A.N.: Errr... Hello there, everyone! Really sorry I'm this late. I've been really busy with my course work, so I haven't had the time to finish this chapter. I apologize for the wait. Thanks to all of you who reviewed (asianselephantsandtea, GrandDuchess25, vhfluffy, Amahlia Shen Qui-yan Dong, ReckoningDay, crimson dragonX, PAMILA DE CASTRO, Lilian Violet, VKLOREO23, Guest, vicky73 , LuciL06, Gritten-Tells, aria, DRUON, Jasmine, seras3791, arlingtonsteward, Lilith's Heart, Violet , Guest, and Latias426), viewed, favorited, and followed. Also, special thanks to one person (you know who you are!) who reviewed almost every chapter! :] I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait.

Enjoy!

Disclaimers: Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite, but I own everything else of this story

Gray locked with violet.

Rukia froze in her place, her arms still extended to the child, completely taken off guard.

Byakuya.

Why... is he here? So many feelings and thoughts rushed through her. Everyone around her grew quiet, as if his mere presence knocked the words out of their mouths. Rukia did not know how to handle his presence and struggled to think of a response.

"O—Oh! You need help, sir?" she finally stammered. Byakuya said nothing, contemplating her in that unnerving manner of his. Beside her, Rukia heard Suzume and Yukina start whispering excitedly, but she was too distracted to pay attention to what they were saying. Struggling to control herself from physically shaking, she stepped forward, not meeting his gaze.

"Yes, he does!" the old woman said brightly. "This young man is considering sending a child here and would like a tour around. We were just talking about you in fact, Rukia-chan!"

"I see..."

That wasn't it. Byakuya was lying, so why was he here? How had he even known about where this place was? Then she realized why.

He was here... to investigate her.

"I—I'll give him a tour," she said. Rukia moved a little closer, her eyes focused on her hands. "Come this way, sir."

A pause, then to her surprise and chagrin, he asked evenly, "Since I am considering sending my friend's child here, introduce me to the staff and children here." Rukia's head snapped up to look at him, her eyes wide. He was now standing in front of her, the slate eyes coldly observing her like they often did.

Why did he want to know the names of the children? What was he trying to do? Was he trying to use them to capture her, like how Aizen captured her father? She knew that he said he would leave things be and not throw her into prison, but then why was he here?

But would Byakuya really be capable of doing something so ruthless... to her? After all that they had been through?

"I..." Rukia didn't know what she should do. There were so many people here who thought that they did not know each other, she couldn't afford to reveal anything.

"Rukia-chan, don't be shy of him," the elderly woman said. "There's nothing wrong with introducing a new comer to everyone here."

"H—Hai... this is Yukina." She motioned toward the two caretakers. "And Suzume." Byakuya gave a slight nod of his head in his usual fashion.

"This is Souma..." Rukia placed a hand on the little boy's head, who had wrapped his small arms around her waist protectively. "... and this is Yume." She pointed at the little girl who peeked out cautiously from behind her. She went on to introduce the children to him. Finally-

"And... what is your name, sir?" Rukia raised her eyes to his. "I've introduced everyone here to you... why don't you tell us who you are?"

Another pause. "Yamamoto Daisuke," Byakuya finally said.

"Ah... I see..."

He even lied about his name, choosing one of the most common male names she could think of, not that she could blame him. He probably didn't want people wondering why he shared the same name as the Duke's grandson.

"Now then, I would like to have a look around." His eyes bored into her and she almost felt herself shrink.

"Of course," she replied. Reaching down, she tried to pry Souma's hands from around her.

"Souma," she said. "Let me show this gentleman the orphanage." Souma frowned and shook his head vigorously, his arms tightening around her.

"Don't worry, Souma," Suzume said comfortingly. "Rukia-san won't be long." She gently pried the boys arms off Rukia. Souma glared hostilely at Byakuya, who calmly stared back at him.

"Don't hurt Rukia," Souma said as Suzume took him to the side. Byakuya's gaze flicked over to Rukia for a brief second.

"I would never hurt her. You need not worry." Rukia felt something pull at her heart, but she shook the feeling away. Byakuya might just be saying this to put the child at ease.

After all, neither he nor she had the same understanding of each other as they once had.

"Yamamoto-san." It felt so strange calling him this. "Please come this way. I will show you the children's rooms first." Byakuya gave a nod and she led the way to the rooms, leaving the children and women alone.

"Does Rukia-san know that gentleman?" Yukina finally regained her voice. "It somehow seems like they know each other."

"I wonder if he's her relative," Suzume said. "I've never seen anyone like him."

"I doubt that he's related to her. They don't act like they're relatives."

"Do you think..." Suzume blushed a little. "... he's married?"

"I was wondering that, too!" Yukina exclaimed, her normally strict demeanor vanished. "Do you think he's a magistrate or the son of a magistrate? He's so refined!" Suzume sighed.

"Maybe. He's beautiful..."

"Like a prince!" piped up Yume, who caught onto their conversation.

"I want to marry him!" another little girl said loudly. A chorus of "Me too's!" erupted from the other little girls.

"He's not that awesome." Souma sulked.

"I think he's cool!"

"Rukia-chan and Yamamoto-san paint such a pretty picture together, don't they?" the elderly lady said as the pair disappeared into one of the rooms. "Rukia-chan deserves to marry a good man."

"Yes, she does!" another child exclaimed.

"But I want to marry Rukia when I grow up," Souma said unhappily. "I don't want her to marry Yamamoto-san."

"Now, now, Souma, you should be happy for Rukia-san, no matter who she decides to marry," Suzume said consolingly. She sighed. "I suppose we all should be happy for her, too."

"Yes, yes, we should!" the old woman said joyfully. "Rukia-chan should be happy."

Rukia closed the door to the room and faced Byakuya.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "What are you trying to do, finding out the names of the children? They have nothing to do with me, so keep them and everyone else out of this."

"I was merely curious as to your acquaintances," Byakuya answered coolly. "You certainly seem to have conquered the hearts of all those here."

He was so composed, so calm. Rukia did not know what was going on in his brain. All at once, it felt as if they were strangers and she felt uncomfortable.

"I know you're here to investigate me. Don't use them to try and capture me," she said fiercely. "I... I'll go with you if you're here to catch me, but don't think of hurting them-"

"Do you really believe that I would sink so low as to hurt them, just to trap you?" The gray eyes grew so cold. Rukia had never seen him use such an expression on her. "Is that your impression of me?"

"I'm just scared... I don't want anyone doing something like that again to the people I love," she said. "I don't want to think that you would do something like that to me, but now that you know what I am... I don't know whether you will treat me like you treat the other assassins who have tried to kill you. I can't afford to not assume the worst."

"I am not such a heartless person. If I had wanted to arrest you, I would not need to resort to something so low. I did not think that you knew so little about me." His voice was stony, but Rukia knew that she had hurt him by what she said. She didn't know what to do. Everything was so unclear.

"But you are here to investigate me, aren't you?" Byakuya closed his eyes, inclining his head slightly in acknowledgment. Despite their current broken relationship, Rukia felt hurt. She glanced to the side, saying softly, "I—I thought so. There wouldn't be any other reason why you would want to know more about me."

"Rukia, I did not solely come here because of your identity." Byakuya had opened his eyes and was now observing her.

"Then why? What good will come out of finding out more about someone like me?"

"I still fail to understand how a girl like you could be an assassin," he said. "You are contradictory to all my past experiences with such people. Your mindset and personality simply would not allow you to kill random people only for money, even if it was for your father. My visit here has further confirmed this. Yet you have told me that this is your livelihood and the evidence I have found shows that you are not lying."

"So you see me as a puzzle, Byakuya-sama?" Rukia said dryly. "I don't think anyone has made such an observation about me before."

"They do not know you as well as I do then," Byakuya answered, then added, "Including Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Ichigo also knows me well," Rukia said, slightly puzzled. She had expected him to mention Renji, not Ichigo. "Perhaps not as well as you, but well enough-"

"And that is why you and he have such a close... bond together, am I not correct? I should wish you both well." Rukia frowned. What was he referring to? His words had a biting edge to them, as if he were trying to shove down his anger, even though he was carefully controlling his expression. She couldn't decipher his meaning.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It is useless to pretend. It does not suit you." Why was he so angry? Rukia did not understand. Was it because of her accusation earlier?

"I am sorry... for thinking that way of you," she said quietly. "I'm just afraid, so I hope you understand, Byakuya-sama." He ignored her.

"It is best that we settle the matter at hand. I am expecting that I will have to relinquish you to Kurosaki Ichigo." His eyes drilled into her. "Would you like me to relieve you of being a consort?"

What? No, no... What was going on?

"B—Byakuya-sama... what do you mean? I really don't understand. Why are you upset at Ichigo?"

"I am not upset at the man. I am merely asking you whether it is time for me to release you into his care. I am not a man who would chain you to him when you obviously feel differently." At last, Rukia understood.

"Byakuya-sama... you've got it all wrong. I don't feel that way about Ichigo. Why would you even think-"

"I witnessed both of you by the pond today." Rukia's eyes widened.

He saw? He had... followed them?

"What you saw today was a mistake," she replied. "You probably hadn't stayed long enough to see me push Ichigo away. I promise you that we aren't in a relationship at all. I don't feel that way for him. But why... why were you following us? Have you been doing that every time I left the palace with Ichigo? What are you doing?"

"I did not follow you each time you were with Ichigo. I only noticed the both of you on my way here and was curious." The gray eyes settled on her, less hostilely it seemed.

"Curious? You shouldn't be curious about me anymore." Rukia was distraught. Although Byakuya did not personally follow her all the time, she was now quite certain that he would have sent his men to watch her and Ichigo for his own personal reasons. "We... We agreed that we would leave each other alone! Don't you care that I'm an assassin? Why are you doing things like this?" Byakuya didn't answer, instead placidly contemplating her.

"Don't look for me anymore. It was just by chance that you came here on the same day that I did, but we can't see each other. I—I thought we agreed and you understood this... I know that even though you might not personally follow me, you probably send people to report back to you about me and Ichigo, right?" He didn't answer, the misty eyes staring back at her, his silence an obvious agreement to her guess. Rukia suddenly felt so frustrated, frustrated with Byakuya and frustrated with her own miserable life.

"Y—You did! Why are you still bothering with me? You're making it hard for the both of us." Her hands balled into fists at her sides. "Why can't you just leave me alone? I—I'm not even angry that you're investigating me, but this... I can't handle this. It's not fair that you're still following me even after we said we would leave each other be. We can't keep dragging on something that won't work in the long run. We can't. You have no idea of the terrible things that could happen if certain people knew that you and I are close. Don't you care that I'll ruin you? Don't you care that I will put you in danger? Don't-"

"What would you do if I said that I didn't care?" Byakuya's calm voice halted her tirade and she stared at him in shock.

"What?"

"Perhaps I don't care." Byakuya stepped closer, towering over her. The gray eyes fixed upon her. "What would you do then?" For an instant, Rukia did not know what to say.

"I... I would still care," she finally said, gathering herself together. "I wouldn't let you do something like that to yourself."

"Is that so? And how do you suppose to keep me at bay, now that I know you feel nothing for Kurosaki Ichigo?" She grit her teeth. She shouldn't have told him about Ichigo.

"I know that you cannot leave the palace because there is someone there that you are being forced to kill. So where will you hide... Rukia?" He was saying her name in that sensual way of his again. Rukia tried to focus.

"I will push you away until you leave," she said weakly. "And I will keep reminding you that any relationship we will have cannot last."

"I am a rather persistent person, Rukia. But of course, I'm sure you already understand this." Byakuya had come even closer now, she noticed helplessly.

"We won't work. You said this yourself." She stepped backwards, as his nearness was starting to fog her mind. "There's no use continuing something that will never come into fruition."

"I do not deny that I agreed with you about this. However, I feel that it will be wasteful to let you slip out of my hands so easily." Undaunted, Byakuya had moved nearer to Rukia and she felt her legs brush against one of the children's small bed. "After all... I have never met someone quite like you."

"N—No... we shouldn't be doing this. Byakuya-sama, please just-"

"If the time comes when there is no choice but for us to leave each other, then I will do so and not look back," he said. "But for now, that is not necessary."

"But, Byakuya-sama, I'm an assassin... I don't match your status or your values. I can't live with that."

"I am starting to realize certain things about you, Rukia, that does not make your situation as black and white as you think it is. Deep inside you, I have begun to understand that your values are actually not so different from mine." Byakuya's slim fingers closed around her hands. The warmth of his hand flooded through her.

"You don't care that these hands of mine have had blood spattered on them so many times?" In answer, he raised her small fingers to his lips, kissing them softly. He gazed back at her surprised face.

"I also have killed many evil men in order to protect our State. I do not believe that I am any less guilty than you."

"But... it's different for you," she protested. "You-"

"How is it different? Inside your heart, is your motive not the same as mine?"

"What-"

"I have concluded after considering your curious situation that you are poor not only because your father's medicine is expensive, but also because you are selective as an assassin." Byakuya observed her as he spoke. "You are unable to settle your conscience if you accept all your clients offers, so you have decided to only slaughter depraved men. Is that not so?"

"I... I..." Rukia looked down at her hands, hands which were nestled within his larger ones. "But that doesn't make it right." She met his gaze again.

"I am not saying it does," he replied. "Yet, I understand your circumstances. Since you could do nothing else, being trained as an assassin, you decided to make the best of your inherited livelihood and rid the world of people who should never have rose to their positions." The gray eyes contemplated her calmly beneath their lids. "Am I correct?"

"I didn't want to be an assassin... but I didn't know any other trade." Rukia's eyes lowered to their hands again. "My father is ill and I needed to support him. I'm not talented and I've only been trained to kill since young." She sighed. "I almost wanted to stop being an assassin and enter a pleasure house, but I knew I wouldn't be able to ever take care of my father again. He... might not even have survived this long if I had decided to become a courtesan. So I didn't-"

"You made the right decision." Rukia shook her head.

"Any decision I could make would be wrong. I don't think staying as an assassin is better than being a courtesan. I could probably argue that it's much worse. But I just decided on the one which would harm my family and damage my conscience the least." Rukia didn't know why she was telling Byakuya all this. It wasn't going to make anything better for them. "It doesn't matter now anyway. Nothing is going to change the fact that I am an assassin and will always be one."

"Your heart tells me differently. You are different from any assassin I have ever come across. In fact, there are many people whom I am acquainted with who are not assassins and kill more readily than you ever will."

"But it doesn't matter!" she cried. "It doesn't change anything. I am an assassin and you're a noble-"

"I don't judge a person based solely upon their station in life. Character is a far more precise method of determining who I keep as friends." Byakuya looked back at her and she gave a wry smile.

"So you don't mind if I stay as your friend? Even after all you know and don't know about me?"

"I do mind." Startled, her eyes widened as she stared up at him. So he didn't want her to be his friend. I see.

"O—Oh..." Rukia's gaze dropped to the floor. She should have expected this-

"I mind because I do not want to merely be your friend." A slim finger slipped beneath her chin, tilting up her head. What-

"I would like to be... something else." How close was Byakuya? Rukia discovered that she could see the individual strands of his lashes framing his eyes. Her eyes unintentionally fell to his mouth. She quickly brought them back to the rest of his face.

"Something else?" Her breath hitched as he rested his forehead against hers. "What is something else?"

"Allow me to show you." Rukia gasped softly as he captured her lips with his, his tongue sliding gently over the seams of her mouth. Unable to resist, she parted her lips for him, allowing Byakuya to plunder her mouth.

He is... so gentle.

She pulled him closer to her, wrapping her arms around him. Her heart felt so lightened, just by having him here beside her again. This one kiss from him made her forget all the terrible things that she was supposed to carry out, at least for a little while. Just knowing that Byakuya did not hate her made her feel as if she could try anything and succeed. Her tongue caressed his as she tightened her arms around his waist. In response, he crushed her to him, one hand sliding into her hair.

I am... so happy.

It felt so wonderful to have Rukia in his arms again, almost as if his heart would burst with joy. Byakuya deepened the kiss, angling her head such that he had better access to her sweet mouth. The sounds of her moans and whimpers as he kissed her, things which he had yearned to hear in their absence from each other, nearly took him over the edge.

"I missed you..." Rukia murmured against his mouth as they panted for breath. "I missed you a lot." Byakuya responded by resting her head against his chest, pulling her even closer to him.

"I was wrong to have doubted your good character," he whispered. "I am sorry." He felt her shake her head.

"D—Don't say sorry. I can understand why you felt the way you did. I would have too." Rukia hugged him tighter, burying her face into his clothes. He almost smiled. She had really missed him, just as he missed her. It felt good knowing that someone cared so much. All too soon, she drew away.

"Byakuya-sama?" The big, violet eyes gazed at him as he shook his head.

"You may address me by name as you used to."

"H—Hai..." She tried again, "Byakuya?" Just hearing her say his name sent a rush of pleasure through him. "I—I have to get going. I need to go back to the palace-"

"No." Rukia stared at him, confused.

"But-"

"Stay with me tonight." Byakuya contemplated her as her eyes widened, a predictable flush spreading across her cheeks.

"But don't you need to return to your chambers? You have work to do, right?"

"That can wait. We can spend tonight elsewhere." Her face reddened even more as she understood his meaning.

"H—Hai... But I have to send Ichigo's horse back to him, though. He-"

"His horse is trained to follow instructions," he cut in. He did not want to be reminded of the insolent brat at the moment, especially since the man stole a kiss from his Rukia. He would have to deal with that later."If you order it to return to its master, it will do so without losing its way. You do not need to guide it back to Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Oh, I didn't know that." They were silent for a few minutes before Rukia spoke again, "Do you know where you want to stay? We shouldn't go back to my house because it's dangerous there. I don't want anyone to cause us problems."

"It is simple to ward them off."

"Byakuya, please? Let's not go to my house. Just trust me, okay?" Rukia was so anxious and he sighed, nodding his head. She visibly relaxed. Byakuya intended to find out who she meant by "anyone."

"There is an inn which will accommodate us well. We will stay there tonight."

"Hai." She paused. "I think we'd better come out. People will start to think that we know each other... and the kids will wonder what I'm doing."

"Is that a problem?" he asked.

"Well, you wouldn't want to be found out, right? You did come here under an alias..."

"I did so because I did not expect to see you here."

"Still..." Byakuya sighed.

"If you are planning to spend more time with the children, you may stay here while I make the arrangements for our stay tonight." Rukia nodded and she moved to open the door. They stepped out of the room and into the courtyard.

He found that the children and women were still in the courtyard playing with rabbit. They all instantly looked at them as he and Rukia approached.

"Rukia-chan, did you give Yamamoto-san a good tour?" the old woman asked.

"Yeah... I did." Byakuya noticed Rukia kept her eyes on her shoes. Souma ran up to them and glared boldly at him.

"Did you hurt Rukia?" the little boy said protectively, accusingly and he stared back calmly at the child.

"Souma, don't say that!" Rukia hurriedly interjected, seemingly afraid that he would take offense. "B- Yamamoto-san would never do something like that!" Souma ignored her and continued to glare angrily at him. Byakuya was reminded of another man who was far more irritating.

"Yamamoto-san, where do you come from?" Yukina stepped shyly forward, her cheeks pink. "Are you from this town?"

"I am from the capital," he answered briefly. Excited murmurs from the women and children.

"Is the capital really big?" a little girl asked. "I want to see it!"

"Maybe you will in the future, Kujou," Rukia said, rubbing the little girl's head. The thought of her playing with his future children sprung up in his mind again, but he pushed it aside. The next instant, he found himself staring into large pools of violet.

"Y—Yamamoto-san, I think you said you had an appointment you needed to go to..." Byakuya nodded and stretched out his hand.

Rukia's eyes widened when he gave her hand a small squeeze before letting go. He heard gasps all about them, but he did not care. Although he normally did not like public displays of affection, he wanted the women to know that Rukia was his.

"I will take my leave." With that, he turned away and headed out of the orphanage.

"Rukia, you know Yamamoto-san?" Yukina and Suzume pestered as Rukia fondled the rabbit. "Have you known him for some time?"

"Y—Yeah... I guess." What was Byakuya doing? She always thought he didn't like to be like this in public. And now everyone was so curious about her relationship to the handsome stranger.

"Is Rukia going to marry Yamamoto-san?" a little boy asked curiously, to which Souma yelled, "No, she's not! Rukia's going to marry me!"

"Hush, Souma!" Suzume scolded, clamping a hand over the child's mouth as he struggled. Then she and the others looked expectantly at Rukia, awaiting her answer.

"No... I won't be marrying him," she finally answered and smiled. "He... is just a friend." If only she could say that wholeheartedly, things would be so much easier for the both of them.

"But he held your hand!" Yukina exclaimed.

"Well... he's a close friend," Rukia said weakly. She lowered Chappy down to the little girl who reached for the bunny.

"Rukia-chan, you should not be afraid of marrying Yamamoto-san," the elderly lady said. "He will be good to you. I can tell."

"He will, won't he?" Rukia fought to keep the sadness out of her voice. She couldn't let anyone know the problems she was facing. Quickly, she pasted a smile on her face.

"I think you all have played enough with Chappy already. Why don't you show me what you all have learned?"

"Byakuya, why did you hold my hand earlier? Everyone thinks that we're together!"

"Is that untrue?" Byakuya replied. Rukia's little hands balled into fists and she squeezed her eyes closed.

After returning to the orphanage to retrieve Rukia (whereupon he was met with gasps and chatters and questions when leading her away), they now stood outside the gates, Byakuya holding the reins to his black stallion.

"I—It's not, but it's not good for you to spread our relationship around like that," she protested. "Yukina already said that you look like the Duke's grandson. What if they guess that you're his relative?"

"They won't guess." He let out an inaudible sigh, guiding the horse over.

He wanted to tell Rukia that she had made a mistake about his identity. It wasn't fair to her if he continued to keep her in the dark. But... would she still trust him if he revealed that he was the Duke's grandson?

Although Byakuya loved her more than anything, he needed to know who her next victim was to be. He couldn't let Rukia kill his men, especially if her target was not corrupt. Since he understood that her family was being held hostage, he suspected that she was being forced to kill a good man. That could not happen, for the sake of his country. If Rukia did not know that he was the future Duke, it would be easier to retrieve that information from her. Yet, if she knew his real identity...

He didn't know what to do. Perhaps asking her later would shed some light onto his dilemma.

"Is that okay? You can't do these things in public anymore, alright?" Byakuya realized that Rukia was still talking to him.

"Let us leave now," he said, deigning not to answer her question. Her eyebrows scrunched together, obviously unsure of what his avoidance meant.

"I'm going to send Ichigo's horse off first, if that's alright." He nodded as Rukia walked over to the other chestnut steed, watching as Ichigo's horse galloped down the road.

"Are you ready?" he asked as Rukia came to stand before him. She stared at the beast, which gave a soft whinny.

"B—Byakuya, why don't you mount first?" she asked. "I'll just sit behind you..."

"No, I would like you to sit in front." He observed her in satisfaction, taking in how that adorable blush spread over her face.

"Oh... Hai." Rukia hesitantly placed a foot on the stirrup and swung herself onto the horse's back. Byakuya felt her stiffen as he leapt up behind her, reaching his arms around her small frame to take the reins. Flicking them, the horse began to trot.

"Oohhh!" Rukia glanced about her, in awe. "So this is how it's like to ride a horse! I've never rode one before." He nodded.

"The first time I met you, you were attempting to climb onto this very beast." She hunched up slightly in embarrassment and Byakuya suppressed a smile which was about to curl his lips.

She is so cute.

"You didn't mind then, did you, that I tried to sit on your horse without your permission?" Rukia asked as they rode down the road. He wrapped his arms tighter around her in response.

"If you hadn't been curious," he answered softly, pulling her closer against him. "I would never had met you." She was quiet, then gave a nod.

"Byakuya?"

"Rukia."

"Do you... regret having met me?" Rukia turned a little, her bright, violet eyes fixing upon him. "After everything that's happened?"

"Of course not." How could she even think of that? Byakuya couldn't imagine how his life would have been without her. She meant far too much to him now. His arms tightened around her.

"I don't regret having met you either." She smiled at him, her eyes determined. "You've made me... really, really happy. Happier than I've ever been."

Warmth flooded through his heart at her words. Byakuya never had thought he would ever hear someone say this to him. He had never thought that he had the capability to cause anyone to be so happy... just by being with him.

Rukia...

"You have also made me very happy," he said pensively, causing her to look back at him, surprised. Her eyes softened.

"Then I'm so glad..." Rukia snuggled deeper into his arms and they rode on like this for awhile. After some time, Byakuya noticed that she was curiously observing his hands as they held the reins.

"Rukia."

"Byakuya?"

"Would you like to try?" He held the reins a little higher to indicate his point and she grinned happily.

"Hai!"

Soooo... Byakuya and Rukia are together again! :] Somehow they managed to bridge their differences (and Ichigo) and reconcile. Sort of like a cliffy, since you all can guess what happens in the next chapter (maybe not everything, but some things)... ;] I decided to split it this way, since it might have been too long if I wrote everything in this chapter. But... so much fluff! Hopefully you all can see that there's still a lot of problems left (and more problems to come!), even though they managed to patch up their relationship. Wonder how Ichigo will react when he finds out they're together again...

Anyway, kindly send me your feedback! I've been really, really busy these last few weeks, so I've worked hard to release this chappie to all of you. I'd really like it if you could review and tell me what you think :] Until next time!