Hey all! I first want to apologize to all my readers out there for not getting this up sooner. I was planning on having this up the day after chapter six was posted, but I've been gone for the past few days and extremely busy with various chores and whatnot today.

I also want to thank all of you who reviewed, and to send a special 'hello!' to Jazzy101: I had no idea that my story would be read all the way over in Australia! :O And I hope that everything is ok with you and your family there, with all those fires I've been hearing about on the news—I'll be praying for all of you 'down under'! :)

Anyhoo, in case you haven't guessed by now, I do not own Bleach or the characters, only the plot. I am also completely responsible for any damages done to characters, readers, or your sanity. This message has been brought to you by caffeine, the letter 'C', and readers like you. Arigatou!

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"Why do I have to do it?"

"Because you're the man, and you're the one who asked me, idiot."

Ichigo groaned inwardly. "He's your brother. You tell him."

"What's with this cowardice all of a sudden, Ichigo?" Rukia asked with one eyebrow arched higher than usual, taunting him. "I thought that you weren'tafraid of nii-sama anymore."

"I'm not!" the strawberry asserted. "But I—er—" He finally gave up on trying to argue with the raven-headed Shinigami who sat next to him. He really didn't want to be the one to break the news of their engagement to Byakuya. If he did, he'd be likely to get his head cut off. But if Rukia told him, he might take the announcement a little more calmly.

"Rukia," Ichigo sighed at last, hanging his head and giving her the closest thing to puppy-dog-eyes that he could manage. "Would you please tell your brother for me?"

Rukia visibly stiffened, her lip quivering despite the way her eyebrows tried to frown in a 'no'.

Ichigo cocked his head, leaning towards her and blinking deliberately. "Please, Rukia?" he repeated slowly, laying on the adorableness much thinker than was probably necessary. "For me?"

The look on Rukia's face instantly—and involuntarily—softened. She blinked a few times, trying unsuccessfully to clear her head. "Oh, alright," she conceded, not bothering now to hide her amusement. She stood and walked to the sliding door. "I'll go tell him."

"Arigatou, Rukia," Ichigo said fervently; he truly was thankful, after all. He winked at her, grinning satisfactorily when he heard her stifled giggle as she disappeared from his sight.

"That Ichigo," Rukia murmured to herself with a chuckle. "He is so ridiculous sometimes. I can't believe that—" She stopped in her tracks with a gasp. "Wait—did he just say...please?" Her eyes were almost as wide as ramen bowls now. "Ichigo. Said. Please." She stood there for several long moments, just blinking as she turned those three little words over in her mind.

"Whoa," she thought, shaking her head to drag her back into the present time—and Byakuya's hallway. "That's...a surprisingly disturbing thought."

"Nii-sama," she called softly, knocking on the door. "May I come in?" She and Ichigo had been staying here at her brother's house in Soul Society for the past day or so, but Byakuya seemed to be avoiding them at all costs.

Perfectly normal.

"Enter," came the deep voice from behind the sliding door.

Rukia delicately slid into the room, which was empty save for a certain Byakuya Kuchiki, who was sitting on a cushion, holding a pad of paper and a pen in his hand. Upon noticing who had come in, he promptly put said objects aside.

"Rukia-san," Byakuya said, not rising. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, nii-sama," Rukia stuttered. "It's just that I wanted to tell you, er, the real reason why Ichigo and I are here."

"Yes?" Byakuya prompted when Rukia was silent for more than a few seconds.

Rukia swallowed hard and forced herself to look into her brother's eyes steadily. What am I so nervous about? she asked herself quietly. Appropriately chastised, she smiled a little as she said, "Ichigo and I are engaged."

Byakuya looked like he was choking on something, but his normally ever-present teacup was nowhere to be found. "What?" he gasped, eyes wide.

The smaller Shinigami nodded proudly, unable to contain her excitement now. "Yes, nii-sama. We're going to be married sometime this June, and we wanted to invite you, of course." She batted her eyes at him, and Byakuya looked somewhere between dazed, shocked, horrified, and in the midst of a seizure at the same time. Rukia waited patiently for his response.

The Squad Six captain cleared his throat—and his mind—and stood to stride over to Rukia and put a hand on her shoulder. "You have my congratulations, Rukia-san," he said formally. "I assume that you have put much time and thought into this decision?"

"Not really," Rukia answered honestly. "It wasn't really something that I had to even think much about at all, actually."

Byakuya blinked, his expression unreadable. "I see. Well, then, may I have a word with Kurosaki-san? To congratulate him as well?"

Rukia beamed. "Of course! I'll go get him now." She stood and darted forward to give Byakuya one of those things that she called a 'hug'; he tried very hard not to flinch, but even if he had, Rukia probably would have been oblivious to it in her current state of mind. "Arigatou, nii-sama!" And with that, she scurried out the door.

Back in the other room, Ichigo was pacing back and forth nervously, until Rukia returned with a big smile on her face. "So, what happened?" he asked eagerly.

Rukia giggled a little. "Nothing happened, stupid. I told him all about it, and he congratulated me on it. Oh, and he wants to talk to you for a minute, as well."

"Oh, ok." Ichigo was a little dumbfounded at his nakama's cheery attitude; he had been sure that Byakuya would have done everything in his power to prevent their union, not approve of it. He stepped outside, not quite sure what to expect, and shut the door behind him.

Rukia sat down on one of the little cushions that dotted the room, grinning widely with renewed excitement. She hummed to herself happily, letting her imagination float about on various subjects, especially on just how good it would feel to be called Kurosaki Rukia in just a few months. But then her little reverie was interrupted by a loud shout—actually a couple of loud shouts—and a crash coming from the direction of Byakuya's room down the hall, followed by what sounded like a chair being thrown. Except, there were no chairs in Byakuya's room....