Title: Kuchiki Guidelines to Dating

Author: Icedragongurl

Fandom: Bleach

Pairing: Ichigo/Rukia

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTING other then my plushies and wallscroll

How he'd gotten to where he was sitting right then… he had no idea. All Ichigo Kurosaki knew was that he was getting a stare down from Byakuya Kuchiki. The captain was dead silent, just watching the carrot head with very calculating eyes. He wasn't wearing the white jacket of his division, it was folded neatly beside him; Byakuya was simply sitting there in the Kuchiki private quarters with the utterly confused Shinigami substitute.

The human boy had been sitting at his desk trying to focus on his geometry homework, when the hells butterfly came through the open window and landed upon the end of his pencil. At first he'd stared at it in confusion, usually the things went to Rukia, or the other "full-time" Shinigami. Why it had come to him made no sense, until it gave him the message that Byakuya requested his presence. For a second he thought that it was some sort of prank that Renji was trying to pull, but he knew that even that moron wouldn't use his captains' name for something like that.

So there he was stuck with the one captain he wasn't all that fond of, didn't hate him…but really wasn't fond of him. Honestly, he found the sixth division captain to be rather scary in a one on one social situation. The cold atmosphere didn't really help with the tension in the room; Ichigo broke the stare down to look awkwardly around. It was simple; there was a low table in the center, a desk in a corner facing the large bay window. Scroll art of cherry blossoms, go figure, hung upon the bland empty walls.

The room was like its owner, withdrawn and emotionally distant. The only thing that broke the stuffy atmosphere was the fact that the sunlight came in and flooded the quarters with warmth. The silence was deafening oddly enough. Only the occasional voices of Shinigami passing outside below them slipped in now and then. How long had he been sitting there, Ichigo wondered nervously. Wasn't Rukia probably curious as to where he'd vanished to? After what felt like hours Byakuya finally spoke in his relatively monotonous tone of voice.

"What are your intentions towards Rukia?" When the question fully absorbed into his brain Ichigo's jaw dropped. Snapping himself immediately out of his stupor he gave Byakuya a very bewildered look. Intentions? Did he seriously just pretty much ask if he had plans to date Rukia? Taking a quick moment to come up with a response, coming up empty he answered with.

"What? Wait, are you asking me if I plan to hook up with your sister?" His voice betrayed his utter disbelief and confusion. Byakuya remained silent, the only thing that changed was his brow arched in question. Ichigo bit his lip and tried to put together a reasonable explanation, sure he thought Rukia was cute. Sure, she drove him nuts without realizing it, sure he spent a large majority of the time during battles worried that she was alright, so inevitably, yeah he wanted to be official with the Kuchiki girl.

Except, fact remained that that was absolutely none of Byakuya's business; he might be her adoptive brother but that didn't give him the right to pry. As Ichigo opened his mouth to voice that thought aloud, there was a sharp flash in the dark gray eyes. That flash told Kurosaki that if he said that, he'd probably end up fleeing from Soul Society with Senbonzakura chasing at his heels like a yappy guard dog. Biting down on the inside of his cheek to restrain himself for committing verbal suicide, instead he waited for the captain's response.

"Allow me to clarify if my words seem to confuse you. If by "hooking up" you mean courting her. Then yes, that is exactly what my question means." His tone was curt and frigid. There was no room for jokes or insults, it was quite clear that he wasn't asking for explanations. He was asking a Yes or No question, and that was the kind of answer he was expecting. Ichigo knew that if this was game the Kuchiki wanted to play… then so be it.

"Eventually, yes. A this very moment though, I have no plans on getting in a relationship before jumping into a war where people could die." Was the answer Ichigo gave, and he voiced it in a serious no-nonsense tone. After all, this was a power struggle, he slips and Byakuya would trample all over him in a heartbeat. For a moment those sharp gray eyes considered the boy, and when he seemed to accept the response that he received, his hand fell too lightly rest upon the hilt of his sword at his side.

Ichigo's eyes flickered to the movement, and shone with immediate recognition of the unvoiced threat. After what felt like a long moment of silence Byakuya spoke again, this time he wasn't asking questions… he was stating a fact. A fact he'd told many other before this boy that sat before him.

"If you do anything to harm her, emotionally or physically, directly or indirectly, I will kill you. If you mistreat her or play with her heart, I will kill you. You are not the first to have an interest in Rukia, nor will you probably be the last. So as I told them, I shall tell you… If I feel as if she has been mistreated in any way, there will be no where safe for you on this realm or the next. I will hunt you down, and no matter how strongly you fight back, you will die. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Stunned silent all Ichigo could do was stare blankly at what was probably the most he'd ever heard Byakuya ever say to him. Thankfully, as if some sort of god in heaven heard his terror, there was a light tap on the door before it slid open to reveal a rather confused Rukia.

"Ah! Nii-sama…Ichigo… "She paused as if unsure how to react, but from the look in her friends eyes she knew that it was a silent plea to get him out of there. With a polite smile and small bow towards her brother she gestured to the carrot top.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Nii-sama, but I need Ichigo. A rather large hollow popped up in Karakura and a request was sent for us to take care of it." The gray eyes watched her as if trying to read if it was a lie, content with what he found. Her brother nodded silently, allowing the boy to rise to his feet urgently and scurry over to Rukia. As Ichigo began to close the door, Byakuya spoke one last time.

"Do not forget what I just told you Kurosaki." He tapped a single finger against the hilt of Senbonzakura. Letting the threat hang invisibly in the air between them, the door quickly slid shut and the sound of footsteps as the two hurried off.

Rukia laughed at what Ichigo told her, she'd heard the story before. It wasn't the first time her brother had threatened her male companions. Giving Ichigo a playful punch on the arm she smirked at him.

"Well at least you're handling it better then Renji did." Ichigo's eyes widened in disbelief and his jaw fell open,

"Renji wanted to date you!?" She chuckled and gave him a look that made him feel like an idiot. He scowled in annoyance, as her hand intertwined with his. That was one thing he'd lied about to Byakuya, not that he condoned lying but… his life was on the line. It wasn't that he was waiting to date Rukia… they already were. They had been together for a couple months.

"Renji didn't always look at me with just a friend vibe. He had a crush on me for a VERY long time. But when Nii-sama put him in his place… there went that interest. Kind of disappointing actually." She gave a fake pouting look, and Ichigo tickled her, making the girl smile.

"Well he'd better keep looking away. Cause you're brother isn't the only guy who'll kill anyone who tries anything." He said it in a teasing tone as he came in for a quick kiss, and she grinned from ear to ear.

"God save me for over protective men." She muttered as he stole her breath away… the fifth time that day.

END!