Chapter 1! O and I almost forgot. I do not own bleach. I wish. But I don't. Hehehehehehehehe (fangirl giggle) The first of our two amazing men show up in this chapter. And btw the song mentioned in the chapter is my favorite song. It rox!

Thank so much to:

OkamixInu

LupiLupus

For reviewing! U guys rock :D

Chapter One

When the sun was at its highest point in the sky, Sunny's stomach began to growl; and as usual, she started looking for a target. She had very specific qualifications for her targets- they had to look prosperous enough to be able to spare some food, and they had to look either slow or stressed enough to be easily tricked. It sounded simple, but it sometimes took her an entire afternoon to find the perfect target. She would never take from someone who didn't enough to spare; that was just cruel, she knew from being on the receiving end of such a scheme. She looked around, scanning for an appropriate person to trick out of their food.

Bingo.

Standing in the middle of the road, looking rather confused was a tall man, clothed in the long black kimono of a shinigami. Over it, he wore a long white haori, lined with deep red. His long white hair spilled over his shoulders in a smooth curtain, and a shorter portion was swept over half his face. He looked quite lost, quite frazzled, and was also holding a small bag of what was obviously food. A perfect target; even if he was a shinigami captain, he was first and foremost a bewildered, disoriented individual. She grinned widely, and then organized her face into a bright, perky expression. She giggled, shifting into the mindset of an overly enthusiastic young girl. She skipped up to the man, and set herself in front of him, hands on hips with an innocent smile on her face. The passerby sighed behind the man's back, as if to say 'Here she goes again.' but their eyes twinkled in amusement; Kioko was always good for a laugh.

"Hi!" She chirped.

"Hello…" he said timidly, his brown eyes staring nervously into her dark ones.

"I'm Kioko, but my friends call me Sunny. You look lost. Do you need help?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of lost-"

"What's your name?"

"Jushirou Ukitake-"

"What's your favorite color?"

"Green, but why-"

"Favorite flavor of ice cream?" The questions came one after the other. Ukitake was getting visibly flustered, and Sunny giggled; he really was quite entertaining.

"Vanilla-"

"What squad are you captain of?"

"T-thrirteenth, um-"

He's stuttering. Sunny laughed inwardly. Just a few more questions, I think.

"Favorite song?"

"I-I don't really have one-"

"Can I have that?" Sunny asked, pointing to the bag the man carried. He paused and considered.

Oh no… It didn't work, She thought. He was supposed to just be frazzled and give it to her without question. He would never give it to her now.

"Sure." he said, handing it to her.

"Wait, seriously?" she gasped.

"Sure, why not? I've got more food where I'm going, anyway."

"Rich kid," she muttered under her breath.

"Ah, no, that's not what I meant!" he exclaimed, waving his arms desperately. Sunny couldn't keep herself from laughing, he looked so ridiculous.

"Okay." she giggled.

"Well, why don't you tell me more about you now?" He said as she inspected the contents of the canvas bag, finding a large loaf of bread, a bag of cherries, and an orange. She glanced up at the man. Was he a health nut or something? But she wasn't one to complain, so she began to peel the orange as she talked.

"Well, my name really is Kioko, or Sunny, whichever you want to call me. I like the color pink, chocolate ice cream, my favorite song is Up by the Saurdays- It's a song from the real world- Um… I have a little sister, or at least, an adopted little sister named Aiko… What else do you want to know?" she turned to Ukitake.

But he wasn't listening. His breaths were coming short and shallow, and his eyes were wide in pain. He let out a wheezing cough, and as he dropped to his knees, blood spilled out from his mouth. "U-Ukitake?" she stuttered, horrified. "Ukitake?!" falling to her knees beside him, she put one hand on his back as he continued to cough and bleed.

"D-don't…worry. It'll…. pass." he gasped out between coughs.

"It'll pass? That's all you have to say?" she scoffed; he didn't reply. Passerby gathered in a circle around them, muttering worriedly.

"Give him some room to breathe!" she shouted at the crowd. Obediently, they shuffled backward. She turned back to the kneeling captain as a whirl of thoughts ran through her head.

Why am I doing this? Why? There's no point, no gain. I could just leave him here. He'd probably be fine. There are plenty of people here who'd be willing to help this pathetic guy. But I did take his food, and I guess I can't just leave him here… Sighing heavily, she placed one of Ukitake's arms around her shoulders. His coughing had slowed, one coming only every few seconds. Red ran down his arms, staining his white kimono. Eew, gross, She thought as she rose to her feet, his weight heavy on her shoulders.

"What… are you doing?" he asked as another spasm of coughs racked his body.

"I obviously can't leave you there- you'll obstruct traffic. And you're in no shape to go to wherever you were going to go. It's a pain, but I have to take responsibility for you, you pathetic creature." she said dryly as she walked forward. The crowd let them through, a neat path forming as Ukitake stumbled forward, leaning on Sunny, who walked forward with no sign of discomfort because of her burden; however, irritation was clear on her face.

They turned off the main street, the street they were on, at the next intersection; they began to walk along smaller roads, among ramshackle houses and shacks that were barely staying together. This was where everyone lived- this was the 72nd district. Ukitake looked around, his eyes pained. His coughs were slowing once again, so Sunny knew his anguish was coming from his compassion. Still, she only felt insulted.

"You really are a rich kid." she snapped.

"No… that's not it. I used to visit with a friend, an exceptionally talented individual who didn't want to be promoted, here a lot- he grew up here. This brings back memories."

"Oh."

After a long silence, Ukitake spoke again. "Thanks, you know… for taking care of me like this. It's really nice of you. I'm sorry to be such a burden."

"Yeah, I'm amazing. You don't need to tell me that." she replied sarcastically.

" …I mean it."

She sighed. "I know. And I mean it when I say I'm awesome." she replied with an impish grin. Ukitake smiled back, amusement in his eyes.

This guy may be an idiot, Sunny thought, but he's entertaining.