Rukia's jealous.

Well, not really.

No, actually, she is.

She watches the Shihouin princess duck in and out of his office, duck in and out of the Kuchiki manor, duck in and out of his life.

She knows there's nothing of that sort going on, simply because he's who he is and she's who she is, and while they could, they both know better.

That doesn't make it any easier to watch without jealousy, though.

She doesn't want to be Yoruichi.

Well, not really.

Maybe she kinda does.

Yoruichi is loud and confident and all-up-in-your-face, and kind of all the things a good noble lady shouldn't be, she tells herself. Yoruichi is also strong, ridiculously strong, and knows what she wants and gets it, and above all, really, Yoruichi gets him in a way no one else is even close to doing.

She watches them and there's this undercurrent of understanding that flows from their eyes. There's a grudging respect, a look of I-can't-believe-you-grew-up-that-fast, a silent expression of how much they really have in common.

They knew each other back when Yoruichi had been here, she knows, the whole world knows, but that was a while ago, and no one had parted on good terms. Rumor has it he had only been a child then, but again, no one knows very much about Kuchiki Byakuya, and it's hard to ask in a way that won't eventually reach his ears.

But even then, even then, it doesn't explain how they can have those conversations when she's talking and he's just looking at her and somehow they reach a conclusion.

The way they do that is scary, but scarier still are the fragments of their conversation - there is no limit to what a single word means and suddenly the elusive world of nobles and the elaborate, smoke-filled way in which they communicate comes to the forefront.

It doesn't explain how a single slight movement of his hand, a furrow of his brow can make her pause and reconsider.

It doesn't explain how he calms her down with a look, makes her stop trying to kill Mayuri with a single hand, stops her from drinking herself into oblivion with a single letter.

They respect each other. They respect each other so much that sometimes it almost seems like Yoruichi never left Soul Society, that there never had been a break in their relationship, and what this relationship actually was, she really couldn't put a finger on anyway.

It doesn't explain how she gets to touch him without fear of retribution - she drags hands over his shoulders, trails fingers in his hand and once even grabbed him around the waist. He just smacks a hand at her, but doesn't really make her stop.

Renji's lost quite a few rounds of drinks on bets about that, and while Rukia's good enough to know what he'll let Yoruichi get away with, the knowledge really doesn't make the jealousy any better.

It doesn't explain how she gets him to turn up to things, doesn't explain how she gets him to go to dinner, to parties, to social events.

It doesn't explain how she gets him to change his mind and it really doesn't explain how she gets him to laugh.

Rukia has lived with him for fifty years and not once has she made him laugh.

Matsumoto, surprisingly, doesn't tease her too much when she unexpectedly lets this slip at one of their drinking sessions after Hinamori has conked out and everyone else decides to leave to preserve their sanity on a weeknight.

"Oh honey," Matsumoto starts. Sometimes Rukia forgets that the Lieutenant of the Tenth Division has been the Lieutenant of the Tenth Division for a good period longer than she's been in Seireitei.

Sometimes Rukia forgets that Matsumoto is just about as old as her brother is.

"She makes him happy, doesn't she?"

Rukia nods mutely. She doesn't want to get in their way, doesn't want to stop this - even around the green-tinted glasses of jealousy, she can see that what they have is special.

"You know," Here Matsumoto presses a glass of something sugary but strong into her hand. It's nothing like what she's had all night and nothing like she's had ever before, but the kick it gives, just from a single gulp, to her stomach is kind of like a warm, fiery, friendly sort of punch.

"You don't have to be her."

"I don't want to be her."

They say it at the same time, and she swears that Matsumoto's eyebrows creep upwards and a small smile comes to the blonde's face.

"You're just jealous, huh."

Somehow Matsumoto makes that statement one that doesn't hurt. She nods again, and takes another sip of the drink. Matsumoto takes a long draught of her own, turns away for a moment.

Rukia takes it as a sign that well, that's just the way things are going to be, and maybe she should start learning to properly deal with the nasty green monster that lives inside her.

"She's probably jealous of you too, you know?"

She almost spits her drink out.

"Well, maybe not jealous in the way you are, because you're two very different people, but I'm not kidding."

Rukia thinks Matsumoto is kidding.

Matsumoto's smile widens slightly, "She makes him happy, but you also make him happy, you know?"

Now Rukia's eyebrows have almost merged with her fringe. Matsumoto laughs.

"She's kind of like the almost-wife he lost, and you're sort of like the almost-sister he's never really had. It's different."

She's sure she doesn't look very convinced.

Matsumoto winks.

"Give it time."

She's not sure she understands so she downs the entire glass of sugary alcohol and doesn't really remember this conversation.

It's very important to note that Rukia has no dislike for Yoruichi. If anything, she's starting to realize how it's possible to hero worship this woman, not that she's actually doing that herself, which is why she doesn't object when Byakuya recommends that she learn shunpo techniques from Yoruichi.

It quickly becomes routine, and if possible, Rukia's jealousy grows.

It's not really fair that one person can have so much talent. They've been doing this for weeks, almost months now, and she's not even marginally closer to being able to do any of the things that Yoruichi has set out for her to do.

Steal something from under someone else's nose? Kiyone looked at her real funny, so it probably didn't count as stealing.

Enter and leave the house without Byakuya noticing? No chance in heck of that happening. Or well, there was that one time when Yachiru was creating all means of havoc - he certainly hadn't noticed her entering that one time, not that it actually counted.

Catch her? Well, that's the one goal she still hasn't had the slightest clue about achieving.

She can't even dislike Yoruichi. There's nothing to dislike in the straightforward, telling-everything-to-your-face attitude, nothing to dislike in those crazy-broad smiles and that genuine laughter.

She's even a good teacher. It's kind of really, really unfair, the way Rukia sees it.

They don't talk very much though. Rukia's not sure if this is a victory or some form of setback, or if there even is any form of war.

She tries not to think about it too much.

Ichigo doesn't get it. He mutters something about how isn't it nice that Byakuya's getting out of her way and not being so annoying about what she can and cannot do, so she just whacks him on the shoulder.

She didn't think he'd get it.

He does sort of redeem himself a day later when he drops a comment that Yoruichi isn't around the living world so much anymore, because she's busy or something, but then says that sounds more like an excuse than anything else.

It's a balmy evening, the clouds are rolling up into the sky, the sun's just heading down behind the tower of penitence and by goodness is it a ridiculously gorgeous day.

To make things worse, she's been invited to dinner with them. Something about discussing how things have been going with her training.

To be fair, things have been going well and Yoruichi has mentioned that she should move on to the next step, whatever that is.

But yes. They are a them now. Or well, not really a them in the traditional sense of them, but they've been doing regular meals, mostly lunches grabbed in the middle of the day, or so Renji says, and it might actually be work-related, since Urahara's apparently getting busy doing weird things she doesn't want to know about again, but yeah, they're sort of a them now.

A different sort of them.

Rukia's decided, and she doesn't know when this was, but she's decided that they're never going to get together in the traditional sense of getting together. Her brother would never remarry, and she can hardly see Yoruichi getting married to anyone at this point.

Something about Yoruichi just seems so impossible to tie down - she's constantly flitting in and out of Soul Society as if she's living half a life here and half a life in another dimension (which she is).

They're definitely closer though, and they're now far more discreet than they were in the beginning after Ichigo, when he was kind of confused and she was kind of trying to prove something. Now they're back to playing the noble game, putting on masks in public if they have to.

Well, that's not true. Byakuya's the only one that's put the mask back on. Yoruichi probably never had a mask, or her mask is something far subtler than Rukia's been able to notice, but she's just the same. Everywhere. All the time.

It's crazy and inspiring and all just kind of nuts.

Yoruichi is kind of nuts.

Rukia is jealous.

Not that it was a secret or anything.

It's a nice place. Well, of course it's a nice place. Byakuya isn't fussy with his meals, especially not when he's at the manor, but there are appearances to keep up and so the three of them have a table in one of Seireitei's finest restaurants.

Something tells her that she's probably being a bit too bitter about this entire debacle, but somehow it's difficult to stop being bitter.

As fate would have it, Byakuya is late. Rukia is starting to think that her life is starting to look like one of those not-quite soap operas, but that's ridiculous. (And soap operas have grounds in reality anyway.)

Yoruichi, however, is not late.

Languidly flicking peanuts into her mouth with the grace of someone used to having company that's late, Yoruichi is almost lounging on the chair at their table.

Almost.

As Rukia steps into the room, those golden eyes flick to her immediately, and she is greeted by a wide grin. She dips her head slightly in greeting, and in a moment Yoruichi is on her feet catching her by surprise.

She sits and a waitress pours her a cup of tea. Yoruichi has returned to her seat and damn if this isn't cliche but Rukia really thinks that Yoruichi moves like a cat.

"So," Yoruichi begins, "How's your day been?"

Rukia watches her play with her teacup but doesn't really know where to start, if Yoruichi is genuinely interested in how her day has been, or if she's just saying these things to pass the time.

Yoruichi pops a peanut into her mouth then turns the full force of that gaze over to Rukia who resists the urge to squirm in her seat. This is a different kind of unsettling - Byakuya exudes power, Yoruichi hints at it, but Rukia has had practice with lesser nobles and manages not to squirm too much.

Yoruichi chuckles and retreats a little.

"I heard that Ukitake's finally managed to get those third seats of his to cooperate on something. Must have been quite the sight, huh."

She is almost surprised by how easy it is to make small talk with Yoruichi, but she shouldn't be at this point, really. Yoruichi can do everything. It isn't even fair.

They don't notice his arrival, too busy discussing the state of affairs in Seireitei.

Rukia has discovered a very astute observer of gossip in Yoruichi, and Yoruichi has found a comrade in dislike for the Noble Houses in Rukia.

So much so that they don't notice him at all.

Well, not really. There's a subconscious kind of acknowledgement that his reiatsu has entered the room, but they're both so used to it that it's not out of the ordinary.

It's not until he pulls his chair back and sits down, flicking droplets of water from a slightly damp fringe, that they look up.

He raises an eyebrow.

"My apologies."

They quiet.

Rukia dips her head slightly, according him the respect she usually does, while Yoruichi just raises an eyebrow in return. The silence is stilted, the air stilled and the atmosphere just dead.

It hasn't been that awkward in so long.

As luck will have it, Yoruichi breaks the silence, "Well, what's good here?"

Rukia notes that the question is not directed at her, which is both a blessing and a curse. She does not frequent this place often enough, and would not have been able to provide a good suggestion - that Yoruichi acknowledges that just makes her feel a teensy bit inadequate, never mind that Yoruichi is hardly doing this to spite her but rather to make her feel less out-of-place.

As it is, the undercurrent is either lost on Byakuya, or he simply chooses to gloss over it, calling a waiter over and taking their orders with the confidence of someone who knows exactly what the entire party wants.

After the waiter has left, Yoruichi rolls her eyes at him, and he raises an eyebrow in return, but neither says anything.

Rukia watches and tries to hide the little green monster.

She somewhat succeeds, but then she sees something in Yoruichi's eyes, a glimmer of some form of recognition that she's pretty sure she never wants to see.

She looks down at her eating utensils.

"So," and again it is Yoruichi that breaks the silence. It makes sense, since Rukia is normally quiet around Byakuya and Byakuya is a quiet man, but somehow even though she understands, almost everything that Yoruichi does is starting to rub Rukia the wrong way.

She knows that she shouldn't be thinking such things. Yoruichi means well, and it's just Rukia that's the one being a bad person. The guilt at feeling jealous is starting to be a serious problem, but she buries that deep down inside to be dealt with later.

She takes a sip from her cup of tea, just as Byakuya picks his own cup up.

"I was thinking of taking Rukia to the Living World with me."

Yoruichi pops a peanut into her mouth just as both Kuchiki siblings sputter into their cups of tea.

Rukia blinks, and she doesn't notice, but this is almost as gobsmacked as he has ever looked in public.

Yoruichi nods, as though she hasn't just seen the two of them splash or drip tea onto the tablecloth.

"I'm perfectly serious."

Rukia knows when not to intrude into their conversations. She's learnt that much.

His eyes close momentarily, his head dips downward just a fraction before he opens his eyes and looks back across the table at her.

"She needs more time to train and having to run Ukitake's division at the same time just isn't giving her that time."

His forehead creases slightly.

"She's doing wonderfully in her training with me so far and I think it's time we take it to the next level."

Here Yoruichi turns to Rukia, and there is a look in the other woman's eyes that Rukia does not quite recognize. She's never seen it there before.

"It's true. She's a much faster learner than you were, Byakuya. So much easier to teach, fewer problems too."

Rukia recognizes that look now. It's approval. All she can do is look, confused, at Byakuya.

His eyes have widened almost non-noticeably, but then his face relaxes and the tiniest beginning of a smile plays on his lips.

She knows this look, has seen it only very rarely, but recognizes it as pride.

It almost makes her feel good enough to no longer want to beat herself over the head for thinking mean things about Yoruichi. Almost.

That is when she realizes that they are discussing taking her to the Living World and have yet to provide a real reason as to why she actually needs to go to the Living World. This needing time to train thing really doesn't explain anything at all.

But yet, it seems to mean something to him, as Yoruichi's words always do and she sees the tiny internal war wage in his head.

Yoruichi has her eyes on him, though they flicker for a moment back to her, in time to give her a reassuring smile, as if to say relax, I have this.

Have what? What is there to have? Why is she going? Where is she going? What is this next step of training?

The questions are bursting in her head, but she knows that there will be time for answers later. She is loath to disrupt this discussion, since Yoruichi, rather than Byakuya, generally has the better idea of what is actually good for her. He, of course, has the better idea of what would keep her in the safest bubble wrap environment.

"Very well. I will speak to Ukitake." He concedes, although exactly why this counts as conceding still isn't clear to Rukia.

Yoruichi's grin widens, "Ahead of you."

He raises an eyebrow.

"There's no reason for her not to go and you know it."

His eyes narrow, and Rukia sees in them the remnants of a conversation that the other two have definitely had before.

Yoruichi's lifts her chin in defiance, eyes sparkling in a challenge that he backs down from, though his eyes still promise that this is not the end of whatever mysterious discussion they were having.

Rukia is starting to wonder if they have forgotten that she is still right here, at the same table, but then Yoruichi turns to her, a grin on her face.

"Do you want to come?"

Both siblings are gobsmacked. His mouth opens, as though he cannot quite believe that she had the argument with him before knowing if Rukia wants to go, and she at the fact that after persuading her brother, Yoruichi might decide to not take her if she decides not to go.

There is no real way to phrase it, so she just spits it out, "What will I be doing there?"

Yoruichi shrugs, "This and that. When I agreed to teach you, it wasn't just forms and stances that I meant. You'll want to learn moves, and new styles, and eventually find something that really works for you, rather than just follow the standards," here she looks pointedly at Byakuya, who looks at her briefly before casting his glance off to the right, "and that all takes time and space, and seeing as I'm going to be in the Living World for quite some time, and that there really isn't space here, going there would be a good idea."

Suddenly, the full focus of Yoruichi's gaze is turned on her, and Rukia feels like she's being evaluated on the spot. For what, she doesn't really know - what is there to get from just looking at her?

"Three weeks," Yoruichi turns away, a smirk on her face, "three weeks is all that it's going to take."

Rukia watches as her brother struggles to bring his jaw back from the floor, and doesn't comprehend it.

Then again, there is a lot about the two of them that she just doesn't comprehend.

She really shouldn't be tailing them but this really isn't on purpose - she had not planned this, just stumbled on the room they happened to be talking in, and since they seemed to be talking about her, well…

Rukia presses a ear to the door, suppresses her reiatsu as strongly as she can.

"She is far more talented than you give her credit for."

"I acknowledge her talent."

"Hah. You keep her buried away in a little bubble. Newsflash, she's a ranked shinigami, she's talented, and she's far more than you are willing to let her be."

"I have relented."

"She's not a lieutenant yet."

A sharp inhale.

"You've always known, but you're not ready for that yet, are you? Not ready to see her go out and do dangerous things even though you know she can?"

"I…"

"You're a coward."

"I do not want to see her hurt."

"You're ridiculous. She's not five. She's not powerless."

"I know."

"You're hurting her."

Another sharp inhale.

"You're hurting her, and you know it, but you're too much of a coward that you would rather hurt her than deal with the fact that you can't bear to see her hurt. It's so ridiculously soppy that I wouldn't believe you were capable of it, except you know what, this is exactly what you're like."

A pause.

"What would you have me do?"

"I'm taking her with me to the Living World. I'm going to show her all the things that she is capable of, all the things that she's always been able to do, but never thought she could because you've been in her way."

"I…"

"What you are going to do, is you're going to stay here, you're going to go on with life, you're going to wait patiently for her to come back, and you're damn well going to approve when she comes back and contests for that seat."

A breath.

"I don't have to listen to you."

"Oh for fuck's sake, Byakuya, if you haven't yet realized it, this really isn't about you! It's about her, so get off your goddamned high horse and realize that you aren't doing anyone any good by being this ridiculous!"

Silence.

"Just swallow your fucking pride! No one is going to judge you for changing your mind on this. In fact, Ukitake's been waiting for years for you to change your mind. It's a good thing. For everyone. Even you."

Rukia hears the silence, can see him sigh in her head.

"I will kill you if you hurt her."

Yoruichi laughs. It is loud, rich and everything Rukia is not but she thinks she can be alright with that.

A/N: Another AU I had stewing for a while. This one is more canon-compliant. It's one version of how I see Rukia becoming a lieutenant in those seventeen months, but definitely AU.