13OMAKE
There was an unspoken agreement between the two of them that they were to talk after things have settled for the night. They had reluctantly released their hold on each other; put at ease by reassuring smiles.
Ichigo Kurosaki immediately took on a scowl; genuinely unhappy about having to let go of her hand.
Rukia Kuchiki put on her best poker face; having to keep her disappointment in check for the duration of the evening's affair.
Keeping a modest distance apart, they slid the screen door open.
Whatever chatter was on-going that moment, stopped.
Silence.
All eyes were on them.
Unfortunately for the two, the forgotten tell-tale blushes did not go unnoticed by the pack.
Catcalls rampant and teasing on an all-time high, Ichigo feigned annoyance and threatened to beat sense into his friends while Rukia, seemingly appalled, vehemently denied the speculations.
In one of the far corners of the room, the former Squad Ten Captain excitedly shook the stoic Captain of the Sixth by the shoulders.
"I won't say, 'I told you so,' Byakuya, but, if THAT isn't proof enough, then I don't know what is."
A resigned sigh from the poised noble (as soon as he was released by the hyperactive man).
"It is inevitable, then, Shiba..." he paused then corrected himself, "…Kurosaki that we are to discuss their arrangements soon."
"What's this? No resistance from Byakuya-boy? Have you gone soft on Ichigo?" Yoruichi Shihoin chided.
The head of the Kuchiki family did not reply. He would never admit out loud that the orange-haired ruffian had earned his respect a long while ago.
Kisuke Urahara smiled mischievously behind his open fan. "You know, those two move awfully slow, given the circumstances. Perhaps we could give them a friendly nudge..."
"Don't." The former Second Squad Captain warned.
"But I want grandchildren."
"Don't rush them. You can wait."
"You realize that it could take them years before they progress any further than that."
"Don't interfere. They will figure it out on their own."
"They shall be escorted by a chaperone at all times."
"You're kidding, right?" Her cat-like eyes were met with a serious grey stare. "Don't answer that... and don't even think about it."
Protests fell on the three men's lips as the former leader of the punishment force asserted her stand, in silence, on the matter.
Knowing that she had won, this round, at least, she finally turned her attention to the young couple, who had their own hands full.
Questions and more teasing came, overwhelming the pair but since they were among friends and comrades, the banter was good-natured - even with the many promises of hurt thrown in between.
The unlikely foursome continued to observe, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Hmmm."
"Isshin, this had better not be the beginning of some twisted plot to..."
"No." the rarely serious man replied, pointing to where his son and his self-declared third daughter stood side by side. "Byakuya, I'm sure you've noticed by now."
He gave the slightest nod.
"Oh?" the ever curious shopkeeper exclaimed, focusing his spiritual energy within himself so that he could "see" for himself what it is his friend had discovered.
All Shinigami are capable of sensing reiatsu.
Only a talented few, mostly captain classes, are able to SEE reiatsu.
"My, my… what's this? Entwining spiritual energies?" Kisuke chuckled. "Now we know why they're so compatible."
"YES!" Isshin did a small goofy dance, thankfully unseen by anyone else. "Guaranteed grand children!"
Byakuya uncharacteristically mumbled as he allowed an almost undetectable smile to tug at his mouth. "Soul mates."
Yoruichi grinned, genuinely happy for them. "That they are. That indeed they are."
END.
Author's Notes (EDITED, January 24, 2016):
Hello, this chapter is an OMAKE or an Extra.
The end of this story is actually Chapter 2, which is why the status is already 'completed' by the time I added this part. I simply wanted this up for the fun of it. I adore both Isshin as the idiotic father and Byakuya as the redeeming brother. I thought to balance them out with Kisuke's scheming and Yoruichi's woman-in-charge attitude. And surely, with these four great Shinigami together, something is bound to be plotted, contradicted and discovered…
I've imagined this to be after the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc. In my universe, everyone's alive and well and still friends (I know that's not how a war works, but I crave happy endings). I've honestly been waiting for Isshin to get involved somehow… a Captain-class Shinigami can't possibly just sit this one out (despite him having daughters to look after). And really, after all that Ichigo and Uryu have been through it's hard to imagine them as anything else but friends/comrades.
Thanks for reading!
BLEACH is by Mr. Tite Kubo.
May he make Ichigo and Rukia officially a romantic couple.
Here's hoping…