Tori: Why the hell are you writing a fanfic?

LC: I can't?

Tori: No…I mean, why are you writing one about me?!?!

LC: Because.

Tori: God! I can't talk sense into you!!

LC: I'm glad. Ryu, can you do the disclaimer? I want some sugar.

Ryu: Yeah, sure. Leave the job to me.

Lauraconsa does not own Bleach, Tori, Ryu, and its characters. The only one that belongs to her is her yami, Tsuki.

(To Tsuki) How's that?

LC: (Sugar high. Not paying attention)

Ryu: Oh, well. Enjoy. R&R please!

Chapter 1

"Tori Marari reporting, sir," She stood straight at the inspection of the man standing before her. Her palm sweated against the hilt of the zanbato she's clutching.

Finally his gaze lost its intensity, allowing ths piritual pressure to lessen around him. His face softened, and something like a smile flitted across his face. "Welcome to the Sixth Company, Assistant Captain Tori."

o.o

"Tori! Stop daydreaming!"

The said person was currently out her captain's office and was sitting at the door to the practice fields. The one who was trying to gain Tori's attention is Ryu. They were best friends since they knew each other and nobody knows Tori's loss of awareness to her surroundings better than Ryu.

"Urg! Tsuki, help me with this!" She turned exasperatedly to the one sitting beside Tori.

Tsuki, the 'outsider' as some of them called her, came from outside of the Seireitei. There they loathed her for being able to use 'magic'. Of course, that was discovered one day and she was brought to the Shinigami Academy. Naturally quiet and shy, she didn't speak at all from the teasing of others until Ryu and Tori got it to stop.

She smiled at Ryu and flipped another page in her book, "You're doing a better job at this than me, in any case."

"Fine!" Ryu turned her attention back to Tori. "Oy! Tori, you can't fall asleep here!" Ryu pinched Tori's cheeks. "Wake. Up!"

"Alright!" She swatted the tall, lanky girl's girl. "Geez. I'm not even asleep."

"But you're acting like it." Tsuki closed her book with a snap and smiled. "Ohaiyo. Tori-san."

"Ohaiyo." Tori grinned at the black-haired girl before frowning. "You can drop the politeness, you know." The pair had been trying to get Tsuki to forget the honorifics since they've known her, but it's not making too much of a difference.

Tsuki bowed without thinking, causing the frown on Tori's and Ryu's face to deepen. She smiled sheepishly, standing up. "I can't help it. You're older than me; I feel like I have too."

"No, you don't," Ryu put an arm around her shoulder and walked toward the gate. You're both assistant captains, so there's no problem since you have the same position. But-" She signed theatrically, "I guess you'll have to keep calling me Ryu-san."

"You," Tori jabbed a finger at the dark-skin girl, "need to stop rubbing it in, Ryu-teichou of the Twelfth Company."

"It's not my fault that creepy mask wearing guy resigned!"

"Well, you don't have to rub it in!"

"Guys!" Tsuki raised her hands up. "You're too loud!"

Then the two noticed that the people in the practice field were staring at them.

"Gomen nasai," Tsuki smiled apologetically and pushed the two to the other practice field. When they were on the other side, Tsuki asked, "Well, you got the job you want, right? You wanted to work with Byakuya-teichou the first day you saw him."

"Yeah," Ryu signed, "And dreaming worse back then."

"Well," Tsuki continued, "You can't blame Tori for that. Besides, I heard that you've been getting a lot of tips from Uruhara-san lately."

"You don't say…" Tori grinned slyly, bending down to talk in a whisper to the stretching Tsuki, "I bet that there's more than just information passing around…"

"Drop it, you!" A rock flew in her direction

Tori dodged the flying rock with ease. "It's not my fault. Tsuki brought it up." She gestured at Ryu to come closer. "Besides, I'm not the only one with a captain she admires."

"Leave Ukitake-teichou alone." Tsuki countered, stretching without a glance at them, "He didn't do anything to you. Besides, you love Byakuya-teichou, I just like Ukitake-teichou."

"That's our Tsuki," Ryu grinned, exchanging a glance with Tori, "Keeping everything to herself."

Without warning, the two jumped at Tsuki, tackling her in a blur of black and white. Ignoring her protest, Tori grinned, "Come on! Tell us. It's not like we'll tell anybody."

"Nothing!" The sound that came out was muffled, "Honestly!"

"No fun," Ryu said, grouchy, but with a grin tugging at her face. They jumped off of her, giving her space to breath.

Tori started stretching too. "Now let's practice. I don't want to be caught with me 'playing' with two brats."

"Watch it, Tori!" Ryu replied, indignant. "Even though I'm younger than you, I'm still a captain."

"Well," Tori smirked, "Prove it."

She pulled her zanbato out. "With pleasure."

o.o