Thank you Ralmidaz, teshichan, Kaze05, OnepieceX3, SilverStella for your reviews. I also appreciate all of you who have taken the time to read my story and those who decided to add me to their story and/or favorite author alert. You guys are awesome! I will continue to do my best. Please continue to read and review! -_-Y

Again, I want to acknowledge and thank DameM for her help. You are an amazing beta!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Mr. Tite Kubo et al owns it.

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"Captain Kuchiki!" Renji yelled.

Byakuya Kuchiki stopped walking and turned around. "Renji, please refrain from being so loud. We don't want to disrupt all of the Seireitei," he replied calmly. Byakuya had finished reporting to the soutaicho about his fight with Tsukishima and wanted to head back to his division as quickly as possible. He felt uneasy whenever he thought about his battle with Tsukishima. Byakuya's head started to hurt. He turned back around from Renji and continued walking toward the division's barracks.

"Yes, Captain Kuchiki. Uh, sorry..." Renji said sheepishly. "How did the meeting go? Did Soutaicho say anything more about the previous Substitute Shinigami?"

Byakuya paused before responding, "We don't know if he really disappeared into Hueco Mundo. Captain Kurotsuchi will be sending a group into Hueco Mundo again for more research so they will make a sweep for Kugo Ginjo. We are to find out more about their organization Xcution before formulating a plan."

"What about that girl? The one with the toy gun? She definitely would have information about that organization, "Renji asked. "Have they questioned her yet?"

"She said she won't say anything till she speaks with Ichigo Kurosaki. There's no harm in having her speak to him but we'll still send her to be questioned by Squad Two," Byakuya replied. "We have time at the moment. The soutaicho will call us to a meeting once Ichigo Kurosaki returns to the Soul Society." With Rukia, Byakuya thought.

Byakuya quickly frowned with concern. However distant and indifferent Rukia may look like to others, she seemed very happy to see Ichigo Kurosaki again. She also looked conflicted and pained. He wasn't sure what happened between those two and as much as he trusted and respected Rukia with that brat, he rather not find out. I just might kill him. Although killing Ichigo Kurosaki would be against what they were all trying to do, help Ichigo get his powers back and stabilized. Byakuya was aware of the last time she came back from the human world. Rukia nearly broke apart in front of him when he asked her about her mission. He was almost grateful for her promotion. It gave her something else to put all of her focus on. He was proud of her achievements and the Seireitei needed strong leadership, but it took everything he could muster to have her accept such a dangerous appointment. And now that Ichigo Kurosaki was back, he could already see Rukia's guarded demeanor unravel.

"Uh...Captain Kuchiki?" Renji asked. "About Rukia..."

Brought out from his thoughts, Byakuya looked at Renji then at their division's door that they'd walked passed. Swiftly, he turned back around. "She is a very capable Shinigami and the lieutenant of the thirteenth squad. She can manage herself. There's no need for concern," he replied.

Renji almost rolled his eyes. You're just as concerned as I am! Renji thought, exasperated. He noticed his captain constantly lost in thought about Rukia, especially lately. That girl, causing all of us to worry. He sighed and decided to abandon the conversation, following his captain quietly instead.

Ichigo ruffled his hair with both his hands with frustration. Ahhh! This is so awkward! Why is it so hard to do this? I would rather she kick me again then go through this! Ichigo glared at Rukia as she smirked back at him evilly.

"What's wrong Ichigo? What did you say earlier about opening a Senkaimon being a piece of cake and that it would be simple for someone of your caliber?" Rukia asked, laughing with a haughty expression that would put even Byakuya to shame.

"No one ever said there was a trick to opening a Senkaimon!" Ichigo yelled back trying to catch his breath. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead from his attempts. He'd never heard of having to do anything but thrust his Zanpakutou forward to open a Senkaimon. "Why the heck do we have to do it this way? Why won't you just open it? You're messing with me! Why can't we just use one of those Hell Butterflies? " he asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Oh, ho. Are you ready to apologize? Admit defeat?" Rukia asked, not fazed by his suspicions. She'd purposely left out that a command was also needed to open the Senkaimon. "And for calling me a midget," she tacked on at the end.

Ichigo gave a huff of resignation and replied, "Fine, I admit defeat for now, but I refuse to apologize for calling you a midget!" That earned him a swift kick behind his knees and he toppled over hitting his face on the cement.

Rukia stared down at him with a smile and yelled, "Idiot! Now is not the time to be—" Her response was soon cut off as two Hell Butterflies floated towards him as the Senkaimon opened for them.

"Ahh! You were messing with me!" Ichigo yelled, indignant.

"Shut up! Let's go. We're taking too long as it is!" Rukia said without confirming or denying his accusation. She gave him one last smile before walking through the Senkaimon.

Ichigo dusted off his shihakusho as he got up. He chuckled with amusement at the interaction that just happened between them. This was going a lot better than he thought, almost normal to how they were before things got complicated. He thought he was going to die from the awkwardness between him and Rukia after that uncomfortable exchange in his room and then as they waited while Yuzu finished packing a bento full of rice and curry for them. He decided to put his hurt feelings aside for now and just focus on being able to talk to each other normally again. Good thing I made that comment about her height. It never failed to annoy her, he thought. The comment about opening a Senkaimon just slipped out as they bantered with each other. She never could resist putting him in his place if given the chance. He smiled. That was why he was now sporting more bruises courtesy of a petite purple-eyed Shinigami than he had been before.

Ichigo looked at the petite Shinigami walking through the Senkaimon and blushed. He also thought of commenting and teasing her about her new hair style, which he liked, to get a rise out of her. However, he soon found his train of thought going in a completely different direction. He remembered the time they were by the river. The wind was blowing hard and he had gently slipped his fingers through her hair to remove a piece stuck between her lips. He remembered her surprised expression and how his hand had frozen in place before he brushed her hair to the side. Ichigo could still feel the warmth of her soft face as he traced her checks his fingers. And how she'd allowed him to bring her face closer to his…

Blushing madly, he forced himself to stop thinking about the past. It also reminded him of how hurt he was about the memory wipe. No, I need to focus on the now. I've waited seventeen months to see her...well...kind of seventeen months. I can wait a little bit longer to talk to her about what happened between us, he told himself. He was still a little confused about the timeline now that he had his memory back. He smiled at the image of her annoyed expression from their interaction earlier. Ichigo sighed. There was still a chance for them; especially judging by her reaction from earlier when their hands bumped into each other. Ichigo blushed again. He ran his hands through his hair again but pulled with frustration. Being with her like this is going to kill me. A sudden yell from Rukia to hurry up snapped him out of his thoughts and he ran to catch up to her. "At least I can see her again," he whispered as he ran toward her.

"When is Lieutenant Kuchiki coming back?" a thirteenth squad member asked. "I thought we were going to have training today."

Another squad member teased back, "Why, so you can get your butt kicked again by our lieutenant who's half your size?" This caused a lot of laughter from the other squad members as they rested in their barracks.

"What's so funny?" asked a warm friendly voice through the courtyard. A Captain with long white hair walked toward them. Next to him stood a tall, red-haired Shinigami with a serious but calm expression on his face. His shoulders were broad. The colors of his eyes were dark gray and shone with sadness. He had centuries of experience, but his face looked no older than the captain next to him. Dark red hair stood out wildly in all directions and a shield made from a hollow mask hung behind his back near his Zanpakutou.

"Captain Ukitake! Ashido Kano-san! Good day!" The squad members greeted.

"Good day." Captain Ukitake responded with a warm smile. "Lieutenant Kuchiki went to the human world on a mission with some of the other captains and lieutenants. We just had a joint meeting at the first division. She was right behind me. She should be here soon."

Ashido Kano looked at his captain and said, "Lieutenant Kuchiki is also bringing the Shinigami daiko here, Captain."

Captain Ukitake chuckled. "Yes, she is—" Before he could finish his sentence, he started to cough. Gasping for air and supported by some of the other squad members, he recovered enough from his coughing fit to finish the rest of what he was saying. "Yes, she escorted Ichigo Kurosaki to the Soul Society and she is bringing him here to our division. He will be staying here and we will be training with him as he gets used to his powers again. Of course, training with him will also help all of you get stronger. Make sure to learn from the experience," Captain Ukitake said. He laughed at all of their surprised and excited expressions. Looking over at the man next to him, he said, "Kano-san, we're also counting on you to help out with training. Although you've already done so much while our two third seats are away."

"Captain, I'm glad I'm able to assist." Ashido responded.

Captain Ukitake smiled at the man next to him. He knew about how he had saved and fought along with Rukia Kuchiki in the Menos Forest when she got separated from her group and reuniting her with them. He had also helped them all out of the Menos Forest so they could continue their mission to save Orihime Inoue. After the battle with Aizen, going back to the Menos Forest to search for him was the least they could do. He also had suspicions that one of Ashido's reasons for coming back with them was because of a certain person who was now his lieutenant. Captain Ukitake chuckled to himself.

Rukia sneezed three times. This is ridiculous. Maybe I'm getting a cold, Rukia thought. She rubbed her nose and looked up at Ichigo next to her. She and Ichigo had just met with the soutaicho and the rest of the captains and lieutenants. They were briefed about the return of Ichigo's powers, the battles, and about the current situation with the Fullbringers. She was pleased at how Ichigo had thanked them all. He has matured in a lot of ways, she thought. Everyone seemed uneasy about that Fullbringer's ability to insert himself into people's pasts. There was also that girl that had requested to speak with Ichigo. Rukia quickly pushed away the creeping and unnecessary feelings of jealousy. She continued to focus on her explanation about her squad. "Currently, our two third seats are out on a special mission so we have someone filling in and covering their responsibilities. You are to stay with us at our division's barracks to train. I'll introduce you to everyone when we get there. Once you're ready we can start training," she said.

Ichigo marveled at Rukia. Ever since they had arrived in the Soul Society, she had put on her "lieutenant face." She carried a grace in the way she acted and spoke in the meeting and towards the other Shinigamis. However, he was slightly irritated and concerned at the way she treated and spoke to him like he was just another new recruit.

"Ichigo! Ichigo, are you listening to me?" Rukia snapped and swung her fist at him.

Ichigo easily dodged her punch. He stared down at Rukia and held back a smile. He couldn't believe he would be relieved that she would try to hit him. "Lieutenant Kuchiki, you're so violent. How can you raise a hand a fellow Shinigami? Is this how you treat all your new recruits? What would your captain and squad members say?" Ichigo scoffed at her.

"Wha-? Ichigo, shut up!" Rukia replied, blushing with embarrassment. Before she could continue, both she and Ichigo were shocked silent by a huge explosion from the thirteenth squad barracks. When they arrived with their Zanpakutou ready they stopped and stood silently at the scene before them. Several squad members had tried to prepare firecrackers to welcome Ichigo to the thirteenth squad. Unfortunately, a lot of them were idiots when it came to setting off firecrackers and instead had set some of the barracks and each other on fire. Ichigo watched in amazement as Rukia directed all the guilty culprits to clean up and fix the damage they had created without raising her voice or fist at them once.

"Ichigo-kun!" Captain Ukitake greeted. "Welcome to the thirteenth squad. As you can tell, we are very excited for you to join us. We're not usually this exuberant."

Ichigo sat down on the steps leading into the courtyard and stared at the captain from the shock and also the pain from Rukia's kicks earlier. "Ah...thanks," Ichigo replied.

"Welcome, Ichigo Kurosaki-san!" yelled everyone after their captain.

"Aa. Thanks," Ichigo said again. "Ouch!" he yelled after his head was slapped forward.

"What was that?" Rukia yelled. "Everyone just welcomed you. You should introduce yourself then thank everyone."

"Why do I need to introduce myself? Everyone already knows who I am and I did thank everyone just now!" Ichigo yelled back rubbing the back of his head.

Stunned Rukia stared at him for a fraction of second. "Well, you could have been more polite!" Rukia said quickly. The other squad members were more stunned with their lieutenant's behavior towards the Shinigami daiko than she was with his manners.

"Hey, what's their relationship?" whispered one squad member. "They seem rather comfortable with each other and I've never seen Lieutenant Kuchiki act that way before." Other squad members whispered and agreed with each other. Before the gossip got out of hand, their lieutenant quickly recovered and ordered all of them to finish cleaning up or go and get ready for training.

Rukia resisted putting her hand to her face. Instead she just closed her eyes and furrowed her brow. That was so embarrassing. "Get ready to train!" she told everyone, recovering her dignity.

Ichigo sweat dropped from the atmosphere of the thirteenth squad members that had gathered to train. They were outside in an open field behind the thirteenth squad's barracks. He had beaten most of the members who were using practice swords. "Um..." Ichigo murmured. "You guys did pretty well," he said as positively as possible. He was holding back but the workout was still helpful. His eyes kept darting over at their petite lieutenant who was talking with a man with red hair. The man had a shield made from a hollow's mask that hung on his back. He had noticed him earlier when everyone greeted him but had as yet had the chance to speak with him. He could have sworn he'd seen that Shinigami before.

"Ichigo-kun," Captain Ukitake said handing Zangetsu back to him. "Thank you for helping our squad members with their training, but now I think it's time that we help you."

"Oh. This has been helping me," Ichigo replied, slightly embarrassed. He put the practice sword down and put Zangetsu back behind his back. It felt good to have his Zanpakutou on him again.

"Idiot. That was just a warm-up for you," Rukia said. "It will help our squad members to see you really fight." Rukia unsheathed her katana.

"Rukia? Wait, what are you planning on doing?" Ichigo asked, slightly alarmed.

"It's true your powers increase when you're protecting someone but you also hold your powers back sometimes, especially fighting against someone you know. We received specific orders to help you overcome that challenge while you get used to your Shinigami powers again," Rukia explained. "Ichigo, prepare yourself. The real training for you starts now."

Ichigo stared in disbelief at Rukia as she walked towards him. "Rukia, stop joking. There's no way I could fight you even if it is for training," he said.

Rukia stared back at Ichigo, her eyes determined and focused. "I know; that's exactly why you must fight me," she replied. She removed any hesitation she had from her heart. She took a deep breath and shouted,

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"