Disclamer: I own no original Bleach components

I woke up the next day to...chores. Turns out there are a bunch of things you need to do, like deliver mail, which was what I was currently doing. I was wandering around the barracks, delivering mail to so-and-so from some other shinigami. I learned to put names to faces, now knowing many more shinigami. I was looking forward to seeing Renji and talking with him, he was a good friend and basically the only one I had here.

I slid the door open to his office and called out, "Renji, mail for you!"

He looked up at me and smiled, "Well if it isn't Yoru-san delivering mail."

I shuffled over to him, it was difficult walking when holding the large cardboard box carrying all the mail, and put it down on his desk, "Yes haha it's very funny to see me doing chores, now take your mail and make this a bit easier on me."

I handed him some letters and asked, "Is the Captain in his office?"

Renji chuckled, "When is he not? Just knock on the door."

I did as I was told and knocked on the door. I heard Byakuya's voice tell me to come in.

I slid the door open and shuffled towards him (stupid box...), "Good morning Captain Kuchiki."

He made a sound to show he heard me. I put the letters on his desk and proceeded to shuffle out.

"Yoru-san."

I turned in surprise, "Yes Captain?"

Not looking up from his work he asked, "Were you able to retrieve your personal items yesterday?"

There he goes again, being slightly concerned for me, "Yes Captain I was. If I may be so bold...how are you doing today?"

At this he looked up, "I am fine Yoru-san."

I giggled, remembering something I saw in a movie, "I see."

His face didn't change but I saw confusion in his eyes, "Is something amusing Yoru-san?"

"Do you know what fine stands for?"

"Fine is not an acronym." He replied curtly.

Ignoring him, I said, "It stands for Freaked-out, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional. Oh, and please call me Kitsune-san."

I shuffled out the door, shutting it behind me. I said goodbye to Renji and went on to deliver the rest of the mail (oh joy). I got through to the bottom of the box, and while I was feeling extremely relieved another shinigami came up to me and told me to deliver more things, but it was paperwork this time. Unfortunately I didn't receive any that were addressed to Captain Byakuya or Renji, but on the bright side I did receive one addressed to Captain Aizen so I would be able to see Momo. I also received a few for Eleventh Company, and one for Fourth.

The deliveries were done quickly. Momo was on a mission in the World of The Living so I didn't get to talk to her, and I couldn't find Hanataro in the Fourth Company barracks. I was on my way to deliver the paperwork when a small, pink someone ran up to me.

"Hi!" I could now see it was a young girl with short pink hair and large brown eyes.

I crouched down so we were at eye level, "Hi."

"Are you Kistune Yoru? Huh? Are you?" She was bouncing up and down, speaking quickly and in an excited tone of voice.

"Um, yes that's me." Who was this girl? She seemed awfully young, but then again shinigamis do possess longevity so she could be centuries old.

"Oh good, you can come see Ken-chan!" she smiled brightly at me.

"Uh, well I have to deliver some paperwork to Eleventh Company-"

"But that's where Ken-chan is silly! He's the captain!"

I blinked, "Oh, well I suppose I could go with you-"

In a flash she had gripped my arm and was dragging me off to Eleventh Company barracks, using shunpo the entire way.

Suddenly she halted, simultaneously letting go of me, which allowed me to shoot forward and face plant in the dirt. I sat up and spat out a mouthful of sand and grit. I felt a large pressure nearby, coming closer until it was right in front of me. A very tall and burly man with long spikes of black hair shooting off in all directions, wearing an eye patch and a captain's coat stood before me.

"Kitsune Yoru, I meet you at last." He had a rough, deep voice.

I stood up completely and dusted myself off, "Yes that's me, who are you?"

He grinned, and for some reason it reminded me of a wild animal, "I am Kenpachi Zaraki, the Eleventh Company's captain."

As he introduced himself I remembered something Renij had said to me...and when Kenpachi heard about you and the band of Hollows he was determined to have you.

So this was he, the guy Byakuya fought to have me in his Squad. I felt the question I'd been asking myself nag at me until I finally spoke up, "Kenpachi-san, why did you want me in your Company? I barely know the basics of being a shinigami and am pretty new to the art of swordplay."

"While that's true, defeating a Hollow is no smart feat for a member of the shinigami academy, let alone someone whose been living their life as a human, so your strength is quite extraordinary to be able to release your Zanpaku-to within the first time of summoning it and using it to defeat a large group of Hollows. Eleventh company prides itself on its warriors and you are one such warrior, I will be excited to have you as a member of my squad."

I titled my head sideways, "Will be? But I'm already a member of Squad Six."

He grinned manically at me again, and I felt a bit of foreboding, "Transfers are not uncommon."

I handed him the papers and headed off back to my room to relax a bit, at least until someone came by with more chores for me to do. I felt slightly shaken by Kenpachi's statement. He clearly wasn't giving up on me so easily, should this be a bad thing or a good thing? I wasn't sure, I knew so little of the personalities of the captains but in some cases (like of that rat-faced Ichimaru) I was learning quickly.

I ended up having more chores to do (ugh) but I grew excited as night was falling. I would be sneaking away and training with Kaigaishii-sensei soon, and I was anxious to begin. I carefully made my way back to Second Company barracks (after getting directions from Renji, but thankfully he was busy so he didn't ask too many questions) I stealthily made my way over there, and luckily I didn't run into anyone.

I found the hole the lead into Kaigaishii-sensei's cell, and was about to leap in when I remembered something. I tied rope around a rock and fed it through the hole. I didn't want to get stuck down there again, so I came prepared. I shimmied down the rope then landed on the sandy ground.

As my eyes adjusted to the dim light I heard a voice say, "So you made it."

I blinked a few times for long seconds before seeing the shape of Kaigaishii-sensei, and smiled at him, "Yup, here I am Kaigaishii-sensei."

He looked up at the rope, "This is how you'll be getting back up?"

I nodded, "That was the plan."

He shook his head, "No good."

"Why no good?"

"Because this will attract attention, not only from the inside but from the out as well," he replied.

I scratched my head, "So then how will I get back up?"

He crackled his knuckled then answered, "That will be today's lesson."

I grinned, "Alright!"

And so we got to work. He asked me to show him how accomplished at shunpo I was, and when I did he seemed satisfied, so he taught me how to shunpo up walls. The principles were the same, you had to cushion yourself with your spiritual energy, but the execution was different. You had to propel yourself upward instead of forward, and it required more concentration.

I practiced for hours, until my legs felt like lead. But finally, I managed to reach the lip of the gap and pull myself to freedom.

I sat there panting, until I heard Kaigaishii-sensei's voice float up to me, "That will be it for today. Just keep practicing hard and I'll see you tomorrow night."

I leaned down and called back, "Okay, oyasumi nasai Kaigaishii-sensei!"

I heard him chuckle, then reply, "Oyasumi nasai Kitsune-san."

I practically bounced back to my room. I was sore all over but I felt great, I was learning new things and I would slowly become a splendid shinigami.

I slept soundly that night; only pleasant dreams went through my mind. The next day progressed similarly to the day before, filled with chores. I practiced with Nekoakuma when I could during the pauses in work, and thought constantly about my lessons with Kaigaishii-sensei.

If my thoughts weren't on my lessons they were on Byakuya. I was pretty sure I had a crush on him, but I seriously doubt he'd go for me and he wasn't around often enough for me to talk to him a lot. So I settled for asking Renji about him. I was wondering if Renji knew the reason I was asking, but honestly he seemed a little thick when it came to matters of the heart so I couldn't be certain.

"He likes sakura trees," Renji was saying, "and he had a koi pond in his garden. He's really stuck on the rules, and he's cold to most people."

"You're making him out to be a dictator." I said with a laugh.

He laughed too, "Yeah I know, but he rarely shows his emotions so it's hard to describe him without using words like 'cold' and 'strict'. He's very honourable though, loyal too."

He had to leave shortly after that, so I didn't learn anything else. I wandered through the day, doing things like delivering things and other trivial tasks given to the unseated shinigami. I didn't mind too much though, because if I was seated I'd end up having to do paperwork day in and day out and I might just go insane.

I was growing excited when night was rolling around, and so I made my way to the Nest of Maggots.

Much to my chagrin, as I was sneaking off, I heard an unwelcome voice from behind me, "Yoru-chan, fancy seeing you here."

Gin Ichimaru's voice was smooth, but someone grating, with that stupid smile on his face, "Heading somewhere in particular?"

I smiled, plastering it on to make it look as condescending as possible, "Captain Ichimaru, to what do I owe the pleasure?" I had no intention of answering his question, and I hoped I could sidestep it completely.

"Oh I was jus' wandering around and saw you and I figured we could catch up."

"Catch up? But Captain we hardly know each other." And I intended to keep it that way.

He slung his long, pale arm around my shoulder, "Aw, well ain't that a shame, we aughta get to know each other better then."

I had to fight the urge to frown. What was he playing at? He pushed me down a hole into the cell of a potential murderer (except Kaigaishii-sensei is innocent and a very kind person so I suppose that worked out, but it's the principle of the matter). He was a mighty fine actor, playing it off like we'd never fought and were friends. It was at his moment that I felt very sorry for Izuru, who had to be this man's lieutenant.

So, I replied, "As nice as that sounds, I have a previous engagement."

He raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And what might that be?"

"A place with a person, 'fraid you aren't invited." I was unable to stop a small amount of malice to enter my voice.

He placed his hand on his forehead in a mock imitation of hurt, "My dear you have wounded me. I can see I'm not wanted, ta-ta."

He turned to leave, then added, "But I'll see you again soon, you can be sure of that."

I narrowed my eyes slightly, smile turning more into a smirk, "I look forward to it."

And like that he was gone. I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. He didn't scare me, but I felt unease and anger whenever he was around. I knew I shouldn't let him get the better of me, but he was so infuriating I wanted to smack him across the face, several times.

I used shunpo the rest of the way there, and thankfully I ran into no one else. I arrived at the hole and skittered down the wall, standing beside my sensei.

Kaigaishii-sensei greeted me, "Hello Kitsune-san, did you sleep well?"

I nodded, "I did, thank you."

He tilted his head sideways, "You seem tense, is something the matter?"

I frowned deeply, "I ran into Ichimaru on the way here. That man is a menace, why do people not see it?"

Kaigaishii-sensei ran a hand through his hair, "Believe it or not he's a good captain, and he saved the lives of many, and had he not been a murderer then he would have been an asset to the Thirteen Court Guard Companies.

As to why no one has noticed his facade? I would say it's because of his acting skills, and because he has the help of an accomplice, maybe two."

"Well someone should see it!" I shouted, "Such treachery shouldn't be with the good guys!"

My sensei sighed heavily, "Such is the way of the world, it isn't perfect."

I sighed too, but there wasn't anything I could do, at least not yet.

I looked back at Kaigaishii-sensei, "So what am I to learn today?"

He grinned, "Hand-to-hand combat."

He showed me the proper stance, and then began showing the motions for a successful punch and round-house kick, among other techniques. He was really good, I was glad I had him as a teacher. We practiced for hours, one of which was spent with my arms held out and crossed, getting continuously punched so I build up my tolerance for pain and to improve my blocks.

"A block is always second to an evasion, but you need to know it. It could be the difference between a cut and a decapitation." Kaigaishii-sensei told me.

After training, my arms ached. They only had slight marks, but I was sure to have bruises blossom by morning.

Kaigaishii-sensei patted my head, "You'll be alright, just get some rest."

I yawned, "Yes Kaigaishii-sensei, oyasumi nasai."

He looked at me carefully for a moment, then asked, "Kitsune-san, which of your parents do you resemble most?"

I rubbed sore wrists and answered, "My mom, why?"

"What was your mother's name?"

"Akari, but her maiden name was different from my dad's. Her full name was Akari Urabana."

He looked deep in concentration for a minute, "Where have I heard that name before..."

After a minute of silence, I said, "Izuru said it sounded familiar too, did you know her or something?"

He shook his head, "I can't remember, but I'll sleep on it."

He bid me goodnight as I disappeared out the hole. I scurried back to my room, got ready and feel asleep quickly. I dreamt about my mom, she was wearing her hair pinned up, wearing long flowing, purple robes sitting under a sakura tree. She looked...serene.

Oyasumi-nasai: Goodnight

sensei: suffix meaning teacher