeah, they've been sort of eavesdropping on your conversation."

"O-Oh. I see. Work stuff. Thank you, uh...son? Mizuiro? I understand. I'll go now so that-"

"Aww, but don't you wanna get to know me a bit before you go?" Mizuiro faux whined as he looked over at Ichigo and winked.

"Oh, um...sure?" Balam said, sounding unsure of how to proceed.

Mizuiro merely smiled at the phone as he picked it up and then got out of his chair and began to walk away as Ichigo scrambled to grab him. And was quickly thwarted when she was tackled out of her chair by a few of the Reapers.

Mainly Rangiku, Ikkaku, and Yamichika, all of whom wanted to continue listing to everything being said.

Shunsui chortled from his seat as he and the others watched in amusement as her floundered and tried to free herself while she screamed various obscenities at her friends.

Mizuiro merely smiled at the scene that they were all making and then walked out of the room as he reassured Balam that nothing was wrong. Everyone was merely trying to get hugs from his mom all at once and she was embarrassed by it.

Which wasn't a total lie. It simply wasn't the whole truth either.

But whatever.

Walking out of the loud dining room, Mizuiro waited until he was somewhere quieter in the hallway before shifting gears and quickly saying, "Okay pop, I'm going to give you some very good advice when it comes to mom- and you need to pay close attention and take all of it to heart."

"Oh, um...okay?"

"Alright, first off. When you see mom in a little bit, have a flower for her. Not a dozen, or even a hundred. One. The flower can be any kind you can manage- it won't really matter. The point is to give a small, but thoughtful gift to your new wife. So, one flower will do the trick. Mom likes any shade of blue, purple, red and black. They are her favorite colors in the entire world."

"Second off, you need to help her at the restaurant. She's never been to the place before and won't know what's good- food or drink wise. If she asks you what you would recommend, tell her everything that you can think of so that she can choose from the options that you name. Third, she absolutely cannot drink more than two glasses of wine. Ever. The liquor here is much stronger than what she's used to, and she doesn't need to be black out drunk on your first date-esque outing. Especially since there's another person joining you. It would embarrass her."

"Should I be writing this down?"

"Only if you really need to." Mizuiro said automatically before pausing for several heartbeats to wait for his new stepdad to get a pen and some paper. Just in case he really did decide to begin writing things down. "Now, next- and this is really, really important too. Mom has never been in a romantic relationship with anyone in any capacity whatsoever. So, you don't exactly have to work very hard to impress her. I promise, the small things will impress her far more than any feats of strength or power ever could."

"Be yourself and let her see the real you. Not the person that you wish her to perceive you as. It's okay to be awkward, and nervous. It's okay to be messy. Mom is kinda both of those things too. But the most important thing to remember is to just have fun. Okay?"

There was a heartbeat of silence for a moment before Balam said. "I understand. Thank you, for the advice."

"No problem, pop. I got your back." Mizuiro said with a smile as his tail flicked happily behind him even as he thought, Good luck man. The demon married to his mom/friend was certainly going to need all of the luck in the world if he wanted to win her over.