Byakuya's hand paused over his paperwork, a small flicker of reiatsu catching his attention. Though he was sure he'd never felt it before, it seemed almost familiar to him. It was warm, rather young, yet amazingly potent.

His brow furrowed as he concentrated on the reiatsu, it seemed to be coming closer. He stood from his desk, intent on finding the owner of said reiatsu. A bright flash of orange and an accompanying breeze flew through his open window. His eyes widened in minor shock.

The color orange usually announced the presence of a certain Substitute Shinigami. However the reiatsu he sensed, was not his. He glanced around his office briefly in search for the owner. Finding no visual trace of the intruder, he began searching more thoroughly.

A quiet rustling brought his attention to his desk. He stilled momentarily before using his fasted Shunpo to move across the room.

"Ah!" A small boy gasped in surprised. Grey eyes widened even more as he took in his intruder's appearance. The boy had bright orange hair and matching eyes, yet he was still a toddler. Black shinigami robes covered what seemed to be a sweater fashioned after those from the World of the Living. A sword nearly as big as the tiny boy was strapped to his back in a familiar fashion.

"What is your name child, and why is it you have interrupted my work?" Byakuya didn't move, for fear of his prisoner escaping. The boy didn't seem to want to move, instead he looked incredible remorseful as he bowed his head and answered.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to mess you up. I was hiding from otou-san, he's mad at me."

"Your father must have a reason to be upset with you. Perhaps you should go back to him. It is not fitting to run away from something you are at fault for."

"I told him I was sorry, but he still looked mad. I don't want to go back, can't I just hide here? I won't be loud, I promise!"

"Won't your father be worried if he can't find you? Come out, child. I will take you to him."

The boys eyes shimmered slightly with tears as he crawled out from under the desk. "Okay. Will you stop him from being mad?"

"I cannot guarantee that."

Byakuya stood motioned the boy toward the door, when a distant voice filtered through the window.

"Kazui! Come back here! You know better than to run off while we're in the Seireitei. Kazui!" The distance muffled voice grew clearer as the person it belonged to were walking toward his office.

The little boy blanched visibly. "It's otou-san, he's gonna find me!" He whispered while backing away from the door.

This reiatsu was very familiar, though it had been awhile since he last felt it. He could feel himself tense in preparation for the usual headache that came from meetings with this man. A brief knock sounded, before the owner of said reiatsu opened the door. Not even waiting for Byakuya to say 'enter.'

Byakuya found himself stunned yet again as he took in the appearance of the man before him. He was no longer a fiery, misbehaved teen. Kurosaki Ichigo, stood rather intimidating by the door. His hair was cropped short, the lean figure he had before was broader now, and he looked to be closer to Byakuya's age now.

Ichigo's eyes went straight to the little boy cowering behind the stunned noble. "Kazui! I've been looking everywhere for you! You know better than this!"

"Kurosaki Ichigo, what is going on?" Ichigo's eyes snapped to Byakuya's in surprise.

"Ah, Byakuya. It's good to see you again. Sorry for barging in like this."

"I assume your reason is this child?"

"Yeah...This little guy is Kurosaki Kazui. Be polite, I'm introducing you." He directed his last sentence toward the boy, and waited for him to follow instructions before continuing.

Kazui gasped lightly at Ichigo's tone before turning toward Byakuya and bowing slighly. "It's nice to meet you sir."

Byakuya blinked at the well behaved boy - Kazui, before turning back to Ichigo. "A relation of yours?"

"He's my son," Ichigo smiled brightly, moving to pick the boy up. "He's almost five, we were heading to meet with Kyoraku Sou-Taichou. We had a little mishap on the way and before I knew it he vanished."

"Your...son?" Byakuya was stunned yet again as he processed all that Ichigo told him. No longer was he a brash young annoyance, no. Before him stood a matured man, a father in fact. "He mentioned that you were mad at him?"

Ichigo sighed with regret. "I wasn't mad at you, son. I was mad at the men picking on you. I barely turned my back on him before some Squad Eleven guys thought it would be fun to mess with him. I got angry and was sure to show them who exactly this guy belonged to. Needless to say it won't be happening again."

Kazui blinked several times before burying his face in his father's shoulder. "I'm sorry, tou-san!"

"It's okay, son. Come on, we've got more people to meet. They're all excited to meet you."

"Okay," came the muffled reply. His face remained hidden though.

"I'm sorry again, Byakuya. I didn't intend to disturb you."

"He did not disturb me too much. I actually rather enjoyed the break from work. Please come by again when you have more time, it seems there's a lot to be caught up on."

Ichigo smiled brighter. "I'll do that, Byakuya. It was nice to see you again."

"Bye, mister!" Kazui piped up before settling back down in his father's arms.

It was Byakuya's turn to sigh, though not in regret. He allowed a small smile to grace his features as he looked at the warming sight before him. Ichigo, a father. Somehow, it's quite refreshing.

"Goodbye, Kurosaki Kazui."

….

Oh, goodness. This fluffy little story just popped into my head and I had to put it on paper-well computer. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

Let me know how it was! Review and Favorite, please!

~EirSensei