Hey y'all! That's right, bitches, I actually update every once in a while.

SHOCKING. I know. As always, and as my long and faithful readers know, life will never give me a break. Basically...I just broke up with my boyfriend of 4.5 years and had to get my life all settled and I totally forgot I had the new chapter and then someone commented on the last chapter and I was like..."shit dude, I need to update!" and then I tried to work with the doc my beta, HibiscusAngel15 (who is literally an angel), sent me and my computer was all like "loljkNOPE." So yeah. There's my life in one giant run on sentence. I have no idea if my computer will let me work on it, so what I'm going to do until I can get it fixed is give myself carpel tunnel writing all the next chapters in notebooks.

As always, your comments are loved and appreciated. I love getting the notifications in my email telling me people love me and my writing. So, not to be a comment whore, but keep doing it :D You feed my ego and it makes me want to write more.

SO. Without further ado, here is the newest chapter of On the Wings of an Angel.

Rukia curled her legs to her chest and asked, "So what's going to happen now, Renji?"

"Well, Ichigo went back to the Soul Society to try to convince Captain-Commander Yamamoto to let you stay with me as your bodyguard. I don't know how well that'll go over. Yamamoto is kind of a hard ass," Renji said with a snort. He leaned back in the dining room chair and looked across the table as Rukia gripped her cup of cocoa tighter.

After Aizen disappeared, Ichigo went into a wild frenzy, screaming at Renji to get Rukia's things and tugging the short girl to the door before she kicked him in the shins, effectively stopping his tirade. After a few choice expletives, and more well-placed kicks, Ichigo finally relented and agreed to go and speak with Yamamoto, but only if she promised not to leave Renji's side until he returned, whenever that was. She thought back to what had happened prior to him leaving.

"Ichigo! Damn it, wait!"

He hopped onto the window sill and smirked, glancing back at her. "Wait for me," he said before vanishing into the night.

"You sure use his first name a lot," Renji commented from the side. She turned her gaze from the now empty window to glare at him.

"Shut up. I'm getting more hot chocolate."

His chuckle followed her retreating figure into the kitchen.

"How long do you think he's going to take, Renji?" she asked quietly, staring into the swirling contents of her mug.

Renji gave her a sideways glance and sighed. "I don't know, Rukia. I really don't."

Ichigo walked through one of the great halls in the Seireitei, his mind reeling. It had only been about three Earth hours since he had left Rukia, and already he felt the need to be back with her. He felt as if he was the only one who could protect her, even though Renji was technically her guardian.

"She's mine."

What the hell had he meant when he said that? He shook his head and ran the facts he knew about her in his head. She was the daughter of Kuchiki Byakuya and one of the only remaining Fays. She was kinda helpless and didn't know anything about any of the worlds. Maybe that's why he wanted to protect her so badly.

Though was that the only reason?

Sighing, he continued walking down the long corridors. He was just about to reach the Captain-Commander's room when his vice-captain suddenly appeared and stopped him.

"Ah, Sado, anything to report?"

The large man shook his head silently. Ichigo knew he didn't like talking all that much.

Ichigo gave him a two-fingered salute to dismiss him and continued walking down the hallway, turning right and arriving outside a set of large double doors. He pushed them open and stepped inside to see Captains lined up on either side. Four places were missing. Aizen, Gin, and Tousen, the three angel Captains that fell to Hueco Mundo due to their revolt, were obviously not there. He glanced at the Squad Six spot, the one he had taken due to his absence, as he passed.

He strolled past the other captains, who were various types of beings of the realm. He paused in front of the Captain-Commander and dropped to one knee. He bowed his head respectfully.

Straightening a bit, he looked the old man straight in the eye. "Sir, I have some urgent news. Abarai Renji, also known as the Lone Wolf of Karakura Town, has been sheltering a Fay for eight years without our knowledge. Due to some unexplained reasons, he says that he cannot allow her to come to the Seireitei and be under our protection, but instead requests that we dispatch some trusted warriors to help," he stated calmly, feeling the old man's gaze on him.

Yamamoto pounded his wooden staff on the ground in anger. "This is nonsense! The Seireitei has countless soldiers here! What better place for a Fay to live than in a fortress such as this? What is more, Abarai has not informed us of this Fay he has in his custody until today!"

"Captain-Commander," Ichigo interrupted. "He believes that if he had told you of her, a mole might have relayed the information to Aizen. Even if she were to stay here, Aizen would simply unleash all of Hueco Mundo onto us, resulting in a widespread massacre of the Soul Society. It would be more reasonable, as well as safer, for only a few, strong men to stay by her side at all times to protect her."

After what seemed like hours, the Captain-Commander reluctantly nodded once before grumbling, "And who has Abarai asked for?"

Ichigo straightened a bit more. "He hasn't requested anyone in particular. However, I would like to volunteer myself and two of my most trusted men to guard this Fay. I will have my Third Seat, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, as Captain in my place and whomever she sees fit to be the substitute vice-captain."

The Captain-Commander stared at his youngest Captain. He saw a fire in the boy's eyes as he talked about protecting the Fay in question. He guessed it to be Kuchiki Rukia, the Fay child born from the noblest angel. Yamamoto knew that Abarai Renji did bring up some valid points in keeping her hidden. It seemed the only way to keep her safe was to send Captain Kurosaki and his crew. A twinge of irritation sparked within him because even if he had refused, Ichigo would go anyway. "Who will you take with you, Kurosaki Ichigo?" he asked.

"My vice-captain, Sado Yasutora, and my fourth seat, Ishida Uryu. I think three men will be enough."

"You need to bring a healer with you, Kurosaki," came a gentle voice from behind him. He turned to see Squad Four's Captain, Unohana Retsu, aiming a pleasant smile at him. He felt sweat break out on his back and gulped audibly. "Preferably a woman since this Fay happens to be female. May I offer my third seat, Inoue Orihime?" she asked politely.

Ichigo could do nothing but nod and he let out a strangled "Thank you, Captain Unohana."

Yamamoto chucked, his strong voice carrying through the room. "Very well, Kurosaki Ichigo. Gather your men immediately. You will leave whenever you see fit." And with that, the old man knocked his staff on the ground. His angel wings ruffled slightly.

Before the young Captain could leave, he called, " Kurosaki, stay here a minute."

Ichigo bowed to Unohana and walked to the Captain Commander's throne. "Yes?"

"If the Fay you are protecting is Kuchiki Rukia, then I have another task for you to perform on top of keeping her alive. If my memory serves me right, she will be turning eighteen in some months. Kuchiki Byakuya has been desperately trying to find her for years, but now that her eighteenth birthday approaches, he will begin to panic and ultimately risk his safety to find her."

Ichigo raised a brow at him. "Why?" he wondered.

"I will not tell you," he replied stubbornly. "When, and if, you see him, I need you to try to convince him to come back to the Hall of Angels. Tell him that the nobles need him. He must get past his grief over Hisana in order to fulfill his duty as a Captain," Yamamoto finished.

Ichigo stared at him, confused. Hisana? Who is that? Why is Rukia's eighteenth birthday so important? ...When the hell is her birthday anyway?

"If that is all, Kurosaki?"

The Captain Commander's low rumble broke him out of his thoughts and he made a hasty bow. "Yes, sir. I'll be on the lookout." He straightened and exited without another word.

Ichigo sighed with relief and headed off to the Squad Six barracks to give Nel and Sado his orders. Since Inoue and Ishida didn't quite have captain-class strength, they would have to get Spirit Passes if they were going to stay in the Human World for a while. That was going to take a few days, even if he could somehow convince Hisagi to speed up the process.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed as he thought of all the stressful duties he had to perform as a Captain. He still marveled at the fact that he was the youngest Captain in Soul Society's history. He had only received the title last year, at eighteen years old.

His squad consisted of Shadow Hunters, or superhuman killers that were charged with the task of going after demons and other Hueco Mundo beings. They weren't mortal, yet they weren't quite like any magical creature in any of the realms, even here. They all had super-fast reflexes, they could spot any moving object, no matter its speed, with ease, they ran faster than the eye could see, and all of them were very strong.

On top of that, each member of his Squad had random physical attributes that made them unique. His vice-captain's right arm was covered in a strange armor that went all the way past his shoulder. It was gray with a red and white stripe down the middle of it. It had the power to shoot controlled magical energy from his fist.

Ichigo, on the other hand, had a red and white mask covering the upper half of the left side of his face. It made his left eye black with a gold iris. There were red designs across it that looked like bloody slashes. He usually put up a powerful glamour on it to keep it hidden at all times. However, when he needed to use its power, the mask was exposed, which usually terrified the people he was trying to save.

The power the mask brought out was…different, much different from the other Shadow Hunters. They used the magical energy that surrounded them, but he used power from deep inside him. He was a rare breed of magical creature, a Vizard.

He hated his mask. He hated the chilling voice he kept hearing in his head and the idea of what he could become if he ever lost control of it.

He had been hiding the mask when he had met Rukia. Now that he had sworn to protect her, he was going to make sure he hid it constantly. He didn't want her to think she was being guarded by a monster.

Ichigo had sent messenger fairies ahead to tell his vice-captain and Third Seat that he would need to see them. After pushing the door to his office open, he had to smile at the scene in front of him.

Sado was sitting on one of the cots he kept in the room, arms and legs crossed and a spacy look on his face. His Third Seat, Nel, sat in the cot across from him, waving her hands around and going on and on about some little story involving her and her two best friends, Pesche and Dondochakka.

He cleared his throat and they turned to stare at him. Sado gave him a curt nod and Nel saluted, adding a "Hi Ichigo!" along with it. He nodded and saluted in return, walking over to his desk. He glanced at Nel, ready to give his orders.

"Nel, Sado and I are leaving for a Neutral World-bound mission starting tomorrow. We'll be gone for a while, so I'll need you to step up in my place as Captain. Normally, it would be Sado, but he's coming with me. You can choose one person to be a substitute vice-captain, and if needed, another Third Seat. I'll be sending pixies once a week to update you on my progress. I expect the same from you," he stated.

Nel nodded once. "Good. Thanks again, Nel. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to speak with Sado alone. I'll come find you before we leave."

"Okay, Captain Ichigo," she said, saluting once more before walking out the door.

After she left, he turned to Sado. "The two of us, Inoue, and Ishida, are going to be stationed in the Neutral World to protect a Fay that I discovered in Abarai Renji's custody last night while I was searching for Aizen's goons.

"This Fay is special. We recently discovered her father was…is the Noble Angel Kuchiki Byakuya, one of the last Kuchiki nobles. The Fay we're guarding, Kuchiki Rukia, is ultimately a big target for Aizen since he wants to make her father come out of hiding…to kill him."

If you paid close enough attention to Sado, you could read his thoughts by looking into his eyes. Throughout his explanation, Ichigo had caught surprise, worry, and finally determination flash through his vice-captain's eyes.

He cracked a smile and saluted his Captain. "No problem," his deep voice carried.

Ichigo smiled. "Alright, Sado, get Ishida and Inoue. She should be at the Squad Four barracks. Take them to Hisagi so he can make the two of them Spirit Passes. We need to leave as soon as possible."

The huge Shadow Hunter nodded once and got up, letting himself out.

Ichigo sighed and dropped his head onto his desk. This mission was going to stress him out….

A memory flashed in the back of his mind. "She's mine."

"What have I gotten myself into…."

Rukia slumped her head onto her desk as the lunch bell rang. She listened as chairs scrapped back and students' voices filled the room. She sighed before lifting her head. Her eyes widened when she was face-to-face with a concerned Arisawa Tatsuki.

"Are you okay, Rukia? You've been acting strange the last couple of days…."

"Yeah, I'm okay, Tatsuki. I just feel weighed down studying for winter Finals," she replied, smiling and vainly hoping her friend would believe her lie. Not that it wasn't true or anything; Finals just weren't the first thing on her mind.

"Wait for me," he had said.

She had been. For almost a week now. And he still hadn't come.

She remembered the morning after, she had stumbled into the living room to see three goblins prodding the dark carpet stain curiously. She had then burst out laughing after they had jumped back and screamed about how it had burned them. Of course, that had woken Renji and he'd stumbled into the living room only to laugh with her.

Since then, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. That weird guy with the cape hadn't shown up, and there weren't any more vampire attacks. She was starting to think that Ichigo had just forgotten her and decided to stay in the Upper Planes.

"She's mine."

That would probably be for the best.

"Hey, Rukia, you seeing this?" Tatsuki's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She glanced up at her dark-haired friend, who was staring at some sort of commotion at the front of the class. She sat straighter in her chair and tried to look over the semi-circle of whispering students, but still couldn't see anything.

"What are you talking about, Tatsuki?" Rukia mumbled with a hint of irritation. The other girl was continuing to stare at the front of the room.

"Stand up and see for yourself, midget," she retorted, ignoring her friend's glare.

Rukia sighed and stood on her tip toes to try to see what was going on. The first person she saw was a large, muscular man with curly brown hair falling over one eye and his arms crossed over his chest. To his right was a tall, slim, dark-haired boy who kept pushing his glasses up his nose as he talked quietly to a busty auburn-haired girl standing next to him. She was rocking back and forth on her heels as she listened to him intently.

It's unusual to have three new transfer students in one day, she thought with a raised eyebrow. She relaxed her feet as the students in front of her started to clear the room.

"Come on, Rukia. Let's go eat," Tatsuki said behind her. She started to turn to answer her friend when she saw him.

"Ichigo…"

She watched as he turned slowly towards the sound of her small whisper, as if he had heard her all the way across the room.

"Wait for me."

Her heartbeat quickened as his amber eyes found hers and a relaxed smile spread across his face. She stood immobile as he left his small group to walk to her. She vaguely heard Tatsuki say something but she was so focused on him that she didn't hear it.

"Kuchiki-san," he said when he finally reached her.

A vein twitched on her head and she glared up at him. Ichigo, sensing the danger, looked back at his odd group. They all made eye contact with him and nodded once before they began conversing with other students. He then grabbed Rukia by the wrist and pulled her out of the classroom. She yelled in surprise and nearly tripped forward a couple of times.

Once he had closed the door, he glanced down at her. "Which way to the roof?"

She tried to get her hand out of his grasp, but he only tightened his grip in annoyance. "Let go of me!" she demanded, glaring harder at him.

Ichigo scowled and replied quickly, "When we get to the roof, Kuchiki."

She frowned but stopped struggling. Reluctantly, she pointed down the hall to a closed door. There was a sign with red letters on it by the door that read: Service Stairs-No Entry. Ichigo tugged her arm, signaling her to go forward. She glowered at him but followed him to the door. He pushed it open, revealing a cement staircase that led to another closed door above them.

"Why are you taking me to the roof, Kurosaki?" she snarled. He merely smirked in response. It infuriated her.

After climbing the flight of stairs, they finally reached the door leading out to the top of the school. Ichigo held it open for her, releasing her arm. She strolled past him and he followed suit, knocking the peg down to keep the door propped open. He crossed his arms over his chest as looked at her with a serious expression. She copied his movements, though she continued glaring up at him.

"Took you long enough," she spat.

He scowled at her. "Things take time, princess. I tried to get here as fast as I could, but the conference with Yamamoto and the other Captains took time. Getting Spirit Passes for Inoue and Ishida took time. Going through the Senkaimon took time. I've been trying, Rukia, I really have." Though he sounded irritated, he looked almost forlorn when he finished. She felt her anger thaw slightly.

Still. She kept her arms crossed. She kept glaring at him.

He sighed at her attitude and his scowl deepened. He ran a hand through his hair, exasperated. He began turning away when she suddenly muttered, "I thought you had forgotten about me."

He looked back at her and snorted. "I couldn't get back fast enough, midget." He smirked.

She was annoyed by his comment but she knew it held warmth and not contempt. She rolled her eyes and was about to call him something in return until they heard loud footsteps clomping up the stairs. He turned slightly and Rukia leaned over only to see Tatsuki rush through the door, followed by Ichigo's three groupies.

"Kurosaki-kun! We couldn't stop her!"

"Ichigo."

"What the hell were you thinking, Kurosaki?!"

"What's going on, Rukia?!"

Their voices mixed together and the two of them glanced at each other, amber eyes alight with amusement and violet eyes slit into another glare.

"You think this is funny, Ichigo?"

He just smiled wordlessly at her. He then walked over to his tall companion and they started talking quietly. Glasses Pusher stood close to the busty one while Tatsuki sent death-glares her way.

Rukia sighed. "What have I gotten myself into…."

So there we go! I hope you all enjoyed. I will try to keep this as updated as I can until my computer is fixed.

As always, my chapters are dedicated to my love, PersonalRiot and my bestest beta ever, HibiscusAngel15. You girls are freaking amazing. And I love you both.

IchiRuki OUT.