This will be my last un-edited chapter. Yay for the sake of my writing. Boo that it will now take a bit longer between chapters. I'm going to try to get one out every week to two weeks, but... I honestly cannot make any promises. This month, though, will be going back through chapters 4-now and fixing things, taking some things out and adding entire scenes that somehow got misplaced in the rush. Like Shirtless!Ichigo and Toushiro vs. Isshin and one of Isshin's secrets. Yeah...

According to his watch, the train was late. Though, knowing the trains, it really meant that his watch was off. Still, either way. Trains.

He had no complaints about the transportation method itself, but a good nine times out of ten, getting on a train only had unpleasant destinations in store. Then again, he could likely use the senkaimon to get himself to Kamakura with nobody being the wiser, or get someone to drive him… Tessai had a van, if he remembered correctly, that he used to pick up supplies and run deliveries. But then he'd have to deal with awkward questions with one and leaving his body behind with the other. Actually… there would be awkward questions using either method. So, in the end, trains it was.

He had already bought his tickets the previous day, making sure that he had a return ticket, so that if his uncle tried to keep him longer, it was an excuse to leave. Though, what his uncle wouldn't know was that the ticket wasn't going all the way back to Karakura in one shot. And what his uncle didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Yo, Ichigo, the train here yet?" The voice, he knew that voice. Turning around, already with an annoyed expression plastered across his face, he gave his oldest friend a look. Though, what he didn't expect was for Rukia to be standing right next to her, wearing a cute bunny hoodie sweater and little more to guard against the cold.

"What the hell are you doing here? You're going to get frostbite." He grumbled, addressing the both of them. It was the end of December, for Pete's sake, and there was snow on the ground.

"What do you think, baka?" Tatsuki asked right back, hefting her rucksack, "I told you already, I'm not going to be left behind on your next little adventure, powers or not." She moved toward him, holding an old-fashioned bentou wrapped in a kerchief up. "Besides, it's not like it's the first time I've come with you to Kamakura. Oh, and you forgot your lunch." Said lunch, was easily enough to feed the three of them. Sighing, he decided not to tell her that he had already bought a convenience store bentou not fifteen minutes earlier.

"And you?" Ichigo turned to Rukia, already knowing that it would be impossible to shake either girl once they got on the train. "You know I'm not paying for you."

"I'm here to supervise you." A white cloud of steam puffed from behind Rukia's scarf, "Ukitake-taicho thought it would be best if I went, instead of just sending one of the lower seats to tail you."

"Yeah, ok." He could see how that made sense. But still, he didn't need a spiritual babysitter. "I'm just telling you now, you're going to turn into an icicle by the time we get there. It's a bit of a hike once we leave the station and, according to the reports, there's a good couple of inches of snow that fell a few days ago." Finally, their train pulled up and they climbed inside, managing to secure a trio of seats right next to each other, so that they could continue talking.

"You forget something, Ichigo." Rukia gave him a dry look, "That Sode no Shirayuki is an ice zanpakutou."

"I didn't forget. It's just that I don't think your gigai is as resistant to frostbite as you are. I don't want to have to carry you the rest of the way because your toes started turning blue. And then you'd have to explain to Urahara how you managed to damage his gigai." Ichigo crossed his arms with a superior smirk, leaning in to look at Rukia in the face. After a moment, he leaned back and pulled out folding lap desk and a folder with paper strips tucked in one side and paper squares in the other.

"I am not going to freeze. You're delusional." Rukia scoffed, crossing her arms as well, ready to start an argument. But instead, curiosity got the better of her when Ichigo pulled out a square of paper and uncapped what looked like a fountain pen. "Just what are you doing now?"

"Hmm? This?" He murmured, almost to himself as he tucked away the folder for now and started writing in the loose, flowing grass script that she had seen yesterday along the four edges. "If you're going to follow me, you're going to need some protection. You can deal with hollows fine, but I don't know about the yokai and I don't want you to be caught unaware."

"Yokai?" She scoffed, looking like she was trying not to laugh. "There's no such thing as yokai! They're children's tales, meant to scare them into behaving." Ichigo didn't say anything, but shared a silent conversation with Tatsuki. Ichigo thrust his chin in Rukia's direction, Tatsuki shook her head. Ichigo tapped the corner of the paper he was working on, Tatsuki sighed.

"They're just as real as you are." Tatsuki sighed, looking around and keeping her voice low. It was cold out and it was a slow time, so there weren't too many others in the car with them. "If ghosts can exist, so can yokai."

"And ghost-yokai." Ichigo quietly interjected, writing something in the four corners now, pointing toward the center.

"Yeah." She agreed, suppressing a shiver. "not everything that goes bump in the night are hollows."

"Yes, they are." Rukia furrowed her brows. "the only real threat to humans would be hollows, generally speaking." The two humans exchanged another look and Ichigo went back to his work. While Tatsuki had never run into this black-and-white side of Rukia before, Ichigo had. Things that she was taught in the academy was the only truth out there, and if the academy and her superior officers in the Gotei 13 said that there was no such thing as yokai, then there was no such thing as yokai.

"Where we're going." Ichigo drew a complicated circular seal in the middle of the paper, making it look like a labyrinth surrounding two words written in grass script. 'Snow' and 'Rabbit' "Sooner or later, you're going to start believing in the impossible." Waiting until the ink dried, he flipped it over and put one word in the middle 'Mamoru', with trailing ends of four grass script words pointing into the corner. If Rukia didn't know better, she would say that he had just signed a shortened version of his name, without the 'ichi' in 'Ichigo'.

"But that doesn't explain what you're doing." She huffed, not liking talking about all this yokai nonsense. She had seen Ichigo, once or twice, write with that strange style, but it had always been a journal of some type. The problem was, when she went to read what he wrote, it was all gibberish to her. Sure, she could pick out the odd word, but for the most part it looked like childish scribbling. And then he had started writing in that weird style in Ukitake-taicho's office the other day, just to get a compliment on his writing! It wasn't that good. Her brother had trained her in penmanship as part of her adoption, and no matter the variety that Byakuya-nii had shown her, none of them looked even close to Ichigo's scribbles.

"I'm making a fuda for you, so you won't be caught unaware in case something decides to jump you." He started folding the paper into an origami shape. "This one's only temporary, since I didn't know that you were coming, but it'll get the job done."

"Wouldn't you need to make one for Tatsuki as well, seeing that she doesn't have any powers?" Rukia asked obstinately, still miffed that they wouldn't let the yokai joke go.

"Mine's right here." She held up her red flip phone, dangling from the strap was a small temari, about the size of a marble. The string ball was brightly colored, with a blue dragon weaving around the width of it. "I've had it… Hmm..."

"A couple of years." Ichigo mumbled, carefully folding away edges of the paper. "I should probably make you a new one soon."

"Nah." Tatsuki smiled, batting at the temari a bit before putting her phone away (checking if Orihime had texted her back first), "I like this one. It has character."

"It's ugly since it was one of the first ones I made. Even Yuzu finally let me replace hers."

"Yeah..." Tatsuki had a lopsided grin on her face as she looked out the window. "I kinda miss those cherries though. They were cute."

"I offered to make her new cherries. She was the one that picked a strawberry." Ichigo grumbled, flipping the paper back and forth, trying to remember where his next fold went.

"A strawberry from her Onii-chan." Tatsuki razzed, comfortable teasing the carrot top because she knew she was one of the few people in, well, a couple worlds now, that could get away with it.

"Yeah, yeah." Ichigo rolled his eyes and handed the paper to Rukia. "Keep this on you at all times. Especially, when we're at the house." Blinking at having the origami thrust into her hands, she looked down at it. It was a… flower? "A snowflake." he corrected, pulling out a few strips of paper and writing on them now. Rukia hadn't realized that she had spoken aloud and blushed, putting it in her pocket instead of replying.

"So what are you doing now? Those look like some sort of seals." She asked instead.

"Yeah, kinda. They're different than what you've probably seen before though." he tapped one of the fuda that he was working on.

"I thought you would have finished those last night?" Tatsuki asked, carefully taking the finished ones from the lap table and holding them up so that they'd dry faster.

"Eh..." He absently scratched his cheek with the back of the fountain pen. "Most of them. I ended up getting distracted, or I would have. And I forgot some of them on my desk too, when I was packing."

Snorting, Tatsuki shook her head, folding the freshly-dried fuda into something long, thin and pointed at one end before handing them back to Ichigo. "Ladies and gentlemen, our hero. So hero, are we going to do the usual thing this time too?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, gently taking the- Rukia absently realized that they looked like arrows- fuda and tucking them into a box with about two dozen other arrow-shaped fuda. "I am. You two, on the other hand, can just go to the house and have a nice hot bath when you get there."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily, Strawberry." Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "I helped you last year. And the year before that, and-"

"-The year before that. I know. But it's cold this year and I can walk around myself." Ichigo looked up long enough to give his oldest friend a sardonic smile, "mom."

"I'm telling Aunt Masaki on you!" Tatsuki reacted, pointing at Ichigo dramatically.

Just then, a chime rung overhead, gaining their attention. "Kamakura station. Next stop is Kamakura station. Have a nice day!"

"...Right." Looking down, Ichigo hurried to pack away his supplies, tucking the paper and half-finished fuda into the folder before tucking it and the lap desk back into his bag. After debating for a moment, he handed the box of folded fuda to Tatsuki to hold on to. Feeling the train slow down, Ichigo stood up, absently steadying Rukia as they moved toward the doors. Suppressing a low growl, he could already feel the oppressive atmosphere pressing down on his shoulders, making sure that he knew his place in the world. He was a slave to this gray world of shadows, fated and cursed to moved along in them so that others may enjoy the light. It made him sick, knowing what his family meant to this town. Knowing that the town worshiped and reviled his family in the same breath. "Let's go." Making sure that his jacket was zipped, he flipped up his hood and guided the two girls out into the snowy world of Kamakura.

"Oh, this is really pretty." Was the first words out of Rukia's mouth once they exited the station. It was a small town with areas that retained the more traditional building styles, blanketed in a fresh coat of snow, making everything look innocent and new. Being mid-day, there were a few people about, but not as many as during the summer or the festival season.

Speaking of… "There's a small festival for the New Year's on the fourth. Even if I end up too busy to go, I'm sure that one of the servants would be more than willing to show you." Ichigo murmured, already seeing preparations being put up here and there. He had no idea what Uncle Nagare had in store, whether he'd be stuck in the house the entire time, or if he would be able to wonder around. "Though if you really want to see something, we need to come either during hanami blossoming season or during the fall. There's a lot of temples around here."

"And there's that giant Buddha." Tatsuki interjected, looking around at the small changes that had happened since last time she had come with Ichigo.

Ichigo nodded, making sure his hood stayed up, "Two of them. Well, one is a Buddha and the other one is-"

"Kurosaki-sama!" Well… that didn't last long. Ichigo sighed, turning to face the old shop owner and give a small bow. "It's good to see you back, young master. Will you be staying for long?" Ichigo had to suppress a wry look. Even with attempting to hide under his hood, his distinct Kurosaki hair made him stand out in the sea of black hair.

"Not for long, Oriyama-jii. Just through until next weekend."

"Oh, good. Make sure to stop by before then. I have some new treats that I want you to try. Or I can send a selection up to the house for you."

"That would be wonderful. Thank you." He said with a small bow and a politician's smile. No doubt, now that the shopkeeper had spotted them, by the time that they reached the house, there would be a whole pile of welcome back trinkets, courtesy of the locals. Though… he was sure that Rukia would enjoy some of the sweets sent ahead, just like Tatsuki had in years past. Secretly, he even indulged in some of the local chocolates, and Oriyama-jii knew it.

Thankfully, Rukia stayed quiet, taking in the scenery as the trio slowly made their way down the main thoroughfare, greeting, it seemed, every third or fourth person that crossed their path by name. There were a few, she realized, that even knew Tatsuki on sight. One of whom handed the karate champion a pretty fan emblazoned with a dragon on one side during their little greeting exchange.

"Mamoru-Sama!" Ichigo immediately spun towards the voice, catching a slight girl in a winter kimono that launched herself at the young man. "You're back!"

"Hey, Miya-san. It's 'Ichigo', remember?" He gave her a genuine smile, setting her back onto her feet.

"Mamoru-sama is Mamoru-sama and you grew again!" She pouted, poking Ichigo in the chest with a mittened finger. "You need to stop that!"

"I'm sorry." He really wasn't, and they both knew it. "Did you come to greet me?" He asked, gently grabbing her hands so that she would stop poking him and started to rub the heat back into them.

Miya shook her head with a smile, but allowed Ichigo to continue doing what he wanted with her hands. "Iie, I was doing some shopping for the house when I spotted you," she actually held up a bag, half-full of groceries, "I had no clue you were coming today. You didn't call ahead!" Peeking around his bulk, she gave Tatsuki a smile. "Arisawa-san, It's good to see you too. Mamoru-sama didn't tell me that you were coming. Oh, and is that Karin-ojo?" Pulling free from Ichigo, she gave Rukia a bear hug, much to the shorter girl's surprise. "My, how you've grown! Last time I saw you, you were barely tall enough to reach the top of the counter to swipe sweets! Now, where is sweet little Yuzu-ojo"

Tatsuki and Ichigo tried their damnedest to not laugh, but a few chuckles managed to break through. "Miya-san," Ichigo stepped forward, pulling the girl away from a stunned Rukia. "This is Kuchiki Rukia. A friend of mine."

"Oh!" Miya gasped, her hands flying to her mouth before she dipped into a low bow to hide her blush, "I am so sorry, Kuchiki-dono! I did not mean to offend you!"

"Miya-san, It's ok." Ichigo murmured, pulling her away from Rukia as she started to smile, seeing the humor in the situation. The poor girl, she was so enthusiastic greeting Ichigo too. It was obvious by their interactions that they knew each other. "Karin and Yuzu are back home. I didn't bring them this time."

Affecting a dramatic pout, she looked up at Ichigo. "You never do, Mamoru-sama. I never see them beyond the pictures you send each spring."

"Eh..." Ichigo looked contrite, "Maybe I'll bring them next time." But they both knew that he wouldn't. And why.

Either way, she gave a definite nod. "You'd better." During their conversation, they started walking. Presumably toward the Kurosaki's house, since they were going the same general direction that they had been before.

Reaching the beginning of what looked like a well-used foot path, Ichigo turned to Miya. "Hey, could you take the girls and prepare a bath for them? And dinner for the three of us later in my room?" He asked, absently putting his hand on Rukia's back, intending on nudging her toward the servant. "Since it's getting cold out and all."

"No way," Rukia protested, slipping out of Ichigo's reach. "Whatever you're doing, I'm coming with you!"

Sighing reluctantly, Ichigo turned to Tatsuki, who crossed her arms, "Do you even have to ask?"

"Right, ok. Miya-san-"

"I'll warm the baths anyway. And prepare warm dinners while your room is aired out. Are you planning on walking around the whole property for your inspection, Mamoru-sama?"

"Yeah, that's the plan. It might take me a bit longer, since there's snow, so don't expect me for a few hours. But don't be surprised if I send one or both of the girls in early if they get too cold."

Looking between the three of them, Miya bit her lip, trying to make a decision. "Mamoru-sama, would you like me to bring hot drinks out to you?"

Ichigo gave a sincere smile, touched because of his favorite retainer's thoughtfulness. "No. But thanks anyway. I don't want you trudging out in the snow any more than I want these two to." He thumbed at both Rukia and Tatsuki at the same time.

"Ok. If my services are no longer required, then..." Miya bowed, trailing off.

"Yeah, go ahead and get inside. You look half-frozen yourself." Bowing again, this time to Ichigo and the girls in turn, Miya took her heave.

Waiting until Miya was down the path and out of sight, Ichigo immediately knelt and brushed the snow off of a very distinctive looking stone. "Tatsuki?" He asked, holding his hand out in the taller girl's general direction.

"Here." Pulling one of the arrow-shaped fuda out of the box, she handed it to Ichigo as he gently dug in the dirt at the base of the stone. It took a few moments, but he must have found what he was looking for and pulled up… another arrow-shaped fuda- this one obviously older and dirt-smeared- before plunging the new one into the earth. The change in the air was immediate, but subtle.

Standing up, Ichigo started crashing through the underbrush, intent on finding the next marker. It wasn't an ideal time to change the barrier markers, with the ground being frozen, but it was an auspicious one, being this close to New Years. With so many temples in the area drawing beings of power, spiritual or not, it was essential to renew the wards at least once every other year. Especially since he was the only one in the family he trusted to do so. Uncles Nagare and Iwao just didn't have any power while Aunt Rui (bless her damned soul) was an outsider. Sure, Yuzu was learning things like this at the local temple, but there was no way in hell that he'd bring either of the girls to this damnable place.

"Mamoru?"

"Hmm?" Ichigo hummed, his eyes still scanning for the next anchor stone.

"That girl, she kept calling you Mamoru." Rukia spoke up, easily following after Ichigo and Tatsuki's trailblazing.

"Yeah." Ichigo acknowledged, only getting what the question was after a moment or two. "Oh! Yeah. It's my legal name with anything that has to do with Mom's side of the family. It's a bit of a tradition, especially with the men, to only have one kanji names. So, instead of Ichi and Go, it's just… Mamoru. 'Guardian' instead of 'One who Protects'." He shrugged, finally spotting the stone and moving toward it.

"I still think that's a stupid thing that your family does." Tatsuki said, handing over the next fuda.

"Yeah." Ichigo nodded, plunging the fuda into the dirt, pulling up the old one and shredding it. "But It's easy for me to correct it and add the 'ichi' when I forget, at least. Besides," He muttered, absently looking out into the forest surrounding the Kurosaki house before starting his hike for the next marker. "It's one of the more sane traditions that our family keeps."

"What was that, Ichigo?" Rukia asked, honestly enjoying the walk. She didn't get why the half-shinigami kept talking like coming here was the worst doom and gloom to happen to him. The town was quaint, almost reminding her of a mix between Karakura and Seireitei. True there were a lot of hills in the area, but the forests surrounding them were lush and sparkled with fresh snow and frost.

"Nothing, nothing." He waved absently, freezing a moment when he spotted something. Making his way toward a particularly ragged looking tree, he touched a set of marks. "See this?" He asked, moving out of the way when Tatsuki came up to kneel beside him. "Those didn't come from a normal animal."

"Kamaitachi, you think?" Tatsuki asked, tracing the spiral cuts that made it nearly all the way around the tree, neatly slicing huge chunks from the bark.

"Yeah, likely. See?" He moved aside, making sure that Rukia could see as well. "How precise these cuts are? They look like the work of a normal sickle, but the spacing is too even. These were probably during the last major storm of the season that came through." Spreading his hand wide, he followed the four parallel gashes with his fingertips. "Or, y'know," Ichigo gave Rukia a look when she still didn't look like she was believing them, "Yumi could have passed through here in the past couple of weeks and decided to ruin one of our family's maples with Fuji Kujaku." That comment was not appreciated and Rukia made the point clear by smacking Ichigo over the head before stomping her way back to the path. Shrugging, Ichigo stood back up and decided to follow. "That's what I get for trying to show you guys something new."

"Still," Tatsuki was the last to leave the tree, looking around cautiously. "Will the kamaitachi still be around?" Judging by the width and depth of the marks, it was a low yokai, but getting caught in its' attack would still hurt and be hard to explain to the doctors.

Ichigo shrugged, easily overtaking Rukia to blaze the trail for her. "Maybe. I wouldn't worry too much about it though. They're shy and that one is low powered enough that it's likely not looking for trouble. It's probably already asleep for the winter and we won't find it unless we step on its nest." Tatsuki knew that already, and Ichigo knew that she knew, but he kept up a running stream of commentary anyway. Here, he would point out another tree, there, a tuft of fur that was an unusual color. Normal signs of habitation in a forest that he made sure to point out the small differences that meant it was yokai-made and not by normal animals.

"The barrier, hn!" Ichigo wiggled out a stubborn fuda, carefully inserting the new one in a crack in the stone side of a cliff, "is actually not that old. If I'm remembering what Mom told me the last time we went out and did this together, My great-grandfather- or was it great-great-grandfather?- was the first spiritualist in the family in generations." Standing up, Ichigo kept one hand on the cliff face as we walked along the base. "Though, now that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if that was when the Quincy blood was introduced into the mix." Thinking for a moment, Ichigo shrugged and physically moved along. "Don't worry, Rukia, the fuda aren't Quincy-based. Pure Quincy powers wouldn't work on yokai anyway."

Rukia rolled her eyes, not wasting her breath with a reply. If there was one thing that Ichigo wasn't able to do, it was use any form of Quincy powers. At least, from what she had seen. And if he did actually have the power, he knew better than to use it on hollows.

Continuing on, Ichigo rounded a corner next to the cliff, making sure that the girls still were following safely. "He knew, with the temples in the area, that the area was attractive toward tourists and yokai alike. Well, he couldn't do anything about the tourists," With that, Ichigo cracked a small smile because of his joke, "but he could do something about the yokai. He found, through a bit of trial and error, that- Surprise!- the Kurosaki main house was the eye of the storm. So, to keep everyone safe, he built the barrier. Not to keep yokai out, but to keep them in."

Giving the boy a furrowed-brow look, she didn't even have to say it, but she did anyway. "Was he crazy? Even if yokai exist, not that I'm saying they do, but if they did exist, why would he trap them on your own family property?" She hissed in disbelief.

All he did was give a simple shrug, "To keep the humans safe. It's not like we'd been doing similar things for centuries beforehand anyway." A note of bitterness snuck into his voice as he turned away, heading straight to the next point in the barrier. "That's why Kamakura keeps the Kurosakis around: we suffer so that they don't have to. Otherwise, we would have been hunted down and killed or ran out of town generations ago."

"But your mom was in Karakura, not Kamakura, wasn't she?"

"Yeah." Ichigo nodded and Tatsuki looked intrigued. She hadn't heard this part of the story before. "Mom's the youngest after Iwao-jii and Nagare-sama. Girls… aren't really valued in the family, so as soon as they found out that she was… 'strange', she was sold off to a branch family to eventually marry their son. Turns out," Ichigo cracked an ironic smile, "Don't tell Ishida this, but apparently Mom was supposed to Marry Ryuuken."

"Get out!" Tatsuki chuckled, shoving Ichigo in the shoulder. "So you're, what, cousins then?"

"Yeah. Second or third, something like that."

"Then why the hell isn't he here then?"

Ichigo shrugged, plucking this fuda out from between two roots of a massive oak tree. "Because the main family doesn't like 'strange' things. As far as uncle Nagare knows or cares, taking a walk like this is an odd quirk that reminds me of mom. He has no clue about the barrier. Well, maybe he does, but he refuses to talk about it. Mom learned about it from her mom before she passed and she kept it up. I'm the one that's done the research about it in the old store rooms. You know how it is about old families; they just don't throw anything away." Ichigo quirked a grin, "So, I actually found the guy's journal from when he was making the barrier and his fuda were supposed to last a good fifty years or more. Mine, probably last a few, but I'd still have to replace them every couple of years. I guess… doing this every year is a quirk of mine that reminds me of mom then."

"Though..." Ichigo twirled the fuda between his fingers, contemplating it, "I guess I could probably power these things up to the strength that they're supposed to be and make them last at least a good decade, if not- Whose there?" His head snapped up and he gripped the fuda between his fingers like a kunai knife, glowing a bright blue of Ichigo's non-reiyoku-based power. "Show yourself!"

It was silent, then suddenly something small hurtled through the bushes, streaking straight toward Ichigo's head. He ducked and swung, throwing the fuda like a dart.

KreeEE!-Thunk.

Whatever it was, Ichigo managed to pin to the tree through what looked like a leathery wing. Readying himself in case there were more, Ichigo looked around.

Silence. Excluding the muted struggles of the pinned animal.

Breathing, Ichigo dropped his ready stance and looked at the two girls before walking over to whatever he had pinned with the overpowered fuda-arrow. "No such thing as yokai, huh?" He mused to himself, stepping close enough to look at what he had caught. At first glance, it looked like a bat, but the head shape was wrong. And it was a shade of dark blue instead of black. "Rukia, come look at this." Careful to stay out of its reach, Ichigo inspected the bat closely. Raising his hand to remove the fuda, the bat screeched.

And screeched.

Ichigo quickly drew back his hand, and even then the bat did not immediately stop. Being this close, he caught the full brunt of the attack, enough to make his eyes swim and his ears pop. Oh, and what large fangs you have there, Kumori-san! "Ok fine! Stay pinned there!" Ichigo didn't realize that he had growled, not even able to hear himself think in those moments. Stumbling back, he nearly fell backwards as he suffered from a wave of vertigo, only stopping himself by leaning against another tree. "Dammit." He muttered, shaking the last affects from his head when the bat finally stopped. Still, he wouldn't go that close to the flying rat again if he could help it. "Tatsuki, could you?"

"Already did it." She replied, fine since she hadn't been in the immediate range of the attack. Which, of course, Ichigo couldn't hear. Giving her a look when she didn't move, Tatsuki instead mimed putting the fuda under the tree and a thumbs-up, getting a nod in understanding.

"Great." He was still talking louder than usual. "See, Rukia, that's a kumori yokai. It specializes in using sonics and echolocation. Which you just heard when it got scared. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the sucker had poison either on its' claws or fangs." When he had been close enough to, he had actually smelled the sickly-sweet of a non-lethal poison emanating from the bat, but he wouldn't point out how he smelled it any time soon. Ever since he had trained with the Visored, he had increased sensitivity with nearly all of his senses, including smell. Between that and having run across several natural poisons before (a complete accident, that he was lucky to survive at the time), he could pick up the scent immediately.

"It..." Rukia stood as close as she dared, inspecting the bat that was pinned at least a foot above her eye level. "Doesn't have a hole. Or a mask fragment." She still refused to call it a yokai, but… maybe there were types of hollows that didn't have any obvious hollow markers? Like the Arrancar. With quite a few of them, clothing and some creative accessories could easily make them pass as human. But that was just it: they looked human. And this not-hollow was too weak to be powerful enough to have removed its mask. And it wasn't clothed, so where would the hole be hiding?

"No, it doesn't. Because it's not a hollow. Or even close to being one." Ichigo stood directly behind her, staring at the bat yokai as well. "And just be glad that this one's a weak one. The closer it can imitate a human shape, the more powerful it is. A lot of the time, the most powerful yokai can pass as human and you'd never know if you walked by one on the street. Those are the ones to be frightened of. I guess, saying it that way," Ichigo mused, "That's about the only way that yokai and hollows are the same. Then again, it's a lot like saying shinigami and humans are the same."

"But we are?"

"Are we?" Ichigo asked back, making a two-fingered gesture toward the bat, or, more directly, toward the fuda pinning the bat's wing to the tree. "Kumori-san! Next time you try for freedom or attack any of the humans in this territory, I will vaporize you. Kai!" The fuda burst into blue flame, releasing the bat, but leaving a small hole in the membrane and a painful-looking scorch mark the size of a coin around it. "That's your only warning." Ichigo watched as the bat perched on a branch, gingerly stretching its injured wing as it rapidly healed. The fuda, though, had left its mark permanently etched on its membrane, in the form of a purple star-burst scar. Soon enough, the bat was as healed as it needed to be and took off, heading somewhere hidden on the property to finish healing.

"What do you think that was for?" Tatsuki asked, watching as the bat flew off as well.

Ichigo shrugged, scanning the surrounding forests for any more ambushes. "Who knows. Probably was trying to swoop past me while the barrier point was down and escape." Humming, Ichigo looked around, trying to remember something. It had been a while since he had visited the building, but it would be a perfect place to take a break for lunch. They had been at this chore for a few hours already, following barely-used deer trails and Ichigo's memory to go from point to point. And if he remembered correctly, it would be nearby, close to the stream and towards the back of the property. It should have been easy to- aha! There it was; the corner of a tiled roof. "This way." Carefully, Ichigo parted from the trail, making it down a somewhat steep and slippery decline and through a thick copse of bamboo.

"Where are we?" Rukia asked, brushing herself off from a near-fall down the side of the hill, making it through the thicket quicker than Tatsuki.

"Oh… Wow." The taller girl looked around, making note of the torii gate and the semi-maintained area around the building. The building itself was obviously old and unused, but still serviceable… even if it hadn't been properly maintained in quite a while. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Probably." Ichigo nodded, making his way over to the building and pushing open one of the solid-wood shoji doors with a bit of effort. "The Yato-no-Kami shrine." Looking over, he gave Rukia a reassuring grin as he ushered both girls in. "Don't worry, the god here has long since stopped coming by. It's just an old building now. I figured since we're close, we could stop by and warm up while we have lunch."

"Oh, good, I'm freakin' freezin, starving and we've been hiking for over two hours now!" Tatsuki sat down on the wooden floor, next to the cold Irori fire pit. Indeed, her fingers had long since taken on a bright red tint since she had forgotten her gloves at home.

"Gee, tell me how you really feel about it, Tas." Ichigo snarked, dropping a small pile of firewood within easy reach before sitting down opposite the fighter. Since it wasn't windy out, he decided to leave the doors at least partially open, so they could have some natural lighting and fresh air while they took their break. "I'm not stopping you. At any time, you can go to the main house and have a warm meal and bath ready for you."

Giving the boy a look, she started unwrapping the bentou that Yuzu had sent along, "Hell. No. We're almost done anyway."

Shrugging, he got to work, getting a small fire started with some kindling and creative use of a combustible fuda he had in his pocket. "Eh, more like a third of the way done. Rukia, are you coming in?" He asked, looking up at the shinigami. She was standing by the doorway, looking out at the untouched snow and completely unaffected by the cold. It seemed like her gigai had the same resistance as her natural body did.

"In a minute. It's pretty out here." Rukia murmured absently, staring around at nothing in particular.

Nodding to himself, Ichigo sat back, feeding small dry branches to the fire until it was big enough to maintain itself without constant prodding. "Did any of us managed to remember to get drinks this time?" He mused, leaning back on his hands and staring at the fish-shaped hook that hung over the fire. Tatsuki, knowing that she hadn't grabbed anything, stared over at Rukia, remembering that she hadn't seen the Shinigami grab anything either- and that said shinigami didn't even have a bag with her in the first place- before turning back to Ichigo and shaking her head. "Right." Levering himself up, Ichigo stood up and went for the door. He hadn't thought to buy more than a small water bottle with his bentou, which was definitely not enough to split three ways. "I'll be back in a few."

Brushing past Rukia, he gave her shoulder a brief squeeze. "Hey, I'll be-"

"I heard you the first time." She cut him off, not bothering to move beyond letting Ichigo pass.

"Ok." He nodded, not liking the almost-blank expression on her face, but not knowing what to say, "Did you want anything specific?"

"Tea's fine." Nodding again, Ichigo turned and took one, two steps before using what was left of his fullbring's bringer light ability to speed off down an overgrown path, larger than the deer path they had been using, supposedly leading straight to the main house. It wasn't like she was upset or anything, but things just didn't make sense here. She fingered the origami snowflake that Ichigo had made for her earlier. It was strange, because she felt some ambient power coming off it that definitely felt like him, but every time she focused on it, the power would slip out of her senses like a puddle of oil in water. It was the same way with the strange not-hollow from earlier. She could feel them, vaguely, but if she tried to pinpoint down one unique energy signature, it would just… slip away. Still, there was no such thing as yokai. There couldn't be. They were just strange hollows with… unique abilities. Nothing more than that. A lot of hollows with the same abilities. A lot of weak hollows with the same abilities to cast a strong cloaking shield around themselves. Weak, sub-human animalistic hollows with the ability to be completely non-reactive to her own powers…

Rukia shook her head, refusing to think about it. There had to be a logical explanation here, and she was bound and determined to find out about it, even at the risk of upsetting the local humans that were, apparently, Ichigo's family. Though, if push came to shove, she could always ask Urahara about it. She was sure that the scientist would be thrilled to find a new type of hollow to study. Who knows, it could be something dangerous that they all needed to know about. Maybe this could be the key to the next war, nipping it in the bud before it became another incident like Aizen or Ginju or the Bount.

"Hey, Rukia. No point in waiting until Chi-go gets back. Grab yours before it cools down." Tatsuki held up one of the layers, still clearly steaming with heat.

Wait, cool down? It should have been near-frozen by now. Rukia thought, coming over to inspect the meal. Taking the wooden box, she realized it was, indeed still warm, like it had only been freshly packed. "How…?"

"Is it still warm?" Tatsuki asked through a mouthful of yakisoba, pointing at the side of the box with her chopsticks. "Ichigo carved fuda into the bentou boxes a couple years ago. Don't ask me how it works, I just know that it does. All I know is that there's only a few things that he can't do with paper and ink. As long as the fuda isn't broken somehow, it works."

Looking closer at the side of the box, Rukia saw a rectangular strip running vertically down the middle of the box with a series of shallow etchings filled with ink. "Ah." Looking over at Tatsuki's, the girl turned her box so that she could see the carving on that one as well, and the matching triplet on the floor by the Irori with the lid still on and lightly wrapped with the kerchief the bentou had been carried in. Even the kerchief had what she was starting to recognize as a fuda painted on the inside. They were absolutely everywhere on this trip, enough to the point that she was curious why she hadn't seen signs of their use before now, if they were so useful. "Why hasn't he-"

"He tried," Tatsuki shrugged, "a few times when he was just starting, from what he told me." After she had beaten the stuffing out of him when he was in one of his low moods. "He's been trying to use them on Isshin-ji ever since I remember, but apparently they don't work on anything with reishi."

Rukia nodded. It made sense now, that the fuda could only affect kishi, the living world's equivalent of reishi. It was fascinating, really, now that she knew what she was looking for. She had never even imagined that the humans could come up with something like this. Even the Quincy, from what she knew talking to Ishida-san, used reishi particles in the air. She wondered, really, what the difference was and how it affected the two energies differently. Maybe this is why he had such a difficult time with kido? They were two completely different, but parallel systems of energy manipulation, after all…

"Maybe." Tatsuki's answered, making her realize that she had spoken out loud again. "Now eat, already, before I eat it for you." Giving Tatsuki a look, Rukia finally gave in and ate her portion of the bentou. It would be a sunny day in Hueco Mundo the day that she refused to eat the youngest Kurosaki's cooking.

She was nearly done with her portion by the time Ichigo returned with an extra large thermos and a set of cups carefully wrapped so that they wouldn't chip. "I'm back. And I brought hot tea to share." Seeing the look that Tatsuki was giving the tea cups, Ichigo shrugged. "The girls insisted. Especially since they don't regularly have plastic cups at the house." Gently unwrapping each cup, he gave them a cursory wipe to free them of non-existent dust before filling them and handing them out. Old as the cups were, they were made of earthenware and had glazed designs, shaped in one of the more classic cylinder-shaped style. Rukia, who he served first, had a sakura tree and blossoms (It was out of season, he knew, and he had to pull it out of storage, but he thought she would appreciate that particular one the most). Tatsuki's, of course, was a dragon. That one, he had found years ago in a storage room, and had told the servants to use it for her ever since.

His, on the other hand, was a snake. Like the majority of the cups, it had the family mon and some play on the snake theme, whether the word 'hebi', scales, or a snake winding around the cup. It wasn't a favorite of his, but it was the first one that he had grabbed out of the cabinet. He had intentionally chosen to distance any personal feelings for anything on the property, so didn't show any preferences. When he was younger, before his mother passed, and especially after… other things, he had a favorite cup, but he had thrown it against the wall in a fit of frustration and hadn't looked back since. Sitting back, he took a sip, spotting his uneaten portion of Yuzu's bento and grinned. Maybe it would be better to eat something fresh instead of the store bought one. Breaking into the one left, he happened to look over at the doorway. There was… a daruma doll sitting there, one eye blank and the other filled. He could swear that there hadn't been anything there when he walked by earlier. Staring it, he absently took a bite of… ah, Yuzu made yakisoba.

Ah!

He grinned, turning to Tatsuki until she could feel him staring at her. He waited until she locked eyes with him before tilting his head slightly at the daruma. Very carefully, she looked over. After a moment, the daruma… shivered? Looking back at Ichigo with a questioning look, Ichigo gave a subtle nod. "Oh, dear, it looks like I have an extra bentou, what ever should I do with it?" He stated with some pretty bad acting skills, pulling out the convenience store bentou in the process.

"I don't know." Tatsuki replied, intentionally just as badly, "Maybe you should just throw it away since it'll go bad sitting next to all this heat." Out of the corner of their eye, they saw the daruma doll blink its one eye and give a bigger shiver. Ichigo could swear that he even heard a small whimper coming from that direction.

"What are you two talking about?" Rukia asked, looking between the two humans as if they had lost their mind.

Ignoring the shinigami, Ichigo placed the bentou between him and the door, cracking the lid open so that they could smell the contents. "And, oh no, what am I going to do with this?" He held up a small corked flask of sake as well, gently shaking it back and forth. He was going to offer it to the girls to spike their tea for warmth, but using it as bait was a better idea. He didn't remember packing the flask, so one of the servants must have slipped it into the bag while he was hunting down tea cups earlier. "None of us drink, so I guess I'll just have to throw this away too." Putting it next to the bentou, he definitely heard a whimper and saw shaking this time. With his far hand, he subtly motioned that they should turn away and Tatsuki immediately complied, bodily turning Rukia a moment later when she didn't do so on her own.

Now, they would wait.

Ducking his head down, he couldn't help a wide grin when, not even a full minute later, he heard a small poof and the sharp tak-tak-tak of claws on the hardwood floor. "What-" Rukia went to turn around, but Tatsuki's hands on her shoulders immediately put a stop to that action. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the taller girl barely shaking her head. They all heard the snuffling and the scrape of the plastic lid being pushed aside. Slowly, Ichigo turned to look. Ah, it was a young one. No wonder its' curiosity had won over its' patience so quickly. The shivering was likely not so much from the cold, but the will to maintain its transformation wavering.

Slowly, oh so slowly, Ichigo reached out a hand and gently put it on the young Tanuki's back. "Hello, little one." He said softly, not wanting to startle the small creature. "Are you lost?" Irregardless of his caution, the tanuki immediately froze, staring up at Ichigo with fear-stricken black eyes. "See, I'm not going to hurt you." He said in the same tone, removing his hand and showing both of his palms, empty, of course. "I just want to help you. You got stuck behind the barrier, didn't you."

Much to Rukia's shock, the Tanuki nodded. Hesitantly, but it did bob its head, like it understood what Ichigo was saying. Smiling, he flipped the lid of the container the rest of the way off, startling the small ball of fur before hunger won out. "See. It's safe food. Probably not the best since I bought it from the convenience store this morning, but food nonetheless." Slowly, with paws that looked eerily similar to human hands, the tanuki started eating the rice, making a general mess all over the floor and itself. "Here," Ichigo gave a small laugh, gently prying the food out from under the tanuki youth, much to its consternation if the small growl was any indication. "Why don't you transform and I'll help you eat the rest, how does that sound?" Thinking for a bare moment, the tanuki gave a small squeak that had Rukia's heart melting before transforming into a human girl.

They had realized that the tanuki was young, but not this young. It- she, they could plainly see now- looked about the size of a six-year old. Thankfully, it- she- was bundled up in a bright red winter hanten coat, the number 8 stitched prominently where the family mon went at the nape of her neck. At least she wasn't in thin clothes, or the weather would truly be the death of her. Gently, carefully, Ichigo scooped her up and placed her in his lap, holding her there with the arm holding the bentou. Taking the chopsticks he had used for his own lunch, he scooped up a bit of rice and held it for the tanuki child to take. "Ahh!" Obligingly, the girl opened her mouth and only bit down on the chopsticks once the entire meal.

"There we go." Ichigo hummed as the tanuki child finished the meal, even allowing him to wipe off some of the meal that she had made a mess of with a napkin. "Now, can you tell me what you're doing here?"

The tanuki blinked, looking up at Ichigo's face and opened her mouth. "Rii." she squeaked, prompting Rukia to squeal, but not giving a real answer.

"Ah." He had to admit to himself, while the tanuki not being able to speak the human language yet did pose a small problem, she was still an awfully cute child. "Let's see… are you lost?" The tanuki shook her head, paused, then nodded slowly. "Do you know where you were supposed to go?" Another nod. "Were you going home?" A shake. "leaving home?" nod. "by yourself?" Ichigo asked with a hint of irritation, though he quickly squashed that feeling. Still, another nod. "was there a reason why you left home, Hachi-chan, you look really young." She nodded, taking a leaf that was tucked in her clothes and passed it from one hand to the other in an exaggerated motion. "You… are being a messenger. For your family?" Two nods this time as the young tanuki played with the leaf in her hands.

Acting on a hunch, based on the '8' mon on her back, Ichigo asked another question. "Do you belong to the Gyoubu clan of Shikoku?" The girl blushed and looked away, but still nodded. "Then… are you on the way to see the Nura clan?" Blinking, the yokai looked up in shock. Taking it as a yes, Ichigo debated for a moment, staring down at the crown of the girl's head. Really, it would only take a few hours, there and back, on the train, to take her the rest of the way. But then he would be asked to stay behind, at least for the night and that would leave the girls here alone, vulnerable to whatever else was currently on the property. No, unfortunately it wasn't an option. Then again, making this young of a tanuki stay on the property for even a day longer would be just as cruel. Seeing as she was by herself and didn't look damaged beyond some minor fatigue and hunger, he judged that she was good enough to continue on her own.

"Then this is what we'll do." Ichigo absently handed the sake to the tanuki and wasn't it strange to see a young child drinking rice wine like it was water? Though, from her expression, she enjoyed it greatly. "You stay with us and when we get back to the border, I'll help you across. Make sure that you don't cross it again- you know what it feels like now, right?- and go into town and the train station. Transform, if you can, into someone at least in primary school age or older and take the train west. Eventually, it'll take you to Ukiyoe town. I'm sure you can make it from there, ne?" He asked, tapping her on the nose with a finger as a hint. "If you can't do something, I'll be going the same direction in about a week. Come find me again, and I'll be able to help you then. Just don't cross the border again, ok?" The tanuki nodded and Ichigo released her. Not a moment later, the tanuki released her transformation and curled up right next to the fire for a nap.

"You're planning on going there again?" Tatsuki asked, watching Ichigo stretch.

"Yep. Just for a bit to say hi before we go back home." Ichigo replied easily, making Tatsuki's grin widen in anticipation.

"Good. I owe one of 'em a beating after what you told me they said after last time." She hit her palm, cracking her knuckles in the process.

"Figured you'd say that." Resting for a few more minutes in an attempt to soak up as much heat as possible, Ichigo eventually divvied out the last of the lukewarm tea and put the thermos aside. Taking it as her cue, Rukia started cleaning up, but Ichigo waved her away. "Leave it. One of the maids was going to come up here later to do the annual cleaning for new years anyway. Miya said that she'd send some girls up earlier than she was planning and that it was no problem to deal with our garbage." They could also leave their bags, since they hadn't left them with Miya earlier when they had seen each other. By the time they got to the main house, he was positive that everything would have already been taken care of. Still, they took care to stack the used bentou boxes so that they would be easy to carry out while Ichigo finally banked the fire. Rukia, using a touch of her reiatsu, made sure that the embers were all smothered before they left.

Gently, Ichigo lifted the small Tanuki and tucked her into his jacket pocket, careful not to startle her too badly. She really was tiny, barely big enough to leave her mother, if he had any say about it. Carefully, they picked their way back up the hill, taking a different path that they had gone down in the first place. This one was a bit steeper, yes, but the ground was a bit more stable for them to climb, instead of the loose dirt of the bamboo thicket. "Tatsuki." Ichigo pointed out where the marker was as he worked to gently wake the napping yokai in his pocket. "Hachi-chan, time to go." He murmured, his hand wrapping around her entire torso as he pulled the yawning tanuki from his pocket.

"Got it." Tatsuki held up the old fuda in success and Ichigo nodded, crossing the invisible line. He didn't feel any different, but he made sure to smother the small yokai in his energy while he crossed, just in case. Walking a few meters past the border, he knelt, releasing the Tanuki to sit on the frost-covered ground.

"Now, remember what I said, ok?" He gave the girl a pet with two fingers between her ears, "Behave yourself Hachi-chan, and try not to get into any more trouble, ok?" Stepping back, he watched as she sniffed around, heading in the correct general direction toward Kamakura proper. Positive that he wouldn't have to rescue her again immediately, he turned and rejoined the girls. He found, by an irritating but easily-ignored buzzing on the back of his neck as he crossed the invisible borderline, that Tatsuki had finished his task while he was dealing with the tanuki. Absently patting down the hairs that started to rise at the back of his neck, Ichigo tilted his head back to the path, "Shall we?"

After a warm lunch, fresh tea and a wonderful fire, they were ready to continue on. Plodding on, Ichigo pointed out different features that they could see from various viewpoints around the property, including the back of a giant white statue in the distance. Rukia didn't know who the statue was off the top of her head, but they were going to be here an entire week, she was sure that she would be able to go around and do some tourist-y things at least once during that time. She didn't really feel that much hollow-attracting reishi in the area, so she felt comfortable to playing this week as more of a vacation. Sure, she would make sure that they went on patrol at least once, but, really, this wasn't her area and she was more than sure that the local shinigami had everything under control.

"Rukia." Ichigo summoned the shorter girl, drawing her out of her thoughts. "Look over there. That's the house." Ichigo was standing at the top of a cliff, pointing down at… oh. Wow.

That was not just a house, that was a lord's mansion. The complex sprawled out from a central building, with several smaller ones within easy walking distance. There were several gardens that would make her brother jealous and a pond that was artistically natural. Still, with all its beauty, there was a sense of mild neglect to the place, though she couldn't place a single thing that needed repairs. "The house was built in the early 1200's and is on the national register." Ichigo stated, with little emotion on his voice, just fact. He pointed out the main house and the guest houses, naming the different gardens and pointing out the family cemetery tucked off to one side, nearly under the cover of trees. "And there," he pointed to a wandering path, "Is where we started. It's a shortcut to and from town that most of us use instead of the front entrance." He pointed that out too, where there was a high wall and an even bigger front gate.

This, she wasn't completely sure, but she wouldn't be surprised, was bigger than the Kuchiki estate. And with all this land surrounding it that they hadn't even finished hiking all the way around it yet? Ichigo, or his family at least, was rich. And he just shrugged it off like nothing?

"Damn, I keep forgetting how big the place is." Tatsuki gave a low whistle, her hands firmly planted on her hips while she looked around. Rukia nodded in agreement, Tatsuki having said exactly what she was feeling. "I'm just glad we're here, means we're almost done. Let's go." Giving a stretch, she picked her way off the clifftop, eager to get done. With the afternoon quickly passing, the sun was quickly on its way down and Ichigo would stay out past dark if that's what it meant to get his self-appointed task done in one day. She didn't know about Ichigo or Rukia-san, but she didn't want to be out here when the majority of the yokai trapped within the barrier woke up for the night.

"Yeah, let's go Rukia." Pulling one hand out of his pockets, he patted the smaller girl on the shoulder in passing. Staring at the place, he could feel the coldness start to seep into his heart. The real demons weren't the ones outside the walls, but inside them. He closed his eyes and remembered the expressions, the pointed fingers and words, the expectations carried out, both from his own family and what the town expected. Uncle Nagare's resentment over his own family, Aunt Rui's screeching and quickly declining sanity after… after that happened. He remembered seeing the basement under his room, the lock on the trapdoor and then the sickness happening. He was young at the time, unable to understand what was happening and what he was feeling, but he could always feel the taint. At first it was just his uncles, then one day a different type had invaded his cousin.

And then it was the townsfolk's smiles. They were always a little too eager to cater to his every whim, whether it was an extra piece of chocolate from the shopkeepers, or a lovely hair ribbon to bring back to his sisters. Always, the pleading for him to stay longer, the not-so-subtle hints that he should move to Kamakura since they had a wonderful school that would be more than welcome to accept him. Or, if he didn't want that, private tutors that would cater to his every passing interest. Music? They were sure that they could find a world-renowned composer to teach him. English Literature? A professor all the way from London would come, if he would just say the word. Just as long as he stayed in Kamakura. Only the best for the one remaining heir of the Kurosaki house, even if he wasn't technically a direct descendant.

"It's a beautiful gilded cage, isn't it?" He murmured, only somewhat directing the question toward Rukia. He was just glad that so far in his life, he had been somewhat free to choose his own destiny. Sure, fate had other plans, it seemed, but at least he could see the sky and travel. It was to different worlds, but it was better than what he faced every year he came here. Though, he had a feeling that things would change soon. Uncle Nagare had been fading, in both mind and body, since his son, and later his wife, died. It was only a matter of time before he passed on as well, leaving Ichigo everything.

Rukia gave Ichigo a strange look, taking a few more minutes to look at the sprawling estate below her before following. He had been acting strange the entire trip, at times nearly light-hearted and pointing out things, saying little pieces of trivia, achingly reminding her of Kaien-dono, while at others he would slip into a mood significantly darker. He would scowl at the smallest things, kicking up clods of mud and snow, while his eyes flashed pain and hate in turn. Either way, one way or the other, she needed to get him to talk. And hopefully, Rukia bit her lip in thought, things wouldn't turn out too badly when he did decide to talk. That this was all just a misunderstanding, a family spat, and that it would all blow over in a day or two.

The air though, felt heavy, making her heart ache to be anywhere but here. It was a coldness that didn't come from her reiryoku or the weather, but it was a coldness that Byakuya-nii had back when she had first joined the Kuchiki house. Before Ichigo had come into their lives and, somehow, taught them how to be a family. A coldness that she still felt at times, when she had to interact with some of the more disapproving Kuchiki retainers and elders. That, no matter what she did, she would never be good enough.

Surely, she was reading the atmosphere wrong? It had to be the not-hollows that was affecting the air. That and only some minor exacerbation. How would it be possible to have such intense dislike for your own blood family? Sure, Ishida-kun and Ishida-san had their differences, but they still could have a semi-civil conversation as far as she knew.

At this point, her feet carried her automatically, watching as Ichigo and Tatsuki took turns replacing the spikes around the territory. Sometimes she could feel the fluctuations in the barrier, but it had the same oil-on-water feel that she was starting to realize came from the 'yokai' they had seen. The light, she absently noted, was fading quickly under the trees, especially since at it's brightest it had been a watery winter sky. Slowly, she realized that a tall, old wall had sprung up that they were walking against. Instead of digging fuda into the dirt under rocks and trees, Ichigo instead started tapping on the bricks that were marked with a strange symbol. Digging his nails in, he easily pried the bricks out, revealing a hollow that contained the fuda. These, she noted, were in much better condition than their dirt-covered counterparts, even if they were still replaced.

Reaching the main gate, Ichigo tilted his head toward the building only a handful of meters away. "Seriously, go in and start your baths guys. There's only a few more to go and I'll join you for dinner in like half an hour." Not to mention, he wanted some time by himself before he had to face his uncle. And dark had fully fallen a few minutes previous. He didn't know about Rukia, but he knew for a fact that Tatsuki was suffering, trying not to trip on every rock and root on their path. It seemed, sometimes, that his vision was meant for the dark. That he hadn't even realized that the sun had gone down until Tatsuki started to trip was a large clue.

Studying Ichigo's expression in the dark, Tatsuki gave a firm nod before cracking a half-smile. "Just don't run away now, got it? Then I'd have to explain where you went to your uncle." He knew it was a joke, but it was in poor taste and Ichigo grimaced accordingly, giving Tatsuki a light shove toward the front door.

"Remember to tell them that you want your meals taken to my room, ok? And that I want you bunked next to mine. You remember where things are?"

"Yeah, Mom, I got it." Tatsuki waved, not giving Rukia a choice to follow Ichigo as she hooked her arm in the shorter girl's. "I've been here almost as much as you have." With the main entrance lit up in the dusk, Tatsuki was able to easily make her way up the main path, where they were welcomed by a row of maids. Apparently, they had been standing by the front gate long enough to be seen, gaining a 'proper' welcome for the two girls.

Watching silently, he made sure that they were well taken care of before continuing on his way. He took extra care to make sure that the fuda in either column next to the main gate were well-placed and powered, seeing as that they took care of the second heaviest workload, the footpath gate being the heaviest. Normally, he would take his time and would be another hour, hour and a half, until he finished on the other side of the 'servant's path', but it was dark and cold out and he had spent enough time walking the estate's barrier already. So, instead of walking, he made sure that he was out of sight of the main house before using Bringer Light to reach each point in only a handful of steps.

"Ooh, yeah, that was nice." Tatsuki purred, a fresh mens kimono put on and a towel draped around her neck. The bath house, she was proud to show the Kuchiki, was no small thing. While it wasn't a natural onsen, It was beautifully made to look like a natural indoor pool that could easily fit ten, twenty people comfortably. Even the maids took leave to use the Kurosaki's bath house, if taking startling one of them that was soaking in the bath could be construed that way. After a moment of embarrassed babbling and naked bowing, the girl relaxed enough to settle back into the bath, finding that she was more than welcome to remain, seeing that she had been there first. Helping Rukia scrub her back had been… informative. She had seen scars on the smaller girl's body and found out that there were some that she was proud to show off. Others… not so much.

Rukia nodded along with Tatsuki's sentiment, fiddling with her obi-age, retying the scarf before tucking it into the top of her obi. She had been shocked and surprised at the sheer number of kimono that the maids had pulled out for her to try after her bath. While Tatsuki had been firm to only take a mens kimono (which were easier to wear in her opinion), they had both ended up having a small dress-up session before the maids had allowed them to go. Now, they were just waiting for Ichigo and their dinners to arrive.

Looking around, Rukia couldn't help but be at least slightly depressed. The maid had said that this was Ichigo's room, but… it was sterile. There was not a hint of Ichigo's personality anywhere in the room. The only decoration was a fresh piece of Ikebana flower arrangement featuring some dead branches and a scroll painting of… was that a sunrise over a snowy field, or a sunset over the void? Turning away from the business-like alcove, she tried, in vain, to find something personal, showing that Ichigo had spent time in this room in the past. She even took to peeking into the closet and not a thing. His futon cover was blue, but that was about it.

Looking next door, she could see the stark difference between his room and their guest room, though they were only separated by a thin shoji wall. Already, a pair of comfortably plush futons had been pulled out and bed-warmers tucked between the layers. Kimono stands stood against the back wall, displaying a few other kimono that the maids had thought that they would enjoy, including a small chest of Obi and various accessories. She could tell, even without the girls saying anything, that this was the most excitement that had happened in a long time. The sheer amount of doting, if this kept up, would be smothering. And that was saying something, given that she was the princess of the Kuchiki manor and used to servants hovering around constantly.

Though… this explained why Tatsuki and Ichigo hadn't packed much beyond a pair of small duffle bags for the week. And, though it had honestly slipped her mind, thinking that she could just borrow from Yuzu-chan during the trip, she was glad that the maids were more than willing to supply clothing.

Hearing steady footfalls coming down the hall, Rukia perked up, sliding into the more formal seiza. "Mamoru-sama." That… was not the voice she was expecting as the footfalls stopped.

"Aa." Oh, good, a voice she recognized as she heard some slight scrabbling at the outer shoji door's clasp. "Yes, Shira-chan?" He sounded tired, almost resigned.

"Nagare-sama wishes to see you at your convenience."

"… Have the girls eaten yet?"

"No, Mamoru-sama, we were told to wait until you had returned."

"Aa," Ichigo was silent for a moment and the scrabbling at the shoji screen clasp had stopped. "Bring their dinners. I'll eat mine later. I have a feeling I know what Nagare-ji wants to talk about anyway and it might take a while."

"… Hai, Mamoru-sama." The heavy footsteps walked away and a moment later, the shoji door was slid open partially. "Excuse me for the intrusion." Startled, Rukia had thought that the maid had walked away already.

"N-no. That's ok. Did you wish to say something?" Rukia, at the last moment, remembered her noble manners when dealing with servants. Tatsuki, as comfortable as she was leaning against a folded futon and playing on a hand held game controller, let her deal with the maid.

"Hai," the servant, sitting in a seiza in the doorway, gave a graceful bow, nearly touching her fringe to the tatami floor. "Being Mamoru-sama's guests, I should inform you that Mamoru-sama usually takes his meals in his room. If you should wish to do the same, you are welcome to, but we do have several beautiful dining halls and, if you wish for some company, there is always the kitchens with the rest of us." The girl gave a small smile, breaking her formality. "Most of us that are not otherwise occupied are also having dinner, if you wish to join us."

"I'm in." Tatsuki immediately rolled to her feet, pausing her game and putting it down. It was better than waiting in this sterile room for who knows how long for Ichigo to show his ugly mug again.

Rukia on the other hand, was a little more hesitant. He had intended to join them and… she didn't want him to eat alone, but then she would be eating alone in the strange room. And didn't that bring back lonely flashbacks of her first few week after she was adopted. "Mamoru-sama-"

"His name is Ichigo." Rukia couldn't stand even the maids speaking about him like he was a distant stranger.

The maid gave her an indulgent look before continuing on. "Mamoru-sama wishes to inform you that he may be yet longer to return to his room and that you should eat before him."

"It's cool, Rukia. Trust 'em, they know what they're talking about." Of course, none of them imagined to actually acknowledge that Ichigo had been right there not two minutes earlier. Maybe… maybe it would be a good idea to go with Tatsuki and the maid? She would just leave a note, just in case he did return before they did.

"...Fine. But let me write him a note first, just in case." Tatsuki nodded and watched at Rukia pulled out this absolutely huge case of markers and a pad of paper before drawing… was that a rabbit? -It didn't look like a rabbit- Doing multiple things before writing a short note and signing her name at the bottom. "There!" Tatsuki slid a look over to the maid, to find that they were both sporting the same somewhat bewildered look as Rukia placed the notebook where Ichigo couldn't miss it.

Standing up, she gestured for the maid to show the way, and she did so with light, nearly inaudible steps that were clearly a learned skill. The first indication that they were getting closer to the kitchens was the sound of crockery shattering and a triumphant yell. "It's mine now!"

"Give it back, you hog!"

"No way in hell, Tori," The maid slid open the door with only a moment of embarrassed reluctance. "Sriracha for life!"

"I'm… sorry for the mess." The maid murmured, almost choking on her embarrassment. "We will endeavor to act more appropriately in the future." Earning a grimace from the two girls.

"Nah, that's cool." Walking in like she owned the place, Tatsuki snagged the bottle of hot sauce from the girl who was standing on the table, triumphantly holding the bottle out and away from the other maid's reach, much to the amusement of the rest of the room. Giving the maids a shit-eating grin, she cradled it in the crook of her arm. "Mine now. What were we going to smother again?"

"Ah!" the girl on the table squeaked, quickly getting down onto the floor before giving a bow that would make a right angle cry with pride. "Forgive me my rudeness Arisawa-san!"

"Pfft, nothing to forgive." Tatsuki thumped the bowing girl on the shoulder before turning back to the stove. "So, what's for grub?" Ah… that's what the smash earlier was. A broken crock of Beni Shoga was slowly sliding its way across the counter, dying the wood with its crimson gingery goodness. Too bad, she liked that.

"Ah, the maids were having ramen tonight. But if you wish, you can have some of the same selection that Master Nagare and Mamoru-sama will be having." Ramen, she said, like it was a simple thing. There was a buffet-style assembly line on the counters and spilling onto the large table in the middle of the room. One of the older maids was manning the oven with a stack of large bowls by her elbow, ready to start boiling and passing out noodles. On the other three burners were the three basic soup bases, simmering away and ready to be ladled over the noodles.

"Forget about what Ichigo's havin', I'm joining you guys!" Tatsuki's mouth started watering as she stepped up to the short line. "Heya, Ame-san! Long time, no see." The old maid gave the girl a crinkled smile and shook her head, simply putting a serving of noodles into the long-handled strainer and dipping it into the pot of boiling stock.

At the table, a girl that looked no older than twelve was replacing the condiments that had been knocked over in the brief scuffle, giving Rukia a warm smile as she wiped what couldn't be saved of the Beni Shoga away. The table itself looked like that hadn't been the first such incident, as it was covered in everything from stains to scorch marks and cuts. But it was a homey table. The first touch of something comfortable she had seen since she had stepped foot in the house. Stepping forward when she felt a light touch on her upper back, the maid that brought them could finally enter and closed the heavy wooden door behind her, finally shutting out the blowing snow.

While the ramen looked wonderful, Rukia was curious about what the two Kurosakis were going to have, if not ramen, and proceeded to ask. "Well, since Ichi-chan's back, we sent one of the girls out and we managed to get the last of the crab haul for the day." She had to blink, hadn't the maid, not a handful of minutes ago, insisted on calling Ichigo 'Mamoru-sama'?

At least half the older girls giggled, only to be half-heartedly hushed by a grinning maid that was working on preparing said crabs. Tatsuki even gave a snort of laughter while she was piling her bowl full of various tidbits in the buffet line, even going so far as snagging a crab leg or two from the pile. "He asked for them once." She pronounced, waving the crab leg around for emphasis, "And you guys just won't let him forget about it!" Not that she was complaining. Being on the coast made for getting some great seafood really fresh, but crab was more of a Hokkaido thing, not a Tokyo thing. "Just because he was being a brat about it, didn't mean you had to indulge him."

"I don't see you complaining about it either, Tatsuki-chan." The maid grabbed back the unpeeled leg and plopped the contents of another into her ramen bowl as a replacement. "And he could have told us to stop at any time."

"No he couldn't." Tatsuki and Rukia spoke at the same time, but Rukia continued, "Yuzu-chan has him too well trained to ever complain about the cook's choice."

"Yeah, didn't he get nothing but rice and milk for a week that one time?" Tatsuki asked, looking to Rukia to respond.

Not having been there for that particular incident, she shrugged. "Sounds like something that Youzu would do. But more times than not, if he skipped a meal, Yuzu would just serve him the leftovers cold for the next one." That, she had seen happen more than once, whether it was Ichigo's fault for missing a meal or not. He had had a lot of tepid curry for breakfast when he was doing intense training with the Visored. Seeing that the entirety of the main course for Ichigo's supper seemed to be 'just crab', she decided that Ramen did sound wonderful. Besides, if Tatsuki did it, she could steal some crab for herself as well. While Tatsuki's ramen ended up looking more like a hot pot with noodles on the bottom, Rukia went with the 'less is more' approach. Soup really sounded wonderful after the day that they had. While she had an ice elemental zanpakutou, it didn't mean that she appreciated being out in the cold more that necessary. She had had enough of that to last a lifetime back in Hanging Dog.

Sitting down at the warn table across from Tatsuki, she was immediately bracketed by two of the maids that looked more their age. "Soo… the one on her left started, very casually.

"This is the first time that Mamoru-kun's..." The one on the right continued in the same tone.

"...Brought someone home that wasn't Tatsuki-chan." Looking back and forth between the two girls, she suddenly felt very small, despite their identical light smiles and kimonos. She noted, absently, that these were identical twins and nothing like their twins.

"Have you kissed him yet?" Broke in a smaller girl, leaning across the table to get into Rukia's face. "I bet Mamoru-sama's a wonderful kisser." This was the maid that was, like, twelve, and though the honorific of 'sama' was genuine, Rukia felt a twinge of unease thinking about Ichigo kissing a girl younger than his sisters.

"Um… We're just friends." Rukia sat back, trying to get as far away from the girl as possible without changing seats.

"Sit down Mimi-chan!" The twins spoke at once before the one on the left wiggled her brow, "'Just friends', huh?"

"So, how long have you been 'just friends'?" The right spoke.

"I..." Rukia flushed and squeaked, glad that Karin and Yuzu had never pulled this kind of stunt on her, though she had no doubt that they could. Clearing her throat to gain back what was left of her feigned dignity, She sat up and took a sip of her broth (Oh, wow, yummy!) before answering. "Ichigo helped me with a project two years ago and we've just recently gotten back into contact with each other." Well, wasn't that the understatement of the century? She could read the same sentiment in Tatsuki's half-masted eyes before she looked down to take a bite of prawn.

A collective groan swept across the table as the girls' dreams were shot down. "Then Tatsuki-chan! Tatsuki-chan must've then-"

"Nope." Tatsuki was quick on the draw before the more daydreamer girls got anything in their thick heads. "I'm not crazy enough to wrangle that idiot. He's a flake, always skipping work to do other stuff too, so why would I want to date him? Then he'd have to be my responsibility." Pot. Kettle. Not like Inoue-chan wasn't a flake too, but she was a cute flake. She was more than willing to take responsibility for her.

"Why are you trying to hook up Ichigo so bad?" Rukia had to ask. The girls… it wasn't just the teenagers, but nearly all of them, that seemed almost abnormally involved in wanting to know about Ichigo's love life. Looking around, Rukia noticed something. All of the servants had sat down at the table with their own dinners by this time and… there were no men. Not a single one. "And… are there only girls working here?" She would have expected at least one male. For some of the heavier chores, if nothing else.

Both questions were met with an almost unnatural silence as the maids looked between themselves, trying to figure out who would get the short straw. On the one hand, they were Mamoru-sama's guests and deserved for all their questions to be answered, but on the other, they were Mamoru-sama's guests and had no right sticking their nose into Family Business. "There has not been a male retainer under the lordship of the Kurosaki household since my Seiichiro passed some fifty years ago." Ame-san finally spoke up for the first time. "It is very rare for any men to be hired. They usually marry into servitude and most girls decide to leave instead of bringing their families in."

"Some girls come back though." Miya piped up, giving a little wave. "I'm actually a sixth generation retainer of the Kurosaki house." The girls nodded, a few of them holding up two or three fingers, indicating that they were legacies as well. "As for trying to 'hook Ichigo-chan up'," she gave a small, tight, smile. "We just want to see him happy. He's always so upset when he comes here. And maybe if he was happier..."

"Maybe he'd stay." One of the younger girls whispered, getting murmurs of agreement around the table.

Exchanging looks with Tatsuki, they both agreed that that wouldn't happen. Ichigo, as much as he tried for Tatsuki, and especially Rukia, wasn't happy being here. He was starting to act, dare she say, like Byakuya-nii on a bad day. On top of everything else, he also had his shinigami duties. While he could easily open a senkaimon anywhere in the world, he had taken Karakura, not Kamakura, as his protectorate. Living here… just wasn't the life that Ichigo would choose for himself.

"Oh!" one of the girls chirped, startling nearly everyone. "There were those doctors here, when Rui-sama… Before Rui-sama..."

"Yes, those two doctors that were here to treat Rui-sama before she passed." a middle-aged servant nodded regally before giving in and grinning. "And, my, weren't they treats for the eye, that Watari-sempai and his assistant. So serious that one." She purred, licking a prawn a few times before slowly sucking it into her mouth. "I wish that he would have taken up my offer. I'm sure we would have had some fun together before he had to leave." The younger girls tittered in embarrassment while the elders rolled their eyes in fond disdain, easily going back to their meals.

"So, it's just," she tried to recall Ichigo's uncle's name, but it just slipped her tongue, "Uncle-san here then?"

"Nagare-sama, you mean?" Rukia nodded her head. Yes, that was the name. "Most of the time. Iwao-sama comes by every once in a while though."

"If you want male servants, they're all with him." The girl that had been fighting for the Sriracha earlier purred. Her ramen had taken on an unnatural reddish hue, indicating that she had won the hot sauce at some point in the meal.

"Yes, Ino-chan. Thank you for that wonderful commentary." The maid that had led them to the kitchen pushed up her glasses. "As I was saying, Iwao-sama comes by and harasses poor Nagare-sama for the title whenever he feels the mood for it, but that is only a handful of times a year. So, yes, Nagare-sama is alone in the estate now."

"He also refuses to take another wife, especially since his first two… sorry." The girl was stared down until she shut up.

"Now, Kuchiki-dono, was it?" the maid turned to stare down Rukia. "I do hope you have a wonderful time staying with us. But I do have to ask: what are your intentions with our Ichi-chan?"

Now it was Rukia's turn to be uncomfortable, once again. Though, she really wanted to know what happened. Two wives? And both likely dead, if how the maids were acting were any indication. Maybe she could pin down one of the more talkative girls later to get some straight answers.

At that moment, the door opened letting in a strong gust of wind, making the girls sitting closer to the door shriek in surprise. "Ah, sorry." Ichigo closed the door, taking a look around the room before his eyes settled on Rukia with a smile. "How're the girls treating you?" He asked, unaware of just how relieved she was that the cavalry had arrived.

"Good." She gave a relieved smile, "Good. Your meeting?"

Ichigo felt his easy look fall like a lead weight had been tied to the corners of his mouth. "Short, but what I expected from Na-ji." Turning to the bespectacled maid, he turned on his most pathetic look. "May I have my dinner now Shira-nii?"

"Of course you may." The maid stood up, along with Ame-san. "Would you like us to bring it to you in your room?"

Looking around, he saw that Tatsuki and Rukia looked like they wouldn't be moving any time soon, and it was warm in here, unlike his room. And, if he was truly honest with himself, he didn't feel like being with just his thoughts for company at the moment. "Would it be ok if I just ate here with the rest of you?" And the ramen that everyone else had looked wonderful. Especially some nice warm soup to thaw his frozen bones.

Blinking in shock, it took a moment before Shira nodded and made sure a spot was cleared at the table. "Would you-"

"Ramen. Please." Ichigo cut off, seeing that the maid was already starting to dish up the delicate crab meat. While it had been nice for them to do when he had a tantrum back when he was five, it was honestly a joke that had run the full gamut back to being funny again. Sure, he would still pile quite a bit into his soup, along with most everything else, but he had a wider palate these days. Ame-san knew what he would say, though, and had already boiled noodles for the boy and handed him a bowl almost before he had finished the word 'please'. "...Thank you Ame-baa-chan." He managed to bow a bit to the woman that was the closest woman he would get to a grandmother before starting in at the buffet. Some pork belly, soft-boiled eggs, mixed veggies and, of course, the crab later, he sat town at the table. Unfortunately, it was at the far end, away from Tatsuki and Rukia. Ah, well, they survived this long, he could enjoy his soup before rescuing them.

Wrapping his arms around the bowl, he stuck his face into the steam and purred. Good food, warm food, wonderful food. Oh, he missed this food. Yuzu's was good, Mom's was wonderful, but this, they must do something to the broth, was the best.

Just to give you guys a bit of a heads-up, this will not be a 100% Bleach fic. As I've already done here ^, I have started adding 'ocs' and whole new areas to play in. Not... so much. If anyone has read any of the later chapters of a manga called Yami no Matsuei (Descendants of Darkness), you might be recognizing some names. The same thing with Nurarihyon no Mago (Nura: Rise of the Yokai clan) to a lesser extent. Why? Because I'm a shameless crossover queen when it comes to my manga. Also, the fact that Yami no Matsuei, for one reason or another, was stopped in the middle of a really beautiful story arc that pisses me off every time I think about it. This ^ in specific, anything to do with the Kurosaki family, is dedicated to Yami no Matsuei. I read, a long time ago, that in all actuality, Bleach was the brainchild of Tite Kubo after admiring Matsushita Yoko-Sensei's work. So, since one was based off the other, I believe that they exist in the same universe.

But then why, Dark, is Nurarihyon no Mago in there too? Because I felt like it needed more yokai. It was going to be a guest scene, but... things, as they usually do, grew.

Oh, and for all those guessing what type of kitty Ichigo is/will be... You all have very valid explanations and I can't wait to see more guesses, but that won't change my choice. And my choice? Was chosen for the sake of a very, very bad joke. Like a lot of my decisions seem to be here.

Catch ya next time! Dark