Yu stared at Kuchiki Rukia for a few seconds, then the light dawned. In the anime she moved in with Kurosaki Ichigo because he was the only Soul Reaper around. Now that there was someone even more conspicuous, of course she would choose his place. A mansion beat a closet any day.
Sorry, Ichigo. I'm stealing your roommate.
...
"Wow, this bed is so soft!"
Rukia flopped onto it and rolled around with glee.
Leaning on the doorframe, Tachibana Yu sighed. "Why do you look like such a kid? Don't they have beds in Soul Society?"
Rukia sat up and nodded seriously. "In Seireitei I used a wooden bed. Even with bedding, it was hard. This is my first time on something this soft."
"Alright."
Yu mussed her hair fondly. "Then stay here and enjoy it. I'll make sure you do."
Her cheeks pinked. She slapped his hand away. "Brat, I am a one-hundred-fifty-year-old Soul Reaper. Do not treat me like a child."
"Sure, sure."
"Right." Rukia suddenly remembered something and, like a cartoon cat with a pocket, produced a spray can. "I need to tweak Inoue's memories."
Yu frowned. "Is that necessary? You're both living here. You'll probably run into each other."
"It is. What if she goes around telling people there are Soul Reapers and Hollows?"
She trotted off with the can.
Yu did not chase her. In a few days Orihime would remember anyway.
...
By evening, Inoue Orihime's cheeks were rosy as she shyly reached for Yu's hand and squeezed it. "Yu-kun, when are we going to dinner at the Kurosakis'?"
Yu: "..."
He looked at Rukia with a head full of black lines, eyes saying: You wicked Soul Reaper, what exactly did you change?
Rukia blinked back: The spray's memory edits are random. I have no idea.
Yu pinched the bridge of his nose and, still holding Orihime's hand, led her to Kurosaki Clinic.
Soon, shouting shook the halls.
"What!"
"Yu, you're moving out!"
Ichigo grimaced at his father. "Too loud, old man."
"Ahhhh, you unfilial son!"
Kurosaki Isshin wailed, then blindsided Ichigo with a kick.
THUD!
Ichigo ended up embedded in the wall, forehead marked with angry veins. "You lousy old man..."
"Yu, why move out? Did that unfilial son upset you?"
Tearful, Isshin stared at Yu.
Yu coughed. "Uncle Isshin, you misunderstand—"
Isshin cut him off, pointing at the lavish feast on the table. "Yu, if you stay, I'll make food like this for you every day. I'll even give you Ichigo's room."
Ichigo's eyes bulged. "What about me?"
"Sleep in the storage room."
"What!"
Yu tried again. "Uncle Isshin, you misunderstand—"
"Is it because I blocked your romance with Yuzu and Karin?"
Realization struck Isshin. He rushed to his daughters. "You can't both date him, but if it's just one—"
SMACK SMACK
Yuzu and Karin, faces flushed, punched their father and glared. "What are you even saying?"
"I'm still too young, aren't I?"
Watching the warm chaos, Orihime, who had just lost her family, found herself smiling. Then she blushed and bowed. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kurosaki. Yu is moving because of me. I'm sorry to make you sad."
Isshin blinked, then hurled himself at Masaki's portrait and sobbed. "Honey, do you see? Our boy's grown up and moving out with his girlfriend. I can't bear it."
Ichigo's mouth twitched. He fought the urge to hit someone and looked at Yu and Orihime. "You two are living together?"
Orihime nodded, voice small like a new bride. "Kurosaki-kun, Yuzu, Karin, please come visit us. It's nearby. I'll treat everyone well."
Ichigo nodded, then froze, eyes sliding to Yu.
Yuzu and Karin stared too, cheeks puffing with a hint of hostility toward Orihime.
Yu gave two dry laughs and decided he would thump Rukia later.
What on earth did she change?
After dinner, Yu waved goodbye to Isshin, Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin.
Ichigo sighed. "I'll miss him."
Yuzu and Karin nodded with wet eyes. Five years together had made them family.
"Yu!" Ichigo suddenly shouted. "Where do you live? I'm coming over."
"Oh, right there."
Yu pointed to a luxury residence fifty meters away.
Ichigo: "...?"
Isshin: "...?"
Yuzu: "...?"
Karin: "...?"
They stood frozen at the gate as Yu walked into the mansion worth hundreds of times the clinic.
The next morning, Yu eyed the four freeloaders at his breakfast table.
"Weren't you going to make food for me?"
Ichigo shoveled rice into his mouth. "Shut up, you filthy rich man."