Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Rukia sat and stared at her Captain, surprise evident on her face. She had to resist the urge to jump up and start shouting, and somehow she managed to stay kneeling and silent. Unable to think of anything intelligent to say, she managed a soft "What?"

"Yeah, is this some joke?"

Rukia turned her head to the tall man seated next to her, having momentarily forgotten that he was there despite the fact that this meeting was about him. The usual scowl was on his face, but she could see that he was clearly surprised too.

"No joke, Ichigo," their Captain answered with a calm smile. He slowly sipped at his tea, but seeing his two shinigami subordinates were still speechless, he placed the cup back down on his desk. He gave them a kind but very serious look. "I've been meaning to retire for awhile, but there was never an appropriate replacement." He smiled. "Until now."

"How is Ichigo appropriate?" Rukia blurted out before she could stop herself. She heard him scoff, but pointedly ignored him.

"Ichigo has proven himself as not only a capable shinigami, but an inspiring leader as well," Ukitake answered patiently, turning encouraging eyes to Ichigo. "I have no doubt you will make an excellent Captain."

"But, he's only been here for a year." Rukia wasn't sure why she was even protesting, because it was kind of a logical decision. But the thought of anyone other than Ukitake Juushiro as her Captain was simply inconceivable, and somewhat terrifying.

"Even if you think so, I doubt the other Captains would agree," Ichigo argued, rubbing the back of his neck uncertainly.

And it would be odd to have to answer to Ichigo as her superior, Rukia thought as her gaze finally settled on him. She could see that he was overwhelmed by the offer and didn't quite know how to react. Did he even want all that responsibility, especially when he'd only started to learn about life as a simple shinigami? Sure he had been quick to ascend the ranks to become the Third Seat officer within a year (he probably should have been lieutenant, but he refused to go any further and Rukia would have fought him nail and tooth to give up her position), but there had been no expectations of him to do anything but fight.

"Oh, we've already discussed it," Ukitake responded cheerfully, effectively rousing Rukia from her thoughts. He dramatically took another sip of his tea and ignored the surprised faces of his subordinates.

"And they all agreed?" Rukia asked incredulously. She couldn't imagine her brother publicly admitting that Ichigo was worthy to be a fellow Captain.

Ukitake nodded calmly. "Of course."

Rukia almost fell over by the unconcerned answer from her Captain. She had to bite her tongue from asking 'Even Nii-sama?'

"You do not have to agree to the offer right away, Ichigo. You will still need some training if you accept, we don't expect you to become a Captain without some formality," Ukitake explained, that kind smile on his face. Then he turned his gaze to Rukia, causing her to narrow her eyes suspiciously. "And Rukia will be able to guide you through the transition."

Rukia managed to smile back, not knowing if she should be honored by the compliment from her Captain or annoyed at the prospect of having to guide Ichigo. "Yes, Captain," she answered, giving a respectful bow of her head in acquiescence. Even though the idea still bothered her, she wasn't about to let her Captain down right before his retirement. So she turned to Ichigo, a bright smile on her face and with that girly voice of hers said, "It will be my pleasure to assist you, Captain Kurosaki!"

Rukia was sure that Ichigo almost had a heart attack right then and there.

Both Rukia and Ichigo quietly left the Captain's office awhile later. Rukia was still reeling from the news, so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice Ichigo staring intently at her the entire time they were walking down the corridors, side by side.

"Rukia." He placed a heavy hand on her shoulder, causing both of them to stop. She looked up and met his gaze, but he quickly averted his eyes.

She frowned at his silence, but she noticed the troubled expression that was hidden behind his trademark scowl. Then she realized what was bothering him, and her own expression softened. "Ichigo, you'll be a great Captain."

"Yeah?" he muttered in response, unconvinced. He let his hand drop back to his side, but he still wouldn't look at her. He seemed to want to say more, but didn't.

"Yes," Rukia answered with conviction, more confidently now. Her uncertainty and apprehension from before was slowing fading away as she realized that this was probably more unnerving for Ichigo. She had been selfish to be concerned about herself, when Ichigo was the one who probably needed the guidance and reassurance. Not that he would ever admit that out loud, or even show it, but she knew that sometimes he could be a little insecure. "As Captain Ukitake said, you are appropriate – no, perfect, for the job."

Ichigo only nodded, but his mood remained unchanged.

Rukia sighed, and understood she had to address what was really troubling him. "It's not that I don't trust or respect you, Ichigo. I was just surprised, and… maybe a little jealous, too," she confessed with a small smile, glad that he was at least looking at her now. It was hard though, to admit that aloud, but she'd learned that sometimes it was necessary to acknowledge her emotions. "I'd always imagined that you would be a Captain one day," she added genuinely, the thought having crossed her mind several times in the past year. She just never thought he'd be her Captain. "A great Captain."

"Thanks, Rukia." The scowl had disappeared for a moment, replaced by a rare smile.

The soft expression from Ichigo gave her a warm, strange sensation. Not unwelcome, but it did make her feel slightly uncomfortable. So she smirked and added, "Better you than Renji, anyways."

"Che!" He started walking off again, hands behind his head. Rukia followed with an amused grin. Those two had developed a friendly rivalry of sorts since Ichigo came to Soul Society, and they were always trying to outdo each other. "As if he could ever make Captain before me."

"At least his skills aren't limited to bashing everything with a sword," Rukia retorted, pleased to see a vein pop in his head. This was much more familiar, and comfortable, her provoking the bickering between them – unlike the feeling she got when he gazed at her with that look. "Your kido is still pitiful."

"So is his!"

"And your hakuda is pathetic too."

"So are your drawings! Ow!"

Rukia glared at him, pleased that she'd managed to give his quickly inflating head a good smack back to reality. Maybe this would be fun, especially if he was going to give her so many opportunities to hit him. Who else could boast the privilege of physically abusing their Captain?

"You know what," Ichigo glared right back at her, rubbing his forehead where she had hit him. "I don't want you as my lieutenant."

Rukia crossed her arms. "Too bad, because you're stuck with me."

"You can't tell me what to do! I'm your Captain."

Rukia felt her eye twitch, and realized this was actually going to be a nightmare. "Not yet you aren't." Then as an afterthought, she smirked smugly. "I still outrank you."

He seemed to pause in thought, and then scowled at the evil glint in her eyes. She noticed that he looked a little worried, and with good cause because she'd once decided to 'punish' him by assigning him a group of new female recruits to supervise for a month – he had later complained, angrily, that he had never felt so violated as when they stalked him and took every opportunity to touch him.

Still that didn't stop him from replying, "You might be my lieutenant now, but I'll be your Captain for the rest of eternity."

"Not if I killed you first."

"As if you can."

"Don't tempt me!" she growled, her fingers closing on the hilt of her sword. Rukia could see his eyes spark in amusement, and excitement, as he reached behind him. She knew he really enjoyed when they sparred, even though she knew that he always went easy on her.

"You'll just embarrass yourself. Again." Ichigo smirked haughtily as she narrowed her eyes. Rukia had yet to defeat him in any of their matches.

"Then maybe I'll transfer out! Nii-sama and Renji would love to have me in their division," she threatened, but even she felt disturbed at the thought of serving under her brother and best friend. Besides, she couldn't imagine being anywhere but the 13th Division, even with Ichigo as the new Captain.

"You'd better not leave me." Ichigo didn't seem to realize how that sounded until it was already out his mouth. Rukia was surprised, but she noticed that he froze for a moment before regaining his composure. He smirked down at her. "I mean, you can, but you always come back anyways. Can't live without me, huh?"

Rukia was speechless, initially from the shock of his words but now at his arrogance. The surprise faded and she kicked him, only slightly satisfied with his yelp of pain. "I think you are the one who can't live without me. Are you going to cry without me by your side all the time?"

"I wasn't crying…" He faltered, as if knowing that it wouldn't work to try and pretend that never happened, "…that wasn't why I was crying!" Lame response, but he looked too embarrassed to say anything else. Scowling, he looked off into the distance, trying to ignore her.

Rukia snickered at his discomfort. He was right though, she always ended up returning to his side one way or another. Although in this case, he was the one who came to her, even if inadvertently. "Don't worry, Ichigo-kun," she leaned up towards him and gave him a sadistic grin, patting him on the arm as if she were speaking with a child. "I promise that if you don't cry, I will give you some candy."

Ichigo glared at her. "Shut up."

Rukia laughed, and started walking away again. Ichigo followed, muttering what she could only suspect to be obscenities under his breath. As terrifying as this change seemed, she decided that it would also be exciting, mostly because anything that involved Ichigo would always turn interesting one way or another.

"You know, I don't see why I need to go through any formal training," Ichigo grumbled, a serious look of contemplation on his face. "I mean, Kenpachi didn't."

"And look how he runs the 11th Division," Rukia answered with a disapproving tone. She frowned at him. "That is not how we run the 13th Division. Here, we are all about maintaining a pristine reputation," she glared when Ichigo snorted disbelieving, but continued, "and we want our members to feel safe and accepted. Not terrified and fearful."

Ichigo rolled his eyes, but otherwise he remained silent.

"Although I guess with you as the Captain, they would have reason to be terrified," Rukia added thoughtfully, "you might just run this division into the ground."

"I would not!" he protested.

Rukia continued as if he hadn't said a word, this time with a smile that expressed her arrogance and enthusiasm. "Which is why you are so lucky to have me to guide you along!"

"Che! More like unlucky and cursed," he muttered.

Rukia glared at him and then proceeded to send a kick into his shin, causing him to yelp in pain.

"Hey! That is no way to treat your Captain, you midget!"

Rukia swiftly punched him in the stomach. "Not yet, you're not." She ignored the fact that he was doubled over in pain, and turned to face him with feet apart and arms crossed. "Now, lesson number one. Obey your superiors."

"I hate you," he groaned as he rubbed his stomach.

Rukia smacked him over the head. "Second lesson. Do not insult your superiors."

"Is this really training, or just your excuse to abuse me?" Ichigo growled from where he was kneeling on the floor, now clutching the top of his head. He looked up at her and glared.

"You should be grateful," Rukia sniffed indignantly, looking down her nose at him. "I'm getting all the abuse out of my system before you become Captain. It wouldn't look very good for you if your Lieutenant constantly beat you up, would it?"

Ichigo scoffed, and finally stood up again. "As if that's going to stop you from hitting me."

Rukia paused as she mulled over that statement. "Huh, good point." Then she grinned wickedly, causing him to give her a suspicious frown. "I look forward to working with you, future Captain Kurosaki Ichigo."

Author's Notes: Apparently my class turned interesting… no, seriously, I kind of forgot about this. I had this chapter started a little while after the first, and I suppose it got pushed to the side as my classes got crazy. Anyways, here it is finally... and I know it might seem odd, but you know what? Poor Captain Ukitake deserves to retire – what with his debilitating illness – and who wouldn't like to see Ichigo as a Captain one day?

As always, please read and review. Constructive criticism is always welcome.