Back again! Glad everyone seemed to like the last chapter. It's one of my favorites too, so reading your words made me extra happy! FFN was doing this weird thing where it wasn't showing me reviews I had gotten emails for (and wouldn't let me reply) so I'm still going to try and thank people individually (or at least the non-guest reviews that I can actually message) I have never gotten such long, wonderful, and thoughtful feedback as I have for this story so I truly want to express to each of you how much I love your words :) Now, let's move on to the aftermath!

With a bit of last minute reluctance, Rukia slowly went to grab her things and silently followed Ichigo into his car. As soon as they were seated and buckled he reached over to crank up the heater, becoming even more unsettled at the way she was shivering. She clutched the stuffed animal from earlier and of course he wasn't going to judge her for it.

In a lame attempt to lift her spirits, even minutely, he pointed toward it and commented, "I didn't know you liked Chappy."

It was a joke, of course, since Rukia had never shied away from professing her love for the pink bunny cartoon and Ichigo had already gotten her that Chappy pen (which he had noticed she used constantly). Though she couldn't manage a smile at the moment, he was pleased to watch as she let loose a small breath of air and shook her head at him, understanding the statement for what it was.

He put the car into gear and drove away from the area.

It was deathly silent as they traveled, though Ichigo knew that now wasn't the time for small talk. It weirded him out far more than it should to see her so dejected. He knew she still wasn't happy that she had to rely on him to (at the very least) house her for the time being. But, he also could tell she realized she had no other options and, as unfair as she declared it, would have to resort to such measures.

So, they continued on in the not quite so uncomfortable silence as he drove toward his penthouse apartment.

When the car came to a stop at a red light, Ichigo chanced another glance at the small woman seated beside him. He frowned when he saw that she was still shivering, quite violently so. He had to wonder how long she had been outside on the street before she'd called him.

It required some maneuvering given his position in the car, but eventually he was able to get his jacket off his shoulders, Rukia side-eying him the whole time. She said nothing as he draped it over her, but he noticed the way her body calmed from the added warmth. She slowly brought the fabric more fully around her.

"What happened to 'men get cold too'?" she asked, repeating his words from the night of the charity gala. He couldn't help but smile. It was the first thing she'd said all night that actually sounded like her.

"No pretending to be chivalrous tonight, I suppose," was his sly response as the light turned green and the car moved forward again.

She said nothing to that and turned her face to look out the window, but he thought he caught a quick glance of a tiny lift to the edge of her mouth.

Despite her having been in his home multiple times already, there was definitely something off about this time. An awkward air fell on them as he walked her through the foyer and into the main part of the living room. He couldn't tell if she was just uncomfortable or still holding onto her earlier trepidation.

He tried to play the role of a good host. "I have three guest rooms, you can take your pick of which one. Personally I'd recommend the first one off the kitchen. It's the nicest."

She said nothing in response to that and he watched curiously as she bit her lip, pondering something silently. Eventually, her eyes drifted to the black, wrap around couch that faced the massive TV in the center of the large room. She walked toward it and set her shoulder bag on the sprawling coffee table.

"That's alright. I'll just crash here on the couch," she spoke with a resigned voice.

God, even when he was trying to be as nice as possible, she still managed to be infuriating.

"Why the hell would you do that?" He tried his best to keep the bite out of his tone. He still sounded exasperated with her, but there was no stopping that particular emotion.

She turned her head toward him and narrowed her eyes angrily. It certainly lacked her usual spark, but it reminded him more of the normal Rukia. "I already told you, Ichigo. I can't sit here and enjoy living the high life just because the only person I can go to right now is super rich. If I actually had friends who'd take me in, I'd be sleeping on their couches, too."

Ichigo took a deep breath, the task of wrangling in his annoyance requiring an immense amount of strength. "Rukia...it doesn't make any sense to leave three perfectly fine rooms empty for the sake of your pride." She let out a noise of disgust at that before she grabbed one of the decorative pillows and looked around for a blanket. "No one ever uses them...save for my family, and that only happens when they come to visit every other year. You've already gone through hell tonight, why not enjoy a comfortable place to sleep?"

"This is plenty comfortable," she resolutely answered him. Her eyes spotted the nearby basket with the blankets and she grabbed one before slipping out of her shoes and coat and laying herself out.

"Rukia…" he made one last attempt to reason, but she quickly shut him down.

"Just stop talking, Ichigo. I'm not going to move into one of your guest rooms. This is only supposed to be a temporary fix and I plan on acting like it."

Finally, he realized he wouldn't be able to push her any further, even though her logic made no sense to him. She was already starting to freak out about the living arrangement (even if she'd never admit it), so if this was her way of ensuring some kind of distance, he really couldn't stop her.

He muttered a short, "Fine," before he walked around the couch in the direction of the master bedroom. When he took one last look at her, huddled under the thin blanket and still shivering, he couldn't help the sigh that escaped his lips. He immediately moved to light the fireplace built beneath the TV to provide a bit of extra warmth. She'd never actually say so, but he could tell she was grateful for the temperature rise as her body calmed somewhat. He shook his head and switched the main lights off for the living room before heading to his own bedroom.

Sleep had been impossible, of course. Regardless of the fact that she had awoken him late enough in the morning that he could still be up and function and that he had an earlier meeting at the studio he had to get to, he knew he never would have fallen back to bed after what had just happened. His mind raced as he thought of the implications of what he'd just done.

He had declared himself "friends" with a tabloid journalist. And now she was (temporarily) staying with him.

He couldn't shake the feeling that he had just made an enormous mistake. God, if half the people in this industry knew what he'd done and said, they would call him crazy. They'd say it was like he wanted to leave his entire career up for ruin at the hands of a petite, rage-filled, Chappy-loving, heiress-turned-reporter. It was dangerous. He didn't even know whether he could fully trust her yet.

He sighed and tossed aside his blankets. Did he really believe, after they'd gone this far, that she'd turn around and betray him? She knew more than most of the people in his life knew. She knew what he was really like behind the camera, she knew about Asako, hell she even knew about his mom! She hadn't spoken a word of it to anybody and was in a position in her life where she needed the money from this scheme now more than ever. He could trust her.

But did that trust translate to an honest-to-god friendship? He supposed so. She was annoying and combative, but surprisingly enough, he actually enjoyed her company. She was so real. So unlike the majority of the people around him. And she didn't treat him like some god. She put him in his place when he needed to be put in his place and still managed to respect him. That equalled friendship, right?

He scoffed and sat up in his bed, realizing he was actually trying to define friendship to himself. Sure, he had people like Orihime and Uryuu who he'd known since high school that he considered friends, but other than that, there weren't many people he would give the title to.

Maybe he and Rukia were more alike than they thought.

Taking a glance at the time and realizing he'd be late if he didn't start getting ready now, he wearily made his way to his sprawling bathroom and hopped in the shower. The warm water was a welcome relief after such a chilly night and he stayed under the stream longer than he strictly needed to. He ran to get dressed as he dried his scruffy mop of orange hair with a towel. No point in styling it, since everyone seemed to like the unmade look anyway.

When he walked back out into the living room, he noticed the drop in the temperature immediately. The timer he'd set on the fireplace had eventually run out and all that was left was a small kindling. His eyes drifted to his unusual guest and, as much as he hated himself for it, there was only one thought going through his mind.

All that anger stuffed in a tiny body and yet she still manages to be so fucking adorable.

At some point in the night (or morning rather), she had grabbed her Chappy plushie once more and clutched it tightly to her chest. The blanket she had been using was wrapped around her balled up form to where all he could see was her face and a pink stuffed bunny. He rolled his eyes. Did she know she was like this? So obliviously cute? Probably not, given the way she normally held herself like she was ten feet tall.

Ichigo walked to a nearby linens closet and took out a spare duvet. She was going to get hypothermia at this point if she kept being so stubborn. Telling himself any 'friend' would do the same for another 'friend', he unfolded the thick duvet and gently laid it over her sleeping form. She stirred a bit from the added weight, but eventually settled back into her slumber.

He huffed as he watched her. Yes, he understood part of where she was coming from with this whole 'wanting to do things on her own' idea, but at the same time he couldn't believe she was being so annoyingly resolute about it. So she had a rich friend, big deal! It wasn't like he was paying her bills or buying her a bunch of expensive things. He was putting a roof over her head, like anyone else would do in the same situation. Did it matter that his roof was worth millions of yen?

In her mind it did. He would have to think of some way to convince her to at least crash in a guest bedroom. Sleeping on the couch was just stupid.

He shook his head and walked around to grab his coat and keys. He was wasting time thinking about these things. Her temporarily living with him did not change his busy schedule, so he left without another look back.

When he returned around noon, she was still fast asleep, this time sprawled out ungracefully across his couch as the added duvet apparently provided adequate warmth. He shook his head and tried not to laugh at the way her hair went every which way and there was a line of drool coming out of her mouth.

There were still things he had to do the rest of the day, including all the random errands Nanao sent him on and finalizing the upcoming shooting schedule, but he had made up some excuse about being sick and needing to rest for the day and, considering how insanely busy he was about to be, no one put up much of a fight. He hadn't mentioned a word of what had happened to anyone, figuring that it would be Rukia's place to share. He wondered how long they would last without at least Nanao finding out, considering the amount of times she just barged through here. Although, by the same token, he had no idea how long Rukia was planning on staying. She had already expressed that this was all temporary, but if she actually lost the stuff in her apartment it wasn't like she could just find somewhere else to live at the drop of a hat.

His stomach growled as he pondered these things and he immediately realized he'd only had a banana from the lounge to eat the entire day. Knowing Rukia would be starving when she finally awoke too, he walked to his state-of-the-art kitchen attached to the open-style living room and set himself to work.

It took longer than he originally thought, but eventually his bustling around the kitchen was enough to wake Sleeping Beauty from her slumber. As he was preparing ingredients for the tamagoyaki, he noticed a head of messy raven-black hair slowly rise from the couch. He couldn't help but smirk as he glanced at her narrowed eyes and half-awake expression.

Knowing she would be all the more annoyed by his cheekiness, he smiled and addressed her, "You know, I would tell you good morning, but it's already the afternoon."

As expected, her anger grew and he thought he actually heard her growl. "You're being purposefully loud."

Ichigo poured the egg mixture into the pan and expertly began flipping the omelette dish. "Wouldn't have been an issue if you'd slept in the guest room."

She rolled her eyes and threw aside the blankets she'd been using. Her steps were sluggish as she meandered over to the kitchen, making no attempt to try and dampen her wild bed head or adjust her lopsided pajama shirt. He couldn't help but admit that it was refreshing she felt comfortable enough in his presence to not constantly need to look good. Or rather, she just truly didn't care.

As he continued rolling the tamagoyaki with his chopsticks, Rukia's eyes went to the dishes already laid out on the table and she whistled through her teeth. While it was technically after lunch time, he'd gone through the effort to lay out a legitimate traditional style breakfast for the both of them.

"You made all this?" she skeptically asked.

"Mhmm," he simply replied as he let the last of the egg mixture cook before removing the rolled dish from the pan and cutting it up into pieces to be put on a plate.

"Handsome, rich, famous, and he can cook. It's a miracle you haven't already been taken."

Flashing her a teasing glance, he countered, "You think I'm handsome?"

She let loose an exasperated scoff before plopping down in a chair at the kitchen table. He smiled good-naturedly at the fact that she hadn't even bothered a response while he brought over the tamagoyaki to the rest of the food and poured them both some tea. "I don't know why I'm not yet taken. I honestly think women are scared of me."

Rukia looked extremely skeptical of that, but still didn't respond as she went for the steaming cup of tea first. His smile became more genuine as he laid a napkin on his lap and grabbed his chopsticks. "To be fair, I didn't always know how to cook. My little sister, Yuzu, took over the job from my mom when she passed and enjoyed it so much that she never made us help her. When I went off to college, I barely knew how to make rice," he spoke casually as he tore off a bit of the fish and brought it to his lips. "Thankfully, she put me through one hell of a cooking boot camp that taught me everything I know. I don't get to do it as often as I'd like given my schedule."

"Hm, well then you're probably wasting your efforts on me. To be honest, I'm not that hungry."

His eyes fell back on her and he frowned at the closed off way she held herself, pointedly avoiding his stare. He'd thought that if he teased her and kept up their banter, maybe she'd lighten up just a bit, but he could already tell the heavy realities of the night before were becoming more apparent the longer she was awake.

If they hadn't called each other friends, he wouldn't have said anything, but now he just couldn't let it slide.

"Yes, you are," he stated simply. He watched in satisfaction as her violet eyes flashed back to him.

"Excuse me?" she countered in a dangerous tone. But Ichigo was far from backing down.

Taking a bite of rice, he answered, "Your stomach has growled probably five times since you've been awake. You're not going to pull that shit on me. Eat."

She looked appalled at the way he was ordering her around, which was the exact effect he had been going for. "So, now that you're calling us friends you think you can just tell me what to do?"

"No, now that I'm calling us friends I actually have some kind of stake in your well-being. You're annoying and always ready for a fight, but I actually like being around someone who doesn't take shit. Would be quite a shame if you were to drop dead on me from hunger. Eat."

Her mouth gaped at that explanation, but he couldn't tell whether it was from his audacity or his admission that he enjoyed being around her. All the same, she picked up her chopsticks and bitterly bit into one of the many side dishes laid out. "You must be really off your rocker to like my company."

"Yeah...no shit."

She flicked a piece of rice at him for that comment, but said nothing else as they devoured their food.

By the time they had managed to get through the majority of the meal, Rukia's entire body all of a sudden slumped as a thought seemed to occur to her.

"Oh, no…" she whispered, her brow furrowing.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked, immediately on alert.

She turned back toward him with that same ghost-like expression she kept sporting and he hated every second of it. "I just realized...my laptop is still in my apartment. If any of my stuff burned or they don't let me get it I've lost...I've lost so much of my writing."

She seemed genuinely distressed by this, which suggested that she had more than her usual tabloid rag on that computer. Surely everything from the story she was writing about him and the industry was on there, along with whatever personal projects she had going. He could fully understand why that would be upsetting and didn't really know if there was any way for him to comfort her.

He set his utensils down and leaned further in. "You'll get it back. Even if they condemn the building, there's got to be some way to at least get that much. I can make some phone calls."

She immediately shook her head, not at all pleased with his promises. She closed her eyes in frustration. "Stupid, I should've grabbed it!"

"Don't go beating yourself up. What you went through was traumatic, you took only what you thought was essential."

"Yeah, well my laptop should've been essential! I don't give a shit about clothes or money, but that's my writing." Her voice rose as the reality hit her even harder. He knew she would only spiral further down into this pit of anxiety if he didn't act fast.

"Hey, you shouldn't be worrying about things like that right now. Focus on the big stuff. You're alive, you're safe, you have a place to be. And we don't even know what's going to happen. When it comes to getting your stuff back, we'll figure something out."

Here, her eyes skeptically turned back toward him. "We?" she asked.

Ichigo's answer was unwavering. "Yes, we."

"This isn't your problem, Ichigo."

He sighed and stood to his feet, grabbing some of the dishes to take back to the kitchen. "Don't start on that again. How many times do we have to establish this? If you're my friend and I'm helping you, that means your problems are my problems." He set the dishes in the sink to be washed. "I'm serious, I'll ask around and see if we can work out a solution with the fire department or landlord or whatever. And not just for you, for everyone in that building."

When he walked over to grab the rest of the bowls and plates, Rukia spoke in an angry tone to him, "Your hero complex is showing, Ichigo."

He couldn't help the smirk. "I'll take that as a compliment."

She made no move to reply as she brought her legs up and crossed them on the chair before she worriedly began biting her nails.

"Come on, let's find a way to get your mind off things. I'm free to do whatever the rest of the day. We can watch a movie, go out and see something, hell, I even have some video games to play. I can crush your ass in Mario Kart if that'll distract you well enough." He'd said the last part as a joke, so he was surprised to watch her tilt her head in disbelief.

"'Crush my ass'?" she repeated with a proud scoff. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

Ichigo inwardly smiled as he saw that familiar spark lighting up her form. If it would make the old Rukia come back out to play, he'd lean into her question as much as he could.

"No one can beat me in Kart, Rukia Kuchiki," he challenged in a low voice. He watched in satisfaction as her ears reddened and she nearly puffed out her chest.

"Really? Not even Tokyo University's 3A Dorm Four-Time Grand Prix Champion?"

He lifted his eyebrows, not exactly having expected that, but he was no less challenging as he swaggered over to his TV and held up a controller. "You'll have to prove it then."

He could see the anger and indignation mounting and he couldn't help but be relieved as she returned with a quick, "Oh just you wait and see, Kurosaki!", before she stomped over to the living room, snatched the controller from his hand, and sat indignantly on the couch.

This would certainly be fun.

"You fuck!" Rukia angrily screamed as she turned her eyes on a positively gloating Ichigo Kurosaki. "That's cheating!"

"How is a perfectly timed blue shell cheating? I didn't even send it off."

"This has got to be rigged. I was winning the whole time."

Ichigo casually leaned back on the couch, which only served to further increase her temper. "Yeah, well, looks like Miss 'Four-Time Champion' is going to have to give up her title."

"Oh shut the hell up," she snarled, sinking back onto the comfortable black couch in defeat. It was bad enough to lose at her best game, but it was even worse to lose to someone as annoyingly cocky as Ichigo Kurosaki. He'd never let her live this down. So much for cheering her up.

Though, she had to begrudgingly admit, she hadn't thought about the hell hole that was her life once the entire time they were playing.

"I think I deserve a prize," he added and she huffed at him.

"You don't deserve anything for a lucky break."

"A win's a win, Kuchiki. I had been looking for an opening to bring this up, and now's better than ever. For my prize, I want you to suck up your pride and stay in a guest bedroom so I don't have to find you freezing to death on the couch every night."

For not the first time that day, her eyes widened and her mouth gaped at him. Out of all the stupid-...god, she could NOT believe he was still on that. What the hell did he care where she slept? She still didn't feel right sleeping in a massive bed with expensive sheets and showering in a gigantic shower and using the cushiest towels money had to buy. Not when she was supposed to be in some shelter right now. Why did he keep acting like she was hurting his pride too?

"You can't be serious."

"I am. I get it, you don't want to be treated like royalty and I have no problems following your wish there. But if that's the case, you're going to have to respect the fact that you're in my home. If you don't want to be treated like a guest, that whole 'my house, my rules' thing applies. No one sleeps on the couch and goes hungry and feels like a burden under my roof. Got it?"

Once again, he had succeeded in completely shutting her up. She would never admit it aloud but...he might actually have a point. Perhaps that would make her feel less like she was just using a rich friend to make everything better if he actually imposed rules on her like the moocher she was. It might help ease the guilt she was feeling about the whole situation.

Though bending to his will was going to take all the strength she had left. She did not want to just do whatever he told her to.

"Like I said this morning, the guest room around the corner from the kitchen has the most space. There's fresh towels in the bathroom if you want to take a shower...and you probably should," he spoke plainly, indicating her messy hair and clothes. She couldn't even be offended because he was technically right. "Once you're done with that, you can clean the dishes from lunch, since I went through the trouble of making it."

"But I-" she tried to protest. Now he was just being tyrannical.

"Ah, I could do it myself but, hey, if you're dead set on not being a burden you'll need to pull your weight around here."

A silent pause passed between them as they held one hell of a staring match. It would certainly hurt her pride in more ways than one to actually give in and do what he said, but she knew in the long run it would be better. She didn't want to be put on a pedestal. She didn't want to be babied. If this was what he was asking in exchange for his help, she'd do it.

For now.

"You're annoying when you win."

She fully expected the smirk he flashed. She had to wonder if he thought she meant the game or the argument.

"It is pretty satisfying."

She simply rolled her eyes at that and went to grab her shoulder bag and her Chappy.

"Seriously, though, you should get on that shower. It's starting to smell in here."

Silently apologizing to her beloved stuffed animal, she swung the pink bunny with all her force against Ichigo's arm and fumed on her way to the offered spare bedroom while he laughed at her retreating form.

It had been exactly a week since her apartment building had caught on fire and she was still living in one of Ichigo's guest bedrooms.

She was also telling herself not to panic.

She really had no better options at the moment. She had briefly looked into finding another place, but everywhere she searched the prices were sky-high. Plus, she needed to think about replacing her lost stuff.

Ichigo had taken it upon himself to try and get in contact with her landlord and the fire department to see about at least getting her the laptop. Even now, she sat on the bed in her temporary room using the one Ichigo had lent her, thankful she had at least some of her files saved on an online cloud. There were still plenty of very personal and treasured writings on her computer so she was grateful for Ichigo's help in getting it back. At the moment, they'd been told the same thing by both groups: the fire department was still cleaning up the mess and doing building inspections, though the prospect of moving back was grim. They'd try and arrange for tenants in certain units to pick up smaller items but most of the furniture would have to be left behind.

It was certainly still incredibly awful, but she supposed it could have been worse.

The possibility of staying with Orihime had also crossed her mind, but she quickly shook it off. Orihime's apartment would not have the room Ichigo's did to adequately house her, and she'd probably feel like even more of a burden there. Not to mention the fact that Rukia was convinced the woman was never home and was secretly living with Uryuu, but the pair were still resolute about their "secret" relationship so she never dared ask her about it.

So that left her, for the time being at least, stuck. Ichigo had kept to his promise to put her to work, though. She wasn't paying him anything (and he would've completely refused if she even offered) but she was still earning her place there in her own way. It mostly consisted of doing basic chores and things, but at least she felt like she could be useful.

She also hadn't said anything about what happened to any of her new "friends". She knew the secret of her being kicked from her apartment by a freak fire wouldn't stay secret for long, but she held out as much as she could. She honestly couldn't tell whether her uneasiness to share was because the whole thing was embarrassing or because it meant everyone would know she was living with a movie star.

And it really hadn't lasted for very long, considering she'd already gotten a fake worried call from her boss, whose creep paparazzi stationed at her place had been quite shocked to find it burned down (at least partially). The bastard had even offered to help her himself which of course she refused. She made up some excuse about crashing at a friend's place, but part of her could tell he knew where she was actually living. Figuring it wasn't big enough news until evidence actually popped up, he had thankfully not published anything about it yet.

Plus, Ichigo had been good about them not publicly leaving his apartment building together. He always made sure to use back entrances and parked his car away from where someone might get a look inside the garage to see them. They simply showed up together at the studio like they always did, and left the media to speculate about why no one saw him dropping her off anywhere for the past week.

The news would hit eventually and she had already mentally prepared herself for it. She just wanted to savor these last few moments because she had a sinking feeling that once the media (and Nanao) knew where she was living, the relationship announcement wouldn't be far behind.

And with all the other shit going on in her life, she was just not ready for that. Thankfully, Ichigo wholeheartedly agreed.

She stretched her tired limbs out and adjusted her position on the bed, bringing Ichigo's laptop closer. She had been working most of the day on transcribing her most recent interview with one of the cameramen working on Ichigo's new movie, as well as adding on bits to her story. Today was a rare day where she didn't accompany her new roommate to his movie studio. While filming hadn't started in earnest, Ichigo was already busy shooting small solo scenes here and there, so she had begun seeing less of him. Probably for the best, considering this whole 'temporarily living together' thing still had her kind of freaked out.

She wrote in silence for a while, shaking aside her raging thoughts, when suddenly the intercom for the penthouse dinged without any warning.

Ichigo (Mr. Fancy Pants) had an intercom system installed throughout the gigantic place, primarily to alert to the presence of new visitors (though Rukia only used it for delivery drivers). It was accessed from the ground floor of the building and could be heard in every room of the penthouse.

So Rukia listened in horror as a voice suddenly sounded from the unit in her room. "Ichigo! Let us up! We're surprising you." The voice was female and not at all familiar to her. She thought it might have been Nanao or Orihime or someone else he worked with, but they were clearly all still at the studio.

She debated whether or not she should even answer, before another unfamiliar female voice was heard, this time from farther away than the first one had been. "Shh, Karin, I already told you, I have a keycard and a spare key to get us up. You'll spoil the surprise!"

"Oh...whoops. Nevermind then," the first voice said before the distinctive ending ding of the intercom system sounded and her room was thrust into silence again.

Rukia waited a single beat before she jumped from her bed and ran out into the main room of the place. She had no idea who the hell that was but they were obviously on their way up and, considering no one besides her and Ichigo were privy to their living arrangement at the moment, would be in for quite the surprise if they found her here. She thought about just dashing out of the place, but of course because there was a special elevator that went up and down from the penthouse, she was sure to run into the two women on her way down. That wouldn't do, she'd just have to hide and hope for the best.

She ran through the living room to the edge of the hallway on the side of the penthouse opposite from the three guest bedrooms. She knew at the very least Ichigo's master suite was back here, along with a few more rooms that she had no idea the use of, but she figured this would be the best place to get a quick look at these mysterious visitors (who obviously knew Ichigo quite well) before dashing back and hiding in an area less likely for them to find her.

She only had to wait a few minutes before the distinctive sound of the front door lock being turned was heard and the voices filled the silence of the large space. "Hello?" one of them said as footsteps sounded in the living room. "Ichigo? Are you home?"

"His car keys are gone and his TV's off. He's probably filming," the other voice spoke.

The first woman called a few more times and, when she got no answer, had to surmise the other woman was right. "Ah, I guess so. I don't know why I thought he'd be home today. Oh well, I guess we'll just surprise him when he gets back."

Startling Rukia thoroughly from her spot hidden in the dark hallway off of the living room, a third voice was audible from the area of the kitchen. This time, the voice was distinctly male. "Yuzu," the man huffed. "How much food did you bring? These boxes are heavy!"

One of the girls, Yuzu apparently, giggled and replied. "Oh come on, Dad, they aren't that bad. Besides, you know how much Ichigo loves eating my food and how little we get to see him. I wanted to make sure he'd be well stocked."

Wait, Rukia thought suddenly, why does the name Yuzu sound so familiar?

"Oh, my poor son. Always so hard at work, he hardly ever has time to feed himself. This is why he needs to find a woman."

The other woman scoffed. "Dad, you don't need to be misogynistic because you want grandkids that badly."

"I'm not! I just think my son needs a companion...who can give me cute grandbabies."

"Daddy, please, if you keep talking like that Ichigo won't let us come visit anymore," the first woman spoke in a concerned tone.

But Rukia had already completely tuned them out, as she had finally figured out why the name Yuzu rang a bell.

Oh my god...it's his family!

Out of all the people who could've come waltzing through Ichigo's door, Rukia would've honestly preferred Asako at this point over his dad and sisters. God, did they even know anything about her? Had Ichigo told them about their deal or were they believing everything the media was putting out? Her position hidden in Ichigo's penthouse had suddenly gotten far more precarious.

I need to find a way out. I have no goddamn idea how to do it but I need to leave. They absolutely cannot find me here.

Rukia quietly skulked back into the hallway and found three closed doors as options. One door was by itself on one side of the hallway and she had to surmise that was the master bedroom. It wasn't a terrible idea, but Rukia had no idea how much freedom Ichigo's family usually had while they were here. They at least knew he wasn't home so there would be less of a chance of them wandering into his room, but they could still come and look for something and Rukia would be instantly caught. No, she shouldn't go there.

Not to mention the fact that it would just be weird to be in his bedroom. She couldn't really explain why, but it just was.

She moved to the two doors on the other side and slowly opened the first to find a small half bathroom. Not a bad idea either, considering it was more likely for his family to stay on the side with the guest rooms, but there was still a tiny chance one of them would choose this bathroom over the ones in the rooms. That was out too.

Praying the last door would provide some kind of haven, she turned it and looked inside the dark space. She was rather shocked to find a full-scale study with a large, wooden desk and shelves full of books and knick knacks, with two leather couches set up around a coffee table in the middle of the space.

What the hell does an actor need with a study that looks like it belongs to some yakuza lord, she thought quickly to herself before entering it and closing the door behind her. She couldn't really explain its existence but she knew this would be the best spot to hide. She was sure Ichigo rarely used the room so it was much less likely for his family to wander into it.

Probably unnecessary, but she still creeped over behind the desk and crouched low to the ground. She pulled her cell phone out from where it had (blessedly) been resting in her pocket and dialed the familiar number.

It rang continuously and Rukia prayed to whatever god that would listen for a quick answer.

Please pick up. Please pick up. Please pick up.

After what felt like an eternity, the ringing finally stopped and Rukia was startled to hear a familiar female voice answering on the other line.

"Orihime? Is that you?"

"Rukia? Yes, it's me," her friend whispered. "Sorry, Ichigo's in the middle of filming right now. Did you need something?"

Rukia could've thumped herself on the head. Of course he'd be busy. She didn't really know what she expected to happen from her warning him of his family's surprise arrival, but she couldn't exactly just sit in his study for the rest of the day. Keeping her voice low, she replied, "Uh, yeah. It's pretty important. Is there any way you can get him to come to the phone?"

"Well...I'm not sure about that. Mr. Ishida doesn't like unnecessary interruptions."

Yeah? And I don't like unnecessarily being exposed as a movie star's squeeze to his family!

Rukia sighed and tried her best to convey her desperation. "Orihime, please. Tell him it's an emergency."

"An emergency? Is everything alright?" her friend asked in a worried voice. She wished she could tell her the truth, but not even Orihime knew about what had happened and she really didn't want to have that conversation over the phone, crouched in a corner hiding from Ichigo's family.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just really important that I speak to Ichigo...now."

"Oh...alright then."

Rukia listened as the phone was jostled around. She couldn't quite make out the conversation, but she could tell Orihime was whispering everything to Ishida before a distinctively angry "cut!" was heard, followed by more jostling.

Eventually, after Orihime's voice was heard saying the same muffled words she had whispered to Uryuu, Ichigo's familiar tone sounded through her phone. "Rukia? What's wrong?" He seemed genuinely worried and while she certainly wasn't in any actual danger, she still needed to convey the gravity of the situation.

"Ichigo!" she whisper-screamed. "You need to get your ass home right now."

"Wait, what? Why? What's going on?"

Seeing no point in beating around the bush, she clutched the phone to her ear and answered, "Your family is here!"

He sounded thoroughly confused as he replied. "My...my family? My family is where?"

She nearly rolled her eyes, though it wouldn't have the added effect if he wasn't there to see. "At your house, dumbass! I think they wanted to surprise you or something, but your sisters and your dad are in the living room right now."

There was a pause as this information seemed to hit him before he warily asked, "Do they know that you're there?"

"No, not yet. I heard them come up so I ran to hide in your study. As far as I know they're still out there, but I can't just pop out. That would shock anyone."

Ichigo's sigh was distinctive. "Shit...yeah, that's a terrible idea. Anyone would lose it but god...if my dad spots you, you're done for."

Rukia had no idea what that meant, but it didn't sound promising. "Look, Ichigo, you need to get here right now and distract them so I can leave. I sure as hell don't want them to be the first ones to know I'm living here."

"Trust me, you don't want them knowing anything about you...but, Rukia, I can't just leave in the middle of filming."

"What are you talking about? Just say you have a family emergency or something."

Another sigh. "It doesn't work like that, Rukia. I'm the only one that's shooting today. It delays everything if I just leave. And trust me, I'd much rather take your wrath than Uryuu's when he's off schedule."

"Are you fucking serious? You're just going to leave me hiding here the rest of the day?"

He actually had the audacity to sound annoyed. "Rukia, I can't just come and rescue you at the drop of a hat. I have a job to do, you know. Just try and sneak out or something."

"Sneak...out? How the hell am I supposed to do that? It's like you want them to find me."

"Rukia...I have to go, but just try and think of something. I'll be back later tonight."

She growled through the phone. "Oh, sure, thanks for nothing, asshole," she bit out before hanging up and letting out a huff. So much for that plan. How was she supposed to sneak out if they stayed in the center of the whole place for the rest of the day?

She pocketed the phone and tried to strategize. Okay, they probably have luggage and stuff to put in their rooms. They can't stay in the living room this whole time. I'll just have to wait for an opening and hope for the best.

She emerged slowly from the study, her steps light as she tuned back into the conversations coming from the living room. They didn't say much of interest as they settled themselves in to spend some time with their famous family member, but eventually Rukia's opening came.

It wasn't nearly as ideal as she would have liked, however.

"I'm going to start putting my stuff in my room. Karin, is it okay if I take the first one off the kitchen?" the voice Rukia presumed to belong to Yuzu asked.

"Yeah, no problem."

A few moments passed before the inevitable blowout happened.

A sharp, yet muffled gasp erupted as Yuzu shouted from the room Rukia had previously stationed herself in, "Dad! Karin! Come look at this, someone's stuff is in this room. And the bed's not made."

"Wait, what? Who would be staying here?" Karin asked. Ichigo's dad echoed the sentiments and their voices decreased in volume. Rukia could only assume they'd both gone to look themselves.

Figuring that was the best shot she'd get (even though Ichigo already had some explaining to do) she dashed from the hallway and, once she made sure the living room was truly empty, ran for the front door.

But fate, as it had proven time and time again, was not on her side.

"That's so strange, who would-AHHH!" Yuzu spoke quickly, as she made her way back into the large, open space and caught sight of Rukia just as she was about to run into the foyer.

Thoroughly startled, Rukia couldn't help but let out a scream of her own as she felt like a deer caught in the headlights. The small reporter stood in shock, which seemed to be well echoed on the face of a young woman in her early twenties with doey eyes and dirty blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail. A beat passed before two more figures came running out into the living room at the sound of Yuzu's screams. Their faces took on similar expressions at her presence.

"W-Who are you?" Yuzu asked cautiously.

"I-I," Rukia stuttered out, not even able to string two words together to explain herself.

The other woman, Karin, took a step forward as recognition washed over her face. "Hey...aren't you that reporter chick that's been in all of those pictures with Ichigo?"

As if she wasn't completely screwed before, she was now totally done for. She still said nothing as Ichigo's family pondered this new development.

"Wait, you are!" Yuzu gasped, covering her mouth in shock.

A weighted silence passed over them until, rather abruptly, Ichigo's dad raised his hands as if he was praising some unseen deity and shouted, "Finally! My son has finally found himself a woman! Masaki, we are saved!"

While the dark-haired sister rolled her eyes and attempted to bring their dad down from his theatrics, Yuzu marvelled at her like she was in a museum exhibit. "Wow," she breathed out. "So everything they've been saying is true."

"W-well...not exactly-" Rukia attempted to counter, but it was no use.

Words seemed to spew from all three Kurosaki's at once, as they began asking questions, spouting nonsense about weddings and grandbabies, and excitedly discussing what it meant for their beloved big brother to have actually settled down.

Rukia could only gulp and prepare herself for more of the onslaught.

Ichigo had rushed home at lightning speed. He'd been uneasy ever since he'd gotten off the phone with Rukia, imaging every possible scenario he was about to come home to. Even Uryuu had pointed out how off he was being, distracting from his actual acting as they worked. Of course, the prick hadn't relented on his shooting schedule, so it was already nightfall by the time he'd managed to leave the studio.

God, he just hoped Rukia had gotten away.

He did feel a bit guilty for blowing her off, but he hadn't been lying when he said he'd rather take her wrath than Uryuu's. If his family was going to figure everything out, it would've happened eventually, so he would just learn to deal with it. But if the famous Uryuu Ishida got even one day off his schedule? The repercussions would be horrendous.

As he pulled into his garage and parked his car, he took a moment to heave a deep, steadying breath. He already had bad feelings about this, but it was also pointless to delay the inevitable.

He rode the elevator up to the top floor and walked to his front door, dread filling his stomach. With one last breath, he swung it aside and walked through the foyer into the living room.

"Ichigo!" Yuzu exclaimed at his entrance. She instantly ran to hug him before he could spot anyone else. Even with his trepidation, he was happy that they'd come to visit, as he so rarely got to see them.

He returned her hug sincerely while she excitedly spoke, "Sorry for the short notice and just showing up here, but we all managed to get some time off and wanted to surprise you. Although, I think we were the ones who ended up being surprised." Her expression was far too cheeky for his innocent younger sister and he just knew it was all over.

Sure enough, when his eyes drifted to the other occupants of the living room he found Karin looking smug, his dad with a demented expression on his face, and Rukia quietly sat between the two of them.

It was a good thing Ichigo's acting prowess also helped him sense when other people were putting on a farce around him. Rukia appeared calm and collected, her legs daintily crossed and her hands resting gently on her knees, the perfect picture of peace.

But her eyes...her eyes were positively murderous.

Karin was the first to speak. "You know, I wasn't really expecting all the tabloids to actually be right about something. Rukia's been pretty tight-lipped so far, but we caught her trying to escape, which I think speaks well enough for itself."

His dad stood to his feet and opened his arms like he was going to come hug his son, but Ichigo had enough experience with the crazy man to know to side step out of the way of his tackle. "My selfish son! How could you not tell us you had a girlfriend? And what a gem you've picked! She's so adorable. Your children will be beautiful."

Ichigo would've punched the man if he hadn't been standing beside Yuzu, who sighed like this was a regular occurrence. "Daddy, please...we talked about this." Her eyes then turned sympathetically on her older brother. "We were a bit taken aback. Why didn't you tell us sooner? Is it really all true?"

Ichigo realized he had a decision to make, as his eyes fell on all three of the occupants of his home. They were all turned expectantly toward him, even Rukia, who lifted a curious eyebrow as she dared him to confirm or deny everything.

On the one hand, he could save some of his pride and furiously deny it all, but that would require going into detail about the entire plot and he still wasn't sure he could trust his family with that information. Even unknowingly, one of them was bound to spill and the Karakura Town rumor mill spread like wildfire. But, on the other hand, pretending to be dating Rukia was far easier when it was outside with the cameras and the paparazzi. Having to do it here, in a personal space with the closest people in his life would just be...difficult. Not to mention the fact that they still hadn't said anything about them dating to the media, so they weren't quite used to acting like a full on couple. Unlikely acquaintances turned into friends, sure, but boyfriend and girlfriend? Ichigo was familiar with the role, but he knew Rukia wasn't.

With that in mind, he felt extra guilty throwing her under the bus.

He sighed and definitively spoke. "Yes, it's true. We're dating."

Multiple, completely varying reactions erupted from all three of them. His dad ridiculously hooped and hollered and exclaimed proudly to his dead mother, Yuzu squealed and hugged him again, Karin shook her head and blinked like she still couldn't even believe it, and Rukia looked more shocked than he'd ever seen her be. He managed to flash one guilty glance at her while his family was occupied, but he just knew that wouldn't tide her over.

"Oh, this is so exciting, Ichigo!" Yuzu said with a beaming smile as she leaned back from him. We've been talking to Rukia all night and dad is right about one thing: she's a winner for sure."

"Who would've thought you had it in you to go for a reporter. And here I figured you'd wind up with some fake supermodel. I think this is a much better choice," Karin commented, her arms crossed and a familiar Kurosaki smirk on her face.

"This calls for a celebration!" his dad loudly declared. "But, I know you just hate being seen with us outside, Ichigo, so we'll order food and drinks from a nice restaurant."

Ichigo didn't know why Rukia claimed to be a bad actress, considering how deceptively calm she appeared now. He knew as soon as they were alone she'd lay into him. Even he could admit it was a dick move to decide to declare something like that without asking her opinion, but his family had put him on the spot and there wasn't much he could do when they were like this. Hopefully she would understand at least that much.

"I must say, Ichigo, part of what tipped us off that she was here was that we found her stuff in one of the guest rooms. That just won't do, especially not while we're here. Yuzu and Karin will each have separate rooms while Rukia stays with you in the master," his dad spoke in a more serious tone, even though his words were ridiculous.

Ichigo's eyes widened and he nearly guffawed at him. "W-what!? You can't just come in here and start ordering us around like that."

His father's eyes flashed and the pair held a familiar staredown. "And what do you plan on doing it about, son?" he challenged, his voice dipping uncharacteristically low.

Ichigo growled at him. "This is my home, old man. You don't get to order me around like I'm a kid again."

Surprised that she'd actually take their crazy father's side in this (although, after looking at her evil smirk he shouldn't have been all that shocked), Karin spoke up from her spot on the couch. "Oh come on now, Ichigo. You wouldn't really have Yuzu and I share a room, now would you?"

His eyes narrowed as he turned the force of his anger on his sneaky little sister. "You two have shared a room your whole lives, don't start with that shit on me."

"Ichigo! Watch your mouth around your sisters and your girlfriend," his father interjected, and just when the frayed movie star was about to start a full on brawl, Rukia's calm voice spoke up.

"It's fine," she said loudly, which succeeded in halting everyone's words. Her eyes locked on his own and he could see even clearer the murderous intent passed off as a sickeningly sweet aura. "I mean, we are dating, so it shouldn't be a big issue to share a room."

Oh, now she was just being mean. She was taking the fact that he'd declared their fake relationship without her permission and using it to embarrass him in front of his family. She was downright evil when she wanted to be.

Immediately, his dad laughed and patted him on the back (so hard he nearly fell over). "Aha! See, I told you I liked her. It's all settled then. Rukia-chan, I will transport your things personally to Ichigo's bedroom."

"That's very kind of you, Isshin," she answered in that godawful fake, girly tone of hers, again purposefully setting off his temper.

"Now, Yuzu, Karin, try and think of somewhere we can get food. I'm starving!" his dad said as he and the twins began throwing out ideas for dinner.

Meanwhile, Ichigo wearily walked around the couch and plopped down next to Rukia's dainty little form. Not so unexpectedly, and with a deceptively sweet smile still plastered on her face, she leaned over and whispered,

"I could literally kill you right now."

Oh Ichigo's in trouble now. Our favorite pairing might be thrust together quicker than we thought ;) As always, would love to here your thoughts!