This declaration not only shook the noble families and community but also Seireitei. No one expected Byakuya to step down while he was still so young and powerful. He did not step down even when he married his wife and not even when she died. It was altogether puzzling and disbelieving. The ones most surprised, however, were the ones closest to him.
                          
Ichigo's eyes widened as he heard the announcement from below the stage of the Kuchiki palace in the 1st District of Rukongai. Rukia literally froze over when she heard his brother's decision to make her the Head. It was like she was frozen by her own zanpakutou and it took some minutes to wake her up from her shock. Renji too was much too surprised to hear those words. It was really hard to get Rukia's hand in marriage from Byakuya that it actually took him a month to finally have his permission. And now he wanted Rukia to be the Head!?! How could he actually marry Rukia if she was the head of the Kuchiki noble clan!?!
                          
Ichigo couldn't help but smile as he remembered Renji shouting his questions out loud two months ago inside a pub in Rukongai. He was almost hopeless to the point where he was actually saying bad things about Byakuya. Ichigo immediately gave him a slight punch on the head for that. And yet, Rukia's first decision as the Head of the Kuchiki clan was to still marry Renji regardless of all the criticisms that she received for marrying someone with a low status in society. It was like with Byakuya and Hisana once again. But this time, Rukia did not hesitate to choose. It's either she would marry Renji and still become the Head of the Kuchiki Clan or she would marry Renji even if they were to ask her to leave. The advisors were much too scared to make her step down too because it would be too humiliating to the Kuchiki noble name if it happened. In the end, they had no choice but to let her just do as she wished.
                          
"Renji was still very much hopeless about everything just two months ago... And now..." Ichigo thought as he and Byakuya sat in their respective chairs. 
                          
Rukia wore an elegant robe that befitted the Head of one of the four noble clans. Her eyes were brimming with radiance and her cheeks were flushed as she marched down the aisle gracefully with head held high in confidence. Renji, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of her. He was wearing a neat and stylish kimono suitable to the one his soon-to-be wife was wearing but his face looked in between nervous and nauseous. 
                          
Ichigo could almost laugh at him. He knew Renji was nervous about a lot of things. He was worried about his would-be wife's noble lineage, about his clothing that he thought was too simple, his hair that remained unkempt regardless of how much he tried to put wax on it, his voice that he knew would quiver in front of the altar, and about many other things. However, he knew Renji was most nervous because it was the most important time of his life. After all... he had loved Rukia since they were kids... It had been his ultimate dream to marry her...
                          
Ichigo remembered those times and felt that it seemed so long ago now. Back then, he still didn't know Byakuya and only learned about him through the mouth of his sister. He disliked Byakuya then. The corner of the teen's lips tugged upward. Who would have thought it was fate that he would be sitting together with Byakuya now as they both watched the wedding unfold before their eyes...? 
                          
He only recently learned that Byakuya decided to step down the position as the head because of him. The noble didn't want him to get involved in the chaotic and messy noble world. Byakuya actually wanted to simply pass down the position to Rukia's would-be offspring but he thought against it since it would still be very far in the future before the next head would be ready. He also thought of giving it to Renji since the man would become part of the Kuchiki clan sooner or later anyway. However, giving the position to someone who wasn't originally part of the family still didn't sit well with him, especially since he knew his Fukutaichou would most likely receive harsh bashings and utter hostility.