A/N: Hey, Hey, it's Moon Ash with the prequel to 'Letting Go.' This is how the story began and as you will find out shortly, the story spans over one intense week, hehe...If you read my byaruki, you might notice how they are similar, however it will change as the first night is a little similar, but the rest won't be. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story as it has been requested by quite a few people! Enjoy!

I do not own bleach or any of the characters

Warning: Contains language, lime and eventual lemon! That and some unfortunate predicaments that the two of them find themselves in...hehe, M for a reason!

The Will to Change

Day One

First Night Together

Several sakura petals floated to the ground outside, reminding Rukia that spring was progressing into summer and the days were becoming warmer. She turned to look at her captain, who was about to address her, with a most apologetic look on his face. She frowned, what could be that bad that he have to talk to her privately and wear a remorseful look.

"What is it, Captain?" she asked carefully as he gestured for her to sit opposite him. She sat slowly, watching him intently as he tried to form the words.

"I have to ask you to join me on a mission to the living world," he said delicately, "Even though Aizen is no more, there have been hollow and vizard sightings and attacks in the capital, and you and I have been assigned the role to sort it out."

Rukia nodded, so she would have to spend some time away from home, she had done it lots of times so why was this time any different? She had known that being the new fukuteichou would mean more duties and more trips to the real world but this had been something she had wanted to a long time, to make her Nii-Sama proud of her and to show her captain that she was the strong woman that she was. She knew that nobody could replace Kaien; however she owed it to her captain to be a good subordinate.

Jūshirō was urged to continue as Rukia's look became puzzled, "I'm afraid you cannot stay with Mr. Kurosaki this time, you must stay in the establishment that has been provided for us. Unfortunately, since Urahara has company, we can't stay there and I have no idea what has been provided, however I have been assured that there is enough room for the two of us."

Rukia nodded, a little disheartened by the fact that she couldn't stay with Ichigo, but nothing for her to get worried over. Besides, she found the company of her captain pleasant and she loved her trips to the living world, their range of products was far superior to the soul society.

"We leave this afternoon, so you will have time to gather your things, is that ok?" he asked as he shuffled his papers and placed them on a different pile.

"Yes," Rukia replied, "How long are we staying in the real world?"

"About a week or so, though it may change so pack a fair amount," he concluded as he prepared some valuable documents for the trip. Rukia thanked him and left with a goodbye and the agreement to meet at the gate in a few hours.

xxxxxxx

"And how long will you be gone?" Byakuya questioned, his voice deadly serious as he watched her rush around her room, throwing various items into her suitcase.

"Only about a week or so, Nii-Sama," he assured him, "I will be home soon, and no harm is going to come to me, I am a vice-captain after all, and I will be with my respected captain."

"Very well," Byakuya shot icy as he left her room, assured that her captain was competent enough to take care of her. She rolled her eyes at his over-protective ways, which had become apparent since her injury at the battle with Aizen. After she had been in a fight with several of Aizen's subordinates and had broken four ribs as well as receiving multiple deep wounds and bruises, Byakuya had stayed with her constantly in the hospital and he continually asked how she was feeling and where and what she was doing when she went out. Rukia didn't mind as such, she knew that he cared about her, however she couldn't deny that it got a little tiresome after a while and going out would be ten times harder than usual, he would despair if she started dating someone and Rukia was convinced that he wouldn't marry her off in a noble agreement for at least another century.

She sighed as she threw her soul candy and the rest of her clothes into her suitcase. She needed a boyfriend, one who would take care of her without smothering her at the same time. The problem was that there was no one for her. Captain Kyoraku was way too much of a womanizer, Captain Hitsugaya was too young, Ichigo was now seeing Orihime after a hideous break up with her, Renji had his eyes on Nemu, Kira was dating Matsumoto, Captain Ukitake was too old, and Nii-Sama was…well…Nii-Sama and she didn't like the idea of incest despite how much she needed a man's attention. She sighed again; it seemed that there was nobody in the whole of Seireitei for her, no soul mate for her after all.

She threw her remaining items in her suitcase, her anger fuelling the speed at which they were flying into her bag. She slammed her door on the way out, making it ricochet. She said a hasty farewell to Byakuya before dashing off, suddenly aware of the time. Byakuya barely had time reply before she was off, causing him to roll his eyes at her.

Rukia tried to push her melancholy thoughts out of her mind as she walked with a quickened pace, her suitcase trailing behind her as she pulled it along. Within ten minutes, she stopped by the gate to meet a smiling Jūshirō.

"Sorry I am late, Captain," she immediately apologized, "Have you been waiting long?"

"Only for a few minutes," he replied casually, "It's nothing, don't worry."

Rukia nodded as he opened the gate and indicated for her to transfer to the real world before him.

xxxxxxx

The building stood before the captain and his subordinate, an average, dull coloured building. Jūshirō noted how inhabitants of the flats had decorated their own flats, hanging flower baskets on the walls, draping damp towels over the rails to dry, placing tables and chairs on some balconies, the usual living world décor. He looked at Rukia, who also seemed to be transfixed on the building's peculiar decoration.

"Well I suppose we had better take our stuff inside and see what it is like," he said, breaking the silence.

She nodded a little sceptical about the place, it looked nice on the outside, and yet, there wasn't something right about it that she couldn't put her finger on. She shrugged the feeling off however as he led the way to their temporary home. Despite her assumptions, she was glad to be here, travelling from the soul society to get here had been a nightmare. Firstly, there had been a problem with the Senkaimon and it had taken an hour to get through the gate, secondly, upon reaching Urahara's store, Ururu had given them both the wrong Gigai and they had to make a trip back to the store when they had realised, forty-five minutes later, and on top of that, they had taken multiple wrong turns and had gotten lost.

Thankfully, Rukia had stopped off at Ichigo's house and he had kindly pointed them in the right direction, along with a funny look as to why she was on a mission with her aged captain. She of course had slapped him for his disrespect towards Jūshirō and Yuzu had demanded that Rukia and Jūshirō stay for supper, which was strongly advocated by Ichigo's father.

By now, it was eight and even though the sky was still streaked with reds and golds, she was exhausted and looked forward to a long shower and her own assigned bed to sleep in. She watched as Jūshirō found the right door and opened it, revealing their home for the week. He flicked the light switch to reveal a small apartment, which had been nicely decorated.

"Well," he said with a smile, "Here it is."

"It's kinda nice," Rukia replied as she shut the door behind them and carried her suitcase into the lounge area. She noted the television and the small couch, which could snugly fit two people. She turned round and watched for a few minutes as Jūshirō was finding to where the few doors led. He indicated the bathroom and the little laundry room to which she nodded before she turned and opened the last door, the bedroom. Upon opening the door however, she gasped as the room was not as expected.

Jūshirō frowned at her noise and walked over to her before he too had raised his eyebrows in surprise. What he had been told was that there were two bedrooms so they could have one each as well as a couch for a back-up, what they got however was one bedroom with a double bed and no pull-out couch. Rukia blushed several shades of red as she walked in and eyed up the bed, the bed that they would have to share.

"L-Looks like we're going to have to s-share," she stuttered a little.

"I'm afraid so," he replied, "I will contact the soul society and see if we can get transferred to another location soon."

She nodded a little and sighed, this could not have turned out any worse.

"I'm sorry Rukia," he said sympathetically, "We can get through this night and then transfer in the morning, and I can always sleep on the floor if you're that opposed to it."

"Oh no," Rukia dismissed his offer, "I couldn't make my captain do that! I will sleep on one side, and you can sleep on the other."

"Ok, it's settled," Jūshirō agreed as he carried his suitcase and then hers into their room and sat them against the wall. He briefly glanced at the electronic clock and raised his eyebrows at the time; it was later than he had thought.

She too glanced at the clock before hurrying to her suitcase and whipping out a towel, shampoo, conditioner, a hairbrush and her pyjamas.

"I'm going for a shower," she informed him with a slight blush on her face, "So don't come in the bathroom."

Jūshirō nodded, frowning to himself as he too was sporting a small blush, when was the last time he had blushed? He watched her leave before closing the door behind her and getting his own nightwear.

xxxxxxx

Rukia switched off the steamy shower before stepping out and rapping herself in her towel. As she dried herself, she couldn't help but notice that she was shaking slightly, she doubted it was from the cold and put it down to nerves, this is the first time since her relationship with Ichigo that she would be sharing bed with a man. She knew nothing was going to happen, and yet she could not shake off the feeling of tiny hope, that perhaps he did see something in her.

She hastily shook her head as she dressed, she desperately needed a man! Pronto! And one who was her own age and status. She dried her hair with her towel as she walked towards their room and soon found herself awestruck as she silently opened the door. She stood and watched as a topless Jūshirō stood with his strong back to her. She had to almost pinch herself in order for her to take her eyes off his amazing back. He sensed her presence and without thinking, turned round to face her, almost sending her over the edge as she saw his toned chest. She clenched her eyes shut, but not because she didn't want to see him, but because she had to stop herself from staring at him.

"Sorry!" he apologized, mistaking her facial expression to be one of disgust, not self-restraint, "I'll put on a top, it's just so warm in here that I needed to take it off."

"No," she managed to say, "It's ok, I don't mind."

"As long as you're ok with it," he replied with a smile.

Rukia gave a small involuntary giggle and soon blushed as she did so, clasping her hand over he mouth in horror at her noise. Jūshirō raised his eyebrows at her before smiling to himself.

"Not blushing and giggling are we, lieutenant?" he asked in a bantered tone.

Rukia only blushed harder, what had come over her? Why was she blushing and giggling? She muffled several incoherent words before climbing into the bed and claiming her side. Jūshirō rolled his eyes playfully at her before switching off the light and climbing into his own side.

Through the pitch blackness, Rukia could have sworn that she felt his body heat radiate towards her, heating her even further. Unable to stand the heat for more than half a minute, she slipped off her warm top to reveal her much thinner, camisole. Jūshirō nearly died as the moon shone through the window, showing her the smooth skin of her delicate shoulders and arms. His heart was pounding as she threw her top onto the floor and ran her fingers through her hair, her own way of quickly brushing it.

She briefly turned her head to face him and caught his staring at her for a second before he turned away and pretended to be asleep. She frowned, what had he been staring at? She shook her head, she thought he was watching her, but why would he do so? She shrugged before lying down to sleep.

However, after half an hour of staring at the ceiling and tossing and turning, Rukia sighed, unable to sleep. She lay on her side, away from Jūshirō, trying to block his presence, but it was harder than she had thought. She listened to his breathing pattern whilst his actions earlier plagued her mind. Why had he been looking at her? What possible reason could there be?

However, she was soon taken out of her thoughts as Jūshirō turned to face her, and closing the gap so that their skin touched. Rukia held her breath, her heart thumping as he mumbled in his sleep at the contact before automatically wrapping his arms around her in a lovers embrace. She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden tactility of her captain, why was he holding her life she was his lover? She squirmed a little as he held her close to him, however her efforts were futile and she soon found herself giving up. She sighed, what was she to do now?

"Captain!" she whispered, "Captain Ukitake! Please let go!"

Jūshirō mumbled again and did the exact opposite, held her closer and nuzzled her shoulders. She gasped at his actions cursing to herself as she found she liked the feeling. She shook her head, what was she thinking? She had no attraction whatsoever towards her captain, he had non for her, he was probably mistaking her for his girlfriend or whatever back at home and now she was considering his actions to be pleasurable? She sighed, she must be more desperate than she had thought. After a few minutes contemplating the situation, she relaxed into his grip, clearly he would not let go and this was only for one night, right?

She trembled a little as he gently nuzzled her, even kissing her shoulders once or twice. His bare skin touched hers, exchanging heat and making her sigh in contentment. She knew this felt wrong and weird, but she allowed herself the attention of a man that she so needed, even if we were asleep and completely unaware of the situation.

Suddenly, he turned over, pulling Rukia with him, so that her head rested against his chest. She blushed as her hand lay over his flawless torso, feeling his toned muscles and her heart pounding as she felt his strong arms and defined chest. She had no idea her captain was like this, despite him being older than other captains. However, as she marvelled at his perfect being, Jūshirō began to muffle incoherent words as a soft warm object ran over him. He suppressed a groan as the object ran sensuously over his arms and chest, lightly touching his neck before stopping for a short while.

He slowly began to wake up to the wonderful feeling, unsure as to whether he was dreaming or not. As he woke, he saw the outline of Rukia and felt her lying across him.

"Rukia?" he asked in a sleepy voice, "What are you doing?"

Rukia froze at his voice, snapping her eyes shut and pretending to sleep. She tried to keep her breathing natural as is hand traced her outline.

"Rukia?" he asked again, "W-What are you doing?"

She didn't answer, only continued to stay rigid as he sighed in what she thought to be frustration.

"I know you're not asleep, Rukia," he said, his voice fully alert now, "Come on, what we doing in this position?"

Rukia opened her eyes slowly, mulling over a quick argument in her head before she spoke, "I was asleep and you grabbed me and pulled me into you. No matter how much I squirmed and tried to get away, you still held on, and my hands just happened to land on your ch-chest."

Jūshirō rolled his eyes in a joking manner, he knew that she had felt him on purpose, whether or not he had grabbed her in the first place was another matter. He let both slide, he was too tired and he couldn't deny that it didn't feel amazing

"Anyway," he said lightly as he detached himself from her, guiding her back to her half and then turning back to his, "Good Night, Lieutenant."

"Night Captain," she replied, her voice faint and tired as she slumped back into her pillows. After a few minutes, she began to miss Jūshirō's warmth immensely, missing the feel of him…kami, she was desperate! She sighed to herself, inwardly scolding herself for being such a failure in love and then compensating by needing her captain's attention.

"Captain," she asked, hoping he was awake.

"Yes," he replied, equally struggling to sleep.

"I'm cold," she lied, "I am very cold, could you p-please warm me?"

Jūshirō's eyes opened wider a little as she asked, was she asking him to hold her? Why, it was sweltering in the room? Why didn't she just put her top back on? He shrugged at his thoughts, unwilling to deny her needs. He turned back over to face her, meeting her gaze for a minute before looking up, avoiding getting caught up in the look in her deep blue eyes. He bridged the gap, pulling her into him as he rested his chin on her head, immediately feeling the warmth from her body, an enjoying every second of it.

"S-See you in the morning, Rukia," he bid her a final good night.

"Yes," she replied happily, mumbling into his chest, "See…you…then."

Jūshirō smiled as Rukia slipped into a deep and easy sleep, tickling is neck with her light breathing.

A/N: Kawaii ne? Please review! I hope you liked it, and I hope to have the next chapter out soon, its called, "Day Two: Caught!" Highly original with the ' day two' business, i know, lol. Anyway, see you soon!