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A Shifting of Life	By : Strailo Category: Bleach > General Views: 20784 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters. Tite Kobe does. I make absolutely no money from this or any fanfiction I write.

Chapter List
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Title: A Shifting of Life

Fandom: Bleach

Part: 22

Series: A Shifting World

Characters/Pairings: Ichigo, Byakuya,

Warnings: Kissykissy

Word count: 1,739

AN: Why yes, I am going through these chapters at a rather nice pace even though I had to stop for April and the last few weeks have been INSANE. *rolls eyes*

For now, Enjoy!

*~*~*~*

Yawning as he leant against Byakuya’s shoulder, Ichigo hummed contently as they strolled through the festivals, the stalls starting to close down for the night around them. After they had dinner, they had continued to wander about the stalls, Ichigo winning a young koi fish. He had given it to a messenger to have it added to the Kuchiki estate koi pond to live there.

Byakuya and Renji had won even more stuffed animals along with a few other things. In fact, they had won so much, including blankets and shawls, that she had decided to donate the rest to various orphanages that needed things while only keeping a few of the bigger things for herself and her sisters.

Seeing what she was doing, Byakuya and Renji had bought out a stall that sold blankets, deciding that some of the blankets would go to families who needed them and some of the street children. Ichigo’s beaming smile had been worth the small fortune they had spent on the well made blankets. Renji was even thinking about starting a donation round to help rebuild some of the older orphanages while building more to relieve the stress on them.

Ichigo had been right, as they had found out, when she had told them that the Soul Society was out of balance.

As soon as they climbed into the carriage, they headed to the 6th Division so Renji could stay in the fukutaicho’s room for the night, needing to do some things early the next morning. Dropping a yawning Renji off, Byakuya and Ichigo headed to Rangiku’s home, knowing that Ulquiorra hd gone home with Kira while Rangiku was escorting a very drunk Momo home. She would more than likely end up staying with Momo to make sure that she didn’t choke on her own vomit in the night.

Ichigo though was worn out from the long yet fun night, her dark haired companion smiling and holding her close, his arm wrapped around her slim waist. He was rather enjoying the subtle scent of vanilla and bubblegum that seemed to hang around her. He figured that it was most likely her shampoo and body lotion, his nose buried in her soft hair.

“What kind of lotion do you use on your skin?” Byakuya asked her suddenly, already planning on getting her some more. Ichigo shifted slightly, her hand shifting on the thigh that it had been resting on.

“It’s from Yuzu. She sent me some vanilla scented body butter. I used body butter even as a guy but I didn’t buy scented. It helps any forming scars to relax and pale enough that they’re really not that noticeable,” Ichigo admitted. She blinked up at him a few times before she went back to relaxing against Byakuya who made a thoughtful sound.

“I’ve always wondered why it is that you have so few scars that are noticeable,” Byakuya said, feeling Ichigo chuckle against his shoulder.

“That would be because of fast healing, Orihime, and my body butter for the most part. I have some that you can’t see, but you can feel them,” Ichigo said, sitting up much to Byakuya’s disappointment. “One is from Senbonzakura, when we fought that first time. A couple of those mini blades got me but good,” she admitted, one hand coming up to brushing her fingers over a spot on her shoulder that was barely covered by her kimono top.

Looking at her, Byakuya slowly lifted one of his hands, pausing as his fingers rested on the cloth in question. Ichigo blushed slightly before she pushed her kimono to the side, a bit of dark gold bra lovingly cupping a pert breast appearing with the shoulder. Keeping his eyes off of the hint of breast with some difficulty, Byakuya brushed his fingers over the skin that looked the same but there was a slight difference that he could feel.

A long, very thin, nearly invisible scar rested parallel with Ichigo’s collarbone.

“I am deeply sorry that I allowed my need to conform to my clans rigid rules and my own blindness to lead me into attacking you,” Byakuya said softly. He gently moved Ichigo’s kimono back into place as they pulled up to the house finally.

“It wasn’t really your fault, Byakuya. You had your job and I had my own goals to fulfill, and they just happened to clash,” Ichigo soothed as the driver opened the carriage door and set the stairs down. Byakuya stepped down from the carriage and turned to help his date down before he helped her to gather the few things she had kept. Ichigo lead the way into the house, the large bear in her arms, opening the door and heading for her bedroom, Byakuya following after.

Once they had put the stuffed animals and the three blankets Ichigo had kept, they moved into the kitchen, Byakuya standing near the counter as he watched as Ichigo started the tea kettle to heat water for tea.

“Can you tell me what you’re planning on doing with Rukia?” Ichigo asked, glad that they were alone and that Byakuya had agreed to talk with her about this. She wanted to know what the man was planning with his sister now that what she had been doing had come out.

“I’m not sure as of yet,” Byakuya admitted to her, watching the bow on Ichigo’s back twitch as she moved around in the kitchen, pulling out cups and the sugar dish. “I have to speak with everyone to find which invitations it was that you never got.”

“I actually never got a damn thing unless it was given to me directly from Urahara or Yoruichi, or had to do with a meeting that I needed to attend. I was usually told about those via the butterflies though,” Ichigo stated as she placed the cups onto the counter, dropping tea bags into them.

“So there are quite a few invitations that you never got,” Byakuya mused, Ichigo nodding.

She picked the whistling tea kettle up and poured the hot water over the tea bags as she thoughtfully frowned. “Yeah, more than likely. I really have no idea how it came down to this. When I first met her, she was rather nice to me outside of her violent tendencies. But now?” Ichigo sighed as she played with the tea bag string. Byakuya walked over and idly pulled his tea bag from the now dark liquid, dropping it onto a dish that had tea stains on it, adding a bit of sugar to his tea while he observed his companion.

Unohana had already warned them that Ichigo would be much more vulnerable after her hormonal changes but to really see it in the soft way of a female Ichigo was more than expected. It was odd, not bad but odd. But still, Byakuya couldn’t help but feel so proud of how well the young woman before him was holding up. After a few times where she had holed up for a day or had trained on her own, she had become softer. She smiled more, still spoke her mind and scowled randomly, but it was as if she felt that she could finally be herself without anyone freaking out about it.

Rukia had once told him when she had been drunk and sentimental that the three siblings had changed quite a bit after they had lost their mother. Yuzu had become more of a homemaker and sensitive, while Karin had ended up being the stronger twin of the two of them. Ichigo though had changed the most. He had taken on the mantle and face of a protector.

He was strong, even through everything what he had experienced, always willing to protect the smaller man, always ready to be ready to fight for what needed to be fought for.

But now, standing before him as a young woman, Ichigo was sweeter, softer. Gentler, but oh so much stronger than before. She had grown up and no one had really noticed this fact until she had been turned into a woman by the pink haired Arrancar.

“But now?” he prompted as he watched her pull her own tea bag out of her cup, squeezing it against a spoon before she added sugar to her tea.

“But now, it’s like she doesn’t really want me to have any friends. I’m lucky that I have some kind of time to be with my family, but even then she’s been trying to steal away that time now that I think about it,” she said, a frown flitting over her lips before she shook her head.

“I suppose that I should speak with my sister at length,” Byakuya promised as he set his teacup down onto the counter, have drank nearly half of the cup without realizing it.

“Will you tell me how it goes?” Ichigo asked, tilting her head towards him, the older Shinigami nodding his head.

“I will do so,” he promised. Moving to stand before her, he tilted her head up with his fingers under her chin, stroking them over her jaw line to cup the back of her head. He watched as she blushed as he lowered his head to brush their lips together. Ichigo pressed her hands on Byakuya’s chest, not pushing him away, his arm wrapping around her waist to draw her close to his own.

Byakuya pulled back just slightly before pressing their lips firmly together, sliding his tongue over her plush lips, feeling them part under his tongue. Sighing lowly, Ichigo greeted his tongue with her own, the two falling into a slow kiss, tasting and teasing each other. Finally they pulled apart, Byakuya feeling smug about the whimper of protest that escaped from the well kissed Ichigo.

“Have a good night, Ichigo,” Byakuya rumbled, glazed brown eyes opening slowly as she nodded. Making sure that she could stand on her own, the noble left quickly, not wanting to pounce her just yet, knowing that Ulquiorra would be best at drawing her into the world of sex.

Left in the kitchen, Ichigo slowly blew out a deep breath as she took stock of her body. “Well then, at least I know what they mean about creaming your panties from a kiss now,” she husked to the empty room. “Damn.”
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A Shifting of Life