The first 6 chapters of this fanfiction have been reworked. I've removed a lot of boring narrative and changed some major story material concerning Rukia and Ichigo at the Gathering, and I fleshed out their interactions. It won't change anything concerning post chapter 6. So the rest of the story works just fine with these changes. But I hope this makes the story more enjoyable to both new and old readers.

Goddess,

That's not the word I would have used the first time I met her. Definitely not. If I were to quote some of the adjectives I thought when I first met Rukia Kuchiki it would have been: short, pretentious, amusing, or quite simply brat.

Rukia never waltzed into my life. What she did was more of a tango, or a flamenco. Something feisty laced with a bit more fire, and less class. I never liked dancing so maybe that's why we never got along so well, and still don't. The catalyst that caused me to make the acquaintance of the aforementioned woman was a customary gathering of my kind.

0000

The Day Before the Gathering

You wouldn't think it was the middle of Spring given the torrential downpour that practically beat every scale off my body and sent me every which way with up drafts, down drafts and sideways drafts. All of which I swore were nothing more than a defense mechanism set up by Lord Hitsugaya to ward humans away from his estate.

It was a little jarring to break from the storm clouds and touch down on the ice dragon's vast estate only to be greeted by sunshine, warm weather, a blanket of daises and a courtyard filled with roses. Also, the pretentious little Lordling himself was standing outside prepared to greet me. I released my luggage from the death hold I had on it, letting it slip from my jaws (along with a waterfall of accumulated saliva and rainwater) and took satisfaction in the squelching sound it made upon impact with the ground. Hitsugaya cringed, but approached me none the less.

"You're early, Kurosaki."

Well hello to you too, Toshiro.

Unable to return his half-assed greeting, I responded with a concise snort instead.

Lord Hitsugaya, who looked like he just stepped out of an eighties fashion magazine, stopped before me flanked by his servants and motioned for them to produce something for me to wear. Unlike the Lord's attire (which was about three decades out of date) the clothing I was being offered was an old moth-eaten cloak straight out of the eighteenth century.

How gracious of him, I thought to myself. As cynical as I was being towards the Lordling, he wasn't so bad. I just wasn't accustomed to the cordial treatment.

With a fair amount of writhing, flinching, and the sickening sounds of bones reforming I managed to pull myself together and assume my human form, accepting the itchy old cloak proffered to me to cover my nakedness. I pulled the cloak over my shoulders and fumbled with the ties on the front while Hitsugaya motioned for her servants to gather my soggy belongings off the ground. The two servants tasked with the job began dancing around my dark-green, body-sized, duffle bag hesitating to put their hands on it.

I was still fumbling with the ties when Hitsugaya let out a sigh of disdain. "It's so considerate of you to regurgitate your luggage for us, Kurosaki." He was eyeing my duffle bag with a curled lip, his servants finally working up the balls to pick it up off the ground. Which resulted in saliva oozing from their grip and making stringy strands toward the grass.

"Only for you, Toshiro." I sneered.

"That's Lord Hitsugaya." He corrected.

I ignored him and strolled right past towards his mansion. Hitsugaya had a humble estate the same way you could claim that lions were small felines. To put it objectively he owned a very old fashioned mansion located on many acres of cleared land, and many more acres of overgrown forest. The locals called it Hallowed Forest and steered clear due to the unpredictable and harsh weather conditions. Of course, it helped that Hitsugaya was considered a winter deity in these parts. Some divine ice dragon that reigned over this region for the better part of a hundred years and managed to accumulate a cult following from the nearby human villages. The reality was more comical than the mythology. The oh-so-scary Ice deity was nothing more than the equivalent of a diminutive white-haired teenager.

"I'm actually surprised you arrived before your Father." Remarked the false god, who fell into step behind me.

"This'll be my second Gathering, and I didn't know how long it was gonna take me to get here." I explained. I gave him a shrug as if it wasn't anything unusual, which was the exact opposite of the situation.

"Only your second?" He looked surprised for only a moment. "I always forget how young you are. You age so much faster than the rest of us."

The urge to become defensive and tell him to go to hell rose in my throat like bile, but I clenched my teeth and said nothing.

"You were what, nine? Ten? The last time we had a Gathering."

I couldn't tell from his tone if he was mocking me or genuinely curious, so I growled out, "nine," and rolled my eyes.

"Hmmm. Well the other dragons should be arriving throughout today and tomorrow. My servants will show you to the room you'll be staying in for the next two weeks. They shall also provide you with a pamphlet detailing the daily events, and a map of my estate." It didn't escape my notice that Hitsugaya had to speed walk just to keep up with my long strides. His mouth was yammering on about what I should expect to find in my room, and I was no doubt being used as rehearsal for when he needed to spit this speech out to someone truly important.

"Really? Pamphlets?" I teased, cutting his little speech short. "You make this sound like a convention. We should also name it Dragon Con while we're at it."

The glower he shot me would have been intimidating if he wasn't more than a foot shorter than me.

"For your information, Kurosaki, this is my first time hosting the Gathering and I'm trying to make a good impression. Besides," he stopped to run his fingers through his white hair and huffed, "if the Kuchikis hosted this event you'd be confined to the servant's wing for two weeks. So, I think what you mean to say was thank you."

"Che." I scoffed. This two week event was known as the Gathering among my kind. Dragons gathered every ten years to socialize, take a census, and reiterate drake law to the younger generation. We tried exceedingly hard to govern our own species and ensure its survival; all while coexisting with the ever-growing population of humans, and keeping most them ignorant to our existence.

This would be my first Gathering since becoming an adult, which made it a bit of a big deal.

"I'm curious why you didn't arrive with the rest of your clan." Toshiro was directing the conversation back to the absence of my father, and why I arrived before him.

"They aren't my clan anymore." I explained a little more bitterly than intended. "I'm on my own now."

"Defected or banished?" Hitsugaya said the last part like it was preposterous. Which it was; my old man would never throw me out.

"I went rogue. Sounded more impressive."

"I suppose that's as good a reason as any to go rogue." He muttered.

Dragons tended to fall into two distinct categories; clans and rogues. Clans were led by a stronger alpha dragon, either male or female, who acted as a governing head of a group of weaker subservient dragons. To put it simply; weak, small, and generally simple drakes made good clan member material. Rogues were usually strong or clever dragons who hadn't settled down and formed a clan, or chose to pursue a more solitary life. I was the latter or the two. Proudly renowned for my sheer size, and brute strength; however… slightly lacking in cleverness.

At this point he was leading me through the halls towards a wing of rooms where the guests would be staying. A long plush carpet marked our path, and the monotonous corridors were broken up with sloping marble arches and assorted statuary. The doors to all the different rooms were heavy and made of solid wood carved with a design reminiscent of Celtic tapestries.

"You'll be sharing your room with two other rogues, I trust that won't be an issue." Explained my host.

"Is it because I can't afford the VIP treatment?" I mouthed back.

"Yes." He didn't even miss a beat.

My face fell, but I didn't say anything. Sucked being poor.

"At least you won't be sharing with your Father."

That made me crack half a smile. He had a point, it would have been hell if I had to bunk with my younger sisters and crazy old man. I guess going rogue had its perks.

We stopped outside a door that looked just like all the other doors. I pushed it open when Hitsugaya refused to even touch it. The layout of the room would've been the equivalent to an upscale hotel room if someone hadn't attempted to fit three beds within the interior. Instead it looked like a very expensive youth hostel.

I stepped inside to get a feel of my sleeping arrangements and had to move aside for the servants carrying my things. They dropped my slimy duffle bag on the floor and scurried away without even sparing a glance in my direction. I supposed they were in a hurry to go wash my mouth germs off their hands.

"You're free to wander anywhere on the estate." Hitsugaya explained for the doorway. "Just stay out of Hyorinmaru's Sanctuary." I nodded my understanding, and the Lordling took that as his queue to leave.

I wasn't friends with Toshiro Hitsugaya. I guess you could say my Father raised him before I was born. Hitsugaya's parents passed away when he was young and Dad took it upon himself to look after the young Ice dragon until he was old enough to manage his extensive inheritance. That's probably the only reason I got away with treating the Lordling so informally. Usually dragon alphas acted more unapproachable.

"This isn't so bad." I said to no one, then began to unpack my stuff so I could take a shower and get dressed before my roommates started to show up.

00000

Day One

As a rogue I traveled light and I arrived to The Gathering a day before most other dragons and clans made their appearance. I wasn't sure when my Father and sisters arrived, and I made a point not to seek them out. It was on the first official day that the Kuchiki clan arrived, the entire clan, all marching behind their alpha like a gaggle of organized geese. Except they all were in human form.

I was basking in the spring sun amidst the incredible rose garden located in the front courtyard. The brilliant light of mid-morning reflected off my ashen grey scales, and warmed my naturally cool blood. I feigned disinterest in the procession before me, but watched them nonetheless.

The Kuchiki clan was led by an alpha named Byakuya. If the hearsay was true, he was infamous for taking a human woman as his mate. Taking a human as a mate was incredibly inappropriate, and this instance wasn't any exception. It caused quite a stir among the dragon clans and their elders; but Kuchiki clan-leader, Byakuya, wasn't going to hear any of it. He went ahead and married the human woman, and adopted her sister into his family to top it all off.

I don't care much for clans, and I felt for Kuchikis even less. But in a debate, I was inclined to stand on Byakuya's side of the fence concerning human mates. Me, being a half-breed, the spawn of a human and a dragon, meant I lived about the life-span of a human (which was a quarter of what a dragon lived) and that's coupled with the self-control of a teenage male. Needless to say, I couldn't control when I shifted from human to dragon very well, I acted on instinct more often than not, and I was prone to go on a rampage from time to time. Thus, why I preferred being a rogue.

Near the back of the party I noticed a girl. What caught my attention was the wide-eyed curiosity plastered all over her face which she made no effort to hide. It set her apart from the rest of the pompous stone-faced clan. She wasn't very good at hiding her interest and I saw her staring at me from a mile away. I'm not the handsomest dragon. I don't boast exotic colors, or a sleek majestic form. Instead I'm a long-faced, speckled gray dragon with a white face and red markings starting just above my eyes and running down over my cheek bones. I have two long, hook-shaped horns that run parallel with my snout and from the back of my skull and corners of my jaw starts a blazing mane of spikes that run down the back of my long neck, and taper off between my shoulder blades. All this was accented with several scars; trophies I bear from the numerous fights I've taken part in.

Also, I'm a wyvern.

She could have been staring at me because of my shear awesomeness. Or she could have been admiring me. Given her noble status though she might very well have been taken back by my unsightliness. But that was neither here nor there, because as soon as I caught her in the act of staring, I grinned at her, a wide toothy smug grin. She responded by wrinkling her nose and giving me a haughty eye-roll. Despite turning her head away and pretending to ignore me, I still saw her scrutinizing me out of the corner of her eye.

So, I scrutinized back. She was short, barely four-foot-ten, and she looked scrawny like a kid. Her black hair was clipped to the side with an ornate butterfly pin, except for one stubborn lock of hair that draped between her eyes, resting against her nose. The rest of her was nothing special; curveless, skinny, and nearly flat-chested. It was quite fortunate that her body was concealed under flattering red and violet formal robes. If I had a scrawny childish body like hers, I'd wanna cover it up too. Come to find out later, when I had the displeasure of meeting her face to face, what she lacked in size and physique she made up for in sheer attitude and personality.

I watched her follow the clan into Lord Hitsugaya's mansion and out of sight, and I wasn't subtle about it either. When the procession was gone I laid my large head back down atop a soft mound of grass and proceeded to maim my host's prized rose bushes with my teeth.

0000

Day Two

Much to my disdain my two roommates turned out to be Ikkaku and Yumichika. Ikkaku was a friendly bald man with a penchant for dancing, and Yumichika was an effeminate guy with black hair, and colorful feathers stuck to the edges of his eyebrows. They were rogues who ran with Kenpachi Zaraki, and all three were infamous for picking fights, and getting into a lot of trouble. Which meant I was going to get dragged along for the ride.

And that's exactly how I found myself in the east yard of Hitsugaya's estate on the second day.

"What if I don't want to fight girls?" I asked upon being dragged outside.

"Then you can sit with Yumichika and watch me fight girls." Said Ikkaku.

I turned to the Yumichika and raised a brow before asking, "Why aren't you going to challenge any girls?"

The effeminate man smiled at me and brushed some of his shoulder-length hair behind his ear. "Fighting is dirty, I prefer to impress potential mates with my aesthetics rather than my battle prowess."

"Uh-huh." I narrowed my eyes and my mouth dropped into a disbelieving line. "Says the guy who runs with Zaraki, a dragon notorious for fighting."

"I fight when I must." He insisted, his nose in the air.

"And I'm sure the ladies will all swoon at the sight of you wearing fashionable eighteenth-century gray."

Because we all intended to shift into our dragon forms at some point or another we were dressed in long gray cloaks curtesy of our host, Hitsugaya. Said cloaks were easy to discard and put on when shifting, and it meant we wouldn't be ruining any of our human clothes.

"Yumichika intends to sit in the yard and preen himself like a peacock." Explained Ikkaku.

As if to prove his point, Yumichika threw off his cloak and started shifting. His face became sharp and angular, his neck extended, and his fingers stretched out to the sky forming into large and colorful feathered wings. His spine extended into a slender tail cloaked with a train of feathers and his gangly legs became long and thin like a crane's.

As a dragon, this rogue looked like a cross between a velociraptor and a peacock. The amount of color sported on both his scales and feathers was next to blinding, and reminded me of a bird of paradise.

I must have been staring, because he gave me a self-satisfied snort, fluffed himself up and stalked off to go impress some other dragons, both male and female, who were basking in the sun nearby.

I turned my attention back to my bald companion, he was grinning at me like the whole scene was hilarious.

"What about you?"

"What about me?" asked Ikkaku.

"Aren't you going to hit on some ladies?" I directed my gaze around him to the clearing where numerous other dragons were rolling around and challenging each other in what was considered flirting.

"Give it time." He replied. "I gotta warm up with my lucky dance."

Ikkaku's lucky dance was nothing more than him tiptoeing around and looking like an absolute idiot in his human skin. If he intended to make a good impression with the ladies it would have to be with his battle prowess because it certainly wasn't going to be with this display. When several other dragons stopped to observe his strange behavior, I stepped back hoping they wouldn't associate me with him.

I took this opportunity to scope out others like myself. This was my first time getting to interact with my own kind on a scale like this. There were a lot more of us than I realized, dragons of all shapes and sizes, and species were sprawled across the yard, and these were mostly just some rogues or errant clan members. Hundreds of other dragons were still within the confines of the mansion and the land around the rest of Hitsugaya's estate.

Some Kuchiki clan members even marched out into the yard to join in the socializing. One of them shifted into a sleek black dragon, shiny and polished looking, but he was small. The others milled about in expensive formal robes, simply observing the chaos, but there was one I recognized.

It was the dark-haired girl from before. The one I'd seen in the courtyard when the Kuchikis first arrived at the Gathering. She was dressed in formal robes like some of the other clan members and the wide-eyed curiosity I saw before was visible on her girlish features. It was as if this was her first time attending a Gathering.

Maybe it was. Maybe she was like me.

Lord Hitsugaya, dressed to impress today, also followed them into the yard. He shared a few polite words with the Kuchikis and even nodded to the curious girl, who reigned in her blatant curiosity and hid it behind a practiced mask of indifference. Very Kuchiki like. I got the feeling she was a Kuchiki in training.

"You should challenge her."

I snapped my eyes away from the Kuchikis and fixed Ikkaku with an incredulous look in response to his suggestion. "Excuse me?"

"That girl, the one you were staring at." He nodded at the dark-haired girl I'd been curious about only seconds ago. "Challenge her."

"Are you crazy?" I scoffed. "I don't even know her!" The idea of challenging a strange girl, and a Kuchiki on top of that was ridiculous.

"You aren't asking her to marry you, moron!" chastised Ikkaku. "You're just getting to know her. And what better way to impress her than to challenge her."

"She's a Kuchiki." I defended.

"Even better."

I shot Ikkaku a deadly scowl and bared my teeth. He was essentially telling me to go flirt with a girl I'd only seen in passing. A rich noble girl who didn't even like me as far as I could tell.

"I'll give you one hundred dollars if you do it." He added, stooping to bribery in an attempt to get me to make a fool of myself.

I must admit, it was awful tempting now that money was involved. God damn dragon blood.

"If I challenge her you'll give me one hundred dollars?" I asked skeptically.

"Yeah." His grinned pulled even farther, upon realizing I was considering his offer.

"I want to see the money right now." I insisted. No way was I going to get suckered into this without assurance. I wasn't that stupid.

Sure enough Ikkaku pulled a wad of cash from the inside pocket of his cloak and waved a hundred dollar bill in my face. I was curious what he was doing carrying around that kind of money, but then we were dragons and we liked our money. Money, gold, jewels, treasure, you name it and we flaunted it.

"I want the money right now. You give me the hundred and I'll walk up and challenge her."

I didn't think it was possible for Ikkaku to smile any wider than he already was. It also didn't cross my mind to be suspicious of why he was being so pushy.

And that's how I found myself shucking off my itchy gray cloak, shifting to my dragon form and marching off across the yard to confront the diminutive Kuchiki girl.

Several other rogues gave me half-assed challenges when I passed. Some snarling in contempt, some baring teeth, and few even clattered scales or feathers at me in a flirtatious way. Any other day I might have been swayed to take them up on the challenges. The thrill of throwing my massive weight around and proving myself an opportunity too good to pass up.

I passed on the challenges, but couldn't help throwing out my chest and puffing up my spikes at the females expressing interest in me. Even if I didn't return their attention, it didn't hurt to show off. Hell, they might remember me later.

Two of the Kuchiki clan members eyes me wearily upon my approach, one even quirked a brow and wrinkled his nose in disdain. The one that had taken the form of a small black dragon was nowhere in sight. I didn't spare the male Kuchikis so much as a glance until one stepped into my path. He didn't bother to change, opting to bare his teeth at me in warning, to which I responded by knocking him to the side with my wing and into his companion as an unexpected bonus.

I briefly registered the incredulous look Lord Hitsugaya shot me before dropping to the ground and initiating my challenge to the Kuchiki female.

Okay, so I didn't do this very often, like- hardly at all. My Dad showed me all the different challenge dances once upon a time while I was growing up. He even made me practice some of the more important ones, should I ever find myself in a situation such as this. Dragons tended to dance different challenges depending on the situation and the desired effect. I was very good at the issuing challenges for dominance, but not so great at doing it to flirt.

Worst case scenario she might've assumed I was fighting her for sport.

My soulless golden eyes pinned the Kuchiki girl in place and for the first time I realized the color of her eyes. I became transfixed on the strange violet quality in her irises, unable to decide if the purple hue was a trick of the light or if that was the natural color. I had to remind myself to follow through and quit staring; with a shake of my large head I rattled the spikes in my mane and pressed my nose into the ground. When you challenged a lady, you had to show her respect. Then to show I was serious, I pulled back my lips and bared dozens upon dozens of sharp crooked fangs at her. The hot breath in the back of my throat spilling from my mouth with small licks of flame.

The Kuchiki female only stared. I swore her eyes were the size of baseballs and there was not a single ounce of intrigue or even disgust on her face. Just outright shock, as if she had no idea what I was doing and I was scaring the skin off her bones.

Maybe I wasn't being clear enough. I could've gotten the challenge wrong. I rattled my mane again and pounded the palms of my wings into the dirt, following it up with a snap of my fangs mere inches from her nose. This only managed to make her recoil back a few steps, her eyes darting frantically from me to Hitsugaya, to her fellow clan members, and then back to me.

C'mon you idiot, fight me!

"Kursoaki! You need to back off!" After the initial shock of my intrusion, Hitsugaya appeared to figure out what I was on about and was stepping in to diffuse the situation.

I shot a jet of flame in his direction as warning to back off. Then turned my gold eyes back to my intended target, who was still petrified in confusion.

What the hell is wrong with you?

Hitsugaya threw himself between me and the Kuchiki and bared his own teeth as a threat. "I said, stand down!" He reaffirmed. "She is a human you idiotic dolt!"

Human.

Suddenly it felt like a dozen puzzle pieces fell into place inside my brain. Byakuya taking a human as a wife, adopting her sister into his clan. The reason this particular Kuchiki was always wearing a mask of curiosity, and the reason Ikkaku had been so keen on bribing me into this fight. It's not unheard of for dragons to adopt humans into their clans either as servants, or merely members of a family. This was one such human.

I snarled angrily at my host in a lousy attempt to save face. It was stupid to hide my embarrassment behind aggression and anger, but Ikkaku howling in laughter behind me and damn I couldn't help it.

Hitsugaya glared me down with icy teal-colored eyes, but refused to indulge my immaturity. When he refused to step down, or even attack me, I turned away in a huff, a flare of my wings and stalked off toward the mansion. After all it wasn't like I made an absolute ass out of myself in front of a bunch of pure-bloods, nobles, and fellow rogues.

Well this isn't the first time I'm the laughing stock the neighborhood. I'm going to make you pay for this, Ikkaku.

00000

As fate would undoubtedly have in for me, it wasn't long before I happened upon miss pretentious again. That very same day, after the ass-making I put myself through and once I'd had enough time to cool down, I found her in the library. She was reading something that looked exceedingly boring, a big book; thick, old and weighing more than she did. Yet she was completely absorbed by it. I could tell because it took several long minutes for her to register my presence even though I was standing not more than a few feet away. When she finally lifted her eyes and acknowledged me it was with a look of amiable curiosity.

"Well hey there," I greeted. I gave her a grin like I did before when our eyes had met in the courtyard. "We have a chance to introduce ourselves now." I added in a condescending tone. I may have retained some of the bitter feelings from earlier that day, even though she'd had nothing to do with it.

She leveled me with a look of confusion, and I was a little taken back by the lack of recognition in her gaze.

"Excuse me?" She asked. "Have we met before?"

Duh! I criticized myself. See this was why I staked no claim over being clever or insightful. It occurred to me that she wouldn't recognize me from this morning or the day before because I was in my dragon form. Now... well now I looked like your run-of-the-mill teenage human flunky. By that I mean I was tall, almost six feet. I had plain brown eyes and a brow that's always furrowed into a scowl. Top that off with the most outstanding messy mane of reddish-orange hair you'd ever laid eyes on. Literally, I kid you not, I had hair the color of a god-damned fruit. It was worth mentioning I was dressed like an urchin today, baggy green cargo pants, and a white t-shirt with a black stripe across the front of it. This was a stark contrast to what the female before me was wearing; like most Kuchikis she wore that fancy formal attire.

I scratched the back of my head, rather embarrassed about my initial greeting. "Oh... uh..." I was being quite articulate today. "I saw you before... in the courtyard," I explained. "And again, in the uh… the… east yard. I was the really handsome dragon that challenged you… and stuff."

"Oh." Her tone became flat. "It's you." She wrinkled her nose and lifted her book to ignore me and return to reading.

I must've embarrassed her earlier for her to react like that. Well she wasn't the dragon that tried flirting with a human in front of a yard full of other dragons.

"Che. Excuse me princess~" I wrinkled my nose right back. Despite the bumpy start, I decided to press forth and introduce myself. "The name's Ichigo, I didn't seem to catch your name."

"That's because I didn't grace you with it."

"You little brat." I hissed under my breath.

"Oh~ so I'm a brat, am I?" She looked up from her book and glared down her nose at me. It was quite a feat given that she was vertically challenged, coupled with the sitting position.

"Forget this shit." I growled. I wasn't very cultured, and short on patience and manners. I blamed my humanity for that. Instead of continuing our conversation I stormed out of the library and left her to her boring book. As I stalked away I noticed her face form a look of guilt, she opened her mouth to say something, but I wasn't of the mind to listen anymore.

00000

Dinner that evening was served in an expansive dining hall. Dusty aged tapestries decorated the walls from floor to ceiling in regular intervals. Two large braziers were on one side of the room where various members of the kitchen staff roasted ducks, chickens, venison, pork, and prime cuts of beef. Lord Hitsugaya invested in an enormous ventilation system that was temporarily installed above the braziers. It served to pull the smoke from the room, and circulate cleaner, more breathable air.

A running theme with dragons: we like meat, period. We especially like smelling it being cooked. There were so many dragons packed into the dining hall that we had to come and go in scheduled intervals. And, this wasn't all of us, a handful of other clans and many more rogues had yet to arrive, and would probably do so within the next few days.

I entered the dining hall when most of the humans were allowed to enter. Being a half-breed meant I got treated a cut above humans, unless of course I threw my weight around. When dinner time was concerned its best not to pick any fights, lest the main course find its way to the floor.

I didn't even have a chance to seat my behind before I was bombarded by a couple of familiar faces. The first was a red-haired individual, obnoxious and brash doesn't begin to cover his behavior. If I had to describe him in one word I'd settle with "dumbass." He was roughly my size and we shared a rivalry from time to time, but he sold out as a mercenary to the Kuchiki clan half a decade ago and that pissed me off. In his dragon form he was very serpentine, with a hide formed of bone-like plates.

The other friendly face was a woman. She was known commonly as a vixen in both her human and dragon form. Given that she was a strawberry blonde with a curvaceous body and breasts large enough to suffocate a man, it wasn't hard to see why. There was a time when I had the hots for her, but I think I could admit that passed. Maybe. I digress, as a dragon she was well known for her feline-esque appearance. She was what you'd call a beast-based dragon, and unlike most that spit fire, she could breathe ash. Searing hot ash that blinded you, choked you, and caked all over your body. A wicked tactic in a fight.

"Rangiku, Renji." I nodded to each of them and even clapped Renji on the shoulder several times. After the trouble Ikkaku got me into I was ready to hang with a different crowd.

"Well look who finally decided to show up." Rangiku brought her hand up over her shoulder to toss her hair to one side. Although she didn't do it consciously, her movements came off as teasing and sensual, at times causing conflict because most guys assumed she was flirting with them. It was even more convoluted because sometimes she was.

"I've been here for a few days already." I defended myself. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Given that she's Lord Hitsugaya's beta she should've been right here." Cut in Renji. He lifted one of his crazy tattooed eyebrows at the blonde, prompting an explanation.

"I was here!" Rangiku countered, balling her hands into fists. "I was just busy... and stuff." She finished her sentence with a pout.

"I'm sure." Scoffed Renji.

I rolled my eyes as the two began bickering back and forth like an old married couple. They were so into it that I couldn't find an opening to get a word in. I occupied my short attention span by scanning the dining hall for other familiar faces. I saw Lord Hitsugaya entertaining a few of the more noble guests, what better time for him to schmooze than now I guess. Then there were Yumichika and Ikkaku, those two were up to no good as was usual. One was currently sweet talking a lady while the other was drinking himself into a stupor. Usually Kenpachi would have been right there along with them. Speaking of which, I wondered when the big brute would show up. If there was any dragon that could out-class me in size and strength it was him. He was as mountainous a human as he was a dragon. I heard he'd adopted a small human girl who took a liking to him a few years back.

"Oi, Renji!" I interrupted their persnickety little bicker battle. My eyes settled upon one particular girl seated on the other side of the room. She was nested among several other members of noble clans, but she didn't seem to be talking to anyone. I knew exactly why she was there, simply for show. She may have been the younger sibling to the Clan-leader's wife, but her humanity awarded her a humble status just above servantry. She was a token; Nothing more than a piece of jewelry to be admired or looked at, but never given much significance. No doubt the Kuchiki clan strategically placed her among those nobles simply to garner attention. Maybe if they were lucky, they could marry her off for more affluence and influence.

Renji finally peeled his attention away from Rangiku to find out what I was looking at. "That's Rukia," He explained, leaning against my shoulder. "She's the sister-in-law of Lord Byakuya Kuchiki."

"Is that her name?" I would've liked the way it sounded if it didn't belong to her. "What do you know about that brat?"

Renji recoiled away from me like a snake. "Brat!?" His brow furrowed, "She's no brat! She's tenacious, and talented, brave even. She's not afraid of anything." Renji's eyes got a faraway look, the kind you get when your mind takes a walk down memory lane. I elbowed Rangiku and smirked knowingly at her as he continued. "Rukia knows her way around a fight better than most men, and she even kinda acts like one. And then her eyes-"

"We get it Renji~" I cut him off before he started reciting a sonnet about her. I also didn't want to hear about her eyes, eyes which I was a little more acquainted with than I would've liked.

"Oooo~" Teased Rangiku, "Someone's in looove~" Much to Renji's chagrin she brought her hand up to her lips and pretended to hide an obvious smile.

"Am NOT!" Despite his denial, we both saw his cheeks flush the same color as his hair. I tried to stifle a chuckle, but Renji heard it and promptly added, "Ah, go to Hell. Both of ya!"

"Hey, hey, hey man," I tried my best to placate him. "It's not my place to judge if you have the hots for a little human brat." It actually made me feel better to know Renji had a thing for a human and I wasn't going to mention the scene I made in the east yard.

His lean muscled finger jabbed me straight in the chest, and I let out a cough in protest. "THAT little human brat, is a member of the combat tournament committee." He explained.

That bit of information struck me like a bag full of bricks. I changed the subject to hide my surprise. "A tournament huh. I'd probably dominate that."

While it wasn't uncommon for our kind to pick fights for assorted reasons, it was uncommon for those fights to be organized. Well legally. There were plenty of underground fighting rings if you knew where to look, and I may or may not have frequented them and participated to put a little extra cash in my pockets.

A tournament here meant this was legal. There wouldn't be any betting happening because that was the illegal part, so that meant there had to be some sort of monetary prize for the victor. Why else would anyone sign up for this kind of cock-fight?

"Uh-huh." I heard Renji scoff at my comment. "Dream on. You need a recommendation from at least one of the three committee members to even be considered for the tournament. And given your... uh.. condition, they aren't likely to give you one."

"My condition?" I knew exactly what condition Mr. Asshat was referring to. Being a half-breed meant I got left out of a lot of official dragon business. It seemed this tournament would be no exception.

"Hey Ichigo, you know I have nothing against it." He immediately went on the defensive.

"Except for making it sounded like a friggin' illness." I'd lost my appetite and stormed out of the dining hall in a childish huff. One thought permeated my irritation with Renji though. If I want to join that tournament, I need a recommendation from her.

00000

Stupid, stupid me. I cursed at myself under my breath. My stomach growled in an awful way, and I slugged it to silence the noise. It wasn't uncommon for me to let my anger best me. I was a master at making bad situations worse. My chief tactics included intimidation, and starting fights.

As a result of my behavior, I ended up with an empty stomach and a long search for the kitchens. The kitchens were very hard to find; I stumbled through several different studies, the servant's quarters, a smoking lounge, and a pantry before I located it. The kitchen staff were all gathered around an expansive wood-block table eating what must have been the leftovers of tonight's banquet. The staff ware playing a round of cards, and drinking red wine, all the while caught up in jovial laughter.

My intrusion wasn't unnoticed. As soon as I stumbled through the door, they all lurched to their feet and stared. Some set their posture to attention, others were just startled. I was not who they were expecting and after the initial shock, several staff members relaxed and settled back into their chairs. The others hurried up to me, and began assaulting me with offers of assistance. Just from their actions I deduced who were the servants, and who were the cooks.

"I'm fine," I said and attempted to shoo the hovering servantry away. "I just need something to eat." Several servants scurried off as if my statement had been an order. The others ushered me over to have a seat, and handed me a glass of wine. I stole a glance at the apathetic cooks. They were disinterested in my presence. I knew why. They out-ranked the servants. Their job was finished for the night, and they knew I was not a real dragon. Especially not a dragon of any influence. Half-breed.

A couple of servants returned no more than a minute later with plates of leftover meat and bread. Like timid animals they placed them on the table before me, and backed away as if waiting for my approval.

"Thanks," I shot them a pointed look, trying to tell them to go back to what they were doing rather than hover over me. They took the hint, and settled back down to play their cards and chatter about the day.

Among the gossip, I overheard them speaking of the upcoming tournament. It seemed I wasn't the only one interested in the upcoming event. My interest became piqued as soon as they mentioned the prize. Apparently, there was two-hundred grand worth of gold that would be awarded to the victor. That wasn't a bad hoard, and my family wasn't what you'd call wealthy. We were middle-class, and that's in the human term. Well established in poverty by dragon standards. With that amount of money, I'd have a phenomenal social standing. Nothing commanded power and respect quite like massive amounts of wealth.

The rest of their conversations were nothing more than a collection of underling gossip. I attempted to listen, and even joined the chatter from time to time. But the alluring thoughts of gold and gems were never far from my mind.

00000

Day Three

I spent the whole morning challenging other dragons to brawls in a large clearing located behind the manor. The south yard. Naturally I won every match because in dragon form I was gargantuan. I was what you'd call a wyvern, a dragon whose front legs were wings instead of arms, and that gave me phenomenal upper body strength. That and most other dragons were five or more feet smaller than me.

The sound of shrieking came from my current competitor who I had pinned into submission, my teeth firmly clamped around his throat. The noise meant he had admitted defeat, and I released him, letting loose a victorious bellow. It ripped from my lungs with an eerie, hollow echoing sound, which was another side-effect of my humanity. My dragon noises sounded like a demonic leopard snarl from beneath water. Unsettling was probably the most accurate way to describe it, but it was a great intimidation tactic against others who've never heard a half breed before.

The amount of dirt I was kicking up and scene I was making may have been influenced by the blow to my pride I took the day before. This was my opportunity to save face. One moment I was in my zone, victorious, powerful, and smug. The next she was there, watching me, observing my battle prowess. Looking back, if I had been intelligent I should have played it cool, and been a little humble. But, I wasn't and I didn't. Instead I decided to do a very brash thing, a very human thing, and an incredibly juvenile thing. I decided to show off.

Once my competitor had slinked away like the loser he was, I puffed up all the spikes around my neck and shoulders and pranced around the yard like an over-sized peacock. Or a rooster, actually it was more of a rooster. Peacocks are pretty.

I made snorting noises, and I lashed my tail back and forth. My teeth were bared and my muscles rippling from raw power. I hate to admit it but I wanted her to see me, I wanted her to look, and my actions begged her to notice me. At this point I wanted a recommendation for that tournament but it would be days later before I'd admit to myself that I was smitten.

Rukia was watching me. Her eyes followed all my movements, I could tell even though she was a fair distance away. She had her arms folded over her chest, and she lifted one eyebrow in utter amusement at my antics. From day one she was never impressed by me, but I was at the very least entertaining to her.

My next opponent got fed up with my posturing and stormed the make-shift ring to fight me. I met the challenger full force, not even bothering to hustle them. My teeth and claws came down on the other dragon and I startled them with my sudden aggression. It was an easy win. Rukia watched me decimate a few more challengers before I called it quits. The reason I decided to stop wasn't because I was tired, it was due to my lack of focus. I realized after the third fight that I was doing a lot worse than I oughta be. I chalked it up to the ebony-haired brat watching. She was so annoying that it was throwing me off.

I took a break and laid down across the yard from her so that I could watch her without being conspicuous. She didn't stick around for much longer. Two matches later she left and went back inside Lord Hitsugaya's mansion. I didn't blame her though, it was rather warm outside. I waited the proper amount of time, so that it didn't look like I was following her. Then I shifted back to my human form and headed into the manor to track her down.

I made certain to slip into a fresh set of clothes, pulling on some jeans and a T-shirt. I also used some deodorant because I smelled from the fights, but didn't feel like showering just yet. It's not like I wanted to impress her with my personal hygiene or anything. All she needed to know was that I fought, and fought well.

Rukia was in the tea room this time. I knew it was her before I entered the room, I recognized her loud voice. She was conversing with one of Hitsugaya's servants, a mousy young boy with hair as black as her's. The tea table she was sitting at was antique, made of polished maple. The legs were intricately carved, and she was seated in a matching chair cushioned with powder-blue upholstery. When the servant saw me in the threshold, he cut their conversation short and scampered away. That did not please Rukia who shot me an exasperated look. Instead of being polite and taking a seat to talk to her, I decided to be a pompous ass, and I leaned against the door frame grinning.

"Hey, Princess." I greeted.

She shot me a look of contempt in regard to my nickname for her. "My name isn't, Princess." She hissed. "It's Rukia Kuchiki." She proceeded to pour herself a cup of tea and squeezed a lemon wedge into it.

"Rukia." I let the name roll off my tongue. No, it wasn't because I liked how it sounded. I also wasn't about to tell her I'd already figured it out from Renji. "I saw you out back earlier. Did you see my fights?" I tried to feign ignorance like I hadn't been completely aware of her eyes on me the entire time.

"I'm not sure." She responded, she didn't even lift her eyes to look at me. "Were you behind the puffed-up peacock I saw out there? 'Cause it was pretty hard to see passed that." I watched her take a sip of her tea, and I bit back a snicker when she made a face and added a few sugar cubes.

"A peacock," I hummed. "It's revered as a gorgeous bird, handsome even." I gave her my most dazzling smile, insincere and snide as it was.

"Piss off."

I blinked at her for a moment, taken aback by her crude language. It wasn't something I expected from a member of a noble family. I assumed only I talked that way. Then again, she had been adopted into it recently. "Yeah well you aren't bad looking yourself." I decided I should probably compliment her too.

She responded with a withering look then turned away, and continued to fail at ignoring me. Of course, I didn't give her the opportunity to succeed, marching my way to the seat opposite from her. Unceremoniously I planted my behind into the chair and relaxed into its well-built comfyness. After a moment or two my eyes darted across the table to her. She was still trying to ignore me, but I caught her stealing glances my way over the top of her teacup.

I doctored my own cup of tea, aware of Rukia's eyes on me, but I let her watch me without saying anything. When the awkwardness between us became a near tangible I met her gaze and wiggled my eyebrows. She tried to focus her attention elsewhere, and I chuckled when her cheeks tinged a soft pink.

"Hey," I started, "What's a guy like me gotta do to get a recommendation from you. Ya know, for the tournament." I attempted to wave my tea cup around for emphasis, but only managed to slosh it into my lap. Rukia sniggered when I clutched my crotch in pain. I suppose it was kinda funny.

"You," She motioned unnecessarily at me with her cup, "want my recommendation?" She scoffed at that and set her teacup down. "Why? I'm the lone miserable human, my recommendation should mean shit to you." I could tell from the start that the Kuchiki's grounded humility into her. Telling her that her humanity meant she was worthless. Just like me.

Crap, don't bond with her.

"Look... Rukia." It was still rather awkward saying her name. "I'm not sure how familiar you are with dragons, but I'm what you call a half-breed. My father is a dragon, and my mother is as human as they come. As a result... I get left out of a lot of dragon-related things. I'd really like to be a part of this tournament..." God I hated to admit this... Put your pride away. Put it away. "I need your help to do that."

I watched her face for a few moments, and she appeared to be mulling over what I said. Finally, she met my eyes and asked, "What do I get out of helping you?" I didn't know what kind of witch-craft Rukia had imbued into her eyes, but I felt transfixed under the full force of those violet irises.

"The satisfaction of doing something nice?" In hindsight that probably wasn't the best thing to say to her.

She narrowed her eyes at me in contempt but brushed off my question. Instead she posed an agreement that would change the course of our relationship forever. "I need a buffer for the next few weeks. My brother-in-law, Byakuya, is hell-bent on tying up loose ends. Regrettably, that includes me." I could see the hurt in her eyes. She was a strong person caught in political conflict between dragons. That was enough to make most humans feel helpless. "I'm quite certain that before this Gathering has ended... I'm going to be signed off to some other noble family. All to further the Kuchiki ambitions."

"I..." She held up a hand to cut me off, so I clapped my yap shut.

"I need someone to interrupt awkward situations I might be forced into. I also need a partner to attend most of the social functions with so that Byakuya has no one to pick for me. And lastly it needs to be someone who's intimidating, someone who can hold his own. It'll give me some peace of mind." When she finished she gave me a pointed look, now it was my turn to speak.

At first I knew what I wanted to say. Now that I had the conversational baton, my mouth felt a lot dryer than it had a minute earlier. "Uhhh... Does that mean I'm supposed to be your date or something?"

"I would call it my own personal social body guard." I noticed she was quick to correct me.

My face twisted away from confusion, failed at forming a different emotion, and just flopped into dejection. "You just don't wanna call me your date."

Please drop a review if you like this story. I hope you liked the changes to this chapter, and I hope you continue to enjoy the changes I made in the other chapters.

I made reference in this story to DI's sister fanfic, My Sweet Sacrifice. Which is also a AU dragon fanfic that's HitsuRuki. It is written by the talented Hikari-chanX.