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Byakuya knew that Ichigo would want to talk with him after what had happened since he was sure that the boy had been filled in by Urahara on what had happened with Tsukishima. He knew it but that didn’t make it any easier to actually approach the young man and talk to him.
In the end, it was his pride that stopped the noble from backing down and that was how he found himself in front of the human Shinigami’s school just in time for the lunch break.
Finding Ichigo wasn’t hard at all for Byakuya since the teen had never learned to control his reiatsu so he headed towards the roof which was fortunately devoid of people who couldn’t see him.
Ichigo was on the roof for lunch with all of his friends: Chado, Ishida, Inoue, Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro talking about the fight with Tsukishima and Ginjou when he felt a familiar but unexpected reiatsu behind him, making him turn abruptly and effectively startling everyone as they were too involved in the conversation to notice that someone else had arrived on the roof.
The orange-haired teen was frozen in shock as his eyes met with Byakuya’s, Urahara’s words resonating in his brain while Orihime, Chado and Ishida gaped at the captain. Keigo, Mizuiro and Tatsuki were confused since they had never actually seen the man but the others’ reactions didn’t escape them.
“Byakuya.” Ichigo breathed when he got over his shock enough to speak and he stood up, walking a bit closer to the man.
“I believe you have something to ask me.” The noble commented with his normal cold as ice tone but the way he averted his eyes gave his nervousness away to the teen. “Urahara must have told you what happened in my fight with Tsukishima, I felt him watching everything from the sidelines.”
Ichigo nodded and swallowed, trying to control his emotions while the others were completely lost to the conversation.
“Orihime, who is that guy?” Tatsuki whispered so only the group of friends would hear. “And what is his deal?”
“That’s Kuchiki Byakuya.” Ishida answered, instead. “He is Kuchiki-san’s older brother, the captain of the 6th division of Gotei 13 and the current head of the Kuchiki clan, one of the four great noble clans in Soul Society.”
“Seriously?” Mizuiro and Tatsuki asked in unison, disbelieving that Ichigo knew someone so important but just received a nod from their three powered friends.
The group could only look on in tense silence as their friend stood quietly, never looking away from the noble for a few minutes before he seemed to find his voice again.
“Why?” Ichigo questioned in a low voice. “Why you, Byakuya? Why were you the only one who didn’t turn on me despite your false memories of him? Why did you, of all people, stand with me while all my friends affected took his side when I needed them the most?”
The orange-haired words cut deeply in his friends’ hearts but they knew that he didn’t mean anything bad with it, that he was just stating the facts and that he wasn’t mad at them.
“Let’s be honest, Byakuya… You don’t like me.” The teen continued, his voice cracking with emotion, unaware of the effect of his words on his friends. “So how were you able to take my side while the others couldn’t? Why was the fact that he was my enemy so important that you would be willing to kill the person that you knew as your mentor?”
The silence stretched longer than the previous one. The noble’s eyes had snapped back in Ichigo’s direction when he heard the younger man’s voice crack and the raven was so surprised to see tears slowly falling down the teen’s face that he found himself unable to move for a few minutes.
‘Byakuya-san was also cut but he still killed Tsukishima?’ Orihime thought, upset at herself for not being able to do the same as the noble and defy Tsukishima.
‘How did he manage that?’ Chado wondered. ‘Why didn’t I do the same? I said I would always have Ichigo’s back but I ended up turning on him when he needed me the most…’
‘Damn! I knew Kuchiki Byakuya was several levels above everyone else even inside Gotei 13 but this is just completely nuts.’ Ishida laughed to himself, incredulous. ‘I wonder… No, Zaraki Kenpachi wouldn’t be one to care who he was cutting, Tsukishima would still be dead anyway.’
‘Woah! Someone actually still saw Ichigo as more important even with altered memories.’ Tatsuki thought in wonder. ‘I’m glad this guy was there for Ichigo, even if I don’t know a thing about him.’
When he found himself able to move, carefully as to not spook the human Shinigami, Byakuya closed the distance between them until he could rest a warm hand on Ichigo’s head. It was something very out of character for the noble but, for once, the normally cold man found himself not caring if he was showing his emotions.
“I don’t dislike you, Ichigo.” Byakuya spoke softly, he was mostly expressionless like always but he had a very slight frown and his eyes were the most expressive that Ichigo had ever seen when he called the boy by his first name for the first time. “I haven’t disliked you for quite a while.”
The noble felt like his heart was breaking as he had always thought that nothing could break the stubborn young man who changed Soul Society. Seeing Ichigo looking so broken and lonely made Byakuya feel like someone was stabbing him in the heart repeatedly and it made him disgusted with how they all had effectively abandoned him for 17 months.
“I don’t know why your friends didn’t side with you.” Byakuya continued, glaring at the group in front of him above Ichigo’s bowed head and making them wince at the cold glare. “They should have, but maybe that was the normal reaction, maybe I’m the strange one. What I know is that I just couldn’t abandon the man who saved me and my sister, that was more important to me than any mentor could ever be.”
Ichigo had never seen the raven look so warm and sincere, it warmed his heart that he was the one that managed to make the normally cold-looking man soften so much. The teen let his eyes close as Byakuya worked to dry his tears.
The group of friends felt worse than ever before, even Ishida who, despite not having been affected by Tsukishima’s fullbring, felt like he failed Ichigo. They all looked away from the intimate moment, feeling like they were intruding on the two men.
“You changed, Byakuya.” Ichigo murmured so only the noble could hear. “ I never thought you to be so tactile.”
“I didn’t do it alone.” The man shot back in the same volume. “You and Rukia changed me. When you lost your powers, Rukia came to me and hugged me for the first time, ever. I felt uncomfortable but I couldn’t shove her away when she was so sad so I hugged her back, trying to comfort her and she cried in my arms for hours until she fell asleep from exhaustion.”
Ichigo’s eyes widened as Byakuya talked about himself to him for the first time and felt guilty for Rukia’s suffering.
“The next day, she looked a bit better but at night she broke down in my arms again until she fell asleep. This went on every night for a month before it started to be less frequent.” Byakuya smiled slightly in fondness. “I got used to the feeling of hugging my sister so, when she started to get better and didn’t hug me as much anymore, I found myself hugging her every day just because I wanted to hug her. I became more tactile with people I feel comfortable with after some time, to the point that I even hugged Ukitake after he had a really bad week and we thought he wouldn’t survive it. He was stunned for a moment, but he hugged me back enthusiastically after he got over the shock.”
Ichigo chuckled imagining how surprised the sickly man would have been to have Byakuya, of all people, hugging him in relief for his improved health after a bad week. The young man smiled softly, happy that the noble was finally connecting with the people that cared about him.
“Ichigo.” The raven whispered, demanding the boy’s attention and breaking him out of his thoughts. “There was another reason why I sided with you despite all my false memories of Tsukishima as my mentor… Honestly, it’s the main reason. I know I always made you feel unwelcome in Soul Society but, the truth is, somewhere along the way, I started to feel the same about you as I feel about Rukia and you, just like her, became part of my pride. You know how I am about my pride, I will do anything to defend it.”
For once, Ichigo didn’t know what to say but a lump grew on his throat, preventing him from talking even if he had wanted to and his eyes glistened with unshed tears. After a few seconds, the young man did the only thing he could think of and took a step forward so he could rest his forehead on Byakuya’s left shoulder while his hands came up to grab fistfuls of the raven’s shirt.
Byakuya barely felt himself tensing before his hands lifted automatically to wrap Ichigo into a hug. The raven relaxed instantaneously as he relished in the feeling of having the boy, who he had seen as a little brother for some time, safe in his arms for the first time. When the younger started crying silently, the noble pulled him closer, rubbing his back with one hand and carding his hair with the other while whispering comforting words.
The group of friends had stopped being able to hear what the two were saying for some time and were surprised when their normally slightly touch-averse friend suddenly clung to the older Shinigami.
“What does that guy have that I don’t, Mizuiro?” Keigo asked, dramatically. “I try to hug Ichigo all the time and he always pushes me away.”
“That’s because you don’t try to hug him, you try to jump on him.” The other answered in his normal matter-of-fact tone.
That managed to make everyone laugh at Keigo as he pouted. However, Tatsuki was contemplative… It had been a long time since she had seen Ichigo initiating a hug with anyone, even his family, and from the slight shaking of her friend’s back, she knew that he was crying which also didn’t happen often.
‘This Kuchiki fellow must be very important to Ichigo.’ The black-haired girl thought, surprised that someone had been able to get so close to her childhood friend without her noticing.
“But isn’t that sight a bit weird?” Orihime turned to Chado and Ishida in question. “After all, Byakuya-san did try to kill Kurosaki-kun more than once.”
Tatsuki’s eyes snapped towards Orihime, widening as she realized that her friend wasn’t joking while Keigo and Mizuiro looked confused.
“That might be true but didn’t you guys ever wonder why he never finished the job?” Ishida commented, pushing his glasses upwards. “That night they first met Kuchiki Byakuya could have easily killed Kurosaki, but he didn’t. He left him alive, knowing that there was a chance that someone, *cough, cough* Urahara-san *cough, cough*, could save Kurosaki before he died from blood loss.”
“That’s true, but still…” Orihime insisted with a frown. “They never seem to have gotten along before Kurosaki-kun lost his powers.”
“You don’t understand, Inoue.” Chado finally spoke. “Kuchiki Byakuya has always felt in debt with Ichigo even when they first met and were on different sides. The fact that Ichigo took care of his sister was enough to establish a bond between them despite their differences. It’s true that they never really got along before now but they had been getting closer and closer just before Ichigo lost his Shinigami powers. This thing with Tsukishima was just the final push they needed and it proved that, no matter what happens, Kuchiki Byakuya won’t ever turn against Ichigo, even if everyone else does.”
They were all surprised that their normally quiet friend said so much but Chado’s words rang true to everyone and sent them into deep thought.
“Hey, guys?” Ichigo called as he approached his friends with Byakuya by his side and startled them. “For those who don’t know, this is Byakuya, Rukia’s older brother.”
“Pleased to meet you.” The noble greeted, nodding at the group, his face as expressionless as it ever was.
“Hello.” The three who didn’t know him nodded back, a bit irked by the man’s expressionless face.
A tense silence filled the roof for a few moments before the noble turned to the orange-haired young man.
“Well, I’ll be going back to Seireitei now.” Byakuya informed him.
“Already?” Ichigo whined softly.
“Yes. I’m sorry but I can’t leave Renji taking care of my division alone for too long.” Byakuya answered, his lips twitching upwards in an almost-smile. “By the way, next time you visit, try to stay away from the 11th. Zaraki has been complaining about you not giving him a proper rematch.”
Ichigo snorted. “As much as I would like that, Yachiru has been on my case for some time that I haven’t “played” with Kenpachi as I promised to do so I’m going to have to fight him sooner or later...”
Byakuya chuckled at the younger man’s predicament.
“You’re laughing now but you’re as powerless to Yachiru’s demands as I am!” Ichigo teased, before sighing in resignation. “There’s no way to win against her.”
“That’s true enough but I’m still amazed that you actually call that brute by his first name.” The noble admitted, his eyes searching Ichigo’s.
“I call you by your first name.” The orange-haired countered with a smirk.
“Fair enough.” Byakuya conceded before turning around to open a Senkai gate and turning back, smirking. “You better man-up and ask Rukia out before Renji does. Not that she would say yes to anyone that isn’t you but he could manage to wear her down after some time if you don’t do something. While I don’t actually mind Renji and know that he would take care of her, I don’t want to have to give my sister to any other man but you, Ichigo.”
As the Senkai gate closed behind Byakuya’s back, it left behind a blushing Ichigo and stunned friends.
“Thank you, Byakuya.” The orange-haired teen smiled softly.
“So, Kuchiki Rukia, uh?” Chado teased while Orihime frowned which went unnoticed by everyone.
“And with Kuchiki Byakuya’s blessing, too.” Ishida smirked, exchanging amused looks with Chado. “Aren’t you lucky, Kurosaki?”
“Yeah.” Ichigo whispered, smiling softly. “I really am lucky.”
---
Ichigo was starting to feel restless. It had already been a month since he had seen Byakuya and Rukia hadn’t been around either, not that it was surprising since she was now the 13th division’s lieutenant. With Rukia being about as busy as her brother and with things so calm in Karakura town, it’s only logical that neither of them would be around but he couldn’t help his feelings.
The orange-haired teen missed the Kuchiki siblings deeply. It didn’t help that he met the new Shinigami assigned to Karakura town that had arrived the previous day had just introduced himself to Ichigo as an unseated officer from the 6th division and was now demanding to know who he was.
“Kurosaki Ichigo, Shinigami Daikō.” The teen said, calmly and showing his badge to prove his words.
“I never heard of such a thing.” The new Shinigami mocked. “If you don’t explain yourself I’ll be forced to take you into custody.”
The orange-haired young man tried to remain calm, he really tried but the smug look on the guy’s face was irritating him almost to the breaking point.
“That jii-san!” Ichigo huffed in frustration. “I told him to make sure the new Shinigami appointed here knew the badge.”
“That was my miss.” A voice sounded behind Ichigo making him light up like a Christmas tree as he turned around to look at the owner of the voice.
“Byakuya!” The teen exclaimed, grinning at the older man. “You’re here!”
The noble rolled his eyes at the obvious statement before his lips twitched up and he walked closer to ruffle the human Shinigami’s hair softly. The unseated Shinigami went stiff as a board as his captain acted familiar with the guy he had just threatened.
“It’s nice to see you too, Ichigo.” Byakuya admitted, wanting nothing more than to pull his younger brother-figure into a hug but restraining himself, aware of the audience. “Anyway, as I was saying, it was my miss. I was the one who was supposed to inform my subordinate of your circumstances but it escaped my mind so I asked Sōtaichō to let me come to rectify my mistake.”
“Right.” Ichigo scoffed after seeing the glint in the older man’s eyes. “You just didn’t tell your subordinate on purpose so you had an excuse to come here. How did you justify Rukia coming too? I can feel her reiatsu.”
“She knows the area better than I do.” Byakuya deadpanned but his eyes betrayed his mischief and amusement.
“And jii-san actually believed you and let you two come?” Ichigo tried not to laugh.
“I don’t know if he believed me, but Ukitake backed me up and Kyoraku followed right behind him as did, surprisingly, Hitsugaya and Hirako.” The noble confessed, looking like he was fighting a smile. “Our dear Sōtaichō didn’t have a choice but to send us here since Unohana, Muguruma and Otoribashi looked ready to agree too if needed and Zaraki was complaining about not having a chance to have a rematch with you, yet.”
Ichigo finally lost his battle and dropped to the floor rolling with laughter as Byakuya looked on with a soft, fond smile. He finally remembered himself and stopped smiling, turning to frown at his subordinate as well as maybe threatening the man into never speaking of the occurrence but, luckily, the man had his eyes shut tight and seemed to be trembling.
“Ichigo.” Byakuya called, sensing that something was amiss. “My subordinate wasn’t rude to you, was he?”
The poor man shook on his boots in fear under the feeling of his captain’s angry yet contained reiatsu.
“Calm down, Byakuya.” Ichigo demanded but his eyes danced with amusement at the man’s protectiveness. “He didn’t do anything bad if you compare him to the others. About half of the people I’m close with in Seireitei tried to kill me at least once and I’m still friends with them. Didn’t you try to kill me a few times, too?”
Byakuya’s anger evaporated leaving the sight of a broken man. The unseated Shinigami sighed in relief when he felt his captain’s reiatsu go back to normal and carefully opened one eye to take a peek at the noble, wincing when he found the man he admired stiff as a board and with the blankest expression he had ever seen.
“Kyomaru Shin, this is Kurosaki Ichigo, our Shinigami Daikō.” Byakuya explained, his voice completely devoid of emotion. “He is also the one who defeated the traitorous Aizen and saved Soul Society more than once. Next time, I expect you to treat him with the respect he deserves. Now, you’re dismissed, get out of my sight.”
Kyomaru didn’t need to be told twice, he was out of there and, hopefully, out of his captain’s sight before too long. However, he couldn’t help but wonder why his captain was so protective of one Kurosaki Ichigo.
As soon as he felt that his subordinate’s reiatsu was far enough, Byakuya turned to Ichigo and pulled the boy into a hug, shaking like a leaf as he apologized, trying not to cry as he remembered Ichigo’s bloodied, half-dead body at his feet in the first time they met. The younger man hugged back, sighing sadly.
“I’m sorry, Byakuya, I shouldn’t have said anything.” Ichigo whispered, tightening his hold on the noble’s shaking body. “I was just joking... I never held anything against you for what happened, you were merely following orders and you barely knew anything about me, at the time. You more than redeemed yourself in my eyes a long time ago. It’s time you also forgive yourself.”
Byakuya pulled away slightly so he could search Ichigo’s face for signs that the boy was lying to make him feel better but, instead, he found warm eyes and the softest smile he had ever seen. It took every drop of experience in him to stop Byakuya from breaking down at the sight and compose himself, instead, smiling weakly at the younger man.
“Thank you, Ichigo.” Byakuya murmured, squeezing his friend one last time, before letting go. “Let’s go to Rukia. I left her with your friends and told her that I would come to get you alone. She is waiting for us.”
The younger man nodded in understanding before following the other at a mildly sedated pace.
“How is everyone?” Ichigo asked, trying to make his friend relax. “Any problems in Seireitei lately?”
“Everything has been strangely calm since Aizen’s defeat.” Byakuya informed, slowly starting to regain his center. “This incident with Ginjo and Tsukishima was the most trouble that we had since then. Everyone is fine but, after fighting Aizen, most of us felt like we lacked strength and started to work harder to get stronger. Mostly everyone that was involved leveled up considerably in these last 18 months.”
“I see… I guess I have quite some work to catch up to.” Ichigo grinned, making the noble chuckle and relax further. “What about you? Have you been alright?”
“I’ve been well enough.” Byakuya replied with a warm smile. “I’ve gotten closer to Rukia than ever before and started to get along better with some of the captains. You could say this last year and a half was the happiest I had since Hisana’s death if it wasn’t for the fact that I missed you terribly…”
“I’m sorry, Byakuya.” Ichigo sighed, lowering his head in self-depreciation. “I knew what I was doing when I gave up my powers but I forgot to consider how much pain I would cause to the people around me when I would stop being able to see you guys.”
“Don’t blame yourself for this, Ichigo…” The noble pleaded. “You gave up more than anyone to save the world as we know it and you suffered more than we did so, please, don’t go blaming yourself for our pain. We suffered because we love you and we hate to watch you suffering, that’s all.”
The younger man nodded, swallowing and closing his eyes in an attempt to contain his emotions. They were getting closer to Rukia’s location when Byakuya spoke again.
“You have to hurry, Ichigo.” The older man said with serious eyes looking into the teen’s startled ones. “Renji has been rounding me lately and I think he’s trying to gain the courage to ask me to give him permission to date Rukia. I can stall him for a few months, but you have to make your move soon or you could just lose her. I want to be able to tell Renji that I already gave my sister to the right man when he asks.”
Ichigo was stunned for a few moments but before he could answer they had arrived at the place where Rukia was talking with Inoue, Chad, Ishida, Kon and Tatsuki.
“Nii-sama! Ichigo! What took you so long?” The petit Shinigami asked, pouting.
‘Cute.’ The two men thought, exchanging a look with each other.
“I’m sorry, Rukia, it was my fault.” Byakuya coughed nervously, slightly afraid of his sister’s wrath. “I wanted Ichigo for myself for a bit so we took our time to get here. You two should take a short walk, I’m sure you also want Ichigo for yourself for a bit before we have to go back to Seireitei.”
“Nii-sama…” Rukia whispered, her eyes shining with awe.
“Thank you again, Byakuya.” Ichigo smiled at the noble before picking up Rukia bridal style, earning a soft ‘eep’ from her. “We will be back here in half an hour.”
Before anyone could answer, Ichigo was already two to three flash steps away, leaving shocked friends and a secretly chuckling Byakuya behind.
An awkward silence installed itself in the group for a long moment before the noble turned to Ichigo’s friends and eyed them calculatingly.
“You two… Sado Yasutora and Inoue Orihime, right?” Byakuya questioned, looking at the two with a small frown, receiving a nod from each of the confused teens. “I would like for you to make me understand why you saw fit to turn your backs on Ichigo. Aren’t you some of his best friends? How could you stand to watch him cry and despair and not take his side?”
The two look down in shame under the noble’s judging stare while Ishida and Tatsuki seemed to want to interfere but restrained themselves.
“Explain to me so I can understand!” The man demanded, his eyes glaring holes in his targets. “I didn’t tell Ichigo about this, but I talked to Urahara after my fight with that Tsukishima guy was finished. Do you know what he told me? He said that my reaction was something that he had expected from you two, not from me. I never got along with that man but that night I learned to respect him because he bowed to me and thanked me for being Ichigo’s friend and for having his back in a situation where no one else dared to.”
Chado and Orihime shrunk on themselves from the weight of Byakuya’s words, glare and his reiatsu as it spiraled out of control for a few seconds before he managed to put a tight leash on it. Tatsuki, Ishida and Kon were left breathless from the noble’s pressure.
“We heard everything through Ichigo’s badge and it nearly killed me to hear his cries…” Byakuya continued, his head lowering and his hair coming to hide his watering eyes. “But I was far away and awaiting orders. You were right there and you did nothing… I live far away and I can’t come here as often as I would like so I want to make sure Ichigo has people around him to support him. But how can I trust you two to watch his back when you have already failed once? How can I leave him with people that ignore his cries in favor of someone else if they are more important to them than he is?”
Tatsuki could swear that she could cut the silence with a knife. She was upset that Orihime was suffering but she couldn’t help agreeing with the handsome man who only seemed to have Ichigo’s best interests at heart.
“What is Ichigo to you?” Tatsuki blurted out before she could stop herself.
“Arisawa-san!” Ishida reprehended. “You can’t ask such personal things to someone you don’t even know!”
“Shut up, Ishida!” Tatsuki yelled. “I’m Ichigo’s oldest friend but since we’ve started High School, I barely know a thing about his life anymore. I want to know who this guy thinks he is if he’s going to be around Ichigo!”
“Tatsuki-chan…” Orihime whispered.
To everyone’s surprise, the noble snorted in amusement before smiling slightly at the girl, making her blush unwillingly.
“There! That’s the reaction I was expecting.” Byakuya announced. “Arisawa Tatsuki, was it? I see I can trust you with Ichigo while Rukia and I aren’t here.”
The girl couldn’t help but gape at the man. She knew she had been rude in the way she approached the situation but the noble didn’t seem offended and was even pleased with her response.
“To answer your question, Ichigo is my brother.” Byakuya said with the softest smile that the ones who already knew him had ever seen on his face directed to the sky.
‘So, that’s it…’ Ishida thought, his eyes closing and a smile coming into his face without him noticing. ‘That’s why he was still able to take Kurosaki’s side after Tsukishima messed with his memories… There’s no way someone like Kuchiki Byakuya would value a mentor above a younger sibling.’
“Are you mocking me?” Tatsuki probed, frowning with distrust. “Ichigo doesn’t have a brother.”
“Blood isn’t everything, Arisawa Tatsuki.” Byakuya answered calmly, going back into his cold persona. “Rukia is my late wife’s sister, who I brought into my family as my own sister the year that followed Hisana’s death. However, as much as Hisana loved her and searched for her for years, Rukia doesn’t remember a thing about her… In Rukia’s eyes, I’m the one she is related to, the one she loves, while Hisana is just my late wife that she never met and, in exchange, I also don’t feel like Rukia is Hisana’s sister anymore… Rukia is mine! The only thing my sister has from my wife is her looks, nothing else.”
Tatsuki’s eyes widened at the noble’s story. She had seen with her own eyes how much Rukia loved and idolized Kuchiki Byakuya; it was hard to believe that they weren’t actually related by blood. The man’s show of possessiveness despite his cold facade told Tatsuki that Rukia was just as important to him as he was to her.
“That’s nice and all but what does this have to do with Ichigo?” The girl insisted, determined to win the argument. “Ichigo is alive and has his own family, you can’t just adopt him into your family. How is he your brother?”
“That doesn’t matter.” Byakuya replied. “My feelings won’t change just because he doesn’t bear the Kuchiki name. Ichigo is my brother, either he is alive or dead, a Kuchiki or a Kurosaki.”
“Does Kurosaki know about this… conviction of yours?” Ishida asked, curious about what the noble would say.
“He does know but I don’t think he had the time to process it properly.” Byakuya answered with a slight frown. “But I don’t mind if he doesn’t feel the same way… It’s enough for me that he forgave everything I did to him and that he cares about me, it’s more than I deserve.”
The group of friends all smiled and Tatsuki begrudgingly admitted defeat. Kon, who had been strangely quiet, seemed to have snapped back into his clown persona and entertained everyone until Ichigo came back with Rukia right behind him.
“Did you have a nice walk?” Byakuya teased, his eyes shining with amusement as he took in Rukia’s peaceful expression and Ichigo’s slightly pink cheeks.
“Yes, nii-sama.” Rukia nodded, her eyes shining as she walked closer to her brother.
Byakuya watched as Rukia walked towards him with a purpose before faltering, the light in her eyes dimming as she hesitated to do what she wanted. It was clear to the older Kuchiki that his sister wanted to hug him but was unsure if he would be alright with it with the current audience so he opened his arms just a bit and Rukia flew into his arms, without needing any further invitation.
Ichigo watched with a small smile as the siblings hugged and how Byakuya seemed to relax at the feeling of having his sister safe in his arms. After everything that happened, Ichigo couldn’t blame the man.
The noble made eye contact with the orange-haired young man over Rukia’s head and smiled so warmly that Ichigo thought he was dreaming for a second before smiling back.
“We have to go back now, Rukia.” Byakuya commented with a small grimace after his sister let go of him, his heart feeling like it was being stabbed as he watched his siblings’ expressions turn unbelievably sad. “Don’t make those faces, you two. Today is Friday, isn’t it? My birthday is in two weeks from tomorrow and I expect you to be there, Ichigo.”
“Are you serious?” The younger man hesitated.
“Yes, I’m serious.” The noble nodded. “After Hisana’s death, I didn’t celebrate my birthday anymore until Rukia insisted that we should celebrate it last year but, this year, I don’t want to celebrate my birthday without you.”
The sunshine smile he received from both of his siblings made every time he showed his emotions to outsiders that day completely worth it.
Tatsuki nearly choked on air as she watched her childhood friend smile like he used to do when they were kids, a wide and sincere smile that she hadn’t seen since his mother’s death.
“Come on, Rukia. Say goodbye to your friends while I have a word with Ichigo before we go home.” Byakuya ordered, already pulling the orange-haired teen a few meters away from the others and out of their hearing range. “Did you do it?”
“Not yet.” Ichigo shook his head. “If I’m to do this, I’m going to do this right! It makes two years next month that we saved Rukia from execution… I’m planning to take her to Sōkyoku Hill to ask her out on that day. I want to help her forget any bad memories she still has of that day and replace them for better ones.”
Byakuya’s eyes widened at the young man’s words before he smiled, shaking his head in fondness.
“Honestly…” The noble laughed softly. “You always manage to surprise me, Ichigo. I knew I was making the right choice! There’s no other man that I could possibly trust more with my sister.”
The younger man blushed slightly before smiling at his older brother-figure.
“Anyway, sometime during this weekend, I’m going to put you on the list of people who can use the Kuchiki clan’s private Senkai gate.” Byakuya continued, turning serious again. “Ask Urahara to teach you how to use it instead of the public one and come at 9 in the morning so we can spend some time together just the three of us before we have to prepare for the public birthday party that starts at 7 pm.”
“Will do.” Ichigo nodded. “I’ll see you in two weeks, Byakuya.”
“I’ll see you in two weeks, Ichigo.” The noble answered back with a smile and opened a Senkai gate, making his way inside it as his sister approached them.
Rukia made to follow her brother but was hold back by Ichigo, who grabbed her wrist and turned her around to face him before pulling her into a quick hug. The flustered 13th division lieutenant almost didn’t have time to process what was happening before she was being pushed inside of the Senkai gate and Ichigo could swear he heard Byakuya laughing at him before the gate closed behind the siblings’ backs.
Tatsuki always thought that Ichigo would do well if he ended up with Orihime but when she saw the way her childhood friend hugged the petit Shinigami she realized that there was no way that Ichigo would date Orihime. She could finally see what Kuchiki Byakuya had seen: Ichigo was one-hundred percent in love with Kuchiki Rukia.
---
The last two weeks had been the fastest yet agonizingly slow two weeks of Ichigo’s life. On one hand, he wanted to see the Kuchiki siblings as soon as possible but, on the other hand, he found himself short on time to make Byakuya’s birthday gift. Yes, make, because the young man quickly realized that he wouldn’t know what to buy for the noble so he decided to give the man a painting made by him. Ichigo was surprised for being able to finish it in such a short time and started to doubt himself, wondering if it wouldn’t be better to buy some normal gift.
That was how Ichigo found himself in Urahara’s shop the day before the noble’s birthday with his finished painting to ask for Urahara and Yoruichi’s opinion on it, just to have both of them tear up before trapping him in a hug.
“So, do you think it’s good enough?” The orange-haired young man asked when the two go of him.
“Good enough?” Yoruichi blurted out, incredulously. “Are you serious? It’s not just good enough, it’s perfect! Byakuya-bo will love this painting, I promise!”
“I have to agree with Yoruichi-san, Kurosaki-san.” Urahara announced with a rare warm smile. “I don’t think Kuchiki-taichō ever received something made especially for him by hand and, more importantly, this painting came from your heart, driven to touch his. There’s no way he won’t love it!”
While that conversation had calmed him at the time, now that he was in front of the Kuchiki Manor, he was starting to feel nervous about the entire thing again.
“Ichigo!” Rukia greeted him as he reached the house’s entrance. “We were waiting for you! Woah! That is a pretty big present, isn’t it?”
“Hello to you too, Rukia.” Ichigo chuckled nervously. “Yeah, it’s big but it wasn’t expensive or anything so it’s alright, I think…”
“You look nervous.” The petit woman said with a worried frown. “Are you alright? You were never this nervous to meet nii-sama before.”
“I’m just a bit worried that he won’t like my gift.” The young man explained, shifting his weight. “It’s not your traditional gift...”
“I’m sure nii-sama will love anything you give him.” Rukia insisted, trying to comfort her friend. “If not for anything else, because it came from you.”
Ichigo smiled softly and felt himself relax as he was remembered that he wasn’t on bad terms with Byakuya anymore. “Thanks, Rukia.”
“You’re welcome. Now, let’s go! Nii-sama is waiting.” The woman replied, pulling her friend by the hand.
After some twists and turns, the future couple finally reached Byakuya who greeted them with an unrestrained warm smile.
“Happy Birthday, Byakuya!” Ichigo exclaimed and trusted his gift into the noble’s hands before he could lose his nerve.
“Thank you, Ichigo but you didn’t need to shove it in my face, did you?” Byakuya teased his little brother-figure.
“Sorry.” The younger man rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly. “Anyway… Please, put it on a table before you open it.”
The noble nodded and did just that. Byakuya’s jaw dropped as he lifted the box’s cover and came across a beautiful painting of the Kuchiki Manor’s back garden, perfectly captured on a near-professional level, where Chappy and Wakame Taishi were holding hands with their backs to the house and written in the sky was “You’re not alone!” adorned with Sakura petals.
When he got over the initial shock, Byakuya felt tears dripping from his eyes as he sobbed, grieving for the lost time because the answer he had been searching for since Hisana’s death was right in front of him. He wasn’t alone! He was never alone... All this time, Rukia was right there with him, waiting patiently for him to open up to her. All those years he spent feeling lonely and missing his late wife could have been easier if he had noticed that his sister was with him, that he didn’t have to be lonely.
Ichigo would have panicked when Byakuya started sobbing if it wasn’t for Rukia squeezing his shoulder and grounding him.
“Don’t waver!” The petit woman whispered, her voice heavy with emotion as tears fell down her cheeks. “You didn’t make a mistake. This gift is just perfect.”
Before the young man could answer, the two were pulled into a tight hug by the older man, who continued to sob as he clung to them for dear life.
“Nii-sama?” Rukia called after her brother’s sobs quiet down.
“Rukia.” Byakuya whispered, his voice unusually filled with emotion. “I wasn’t alone, was I? All this time, you were just waiting for me, weren’t you, Rukia?”
“Yes, nii-sama.” The younger Kuchiki confirmed, nodding into her brother’s chest. “I always wanted to know more about you and I’m glad you have finally started to let me get to know you properly ever since you saved me from Ichimaru.”
“You were waiting for me too, weren’t you, Ichigo?” The noble asked, tears still flowing out of his eyes as he tightened his hold on his siblings. “Ever since that day we first met, you were waiting for me to realize that Rukia had always been there for me and that you would be too if I let you.”
The orange-haired young man nodded, unable to speak over the lump in his throat as he tried not to cry along with the Kuchiki siblings.
It took a while but they were all finally able to compose themselves, after a few minutes, but Byakuya didn’t seem any closer to let go of the other two so Ichigo guided them into a sofa that he spied near the corner of the room.
“I’m sorry, Byakuya.” The younger male said after they had sat down with the older in the middle. “I wanted to make you smile and I ended up making you cry, instead.”
“No, don’t apologize.” The noble pleaded. “Ichigo, this was the best birthday gift I ever received! This painting will make me smile every day as it will remind me that I’m not alone, that I have you and Rukia. These tears were for the time I lost pushing everyone away but now, I can smile and be happy for having you two in my life, knowing that you won’t ever leave me alone if you can help it.”
“I’m glad.” Ichigo smiled softly and pressed himself further against the older man’s side, relishing in the half-hug.
The three Shinigami stayed in that same position talking about everything and anything until it was lunchtime. After lunch, Ichigo insisted that the three of them took a photo with the painting to remember the occasion so he could later make a secret escape to the Living World to get it printed in time for the public party.
---
It was past 7 pm and everyone invited was already in the room with the exception of Ichigo. Rukia and Byakuya would exchange worried glances every few minutes since they hadn’t seen the orange-haired teen since they had separated to get ready for the party.
Finally, at 30 past 7, the door slammed open as an out-of-breath Ichigo came through it catching everyone’s attention.
“Idiot!” Rukia yelled as her foot came in contact with her friend’s face. “How can you be the first to get to the house and the last to get to the party?”
“Please, calm down, Rukia.” Byakuya tried as he approached the future couple, his hands held up in an attempt to pacify his sister.
“But, nii-sama, this idiot…” The younger Kuchiki started, frowning at her brother.
“It’s fine.” The man interrupted, slightly amused at his sister’s indignation. “I’m sure Ichigo has a good reason for arriving late to the party despite being here since this morning.”
The guests didn’t know what surprise them the most: Kuchiki Byakuya defending Kurosaki Ichigo from his own sister or that the human Shinigami had been invited to spend the entire day at the Kuchiki Manor when most thought he wouldn’t be invited at all.
“I’m sorry I’m late, Byakuya. Here!” Ichigo said trusting a box into the older man’s hands with a smile. “I had to make a quick stop to the Living World to get that but it took me more time than I was expecting. Before you ask Rukia, I couldn’t have brought it with me this morning... You’ll understand when you see what it is.”
“You already gave me a gift this morning, Ichigo...” Byakuya trailed off with a confused expression.
“I know but that is part of the same gift.” The teen grinned cheekily.
Rukia finally caught on to what was inside the box and smiled softly at her friend, who winked at her.
“Honestly! Do you want to kill nii-sama?” She whispered while her brother was distracted trying to open the box. “What if we have a repeat of what happened this morning and he breaks down?”
“He won’t!” Ichigo looked into her eyes resolutely. “He told us himself that my painting will only make him smile, from now on. He’ll be fine.”
Rukia shook her head but didn’t say anything. Hearing her brother gasp, she turned to look at him and smiled at the awe in his sophisticated features.
The guests watched in pure amazement as the cold captain not only opened Ichigo’s gift when he hadn’t open any other that he had received but also gasped in awe at whatever was inside the box.
“Oh! And that black thing on the side is called a pen drive. If you take it to a photographer in the Living World, they’ll make you as many copies as you want as long as you pay for them.” Ichigo explained with a small smile.
Everyone’s eyes widened as the noble seemed to overcome his shock and smiled warmly at the former Ryoka before trusting the box into his sister’s hands so he could pull the young man into a gentle hug.
Rukia was greatly enjoying the chaos that her brother and Ichigo had unwittingly created and openly laughed at Renji’s shellshocked face while the rest of the 6th division whispered in between themselves about their captain’s strange behavior.
“That must be a very nice gift to be able to bring such a smile to Byakuya’s face and make him give Ichigo-kun a hug in public…” Ukitake commented with his friend and his former teacher.
“It isn’t the first time.” Kyoraku said with a shocked expression.
“What?” The 13th division’s captain asked, confused.
“Didn’t you notice, Ukitake?” The laid-back captain answered. “Ichigo-kun didn’t even hesitate to hug him back and didn’t even seem surprised with that smile so this can’t be the first time Byakuya-kun smiled and hugged him.”
Juushiro’s eyes widened in realization as did Yamamoto’s, who was silently listening to his students’ conversation.
“I’m glad.” The 13th division’s captain sighed. “I’m glad Byakuya is finally opening his heart to some people. Did you know that he hugged me once, after that awful week some time ago?”
“He hugged you? Woah! Byakuya-kun is really changing, isn’t he?” Kyoraku laughed. “I wish I could have seen it…”
Ukitake nodded and turned to smile fondly at the two boys that he had a soft spot for as they were letting go of each other.
“Thank you, otōto.” Byakuya whispered in Ichigo’s ear as he gave him a last squeeze before letting go and excusing himself from the party so he could put the gift away.
Ichigo was left frozen in place, his head turned downwards as his eyes watered and he tried not to cry. Rukia was quick to pull her friend away from the door and into a corner where they could have some privacy.
“Are you alright, Ichigo?” She fretted.
“Damn it! Byakuya doesn’t play fair.” The orange-haired teen replied. “He told me that he sees me the same way that he sees you but this was the first time…”
“You didn’t really think about what he meant until now, did you?” Rukia guessed, a small smile lighting up her features. “After all, this was the first time nii-sama called you his brother to your face.”
“Yeah…” Ichigo trailed off. “Are you alright with this?”
“Of course I’m alright with this! I was the one who noticed first what you became to nii-sama, why wouldn’t I be alright with it?” Rukia insisted with a raised eyebrow.
“Why indeed, I wonder? I thought you would want your precious nii-sama for yourself.” The young man teased.
“Normally, you would be right but if it’s you, Ichigo, I don’t mind sharing nii-sama.” The younger Kuchiki confessed, her eyes closed and a small smile playing on her lips. “Besides, it’s not like nii-sama can help what he feels... “
“That’s true, I guess.” Ichigo nodded, staring into Rukia’s eyes as an overwhelming desire to kiss her overcame him but he managed to restrain himself by remembering how he wanted to do it right. “Come on, let’s go see if Renji hasn’t died from the shock, yet.”
Rukia laughed and they headed towards their friend that was on the other side of the room talking with his fellow lieutenants plus Ikkaku, Yumichika and Toshiro.
“Hey, guys!” Ichigo greeted.
“Kuchiki, why didn’t you tell me that your brother looked gorgeous when he smiled?” Rangiku asked, ignoring the orange-haired teen. “If I knew that he could look that good with a smile, I would have tried to ask him out a long time ago.”
Hinamori, Isane and Nanao had blushes on their faces at the reminder of the noble’s smile.
“Uh… I don’t think nii-sama is interested in dating, at least for now.” Rukia pointed out with an awkward smile.
“Or ever.” Ichigo remarked. “He is still too hanged up on Hisana-san to accept dating with anyone.”
The younger Kuchiki nodded in agreement exchanging a knowing look with her orange-haired friend.
“Anyway, when did you get so close to Kuchiki that he would be willing to hug you even in public?” Toshiro inquired, unusually curious about the situation.
“When was it?” Ichigo wondered. “I really can’t say for sure… When was it, Rukia?”
“Who knows?” The woman shrugged. “I think it had been building up for some time and that incident with the Xcution was the last push in the right direction.”
“Hum… Yeah! Sounds about right.” The orange-head agreed.
Everyone deadpanned at the pair, a bit frustrated with their refusal to advance the conversation without further prompting.
“Stop joking around!” Renji fumed, grabbing Ichigo by his dress shirt’s collar and shaking him. “You know perfectly well what we want to know! How did you get so close with Kuchiki-taichō? We all know he hated your guts.”
Before the human Shinigami could answer, there was a hand on Renji’s wrist forcing him to let go and coming face to face with a pissed off Byakuya as he looked up to see who was the owner of the hand that was nearly breaking his wrist.
“T-taichō!” Renji stammered, for once feeling genuinely afraid of his captain.
“Whoo! Bya-kun is angry!” Yachiru laughed at the redhead’s misery.
“Fukutaichō, I don’t think this is the right time for that.” Yumichika whispered urgently, pulling the girl and his best friend slightly away from the group and out of the line of fire.
Toshiro watched with silent fascination as the calm and composed captain trembled with rage, opening and closing his mouth as he found himself unable to vocalize anything in his fury. All the other lieutenants followed Yumichika’s example and took a few steps back, away from the enraged captain.
“Know your place, Abarai-fukutaichō.” The noble snapped as soon as he found himself able to speak, letting go of his lieutenant’s wrist but still glaring hard at the redhead. “I won’t have any of my subordinates bothering my guests. If such a thing happens again, I’ll have you demoted. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes, taichō.” Renji stuttered.
“Ichigo, Rukia, come along.” Byakuya demanded as he turned away from the scared lieutenants. “I want to talk to Urahara and thank him for everything he did for my family.”
The duo exchanged surprised looks but they knew exactly what the noble was referring to. Ichigo felt warmth pooling in his chest at the reassurance of how Byakuya feels about him while Rukia smiled warmly at her brother’s back as they turned to follow the Kuchiki head.
As the trio made their way across the room where Urahara was talking with a cheerful Yoruichi and a disgruntled Soifon, Renji felt his legs giving away slightly as the tension dissipated.
“Your taichō is downright scary when he is angry, Abarai-kun.” Hinamori broke the silence as the lieutenants nodded.
“What is scary is that, for all his rage, Kuchiki only lost control of his reiatsu for a split of second before he tamed it again.” Toshiro observed. “But I wonder why Kuchiki looked so happy with her brother’s actions…”
“I saw it happen once before.” Isane commented. “When we were in Hueco Mundo, one of the Espada had the ability to control people’s bodies and he managed to gain control of Kuchiki-fukutaichō, making her point her own blade at herself. That fear and rage that I saw in Kuchiki-taichō’s eyes at the time were very similar to what we’ve seen today…”
“I didn’t see any fear today, just rage...” Kira trailed off.
“No, it was there.” Nanao testified. “It was subtle, hidden by a large amount of rage but it was there.”
Isane nodded in agreement. “However, I wonder why Kuchiki-taichō was scared this time? It’s not like Abarai-fukutaichō would hurt Kurosaki-san or anything.”
“Perhaps not with his blade or his fist, but with his words.” Nanao speculated.
“You think that Kuchiki was afraid that Abarai’s words hurt Kurosaki?” Toshiro lifted an eyebrow.
“Well, thinking about what Ichigo went through in that incident with Ginjo and Tsukishima, it’s not that surprising that Kuchiki-taichō would want to protect Ichigo if they are as close as they seem.” Rangiku pointed out, soberly.
“Besides, I think you might be wrong Abarai. I don’t think Kuchiki-taichō ever hated Ichigo… They didn’t get along, that’s for sure, but I don’t think they ever hated each other.” Ikkaku continued where the other left off.
“I think you might be right, Ikkaku. After all, they always had something in common: Kuchiki Rukia.” Yumichika observed. “It’s hard to hate someone who cares so much for the most important person in your life.”
No one could disagree with the flamboyant Shinigami and Renji felt guilt grip at his heart, knowing that he reacted in that way because he was jealous of how close Ichigo was to both of the Kuchiki siblings.
---
Meanwhile, in a corner on the other side of the room, Urahara Kisuke froze and his eyes widened in surprise as he watched Byakuya walking with a purpose in his direction followed closely by Ichigo and Rukia.
Yoruichi noticed as her boyfriend seemed to stop paying attention to look at something and turned to see what held his attention just for her jaw to drop since the one person she didn’t expect to want to be near her and Kisuke approached them with a cold expression but warm eyes.
“Soifon, do you mind leaving us alone for a few minutes?” Byakuya spoke behind his fellow captain, effectively startling her. “I would like to talk with Urahara and Yoruichi about something.”
Soifon wasn’t very happy to leave Yoruichi but, out of consideration for the noble, decided to agree, moving to talk with Unohana and Komamura.
“I wanted to thank you two for everything you did for Ichigo.” Byakuya told the couple. “I know you have known him for longer than I have but he became a little brother to me and I can’t thank you enough for all the times you two saved his life.
Kisuke and Yoruichi found themselves speechless as the proud noble bowed to them shortly, his eyes full of gratitude when he finished his speech. Ichigo and Rukia smiled tenderly at their brother, glad that he was opening up to other people other than them.
“Please, you don’t have to thank us, Kuchiki-taichō.” Kisuke insisted, uncommonly serious. “Ichigo-kun is very dear to us too and we could never let something happen to him on our watch.”
The orange-haired man turned to his mentor, surprised and his eyes softened as he realized that the man actually cared for him more than he showed.
Yoruichi put an arm around the noble’s neck and pulled his head down to knock it into hers softly as she whispered. “I’m glad you’re back, Byakuya-bo!”
The older Kuchiki felt the corners of his mouth turn up and his eyes softened as let himself be hugged sideways by the older woman.
After that, the party progressed in a jolly mood for everyone but with Byakuya, Ichigo and Rukia mostly sticking close to Kisuke and Yoruichi for the rest of the time.
By the time the party was over, the noble could honestly say that, with Rukia and Ichigo, it was the best birthday he ever had in his entire life.