The Rebellious Novice

by ThatWriterGirl31

Sixteen year old Kurosaki Ichigo hit a nun with his car and, after that, a wild ride started for him. IchiRuki. AU. Warnings inside.

31. Chapter 31

Long chapter ahead, you can take breaks while reading it! Enjoy!

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Chapter 31

"It is so nice to see you, Principal" Kuchiki Soujun greeted with a smile while taking a seat across the old nun "how have you been?"

The old woman glared with all her might at the Kuchiki patriarch.

"I was expecting Kuchiki Byakuya," the Principal scoffed "I don't see how this concerns you."

Soujun blinked twice pretending to be confused.

"You tortured my only granddaughter, the only heiress of my clan, the apple of my eye..." he said "and you believe that this doesn't concern me?"

The Principal gritted her teeth.

"I taught her a lesson! The only one who's been tortured is me!" she yelled "tell them to release me!"

Soujun smiled at anger he was feeling towards the old woman was increasing just by having her in front of him, but he knew better than to lose his calmness, just having her locked up was enough for now.

"Why would you want to be released?" Soujun asked casually "three meals a day, a nice cozy cell to share with your co-workers, enough time to pray..." he glared at her "this is more than you deserve."

The visiting area of the prison had small wooden tables scattered around the heavily guarded room and metal chairs. The old nun sitting across Soujun had cuffs on her wrists and ankles, it was a wonderful sight for Soujun, but it wasn't enough to actually lift his spirits.

"I feel like a prisoner! As if I'm sort of slave that's been punished unfairly!" the old woman screeched.

"Good," Soujun nodded once, he was no longer smiling "at least now you can feel a small dose of what you made Rukia go through."

The old woman was left speechless at that.

Soujun sighed as he stood up. He threw in front of the Principal a folder with papers and then put his hands inside his pockets.

"Your trial will be held next week," he informed her "and you obviously have a right to a lawyer but..." he shrugged "for every lawyer that you might convince to help you I have ten more ready to go against them."

"This is an outrage! You cannot punish a servant of God!" the Principal exclaimed, Soujun noticed how she paled considerably at the mention of a trial "He will bring me justice!"

Soujun smirked.

"I'm not sure about that," he said "but I wonder, whose prayers are more important to God? The innocent young girl's prayers or the abusive old woman's prayers?"

The old woman gritted her teeth.

"For what I've witnessed these last few days," Soujun said "God is smiling down at Rukia, not you."

The old woman screeched angrily again, but for Soujun it sounded like pure nonsense. He walked calmly to the exit of the visitor's area and the chief offered himself to guide him to the exit of the station.

"That is the most unique guest that we've had in some time," the chief pointed out calmly "is the treatment we've been given her to your liking?"

Soujun sighed.

"I'm not entirely sure," he admitted and then looked sideways at the chief "is there some place with rats around here?"

The chief smiled slightly.

"We have an old cellar that hasn't been used in a few months," he said "we have it reserved only for the most dangerous criminals."

Soujun smiled.

"Then it's perfect for this guest" he assured him.

The chief nodded.

"I cannot risk it then," he chuckled "we'll transfer her in a moment."

"Good" Soujun nodded and with one last smile he said goodbye to the chief.

He decided to go back to the hospital.

---

Grimmjow took confident steps while stepping into the Kuchikis' floor at the hospital. Robert was already aware that some boys were allowed as visitors, and Grimmjow's name was on the list that Kurosaki Ichigo provided so he let the blue haired teenager to go into Rukia's room without much thought.

Grimmjow smirked as he opened the door and focused solely on Rukia the moment he stepped in.

"See, Princess?" Grimmjow said as way of greeting "this is why you should've lived with me instead of the orange haired idiot."

Rukia's eyes widened as she smiled at her visitor.

"Grimmjow!" Rukia exclaimed happily.

Grimmjow noticed proudly how she blushed when she noticed the presents on his hands. Ichigo had warned him beforehand about the sight that would greet him, not that Grimmjow needed the warning since he had seen her at the convent, but he had to admit that the bruises were easy to ignore, he found Rukia pretty no matter what.

"I would've treated you right, my mom would've loved a pretty novice around" he said as he approached her and placed a basket with fruits and chocolates on the bedside table.

"Oh my," Rukia gasped as Grimmjow handed her a limited edition Chappy plushie "is this for me?!"

Grimmjow nodded as he cockily put his hands on his pockets.

"Of course," he said casually "as I was saying, if you had stayed with me we would've shared the room but I'm pretty sure..."

"Nice to meet you, son" someone interrupted him "we didn't have the chance to meet before."

Grimmjow paled as his smile faded. He was so focused on Rukia that he didn't notice an old man sitting on a leather sofa next to Rukia's bed.

"I'm sorry, Sir! I'm… I mean!"Grimmjow sputtered lamely.

Rukia chuckled.

"This is Grimmjow, granddaddy" she explained as she grabbed Grimmjow's hand calmly "he's been helping me ever since I joined school" she smiled at Grimmjow then "this is my granddaddy, Kuchiki Ginrei."

Grimmjow bowed slightly to hide the small blush on his cheeks. Did he really joke about sharing his room with Rukia in front of her grandfather?!

"I'm an idiot" he thought.

"Nice to meet you, Sir!" Grimmjow greeted while grasping some courage and raising his head "my apologies for not introducing myself before I-!"

"It's okay, son" Ginrei interrupted him while standing up "I actually wanted to meet you."

"Really?" Grimmjow asked as Rukia let go of his hand so he could shake Ginrei's hand.

"Yes," Ginrei nodded while praising Grimmjow's firm handshake silently "you infiltrated the convent with Ichigo, didn't you? I cannot express how thankful I am."

Grimmjow shook his head.

"It was the least I could do, Sir" he smiled slightly at Rukia "I could tell the Princess needed help urgently."

Ginrei smiled once more.

"Take a seat with me, son" he instructed "we're expecting some visitors in a while, I want to take this chance to meet you better."

"I don't know, Sir" Grimmjow joked as he obeyed Ginrei and took a seat next to him on the leather sofa "meeting a girl's family is supposed to happen after a few dates."

Rukia laughed as she hugged her new plushie.

"You must be quite the troublemaker, boy" Ginrei pointed out as he enjoyed Rukia's laugh.

"He's not!" Rukia chuckled "he's captain of the soccer team, you know?" she smiled "and he's one of the best in class."

"Really?" Ginrei asked without hiding his surprise.

"Looks can be deceiving, grandpa" Grimmjow nodded "I'm basically a saint."

Rukia laughed again and this time even Ginrei chuckled.

"Tell me how you met my girl, son" Ginrei said "has she been okay at school? She assures me everyone's been nice but…" he looked sideways at Rukia "I always like to know the different points of view."

Grimmjow gulped. He wasn't looking forward to explain under which circumstances he met Rukia so he decided to leave aside some details, like the kidnapping and the threats he made that day.

"I actually met her during her first week at school, I was trying to contact Kurosaki because I was about to enroll at Seireitei" Grimmjow explained.

Ginrei nodded as Grimmjow relaxed under the old man's kind smile and started to tell him everything.

Grimmjow talked proudly about how Rukia won in gym class against all the boys, he told Ginreihow she was top of the class and how not a single boy dared to approach her because she gave some serious mafia princess vibes.

Ginrei laughed hard at that.

"I've been keeping the assholes away from her," Grimmjow assured Ginrei as he crossed his arms proudly "we have a couple of classmates that are better off keeping their distance."

Rukia rolled her eyes.

"Not that she needs my help," Grimmjow shrugged "have you seen the pink haired girl? She scares the hell out of everyone around school."

"I bet" Ginrei nodded, he had to admit that Riruka was quite scary.

Grimmjow continued to talk and Rukia could tell that Ginrei was enjoying his company. Both, Rukia and Grimmjow, shared some anecdotes with Ginrei, including the beach party, but they left aside the kidnapping of that party as well. Rukia was about to ask Grimmjow about what was going on at school when Robert knocked on the door and informed that Byakuya and Soujun were on their way to the hospital.

"Well," Grimmjow said while standing up "that's my cue to leave."

"Don't you want to stay?" Rukia asked Grimmjow.

"Oh hell no!" Grimmjow shook his head "for what Kurosaki told me your father is going to explain why he locked you up and that seems rather personal."

Rukia smiled.

"But you're one of my best friends!" she tilted her head "you helped me all this time."

Grimmjow smirked.

"I'll try not to be hurt at the fact that you threw me into the friendzone without hesitation, Princess" he joked.

Rukia laughed while Ginrei shook his head amused.

"But no," Grimmjow insisted "I'd rather stick to my version behind your years inside that place."

"And what's your version?" Rukia asked curiously.

"Your family realized that you were way too gorgeous," Grimmjow shrugged "they were afraid about some scoundrel snatching you away so they decided to send you to the convent."

Ginrei smiled at that.

"And it didn't work" Rukia summarized while raising an eyebrow at him.

"It backfired entirely," Grimmjow rolled his eyes "because you escaped and ended up meeting the biggest idiot ever" he scoffed "Kurosaki fucking Ichigo."

Rukia chuckled.

"You're my favorite, Grimmjow"

The blue eyed teenager smirked proudly.

"If you could repeat that once Kurosaki is in the room, I would appreciate it" he said.

He said goodbye then and Rukia made him promise that he would visit again, he assured her he would and after bowing respectfully at Ginrei and smiling one last time at Rukia he left the room.

"Your friends are quite unique, child" Ginrei pointed out "but I like them."

Rukia smiled as she hugged her new plushie tighter.

---

A few minutes later Riruka and Ichigo arrived. Ginrei stepped out of the room, he knew that Rukia asked them to be present because she believed that after everything they had done for her they deserved to know the reason behind the convent as well, Ginrei didn't agree entirely but he didn't know what to say to argue with that either.

He joined Byakuya and Soujun inside the small private room on their floor, just a few meters away from Rukia's room.

"You don't have to do this," Soujun whispered to his son as Ginrei stepped into the room "this is extremely personal."

Ginrei nodded at that.

"It's only fair" Byakuya sighed.

Soujun exchanged a concerned look with Ginrei.

"I do want you to explain to Rukia, son" Ginrei noted "but there's no need for everyone else in the room to know."

"I'm not sharing everything regarding Hisana," Byakuya explained, he already looked exasperated with the whole thing "just enough details for them to understand why I chose the convent in the end."

Soujun and Ginrei recognized that Byakuya had his mind set. They also suspected that perhaps he was trying to atone, he was not the kind of man to share his personal life like this.

"Yoruichi will be there as well," Byakuya pointed out "and whether I like it or not she has the right to know, it was never my place to hide Rukia from her godmother."

Ginrei sighed. That was somewhat true.

"If words fail you," Soujun said "pat my arm, I will finish the story for you."

There was a silence of a few seconds.

"Thank you" Byakuya nodded finally.

There were no more words needed.

---

"Who gave you the plushie again?" Ichigo asked annoyed as Rukia hugged the ridiculous stuffed animal.

"Grimmjow" Rukia smiled.

Riruka smirked at Ichigo's frown.

"Upset? Jealous, perhaps?" she taunted.

"As if," Ichigo snorted "he probably bought it at a thrift store."

"Hell no!" Riruka gasped offended "if there is something I can recognize even a mile away is an original limited edition Chappy plushie."

Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Oh my," someone said while stepping into the room "I see that my cute godson is finally using his money for good."

Ichigo frowned deeper.

Rukia chuckled as Yoruichi walked towards her and took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"That's a nice plushie, kiddo" Yoruichi praised.

"Grimmjow gave it to her," Riruka informed while enjoying Ichigo's annoyed face "he also left chocolates."

"Uh," Yoruichi smiled and looked at her godson with fake disappointment "you might want to step up your game, Ichigo!"

Ichigo crossed his arms as he looked aside. He just hadn't thought about what to buy! It wasn't his fault that Grimmjow was a flirty idiot, and obviously a lot smoother than Ichigo.

"I will" Ichigo muttered under his breath.

Yoruichi laughed.

"That laugh can only mean that someone's suffering," Urahara greeted while stepping into the room "who's the poor victim?"

"Ichigo" Rukia chuckled.

Urahara sighed as he stood next to Ichigo and patted his shoulder. Judging by his godson's sour face and the plushie on Rukia's arms he could already guess what was going on.

"I hope you get well, Ichigo" he said.

"I'm not sick" Ichigo retorted confused.

"No," Urahara agreed "but you could do better."

That sent Riruka into a laughing fit.

A couple of minutes later the last guest arrived. Kurosaki Isshin greeted Rukia happily, and fought the urge to tackle his son, as they waited for the Kuchiki men to step into the room and, once they did, they all took a seat around Rukia's bed.

The only ones who didn't have a chair were Riruka and Yoruichi, so they sat on each side of Rukia on the bed. It was a little crowded but Rukia supposed that only trustworthy people were inside the room. Besides her family and her godparents, only Ichigo, Riruka and Isshin were present. She thought that it was okay.

Rukia's father was at the center of the room.

Byakuya was nervous, that much Rukia could tell. It was not as if he was showing his emotions, he was an expert at not doing that, but as much as he tried to hide it… he looked tense as hell.

Byakuya opened his mouth to start talking, but no words came out. He cleared his throat and then he put his hands inside his pockets, he just couldn't bring himself to talk, how to start the conversation? How to explain in a concise manner? He was a lawyer, why were words failing him right now in front of his daughter?!

Rukia blinked once.

"Why don't we pray first, daddy?" she suggested casually.

"Pray?" Byakuya, Soujun and Ginrei asked confused.

Rukia nodded.

"Let's all hold hands" she instructed as she took Yoruichi's hand and then Riruka's.

Byakuya exchanged a sideways look with Soujun.

Of all the things that they expected from Rukia after her years inside the convent this was not one of them, but they decided to follow her didn't know but her family had decided to not deny any single one of her wishes or requests anymore, now that they had her they were going to do everything on their power to make her the happiest, if praying made her happy who were they to say "no"?

Once everyone was awkwardly holding hands Rukia started to pray. She simply asked for the words to flow naturally, and for everyone to understand without judgment, she also prayed for this talk to lift some of the burden off her father's shoulders and, by the time she was done, Byakuya refused to acknowledged the fact that he felt a little bit better.

Yoruichi grinned at the Kuchiki heir obvious awkwardness.

Byakuya cleared his throat once more.

"I know you don't want me to threaten your friends," he said while looking at Rukia "but I am about to share several things regarding your mother, if word gets out of this room I am ruining lives without asking questions."

Ichigo and Riruka tensed as they exchanged a look. They weren't planning on sharing anything, but the thought of Kuchiki Byakuya targeting them was quite scary.

Rukia chuckled.

"No one will say a word, daddy" she assured him and then tilted her head "all of this began with mom?"

Byakuya nodded. He was on a chair right in front of Rukia's bed. Ginrei and Soujun were on both sides of him, he decided to focus on his family, he wasn't looking forward to Yoruichi's reaction.

"Hisana was adopted by a noble clan when she was four years old and-!" Byakuya started but he was interrupted abruptly.

"She was five" Yoruichi hissed.

Byakuya glared at her.

Soujun sighed.

"Yoruichi…"

"If you're planning to share my sister's childhood story I think I'm the one who should do it," Yoruichi snapped "don't you think?"

There was a heavy silence after that. Rukia kept looking between her godmother and her father wondering if she should say something. What was going on? She knew that they didn't hate each other, but apparently Kuchiki Hisana's mention was enough to send both, Yoruichi and Byakuya, into a grieving mess.

Rukia was suddenly regretting having an audience for this.

"Just the basics," Byakuya muttered finally "just enough for Rukia to understand why Hisana decided to leave with you in the end."

Yoruichi was slightly surprised at that, but she nodded. She took a few seconds in which Rukia noticed how she took a deep breath and then, she crossed her arms and looked at Rukia with a soft smile.

"Your mother Hisana was adopted by a noble clan when she was five years old," Yoruichi started "she reached my hometown as a lonely child, and she was homeschooled so I didn't meet her until she was ten."

Byakuya moved uneasily on his seat.

"She looked a whole lot like you," Yoruichi chuckled "raven hair, unique eyes, short and skinny…" she pinched Rukia's cheeks playfully "the moment she stepped into school all of the scoundrels' eyes were on her."

Riruka laughed at that.

"Not that she gave a shit about them," Yoruichi continued "she never allowed herself to be close to a boy, she always buried her cute little nose into some book and I would have to drag her around to run on the playground."

"Why?" Rukia asked curiously.

"Her family" Yoruichi said.

Urahara recognized the instant hatred behind her eyes as she mentioned them.

"They adopted her because they wanted a girl around the house," Yoruichi explained "but wanting a girl is not the same as caring for her."

Ichigo noticed how everyone was paying close attention to Yoruichi. Even the Kuchikis who obviously knew the complete story were not looking away from the Shihouin heiress and Byakuya, who was always calm and collected, looked ready to jump at her in case she were to say the wrong thing. That led Ichigo to believe that some things were going to be left out of the conversation, just what was Kuchiki Hisana's story?

"They didn't love her?" Rukia asked.

"Far from it," Yoruichi shook her head "we became best friends the moment we met, so I made sure that she would spend most of her time with me" she continued explaining "I lived with my grandmother, and she adored Hisana as well, so she made it clear to her family that unless they wanted some scandal around town, they would let her spend most of her time with us."

"The Shihouins have been feared for generations," Ginrei interjected with a fond smile "but Yoruichi's grandmother, Sara, was a force to be reckoned with."

Rukia noticed how highly Ginrei thought of Yoruichi's grandmother, she wondered if there was a story behind that.

"Yeah," Yoruichi nodded agreeing "the old hag was scary as hell."

"So," Riruka said "did Hisana-san end up living with you? That's why she became your sister?"

"Not exactly," Yoruichi sighed "we signed the adoption papers by the time she was seventeen, but that was made in secret and without her family's consent, they were simply not letting of her."

"Why?" Ichigo asked "if they didn't love her as a daughter, why they were keeping her?"

"It was a toxic relationship," Yoruichi explained "they never wanted her but a daughter, especially a daughter in a noble clan, means status. Girls are assets whether for business or for relationships between other noble families, it is not so common nowadays but convenience marriages still exist."

"One of the many reasons why I left that side of my family behind," Ginrei said while looking at his son "I've explained this to you."

"So, they were planning to marry Hisana-san to someone in the future?" Ichigo asked.

Yoruichi shrugged.

"It was never clear, and Hisana didn't want to find out" she scoffed and then ran a hand through her hair "listen," she focused solely on Rukia "your mother's adopted family had three members. The mother, whose name was Fraceska Mile Rose was an alcoholic and a lazy ass who didn't bother to raise Hisana."

Rukia frowned sadly.

"The father's name was Barragan Ruizenban, he was not any better and he didn't know how to keep a house afloat," Yoruichi hissed "he was terrible with money" she sighed "they had a child a year older than Hisana, he was Barragan Jr. and he, Hisana's brother, is the reason why she ended up escaping the town."

Byakuya cleared his throat, and Yoruichi understood not to give details about the threats towards Hisana.

"He would treat Hisana as a maid," Yoruichi said "so she came to me one night and told me how she wanted to escape" she smiled "I had a good life in that little hometown, but your mother was my sister and my happiness, and my grandmother was a pain in the ass…"

Ginrei chuckled at that.

"So, I decided to follow her the same night she told me her plan!" Yoruichi exclaimed as if she was reminding something funny "we were seventeen, but we were pretty reckless."

"I'm going to escape," Hisana told Yoruichi "on prom night, once everyone is drunk and dancing wildly I will run for my life towards Tokyo."

Yoruichi's eyes widened.

"I cannot be a servant anymore," Hisana muttered "I've endured their beatings and their insults and I even tried to help them but it is simply not working, so I am leaving for good."

"You're not leaving me here" Yoruichi scoffed.

"I'm sorry, I-" Hisana tried to apologize but Yoruichi stopped her.

"Shut up," the dark skinned girl said "you're not leaving me here! I am going with you!"

Hisana's heart skipped a beat.

"Y-y-you you want to go with me?!" she asked as tears welled on her gorgeous blue eyes.

Yoruichi smirked while nodding.

"But..." Hisana looked at the Shihouin mansion "what about Granny?"

Yoruichi scoffed.

"She'll get it eventually," Yoruichi waved a hand "besides she's been talking about introducing me to other heirs and shit like that, I can't stand it anymore."

Hisana blinked back happy tears as she held Yoruichi's hand.

"And I know for a fact," Yoruichi added as she squeezed Hisana's hand "that you cannot live without me."

Hisana laughed as she hugged Yoruichi, she couldn't deny that she wanted to be with her on her new adventure, she couldn't imagine a life without her best friend.

"See?" Riruka smirked at Rukia "that's what friends do, they escape together."

"I'm sorry," Rukia said as she hugged Riruka "I panicked."

"The next time I am panicking and running with you!" Riruka declared.

"There won't be a next time!" Soujun, Byakuya, Ginrei and Ichigo exclaimed worriedly at the same time.

Rukia and Riruka laughed.

"Anyway," Yoruichi sighed "you kind of know the rest. We escaped to Tokyo, we went to college together and spent our time going around the city and we lived in buildings reserved only for ladies," she waved a hand "a few months after we graduated my grandmother contacted me, she wanted to see us both."

Rukia blinked.

"How did she find you?"

"We decided to use our last name during college," Yoruichi shrugged "you can bet the old hag tracked us all those years, she probably spent our college years wondering how to approach us."

"Didn't she take you back?" Riruka asked.

"Not precisely," Yoruichi said "a lot was discussed during that dinner, but the most important part for Hisana was the fact that my grandmother informed about how Hisana's adopted mother had passed away, her father lost the house, the status, and the money and fled to the countryside with his son."

"She was officially free!" Rukia breathed out happily.

"That's what we believed" Byakuya interjected and nodded at Yoruichi.

He would take it from there.

"I met Hisana the same night she and Yoruichi met with Sara-sama," Byakuya explained "but I won't go into detail about that."

Rukia and Riruka gasped.

"Why not?!" they asked.

"Because he made a fool of himself," Soujun chuckled "trying to look for an excuse to talk to Hisana he ended up throwing wine all over her dress."

Everyone in the room chuckled.

"Oh yes," Yoruichi nodded "she wanted to murder him."

"Because of a dress?" Rukia questioned confused.

"Hisana loved her wardrobe," Yoruichi confessed in all seriousness "but that's a story for other time."

"After that night," Byakuya continued "we moved the family business to Karakura, and we were surprised to find out that the Shihouins did the same" he shrugged "in this small city I finally found myself to ask Hisana out."

"She accepted?" Ichigo questioned skeptical.

Soujun laughed at that.

"Yes, she did" Byakuya said while glaring at Ichigo.

"It was the beginning of quite a story," Ginrei pointed out while looking at Rukia "but it was wonderful. After a couple of years Byakuya and Hisana were engaged and, a couple of years after that, you came to our family."

Rukia smiled at that.

"We were ecstatic about having you," Soujun added "but since the press was quite troublesome for us back then, Hisana and Byakuya decided to hide the pregnancy the first months."

"Those were some chaotic months, full of entertainment" Ginrei nodded.

"Unfortunately, peace doesn't last forever," Byakuya said while crossing his arms "when the pregnancy was made public a couple of persons contacted Hisana, one of them was her adopted brother."

Ichigo tensed as Rukia's eyes widened. The next part of the story was probably not a happy one.

"Barragan Junior approached her with the excuse that he wanted the cousins to get along," Byakuya said "he had a son and his name was Nnoitra."

"Hisana wanted nothing to do with Barragan, and being just near him was enough to send her into hysterics" Soujun sighed "and she was not to blame, on one of their meetings he actually tried to drag her towards the countryside."

"What?!" Rukia asked.

"I took care of that," Yoruichi told her "I was near when it happened, and that worked to put him behind bars in the end, and he was never getting out, he was sick and an addict. He ended up dying of an overdose with his cellmates."

"Jail?" Riruka asked cautiously.

"He almost succeeded at taking Hisana and Rukia away from us," Ginrei explained "we used everything in our power to make him suffer for that."

There was silence after that. Urahara recognized that for Yoruichi and the Kuchikis to reveal all of that that quickly they didn't want to ponder on Barragan's story too much, and he couldn't blame them. His encounter with Hisana was the last straw for her, he was the responsible for the crisis that ended up killing her, but apparently that part was going to be left unsaid.

"What about Nnoitra?" Rukia questioned after a few seconds.

"He ended up in the foster system," Byakuya explained "he was at least seven years older than you, but he was problematic. He had been fed stories about how your mother and you actually belonged to his father."

"What kind of bullshit is that?" Ichigo scoffed.

"Language" Isshin chided him.

"It was indeed bullshit," Soujun agreed "but the boy's mind was already corrupted, the toxicity that Hisana's brother had towards her had been passed to Nnoitra who now wanted to have and raise Rukia."

"Hisana was worried about that," Byakuya mentioned "but after you were born we made sure that she was happy and safe, and she was, you gave her joy every single day of her life."

Rukia smiled sadly at that.

"When you turned three Hisana fell ill," Byakuya continued with apparent calm, but his fists were clenched "her immunologic system had been struggling for a while."

"Same as mine" Rukia nodded.

"On a different scale," Soujun argued "your condition is not as bad as Hisana's. You were sheltered at the mansion for that reason, while Hisana was neglected during her childhood, she always had to be extra careful about her health."

"Because of that, when Hisana passed away she made sure that only four people had legal rights regarding your custody"

"Four people?"

"Ginrei-sama, Soujun-sama, Byakuya-san, and Yoruichi" Urahara explained with a smile.

"That was one way of protecting you," Byakuya explained "if something were to happen to either of us, Hisana's family would never be able to claim you."

"Unfortunately, we weren't counting on how sick Nnoitra was," Ginrei sighed "we weren't careful enough."

"What do you mean?" Yoruichi asked.

"A year after Hisana died we moved to Tokyo," Byakuya explained "and after a few weeks at our Tokyo residence, we received a letter and some pictures…"

"Boss," Robert greeted respectfully while stepping into Byakuya's studio "my apologies for the interruption."

"What is it?" Byakuya asked without lifting his eyes from his paperwork. He had been working on a project for the enterprise for hours, and he had given explicit orders not to be interrupted, his father wanted it on his desk within twenty-four hours and he wasn't near done.

"I want you to know that we just checked the whole mansion, and the perimeter around, there's not a single stranger close" Robert informed "lady Rukia is also safe and watching a movie with Soujun-sama as we speak."

That was enough to call Byakuya's attention.

He looked up at Robert. The blonde man looked calm and collected, but Byakuya knew better, they had been working together for years and Robert's face was now paler than usual, his jaw and shoulders were tense, and he was holding a white envelope with more force than necessary.

"What happened?" Byakuya demanded to know.

Robert gulped and took a couple of steps forward. He placed the envelope on top of Byakuya's desk and took a deep breath.

"I am the only one who read it," he said "I haven't informed Soujun-sama, and Ginrei-sama is in the middle of a meeting at the enterprise" he cleared his throat "I don't know that to make of it."

Byakuya knew that if Robert opened his mail was for a good reason. He was trained to recognize suspicious behavior and threats, so he simply decided to read the letter.

The white envelope only had Byakuya's name on the front and, when Byakuya opened it, several pictures fell out of it. He checked them before the letter and he frowned with a mix of worry and rage.

There were pictures of all the family.

There was a picture of Soujun shopping for Chappy plushies with Rukia in Tokyo downtown, there was another picture of Ginrei and Rukia eating dessert at a café, there was another picture of Rukia and Byakuya coming out of the Kuchiki enterprise and in that one Rukia was asleep on Byakuya's arms while being escorted by Robert towards the car.

It didn't take a genius to figure out they were being stalked. But the thing that worried Byakuya the most was the fact that only thing that didn't change in the photos was Rukia, she was the main focus.

Byakuya didn't want to do it, but he left the photos aside and proceeded to read the letter.

"Dear Kuchiki Lord,

I commend you for all the years you've been taken care of the last member of my family, it is most admirable. However, I think it's time for my cousin to come to her rightful place next to me.

After looking into your family's way of life I think that it is better not to spoil her rotten, girls need to know their place. That was the one mistake that was made with Hisana, she was given the freedom she did not deserve and she lived as something she was not: a noble lady.

I will make sure Rukia is not the same. You've done well so far, but you shouldn't forget that Hisana was purchased for my father, and since she birthed Rukia that means little Kuchiki Rukia belongs to me.

I'll make sure to retrieve her one of these days. I am also confident that the pictures will let you know not to underestimate me.

Your security team is lacking in extreme, isn't it?

Regards,

Nnoitra.

There was a stunned silence after that.

Rukia's eyes were widened while looking at her father. She understood where this was going, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear all of what was coming, but she had been the one who requested to be told the truth so there was no turning back now.

"I informed father and grandfather in hopes of tracking Nnoitra," Byakuya continued "he was supposed to be in the foster system, by the time he started to send the letters he was a teenager."

"Wait," Isshin said "he sent more?!"

"He sent at least two every week," Ginrei answered "he was impossible to find, and every single letter came with pictures of the family. It was a terror tactic, he wanted us to lose our minds."

"How?! Fuck! How?!" Soujun barked "he somehow is everywhere but he is pretty damn impossible to find! How?!"

It was midnight. Ginrei, Soujun and Byakuya were in Ginrei's room while reading the most recent letter. The same threats were being made with newly taken pictures.

"Keep it down, Soujun" Ginrei ordered "you'll wake her up."

The three men turned to look at the little fortress of pillows in the middle of Ginrei's room. Rukia was asleep one hugging one of her plushies, she was under a couple of heavy blankets and surrounded by fluffy pillows while "Chappy the rabbit" was playing with low volume.

Since there was a heavy storm Rukia had ran towards her grandfather's room the moment the first thunder was heard. She found the three of them reunited and decided to "camp" in there as well.

She fell asleep after a couple of Chappy episodes.

"How?" Soujun insisted with a low voice "it doesn't make sense!"

"I wish I had an answer, son" Ginrei frowned "but I do not understand either."

It had been weeks ever since they had received the first letter. At first, they were worried, just as any sane person would be, but they were optimistic about catching Nnoitra without much trouble. He was obviously close, how hard could it be to seize a freak that was taking pictures of a random family?!

Well, apparently, it was impossible.

For every single outing, for every single trip to the enterprise, for every single step outside the mansion there was a new letter with pictures of the Kuchikis! No one could found him, and they had to go outside if they wanted at least at chance to get him.

"What if someone is helping him?" Soujun suggested "someone from our staff…"

"No," Byakuya whispered hastily "everyone has been background-checked, Robert also jumped to that conclusion and he investigated" he sighed "the staff is clean."

"But-!" Soujun tried to insist.

"That's what he wants, son" Ginrei interrupted him "for us to doubt everyone around us, Rukia's safety will not be guaranteed if we become paranoid."

Soujun closed his mouth.

Ginrei was entirely right.

"I agree with grandfather," Byakuya nodded "however, we have to take some drastic precautions if we want to reduce the risk of him kidna.." he gulped as he clenched his fists "I'm…" he punched the table in which the letter was lightly "I cannot say it."

"You don't have to, Byakuya" Ginrei patted his back "take a deep breath, that won't happen."

Byakuya simply closed his eyes.

"It won't happen," Soujun mumbled "but we have to make sure."

"We're taking every precaution..." Ginrei tried to say.

"And the pictures are still coming," Soujun retorted "I don't feel safe with Rukia leaving the house."

"What are you suggesting?" Ginrei questioned "she's four, she was supposed to start school in the months to come."

"She can be tutored here at home," Soujun told them "and we can take turns to go to the enterprise, that way she will always be with one of us at all times."

"I'm not sure…" Ginrei frowned.

"It's the most plausible way to keep her out of his sight," Byakuya hissed angrily, he hated the thought of having to hide his daughter "I get sick to my stomach when I think about the amount of pictures he takes of us, of her!"

"If he gets frustrated because he cannot see her it might work to our benefit as well," Soujun crossed his arms "he might at recklessly just to catch a glimpse of her."

"The mansion is the safest place," Ginrei shook his head "this is not fair, she's supposed to live free and happy."

"Yes, I promised that to Hisana" Byakuya whispered mostly to himself "but I have to get Nnoitra to keep my promise first."

For a few seconds the only things that could be heard was Chappy on low volume on the TV, Rukia little snoring, and the storm outside.

"It's decided then," Byakuya concluded "Rukia will not leave the mansion until Nnoitra is locked forever."

Ginrei and Soujun nodded.

Ichigo exchanged a shocked look with Rukia. Now they both understood why she never went outside as a child, it was not because her health was fragile, it was to protect her.

"Having you inside the mansion proved to give us some peace of mind," Byakuya told Rukia "the only ones who didn't seem to get a moment of rest were the maids."

Rukia chuckled. She liked to play with the maids, she even liked to dramatize some Chappy episodes with them, and she made them dress up with bunny ears constantly.

"I didn't get to rest much either," Soujun reminded him "remember how she acquired the habit of hiding in my car just to scare the deadlights out of me?"

Rukia laughed at that memory, her grandpa was the easiest to scare back in the day.

Byakuya sighed.

"Hiding you from the public eye worked, but only temporary" he continued explaining "a couple of years went by and things seemed to calm down. The letters stopped coming."

"Or at least that's what we thought," Ginrei said "we still decided not to risk it since Nnoitra was nowhere to be found."

"Tokyo is huge," Soujun scoffed "we weren't surprised at the fact that he was hiding so well."

"One day we were debating whether to move to Karakura to start over," Byakuya added "Ukitake kept insisting that you would do marvelous at his school."

"We loved the idea," Ginrei smiled sadly "but before we could make a decision, we received another letter."

"That letter was enough to send the three of us into a nervous breakdown" Soujun hissed as the memory came back.

Ginrei, Soujun, and Byakuya were at the Kuchiki enterprise. They had just finished a meeting with a potential business partner, and since things had calmed down regarding the letters the three of them had decided to join the meeting.

Byakuya was still not entirely comfortable leaving Rukia with just the staff, but when it came to important meetings there was no much he could do.

"I'll go back to the mansion now," Byakuya informed his father once the other people in the meeting had left the building "I'll call you once I'm there."

Soujun nodded.

"Yes, I'll just finish some paperwork and…"

It was then when it happened.

They stepped into Soujun's office and noticed a white envelope on top of the desk. Ginrei and Soujun paled immediately, while Byakuya tensed but walked decisively towards it. He opened it as Ginrei and Soujun held their breaths, what could the letter contained if Rukia had not left the house for a couple of years?!

Byakuya looked at the pictures first and then…

"Robert! We're going to the mansion! Now!" he ordered as he ran towards the door.

He knew Robert had heard, the Head of the Security Team was always nearby.

Ginrei and Soujun moved aside as Byakuya ran outside the office. Then, both of them walked towards the desk, the letter was simple but it was enough to make them panic.

"Little girls shouldn't be locked forever, doesn't she get bored of the same games?"

The pictures were taken from outside the mansion, but there several of Rukia playing in the backyard, running around the pool, having tea parties with the maids under the oak trees.

They realized then that Nnoitra had been close the whole time.

He had been studying the mansion and Rukia's routine.

---

"We have to be fast!" Byakuya ordered Robert as they both ran towards the parking lot "call Iburo and Kevin! Surround and lock the mansion!"

They both got into the car at the same time. Robert connected his cellphone and gave the same orders Byakuya had given him, he accelerated and ignored red lights and stop signs as much as he could.

While the ride in the car lasted a few minutes, for Byakuya it felt like an eternity. He didn't even wait for Robert to park properly, he opened the door of the car violently when they arrived at the front gates and ran inside the mansion like a mad man.

The staff had been informed about the security measures. They didn't intervene as Byakuya ran upstairs, and once he reached Rukia's room he threw open the double doors and his heart skipped a beat.

There she was, his daughter, having what seemed to be a Chappy themed party with two of her maids.

Byakuya fell to his knees as relief washed over him.

Both maids exchanged a look. They got up, bowed politely, and left the room.

Rukia frowned confused as she left aside her teacups and walked slowly towards her father.

"Daddy? Is everything okay?" Rukia asked as she stopped in front of him.

Byakuya couldn't breathe. He had imagined the worse, he could barely process that Rukia was safe.

"Daddy?" Rukia insisted while poking her father's forehead kindly.

Byakuya took a deep breath and hugged her. Rukia's eyes widened with surprise but, she hugged him back immediately.

"It's okay, daddy" Rukia assured him "did something happen?"

Byakuya wanted to cry. Why was this happening? He had lost half of his world the day Hisana died, and now they wanted to take Rukia away, why? Was he paying for his sins?

It wasn't fair.

Byakuya tried to control his breathing.

Why was Rukia the one who was locked away while a monster was chasing her?

He sobbed but no tears were coming out of his eyes.

Why was his daughter in danger even when surrounded by three security teams? How dare anyone threat his family? Was this how life was going to be forever? Was this the happiness and safety that Byakuya swore to give to Rukia? Far from it, this was hell.

Byakuya wouldn't say it aloud but when Hisana died, Rukia was the only one keeping him alive. She was the one thing they had created together, the only remaining proof of the love he lost, his only daughter.

"Daddy?" Rukia asked again against his chest "what is it?"

Byakuya focused on her voice to regain his composure. She needed him, fear shouldn't paralyze him this way, he needed to become bigger than his fear of losing Rukia.

He released her carefully and patted her head.

Rukia's unique eyes stared at him with worry.

"I just wanted to see you were okay," Byakuya told her finally "that's all."

"Silly daddy," Rukia chuckled "I'll always be here, especially now, tonight's the Chappy special."

Byakuya shook his head.

"But the maids say I cannot stay up until late to watch it" Rukia pouted.

"We can," Byakuya said "we can camp around the living room, if that's what you want."

Rukia gasped as her eyes widened.

"Really?!" she asked.

Byakuya nodded once.

"Thank you, daddy!" Rukia exclaimed happily while throwing her arms around Byakuya "it'll be my first sleepover!"

Byakuya thought about that, and about all of the normal experiences for a girl her age that he was denying her. He needed to catch Nnoitra, he needed to lock him forever.

Rukia gaped slightly. She could remember that, she remembered her first sleepover and how much she enjoyed it. It was amazing, how much she didn't notice?

"I never questioned…" she tried to say.

"You were a child," Soujun cut her off "we couldn't exactly tell you that a madman was after you, we hid everything from you to keep your mind safe."

"Yes," Ginrei nodded "we were already paranoid, having you going through the same was not wise nor safe."

"We didn't know how to start," Byakuya continued "the only solution we could think of was to keep you locked and, believe it or not, we despised the idea."

"In the end we decided to come to Karakura," Ginrei sighed "but the process to move from Tokyo to here was thorough."

"We prepared the mansion here as a fortress," Soujun explained "we background checked all of the neighbors, we installed cameras almost everywhere, we also installed sensor monitors around the garden."

"The only thing we didn't do was to get a trained dog" Ginrei chuckled.

"But I begged for a dog for years!" Rukia exclaimed; it would've been so easy to get one.

Byakuya shook his head.

"Our hearts would've stopped at every bark, we decided against it."

"We decided to use Karakura as a fresh start," Ginrei explained "we refused to live with fear any longer, you were almost twelve and you were questioning your sheltered life."

"We didn't blame you for the questioning, but it was unbearable to think about you hanging outside with someone constantly threatening you," Soujun admitted almost apologetic "you cannot imagine the amount of research that we did in order to give you a sense of a normal upbringing and to keep your mind occupied."

"We ran out of ideas," Byakuya pointed out "that's when we started to talk to you about the family business."

"We knew it wasn't the most normal type of education, but it was that or sending you to school and we didn't feel safe."

"Not even in Karakura?" Yoruichi questioned while frowning "did he manage to follow you there?"

"Yes," Byakuya nodded "at first we thought that it had worked, we believed that we were finally free when we didn't get letters for three months straight."

"So another letter arrived" Isshin reasoned sadly.

"No, it was worse this time" Byakuya said "we went to the doctor after you had a crisis," he told Rukia "and he managed to sneak into the parking lot."

"I don't remember," Rukia tilted her head "how come I don't remember?"

"You were under the effects of the Preptol," Byakuya explained "Doctor Unohana was unavailable so Isane, her assistant, helped us and you fell asleep after giving you the medicine."

"That's why you didn't recognize Doctor Unohana at school," Riruka realized and then her eyes widened "wow, the lockdown was extreme."

The Kuchiki men nodded.

"I was the only one with you at the time," Byakuya explained "Robert escorted us to the hospital, and when the medical appointment was over, I carried you on my arms to the car…"

Byakuya walked calmly to where Robert had parked the Mercedes. He wanted to believe that for the first time in years he was able to behave like a normal father, even being able to take Rukia to a Doctor's appointment felt like a luxury, was this all? Were they safe in Karakura? Byakuya swore to enroll Rukia at Ukitake's school if they made it safely to the mansion.

Rukia was simply sleeping on her father's arms, unaware of how tense he was. Byakuya had covered her with his black coat, her face hidden from public view as she snored peacefully against his chest.

Robert was walking behind Byakuya while keeping an eye on their surroundings, his gut was telling him something was off. They reached the Mercedes and noticed how no one was close all seemed pretty normal, why did Robert feel strange?

He assessed their surroundings once more and decided that he was being paranoid, going out in the middle of the night was not a common occurrence, that's why his instincts had him feeling uneasy.

Byakuya kept walking and just as he was about to reach the car, the backdoor opened violently and Nnoitra came out holding a handgun.

Byakuya was frozen on place as the disgusting young man pointed the gun straight at his head. His hold on Rukia tightened, and he glared enraged at Nnoitra, the same responsible for his sleepless nights and the hellish nightmare of having to hide his own heart from the rest of the world was right in front of him.

Byakuya wanted to kill him, as he observed his dark hair, his pale face, and his skeleton features he wanted nothing more than to violently masacrate him.

"A single move and I am shooting," Nnoitra warned Robert "I mean it."

Robert was already pointing his handgun at him but he was a couple of paces behind Byakuya, how could he be so careless?

Nnoitra looked at Byakuya and smiled.

"Now," he said "I am not a cold-blooded murderer, I just came for what belongs to me."

Byakuya kept quiet. He felt like cursing him at the top of his lungs, but he was not worth it, and he would have to kill him if he wanted him to let go of Rukia.

"Hand Rukia over," Nnoitra demanded "the mother was never yours, you will not keep enjoying my family's property."

Byakuya kept glaring at him as he fought the urge to throw up.

They needed to kill him.

Nnoitra realized then that the Kuchiki heir was not going to move, so he decided to scream.

"Come on, Rukia!" he barked "wake up and looked how daddy dearest keeps you away from your real family!"

Rukia did not move, her small snoring did not stop, and Byakuya found himself thanking for the first time the side effects of Preptol.

"Step back!" Robert threatened "you will die if you keep this up!"

Nnoitra snorted. He knew Byakuya was on the way of Robert's aim, he wouldn't shoot so he kept pointing at Byakuya.

"Hand her over" he demanded once more.

"Even if you kill me right here," Byakuya hissed "you will never have her, just as your father was never able to have Hisana, you will suffer the same fate."

Nnoitra snarled.

"What the fuck would you know?!" he questioned while holding the gun against Byakuya's forehead "my family bought them! My family owns them! They are not noble blood, why would you want them?!"

"Hisana was a noble," Byakuya corrected him coldly, the gun on his head was already hurting him, he could feel blood running down his face "even before meeting me, she was a Shihouin, she never carried your cursed name."

Nnoitra took another step forward, Byakuya was forced to take a step back.

"Rukia is my blood," Byakuya refused to back down "she is a noble, she will always be, that will not change, whatever you have planned for her will never come to be."

"Listen, bastard" Nnoitra said with a shaky breath "I seriously don't want to kill you."

Byakuya wondered why. Surely killing him would mean one less obstacle for him, or did he realize that if he were to shoot Byakuya that would give Robert the perfect opportunity to save Rukia?

"Just hand her over!" Nnoitra insisted desperately and enraged "I need her! She is the answer to all of my problems! Aren't you tired? You can have anything you want, anything! Just give back what belongs to me and hire some whore to have another child!"

Byakuya's hatred towards Nnoitra increased, but wanted to inquire more. What kind of problems could a twelve year old girl solve? What was he planning? This was beyond some sick claim, this was deeper.

"Why don't you just get another wife and child?!" Nnoitra screamed.

"I swore myself to Hisana," Byakuya hissed "and no other child will ever measure up to Rukia."

Byakuya knew Nnoitra was already over the edge, but that seemed to trigger something.

"They never belonged to you!" Nnoitra screeched finally and was about to throw himself at Byakuya.

But it never happened.

Someone grabbed Nnoitra from behind and pulled him inside the car. In the midst of his shock he shot, but Byakuya and Rukia were already out of his range, Robert had dragged them far from the car and all Byakuya could see was someone punching Nnoitra on the backseat.

"Who…?" Byakuya muttered as he held Rukia tighter.

Robert was quick on joining whoever was fighting against Nnoitra, but it was too late. Nnoitra managed to get out of the car and, even after Robert managed to punch him on the face, he ran straight towards Byakuya in hopes of getting Rukia.

Byakuya could only observe as Robert tackled Nnoitra to the ground, he was about to yell for them to kill him once and for all, but a little voice froze everyone.

"Daddy…?" Rukia mumbled against Byakuya's chest.

Robert stopped his punches, he didn't want for Rukia to see him covered in blood and Nnoitra smiled as if he had heard an angel.

"Open your eyes, little Rukia!" Nnoitra howled "see how daddy handles his problems!"

That small pause gave Nnoitra an opening and he punched Robert away from him, but he knew he didn't stand a chance, the other man was coming out of the car so Nnoitra gave one last look to Byakuya and ran.

"Followed him! Kill him!" Byakuya ordered, and for a small second he thought about leaving Rukia on the floor and running after him, but he knew that was his madness winning and he couldn't allow that.

Robert followed Nnoitra immediately but by the time he found him on the lower level of the parking lot he was already accelerating on a, probably stolen, car.

Robert stood there panting and bleeding from his temple and decided to walk back to Byakuya after a couple of minutes. Once he spotted them he noticed Iburo, who was also bleeding from his forehead, asking Byakuya if he and the lady were all right.

"What are you doing here?" Robert asked Iburo.

Iburo smiled at him.

"Kevin had a feeling," he explained "we decided to follow just in case, we parked outside but when we noticed you were taking longer than necessary we came to check."

Robert was beyond thankful.

"Kevin is already tracing the plates of the car he is moving in" Iburo said "are you okay?"

"It's my fault I-!"

"No one could've prevented this," Byakuya interjected "had you opened the door for me he would've shot without hesitation, we were lucky."

"You are bleeding, Sir" Robert said as he looked worriedly at Byakuya's forehead.

"This is nothing," he muttered as he looked at Rukia on his arms "I am glad she didn't wake up."

Robert and Iburo nodded.

"I believe is safest for both of you to spend the night here at the hospital, Sir" Robert suggested "I'll make sure to inform the mansion."

Byakuya agreed.

Rukia gulped.

"You could've died…" she whispered shakily.

"I didn't," Byakuya retorted coldly "but that was the limit for me, we decided to start a manhunt after that, I wanted his head."

Rukia knew what was coming.

"That's why you sent me away" she reasoned shocked.

Byakuya nodded.

"For us to be able to get him, for us to exercise a violent search without collateral damage, you had to be out of the picture entirely" he explained "locking you inside the mansion was not enough, we are well known to the public, our location would never be private."

"We decided to hide you and make him believe that you were still inside the mansion," Soujun said "the problem was where to send you."

"How did you decide a convent?" Yoruichi asked curiously.

Byakuya looked at her and noticed her a little pale. Perhaps she was still processing the whole thing, especially Nnoitra's attack, but he decided to keep going with the story.

"I remembered something you told Hisana," Byakuya said "that's how I decided in the end."

"What?" Yoruichi questioned.

Byakuya nodded.

"What if we send her to a boarding school?" Ginrei suggested.

Soujun, who by this point seemed to be losing his shit, scoffed.

"Sure," he agreed sarcastically "so he can go and take her the moment she steps out for the weekend," he shook his head "or even better, he can pretend to be a fucking visitor or a teacher."

Ginrei clenched his fists. The odds of that happening were high.

"What about a security house?" he tried.

Soujun ran a hand through his hair.

"With Rukia's personality?"he chuckled humorlessly "she'll find a way out of that house before we notice, besides we would have to explain why she cannot go out at all!"

Byakuya, who had just been listening to the options with a frown on his face, ran a hand through his hair. He didn't know that to do, where to send his daughter to protect her? What was the safest place on earth for little girls?

"The only place in which she would be happy, without questioning, is Chappyland" Soujun muttered while hiding his face on his hands and groaning frustrated "I hate this."

Ginrei sighed.

The situation was already unbearable. The fact that Byakuya and Rukia had been attacked had them all near a nervous breakdown, they needed Rukia safe in order to proceed with the manhunt, but where to send her?

"We don't even know who would take care of our girl like a saint," Soujun complained "if we were to contact Yoruichi she would tell us the best place to avoid men."

Byakuya scoffed at the ridiculous suggestion, but he had to admit that it was somewhat true. Byakuya remembered that there was a time in which Yoruichi decided that Byakuya did not deserve Hisana, so she would often suggest places to go in case she were to change her mind about him.

"Yoruichi keeps saying that you want to take me away from her," Hisana laughed once "she offered to enroll in a convent with me if I change my mind."

"A convent?" Byakuya questioned.

Hisana nodded.

"That way you won't be able to take my virtue and get me pregnant," Hisana chuckled while blushing "what do you think?"

"It is quite late for that" Byakuya raised an eyebrow and kept reading the "soon to be parents" pamphlet.

Hisana simply laughed harder.

Byakuya's eyes widened.

"What about a convent?" he suggested aloud.

Soujun and Ginrei looked at him with confused expressions.

"A convent?" Soujun questioned "that's ludicrous."

"Why a convent?" Ginrei asked.

"Think about it," Byakuya said "an enclosed space were males are not allowed, under strict supervision of older women, surrounded by girls of her own age that are handled as a group for every single activity."

Ginrei frowned.

"If I'm not mistaken novices are also forbidden to go out most of the year," Byakuya insisted "we'll just have to settle our conditions with the one in charge."

"For how long?" Ginrei asked.

"Until we manage to get rid of Nnoitra for good" Byakuya answered.

"You want to turn my granddaughter into a novice?" Soujun asked, horror tingeing his voice.

"This will be temporary," Byakuya insisted "I'm not thrilled about this but we don't have many choices, do we?"

There was a heavy silence of a few seconds.

"How do we explain to her?" Ginrei wondered.

"You're considering this?!" Soujun asked his father.

"As Byakuya said I am not thrilled about this," Ginrei said "but she won't be able to run away from a convent, she would be surrounded by girls and women whose main concern is to pray and let's face it, who would be capable of infiltrating a convent just to get one girl out?"

"Only a suicidal idiot," Soujun agreed and then looked at Byakuya "what will you tell her?"

"A lie as ludicrous as Rukia becoming a nun," Byakuya said as he pinched the bridge of his nose "that I'll leave her there until I find a suitor worthy of her."

Soujun gaped while Ginrei snorted.

"As if that would ever happen," Ginrei shook his head and then looked aside "we truly have no other choices left, uh?"

"We can always wait until he drives us to the point of madness," Soujun gritted his teeth "or we can always kill him."

"Tempting," Byakuya admitted "but…" he looked sideways at his grandfather "I'm guessing that the retired Yakuza is against it?"

Ginrei nodded.

"Your and Soujun's hands are clean," he said "let's keep it that way."

Soujun clicked his tongue.

"Is decided then," he said "I feel as if I'm sending my own heart away."

"You're not the only one who feels that way" Byakuya assured him.

"The arrangements were made immediately," Soujun explained "we contacted the convent through a third party, we explained that we wanted you to experience a different education and that it would be temporary."

"We demanded to be able to visit you as much as we wanted, and we also demanded for you to be received without going through the normal scrutiny" Ginrei added "all of our demands were accepted."

"The problem was how to take you there without him tracking us," Byakuya scoffed "that's why the day I took you to the convent father and grandfather left at the same time using different cars."

Rukia remembered that. A maid stepped into her room and started to pack her things, and she never got the chance to question what was happening.

Rukia was enjoying a quiet day inside her room. She was drawing some of her favorite Chappy scenes when her door was opened.

"What are you doing?" Rukia asked curiously as she saw one of her maids stepping into her room with a suitcase.

"My lady," the maid bowed kindly "my apologies, I've been given orders to pack a few of your things."

Rukia frowned as she left aside her sketchbook.

"To pack my things?" she asked confused.

The maid however did not answer, there was no need because two seconds later Byakuya stepped into the room. Rukia smiled at the sight of him and he, as always, acknowledge her by nodding slightly.

"We will be leaving soon," Byakuya informed Rukia "come, father and grandfather are ready to say goodbye."

"Say goodbye?" Rukia questioned confused "where are we going?"

"You'll be starting school in a place away from here" Byakuya said.

Rukia gaped. She wanted to go to school, to a normal school, she desperately wanted to make friends, to play at break time, to eat lunch surrounded by her classmates while discussing homework and the latest TV shows... but she didn't want to leave her home.

"Far away from here," Rukia repeated as she got down of bed, she grabbed her sketchbook "why?"

Byakuya didn't answer. He started to walk downstairs and Rukia understood that she would have to follow him. She frowned as she hugged her sketchbook and, once she was on the drawing room, she noticed the sad expressions of her grandfather and grandaddy.

"Kiddo," Soujun smiled as he kneeled so they could be face to face "you're going to school, okay? We will be apart for some time but we will visit you as much as we can."

Rukia pouted.

"But I am not ready," she complained, it was easier to get what she wanted from Soujun "no one told me anything"

"It will be okay," Soujun assured her while patting her head "with brains like yours? You will be top of the class on your first week."

Rukia chuckled.

"Am I going to Ukitake-sama's school?" she inquired.

"No," Ginrei interjected "you will be going to a school outside the city."

"Why?" Rukia asked.

"Kiddo, there are too many boys at Ukitake's school" Soujun pointed out while shaking his head "you'll go to an only girls' school for a while."

Rukia didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.

"It's getting late," Byakuya pointed out while exchanging a look with his grandfather "we have to go."

Rukia was about to ask details about the school, but Soujun trapped her in a hug.

"Grandpa?" Rukia asked surprised.

"We will visit," Soujun assured without letting go of her "wait for us, please."

"It's not like I'll have somewhere else to go," Rukia chuckled "I'll be busy with homework and physical education."

Ginrei chuckled and, once Soujun broke the hug, he patted Rukia on the head.

"Take care, child" Ginrei said "once we reunite you'll have to tell us all about your school life."

Rukia's eyes widened when Byakuya grabbed the little suitcase that the maid handed him.

"Aren't you coming to drop me off?" she asked her grandparents.

Soujun shook his head as he stood up.

"Byakuya will drop you off," he explained "we have other meetings to attend to."

Rukia didn't want to acknowledge that the last part sounded like a lie. She trusted the men in front of her more than anything but, why did it feel as if they were sending her away? And why were they doing this without previous warning?

Rukia blinked as a thought invaded her and looked at the maid.

"Did you pack my Chappy backpack?" she asked her.

The main nodded.

"I did, my lady" she assured her.

Rukia was glad. She never told anyone, but she had heard in one of her TV shows that if someone wanted to escape, getting money was the priority so, one day, while thinking about how bad she wanted to see the outside world she took one of her mom's cards and hid it on her backpack. So now, in case she didn't like school, she had money in order to come back home.

Byakuya extended his hand and Rukia took it.

"We love you, kiddo"

Those were the last words she heard before leaving the mansion towards the convent.

"Wait a second," Riruka frowned "you were three years inside the convent, correct?"

Rukia nodded.

"How come he managed to hide for three whole years?" Riruka questioned.

"We couldn't believe it either," Soujun admitted "we managed to visit Rukia, to send letters and presents, to get pictures and send money during two years."

"We did not receive letters or threats during that time," Ginrei nodded "but we decided that we wouldn't get you back unless he was behind bars, we relaxed once and..." he shrugged since he didn't feel like explaining again "we couldn't leave our guard down."

"So," Ichigo said "there was no contact at all?"

"None," Byakuya confirmed "but he was either playing with us or he was at lost at what to do since Rukia was nowhere to be found."

"Even for the visits at the convent, we used some of our cars are decoys" Soujun pointed out "sometimes Byakuya's team would drive around town with some pillows that they somehow made look like a doll, I think? They were pretending to drive Rukia around and even then no one approached them."

"What changed?" Isshin inquired.

"He reached a breaking point," Byakuya explained "with Rukia's absence, and his inability to see her, he decided to confront us."

"Confront you?" Rukia asked worriedly.

"We hid you," Soujun shrugged "he was no longer able to target you so he decided to demand answers."

Byakuya knew something was amiss. He stepped into the mansion, it was late at night and he had just finished some important paperwork back at the enterprise, was this tiredness?He couldn't name it, but he knew something was wrong within the mansion.

"Boss?" Robert questioned as he waited for the order to retreat for the rest of the night.

"Where are father and grandfather?" Byakuya asked without moving from the foyer.

"Stuck in traffic," Robert said "they were..." he paused "securing the lucky charm back at the safe."

Byakuya smirked. Ever since Rukia was sent to the convent no one was allowed to say her name, unless Byakuya, Ginrei, or Soujun were to say it first. It was a precaution in case there were eavesdroppers , since Ginrei and Soujun were coming back from visiting her that meant that he was the only Kuchiki inside the mansion.

Byakuya was about to order Robert to turn on all of the lights, but there was no need to make the maids panic, so he walked confidently towards the second floor and signaled Robert to follow him.

Byakuya couldn't be wrong, this nagging feeling couldn't mean nothing.

He walked with silent steps and once he was in front of Rukia's room, he kicked the double doors opened and, just as he guessed, Nnoitra was inside. He was punching the floor with his bare-fists and he seemed beyond frustrated.

Robert took out his gun immediately and clicked his little remote. The lights around the mansion turned on immediately and an alarm sounded, Nnoitra wouldn't be able to escape.

"Stepping into a little girl's room in the middle of the night, uh?" Byakuya questioned enraged "I knew you were a lowlife, but I never imagined to which degree."

Nnoitra glared at him from his spot on the ground.

"Where is she?!" he demanded to know "where are you hiding her?!"

Byakuya raised an eyebrow at him.

"Answer me!" Nnoitra screeched.

Iburo and Kevin were next to Robert within seconds.

Byakuya scoffed.

"You are out of luck," he said "this is the end of the road, breaking into my house was a terrible mistake."

"You have no right!" Nnoitra barked "who do you think you are?!"

"Her father" Byakuya answered coldly.

"That means nothing!" Nnoitra said as Kevin and Iburo stepped into the room and grabbed him, he didn't oppose "Hisana was-!"

"My wife," Byakuya hissed "she was never part of your family, neither was Rukia, whatever stories you were fed are not my family's problem."

Nnoitra started to scream. Byakuya knew that it was useless to try to reason to him, he was crazy beyond a salvation point, and he was a threat.

"The police will be here shortly," Robert informed "shall we take him to the front gates?"

Byakuya observed the screaming young man in front of him before sighing. Killing him is what he wanted to do, but he didn't want Rukia to have a murderer as a father.

"Yes," Byakuya nodded "after tonight he will no longer be our problem."

The police arrived quickly at the mansion, just as Robert informed. Ever since the Kuchikis reported an stalker around them the police force, who owed several favors to the clan, made sure that there were always agents nearby.

Byakuya observed the whole thing from the front of the house. A part of him wanted to believe that this was the end, he wanted for the sun to come out so he could run to the convent and bring Rukia back, but another part of thing reminded him that nothing was ever that easy.

Life was not kind.

Byakuya clenched his fists as the officers cuffed Nnoitra and started to guide him to the car and then it happened. Nnoitra stopped walking and looked over his shoulder at Byakuya.

"Hey, my lord" he called mockingly "where are you going exactly whenever you take the path towards the beach?"

Byakuya's eyes widened.

"I've been trying to figure it out," Nnoitra admitted "but there is nothing there, and I know she is not at the beach house either."

Byakuya's mouth suddenly felt dry.

"Nothing but cliffs and some local businesses," Nnoitra smirked "perhaps I should move to that part of town?"

Byakuya kept a cool and collected pose but deep down his heart was beating with worry. They had been extremely careful! How?! They even tried to go around the area before even daring to go near the convent!

"Well, I'll look for her there for now" Nnoitra declared.

Byakuya didn't know how it happened. All he knew was that something fell off Nnoitra's sleeve and in one second there was nothing but smoke all around. Robert ran to cover Byakuya, while Kevin and Iburo ran to prevent Nnoitra from leaving, but it was too late.

The smoke gave him the perfect escape.

"You're shitting me," Ichigo scoffed "you've got to be fucking shitting me!"

Riruka gaped.

"Language!" Isshin reprimanded him.

"I agree with Ichigo," Yoruichi pointed out "what the actual fuck?" she asked.

Byakuya sighed.

"It was beyond infuriating," he admitted "but we realized that we couldn't keep going regularly to the convent."

Rukia blinked.

"But-!"

"His frustration at not being able to see you is what drove him to break into the house," Soujun explained "we needed to frustrate him further so we stopped the visits and the letters, you have no idea of how hard it was for us."

"We know now that it was harder for you, child," Ginrei told Rukia "trust me when I say that we regret it."

"We deeply regret it," Soujun nodded "however it was that what finally led to his capture."

Yoruichi snorted.

"You are telling me that it took a whole damn year?!" she questioned.

"We were dealing with a psycopath," Ginrei pointed out "so yes, it took that long."

"We avoided unnecessary outings," Soujun shook his head "we were permanently on the enterprise or at the mansion, we only went to business dinners and very rarely we would leave Karakura, we haven't visited the beach house in over two years, not even the countryside."

"You were prisoners, sort of" Rukia realized sadly.

"One of our most devastating times," Ginrei acknowledged "but we knew what the goal was, we didn't build our clan by letting hard times bring us down."

"So," Ichigo said "how did you manage to catch him in the end?"

"A year after our last encounter I decided to lure him out," Byakuya said "I had faced him twice, and some often say that the third time's the charm so I pretended to snap and left the house as a peasant."

Everyone around the room looked at him questioningly.

"He means by walking," Ginrei explained "he decided not to use a car."

"That's a peasant for the Kuchikis, uh?" Riruka smirked at Ichigo "good thing you have a motorcycle! They might still accept your relationship!"

Ichigo blushed while Rukia chuckled.

"Not right now," Soujun begged while rubbing his temples "please."

Ginrei laughed.

"Well, yes" he continued explaining "Byakuya knew where to go, and we were certain that Nnoitra would follow, he was always nearby, we just needed to make it look real."

"Byakuya, wait! You cannot leave without protection!" Soujun yelled from inside the mansion.

Byakuya simply closed the front door loudly.

"I am tired of hiding!" Byakuya barked knowing that their stalker would hear "I am visiting even if it costs me my life!"

There was a deafening silence at the front garden as the Kuchiki heir opened the gates by himself and left the mansion running. He knew exactly where to go, and he knew that Nnoitra would follow, that's all that mattered.

There was a warehouse on a hidden field behind the residential area. Most of the families used it to keep old expensive furniture, artworks, and even cars. Byakuya kept old cars there, it was rarely used but only the residents were able to enter.

Byakuya was going to put an end to his personal hell once and for reached the Kuchikis' warehouse and opened it. Several cars covered and protected from dust, plus some old garden chairs and fishing equipment were around, Byakuya stepped inside and didn't even turn around when the door closed behind him leaving him in complete darkness.

"Is she here?!" the unmistakeable voice of Nnoitra sounded from somewhere in the shadows.

Byakuya kept quiet as he let the rage take over him. How come he was always close but he was never caught? That was going to change today.

"Answer me!" Nnoitra demanded, his voice filled the warehouse like a thunder.

"You will never find her" Byakuya swore.

There was a pause and then Nnoitra grabbed him from was ready so he switched their positions while twisting Nnoitra's arm in a painful way. It was then when a fight started, Nnoitra threw punches but Byakuya avoided most of them.

Nnoitra was not trained, but Byakuya had been learning how to fight since an early age. He was faster, and smarter, so avoiding punches he threw a sidekick and Nnoitra fell on the floor.

Without missing a beat, Byakuya put himself on top him and punched him on the face. Three years, three years away from his daughter, three years in which she was denied a normal education and a lifetime of missing rites of passage and normal experiences. What about her girlhood? What about friends? What about the safety and happiness he promised Hisana he would give their daughter?

Byakuya kept punching like a madman.

If Nnoitra and his family had never showed up to their life, he would've never lost the love of his life and he would've never sent his daughter was so hurt, so upset, and so sorrowful that he didn't stop his punches, not even when the warehouse was opened again and his father and grandfather showed up with the police and the security teams.

"Byakuya!" Soujun exclaimed worriedly "stop!"

But Byakuya didn't stop, he didn't want to. He had been living in hell, he had been living in fear, he had been denied being a normal parent and he had lost Hisana just a few years after their marriage and all because of them!Byakuya raised his fist once more, Nnoitra was already unconscious and he was bleeding badly, but that wasn't enough.

"No!" Ginrei yelled.

Byakuya's fist stopped.

Robert had managed to grab him on time.

"My apologies, Sir" Robert said "but this is over, you will hold lady Rukia again pretty soon, you shall do so with clean hands."

Byakuya stopped at that as he noticed his bloody fist.

War was over.

"A week after that, once the trial was held and he had been locked" Byakuya explained "we decided to bring you back and you know the rest, better than any of us, you were not there and the search around Karakura begun."

Rukia nodded.

It was a lot to take didn't know what to say, and judging by how everyone around them was silent they were processing everything as well.

Riruka was about to asked why they didn't lure the stalker before taking the drastic measures regarding the convent, wasn't that a logical path? But Byakuya kept talking so she supposed that it was better to keep quiet.

"From the bottom of my heart, I am sorry for hiding everything from you" Byakuya apologized to Rukia sorrowful "there was no way to explain without robbing you from your peace, you deserved a normal childhood and that was the one thing I was unable to provide."

Rukia felt a lump on her throat.

"I am sorry about not contacting you for a whole year," Byakuya continued with a shaky voice "perhaps you won't believe me, but every single day was a hellish nightmare without knowing how you were doing, I was confident that you were safe and that single thought was what kept me from running towards the convent and bring you back home."

Rukia felt some tears running down her cheeks.

"I blamed myself for not being able to protect Hisana from the monsters of her past, so I swore you wouldn't go through the same," Byakuya explained "my fear of losing you is what drove me to hide you away, I realized now my mistake but I swear that I never meant to be apart from you for so long."

"None of us," Soujun said while putting a hand on Byakuya's shoulder "none of us wanted to be apart from you."

"We forced ourselves to not receive your letters, we forced ourselves not to call you" Ginrei confessed "had we known what was happening we would've retrieved you since day one."

"Rukia," Byakuya lowered his head slightly "I am sorry."

Rukia sobbed once and smiled at him.

"Raise your head, daddy" she said "there is nothing to apologize for, we are together and safe now, aren't we? That's what matters."

Byakuya nodded.

"Thank you, daddy" Rukia sobbed while hiding her face on her Chappy plushie "I am so happy I am with you again."

Byakuya felt like tearing up, but he kept calm. She knew now the reason behind her years at the convent, she knew now that they hadn't abandoned her, and she knew that there was no reason for them to be apart anymore.

"Me too" he admitted sincerely.

Yoruichi cleared her throat.

"Is…" she took a deep breath "is Nnoitra still in prison?"

Soujun and Ginrei exchanged a wary look.

"We don't know where he is," Byakuya admitted "he was seen escaping from a reformative center a couple of towns next to this one."

Riruka paled while Ichigo tensed.

"And you are not worried?" Isshin asked.

"We are," Soujun conceded "but we no longer live with fear, and" he looked at Rukia "now that you are older and wiser, we are certain that you will be okay."

"He is being traced," Ginrei said "if he tries to approach us, we are ready once again."

"And," Soujun added while frowning "apparently you are going to the safest school on earth, how many boys are still looking after you?"

Riruka chuckled.

"You have no idea, grandpa" she taunted.

The whole room laughed at that and the tension dissipated a little. For now it was over, once Rukia were to recover they were going back home, and Rukia was finally going to enjoy the life she deserved.

The Kuchikis were at peace again.

---

A few hours later Byakuya decided to enjoy some quiet time, but his plans were ruined.

"Uh," Yoruichi smirked as she noticed who was joining her at the rooftop of the hospital "fancy meeting you here, Byakuya-boo."

Byakuya simply walked until he was standing next to Yoruichi. He wasn't expecting to find her here but the sight of Karakura under the sunset had a calming effect on him.

"I needed some air" Byakuya explained as he put his hands inside his pockets.

"What about the kiddo?" Yoruichi asked, she wasn't looking at Byakuya instead she focused on the sky and the city in front of her.

"She fell asleep shortly after everyone left," Byakuya informed her "the nurses will wake her up for dinner."

"I see" Yoruichi sighed.

There was a silence then. Yoruichi's mind was still processing everything Byakuya revealed just an hour before, there was so much she didn't know that she wasn't sure whether to be upset or confused. Why didn't the Kuchikis reach out to her with this whole Nnoitra business?

She decided that she deserved an answer.

"You never told me," Yoruichi muttered "if I had known I would've helped you."

"I thought about telling you back then," Byakuya admitted "but in the end I decided against it."

"Why?" Yoruichi questioned.

"Hisana" Byakuya said simply.

Yoruichi frowned as she turned to look at him.

"I don't get it" she admitted.

"She would've never forgave me if I had endangered you in any way," Byakuya explained "that's why I decided not to involve you in the end."

Yoruichi scoffed.

"You talk as if I was more important to her than you," she smirked "why's that?"

"You were," Byakuya nodded "shall I remind you about the time she ran away with you so you could marry Urahara Kisuke?" he asked "she followed you without hesitation while I was left wondering why she had gone missing."

Yoruichi laughed.

"Don't be an idiot, Byakuya-boo!" she exclaimed "shall I remind you that during that whole trip she was a nervous wreck trying to contact you?!"

Byakuya smiled slightly at that. He could remember perfectly that phone call, it was one of the most random experiences but it was to be expected, the friendship between Hisana and Yoruichi was always full of surprises, they were complete opposites after all.

"Rukia said that you rarely mention Hisana nowadays," Byakuya pointed out "how come?"

Yoruichi frowned as she looked at the landscape again.

"You lost your wife," the Shihouin heiress whispered "I lost a sister."

There was a longer silence this time. The only thing that could be heard was the busy city under them and the soft wind at the rooftop.

"It wasn't your fault" Yoruichi declared.

Byakuya's eyes widened.

"She would've never blamed you," Yoruichi said and then looked at him "and just for the record, I don't blame you either."

Byakuya clenched his fists inside his pockets.

"I…" he tried to say but Yoruichi didn't let him.

"Don't ruin the moment," she told him while shaking her head "let's just leave that there for a while."

Byakuya sighed.

"Thank you, Yoruichi" he said finally.

"Anytime, Byakuya-boo" she nodded.

There were no more words needed.

---

No excuses here, life was busy and navigating adulthood is being a nightmare. If you are reading, thank you, it means everything. I want to thank the ones that write to me for every single chapter, but you already waited enough, so… if you review, I'll make sure to answer in the next one, okay? The next one won't take that long.

Thanks again, kisses!