Bleach 1. Prologue

I'm not entire sure how it happened, not the act I know that much, I mean how it happened with him. I'm not sure how I, one of the coldest people here, had fallen in love with someone so hot blooded and ill tempered so quickly. That's not all he is though…is it? No, my love has this calming presence around him that causes any walls one might have when approaching him to crumble to the ground. His eyes glare into your soul as if he was searching for the real you and when he found it his eyes in turn showed you everything that he was. His body was muscular and his every movement gave him a sort of grace that he never notices. His face was always set perfectly with that damnable scowl that was warmed incredibly by those brown eyes. His hair was long now and yet it only made him look more mature than when we had first met. I love the patterns his muscles roll in as he trains. I love to watch as they curl and flex down his stomach, back, arms, and even his legs.

Aside from all these things that I love so dearly I love his hands the most. I don't love them in a perverted way, even if he is incredibly talented with them; I love them because they are so strong. His figners are long and elegant while his palms are well-built and had certain toughness to them from handling a blade for so many years. There is a sort of gentleness about the way he uses his hands when he speaks or when he touches someone. At first I had been shocked by how gentle he seemed despite his literally tough exterior but when I started to notice the man behind the façade I realized that he was one of a kind…I realized that I couldn't let anyone have a man like that aside from myself.

Fingers brushing over my exposed stomach wake me from my sleep hazed thoughts and I look up into beautiful amber orbs in surprise and adoration as well as love. "It's getting late…you should get some sleep Lin." His lips find perch on my temple and I feel my arms wrap tentatively around his chest. I'm again amazed by how small I am in comparison to him. My arms hardly wrap around his chest but I suppose I don't mind so much because his large arms circle around me and I feel like, for once in my life, I'm finally safe in every way possible and nothing in the world can hurt me. "Lin…I love you."

I nuzzle my face into his bare chest as I snuggle into him more finding comfort in the skin to skin contact. One arm briefly leaves my waist to tug the silk sheets and blankets up over our bare bodies. His arms tighten slightly and I feel him shift ever so gently before I feel comfort wrap around me as my body is slid in perfect alignment with his. I kiss the neck exposed to me just once before resting my head in the dip between his neck and shoulder. "Love you too…Ichi…" With one last yawn my eyes close to the world and the only thing left in my mind is the absolute comfort found in this man's arms.

To think this all started with the Kuchiki woman. Someday I think I'll thank her but for now I'm happy just to have this man and never let go…never let go.


	2. Chapter 1

The small nibantai taicho walks silently along the streets of the Seireitei her feet carrying her to her barrack while he thought were carrying her to the argument she had held with the once shinigami daiko a few days prior. Of course the man had denied vehemently who in their right mind would want to think that their fiancée and ultimately partner for nearly seven years was cheating on them with their best friend and has been for nearly all of their relationship. The secret had been spilled during a small Women's Association meeting and somehow it had struck a chord in the nibantai taicho's heart. Surely the Kuchiki girl didn't think it would go on forever and how is that fair to the man that practically died to save her all those years ago and…actually the man practically died many times to save her sorry ass.

Of course everyone had promised to keep it a secret aside from her because she had left due to an impromptu meeting of the taicho. She was glad because somehow she had become very angry with the slightly smaller woman. Perhaps it was because the man she was doing this to was a student of her sensei as well or maybe she had come to respect him through the many years and battles they had fought together with the Gotei 13.

Upon entering her office she notices a slightly disheveled, if not tantalizingly so, gobantai taicho settled on her couch as if he had accidentally fallen asleep on it waiting for her to arrive. His jaw on the side facing her was turning black and blue and it appeared as if he hadn't slept all night. Unlike most men with this appearance he didn't reek of alcohol or sickness in the least. His reiatsu was only slightly uncontrolled and from the small wisps she could catch he seemed impossible depressed as well as guilty. In her opinion it appeared as if thing had finally hit the fan yesterday seeing the state the man was in. Her critical mind understood that he had come here to apologize for what he had said to her when she had told him and she had nearly forgotten that she had murmured that he was welcome to come anytime if he wishes.

With a soft sigh she calls upon two hell butterflies and sends one to the sotaicho as well as one to the gobantai fukutaicho stating that the gobantai taicho was not going to be able to make his shift today. With a sad glance at the man on her couch she moves to her desk and begins working on her paperwork silently. Every so often her eyes glance to the couch in her office and find the same scene. Around lunch her fukutaicho returns and enters his own office making quite a racket which causes the man on her couch to groan and roll over onto his side before sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes before hissing in pain when his hand brushes over a black eye that she just now noticed.

Standing, she silently walks toward him and pulls his hands from his face before murmuring the incitation for a healing kidou while holding her hand over his widened, as far as it can be in its state, eye. His eyes watch her as his lips try to form words but she remains silent and once his eyes is healed she moves to his jaw unable to help herself when she notices the pain that flashes in his amber orbs every time he opens his mouth. When she finishes and removes herself from in front of him she finally hears his voice echo around the room. "Doomo arigato gozaimasu…" His voice is soft and ultimately very gentle but the deep baritone of it gives it a wholly masculine touch.

The petite taicho slowly prepares two cups of hot tea before setting them out on the table in front of her couch. He gratefully takes one with a short bow of his head and she settles into the couch beside him. "I take it you have discovered the truth then?" His eyes find hers and they simmer in anger that is mostly covered by a heavy veil of depression. At his short 'Hai' she offers a gentle smile becoming a bit surprised at her own actions. "I apologize for this occurring no one deserves that."

His figners set the cups down in fear of breaking it as a smooth anger radiates through him. He knew without a doubt that he had to control himself now as well as his reiatsu for it was so large it would most likely destroy the building they were currently in. His mouth seems to find a life of its own and he just begins talking. "The worst part is that I found them together, in my bed, and neither had anything to say about it. He just stared at me as if we were never friends and her eyes…damn it her eyes they were so filled with shock. There wasn't any sadness or regret or anything. They just stared at me. Finally I broke and I don't remember what happened I only remember getting punched twice and having Ikkaku, Shuhei, Yumichika, and Toshiro pull me out of the room. Apparently he's in the yonbantai. I just blacked out and when I came too she was screaming and crying and Ikkaku, Shuhei, Toshiro, and Yumichika were trying to suppress my reiatsu with their own." His figners dig into his long locks and something settles in the small female taicho's stomach at seeing such a strong man so distraught. With gentleness she hadn't known she had, she unwinds his figners from his hair and then runs her figners through the orange locks fixing them.

His eyes find hers and in them she sees the depression settling and the female finds that she does not like that for some reason. With a sigh she allows her body to take control for once and brings the man toward her in a tender hug. "This isn't your fault. That bastard deserves what he got for willingly sleeping with another man's partner and she doesn't deserve you staying with her. It will happen again…she will not suddenly become the queen of fidelity because you found her with him. It's best if you just left…Ichigo." She found that she enjoyed the way his name felt on her tongue and the distraught man was quite shocked when he felt the same. Her reassurance and unwavering voice was calming and had an effect on him that eased away all of the depression and heartbreak making way for the fresh wave of pure anger.

As his reiatsu spikes under his control he find himself instantly calm as her fingers fall over his before she stands and returns to her desk. "Arigato…Gomen for disturbing your day." His eyes find hers as they widen slightly before she giggles softly to herself and then shakes her head at him.

Raising an eyebrow at the woman before him he watches as her eyes pierce him with a gaze that feels as if it could look into the very depth of his soul. "You did not disturb me Kurosaki-taicho. As it stands you are not needed at the gobantai today and the sotaicho has already been made aware of your absence as well as Hinamori-fukutaicho. I am offering for you to stay here and away from everything but…the choice is up to you." The man stares at her for a long moment before sighing heavily and leaning back on the couch. Slowly his eyes drift shut and his mind wanders into his inner plane where he realizes that there isn't that much rain anymore. Earlier the sideways town had practically been an ocean and now it merely drizzled.

The two spirits slink out of their hiding spots and stare at him or a long moment unsure of his emotional stability. "Are you alright Ichigo?" The more sensible or the two, Zangetsu, speaks first bringing the man's eyes to rest on him. His eyes then drift to the sky and ultimately to the severely black clouds that seem to withhold their torrents of rain.

With a sigh the man looks back to the pair of spirits before nodding his head lightly. "Yes, I believe I will be alright. I suppose I could always move in with Isao-jii, couldn't I?" Slowly the deep grey clouds lighten until they are merely a grey sky and the threat of rain is lost.

Ichigo's eyes snap open and his body moves forward with a start while also shocking the nibantai taicho. Her eyes settle on him lightly and he offers a softer smile that wasn't nearly as depressed as it had been earlier. "Is everything alright?"

Her voice startles him making the young taicho realize that he wasn't in his own office. With a soft chuckle he stands and straightens out his uniform. "Hai, I am fine. If you do not mind I believe I will take my leave now. Arigato…for everything Soi-fon…I'll see you around." He leaves the nibantai barracks in a rush perplexing the nibantai taicho and also worrying her.

Shaking her head she returns to her work unable to find it in her to go after him because somewhere she can hear her heart saying that he will return. Why does she want him to return? He's just a boy…a child compared to her. Surely she is just worried for anyone he may hurt if he were to get angered but she knew it was a lie. "Soi…" Her head whips around to meet the bright and cheery gaze of her mentor. She stands and smiles lightly at the only woman that has ever forced her to let down her walls.

~~CxB~~

I land outside of my barracks and glance to my left at the two men standing behind me. With a short sigh I wave them off and walk toward my office sure that they know where my quarters are. I step into my office and gather a few of my belongings that I will need for the weekend. Rolling my eyes at the picture sitting on my desk and slam it face first into the dark wood relishing the sound of the breaking glass. I hear my doors open and turn to look at my fukutaicho over my shoulder. Her eyes soften when she notices the serene smile on my face.

"Kurosaki-taicho I didn't think you would be in today. The hell butterfly from the nibantai taicho made it sound that way at least. Are you alright?" I smile and walk toward her before ruffling her bangs playfully and then patting her head. Momo had changed so much since Aizen was killed. She had stopped wearing her hair the same and after a few years she had cut it short in a bob that was longer in the front and shorter in the back. She had gotten much stronger as well and she proved to be the perfect fukutaicho. She was like a little sister to me.

She laughs softly while righting her hair where I messed it up. "I'm fine Momo no need to worry. I'll be in on Monday I have some family things that I need to work on this weekend so just send my paperwork to this address and I'll make sure to have it done alright? Now be safe this weekend and don't let Rangiku corrupt you too much." She laughs and bows quickly before allowing me to pass by her. She waves at me and calls out her goodbye before disappearing down the hallway and toward her own office.

With a short sigh I round the corner to my apartment in the gobantai barracks and notice a commotion. As I enter I notice Rukia shouting at the men packing my belongings to move them. "Michi...Ryuu…finish packing my belongings and return immediately. Ojii-sama and tousan expect our return soon." The two men stiffen under my gaze before moving rapidly around the room and removing all of the things I had deemed worthy of removal.

Her eyes find mine and I watch unemotionally as tears well in them. "Why are you doing this? Why are you just leaving like this we can work it out Ichigo…please?!" Her fingers grab onto my haori and tug at it as tears spill down her cheeks and they anger me to no end.

I pluck her fingers from my shirt and take a step away from her before feeling a cool mask settle on my features. "Kuchiki fukutaicho…you are to leave the gobantai barracks immediately. You are permitted to retrieve your belongings over the weekend and they are expected to be gone by my arrival here Monday morning. As of Monday if your belongs are not removed from this barrack they will be returned to the Kuchiki manor and none too nicely as I will not be overseeing their removal. Ryuu…Michi…let's go I wish to be home for dinner." With that said I turn and whirl out of the room unable to care that she screams after me begging for me to stay.

I run in front of the two men and reach the outer end of the Seireitei watching absentmindedly as the houses thin and become larger and larger until the woods whirl past me. Finally I stop at a very large manor that is bustling with servants as well as music. I walk past countless people who offer bright cheery welcomes before I find Isao-jii and my father talking quietly in a back room while sipping tea and watching my sisters, Karin and Yuzu, and my cousins, Takako and Takuma, train for their kendo exams. My aunt opens the door and laughs softly while pouring more tea into the cups as well as setting on out for me. She straightens and winks in my direction before heading back into the manor.

"Ah Ichigo…welcome home we're so very glad you decided to stay with us in the manor it will be a great joy to have another man like Isshin staying with us again. Your father has told me a great deal about you during his time here. I must admit that you act just like him in his younger years…" Ojii-sama smirks softly and offers me a seat. Grinning brightly I brush my hair from my face and offer my ojii-sama a small smile. I hadn't met the man in quite a few years. He was only around every so often when I was a boy living in the gense and I suppose that him being a part of the Seireitei answers many of my previous questions about his whereabouts.

I wasn't as surprised as I should have been to meet Shiba Isao all those years ago and realized that the man looked exactly like my father just reasonably older. His black hair was streaked with grey but those same grey eyes stared back at me the same way my father's eyes did. I never changed my name back but answer to Shiba-sama within the walls of the manor. Rukia said that she liked my last name of Kurosaki and that most people knew me by Kurosaki anyway. "Isao-jii…" Yes I did not call him grandfather and did use his first name but that was how it has been with us since I was a boy. "I believe I would like to be formally adopted back into the Shiba Clan."

Tea spills rapidly out of my father's mouth as he spits it across the table hitting a passing servant who glares at him for a moment before running off more than likely to change. It had been discussed, me being reinstated as the heir to the clan so to speak, but Rukia had so vehemently refused any idea of me doing so that I politely declined. My father's wide eyes turn slowly to me as a small smile lingers on my grandfather's face.

"I will have to speak with your cousin, my boy, but I am sure that you have won over Kukaku already and that she would enjoy seeing you take leadership as the head of our clan. We've tried very hard to make out name better however it is difficult in my old age and for her, as she is a female and not the rightful heir, to change anything. The council will discuss this tomorrow morning first thing…I'd like you to be there for it alright?"

~~CxB~~

Morning came and peeked through the opulent windows of the very large two story room. Every room in this wing of the house, which was on the second floor of the massive manor, was two stories put together. The study portion of the quarters was well stocked with many books as well as a desk that was filled to the brim with his paperwork from the gobantai. He loathed that damn paperwork more so than anything in his entire life. Three massive windows were at the back of his room because his quarters were at the end of the family wing giving him optimum space in the large manor. His study was down in dark tones of wood that was hand carved by the most skilled craftsman. A black lounge chair was positioned in one of the corners by the entrance to the room and his dark wood desk was positioned to face the entrance way with its back to the large windows. Near the entrance was the stairwell to a loft space that was fairly large and held his massive bed. The floor of the loft was made entirely of thick glass special crafted to be unbelievably strong. Under the loft space were the doors to his bathroom and closet. What many didn't know about his room was that the middle window actually held two panes of glass that slid to create a door which lead to the large balcony which overlooked the Seireitei.

"Ichigo-sama, Isao-dono has sent me to wake you." The hesitant woman opened the double doors made of twisted silver with no glass and stepped into the room only to find the young man she was supposed to be waking diligently working on paper work at his dark wood desk with a pair of black reading glasses perched on his nose. Her lips curve in a small smile and she chuckles lightly causing the man to finally look up as he places another piece of paper on his desk. He was dressed in a black silk haori with white mist dancing across it which was tucked into the black silk hakama falling from his slender hips. A white sash was knotted around his waist and his feet were tucked into a pair of black boots that were a gift to him from his grandfather. Over all the young man looked very handsome.

"Konnichiwa Mai…" Ichigo offers the woman a small smile as he stands and pulls his reading glasses from his nose to slip them back onto the desk. He looked extremely handsome either way. "Thank-you for finding me and reminding me of the time…you may go now I'll be down shortly."

Mai, the aforementioned woman, blushes darkly before scurrying out of the room as Ichigo walks toward the door with unhurried footsteps. He still had a few moments before he was set to find his father and grandfather to enter into the meeting hall with them and greet the council as well as his cousins.

Ichigo reaches his grandfather as the council begins trickling in and their eyes stray to him every so often but do not linger too much knowing he was one of many Shiba children running rampant nowadays. Finally Kukaku and Ganju walk in with their house in tow and Kukaku slaps him roughly on the shoulder. She leans forward and begins to whisper softly to him so that the older people don't overhear what she's about to say. "Itoko I was very glad to hear that you've decided to be reinstated as head of the clan or at the very least heir to the Shiba clan. I was growing tired of dealing with all these old men and women. Enjoy yourself."

Rolling his eyes Ichigo follows his grandfather into the meeting room and settles in politely at the man's side. Ichigo had been forced by Byakuya to take classed in etiquette so he was well versed by now in how these things occur. Isao begins calling the meeting to order and silence settles over the boisterous group of men and women within the room. Ichigo could faintly make out the reiatsu of guards settling outside the doors. It was a safety precaution the Shiba clan continually took with their meetings. "This morning we have a few things on the agenda the first being the reinstatement of Shiba Isshin's only son, Ichigo, into the Shiba Clan. All in favor..." A chorus of 'hai' floats through the room and Isao nods slowly amazing his grandson with the ease that he exudes in this situation. "With Shiba Ichigo being reinstated into the Clan that leaves him as the male heir of the clan thus he is now able to take over position as male head, do you Shiba Kukaku wish to relinquish control of the clan to Shiba Ichigo?"

Kukaku bows her head very respectfully, much different from the laid back woman Ichigo first met, and the meets Isao's gaze solemnly. "I, Shiba Kukaku forty-seventh head of the Clan Shiba do so wish to relinquish the position of Clan Head to the rightful heir if the council wishes it so." Isao smiles brightly at this prospect and pick up a piece of paper to read it slowly.

"As Shiba Kukaku wishes to relinquish her position it is now time to instate and new Clan Head and rightful heir to the position is Shiba Ichigo. Shiba Ichigo, formerly known as Kurosaki Ichigo, is gobantai taicho as well as a decorated war hero of the winter war and the man known to have taken down Aizen Sosuke. He achieved bankai in three days time, died once and was returned to life, and is now a master of the arts of shunpo, zanjustu, hoho, hakuda, and kido. His is known to be skilled in analysis of many situations and a very well adapted leader. All in favor of instating Shiba Ichigo as head of the Clan Shiba…" Ichigo was concerned with the looks of surprise on the faces of many men and women around him but his concern and worry soon vanish when a resounding chorus of the simple word 'hai' fills the room with not one person saying 'iie'.

Kukaku stands and pulls a pair of black gloves adorned with the Shiba Clan symbols from a small bow and bows in front of where Ichigo remained sitting. "Shiba Ichigo as former head of the Clan Shiba I do so gift to you the tekkou of the Clan Shiba as a representation for you status. Please wear them with care." Ichigo receive the tekkou graciously and slips his figners through them to find that they fit perfectly. Ignoring his wonder at the obviously very expensive gift he finds his grandfather bowing before him now. In his hands was a silken sash, much like the one around his waist. The sash was also white but the white color faded at the ends into brilliant blood red framed by black around the edges just like the color of his reiatsu.

"Shiba Ichigo, magomusuko, it is with great pride that I pass unto you the symbol for the true Head of the Shiba clan. This has been passed down from generation to generation for many years. It was crafted from the finest silks this world has ever seen and should be worn with great care. This will show your status to all who see you and we ask that you wear it with the pride of the many Heads of the Clan Shiba before you." Bowing his head in respect Ichigo takes the sash form his grandfather and stands slowly removing the pure white one from around his waist. With elegant fingers he deftly reties the new sash around his waist and then as his eyes sweep over the room everyone in it bows their head to him. With a small smile Ichigo bows in return and return to his seat beside his grandfather.

When they are all finally seated the doors to the meeting hall are opened and two servants bow deeply at the men and women. "Shiba-dono your guests have arrived as you have requested they are waiting patiently. Kuchiki-dono, accompanied by Kuchiki Rukia, awaits his meeting with you and the Shiba Clan." Mai lifts her head once more and her eyes widen when it is not Isao who answers but the young Shiba boy whom she had gotten this morning. Her eyes travel from the tekkou lining his hands to the red, white, and black sash around his waist in shock .He was the youngest head of the clan to date.

"Hai please bring them here there is much to discuss correct Ojii-sama? If you would I'd like for you to lead this meeting as you were the one to arrange it." The calming smile on his face was enough to ensure his clan members that he was not in any way angry by this turn of events and merely wished to allow his grandfather to do as he had originally planned. Mai nods and bows quickly along with the other woman at her side. They disappear quickly set to return with Byakuya Kuchiki and his adopted sister. "Perhaps today will not be as boring as I had originally thought…in any case this far exceeds doing mere paperwork although Hinamori will skin me alive if I do not finish it by tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 2

It was in those moments waiting to be admitted acceptance that Rukia Kuchiki's gaze lingered too long on the face of a single guard and she realized that merely two days ago this was the man sent to retrieve her fiancé's belongings from his taicho quarters in the gobantai. A sickening horror builds in her chest as the two female servants arrive once more to speak with her older brother. "Kuchiki-sama we are pleased to inform you that Shiba-dono and Isao-sama have admitted you entrance into the meeting room of the elder council. If you will please follow me I will lead you there." The young woman leads the pair away and Rukia feels as though she's going to be sick with the idea that this woman was leading her to her demise. Byakuya wasn't aware of her infidelity and surely if the men were indeed ones of this house, then Ichigo was a member of the Shiba Clan and Byakuya would surely find out about her wrongs.

The large doors are guarded by two men who step aside easily and the servant pushes the doors open and bows deeply at the waist. "Ah hello Byakuya welcome to our home!" Shiba Isao grins blindingly in his normal manner at the siblings. Rukia swallows her saliva and pushes a small smile onto her face as her eyes roam around the room only to stop and widen when her eyes rest on the orange haired man sitting directly to the right of Shiba Isao wearing the garments signaling his exact position in the Shiba clan. The smirk on his young face tells her everything she needed to know. Rukia knew without a doubt that by the time this meeting was over the Kuchiki Clan would be paying the Shiba clan very heavily to keep this under wraps.

Within moments Byakuya notices Kurosaki Ichigo settled beside Isao sipping tea gingerly with a devious glint in his eyes as they level on Byakuya's younger sister. Something had occurred but of what Byakuya was unsure and he was almost positive that it had something to do with his sibling and fukutaicho. "It is a pleasure to meet with you once again Isao. Hello to you as well Kurosaki-taicho it is a surprise to see you here." Byakuya's grey eyes flicker to the orange haired man who languidly placed his cup down as countless people in the room murmur in shock at Kuchiki's blatant disrespect for their clan head. They fall silent, shocking Byakuya, as Ichigo raises his hand and smiles politely.

"Kuchiki-taicho I unfortunately no longer use that name as I have been reinstated into the Shiba clan and have also taken position as the forty-eighth head of the Shiba Clan. Now if you will both please take a seat I believe that Isao-sama would like to begin. Mai will you please replenish our supply of tea. I'm afraid we're running low." Byakuya noticed the ease at which the gobantai taicho gave out orders and was not surprised in the least at how comfortable he seemed.

"Now that we've all been settled in the first thing I'd like to discuss with you is the unfortunate breaking of the engagement between one Kuchiki Rukia and Shiba Ichigo, formerly Kurosaki Ichigo. I am not sure you are aware or not but multiple personnel have agreed to have witnessed one Kuchiki Rukia participating in acts of infidelity with one Abarai Renji while she was in relations with Shiba Ichigo. Shiba Ichigo was informed by a close acquaintance, which shall remain unnamed, of these acts and did not at first believe them until 0300 hours two days prior to this meeting when he found both Kuchiki Rukia and Abarai Renji participating in sexual acts within his own barracks within his own quarters. Shiba Ichigo was then pulled off of Abarai Renji by multiple personnel and left to cool down only to return yesterday afternoon to retrieve his belongings from his barracks and notify Kuchiki Rukia to remove her belongings as well lest they be returned to Kuchiki Manor. What do you say of these reprehensible acts Kuchiki Byakuya?" Ichigo nearly spits his tea out from shock at his grandfather diving right in.

The look on Byakuya's face was priceless. His eyes twitched and his lips slimmed down into thin lines displaying his anger quite clearly. Ichigo watched in satisfaction as Rukia dropped her head and wrung her hands tightly. "I was not made aware of the actions of my sister and on behalf of the Kuchiki Clan I offer you our most humble apologies and sincerely hope that if we have anything of value to make up for the shame our house has brought upon the Shiba Clan you will ask us of it." His slate grey eyes fell closed as anger simmered in their depths.

Smirking lightly Ichigo places his cheek onto his fist. "As Head of the Shiba Clan I wish to ask of your house two things. I ask, first, that the Kuchiki Clan aid the Shiba clan in regaining their prestigious status as the fifth great noble house." Ichigo pauses as Byakuya's eyes flicker open to stare at him in shock while his family listens intently to Ichigo. "I have learned through many years of training with my own mentors that the Kuchiki Clan was given a minor clan by the Shihoin Clan many years ago. I ask, second, that the Kuchiki clan relinquish control of the Fon Clan to the Shiba Clan as repayment for the humiliation brought onto the Shiba Clan by your member Kuchiki Rukia." Shocked gasps float through the room because many knew they could go so far as to remove a clan from the Kuchiki's control but they were not sure if their Head would go so far as to do such a thing and with the Fon clan no less. They were all trained warriors and truly valuable ally that the Kuchiki's repeatedly saw as beneath them.

Byakuya's eyes twitch rapidly before he bows his head in acceptance of those repayments. A young man brings forth four pieces of paper and sets them in front of Byakuya as well as ink and a brush for him to sign his name on each document. Grudgingly Byakuya signs each document and tucks the one for the Kuchiki clan into his breast pocket. "Is that all that you wish of the Kuchiki clan on this day Shiba-san?"

Ichigo frowns lightly before shaking his head and lifting his gaze to Mai as she enters the room with trays of tea. "Ah you're just in time Mai. Would you please have two messengers take these documents to the Fon Clan and Chuo Shijuroku?" Mai nods quickly and collects the documents before handing the forth one to Ichigo himself and disappearing.

~~CxB~~

Soi-fon found herself called into an emergency meeting with the elder council of the Fon clan. Her hands were shaking as she was forced to read and reread the document in her hands describing the events leading up to the change in control of their lower house. Her eyes widened sharply when a small letter flutters to the ground in front of her.

_Dear Soi-fon,_

_ You know me well enough to know by now that I am smirking while I am writing this because I have gotten to see one thing no one else can say they have. Yes, early this morning I have been able to witness Kuchiki Byakuya become angry and shout, yes shout, at my bitch of an ex-fiancée. Many months ago I met my ojii-sama and was told that my father was the heir to the Shiba Clan when he left the Seireitei. As of this morning I have been reinstated as a member of the clan and instated as clan head. As repayment for our humiliation by Rukia we are being raised to our former status and your House was a part of our deal. As my gift to you for your help in all of this the Fon Clan will no longer be ruled by any House and is a free clan to do as they please. You clan is released from our control and raised to a higher status under the named companion House to the Shiba Clan. The Shiba Clan invites your clan to diner tomorrow evening as well to celebrate your new standing! Oh and we have a meeting with the sotaicho tomorrow morning, bright and early, so do you wish to join me in the gobantai barracks for breakfast before departing? _

_ Shiba Ichigo_

The letter flutters to the ground and a member of the elder council picks it up and reads over it. Her musical laughter floats over the entire group before she relays the amazing news to everyone. Soi-fon's face is overcome with a small smile that her family hadn't once seen in many years, since her father died. It wasn't of happiness at her family's turn of fate but instead it was because warmth had spread through her heart due to the very last sentence. Breakfast was not much but it was new between them and she could see many things on the horizon with this offer of friendship between the two taicho. With that smile still playing at her features, Soi-fon returns to her bed chambers with excitement bubbling in her chest.

The gobantai barracks were oddly silent for once but Soi-fon could only guess they were usually loud because of Kuchiki spending her free time here instead of at her own barracks. Just the thought of that cheating bitch made Soi-fon simmer in anger. Pushing aside her anger Soi-fon gazed around the barracks of the gobantai finally noticed how much they had changed since Ichigo took control of them. It was beautiful here and had the same elegance that the rokubantai exuded but somehow it was more laid back reminding her of the Gobantai taicho. The knowledge that he was a Shiba and was raised by the former Clan Head actually made his personality make more sense because the former Jubantai taicho acted very much like Ichigo does today. Still they are different because Ichigo is very passionate something she was told comes from his love of his mother. Perhaps that is why she likes the boy so much. He had lost his mother the same way she had lost her beloved father, to a hollow attack.

Soi-fon practically jumps when she turns a corner to find Ichigo leaning on the railing of a porch silently watching the dark morning sky. His face was illuminated by the little light that the morning gave off but it was enough to make butterflies flutter in her chest. His outfit was very much the same just more put together and a bit more suited for his body type. His tabi were higher and his pants shorter. His shirts were more form fitting and the sleeves were tucked into black tekkou with the white symbol of the Shiba Clan on each one. The only change in his appearance was the sash tied around his sleeveless taicho haori. It was a pure white sash, no doubt made of silk, with the ends fading into red which then faded to black just like his reiatsu. "Ohayou…Shiba-taicho…" Ichigo's amber eyes flicker to her in surprise before he grins brightly in her direction.

"I thought for a moment you were going to decline my offer. It would have made for a tense meeting and dinner this evening, would it not?" He tilts his head, reminding her of a little puppy, but it causes her to laugh none the less. Her laughter surprises Ichigo who had never heard the nibantai taicho laugh the way she was. When she finally finishes laughing Ichigo opens the sliding doors to his private tea room, right off of his office, a bit farther as an invitation for her to enter. She follows willingly and enters into the very nicely done tea room only to take a seat across the small table from him where she sees a servant placing plates of a meal out. Ichigo settles in across from her and turns his attention to the servant. "Mai you can return I'll clean everything up and when Isao-jii wakes up thank him for sending you to me. I would have been a terrible cook this morning."

The servant nods once and offers him a small smile before disappearing from his side leaving the steaming pot of tea behind. "So it seems you've taken to your position quite well, how often have you actually been around your family?" They both bow their heads before they begin to eat. The food was wonderful. Soi-fon could only guess that the servant that had made it was a very high positioned servant for the Shiba clan. She was most surely missed this morning.

Ichigo shrugs at her question. "I've known of them for a little over two years now but I only found out about my birth rights a year ago. Rukia did not think it would be a good idea for me to take my place as heir saying that it was too much work to handle but goat-chin seems to think that it's because she knew if I was the head of the Shiba Clan and it was found that she was cheating there would be dire consequences. Seeing as I found out before I was named Head and was only the known heir we could not punish the Kuchiki Clan too severely." Soi-fon nods her head just once before smiling fondly at him once again shocking the orange haired man.

"Yoruichi-sama visited me after you left on Friday. She said she'd be around for a while because the Sotaicho asked something of her. I suppose that is what our meeting will be about this morning or at least what it will partially be about. Urahara Kisuke is with her as well." Ichigo finds himself chuckling at the pout of distaste forming on her lips. Her eyes flicker to him curiously.

Ichigo offers her a small smile and she studies it for a long moment shocked by how nice it makes his features look. He was actually very attractive normally but when his face wasn't in that damned scowl he was actually more handsome than Kuchiki-taicho, which judging by what the other girls always say takes quite a bit. "Pardon me I did not mean to laugh at you Soi-fon. It is just that whenever you speak of Urahara-san you tend to pout. Why do you dislike him so greatly I find humor in his constant act of stupidity especially when people believe him to actually be so stupid? It reminds me greatly of the way goat-chin acts all the time or at least when we are alone now." Ichigo was reminded of the almost eighteen years he spent in the gense where his sisters were actually born. He remembered how silly his father acted even before his mother's death. He loved his father dearly but as he got older the man just annoyed him to no end until he realized that it was his father's way of making him relax and slip away from the heavy weight settled on his shoulders.

Soi-fon beginning to speak again snapped Ichigo away from the thoughts of his childhood. "Yoruichi was the only person that could make me smile as a young girl. Urahara Kisuke often stole her from me and I suppose I've always been jealous of how often she praised him. She never praised me the way she praised her best friend. I wished to be her best friend to be better than him. Then she left with him and it made my resentment grow. I suppose I've gotten over it now I just distaste the way he acts more so than anything else these days." Ichigo nods softly and in the silence they can both here the gobantai waking up. The sun still had not fully made an appearance and this shocked Soi-fon because she did not know that the gobantai awoke so early.

"If I am reading your question as I believe I am…my barracks awake early every morning for an early breakfast with the entire gobantai and then proceed to have a group training session usually led by Momo or myself in order to reinstated trust within everyone here." Soi-fon didn't exactly know when he had gotten so good at reading people but then again perhaps he was always very good at it and merely didn't show anyone because they were not trusted enough. Surely he would have shown Rukia that side of him or perhaps he didn't wish to share it with her for fear of her thinking her was a changed man. In any case she didn't feel violated by his knowledge of her. Instead she felt warm and understood. She had not felt that way in a very long time. When she looked into his eyes she could make out every emotion playing on his face just like everyone else could but she could also see the emotions he tried so hard to hide. In this very moment he was struggling with how to phrase something very important. "I do not wish for my bantai to be as easily fooled as they had been with Aizen or as weak as they were. I wish for them to know me as well as my fukutaicho so that if I do something I wouldn't normally do they will either confront me as a whole or trust that what I am doing is for the sole betterment of the gobantai and Gotei 13."

His eyes beg for understand behind the calm exterior of emotions playing in them. He never was understood around here. Soi-fon is shocked to realize that the only people who truly understood him were Yoruichi, Urahara, and his family. None of his friend knew the real man behind the stupid brash façade he created as a teenager but somehow she could see it all. She was the one that was able to look past the blatantly displayed emotions in his eyes to see the real man behind those emotions and he knew that. She finally realized that he could see her knowledge on her face as well as she could see the same thing on his face.

She understood that their friendship reached a new level in that moment. Yes, that had been friends before this. A relationship such as theirs occurs when you spend nearly every training session with them because their mentor is your mentor. Ichigo was never a very close friend but he was someone she knew she could rely on. In this moment thought they both realized that they could very much be the best friend that the other person has always been looking for.

Finally finding her tongue again Soi-fon begins to speak as Ichigo sips his tea trying to collect himself. "I think that is a very good idea Ichigo. Aizen destroyed the trust that these men and women have in a leadership figure. It was very obvious during the winter war that that occurred. With you and Momo both working to earn their trust so vehemently but also working for them to trust each other and be able to handle themselves properly is such a thing were to occur again you have given them a very strong trust in both themselves and you and your fukutaicho as leadership figures." The words sort of spilled from her mouth and she didn't mind that she wasn't formal with him. She didn't care that they were making idle chatter or that she was simply wasting time with him. She enjoyed her time. She had for the first time in years enjoyed wasting time with someone and didn't once think of the consequences of leaving her barracks. "Do you think the nibantai would be bettered by doing the same thing?"

Ichigo's eyebrows rise before he chuckles softly and nods his head just once. "Actually I think the gobantai and nibantai should be working together and separately. I think each bantai should respectively perform these exercises but also work with the other bantai that they most closely work with. Seeing as our two barracks specialize in objectives that are the most closely related, like the Jusanbantai and the hachibantai, they should be training together so that no enemy can attack them and find flaws in their teamwork. Aizen knew this and he used it to his advantage." Soi-fon smiles lightly while her brain becomes swarmed with ideas. They race rapidly across her analytical mind before one stops and her eyes widen a fraction of a degree.

Ichigo studies her face for a moment idly wondering what it is she is thinking about. "Ichigo perhaps we should test something. The next group drill is in one month. We could spend every other morning training as a whole group, the nibantai and gobantai, and then spend the other day training separately with just our bantai we could prove that we need to work together. The sotaicho cannot disprove very real evidence. It will also help both of our bantai to become more pwoerful and more skilled in areas that they work with but are not very skilled in." She was excited by this prospect. Ichigo could tell be she was talking faster than normal and her eyes were still rather wide. Unfortunately Ichigo knew they would not have time to hash out the details this morning and tonight any work was strictly prohibited to him as per orders of his grandfather.

"Seeing as we won't be able to finish hashing out the detail why don't we meet for lunch and finish discussing what we will do?" Soi-fon nods sharply and taps her chin lightly for a moment as Ichigo stands to begin gathering the dishes form in front of them both.

Soi-fon follows and helps him collect their things. As he begins washing them in a small kitchen area she begins speaking to him. "Why don't we meet in my barracks for lunch around twelve thirty and then we'll hash everything out and just take a break from what I am sure is to be a hectic day." Ichigo calls out his acceptance of the idea as he walks out of the kitchen to see Soi-fon wiping off the table. She smiles and finishes up before cleaning her hands and following him out of the lively barracks.

Ichigo smiles softly and stops by the doors into the canteen where loud voices are talking and it seems very lively and friendly. Motioning for her to follow him in, Ichigo moves through the crowd of people toward his fukutaicho who is in a boisterous conversation with another shinigami while waiting in line for the buffet of food. "Momo I'm leaving for the meeting. Will you be alright?"

Hinamori-fukutaicho turns her blinding smile on her taicho before nodding yes and motioning for him to go. With a soft nod Ichigo leads Soi-fon back through his barracks so they can leave for the meeting with the sotaicho.


	4. Chapter 3

They were among the first few taicho to arrive and instead of joining the jubantai taicho and jusanbantai taicho in their conversation the pair settled for speaking quietly to one another discussing what they would go over when they trained together. Ichigo was leaning against one of the pillars and Soi-fon was standing in front of him with her head leaned up a bit so she could meet his gaze. This occurrence shocks both Toshiro and Jushiro and they wonder exactly what the pair was speaking about so quickly and seriously.

Soi-fon reaches up and hits the orange haired man on the cheek lightly causing him to roll his eyes and chuckle softly. "Gomen Soi-fon that was a stupid question…" Of course Ichigo calling the nibantai taicho by anything but her title and not being killed for it was also a shocker. The only thing they could hear was random little words coming from Ichigo's mouth more so than the nibantai taicho and to say that their interest was piqued when neither noticed multiple more Taicho entering was an understatement. Ichigo shakes his head softly in disagreement to something before Soi-fon waves off his comment with a very unusual familiarity.

"I did not say twelve you big lug…maybe if you would listen…" Soi-fon become quieter once again before Ichigo mutters something causing her to giggle softly before covering her mouth and murmuring something back. "Fine twelve it is but I swear to god if Omaeda messes anything up in the process I will personally have your head Shiba."

Ichigo shrugs softly and tilts his head down offering his neck to her causing her to glare sharply at him, but not as sharply as she would someone else, and bonk him on the top of the head lightly. Byakuya had finally entered the room and saw this display of friendship so to speak and something akin to anger wells in him. To think he was so upset that Rukia cheated on him that he would use Shaolin Fon as a rebound. "Kurosaki please find your position in line as you can see we are all waiting on you!" The snap in the impatient Rokubantai taicho's voice was enough to make Ichigo look over his shoulder at the black haired man and Soi-fon lean around Ichigo to follow suit.

"Rokubantai taicho…" the cold edge to the voice of nibantai taicho was surprising considering how much warmth had been in it just moments ago. This was something no one had expected to see but they were further shocked by the small woman stepping around Kurosaki to smirk viciously at the man she had grown up with. "Would it not be prudent of you to use the man's real name seeing as you cannot plead ignorance as you did meet with him yesterday afternoon as the Head of the Shiba Clan to discuss matters pertaining to the repulsive acts of a member of your house? Be that as it may until the moment the sotaicho steps through those doors were are free to roam and speak with whoever we so choose and unless you need your eyes checked by the yonbantai the sotaicho is not present. Now unless you'd like for me to interrupt one of your conversations I'd keep my opinions to myself and leave Shiba-taicho out of your line of fire considering he is not the one in the wrong. Perhaps you should look closer to home for someone in the wrong or even perhaps in your own barracks!" Soi-fon's lips were set in a delicate sneer as her grey eyes glared daggers at the rokubantai taicho. The man's eyes were wide open before the narrowed in a snarl and darted toward Ichigo who merely leaned against a pillar with his arms crossed.

He pushes agilely off of the pillar and places a calming hand on Soi-fon's shoulder. "Arigato Soi-fon…we will finish this conversation at a later time it seems there have been enough problems for one meeting, ne?" The nibantai taicho sighs shortly before nodding her head and returning to her position this time leaning against the pillar defiantly. Ichigo begins walking to his position but stops and looks over his shoulder at Byakuya with a small smirk on his lips. "No Byakuya Soi-fon and I do not have any other relation aside from friendship. Unlike your sibling I do not find infidelity appealing in any sense of the word. As it stands your clan is humiliated enough and it would not bode well for you to do so further."

Byakuya's mouth falls open in shock as Ichigo finally takes his place in line and settles for looking out one of the windows blatantly ignoring anyone who tried to speak with him. Of course even from where she was standing Soi-fon could see the rage boiling in his eyes. Hell his anger was practically rolling off him in waves so great that she was surprised no one else could feel it.

In the next few moments while both friends simmer in their own thoughts the Sotaicho enters the room and begins the meeting only bringing them both out of their thoughts when Yoruichi and Kisuke walk in followed closely by Ichigo's father. Isshin looked rather elegant if that was the right word. He did not hold himself as the man Ichigo had once thought him to be as a young boy. An uproar of whispers and sneered phrases were thrown about by countless taicho who were silenced by the cold solid gaze of the sotaicho. "As we were all made very aware the Gotei 13 is severely lacking as a unit. The difference between one bantai and another is so great that it is as if they are one singular nation and not a cohesive army. That being said I have enlisted the help of Urahara Kisuke, Shihoin Yoruichi, and Shiba Isshin to create a technological testing facility in which each bantai is graded on their skills as a unit as well as individually. They will be tested on zanjutsu, hoho, hakuda, kido, and shunpo. Each of these three people is a master in at least four of those fields and will be able to create what I wish of them. You will be evaluated in one month's time." Shocked was among the only emotion shown around the room. It was oddly silent because never once had the taicho found their bantai to be 'inadequate' and to be told so blatantly by their own leader that they were failures was a shot to their still recovering pride.

Taking the silence as his queue to begin Kisuke steps forward and begins to speak in his genius tone of voice making Soi-fon roll her eyes when she meets Ichigo's amused gaze. "Yoruichi, Isshin, and I have analyzed each bantai, extensively, and have paired them with a partner bantai which is the most closely related to them in terms of what they strive to accomplish in the day to day lives of the Gotei 13. The Ichibantai has been paired with the taicho as a whole as they will need to have perfect cohesion in times of strife." Kisuke titles his head to Isshin who pulls a piece of paper from the sleeve of his haori.

"The pairings are as follows; the nibantai is paired with the gobantai, the sanbantai is paired with the hachibantai, the yonbantai and the juichibantai, the rokubantai and the nanbantai, the kyuubantai and the junibantai, and finally the jubantai and the jusanbantai will be paired up." Isshin's eyes dared anyone to disagree with their partners and most, not including his son and the nibantai taicho, were not thrilled with the idea of who they would be working with.

Finally Yoruichi steps forward only to grin maliciously at the group of taicho. "We have not paired you as such simply because of the job you perform throughout the day. We have studied the data collected from the previous group drills and paired you will corresponding partners who have done worse or done better whether you are the better bantai or the worse one does not matter because if you both do not pass then your bantai will be reevaluated and shinigami will be moved and transferred. You have one month to train your shinigami as you see fit if you choose not to do any training and believe yourself to be in the clear be prepared for hell."

With those parting words the meeting was dismissed and the many taicho were too stunted to even move while Soi-fon and Ichigo strolled side by side from the room speaking quickly and quietly. The golden eyed woman glanced between her blue eyed lover and grey eyed friend with a vicious smile upon her lips. "I give them this next month before they realize how perfect they are for one another." Yoruichi's eyes widen considerably with what her lover had said before shaking her head and knowing she wouldn't bet against him. When the man said something with that much conviction she knew not to argue with him.

"The funniest part is Tousan said the same thing and has never once seen them together." Isshin scratches at the back of his head while he laughs softly reminding his two friends of his son who had somehow picked up the exact same trait from his father.

~~CxB~~

The texture of the outfit in her hands was a constant that she enjoyed each morning as she got dressed. She loved that taicho haori not just because it showed her status, which she worked hard for, but it also hid her exposed body that she was unusually insecure about. Honestly if you were the replacement for one of the most aesthetically gifted women, not unlike Matsumoto-fukutaicho, then you would be insecure about wearing the same kind of uniform as her if you were less than gifted. Soi-fon had always felt that she was lacking something and more often than not she felt that she looked more masculine than she did feminine. Shaking herself out of those thoughts she places the haori on the back of her vanity chair before stripping down to bathe herself before the dinner she was to go to at the Shiba residence tonight. A servant of the Fon Clan was supposed to be over soon to help her with her hair and makeup.

As she slipped into the steaming hot both she relaxed and thought back on her thoroughly enjoyable day. She had been comfortable with Ichigo despite what she had thought was a large age difference. When she had pointed out their difference in age he had corrected her saying that he was a few years older than her and had been born in the Seireitei when his parents first met. When his dad had left along with Yoruichi and Kisuke after finding out about Aizen he took Ichigo and his wife with him. Once in the gense they were able to fit Ichigo into the body of a young boy but in doing so they erased most of his memories. She was shocked to discover that he grew up with the likes of Byakuya but not shocked to realize that Ichigo and Kaien had been best friends growing up.

If Soi-fon was being honest she would admit that she loved just sitting in her quarters having lunch with him today. They had both removed their taicho haoris at some point and she felt very comfortable despite what she knew she was lacking. He didn't make her feel like she wasn't enough of a woman for him to pay attention to. Hell her cooking practically made the man drool. She halfway wondered how the man survived for so long without being able to cook. They had spoken about the details of their plan for a very short amount of time saying that they would begin group training tomorrow and then every other day they would meet together at one another's barracks. Tomorrow they would be at the gobantai so that the gobantai could show the shinigami under her control how it is done. She was very excited for this turn of events. Then the day after tomorrow she would start the nibantai on their separate training as a group. They would not mind waking up too early as most woke up very early anyway. Her fukutaicho would simply have to get over it and actually do his job for once. The rest of their lunch they had spent talking about random things that she normally wouldn't spend her time discussing because she usually said she didn't care. Secretly she knew that she wanted to talk about the local gossip within the Seireitei and she had hoped Ichigo would share the details of exactly what he had heard Byakuya say to Rukia. She had gotten that and so much more.

Standing from the now cold water Soi-fon begins to dress in the white yukata set aside. She walks into her quarters and finds Yoruichi sitting on her bed. "Hello little bee…I've sent your servant away for the time being. I will be the one to help you tonight. Sit down." Following her mentor's instructions Soi-fon settles into a chair and closes her eyes knowing it was futile to argue. Soi-fon only allowed this because she knew her mentor would not over do this like what the servant girl would have. She knew she would look like herself just prettier or at least the make-up would hide the flaws in her face. Yoruichi would hide away the little scars that she had received over the years and she was not mistaken. When she opened her eyes again she thought she looked prettier than she had before at least.

"Arigato Yoruichi-sama…" Soi-fon moves toward the simple yet elegant kimono that reminded her of the one her father had given her for one of her birthdays. It was special to her. She only wore it a handful of times and she wanted, for some reason, to share that information with Ichigo. The kimono was a dark pink color and the silk made it change its color as it hugged her curves defining them. Purple accents were added along the hemline and sleeves as well as the obi which was black silk with a purple stripe through it. She adored it more than anyone should really know. It covered her feet but there was a small slit that opened at the bottom to reveal her dark purple shoes that revealed her tiny toes at the very tip.

Yoruichi was watching her as she pulled the kimono on with great care knowing that her little bee was deep in thought and judging by the blush on her cheeks it was about a man. "You know he has always had a way of making everyone fall in love with him in some way. Ever since he was very young and befriended the coldest and most ill-tempered boy in the Seireitei. He is a lot like his father in that sense. Kisuke hated Isshin when we were very young. He hated that everyone loved the heir to the Shiba Clan but after finally meeting him neither of us could say we hated him. Isshin and Ichigo both have a way about them that draws people in even with the scowl they share more often than not on their faces." Yoruichi shocked her student by guiding her to a chair and beginning to run a straightener through the long locks at the back of her head. Yoruichi was always shocked by how beautiful her student's hair was when she let it down completely. Soi-fon never thought she was pretty but Yoruichi knew she was. Being the sneaky cat that Yoruichi was she hadn't even applied make-up to the girls face.

~~CxB~~

A knock sounded at the wall beside Ichigo's door before the pair of them swung open to reveal his father. Isshin was dressed perfectly with every detail pulled off very well by him. When the man was being serious he really knew how to dress himself. He wore a deep blue hakama and haori ensemble with silver tree branches and blossom on it. His face was cleanly shaven making him appear very young. He wore a pair of silver boots that his hakama were tucked into. Around his waist was a yellow sash keeping everything together.

"Are you prepared to greet our guests, most honorable clan head?" The humor in his voice did not go unnoticed by Ichigo who merely raised his eyes to stare at his father from behind black framed glasses. Very few people knew he actually wore glasses but he didn't mind them too much. In fact he has been told countless time by his mentors that he looks very cute with them on. "Musuko…didn't your jiisan tell you no paperwork?"

Isshin's grey eyes twinkled with mischief something Ichigo found soothing to his own nerve. Yes the great Shiba Ichigo, formerly Kurosaki Ichigo, was nervous about meeting with a noble clan for the first time. "I'm almost finished. I'll be down before dinner I promise." Isshin holds his son's gaze and nods softly. He reminded the older man so much of his late wife. Misaki had been such a hard worker. She could always be found in the library working on paperwork for her taicho. Her orange ahir would be pulled up into a messy bun atop her head and her teeth would work over her bottom lip as she diligently read through each page. "I'll leave you to it then…and Ichigo…don't be nervous you'll charm their pants off. You've always been good at that."

Isshin leaves the room and disappears down the hallways of his childhood home leaving Ichigo to return to his paperwork where time seems to slip away from him until a set of footsteps stop outside of his door. "Mai I'll be down in a few moments." A short chuckle sends his head darting to the door where his eyes widen comically when he sees Soi-fon leaning against his bedroom door looking like she had fallen from the sky. The kimono followed every slender curve of her body and made her look petite and perfect. Her face was bare of any makeup and it was something that Ichigo found only she could pull off and still look just as beautiful as any other woman who painted their faces to look pretty. Her tiny toes were peeking out from the tips of her slippers and the slit didn't look whorish as it would on most people. It made her legs look longer. Her long hair had been what shocked him the most. It hung down her back and ended at the curve of her but. The onyx strands danced with her every step toward him before she stared deep into his eyes assessing him in glasses.

"I'm certainly not Mai…I believe I am quite a few years her junior Shiba-dono." Mischief danced in her grey eyes as Ichigo continued to take her in. Hazy memories of other women in the courts flashed through his mind as he compared his unusual lack of vigor for them with the lust rolling off of him in this moment. Oh how they'd hate him now for saying that Shaolin Fon was much prettier than any of them could ever be. "In any case I think the glasses are a nice touch." Her lips curl up lightly before she settles into the chair near his desk sideways and hangs her head backwards to look at him.

"Arigato…I think." Ichigo laughs softly before placing his pen down and pulling his glasses off the bridge o his nose. His figners rub at the bridge of the appendage. "You're early Soi-fon." Brown and grey meet and Ichigo studies the emotions in her eyes as she does the same to him.

"I know…the geezers are talking with Isao in the tea room. They said that they enjoyed his presence and as much as he likes to deny the fact Isshin and you are exactly like him. Isshin led me up here and told me to vísi with you while he entertained the younger portions of my family." A small smile, that he only ever sees directed at him, graces her features as they continue to speak quietly to one another as Ichigo finished off his paperwork and cleans up his desk.

~~CxB~~

The gentle moon drifted lazily over the blackened sky as the pair of friends stood on the balcony of the Shiba manor. They had snuck away from the boring dinner meetings hours ago and wandered the manor aimlessly talking about anything that came to mind and sharing stories of their childhoods. Ichigo had quite a few memories but most of them were hazy in some aspects. He conceded that they were slowly coming back to him as he spent more time in the Seireitei and within the walls of the Shiba manor. Ichigo's arms hung off the edge of the railing as he leaned over it slightly while Soi-fon was leaning her side against it and had her body angled toward him.

"I remember when I was really little Kaien and I would hide from our mother's out here for hours in the morning just so we could see the sunrise and then watch the manor come alive. Kaien used to say that the servants looked like little colonies of ants as they awoke and got to work. They are always so happy to be working for Isao. The other lords, I can't really remember who anymore, used to patronize him for being so polite to them. He treats them all like family." Soi-fon studies the small smile gracing her friend's lips at the thoughts of his childhood with his cousin. "Kaien was like a brother to me…when I finally remembered the relationship we had growing up and it sank in that he was never going to come around laughing hysterically about something Ganju or Kukaku did I cried myself to sleep in my father's arms. It hurts so much to know that I wasn't there to save him so we could grow old together."

The pain in his brown eyes makes Soi-fon's heart ache for the man that had become her best friend in only a matter of days. She hated that he was so torn by the departure of his brother. She could see that in blood they were cousins but in heart they were brothers. She understood how the Kuchiki girl had felt with the loss of her mentor but Ichigo had it much worse. She knew he felt guilty because he had forgotten the man while Kaien lived on and remembered him. "I'll understand if you don't remember but you are the same age as Kuchiki-taicho correct? Have you ever…"

"We are cousins as well." Her eyes widened in shock at the revelation. They were so cold to one another that she hadn't thought they had been friends let alone cousins. "My mother and his mother were sisters. They were from the Kurosaki clan…a very low ranking house. My parents took my mother's name when we fled to the gense. Byakuya, Kaien, and I grew up together. I saw him in the same light I saw Kaien and vise versa. I didn't remember him the first time we met but I still don't understand why he hates me so much. He'd accuse me of things I never showed to him. Now I realize that he hates that I broke so many promises when I left. I feel so guilty and I feel like I left both him and Kaien down. Lin…I just…I wasn't there for Kaien when his dad died…I wasn't there when the Kuchiki clan murdered Hisana. I mean I didn't particularly care for the woman because she said she would never love Byakuya but still I promised I'd help protect her. I missed so much and left both of my cousins stranded without someone to rely on."

Soi-fon raises one eyebrow at the nickname knowing he would have a new obsession with her full name or any variants of it after the meeting tonight but she let the nickname slide because she knew he was opening up about this for perhaps the first time.

Her sad grey eyes slide to gaze at her best friend and that's when she finally sees the tears welling in his brown eyes. They were so pained…it was hard for her to deal with seeing him so upset. "Ichi…" she pauses as her opens him mouth and words roll out helplessly.

"I wasn't there to save either of them Soi-fon…I wasn't there and Kaien and Byakuya both died because of it. I will never see Kaien again and Byakuya's family killed him! They killed the man I grew up with and replaced him with the coldest being I have ever met in my entire life and I did nothing to stop it because I ran away like a fucking coward…I ran away…" Tears roll down his cheeks and his body shakes slightly. Soi-fon knew if she helped him their friendship would be solid and on a new level than what they were awkwardly part of now. She knew they'd be too close to never forget one another again. Ignoring the worry deep in her chest Soi-fon reaches up with slightly shaking hands and wipes away the tears on his cheek before pulling him gently into the sitting room the balcony was off of.

Soi-fon settles them onto a lounge chair where she proceeds to pull her distraught friend into a hug allowing him to cry softly for the first time. She knew Ichigo would hate that he cried because he wasn't the type to be seen as weak but she also knew the environment that all nobles grew up in and knew that he had never been able to truly grieve over the loss of the only friend from his childhood that he had left. It was true that Byakuya was still alive but the Byakuya Ichigo knew and loved as his own family was long gone and replaced with one that Ichigo could only see as a dead version of the true man.

So they sat in comfortable silence as Ichigo slowly calmed down until he felt considerably better and somewhat closer to Soi-fon. Ichigo settles more comfortably onto her lap and Soi-fon's hands comb through his hair calming him farther. Ichigo's brown eyes close in content and Soi-fon stares at him in silent thought wondering if she should share her own recent worries. "My family is considering a marriage contract with the Kuchiki clan. The Kuchikis have been trying for years to marry Byakuya and I but he's blatantly refused it every time. He refuses every marriage contract the elders put before him in an act of rebellion I suppose. I don't know him well enough to accurately guess…" Soi-fon trials off and stills her hands in his hair allowing her figners to flew and tighten in it slightly. Ichigo opens one eye to glance up at her before relaxing slightly as her fingers loosen and continue on with their same path. Her grey eyes are filled with turmoil as her voice drops to a whisper. "I don't want to marry him Ichi…I want to marry for love not for clan status."

A small half smile glides across Soi-fon's face before his hand brushes away a stray tear from her cheek. Soi-fon hadn't even realized that her eyes had watered up let along that a traitorous tear had escaped from them. "I'll do everything in my power to help you stop it…I promise you that I'll do whatever it takes Lin. This is one promise I will not break." As Soi-fon stared deep into those brown eyes she knew without a doubt that Ichigo would go through hell and back to keep his promise to her. He wouldn't allow the same thing to happen twice because she knew in that moment he cared deeply for her in some way. She wasn't entirely sure which was but she would cross that bridge when she was ready. For now she's try and figure out her own feelings.


	5. Chapter 4

The purple and orange hued dawn found the sound of metal against metal clashing together within the gobantai barracks. The barracks were so far apart from the sections of the Gotei 13 that surrounded it that the sound was dulled to near silence when it reached the other areas. The grounds of the barracks were alive and bustling about with twice as many shinigami as usual. Men and women were doused in sweat from head to toe with countless garments lining the ground around the inner walls. Women were down to their pants and the bindings around their chests while men were shirtless. It didn't matter where you stepped large groups moved together seamlessly as they shouted orders between one another speaking quickly and acting fluently all to the chagrin of the two taicho standing at the entrance of the gobantai barracks. The pair was glistening with a thin layer of sweat from their own workout with groups and they had stopped for a few moments to check the progress of the other shinigami under their command.

After nearly three weeks of training they were proud to say that their units were cohesive to the point that they practically moved together automatically. If one person moved out of position the rest of the group moves to covers ranks and so on so forth. Both taicho were insane proud of their team as they've come to call them. Neither taicho like to treat the shinigami under their command like they were below them after seeing how much each one grew throughout these training sessions. They knew the name of each member of their team and knew exactly what they needed to work on as a proper taicho should. They knew the strengths and weaknesses of the shinigami under them but were willing to work with them at any point in the day to make their skills better in any form of work. It was very often that one taicho would find a member of either the gobantai or the nibantai in their training grounds with them working on any skill that they could. The shinigami respected them immensely and knew their taicho took everything very seriously especially after Soi-fon demoted her fukutaicho and promoted third seat Fujimoto Arata to the new position. Omeada was still currently within the Nibantai but he was now the fifth seat and was on probation. Arata had grown rather well under the help of the two taicho together as he found that both were a lot less intimidating than what he and the rest of the gobantai and nibantai had thought.

To the nibantai they were shocked that their taicho was so willing to help them with any problem. They chalked her bad attitude up to having to always fix mistakes that her former fukutaicho made. She was very intelligent and a very good teacher. They found that Soi-fon and Ichigo were very gruff at first glance but ended up being rather personable toward people they trusted. The pair worked very well together. Both Momo and Arata found the change in the overall relations of their respective bantai refreshing. It was shocking to everyone when they announced that they were together and begged their taicho to forgive them. Ichigo and Soi-fon merely laughed and congratulated the pair. Ichigo had even joked that Arata had to be a good man to pass Toshiro's careful test for a possible boyfriend for his best friend.

"They're doing very well…I'd say we're probably the best pair out of everyone. I can't say the same for taicho considering half of us spend more time arguing then we do training, ne Ichi?" Soi-fon grins deviously up at her best friend who chuckles softly and wipes the back of his forearm against his forehead wiping away the sweat beading there. Soi-fon chuckles and uses her taicho haori to wipe the sweat from her own face.

Ichigo meets her gaze for a moment before nodding softly and returning his eyes to the massive group of deadly shinigami before him. "I'd have to agree with you on that one Lin. I swear the taicho could be a force to be reckoned with by themselves if they stopped acting like children and got over themselves. Our power put together is unsurpassable." Ichigo shakes his head sadly before titling his head toward his best friend. "It might also be detrimental to the other bantai that their taicho argue at every turn. I think the only two that don't argue of Zaraki and Unohana-taicho. That woman scares everyone too much to have them argue with her plus she's brilliant!"

Soi-fon knew the look of wonder in her best friend's eyes. He knew exactly what kind of battle expert Unohana Retsu was. He had heard stories from his grandfather who was a seated officer himself when she was found and brought into the Gotei 13. Soi-fon had heard the stories as well and she knew what the woman was capable of. There was a reason Soi-fon respected her and the Yonbantai so much. "You are very true although I don't think anyone could argue with Ukitake-taicho either he's too kind for that. I'd feel like I was kicking a puppy if I ever fought with him."

The look in Soi-fon's eyes has Ichigo chuckling again before he begins laughing hysterically. "That is so true…I-I never thought of that until now! You're so right!" Ichigo wipes at his eyes as he tries to calm his laughter and regulate his breathing.

Shaking her head Soi-fon watches as the sun finally begins to rise and she knows that the rest of the Seireitei would soon be waking up. That also meant that the training session was soon over and everyone would walk toward the galley to begin the preparation of the massive breakfast they had after every training session. The food was always super healthy but really tasty and fulfilling. It helped the entire group to stay energized during the day and not rely of things from the gense like energy drinks and stuff like that.

Slowly the groups began to stop and begin getting drinks and cool down after their long training session. After nearly three weeks of nonstop movement every morning it felt good to wake up and begin the day with a train session. The gobantai was so used to it that they only had to adjust to have the nibantai with them every other morning. "Alright everyone time to head into the galley! Let's go…get a move on." Momo's cheery voice rang over the group and they all stood and walks toward the large galleys of the Gobantai to help prepare breakfast. This was also something they knew helped bond the group together. Most of the time when the two taicho left of went out they would find countless members of both the nibantai and gobantai walking around the Seireitei and Rukongai together. They had all become good friends which made the two taicho happy because they didn't like negativity in their barracks. Negativity brought problems that could surface at any time and become highly detrimental which was why Omeada was on a very thin leash and may be moved to a different sector of the Gotei 13.

"So about what we were discussing last night…are you going to speak with Byakuya today?" Soi-fon's question caught him off guard but it was reasonable. The Kuchiki clan and Fon clan were discussing the marriage contract in depth know and it was almost inevitable. One of the elders of the Fon clan that was closer to Soi-fon had told her that the only way to break the contract was to either have Kuchiki refuse it entirely or have another marriage contract of equal standing enter into the Fon house. Unbeknownst to Soi-fon Ichigo had Isao preparing a contract between the House Shiba and the House Fon incase Byakuya refused to retract the contract.

"I've decided to speak with him when I run paperwork over to the rokubantai this afternoon on my lunch break. Don't worry Lin…I told you that I'd make sure you don't have to marry him." The sincerity in Ichigo's eyes made Soi-fon's heart crash against her rib cage violently as butterflies filled her stomach. A small blush fills her cheeks before she nods and smiles brightly. She grips his hand tightly and pulls him into the galley only to push him toward an open cutting board where he sets to work intently. Secretly, Soi-fon knew that Ichigo enjoyed cooking. It reminded him of when he'd helped to teach Yuzu how to cook after their mother passed away.

~~CxB~~

The Rokubantai was stiff yet oddly elegant it reminded Ichigo of the Kuchiki estate sans what Byakuya used to be like and what his father was like when they were younger. He always wondered how the pair had been produced from such an uptight place. Now he hated the Kuchiki clan for killing the man his best friend used to be. Steeling himself quickly, Ichigo walks with long graceful stride through the barracks and passed many shinigami, both seated and unseated, who bow respectfully before hurrying to go about their daily duties. He had to give it to his cousin; the rokubantai was like a well oiled machine. He stopped near the open doors of Renji's office. The fukutaicho stiffen quickly and raised his eyes to meet Ichigo's gaze fearfully.

Renji looked nervous but he also looked like he hadn't slept in days or eaten. His eyes were devoid of the life that had once been in them so long ago. It hit the older man's heart hard to see the red-head in such a state even after everything his did. "Ohayo Shiba-taicho…Kuchiki-taicho is expecting you in his office…but…um…do you have a moment please? I understand if you don't…"

"Renji shut up…" Ichigo brazen tone of voice causes the fukutaicho to nearly choke to death in fear but his eyes widen in shock when Ichigo closes the door silently and sits his paperwork on a nearby coffee table only to sit beside it with an elegance Renji envied. "You look like shit man."

Renji runs a tattooed hand down his face before groaning. "I know…look man I know what I did was wrong and that you probably have no reason to ever forgive me but I…I hate that I did that to you man. You were one of my best friends and I should have thought about that and not let lust be the only thing on my mind. I-I'm sorry man." Ichigo eyes him lightly before raising one brow in realization. He wasn't insulted by the man before him when he realized what occurred between the pair. Actually he felt bad for the man. "I swear what Rukia said when she fought with you wasn't true. It wasn't the whole time it was only a few times."

Ichigo knew that the man was being completely serious because his grandfather had told him that he would have been able to sense Renji's reiatsu on Rukia if it had occurred often. Shaking himself out of his own thoughts Ichigo shakes his head. "She cheated on you too didn't she Renji?" The other man's eyes widen comically before he drops his head onto the desk with a groan.

"She cheated on me for Izuru! God I should have known she wouldn't be faithful you know? Man I'm such an idiot I ruined our friendship for Rukia think she'd stay with me but she didn't stay faithful to you and you're ten times the man I'll ever be!" His head hits the desk with a resounding thud and Ichigo begins chuckling softly at the stupidity of his friend. He had forgiven the man weeks ago when Soi-fon had shouted at him for dwelling on the past and being an all together depressing, mopey, negative, idiot. Of course they'd argued a bit and she hit him on the head as usual and told him to get over himself before storming out but not before throwing her tea cup at him and laughing maniacally.

Ichigo stands up and walks forward causing Renji to bring his head up sharply only to have Ichigo's fist connect with his face. Ichigo if bent over him when he opens his eyes a few moments later healing his eyes with a very strong healing Kido. "We're even now Ren…I forgive you. As for me being a better man than you I won't disagree however I think you deserve a woman who will love you for you and not use you. Now I have to speak with Kuchiki-taicho about certain matters and he's already had to wait a few moments for me. I'll catch up with you later." Ichigo stands, grabs his files, and walks into Byakuya's office without knocking or anything only to shut the door and set a kido spell that would stop Renji from listening to a word spoken in the room.

Byakuya stared open mouthed at the man before him who had just strolled into his office and preformed a high level kido to stop anyone from interrupting them. "Here are the files you requested from the gobantai…itoko." Ichigo's voice belayed nothing but the rokubantai taicho could easily read the emotions in his eyes and he was angered by the guild and sadness lingering deep in those brown pools.

"You have no right to use that title with me anymore Shiba Ichigo let alone feel guilty for what you've done! Katsuro died, Hisana died…Kaien died because you broke your damn promises!" It was as if the sight of his cousin looking at him like that opened the flood gates and Byakuya could no longer hold back the emotions he'd been battling for so long. "You promised Ichigo! You promise and you weren't there! Kaien was fucking killed by a hollow and Rukia had to stab him. Do you know hard it was for me to look at her every day after that knowing she killed the only part of my childhood I had left? I hated her! For days I couldn't function properly and then it was as if I died and you swore you wouldn't let me die! You promised Kaasan and tousan that you wouldn't let me die inside and you failed! I'm dead inside Ichigo…I'm dead inside now…" His voice had faded slowly until confusion and sadness painted every inch of his noble face as he tried to rein in his wild emotions. His mind was in turmoil and he could do nothing to control it. He was a Kuchiki they weren't supposed to blubber out nonsense of feel emotions. They weren't supposed to raise their voice or shout at someone

"You're right…" Byakuya's eyes dart toward his cousin to see the man settled in a chair with his head in his hands. He had expected the man to fight him tooth and nail not accept what he said. "You're right about almost all of that…but I refuse to believe that you've died inside Byakuya!" The sincere resolution in his voice shocked Byakuya slightly. "I've known you since we were born Byakuya and never once have I seen your eyes die. Even just now when you were yelling at me I saw you. I saw the real you the one fighting tooth and nail to try and ignore everything the Kuchiki's pounded into your thick skull. I know I wasn't there! I know that they all died and I swore to protect them but I am not going to let you die on the inside I see a spark and I swear I will ignite it into a flame."

Silence reigned over the room and both men didn't know what to say. Ichigo didn't know how to approach his real reason for being here and Byakuya didn't want to ruin the moment by saying something stupid but he knew that this wasn't the real reason Ichigo was here. "That wasn't why you were really here…tell me?" The question was soft and reserved just like the little boy he had once known when they were very young. Byakuya was confused. His voice was always soft and tentative when he was confused and it was always hard and cutting when he was angry.

"I need you to do me a favor…I need you to call off the marriage contract with Soi-fon…" Byakuya's eyes widen in surprise before the fall closed in defeat. He knew without a doubt his cousin's feeling but he also knew that the idiot didn't know of his feelings.

Sighing softly to himself Byakuya opened his eyes again to stare sadly at his cousin. The man looked so much like his Aunt that it was scary. His mother and aunt looked nothing alike which was odd but his mother said that her sister resembled their grandmother greatly. "I'm afraid I'm unable to call of the contract this time. I am too late to interfere. What does Shaolin Fon mean to you that you are going to such lengths to achieve this?" His grey eyes study Ichigo for a long moment as the man scratched the back of his head lightly worry seeping into his brown eyes only to be replaced quickly by determination.

"I want Soi-fon to be happy and she doesn't want to marry for anything but love." His eyes dart to the side as he drops his hand to his side. His eyes stray back to Byakuya with a sadness lingering in his eyes. "On the same note I don't want her marrying anyone else but me…because I love her. She makes me feel alive, Yakuya. Her eyes are so alive with passion and I can't look at another woman with these eyes anymore."

In that moment Byakuya truly felt for his cousin for the longest time he couldn't bring himself to look at another woman after Hisana's death. He had felt that he was betraying their marriage if he ever felt for another woman. Byakuya was so lost in thought he almost didn't see his cousin stand up to leave before it was too late. "Ichigo…is it alright if I come to the manor tonight? I need to get away from the elder council and I think we should talk more." Ichigo nods with a small smile and leaves his cousin feeling much better than what he had earlier. Both men felt as if a weight had been lifted off of their chests.

~~CxB~~

"Shiba-dono…Isao has sent a message for you as well as a new document to be signed. You also have a guest." Raising his head to stare at the fairly young servant in front of him, Ichigo smiles reassuringly and motions for her to enter his chambers. She does so nervously.

"Please sit the file on the edge of my desk and tell Byakuya I'm in my chambers alright?" The woman sets the documents down before scurrying from the room quickly. Ichigo reaches across the desk and picks up the documents to find a small note attached to the document stating that Isao has gone to meet with the elder council of the Fon clan. He pulls the small letter off the document and reads quickly over the information presented and then flips to the signature lines to find not only signatures of the elder council on the page but also the signature of his best friend decorating the page. The documents slip from his figners and that when he noticed a small note attached secretly to them.

_Ichi,_

_ It is remiss of me to tell you how happy I am that I don't have to marry Byakuya anymore? I heard you two are trying to settle you differences and I forgive you for cancelling our plans this evening to sort out your tattered friendship with Abarai-fukutaicho. I suppose if I have to marry anyone forcefully I'd pick you. Dinner tomorrow night? My place at seven? I have to go this letter can't be too long or the messenger will notice it. Bye-bye Ichi!_

_ ~Lin_

A small grin stretched across Ichigo's lips and in his haze of happiness he doesn't even notice his cousin leaning against the door of his bedroom. Byakuya begins laughing softly and Ichigo looks up quickly to stare at him in shock. "Holy hell when did you get here!" The letter falls to the ground and Byakuya shakes his head and settles lazily into an arm chair. Ichigo loved how hard he was trying to battle his instincts.

"Are you going to sign the marriage contract boke or are you going to let the Fon council marry her off to me?" His voice brought Ichigo back to reality and he quickly signed his neat signature on the open blank and realizes that he would be marrying possibly the love of his life and very soon at that. "What have you done without me up until this point itoko?" Both men were startled by the ease with which Byakuya had informally address Ichigo and both men liked it. It was almost normal. It reminded them both of their childhood.


	6. Chapter 5

A small black haired blue eyed teen was laughing hysterically as he tried and failed to retell the story of his sister hanging his brother out a window and threatening to rip his dick off if he ever walked into her room without knocking again. His cousin was listening intently and trying to piece together the gibberish when the orange haired boy's other cousin shunpos toward them but misses his landing and instead lands on the railing. The long black haired boy wobbles back and forth with a shriek of fear that could beat a girl's. Both the orange haired boy and the short black haired boy rush to grab at their best friend before he fell backward off the balcony. Once they were all settled on the ground Ichigo and Kaien began giggling at Byakuya's expense. Byakuya's cheeks began to red before he crosses his arms and glares sharply at the pair. "Stop laughing at me! You both sucked a shunpo when were-cat tried to teach you shunpo too!" Byakuya pokes his tongue out at his friends as his cheeks become much darker from embarrassment.

"We're sorry Yakuya…please forgive us and I'll make Kai retell the story of what Kaku did to Juju this morning!" Kaien begins laughing all over again and the orangette rolls his eyes before roughly elbowing Kaien in the side and glowering at him. Byakuya rolls his eyes at their usual antics before settling himself more comfortably against the railing.

"So I woke up this morning, right, and I was the first in the shower so just as I was finishing getting dressed I heard a really loud bang from Kaku's room. When I ran into the room I found her big bay window open and found her, in just her training pants and chest bindings, hanging Juju out the window shouting that she was going to chop his dick off!" Kaien begins laughing wildly as both Byakuya and Ichigo picture this occurrence with disturbing clarity. "I asked what happened and she began shouting at me saying that Juju walked into her room without knocking again and tried to steal her diary to show his friends. Meanwhile Juju is flailing around like a giant boke koi that tried to jump out of Yakuya's pond!" Again the other two boys could see that with disturbing clarity also.

Kaien always had the best stories mostly because Byakuya and Ichigo were the only children in their houses. Even though Kaien and Ichigo's fathers were brothers Kaien's father didn't live within the estate of the Shiba Clan. He had bought a house in the first district of the Rukongai when he'd taken a fukutaicho position under Yamamoto-sotaicho. The friendship between Byakuya and Kaien mostly blossomed because they both spent so much time around their cousin Ichigo. Byakuya and Kaien were not actually related because Ichigo's dad is brother with Kaien's dad and Ichigo's mom is sisters with Byakuya's mom. Still, one boy was very rarely seen without the other two following closely behind. They were brothers more so than they were cousins and they liked having other guys to talk to in that way. Byakuya hated being at the Kuchiki estate and more often than not could be found in the Shiba estate with Ichigo or following Isao around during his duties if Ichigo wasn't there. When Sojun had died Isshin promised that Byakuya was welcome in his house at any time he chose and that the boy had a family there always.

"Let's go on an adventure!" The orangette grins mischievously before pulling both his cousins up and leaving the balcony using a very neat but short shunpo. Byakuya had only recently begun training because he was a few years younger than Ichigo and two years younger than Kaien. Ginrei had fought with the elder council tooth and nail just for Byakuya to be able to train at such a young age. Fortunately for Byakuya Ginrei was quite rebellious as well and knew how to play against the elder council however they all knew that as they got older Ginrei wouldn't be able to keep the council completely away from Byakuya.

~~CxB~~

The small restaurant was a bustle with academy students who were going out for the weekend. Three young men sat at one of the tables laughing loudly and tossing food at one another while tossing taunts in smooth succession. "Awe Yakuya makes such a cute little girl, doesn't she Ichi?" Kaien reached over to pull a piece of Byakuya's long black hair before flashing the growling man the red tie he had stolen moments prior. "Awe maybe we should buy her a summer kimono for her birthday this year and then Yoru-san can let us borrow her make up to make Yakuya-chan look pretty!"

Byakuya finally loses his temper the lunges across the table trying to either strangle Kaien or retrieve his hair tie. Kaien chokes with laughter as he holds his hand out trying to keep Byakuya's long arm from reaching the red hair tie. Finally Byakuya reaches the hair tie and in the process knocks Kaien off his seat. Upon seeing this Ichigo begins laughing so hard that he spits the water that was in his mouth across the table. Kaien glares murderously at the two before his hand lands in Ichigo's hair and begins ruffling it. "Awe Kai maybe strawberry would like to join in our fun? I mean with his hair growing out he could pass as a girl!" Ichigo glares frostily at Byakuya before lunging across the table trying to punch the young man.

"You brat you're supposed to be on my side!" All three begin laughing before leaning back and relaxing. They continue speaking at a much quieter level before Kaien begins telling of Ichigo's most recent run in with a girl from the courts.

His blue eyes were glittering merrily as Ichigo grimaced in distaste. "Then when she tried to practically paw her way up him he said he was gay. Her eyes were so wide but she still didn't desist. She was such a pretty girl I don't understand why Ichi doesn't want any of them. They're prime choices too. I mean they fall all over him, their families are well off, and marrying any one of them wouldn't tarnish his family honor in the least. I swear Ichi is either gay or will end up marrying Shaolin Fon the little tom boy that follows were-cat around like a little lost puppy." Both Kaien and Byakuya shiver in disgust at the thought.

"Shaolin who…I'm not sure I've ever met her to be honest. She can't be that bad guys. Plus, Kai, you're known to exaggerate and I don't mean a little." Ichigo's brown eyes swim with amusement at his easy barbs at his cousin who merely pouts and sticks his tongue out at the orangette. Byakuya sips his drink and Kaien begins defending himself.

"No I swear Ichi she's like a dude." His hands are flying about expressively; something their teacher hadn't been able to break him off. "Her temper is ridiculous. I heard that she punched a tree once and it fell over! Who would want a girl like that! I swear to god Shino and Arata once told me that she was such a hard ass that she didn't even cry when her dad died." Both Byakuya and Ichigo felt bad for the girl if these were the rumors about her even though Byakuya and Soi-fon hadn't ever gotten along. Byakuya could see the odd expression in his favorite cousin's face though.

Byakuya knew that Ichigo was trying to ascertain why he didn't want any of the girls of the court still stuck on that question and almost entirely ignoring his cousin's relentless chatter. It was true, and Kaien knew it as well, that as long as Ichigo and Byakuya listen to the beginning, middle, and end of his tales they'd get the gist of it no matter what. "I don't like how they fall all over me just because of my last name." Kaien's mouth hung open as Ichigo cut him off. The boy would be insulted if he wasn't getting an answer to his favorite question. "I want to have to work for someone and have them working for my heart in the same way. Those girls, all they think they need is a pretty face and a husband to protect them. I want to marry someone who can protect herself and possibly kick my ass to get me in gear. I want someone who is are fire and brimstone on the outside and doesn't take shit from anyone but is also sweet and caring on the inside."

"So you want someone like you…" Kaien begins laughing hysterically again and Ichigo slaps him upside the head glowering lightly at both of his cousins. Byakuya begins chuckling under his breath before his eyes blank entirely as they catch sight of something of someone. They were entirely focused on whatever he was looking at as the laughter died on his lips. Both Kaien and Ichigo turn slowly to see a small female standing at the counter all alone. They had seen her around the Rukongai on multiple occasions and knew that their best friend had spoken to her a few times and was head over heels for her.

Her name was Hisana. Her hair was long and wispy falling to her shoulder in gentle waves with a single piece falling in between her eyes to caress the bridge of her nose before splitting to tickle each side of the appendage. She was a small woman not very tall and smaller than most but she was slender and had a gentle air around her which reminded Kaien and Ichigo of the air surrounding Unohana-taicho. That woman petrified them though whereas Hisana was so polite to everyone and didn't appear to have a mean bone in her body. Her wide, calm violet eyes slide toward them when she feels eyes on her and she smiles gently toward the group of men. "Nani…oh…um I'm going to go speak with a friend alright?" Her voice was so soft and tender. Hisana was the optimum of grace and poise even though she wasn't raised by a noble house. "Ohayo Kuchiki-san and Kuchiki-san's friends…" A small little giggle escapes her lips as her cheeks color in a smooth blush. Her lips were puckered in a cute little pout naturally and Byakuya seemed taken aback by her. The man was probably the shyest of them all.

"Ohayo…Hisana-chan…" A deep scarlet blush rises on Byakuya's cheeks as the pair stare intently into the eyes of the other. Kaien and Ichigo pull a face at one another before silently slipping from their seats and clearing their throats.

"Ano…" Kaien scratches the back of his neck at the same time as Ichigo something both of their fathers had picked up from their grandfather. "I think Isao-jii wanted Kaien and me at the estate early for dinner with the elder council. We'll see you around Yakuya. It was nice meeting you Hisana-san." Quickly Ichigo and Kaien disappear realizing that neither of the two love brides realized they left much less that they spoke to them before hand.

~~CxB~~

Ichigo could tell something was off about his cousin from the moment he landed on his balcony. Byakuya's hair wasn't tied up like normal and it appeared as if he hadn't slept at all the previous night. Byakuya was broken and Ichigo could tell with one glance that it was all Hisana's fault. Don't ask him how he knew or why he knew…he just knew that she was somehow at fault. "She never loved me…she told me that she saw me as a way to protect herself and her little sister Rukia. I love her so much that it hurts Ichigo…"

The orangette was left speechless at the revelation his cousin had given him. Ichigo had always liked Hisana. He had thought without a doubt that her feelings were honest and true. She looked at Byakuya for so many years as if the sun rose and set in him. Her eyes were only ever for him. When they met it was like fireworks exploded around them at first glance. They danced around one another for so long before they started dating and Byakuya demanded that the Kuchiki clan allow him to wed her of he would renounce their title and take the title of his mother's house leaving them without an heir. Ginrei had supported him after he had taken a liking to Hisana himself but this news shocked Ichigo to his very core.

"Yakuya…are you sure? Here sit down and tell me what happened." Taking a deep breath Ichigo leans his head out the door. "Mai-san we need tea up here please!" Turning back to his brother Ichigo pulls the glasses off his nose and tosses them onto his desk before taking a seat across from his best friend.

"We got in a fight yesterday morning because she heard a servant talking about how they over heard the council's plans to get rid of her. They've been trying for years to make us end our marriage and cleanse the Kuchiki name of her 'filth'. She overheard Ojii-sama and I arguing about something and then miss took my words as insulting. I found her sitting in the gardens later that day and she was crying and her eyes, her beautiful eyes, were dead on the inside. She said that she had found something in her food. She wouldn't tell me what and we started arguing. Of course we weren't yelling we were just disagreeing then she got really quiet for a long time. I thought she was tired of fighting and then she told me that she never loved me. She said she never thinks she will and that she knew I was a safety she could not pass up for her and her sister." His grey eyes were dancing with unshed tears that he refused to let fall but Ichigo knew he had cried the night before. No matter how much Byakuya tried to hide his pain form Ichigo the orangette knew.

"I'm sorry Yakuya…I really don't know what else to say but if you love her as much as I know you do…you'll protect her no matter how she feels about you. If you're set on protecting her like that I promise to you that I will also do everything in my power to protect your wife from the elder council as well. Hisana will not be murdered if I have anything to say about it."

~~CxB~~

The moon just barely peeked through the steady stream of black clouds that were a very cliché part of the night for Ichigo. The oncoming storm was just a perfect fairytale foreshadowing of the events that were coming. No doubt it would start pouring when they actually reached the Senkaimon. Isshin was up a head sword slashing repeatedly through numerous bodies of men and women he didn't even know. They were weak, decoys with the sole intent of slowing the family down so Aizen could catch up and kill them however way he chose.

"Tousan…the Senkaimon is opening up ahead. Isao-jii said that it would be near the Kuchiki estate. Urahara-san and Yoru-san should be able to lead us through!" Tears were budding in Ichigo's expressive amber eyes as his blade cut through another person. He was leaving Byakuya and Kaien in the middle of when they both needed him the most. His Uncle was dying and his cousin's wife was dying and all he was doing was running away.

Small drops of rain splatter against his face and as they grow heavier and more condensed they wash away the tears falling from his eyes. He failed to protect his family and now he was running away from his problems to let other people fix things for him. Ichigo was so ashamed…he was raised to be a strong man and never back down from a fight if it meant protecting your family but here he was running through the Seireitei through crowds of people trying to kill him all because Aizen had it out against his father for marrying his mother. When Misaki refused him all those years ago the man went insane and thought that she only wanted Isshin for his power. Now they ran away from the crazed man in the dead of night with cold rain pelting their faces. Ichigo knew sooner or later fate would catch up with them but he was still not sure how he would survive a life as a human without his cousins at his side.

~~CxB~~

He sat up with a start and rubbed lightly at his sleep encrusted brown eyes with tiny little five year old hands. His eyes searched around the room while nightmares of masked monsters swam through his mind. They attacked two little boys, both with black hair, but one had grey eyes and long hair and the other had blue eyes and really short hair. The blue eyed one looked like him in some ways. They were screaming and crying out his name and he was helpless. Then the face of a man crazed with power and icy brown eyes formed in his mind. Tears worked their way down his cheeks as he called out through their two story house for his mother. Relief flooded the little boy's system when he heard her well known footsteps padding up the hallway before his door creaked open slowly and his mother peaked inside.

She entered into his room and walked slowly toward his bedside before settling on the edge of it and allowing her little boy to crawl into her lap. Misaki Kurosaki, once Shiba, felt pain well in her chest once again when she thinks of her son not remembering all those years of life because of a stupid error on Kisuke's part. She loved that he was her little boy again; she adored him when he was this tiny and needed her so much, but she missed her level headed son who would come and sit with her for hours in the Shiba library only to end up playing with her hair as they both read silently together. Isshin was too high strung for those kinds of acts and Misaki understood that. Misaki loved her husband very much and knew she's follow him to the end of the earth if it meant keeping their beautiful family together. With Karin and Yuzu now added to the family Misaki knew she'd do everything in her power to keep her family safe. "What did you dream about Ichi?" Her warm honey brown eyes gazed at him as her lips curled in a warm motherly smile. Misaki was always so good at dealing with her frightened son because she knew that his nightmares weren't really false. He had witnessed quite a few things in his life as Shiba Ichigo that were playing over in his dreams when the link between his conscious and his inner world was strongest.

"There were two boys and t-they were being hurt by this monster with a white mask kaasan…it was so terrible t-the o-one looked l-like me…then there was this guy but I don't really remember what he looked like…" Ichigo yawned softly before rubbing at his tired eyes. "He just had evil eyes." Her beautiful son described Aizen Sosuke in the very same way she had to Isshin all those years ago when they all had first met. Aizen Sosuke had evil eyes.

_ So I thought I'd throw a few flashbacks from the past into the story so everyone could get a feel of the relationship Kaien, Ichigo, and Byakuya shared as they grew up. All three of them did go to the academy but Ichigo's family fled right after graduation so he does technically have all the training subconsciously but doesn't remember much of it due to the problems with his memories from Urahara's gigai. I know they're all kind of out of character but a lot of things happen to change people as they grow up and Byakuya was put through a lot of pain. I don't think I'll really flash back anymore but you never know. If you have any questions just pm me and please please please review! Thanks lovelies! ~Chae._


	7. Chapter 6

Finally the day had come when the Gotei 13 was to be tested by Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Isshin's invention. Every shinigami was given an area to rest and relax as they awaited their turn to be called into the training arena. The different sectors and their partners were kept together and most groups would be tested singularly before they would be tested together. No one, however, was permitted to share information about what they were up against within the arena that was built. They were also told this morning that there would be a special test that was being kept a secret. This worried both Ichigo and Soi-fon who were pacing back and forth.

"Keep your wits about you in every situation…don't overreact about anything! You're going in their blind. Keep your senses entirely fanned and remember play to your own strengths and keep your enemy within your area of control at all times. Don't be prideful am I understood?" Soi-fon's eyes gazed across every member of both the nibantai and the gobantai still a bit sad that she had to remove Omeada from the nibantai when he nearly got three of the newer shinigami killed only last week. She would not have any weakness within the nibantai. Their heads nod resolutely and you could see the tension in their bodies as their taicho continued to pace and think.

Ichigo and Soi-fon both pause and force themselves to settle down in order to calm the shinigami that were looking to them for strength. Taking a deep breath Ichigo levels his eyes on every one of them. "You are prepared for this. I know that each and every one of you is a diligent fighter with superior skills. You've trained long and hard for this day and you have all bettered yourself in ways that I never thought possible. There is no longer just the nibantai and the gobantai…we are one unit. We are equal in knowledge and ability and if we are not equal we do what?"

"We fight to be equal and rely on those that can help us!" The chorus brought smiles to the faces of the two taicho who were sitting together. Soi-fon had her eyes closed and was preparing herself mentally for anything to come while Ichigo was watching over the group trying to reassure anyone who was being attacked by their nerves. He knew very well what it was like to go into battle blind and not know anything about the enemy you would face.

Finally when the time came for Isshin you step forward toward their group both Ichigo and Soi-fon waited with baited breath to see who would go first. "Musuko…please bring the gobantai and follow me to the testing arena." Swallowing sharply Ichigo stands slowly and makes the calm motion for the gobantai to follow. They stand at attention and draw their blades in sync. Isshin watches the control his son had over the gobantai with appraising eyes. He was a very good leader, a well suited taicho for the gobantai.

Quickly the gobantai moves like shadows toward the testing area once against surprising Isshin as they were never this skilled in the art of movement. They land outside the arena and move swiftly through the large doors while Isshin enters into the observation room off the real entrance. Yamamoto-sotaicho, Kisuke, Yoruichi, and the vaizado were settled in place already prepared to watch the oncoming action. Yamamoto had spoken to the vaizado after the war and offered to create a special place for them within the Seireitei so they could perform jobs with the Gotei 13. They were appeased because none of them wished to be separated and placed within the ranks of the shinigami.

Yamamoto turns on the sound and video to see Ichigo turned and facing the gobantai speaking to them calmly. "Whatever happens today I am proud to be your taicho and have worked with each and every one of you. Today is when we show everyone that we are superior…that we are trained in the art of battle and do not just fight. We kill…we destroy…we wage war." The gobantai offer their taicho a 'hai' before Ichigo turns and unsheathes his double katana before pushing open the doors and walking slowly in calling out commands and phrases that none of the people listening fully understood but could understand as being important to the people under Ichigo's command. They separated into diverse groups that never strayed too far apart from the other groups as they searched for the oncoming battle in the darkened forest that was created.

"Okay everyone, are you ready to begin?" Kisuke's overly exuberant voice echoes through the arena and he grins mischievously. "Now anything and everything goes in here if it means defeating an enemy. Your reiatsu that has been sealed was formerly unsealed when you entered into this room. Be sure to use it carefully. You may begin." The sound cuts off and the people within the small room observing the gobantai watch patiently as the hollows begin slinking out of the shadows in massive numbers.

It was almost as if they had placed hollow bait within the room. The hollows were of varying classes and it didn't seem to deter the gobantai shinigami in the slightest. They move cohesively as a unit playing to the skills of each person equally. They were like a machine in the eyes of the observers. First the shinigami more suited for hakuda attacked while weaving through multiple spells of different level kido, produced by the kido inclined, followed quickly by the shinigami who were more skilled in zanjustu. It was a dance with members of every groups slipping in and out of each group moving on from hollow to hollow only to separate and then become whole again as the tides of the battle change. They were well trained and in a way that none of the taicho and previous shinigami in the room can even comprehend. It was only when one of the younger members is injured by Gillian class menos that were quickly appearing. It was then that the observers saw Ichigo begin darting through the fray wickedly sharp blades glinting in the pale moonlight. Ichigo knew in that moment that the battle wasn't even close to being over. If he knew Kisuke the highest he would go would be to recreate a Vasto Lorde and then Ichigo would get very angry and start dealing out massive orders to his team. If need be Ichigo would unleash the powers of his inner hollow who was currently content to lounge in Ichigo's inner world with his weapons that he had collected over the years and created in Ichigo's inner world.

The observers watch in interest as the shinigami around Ichigo move to accommodate his fighting style as if he were merely another part of their intricate style of battle. He flashed violently through the fray taking out any and all hollows he could in order to protect the shinigami under his command. They just seemed to naturally work around him as if he wasn't battling. If he took one hollow they would move on knowing he was taking care of it and that he would not fail in protecting them. They had a trust in their taicho that no bantai had today which surprised everyone watching because the gobantai was one of the groups of men and women who were most affected by Aizen's betrayal.

Finally the Vasto Lorde begin showing up and Ichigo is tossing commands left and right seemingly adjusting open flanks and covering as much space in order to reduce as much damage as possible. Shinji watches in pride as he integrated techniques that the vaizado had taught him in his own teachings. Finally Shinji saw the first person to be down. A Vasto Lorde was headed right for fifth seat Fujimoto Shino who was battling against an adjuchas. Her wide brown eyes watch in shock as the Vasto Lorde comes at her prepared to hit her with a death blow. Quickly every member of her group scatters as they feel the massive reiatsu of their taicho swarm the area. For the first time they saw the power of their taicho unleashed. His demonic mask appeared on his face with pitch black eyes no longer glowing through the eyeholes. Ichigo hadn't just introduced his regular hollow mask to the fray but he had introduced his Vasto Lorde mask to the pitiful hollows. The Vasto Lorde is destroyed rapidly by a bala thrown at it. _**"Shino-san…are you alright?"**_ The water voice didn't scare the young woman who had transferred from the jusanbantai months ago to take the offered position of fifth seat. Little did she know that Ichigo was promoting her to third seat very soon.

"I'm fine taicho…arigato…let's get back to work sir!" Her smile was blinding before she used shunpo to begin attacking again. Even while Ichigo's destructive rampage was going on the members of the gobantai were quickly disposing of the hollows as quickly and effectively as they could. The reminded the observers of trained assassins.

When they think they've dismantled the test and destroyed it entirely the feel the presence of the nibantai battling and quickly move toward their teammates. The nibantai seemed to have sensed them and they met in a round clearing swarming with hollows. Soi-fon and Ichigo meet on one branch together and begin relaying information to one another deducing the situation with icy precision. Just as fast as the taicho deduced the situation they begin calling out multiple orders in the same form of command. Once again the words used were gibberish to the people watching but the shinigami hearing the commands of the two taicho understood them whether they were coming from Ichigo's mouth or Soi-fon's. The massive group of shinigami slide in and out of the clearing keeping the hollows contained within the rough circle of trees. They were moving lethally and never stayed in one place for too long. Half would at all times be tracing the trees switched rapidly with shinigami who had just been dancing in the frame. They moved rapidly in a web of circuits. It was madness to the people watching but it was well planned and concise.

Finally the two groups seemed to split even down the center with Ichigo in charge of the nibantai and Soi-fon in charge of the gobantai. Both taicho offer one another a short nod before they started commanding the troops as if they were their own shocking the observers even more. The hollows were retreating into the trees and Ichigo seemed relentless in his pursuit of them knowing the skills of the nibantai as well as he knew the skills of the gobantai. They moved rapidly through the trees taking out each and every hollow like the assassins that they were. Countless people were in shikai but no one seemed to be struggling. Most of the shikai that was released was merely for speed purposes than actually needing it. It was a sight to behold. The gobantai seemed to be working the same way as the groups rounded on the finishing point. They took out the hollows with the same skill and accurateness that it was obvious to everyone watching that they trained long and hard with one another as well as training within their own barracks. When Fujimoto-fukutaicho of the nibantai slashes through the final hollow the simulation shuts off leaving the entire group standing in a barren training arena not unlike Urahara's underground training area under his Shoten.

"How'd you do Lin?" Ichigo's brown eyes land on his friend as the people around him settle onto the ground awaiting their orders or someone to fetch them and lead them out.

Soi-fon grins brightly at her best friend, possible husband if their clans work out the differences, and pats the ground beside where she was sitting. "The training paid off. Not one person broke rank. We were prepared for every situation including having a seated officer attacked by a Vasto Lorde. I'm assuming it was the same for you, correct Ichi?" At Ichigo's slow nod Soi-fon chuckles softly and pull the taicho haori from her sweltering body. It was ungodly hot in here. Ichigo follows suit and they both lean back on their hands awaiting their time to be released.

"You know that didn't take as long as what the other groups had taken. I'm sure we were one of the last groups but still we demolished that simulation. I'm assuming you started at the same time as us?" Soi-fon nods her agreement before they both feel the presence of a large group moving toward them with no ill intent. The massive group stands at attention and then they bow their head sin respect when they notice the sotaicho leading the way. The sotaicho stops before the two taicho who have yet to put their haori back on.

Isshin is practically beaming with pride as well as Yoruichi, Kisuke, and Shinji. Ichigo was surprised to see the vaizado here but when he really thought about their skills he understood why the sotaicho enlisted them to help. They were tremendous fighters. Ichigo learned firsthand through his training with Shinji how exceptional of a fighter he really was. The blonde vaizado had taken it upon himself to train his young charge and had practically taken the boy under his wing as an older brother would. "Nibantai taicho, gobantai taicho both of your bantai have scored exceptionally well in all areas of battle including zanjustu, hoho, kido, and hakuda. You are the only group to be able to flawlessly switch command and still work without a single flaw. You're command over your troops is one of the best I have ever seen in my many years of being sotaicho. You work very well together. As your training session was the last I wish to see both of you in my office immediately after this. There are things I wish to discuss with you both." With that said the doors are opened and the two groups are ushered out together. Ichigo turns to both groups and they pause, intent on listening to the man the respect so greatly.

"Seeing as you all did so well today we will not be having a training session tomorrow. Go out tonight and enjoy yourselves…you deserve it. However, be prepared to get right back to work on Monday when we meet for our joint training session." The group cheers before they head off together discussing possible plans for the night. Offering Soi-fon his arm like a mock-gentleman Ichigo leads them in a slow walk toward the Ichibantai barracks that weren't too far away.

~~CxB~~

Their food was set up neatly on the small nibantai taicho's table. She was actually a very good cook despite what many would think. They were eating quietly with a soft music playing in the background as they pondered over how exactly to discuss the information the sotaicho had presented them with. "So we've been ordered to completely two tasks jointly…" Ichigo meets the gaze of his best friend and grins slyly at her. She chuckles softly before taking a bite of her food.

"Yes Shiba-dono…you are most correct in your observation." Her patronizing tone was something Ichigo adored because she would never really call him by his title even if her life depended on it. She was far too stubborn. "Seriously though are you up for what we may find when we do this, Ichigo? It's taken so long for them to find this place we may find things in there that are hard for anyone to see. Are our shinigami trained for that kind of stuff? We've seen our fair share of battle but most of them are new and haven't seen the extent that we have in battle. Plus do you think other bantai will react to our training the same way out bantai do? Will they respect us the same way? Will their taicho be willing to change the way they do things the same way we have?" Her worries were clear for him like looking through a window into her soul. Ichigo understood her fears because he had the same one swimming through his head at the thought of what the sotaicho had asked of them. They were supposed to train the rest of the Gotei 13 the same way they had trained the nibantai and gobantai. Hell the old man even went so far as to say they could train the taicho if they needed to go that far. He was hell bent of changing things and making the Gotei 13 a cohesive unit. He also told them of a secret prison that the vaizado found in Hueco Mundo deep in the sands. Based off of what they found there are many people held there that were secret prisoners of captives of Aizen during his many years of plotting against the Gotei 13.

"Lin…" Ichigo reaches across the table to place his hand on top of hers in what was supposed to be a calming gesture. It only made her heart begin to pound rapidly. "I'm worried too. I don't think it will be as easy for us as what our own bantai were. Honestly I think this will be one of the greatest tests of patience we have ever had in our lifetimes. We know what many of these people are like and it will take time but we've got time to spare don't we. Plus if need be we can simply tear apart the pride they rely on so heavily." Soi-fon wide eyed catch his before she smiles softly waiting for him to continue. Her figners turn to lace through his as she waits quietly. "As far as the prison goes I'm not sure I want to see what's inside either but it's our duty to do so. It's our duty to be strong for our officers and troops. If that means leading them in the face of gruesomeness then so be it."

"Plus with the two of us leading the way there is nothing any of them can do to stop us! We are like a team sent from hell." Ichigo begins chuckling lightly at the flames dancing in her eyes and has to agree that they definitely weren't sent from heaven. Soi-fon shakes her head and releases her grip on his hand to begin placing the dishes in the sink so she could clean them. Ichigo follows suit quietly and somewhere deep inside he hopes that he could stay a little longer than normal because he didn't want to leave the woman he loved tonight. He missed these little moments they would spend together even though he didn't exactly know if she returned his feeling for him. He would be happy if he never did either so long as they stayed like this.

Finally when all the dishes were done and the kitchen was cleaned the pair settled in on the couch in Soi-fon's living where she pushed a DVD into the player that Yoruichi had bought for her as a birthday present a few years ago. Both enjoyed technology from the living world and shared a love for stupid sappy romance movies where the girl was clumsy and the guy was her knight in shining armor. It was a secret obsession they developed together over their years of friendship with Yoruichi the queen of chick flicks. They would both murder anyone who let their secret slip and possible find their reincarnation and murder them as well.

They sat in comfortable silence as the day's events played over in their exhausted minds. Ichigo's arms were tossed across the back of the couch and Soi-fon was settled neatly into his side with her head resting lightly on his shoulder. In that position is how they both fell asleep as well only to wake up while the credits were rolling on the movie. "How much of the movie did you see?" Soi-fon's sleepy question was enough to make Ichigo's heart stutter slightly at how cute she looked. He wanted to see that every day.

"I only saw up until the part where the guy kissed the girl and they lived happily ever after…" His eyes met hers and hold them intently. Desire burned in those grey pools that reflected everything to vividly. Her lips pucker in thought slowly before she finds the words she needs to say.

She had already watched the movie so she knew it didn't end like that. "Liar…that's not how it ends…" A small little blush forms over her cheeks as Ichigo leans forward a bit almost brushing his nose with hers.

"Maybe I lied…but does it matter?" His breath was fanning across her lips and he smelled like mint; crisp and fresh. It wasn't like the smell of toothpaste but it was a natural smell that was all Ichigo.

Soi-fon could feel the heat radiating off his body and knew what she wanted. It was so close. His lips were so close to hers in that moment that they were all she could think about and her eyes darted down to stare at them as she spoke. "No…how will we end, Ichi?" Her question caught him off guard but he smile none the same and leaned forward to ghost his lips across hers in a barely there kiss that left them both craving for more.

His voice passed through his lips in barely a whisper telling her everything she ever needed to know. "We'll end with a large manor, children involved of course, my interfering dad and cousins, the elder councils loving us both, and of course happily ever after just like all the clichés." Chuckling softly at himself Ichigo finally presses his lips to hers and they dance as passion swims through the veins only being controlled by the love blooming deeply in their chests. His figners brushed along the side of her jaw as her hands tighten into his shirt pulling him as close as she possibly could. When they finally broke apart they were both breathing heavily and Ichigo's forehead connected with Soi-fon's as he breathed in her scent. She was tantalizing. He capture her lips in a quick kiss mesmerized by her taste and adding it to the list of the many things about her that he was finding himself to love. "I love you Lin…"

Soi-fon's eyes widen and she notice how his eyes are closed and his cheeks are flushed a delicate pink but he looks adorable to her. This was her Ichigo. He was her best friend but also someone she loved dearly. He made her life worthwhile. Her figners reached up his chest to tenderly cup the side of his face causing him to open his eyes and gaze at her silently. He didn't care if she returned the sentiment because that was the type of person that he was but she wanted so desperately to tell him the very same thing. It was almost as if the words ate away at the barriers of her heart and demanded that she return them lest they burst from her chest. "I love you too Ichi…" With those words she pressed her lips more fully to his and kissed him once again. Her fingers found his long strands of orange hair and knotted in them holding him to her demanding more of him. Ichigo in turn was willing to give the small woman anything she desired. She was his perfection.


	8. Chapter 7

** A/N: I'm sooooo sorry for such a long wait. Aside from working all summer to finish a massive graduation project which you can all read on my website, Chaeann Bourne Creations (type it into Google and check it out pretty please…it's a weebly for right now), I've also been working on my final for a course I'm taking next year (I can get an early grade on it and it's advised) and my family has been dealing with a breast cancer scare with my mother. Next week I most likely won't be updating much because I'm a counselor at a basketball camp for second through sixth graders and I have practices in the evenings. Anyway I'll stop with my yammering and get on with the story that you've all been waiting so patiently for. Enjoy everyone! -Chae**

~~CxB~~

The moonlight drifted across the wood floors staining them silver in its slow elegant crawl toward the futon covering the floor. Sheets and pillows were strewn about the room intermixing and tangling with the layers of clothing that had been shed in the tender advance of the two lovers. Their bodies lay curled around one another with fingers still knotted in hair and through the fingers of another. Long elegant appendages contrasted sharply with dainty feminine ones and seemed to swallow them whole. A tiny face was pressed into the lean dip of a shoulder blade and legs were wrapped around hips like a child gripping a teddy bear for comfort. They were lovers in every sense of the word but they were also best friends, sometimes enemies, and most importantly two halves of a whole. Like puzzle pieces they fit together so naturally as the early morning before the sun had even thought to touch the horizon and the moon hadn't begun its descent from its looming perch.

"Will we change?" The words were muffled by the tanned skin pressing against her bow shaped lips but he could make out the question without difficulty because it seemed to echo in the silence of the room.

Brown eyes flicked open to trace the contours of the pale ceiling above his head. He'd been in this room many times but never once did he believe he'd get the chance to spend the night in it entangled with the young woman currently in his arms. He couldn't lie though…at least not to her. "Probably…" She stiffened slightly in his arms before relaxing with a gentle sigh. Her eyes fell closed softly as his chest rumbled beneath her body. "Haven't we already changed?"

She knew his question was rhetorical and remained content with the gentle path had figners had taken up and down her back. "How will we explain this relationship to people? Won't they think I am just a rebound? I'm not a rebound am I, Ichi?" She was scared. It was something she'd show no one but him and for that he was eternally grateful. He'd experienced one relationship where he was always kept at an arm's length and never understood the emotions of his partner and didn't wish to do so again.

The orangette rolls them both over so he's hovering above the woman below him. His brown eyes stare down into her grey one with such certainty that she's caught unaware. "No never…" His lips find each of her cheeks before ghosting across her forehead. "Rukia was my first love and they die as you grow apart…" His lips settle lightly on her chin before ghosting across her closed eyelids. "You however, Shaolin, are my forever love. Without you my heart would shutter to a stop." His lips finally find hers and she trembles under his attention. Her figners knot desperately into his orange locks delighting in how long they had grown since he had first come here nearly seven years ago.

"I wouldn't want it any other way boke…" Her voice was tender and, form an outsider's prospective, not her own but Ichigo knew the woman behind the hard mask better than anyone else. He adored the woman behind the mask.

~~CxB~~

Her grey eyes were narrowed in fierce determination as she and Ichigo led the gobantai and nibantai through the various fields following the odd blond haired vaizado who seemed to enjoy her fiancé's miserable attitude a little too much. Hell the fucking bastard was making him worse! "Strawberry, why are ya so glum?" His piano like smile was disturbing at best and Soi-fon was quickly discovering that this guy gave her the creeps more that Urahara Kisuke did. For some reason, though she hadn't an idea why, her fiancé seem very at ease in this man's presence and merely scowled in his direction. Hirako Shinji had once been a taicho, specifically the gobantai, but he looked very different with short hair. He looked better with long hair but Ichigo had said that the man was growing it out again much to the dismay of his mate Sarugaki Hiyori the former junibantai fukutaicho.

"Shin would ya stop it already! Yer startin' to piss Hichi off and he's complaining like a fuckin' girl." The orangette rolls his brown eyes while tucking his arms behind his head. His fiancée laughs softly at how naturally the two got along. It reminded her briefly of the young man that her fiancé had been when they had first met. He was so outgoing and temperamental that everyone fell in love with him at first glance.

Shinji turns his head to the man behind him and studies his face for a long moment before grinning brightly at him. "My my you've grown haven't you? To think Yori said that you'd forever be stuck as that hot tempered brat we first met six years ago. I told her you were a Shiba and that you'd age just like the rest of 'em." He rolls his pale brown eyes before offering the boy an easygoing smile.

"Oh you mean flawlessly?" Ichigo's lips curve into a haughty smirk before he chuckles and leans forward as if to tell a secret. "Unfortunately for you old man…you'll crack before I will. Have you seen Isao lately?"

Shinji's lips form an 'oh so cute' pout before it vanishes as quickly as it came and his body stiffens. It was as if his personality changed back to what he had been like all those years ago when Soi-fon had only just begun her training with Yoruichi. "Are you prepared for this Ichigo…we weren't permitted to enter when we found it but you know Yori she did it anyway. Ichigo she ran back out and sobbed into my shoulder the whole way back. She still won't tell me what she saw. I'll have to leave you all here though as I do not have permission to see this area." His eyes focus on Ichigo once again and Soi-fon isn't as shocked as she thought she would be when she saw worry lining his light brown orbs. She got the distinct feeling that the older man cared very deeply for her fiancé.

"We'll be careful I promise Shin…tell the others that too will you because I know they're worrying. Oh and don't forget we have plans tonight you assholes and you know Isao hates when you all show up late because the elder council bitches!" The blonde haired man rolls his eyes and begins walking away tossing a careless wave over his shoulder before turning back just once, when Ichigo doesn't realize it, to glance at the orangette in worry.

Ichigo motions for everyone to draw their blades before leading everyone toward the looming white compound. It was nothing special in reality. It wasn't like the same extravagance that Ichigo had described the palace of Las Noches as. It was a simple white structure that was square in size and had a single story in the sloping sand dunes. Ichigo entered into the open door and stared at the wide white pathway stretching down the hallway. The tilt floors were only broken up that the fragments of the white door and piles of the white sand. This floor was empty save for the skeletons lining the massive branches of the blood red trees growing from under the floors. The branches seemed to drip with all the blood they'd absorbed. The shocking red liquid was disgustingly noticeable against the pristine floors. Shaking himself out of his perusal of the all too white place Ichigo walks slowly toward the stairs. His eyes trace the passage as it grow more and more natural almost.

The walls were beginning to be dotted with stones and fragments of roots from trees while the all too perfect white stairs morphed into a cobblestone walkway littered with dead branches and broken shards of rock from the trees growing through the roof. The members of the nibantai and gobantai move silently through the decrepit place checking rooms and doors while Ichigo and Soi-fon watch their backs uneasily. They were bringing massive amounts of people from the multiple wings and hallways. The prisoners were in varying states of dress and health and Ichigo and Soi-fon quickly realizes that the Yonbantai would spend a very hectic night at work with these people.

"Shiba-taicho please hurry we've found something…" Ichigo glances wearily at his fiancée and at her sharp nod he walks through the crowds to see Shino and Arata standing at two doors guarding them protectively. "Shiba-taicho please forgive us for not finding them sooner."

Arata bows and drags his sister away from the orangette who scratches the back of his neck in confusion. Shrugging softly, Ichigo turns sharply to his left and presses a hand on the knob of the door watching intently as a red bala melts it away easily. The door swings open silently to reveal three prisoners. Two women were standing behind a shocked man who had his hands dropped to his sides as if he were unnaturally shocked at the presence of the orangette. His black hair was long and wild with pieces of a wide kenseikan shattered in it. His grey eyes were wide but still held that same natural adoration in them. His thin lips, just like his son, were parted in deep shock before he steps forward and then soon darts across the room wrapping his arms around the young boy he had not seen in longer than he could remember. He'd grown into a fine young man despite having gone through tremendous circumstances.

"So-ji…" Ichigo's arms wrap around the man as tightly as possible before he pulls away and steps farther into the room to kneel down in front of the shaking woman who feared for his anger. Her wide violet eyes reminded him so much of his ex's. "You knew and you wanted to protect him…didn't you Hisana?"

Her lips part to release a shaking breath and she bows her head. "Gomen…I've hurt him terribly he will not forgive me for what I had said to him." Ichigo chuckles softly and shake his head before he motions for them all to stand and follow him. He silently begins walking toward the other door. Ignoring the gasp of surprise when he uses a hollow technique Ichigo watches as the door swings open to reveal to him three more people that he had thought were dead. His eyes become blinded as they fill with tears at the sight of the orange haired woman staring straight back at him as if she'd gone insane. Her blush colored lips part before she sobs softly and tugs lightly on the sleeve of the black haired boy standing with the black haired man. They looked exactly alike except one was very much his father's age. "It is a very good surprise that the sotaicho would send you your Ichigo isn't is Misaki?" The honey brown haired woman, his aunt Kuchiki Mai, smiles sweetly at her sister before gripping onto the hand of her husband very tightly.

"Musuko…you're really here! You make such a handsome taicho!" Her figners find his cheeks as she pulls them around while still gushing about how handsome he had become. Meanwhile Kaien chuckles lightly at his favorite cousin's dilemma.

All six prisoners freeze when they here footsteps approaching them. Misaki only watch in confusion as her son's lips twitch into a smile. "Ichi are you alright? We've gotten everyone else rounded up and I've contacted the sotaicho for him to send Hirako back." A very small black haired woman, who looked exactly like the elder Sui-feng Fon rounded the corner and stopped immediately after seeing the large group. Her eyes settle on the orangette and she tilts her head slightly in question of whether she could come in.

Ichigo stalks across the room and laces his figners through her own before dragging her further in and pulling her to a stop in front of a short orange haired woman with gentle brown eyes. "Lin I want you to meet my kaasan…kaasan this is your future daughter in law and my fiancée Fon Shaolin." Kaien snorts in amusement and Soi-fon ignores it knowing the man hadn't grown up in this many years. Instead of retaliating as she once would have Soi-fon grins brightly at Misaki and offers the woman her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Shiba-san…you're son speaks so highly of you that I feel as if I practically know you already…" Her cheeks stain in a light blush but she holds the lovely brown gaze intently. Misaki holds her gaze for a long moment before shrieking in joy and wrapping her in a tight lung crushing hug.

"Oh my musuko is finally a man he has a fiancée and she's so pretty and polite too. I can't wait to start wedding planning. Oh you'll help us too right Mai! Oh Kai didn't you say that Miyako was here too?!" the orange haired woman releases Soi-fon who leans into Ichigo's side trying to regain her breathing.

"Kaasan…Kaasan…" Misaki joyfully keeps talking with her sister who seems just as excited causing Ichigo to become frustrated. "I'm leaving and if you don't follow you'll never see me get married!" Ichigo turns and stalks out dragging the blushing Soi-fon with him all the while Kaien follows behind him still chuckling. Ichigo swings around tightly to glare fiercely at his cousin. "I will stab you with Zangetsu if you utter one more syllable that sounds even remotely close to laughter. So help me god if you don't think that's enough even the kami won't be able to save you from Yakuya's wrath when I tell him about that time you…" At Kaien's ridiculously wild hand motions Ichigo smirks deviously and wraps and arm around his fiancée's shoulder protectively. "Have I ever told you how much I love you Soi-fon?"

~~CxB~~

Ichigo trotted lightly through her large apartment dropping pieces of clothing that were too constraining as he went. His rain darkened hair hung down into his face and curved around his cheeks. With a flurry of his hand he made the strands stick up everywhere in long spikes that slowly fell back down onto his cheeks but this time away for his eyes. His taicho haori and regular haori were hung from his arm and his hakama were still sticking to his thighs but he didn't mind so much. He turned the corner into their room and bypassed his fiancée who was lying on her stomach with a large mass of magazines settled around her on the bed. "Konbanwa koibito…dinner is in the kitchen it should still be warm it wasn't too long ago that your mother and I ate. How was work?"

Soi-fon flipped another page in the wedding magazine while waiting for Ichigo's muffled answer from the closet. She had taken some time off since the elders had decided to move their wedding up to next month. Soi-fon had spent every day entertaining his sisters, his mother, his aunt, cousins, and even his grandmother who had fallen hopelessly in love with Soi-fon early on. To say that his family was a handful was an understatement but apparently Soi-fon had made a very good impression on all of them. "Work was long…the old man gave me all of the paperwork for the junibantai while Kurotsuchi-taicho and fukutaicho are in Hueco Mundo doing research." He stepped into her room with only a pair of sweat pants on from the world of the living.

His long fingers push magazines together into stacks before he crawls onto the bed beside her and captures her lips in a searing kiss. Her tiny digits tangled in his hair and her body molded to his. He pulled away with a soft chuckle and pecked her forehead before heading out of the bedroom and toward the small kitchen. Soi-fon stands and follows slowly behind him intent to get a drink for herself and spend some quality time with her fiancé. The silent question that Misaki had asked her earlier that day still swirled heavily around her mind. Would Ichigo like to remain living with Isao…for that matter would he be obligated to live in the Shiba compound since he was head of house? Was she prepared to have her life controlled in such a way? Of course she knew the Shiba family wasn't pushy but what if they didn't move at a pace fast enough for the elders. Would their marriage fail?

Gentle fingers on her cheek startle her from her thoughts. Soi-fon finds her fiancé's face inches from her own and wonders vaguely how he had gotten so close to her without her noticing him. "Ichi…" His lips ghost over hers and he smiles softly against her lips despite the worry lingering in his eyes.

"What are you thinking about in their Lin?" His finger reaches up to tap her forehead lightly as he turns to retrieve his meal and beginning eating it. His attention, somehow, was still on her as if he would wait all night for her answer.

"Where do you want to live after we get married? Do you have to live in the Shiba compound?" The questions were slow but her worry began to seep back into her heart and she rattled off questions quicker and quicker. "Will the elders rule our lives? Will we be happy? How long until they get fed up with my attitude? What about children how many do you want? What if we have a female heir? Will the elder council hate us if we have a daughter? Will they renounce your title? Will we still be able to take our positions seriously in the Gotei 13? Will the sotaicho separate the gobantai and nibantai on missions? Will the shinigami be able to distinguish us after I marry you and take you name? Do you want me to take your name?" Ichigo silences her with a swift kiss only to pull away and find her blushing brightly.

A small serene smile lightly his lips before he takes her hand in his. Her figners squeeze his for dear life while she contemplates his answers to her questions. "Stop worrying so much Shaolin…I promise that everything will be fine. As for your questions my answers are; anywhere as long as I'm with you, no I do not but I'll have to attend regular meetings, no they're pretty laid back, I certainly hope so, the elders love you dearly more so than they love me at times, they'd be overjoyed with either a male or a female, same answers as before, they wouldn't dare because Kai would refuse it and Kukaku isn't a rightful heir, of course why not, the shinigami distinguished between Kai's dad and my parents before, and of course I want you to take my name if that's what you want hell I'd take your name but I don't think the elders would be pleased by that. Does that answer all your questions koi?" His smile was soft and passive. The subtle curves of his lips and the relaxed nature of his shoulders and chest seemed to relax her as well. Silently she walked forward into his open arms and feels herself relax into him. In that moment, wrapped in his arms, she felt all the day's worries and tension fade from her body.

"Gomen koibito…wedding planning is very stressful especially dealing with your family and my family. I love them all but everyday has been a whirlwind and I'm not sure I can do this much longer." Ichigo's lips curve ever so slightly before they press against her temple and his chin finds the top of her head.

A small hum leaves his lips and she can feel it vibrate through his throat and chest. The feeling warms her heart because for some reason it was calming to her. "That's why I paid a visit to the sotaicho this morning during the joint training sessions. You and I are going on a three day trip…we both need a little break away from everything. Think of this as a getaway so we can both buckle down and seriously plan this wedding. Plus as of right now you're currently on leave for another week then we both start work with the other sectors of the Gotei 13. We should collect ourselves before hand, ne?" Soi-fon could only smile against her lover's neck and nod her head once. She couldn't say she wasn't excited to spend three days alone with her fiancé. Who in their right mind would deny a trip like that with such a drop dead sexy man?

~~CxB~~

** Okay…so review please and tell me what you think! Reviews make me write faster and give me inspiration! By the way I'm putting stories up for adoption so PM if you're interested in finding out which ones are up! Oh and please check out my website Chaeann Bourne Creations (Google it please; it's still a weebly so it's usually the first one to pop up on the search) for other stories and updates on the current stories I'm posting on here! If you like my writing enough leave me a comment or email me and maybe we can work together sometime!**


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