"Excuse me, Captain?" Shuhei said in slight surprise.

"You heard me, Lieutenant. You've been assigned to a scouting position in Karakura Town," Kensei replied solemnly, taking a sip from his cup of tea. "You are to stay there for six months and give weekly reports on your findings."

Collecting his thoughts, Shuhei began to speak. "Sir, the pleasure is mine, but I've been bombarded with so much work. Putting another mission on my hands would just add to the stress." For a while now, Shuhei had been endlessly signing paperwork, going to meetings, and managing the Seireitei newspaper. It didn't help with people adding more stuff to that pile. He enjoyed being seen as a reliable guy, someone who could get the job done, but recently his "title" had become more of a burden than a privilege.

"Well, don't worry about that," Kensei snorted. "While you're gone, someone else will handle your errands. Think of this assignment as a… vacation."

Shuhei's eyes widened with glee; the word "vacation" alone danced within his head as a God-given blessing. However, he still had one more thing to ask. "What about the Seireitei Communication? What's it going to do without its chief editor?"

Kensei rolled his eyes, letting out a big sigh. "Right, that," he answered. "How about I fill in for you?" Shuhei gave a small chuckle and played with the thought of Kensei as chief editor. Looking back at his captain, he was met with a sinister glare and a frightening smile. "Do you have a problem, Lieutenant?"

Shuhei quickly averted his gaze. "N-no, Captain!" he stammered. "I will gladly take the assignment."

"Good," Kensei said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You are to leave first thing tomorrow, so pack what you think is necessary." He shot one last look at the lieutenant before shouting, "Now leave my sight!" And with that, Shuhei was out of there.

"Karakura Town, huh?" Izuru laughed, patting Shuhei on the back. "Guess you got what you've always wanted."

Shuhei took a short glance at Izuru and pushed him away before returning to his stuff. "Will you give me some space?" he sighed. "I'm trying to think what I should bring to the World of the Living."

Izuru pouted, walking to the corner of Shuhei's sleeping quarters. "Hey, I was just trying to help," he sulked, sliding down a wall. Shuhei turned to see him with his head down, a gloomy look on his face. It was so annoying to see him like that, and it brought down the mood of everyone around him. Shuhei knew it was so he could get attention, but he wished he could do it another way.

Shuhei let out a disgruntled groan and walked over to his friend. Looking away, he muttered, "Sorry about that. It's just this whole thing has got me on edge."

Without warning, Izuru jumped to his feet. "Why would you be?" he asked. "Captain Muguruma said it himself: it's pretty much a vacation."

Shuhei rolled his eyes, scratching his head. "I know," he started, "but this just doesn't feel right, as if I know something bad is going to happen."

Izuru crossed his arms, a confused look on his face. "What are you talking about?" he scoffed. "Come on, do you have to be this negative?"

Shuhei immediately grabbed Izuru's robe. "Yeah, you should be talking!" he shouted.

Izuru chuckled and calmly pulled at his friend's wrist. "I'm just kidding," he said with a sincere smile. "Besides, you have more things to worry about right now."

"Like what?" Shuhei replied.

"For starters," Izuru explained, "where are you going to stay?"

Shuhei raised an eyebrow. "Won't it be at Ichigo's?"

"That's if you know his address," Izuru scoffed.

"Doesn't he still live with his dad?" Shuhei asked, his arms crossed and his head tilted to the side. Had he been gone from Karakura Town for that long?

"That's just it," Izuru answered. "Rukia told me that he had moved out over a year ago. They used to be in touch, but he soon disappeared without a trace."

Shuhei ran his hand through his hair. "Well, how am I supposed to find him?" he implored. His only hope of finding shelter was with Ichigo. He was uneasy living with Ichigo's friends, and living with his dad would be an absolute nightmare.

"You could ask Isshin, his father," Izuru suggested. "He should know his son's address."

"I guess so," Shuhei sighed, looking around his room. "It looks like I'm ready to go."

"Great," Izuru congratulated. "Let me help you with this stuff." Grabbing a few bags, he rushed out the door.

Slowly, Shuhei went outside and took one last glimpse of his barracks. He again felt a strange dread build up in his chest, concerned about his new assignment. There's just something wrong about all this, he thought, as if I'm not being told the entire truth. However, he blocked out his worries and instead focused on returning to Karakura Town. He turned back and quickly followed Izuru to the Senkaimon.