Byakuya sits behind the desk in his home office as Ichigo and Rukia walk inside. The young hybrid turned god and the hollow queen apparently have news for him. With their wedding quickly approaching, he can only assume that they either want to postpone the wedding or just elope and do away with the prompt and circumstance. Dressed in his shinigami robes, Ichigo walks through the door first, the Hogyoku visible in the overlapping flaps of his Shihakusho. His hair down just below his neck and slight stubble across his chin and face. "The boy really did sacrifice ten years of his moral life just to defeat Aizen." Byakuya thinks to himself shortly before Rukia enters the room. While she is dressed in her red gi and outer black shihakusho like she was just after they finished the hollowfication training, Byakuya immediately sees something odd. Despite the loose form of the black robes, he sees that Rukia's is notably tighter around her lower abdomen.

"Lieutenant Kurosaki, Rukia." Byakuya greets as the two enter the room. "Care for some tea or sake?"

"Just tea please." Rukia says as she walks around Ichigo towards her spot.

"Hot Sake sounds nice." Ichigo responds as he pulls Rukia's chair out for her before taking a seat beside her. "I hope you haven't been too busy since the war ended. Karakura town is back in the world of the living as of last Monday."

"I was beginning to wonder if they'd just leave it there." Byakuya responds as he rings a small bell on his desk, a few moments later one of the servants enters the room with a kettle and three cups of tea as well as a small sake vase. "Since the two of you have arrived together, I figure you have some news for me?" Byakuya asks as he graciously pours the tea for Rukia and then Sake for himself and Ichigo.

"Yes," Rukia responds before taking a nervous pause. "Captain Ukitake approached me a couple nights ago... he wishes to retire and he's appointed me to be his successor to squad 13." Byakuya's eyes widen in surprise when she says this, his sister was promoted to lieutenant not even a month and a half ago and now she's going to be promoted to Captain.

"It'd be foolish not to accept." Byakuya says as he pushes her cup of tea forwards allowing her to take it in both hands. "You went from Lieutenant to captain in less than six weeks. You'll have to take the captaincy exams but I have no doubts you'll pass."

"Thank you, Byakuya." Rukia responds. "There's also a couple other things we wanted to talk to you about." She says, and Byakuya can see Ichigo nervously shift in his seat.

"What would that be?" He asks.

"Captain Yamamoto has sent a message to Squad Zero. Squad 12 hasn't been able to create a device capable of containing my power for very long. He's requested that they assist in sealing my powers." Ichigo begins as he lifts his wrist upwards revealing a black watch on his wrist. "These are only lasting 6 hours before breaking and that number has been getting shorter and shorter. He's also said that there is a high chance that I will be appointed to Squad Zero."

"That remains to be seen." Byakuya responds, "However, your power now is only rivaled by the soul king himself. It would make sense that you would be added to the royal guard."

"We're also... going to be adopting Nelliel. The child arrancar you all rescued in Hueco Mundo. Since my transformation... Hueco Mundo is now completely inhospitable. The lesser hollows have buried themselves underground and try to live in the Menos Forest. Harribel, Starrk, their Fracciones and the Privaron Espada have been put into my squad." Rukia explains. "Nelliel is stuck in the body of a child so Ichigo and I have decided to take her in. She's been under Isane's care since the end of the war and has made a full recovery. Poor girl was on the verge of death from hypothermia, and it was entirely my fault."

"That isn't the entire reason you wished to come here today was it? The inclusion of Nel into your lives would only require one of you to inform me. I don't have a problem with her becoming your child by adoption. However I would like for you two to stop beating around the proverbial bush per say." Ichigo swallows a lump in his throat, and Rukia shifts nervously in her seat before she takes a deep breath. Byakuya takes a sip from his Sake prompting Ichigo to do the same before Rukia blurts out the news.

"I'm pregnant." Byakuya immediately chokes on his Sake, coughing and sputtering causing it to spray from his lips back into his cup before spilling onto his desk. He stares wide eyed at the pair, Rukia's face flushed with blush and Ichigo is facing away from him, with his cup to his lips.

"A-already?!" Byakuya gapes looking from Rukia to Ichigo who's hiding his embarrassed face in his cup. "I... I can't say I'm too surprised, but why tell me this now?" He asks much to their relief.

"Well, we still need to get the robes tailored for the wedding, Rukia needs a Kimono to hide the baby, I need a yukata and haori and we were going to ask you to swap the traditional sake for either the non-alcoholic version or just water." Byakuya thinks for a few moments before taking a deep breath.

"Shouldn't be a problem, though I'll have to inform the head captain about changing the Sake." He says.

"You're taking this... a lot better than I expected to be honest." Ichigo says causing Byakuya to chuckle to himself.

"Ichigo. The reason I am not surprised is because this is the same situation Hisana and I found ourselves in just before we got married." Byakuya explains which shocks both Ichigo and Rukia. "Sadly, she ended up having a miscarriage and we lost our child. She had to be treated by Captain Unohana and... we were unable to have children after that." He walks towards the window as he explains this, staring out at Hisana's grave underneath the cherry blossom tree. "It is why I asked you to name your child after her."

"Byakuya?" Rukia asks, causing him to turn to face her. A tear staining his cheek as it falls from his eye. "Ichigo he... he can bring her back. The Hogyoku brought back Masaki, Ichigo's mother. Maybe it'll work for Hisana too." Byakuya's eyes light up with optimism when she says this.

"P-please..." He stutters, his voice breaking. "Th-that's the only thing... I've ever wanted." Byakuya begins to break down, Ichigo gets up from his chair and places a hand on Byakuya's shoulder.

"Focus on what you want most." Ichigo says as he closes his eyes and begins channeling the power of the Hogyoku into Byakuya.

Byakuya closes his eyes, feeling the radiant power of the Hogyoku flow through him. "I truly did misjudge the boy. Despite all my wrong doings, he's still going out of his way to help me. Please. Bring back Hisana to me, my dear wife taken before her time." He monologues to himself knowing that Ichigo can likely feel his thoughts. In the depths of his heart, the warm memories of Hisana come to his mind, the day they met, their first kiss, their secret reunions, their shared excitement for their first child, their wedding each and every single memory surrounding her floods to the forefront of his mind. From behind him, Rukia watches as the soft purple and now red light begins lifting off of Ichigo's body. He extends a hand forwards causing a bright white light over Hisana's grave. She sees Byakuya's eyes tighten slightly due to the intensity of the light, and she can feel Ichigo's compassion through his power. When the light fades, Byakuya slowly opens his eyes and his heart almost stops when he sees her.

After seventy years, she's still as beautiful as the day he lost her. Her white kimono she wore the day she was buried flutters in the breeze. Her long silky black hair in the same style as Rukia's just slightly longer, laying on her shoulders and beside her neck. She looks up at the large sakura tree shading her tombstone, looking at its frozen branches absent of leaves and flowers. She looks around, recognising the inner walls of the Kuchiki estate before she looks down and sees the small ishi-doro (stone lantern) headstone. She crouches down and reads her name marked on the stone shrine. Seeing her alive once again, Byakuya does something he never has before. He jumps over the ledge of the window and sprints outside rushing towards her. His feet crushing the snow beneath each step, each crunch echoing off the walls surrounding the kuchiki estate. Hisana turns and sees Byakuya running up to her and before she could react she's wrapped up in his arms. Despite over three centuries of controlling his emotions, not letting anyone see what is under his mask. At this moment, his knees give out and the mask fades away. Hisana has to catch him as his knees give out, his arms wrapped around her so tightly no one could separate them. "Byakuya." Hisana's voice is like the coo of a dove as she runs her fingers through his long black hair.

"Seventy years..." He says, trying to regain his composure so he can speak clearly. "It's been... seventy years. You're still as beautiful as the day I lost you." He says as he looks up at her through tear filled eyes. He wipes away his eyes with the sleeve of his haori before he smiles. Something Rukia had seldom ever seen on his face, she sees her sister cup Byakuya's face before kissing the top of his head softly.

"Hisana?" Rukia asks, causing her sister to look at her, the two sisters reunited for the first time since her infancy.

"R-rukia?" Hisana questions locking eyes with the shorter woman. "I-I'm..." She tries to say before her voice breaks and she begins to cry. The memories of that night so long ago flooding back to her, her guilt over leaving her infant sister in the Rukon still heavy on her heart. Rukia herself can't even find the words to console her sister.

"It's alright. She understands why you had to leave her at that orphanage." Ichigo says drawing their attention from Rukia to him. "I think it'd be a good idea to get out of the cold. Get acquainted with each other and... there's something I noticed when bringing you back that I need to tell you."

The two couples spent almost three hours going over everything that's happened in the past seven decades since Hisana's death. The day they found Rukia at the academy, her getting to know Byakuya's side of the family, her becoming a soul reaper, Byakuya becoming captain of his squad and the events that have taken place over the past year now. Ichigo is shocked to see how alike the two are, and the only visible differences between the two sisters is that Rukia is just a bit shorter than Hisana, her hair is slightly shorter and her eyes are violet rather than the blue of Hisana's. Hisana's hair frayed out into short spikes at the shoulders and the strand that lays across her face. Contrary to Rukia's more brash attitude however, Hisana had a gentle and kind personality even giving her and Ichigo congratulations for their upcoming marriage. Her heart almost melted when Rukia told her the news that she is pregnant as well.

"What was it you wished to tell me, Kurosaki?" Byakuya asks as he holds Hisana's hands gently in his, thumbing over the back of her hand.

"I know why she died." Ichigo responds, "When reconstructing her body and recalling her soul I discovered something in her system. "Shinigami's Bane. A poison that members of squad 2 use in assassination missions. It's made with the venom of hollow's as well as extremely potent reiatsu only a captain could possess or that of a vasto lorde." Byakuya's eyes widened before his face contorted with anger, all his pain stemming from the fact his wife was murdered. "That poison causes soul death, meaning Hisana wasn't reincarnated."

"I was... poisoned?" Hisana asks, "Who would do such a thing?"

"I'm not sure, but what I do know is that it was either a member of squad two or it was someone with vast amounts of wealth and influence to be able to get a hold of it." Ichigo explains, "I know Soi-fon and Yoruichi keep extensive records of any use of that poison. I could head over there and speak with her to see if we can get a look at those records."

"That would be best, I have a feeling that it could have even been a member of the Kuchiki clan. Many of the elders were unhappy with my decision to marry Hisana, considering her a peasant and thinking that she'd taint the Kuchiki bloodline." Byakuya says as he wraps an arm around his wife and gently pulls her into his shoulder. "If I discover anyone behind this... their death will not be swift."

"I'm going to go speak with Soi-fon with Rukia, but if the person who poisoned Hisana learns of her resurrection and Rukia's pregnancy they could try to target them again." Ichigo continues, "I'm still trying to learn the powers that the Hogyoku has given me, I can sense that things will happen but not when and I'm pretty damn sure that this is gonna happen."

"What do you think we should do then?" Hisana asks.

"For now, I think it's probably our best move to get you as far away from the other Kuchiki's as possible. My family is in the human world and we can get Urahara to put you in a gigai so you can blend in. You can pretend to be my aunt on my mother's side of the family, Captain Kuchiki will keep up with the charade while Rukia and I investigate everything. With our wedding coming up, I have a feeling that whoever was behind Hisana's death may try to poison us as well."

"That's the other reason why you wished for me to change the Sake for the ceremony wasn't it?" Byakuya asks, causing Ichigo to nod. "The kitchens will be under strict supervision so it'd be impossible for anyone to tamper with your food, and even if they did we have food testers to make sure it isn't poisoned beforehand. If you were to be poisoned they'd do it to the ceremonial Sake."

"With my hollowfication and Ichigo fusing with the Hogyoku we wouldn't be affected by the poison even if it was an extremely high dose. However my ba-" Ichigo cuts her off by shoving a tea cake into her mouth, the other's were surprised to see him do this and Rukia herself is giving him an evil look but they see him suddenly flick his hand and shut the doors and windows. He holds a finger over his lips for a moment as they see a shadow walk past the shoji screen door to their right.

"I'll take Hisana to the human world and explain what is going on to my family. The person who just walked past the door wasn't one of the servants, it was one of the Kuchiki elders. Rukia and I will begin our investigation tonight after we get back from the human world. I'll have Kisuke create a disguise for her so no one will be any the wiser." Ichigo explains using the Hogyoku to speak to them telepathically. "Whoever it was is cunning, and has been careful but all we have to do is get them to screw up."

"There is going to be another elder's meeting the day before your wedding. That will likely be the best opportunity to discover who was behind it." Byakuya responds and the others hear his thoughts.

"I'm going to get Kisuke to create a bunch of small listening devices that you can plant around the estate. Anywhere you can think of that a private conversation would occur would be the best spot to put one. The conference room needs to be bugged as well." Rukia responds, adding her part to their plan.

"Ichigo. Since you possess Kyoka Suigetsu, do you think it is possible for you to put everyone here under its hypnosis? Not us, I mean the entire Kuchiki compound. Make them believe that you and Rukia came in, discussed the wedding with me and then left. Making it so they never even see Hisana to begin with making her appear to be invisible. While the idea you had would work... I do not wish to part from her again, not after this long." Ichigo takes a moment to think before nodding to Byakuya. "Thank you, for everything you've done for me. You are a good friend." 

"And so are you." Ichigo responds with a curt nod. "We'll report on anything we find, we will get to the bottom of this, Byakuya." Ichigo responds, recognizing that he has earned the right to call him by first name. "Enjoy your evening, Lady Hisana, Lord Byakuya."  He stands up and bows to the reunited couple before extending a hand to help Rukia to her feet.

"You too, Lord Shiba." Hisana responds returning his bow. 

"Please, call me Ichigo."  He responds, "I don't care about the noble titles, besides you're family now so don't worry about calling me that." 

"I wish we could spend more time together Hisana, once this is all sorted Id love to spend some time with you." Rukia says before walking over to hug her sister. 

"Well Im sure we'll have all the time in the world after this is all over, and after you get back from your honeymoon." Hisana says causing Ichigo and Rukia's faces to light up in blush. "Have a good night you two." She says in almost a motherly tone as they exit. 

The two slowly walk through the estate before noticing Komoda Kuchiki looking at them as they exit. Ichigo offers a polite bow before exiting through the main entrance of the house. The elder Kuchiki not noticing that Ichigo has his hand resting on the new sword at his hip, nor does he notice that this sword is extended out of its sheath slightly. As they make their way out of the estate, Ichigo speaks just above a whisper. "Shatter. Kyoka Suigetsu." Rukia feels a wave of his spiritual pressure wash over the Kuchiki compound before she sees him offer the handle of the sword to her. She touches the handle and is freed from the illusion, with a nod to each other Ichigo grabs her hand and teleports to the squad 2 barracks. Time to solve a seventy year old cold case.