I own nothing... except for almost everything Spanish... I try to do my research, but if I get something wrong, shoot me a review. At any time in any part of the story all cultural slurs are a result of ignorance, or written in for boorish characters. I think Spain is great.

The newly inaugurated Captain Shuuhei Hisagi threw a stack of papers on his desk and swore like a sailor. It had been one heck of a day- one very long, very frustrating day: editors calling in sick right and left, printing machines breaking, emergency missions, tech malfunctions, and, worst of all, a note from Yamamoto dictating that he would be entertaining some fancy liaison from Spain.

"With my luck, it'll be some stuck-up bureaucrat who's never done a day's work in their posh life…" Moans Hisagi to no one in particular, "Why me?"

He grumbles as he starts on the next month's paper budget, "I have enough on my plate without some lousy liaison poking their nose into my squad!"

In truth, the poor captain had an excessively large plate. Since the end of the winter war, the 9th squad had been plagued with problems, mostly connected to the defection of its prior captain. Its PR ratings had dropped, leading to a dwindling of recruits. At the moment, all new officers were conscripts from the academy who weren't wanted, or hadn't decided on anywhere else. Subsequently, mission success had dropped, morale was low, and casualties were high. There was a shortage of anyone highly capable to run the printing operations for the Seireitei Communications because they were all in the field (rescuing newbies) so typo frequency had skyrocketed. It was a perfect storm, and it had hit the Captain hardest of all. He hadn't yet picked a lieutenant and so had spread the work over his 3rd and 4th seats, but mostly he did it all himself.

Captain Hisagi was slowly miring himself in self-pity when there was a knock on the sliding door that led to the office. He assumes it was one of the interns who were nearly always on lunch break, so he just calls out

"Come on in!"

His surprise upon looking up and discovering the Spanish liaison to the Seireitei was immediate and awkward. He can't help but stare. Knee-high leather boots, cream colored pants, and an embroidered jacket over a red button-up shirt encased a lean wiry figure, that he noticed, was still marginally feminine. Her hair was a curly silver-gray mass that was precariously confined to a braid; she had tanned skin, deep espresso eyes, and a full sensual mouth. She was taller than the average Japanese girl, but probably still shorter than him. A slim blade with an elaborate guard hung from a scabbard belted jauntily around her hips.

"Hi…" he chokes out, "You're kind of early."

"I was instructed to arrive at the headquarters of Squad Nine at four in the afternoon." She says carefully, "It's five past, I apologize for my tardiness." She bows in the proper Japanese style and then leans against a spare desk in front of him.

"My name is Alejandria Castillo, I'm afraid we didn't meet at the welcoming function for the delegation."

Hisagi's brain finally clicks into action. "Captain Shuuhei HIsagi, I missed the dinner also, so it's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

Alejandria Castillo smiles faintly, but he can't discern what it means. "Likewise," she takes out a sheaf of paper from her jacket and places it on his desk, "You'll find my file complete. It includes all the pertinent information to my presence in your squad. I would have handed it to a secretary earlier, but I couldn't seem to find any."

Her speech was somehow both formal and direct, with only the barest hint of an accent. Hisagi nods in response, filing away impulse to groan at the extra paperwork for later. "None of the interns are present today, sadly…"

He stands, feeling like he needed to make up for his earlier lapse of decorum, and extends a hand for her to shake.

To his surprise, she waves outstretched appendage away, "That's quite alright, I'm here in Japan: I'll abide by Japanese customs."

He sits back down, thinking hard about the contents of Yamamoto's note.

"Would you like to tour the Squadron immediately or would a later time be adequate?" he chuckles slightly, "I'm rather snowed in, at the moment."

Alejandria casts an eye over the filing cabinets surrounding his desk, and the mounds of paper that inhabited it. "I can see that. I am perfectly able to reschedule. Would you prefer a time later this evening? The sooner we can discuss my role within your establishment the better- I'd like to get to work."

Inside, Hisagi melts with relief. "Yes, this evening is fine, how about seven?"

She considers. "Seven is acceptable." She pauses, momentarily lapsing in her cool, suave demeanor, "I'll see you later, then."

"Yes, good evening, later." Hisagi isn't sure if he should get up and open the door for her, or shake hands or what before she exited the room, but Alejandria solves that conundrum by simply turning heel and leaving.

"Okay, you can leave- that's fine." Hisagi mumbles to himself before sinking again into self-pity. He felt completely unprepared for a Spanish liaison, he'd never been the diplomatic type and it seemed that the ice-cool Spanish officer was well trained in matters way above his pay grade. With my luck, he thinks morosely, I'll end up causing an international incident.

Hisagi reaches for the file of papers, he might as well study up before the official tour at seven. He opens the packet, and pulled out her school transcripts from the Spanish equivalent to the academy. He inspects the first page, and whistles: she didn't look a day older than when her school picture was last taken. Rangiku, he knew, would kill for that bragging right. She had good marks in all of her classes but all the section for teachers remarks were all left blank except for one:

"Excellent student, would recommend for any position. Intelligent, focused and persistent, with uncanny observational and tracking skills, doesn't talk much."

Puzzled, Hisagi looks at the rest of her paperwork, it was all dated for 2013, the last date of graduation. With shock, he realizes that the aristocratic Alejandria Castillo was fresh out of the academy. He was contemplating this when the door burst open.

"Hisagi!" Crows Rangiku Matsumoto, "Have you met the Spanish girl yet?" She manhandles a chair into a position across from his desk and slides into it conspiratorially.

"I heard that she's liaisoning with you…!"

"Yeah, so?" Hisagi puts the file down, and meets Rangiku's glimmering eyes.

"So… do you think she's cute? What's she like?"

"She's really…" He shrugs, "She's kind of like Captain Kuchiki, you know, really emotionless."

Rangiku wilts, "Really? I was hoping she'd be, like, really Spanish."

"She might be, I don't know what she's like with her friends." Privately, he wonders if she had any friends.

"So anyway, do you or don't you think she's cute?" Rangiku never tired of setting up Hisagi, matchmaking was too much fun.

"Well… I don't…"

She pounces, "You do think she's cute! I knew it!"

Hisagi throws up his hands, "Let's not jump to conclusions okay, she's totally not my type and she's way too young for me anyway."

"You know how old she is?"

He taps the paperwork in front of him, "She graduated from the Spanish Soul Reaper academy last year."

Rangiku's eyes widen, "Whoa! How'd she land a job as some schmancy official?"

"She's probably rich or something."

Matsumoto sighs, "Yeah, and I was thinking she would be fun, too…"

Hisagi commiserates. "Well, I really need to do some more work, so why don't you go chase her down or something? She just left."

The glint was back in the redhead's eyes. "I think I just might."

As Rangiku left his office, the beleaguered captain felt just a mite sorry for the poor girl.