Okay! Thanks your positive feedback, here I am updating again. I'm excited for this story, because futurefics are always so cute! I love them. Anyway... you might want to picture everyone physically older, but if you have imagination issues (I hope not) I'm still going to describe them all for you... you should also know that I'm planning this by ear. I changed the main pairing back to IchiRuki because I'm... in love with IchiRuki! There'll still be lots of HitsuKarin, though! I won't let you down :D

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I have flown my flag, my nation's helpless

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"MATSUMOTO!" Toshiro's scream rang throughout Seireitei.

The buxom woman, who just happened to be walking by, peeked around the doorjamb. "Hmm?"

Her small Captain stood in the middle of the room, his usually alabaster skin crimson as he seethed at the broken bottles all over the carpet. "Explain!" he snapped. Rangiku's face lit up in amusement for a split second before she began her camaderie.

"Well, it's not my fault. Renji said he wanted to play pin the tail on the Hitsugaya, whatever that is, but you weren't here so he just threw them." The blonde shrugged and made to leave the room, but Toshiro halted her.

"Have. You. Done. Your. Paperwork?" he seethed, talking through the corner of his mouth.

Rangiku thought for a moment, her blue eyes glittering with mischief. "Hm... yes."

Toshiro's frown deepened. "Bring it to me and we'll just see about that." The pen in his hand was in danger of exploding at any moment. He'd been dealing with her for years now and his patience hadn't greatened even in the slightest.

Matsumoto-reentered the room about twenty minutes later, holding said paperwork in her hands. "Taaaa-daa!" she smiled and dumped them uncerimoniously on his desk, and put her hands on her hips. "Well?"

White eyebrows shot up. I don't believe it.

"...You can... go." Hitsugaya's mouth hung wide open.

"You're going to catch flies!" Rangiku warned playfully, sauntering out of the room. Toshiro slipped the paperwork in his drawer, stunned. There was no way she could've done it. No way. There was a loophole somewhere...

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"Ichigo!" Yuzu shrieked, throwing herself at her brother. "We missed you!" her arms formed a vise grip around his waist. Ichigo remembered back when she had called him 'Onii-chan' with a wistful look. Through his peripheral vision he saw Karin roll her eyes.

"Hey," he said. The black haired girl nodded stoically before settling at the kitchen table with a morose look, beginning to do her homework. Same old Karin. "When's Dad getting home?"

"He picked up a cake for you!" Yuzu answered the question that had been meant for Karin. "I wanted to make it, but Dad insisted." She'd stopped calling him Daddy, too. She'd grown up. That filled him with a slightly fuzzy feeling.

"Sounds like him." Ichigo took a seat at the table, gazing around the room. Everything was the same, from the scarred carpet spot in the corner to the 'Masaki Forever' poster on the wall. This sent a wave of nostalgia crashing around; he'd completely forgotten about the anniversary of her death - it'd been last month, and they had gone to the grave without him.

"How's college?" Karin asked, not sounding too interested.

"All right." Ichigo shrugged, his mind blank.

"How's Orihime-san?" Yuzu questioned, busying herself with meatloaf.

"I don't see her much," he said truthfully. The buxom redhead was in the third building, across campus, so he never really talked to her unless he hung around with Uryu.

"Oh," Yuzu sighed. "I wanted her to try a recipe of mine."

"I'll give it to her," Ichigo offered, allowing a smile to show on her face.

It was then that he felt that ominous, oddly familiar pressure on his skull, causing his eyes to widen exponentially with each passing second. His arm twitched toward his pocket, an old habit, and he found himself running out the front door.

"Ichigo, what the hell!?" he heard Karin yell after him.

"I'll be right back!" Ichigo shouted, downing the familiar green capsule and feeling an enormous pressure in his head, shortly before standing right in front of Kon.

"Ichigo! I was in there FOUR FREAKIN' YEARS!!" the annoying ModSoul declared, "SWEATING AWAY IN A PILL! YOU SUCK!" it felt sort of odd to argue with Kon again, but Ichigo felt himself falling into a familiar pattern.

"If you weren't so damn impatient it'd be all right, prick!" he countered, beginning to run off down the street. "Take care of my body!!" he hadn't had this much speed, this much freedom in so long... his legs yearned to run forever, repeat the circuit down the block, but he needed to find the Hollow.

Wait, what? It didn't feel like a Hollow at all. It felt like... another Shinigami! Ichigo's equilibrium only increased as he kept running, his mind abuzz.

Finally he reached the corner, hair saturated with perspiration. Ichigo leaned against an apartment building - specifically, Orihime's old one - and caught his breath, which was hot and ragged. He couldn't find the source of the reiatsu, and there was something about it he couldn't put a finger on - a weird feeling. But somewhat pleasant as well, like an old knowledgeable friend.

"Kurosaki?" said a deep voice. Ichigo's mind flared.

"Renji!" he exclaimed, spotting the pineapple-head across the street along with a shadowy figure. The name escaped from the depths of his mind, a place he hadn't tapped into in at least two years. Renji's footfalls were loud on the silent pavement, and so were those of the unknown person.

"We were patrolling this area," Renji said, "and noticed your reiatsu. I decided to check it out." He shrugged, gesturing to the figure beside him. "This is our 3rd Seat, Kuromatsu Akamori."

The person threw back their hood, revealing a sculptured face and long jet black hair. She had one deep, burgundy eye and another that was a milky, pale blue - blind.

"Kuromatsu," Ichigo nodded to her.

"Kurosaki," she said in a low, velvety tone.

"Kuchiki-taichou sent us here. There have been a few times where we've sensed weird reiatsu," Renji said, his hand on Zabimaru.

"It's been that of a Shinigami all of those times. Abarai-fukutaichou thought it might be you, but I disagree," Akamori shook her head. "I feel that it's some form of renegade squad."

"Maybe an Aizen thing?" Ichigo offered, eyeing her zanpakuto. It was worn across her back, and had a thin red hilt.

"Perhaps." Akamori stiffened, and as she did footsteps could be heard. None of them even attempted to hide since they could not be seen, but the voice called to them.

"Ichigo! Yuzu's crying again, asshole!" Karin shrieked, grabbing his sleeve tighter than he had ever remembered her grip to be. "You think that just because you're a Shinigami you're more important than us, but you're wrong."

Renji was gazing down at her in disbelief. "Kurosaki, who's -"

"I'm Ichigo's sister, thanks!" Karin snapped.

"Spiritually aware," Akamori thought aloud. "Curious."

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Okay, I'm gonna stop that right there. I hope you liked this chap, I had a baaaaad case of writer's block right at the very beginning, so bear with me here. Please review! :D