AN: This started as a one-shot, but my beta has been hinting that she wanted some ByaChiru action, and some more UkiSoi, so, for her help, this is my gift to her. For the one shot in all its original glory, see chapter six of Shinigami's Life's Questions Answered. I have included information about this from the one-shot as well. I've edited this version a bit, and have set it twenty years and some months after my Child Rearing 101 story. It's not a factual, true sequel, I've just put it on the same universe and timeline as that, and used the same pairings and back-stories. If you have the time, please, do read it. My readers assure me it's time well wasted.

There will likely be some lemons, or at least some rather explicit indication, or language, that that is what is going on. This may be un-beta'ed at times, because it's for my beta. This is dedicated to kyokoaurora.

Please enjoy, read and review!

-Rachel Noelle

"Byakushi!" Byakuya flinched ever so slightly when the pink haired demon called out the horrible nickname she'd given him. He thanked Kami that no one was currently in the office with him to see.

"Can I help you, Kusajishi fukutaicho?" Byakuya ground out, trying to remain civil. Civil became a meaningless word when you involved Yachiru.

"Byakun, I have a present for you!" Yachiru declared, jumping through the window to the sixth division office. Why, after all this time, she still chose to enter a building through a window rather than a door, Byakuya still did not know. He looked to her, quirking a brow the slightest bit.

"I do not wish to receive gifts from you, Kusajishi. Please take whatever it may be and return to your own division," he declared, voice icy and dark as always.

"Ne, Byakushi, I bought it specially for you! It's all shiny and everything! You have to open it, and I don't even want candy or nothin' for it," Yachiru declared, obviously proud of herself.

Feeling a great sense of dread, Byakuya tried in vain again to make Yachiru leave him be. "No," he stated simply, turning his back to the girl and forcing himself to focus on the document in front of him. He finally replaced his fukutaicho with Rikichi, some time after Renji took a taicho position. He wanted to shove the paperwork on him and shunpo away from the office, leaving him to deal with Yachiru instead. If Rikichi did not happen to be on holiday this week.

Of course, as predicted, the simple one word answer did not sway the adamant young lady to drop her pleading. After ten minutes of trying to ignore her, Byakuya gave up and turned back to face her. He examined her more closely.

Was she wearing makeup? Was she not still too young for that? With a second thought he decided that she would not be considered too young anymore. She now stood about four and one-half feet tall, her hair still as pink and long as ever. Even her eyes had changed a bit. Their deep brown seemed to be tinted with pink to contrast her hair perfectly. She still begged for candy, but the incidences seemed to be fewer and far between. In fact, when he considered it, the last visit she gave him was some three weeks ago. How things change so drastically, and only within a short two decades.

She made another attempt to force the icy taicho to accept her gift, and this time success was in the air. "Byakuya taicho, please?" she put on her best pout, learned from spending all the years next door to the one other female who could get next to anything from anyone if she wanted. Her eyes filled with tears, making it appear she might cry at any moment.

And, because a man's worst fear, no matter how noble and stoic and refined he is, is a crying woman, Byakuya reluctantly conceded. "Very well then. I see that you will not leave me be until I have accepted this gift of yours. Do enlighten me," Byakuya broke down. Had he been female, he might have cried from all the years of torture Yachiru set him though.

Yachiru perked right up, her tears drying immediately, and fished a small velvet covered box from her shihakusho. Her sensei taught her more than how to pout and cry on cue. Her constantly growing assets, now beginning to look like when fully developed they would rival her sensei, proved to be useful in several ways.

Yachiru fiddled with the box for a few brief moments, suddenly looking like she might be unsure of what she was doing. Finally coming to a decision, she dropped to one knee, kneeling and bowing her head low. "Kuchiki Byakuya," she paused, taking a deep breath, before shakily continuing, "Will you… marry me?" With her last words she opened the small blue box to reveal a gold ring, the band encrusted with diamonds.

Whatever Byakuya could have been expecting certainly was not that. Not even in his wildest dreams could he have predicted it. He felt himself being faced with two options. The first to accept her offer; the second to delay answering somehow (running away, asking for time, whatever) and face the wrath of one very unhappy Zaraki Kenpachi, and likely the two highest ranked members of division ten, thirteen, two, and four. All tied to one another someway by stupid relationships (romantic or friendly).

One thing he'd learned, likely from his own former fukutaicho and the gang of ryoka (many of which could be found in Seireitei, and looking for a reason to fight him) was this: When choosing between two evils, always go for the one you've never tried before. Considering he had found himself on the receiving end of the aforementioned wrath… But, that is a story for another time.

He looked at Yachiru, fixing her with a hard, uncaring glare. "You dare to ask such a preposterous question? Of me, no less?" his voice rang out, filling the office with an icy chill to rival Hitsugaya's ability.

Yachiru smiled impishly, looking a bit embarrassed. "Well, of course. There's no one else I wanna ask. Well, there was, but that was some time ago, and since Sensei laid her claim to Whitey-chan… Anyway, you don't mess with Sensei's property, and you don't ask just any ol' body to marry you," she rambled off quickly, looking from Byakuya to the ring. "Besides," she added, "How often do you get a woman asking a man to marry her? Though it seems to run in the family…"

Byakuya had no choice but to smile. Though he did receive offers for whatever he could dream of, including marriage, from women regularly, none ever meant it for any reason beyond taking advantage of his wealth or status. Again, seeing no other option, he finally made good on that saying. He chose the evil he had not yet tried.

"Very well. I see no reason to not accept," he stated, turning away from her again.

"What?!" she yelled, infuriated, "How can you just turn me down like that? After all the years we've known each other, and the last year I've spent trying to make you realize I'm not a kid anymore, and that I am capable of 'adult' emotions, and that maybe, just maybe, I kind of do love you, and you still refuse?"

"I will not repeat myself. If you do not deem it necessary to listen to what I say the first time, there is no reason for me to repeat it," Byakuya still kept his back to her, trying to hide the small smile that crept onto his features.

"I did listen to what you said. You said, and I quote, 'I see no reason to not ac-'," Yachiru froze as realization dawned on her. Her features quickly changed from infuriated to shocked, with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide, to incredibly delighted. She cheered and squealed, jumping up and down (and her boobs shaking, Byakuya noticed. Hey, he had permission to look now, thank you very much) before seating herself in Byakuya's lap rather forcefully.

She forced him into a kiss, and took advantage of his state of shock to deepen it. It lasted only a few seconds, but that was long enough to shake the normal composure of Byakuya. He finally found some semblance of his voice, seeing a rather large hurdle to be overcome.

"I appreciate your forwardness, though I must ask that you restrain yourself at this time. However, I do sense one rather large problem. What will Zaraki taicho think of someone marrying his daughter when she is still of this young age?"

Yachiru shrugged. "I dunno. Let's go find out!" she cried happily as she forcefully dragged him from his office and shunpoed to the eleventh division. He noticed that her sense of direction improved drastically over the years. Though, as many times as she made the trip from the eleventh to the sixth, she could likely walk the path blindfolded.

oOoOo--RN--oOoOo

"Taicho!" a voice called on the other ends of Soifon's Special Forces communication receptor. "Taicho!"

"I'm listening," she declared.

"Taicho, something terrible has just happened. We have been unable to pinpoint the source of the problem, but we are working diligently on the issue. There was a disturbance in the force approximately four minutes and thirty-six seconds ago."

"Very well. Keep working on the problem and keep me informed of any changes," Soifon returned. When the communication line cut off, she turned to Ukitake, grinning.

Ukitake raised one eyebrow in question. "What was that?" he asked.

"Nosy, aren't we?" she teased. He smiled, shrugging and nodding in response. "Meh, just that Yachiru finally asked Kuchiki to marry her, and he said yes."

"You're sure?"

"What else could have been the 'terrible disturbance in the force'? The people in hell must be requesting jackets. I could guarantee it's pretty damn cold down there."

Ukitake laughed heartily. "Given the number of people that's been said about, Hell must have had a pretty decent winter every year for the last twenty years."

Soifon agreed.

To show just how much she agreed, she wanted to take Ukitake by the hand, blindfold him, and lead him into their bedroom. Matsumoto gave her a new book, some "Kama Sutra" something or other, and she wanted to test a few things out. Besides, the baby was asleep and she'd not had any fun for almost two weeks now. But, first, she needed to relay the news to Zaraki and Unohana. At least Kiyone liked to take care of Daichi whenever she could.