"It's such a nice day today~"

"It really is."

"And so quiet, too."

"Indeed." A pause. "But Kyouraku..."

"Hm?" The flamboyant captain sent a glance over to his pale-haired friend, tipping his hat up just a smidgen to get a better view.

Ukitake sighed lightly. "That's still no reason to be drinking so early in the day."

"Hmmmm?" Kyouraku's eyes lowered to the small cup perched between his fingers and let out a soft laugh."You should relax a bit more~" he scolded the other, lightly, and motioned around. They were settled in a field belonging to the Thirteenth Division; a quiet place where they often joined together to talk about nothing much at all. "It's a good time. I think that's enough of a reason to celebrate, don't you?"

It was immensely difficult to berate the man next to him. Ukitake had learned as much very early on in his career as Kyouraku's best friend- because certainly it was a job and a half- and had quite willingly obliged to the other's frivolous nature. Ukitake knew, perhaps better than anyone, that underneath the flimsy, carefree exterior that Kyouraku kept up, he was of extremely solid and reliable character. As such, he found it incredibly difficult to reign in his friend's whims and more often than not caved in.

"I suppose you're right," he conceded, turning his attention back to the grassy plains around them. "After all, Ichigo and Shinji have returned safely from Hueco Mundo. It's more than we could have hoped for." He gave a soft chuckle. "I could barely get the news out before Rukia ran off to the Fourth Division to see Ichigo."

"I'm sure Byakuya had the same reaction from Abarai," Kyouraku mused, a lazy grin spreading over his lips. "Ichigo's made a lot of friends during his time here. Unohana will probably be tired of seeing everyone come in and out so much."

"What about you?" Ukitake wondered, tilting his head in the other man's direction. "Will you go and see either of them?"

Kyouraku didn't respond right away, taking another, slow sip from his dish as he mused over the possibility of seeing either man. "No," he finally decided. "Ichigo and I aren't really that close, but I'll go with you if you want to."

"Ah," Ukitake offered an appreciative smile, but waved the offer away with a hand, "I'm sure he has enough on his mind, now, as it is. It would feel out of place if I didn't have anything to bring him." Which, of course, he didn't. "What about Hirako?"

"Shinji?" Well, Shinji was a different story, wasn't he? "There's no reason to go and see him, either."

"Really?" Eyebrows raised and a curious glance was sent over. "Weren't you two good friends back when he was a captain before? I would have thought you two would have liked to catch up, now that he and the others are in good standing again." It hadn't gone beyond Ukitake's observation that Lisa showed up every chance she got.

"Exactly," Kyouraku agreed with a mischievous smile running across his lips.

"Which is why the lazy bum ain't gotta get up t' see me," a new voice filled in the explanation. Behind the pair, Shinji stood with one hand firmly placed on his hips. "Ain't that right, Shunsui?"

"Ahh, just in time~" Kyouraku's head tilted back to take in the upside-down appearance of the Vizard. "Shinji!"

Ukitake offered a nod and a smile to greet the other as he took a seat on the other side of Kyouraku, but kept quiet. He liked Shinji, and he valued the other for quite a few things, but the two had never really clicked. If he had to be honest, just talking to the high-spirited man wore him out a bit.

Leaning over, Shinji swiped the bottle from Kyouraku's hand and took a long drink, sighing in contentment as he stretched his legs and grinned over at the pair. "Ya talk about me a lot behind my back?" he wondered, his tone light and free from any of the stresses he had been feeling around just about everyone else.

"Only good things, of course," Kyouraku assured him, sending an envious glance to his stolen drink. "You look well," he commented, turning his sights to Shinji, "for being in Hueco Mundo for so long."

Shinji looked down at himself as if to assure that, yes indeed, he did look good before tilting his head in thought. "So long? How long's it really been?" Even if his sense of time was off, he was sure it wasn't longer than two weeks.

"I suppose it would be difficult to tell time in a place like that," Kyouraku sympathized.

"It ain't that so much," Shinji began, tipping his head back for another, quick drink, "but I only woke up a week or so ago. I just kinda figured that I wasn't out for very long." He then hesitated and sent a look to the two captains, who were exchanging a look between themselves. "How long's it been?" he asked again.

The pair were silent for a while before Kyouraku sighed and pushed himself up into a sitting position, albeit a bit slouched. "The war ended fifteen months ago."

Shinji was silent for a long while as he studied first Kyouraku, then Ukitake, looking for any signs of a joke. When he saw only pitying gazes sent in his direction, his teeth clenched against each other and he handed the bottle back to the man at his side. "Fifteen months," he muttered, studying the grass between his outstretched legs, "an' no one ever came t' look for us?"

Ukitake's head turned and Kyouraku frowned. He really didn't have any words to say to the other man. Shinji didn't even have to say it: If it were him or Ichigo (God forbid both of them together) who were on the outside and their friends were trapped, not even Hell itself could have held them back from rescuing the trapped souls. Suddenly, he didn't feel like drinking much at all.

"It's not as if we didn't want you back," Ukitake finally offered, the guilty expression seemingly well-placed on his pale features, "but with no contact from Aizen about your situations, everyone just assumed you two were..."

"By the time we all recovered and had our strength back and a rescue mission was actually possible," Kyouraku said lowly, "that worst case scenario seemed like reality rather than speculation."

And despite how offended and angry Shinji wanted to be, he couldn't really find it in himself to harbor poor feelings toward anyone on this side. Would he not have thought the same thing, if he had been in their situation? Didn't he think the same thing of the entire Soul Society? He let out a light sigh and rested back on his good arm, turning his head up to the sky. "It's all in the past, now," he told them, though couldn't manage a reassuring smile. He tilted his head in Kyouraku's direction and scanned his form. "Ya got Sakanade?"

"Hm? Oh, right! I'd almost forgotten~" A large hand disappeared underneath the layers of clothing covering the captain's body before emerging with a familiar glint of red, quickly relinquishing the prize over to its rightful owner.

Shinji quickly sat up straight again and took the sword in his hand, his bad mood diminishing almost instantly at the contact. "It definitely felt like longer than a week since I've been with 'im," he commented.

"You really need a woman in your life," Kyouraku snorted, then sent his friend a suspicious glance, "or a man. Whichever."

"What's that s'pposed t' mean?" Shinji demanded, a bit alarmed that he might be giving off some sort of vibes. Just because he was a little particular about his appearance didn't mean he was into that sort of thing! "'Sides, ya'd be just the same if ya lost yours for so long!"

"Actually, he might be a bit relieved to get away from Katen Kyoukotsu for a bit, don't you think?" Ukitake wondered, a teasing smile aimed at the man in question.

"Hey, hey, not so loud!" Kyouraku protested, sending a cautious look to the blades at his side. "You'll put her in a bad mood and she'll refuse to play the next time I really need her to."

"Is it that bad?" Shinji wondered; he'd never had a problem coaxing Sakanade to help him out. "Kinda sounds like teamin' up with someone from Zaraki's division." He hadn't been well-informed on Soul Society's happenings in the past century, but he was sure the Eleventh Division was something that had remained absolutely the same.

A groan emitted from Kyouraku's lips. "I'll die for sure."

"Well, it could be worse," Shinji sympathized, slinging Sakanade over his shoulder and rising to his feet, "ya could be a virgin."

Despite himself, and the burst of red that appeared over Ukitake's face at the lewd comment, Kyouraku snorted and tipped his hat back over his eyes. "Don't be a stranger," he called after the departing Vizard.

"As if I could be stranger than you," Shinji retorted over his shoulder.

"Well," Ukitake said lowly, a faint smile creeping at his lips, "he has a point."

As it always seemed to be when Ichigo was injured, the usual group had gathered by his resting place and were mulling over their friend's fate. Granted, this time was a touch bit different than any other, but among all of them- Rukia, Renji, Orihime, Sado, and Uryuu- the lot of them couldn't really piece together how it was different. Ichigo had fought. Ichigo had been hurt. Ichigo would be fine. That was how it was supposed to be. Now, they were just waiting for the 'Ichigo would be fine' part to kick in. And yet...

"I'm worried about him," Orihime finally stated, breaking the silence and speaking what was likely on everyone's mind. Or, at the very least, what was in their hearts.

"Even Captain Unohana wasn't positive on the reason behind his comatose," Rukia offered, though it wasn't much help to lighten the mood. "If Aizen did something to him..."

Orihime looked to the other female and, despite the situation, her eyes lit up with a bit of hope. "Do you think Shinji would know more? They were there together, after all."

"I don't trust that guy," Renji interjected in a rough tone. "Ichigo will be fine, even if we don't know what's wrong with him." It was Ichigo, for crying out loud! What was there to worry about? He gained little comfort in Sado's nod of agreement.

Uryuu cleared his throat lightly, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself in the presence of Shinigami. Still, he was part of the group and just as worried about Ichigo as any of the others, even if he'd die before admitting such. "We should all be careful, regardless," he warned. "Even if Ichigo does wake up, his mentality may not be what it was before."

That thought, even more than the one of him not waking up at all, scared everyone in the room. If Ichigo was not himself, what could they do? They were not the heroes; they didn't fix things.; they didn't save the day. Ichigo did. Their Ichigo did, anyway. And what could they do if Aizen had taken that Ichigo away and left them with his version of Ichigo? Aizen's Ichigo was a terrifying thought.

Finally, Orihime stood and drew everyone's attention. Upon receiving four (or perhaps five, if Ishida's glasses were to be counted) sets of questioning looks, she smiled brightly. "Ichigo has a lot of people here to worry about him. I'm worried, too, but he's not awake right now and Shinji is. I think he needs someone, too, and if he doesn't have anyone, I don't want him to be alone."

"Be careful," Ishida said as she made a move to leave, "he might be dangerous. We don't know what Aizen did to him."

Just before reaching the door, Orihime sent the Quincy a smile over her shoulder. "Oh, I'm not worried about that," she told him, "Shinji's as harmless as a kitten!"

Orihime left and silence settled over the group. Finally, one by one, each of them connected the dots to what she had just said.

"Shinji..."

"...harmless..."

"...as a..."

"...kitten."

And as hard as Renji tried to hold it back, and as hard as Rukia jabbed him in the ribs while barely able to contain a smirk of her own, he laughed. He would remember that one.

"Oh, I forgot," Orihime murmured to herself as she began walking away from the Fourth Division, "I don't even know where he'd be." She paused and looked up to the sky, as if it would send her an answer. "He could be visiting Kensei or Rose, since they're all friends. But he probably spent a lot of time with Urahara, too, so he could be there." Her brow furrowed slightly. "Or maybe he even went back to our world to see the others still living there."

Just as Orihime was deciding to visit each person on her list of possibilities, one by one, a familiar flash of blonde hair caught her attention. It was just her luck that, though lost in thought and oblivious to her presence, Shinji was walking by the road she was on, soon vanishing around a corner.

"Oh, Shinji!" she called out, running after him with an arm outstretched, as though she could grab onto him from such a distance. "Shinji!" she called again as she rounded the corner ahead of her and stopped immediately, pleased to see that he had heard her- how could he not?- and was looking over his shoulder in her direction.

Shinji had expected to see a lot of familiar faces in Soul Society, though there were far more that he didn't know, which disturbed him a bit. Still, Orihime's cheery face was a welcome relief and Shinji returned her smile with one of his own as she approached him. He didn't hesitate to wrap her in the best bear hug he could manage with one arm and gave a comical laugh.

"Orihime! It's been so long since I've seen such a pretty face~ Ahh, Soul Society's been overrun with big, ugly men. It's such a tragedy for a guy like me!"

Despite herself, Orihime let out a small laugh and returned the embrace, titling her head in thought. "That's not completely true!" she told him, taking a step back when he decided he was done with the affectionate contact. "There are some really pretty girls here, and I think Matsumoto is even prettier than I am!"

Shinji scanned his memory, but couldn't place a face (pretty or otherwise) with the name. He dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand. "I don't even know who that is, but there's no way she could be prettier than you!"

The female's cheeks were painted a light pink at the barrage of compliments. "You must know Matsumoto," she insisted. "She's really tall and has beautiful hair and a really big personality! She's Captain Hitsugaya's lieutenant!"

"Captain Hitsugaya?" Shinji repeated, frowning a little. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell! Man, things have changed so much since I was around last! I don't how Rose and Kensei can handle it."

Orihime paused in thought for a moment, then smiled again. "Well, I don't really know, since I'm not old enough for that long of a time to have passed by, but I bet it's just like transferring classes! You just need to make new friends with your new classmates~"

Shinji thought back to his temporary time as a student in Ichigo's school and lost heart. Perhaps Orihime didn't remember, or just didn't realize, that she was really the only friend he made there, at the time. "Well, sometimes things aren't that easy, even for an attractive and easy-going guy like myself."

Orihime wondered how things were different, but she figured even if Shinji tried to explain, she wouldn't really get it. She never quite got it when people said they couldn't get along with others. Instead, she grabbed the Vizard's hand and began walking in the direction she had chased him down, figuring he was going somewhere important.

"Where are we going?" Shinji wondered, though didn't object at all to the contact and even thought to slide an arm around her waist or shoulders. Would that be too much? Well, Orihime probably wouldn't think so, but anyone else they might run into would likely have an issue with it.

"You were walking this way, right?" she asked, sending a glance in his direction. "I figured you were on your way somewhere."

"Ahh, nowhere important," he assured her, deciding to compromise and link his arm with hers, sending her a grin along with it. "Besides, I'd much rather just walk around with you." Though, the reality hit home and he let his happy expression slip just a bit. "I'm staying here, with Kisuke, until Ichigo wakes up, but..." he paused, looking around as if the scenery would tell him which way to go to answer his questions, "I feel like I should be doing something else other than just walking around."

"You went through a lot in there, didn't you?" she wondered, leaning a bit against him as they strolled in the general direction of nowhere in particular. "You should take this time to relax."

A cautious look was sent to the female. "Did someone tell you what happened there?" There hadn't even been many people Shinji himself had told. Things really did spread fast.

"Oh, no!" she said quickly, waving her free hand in emphasis. "No one said anything to me, but I was held captive there for a while, too." She didn't need to say anything more and was sure Shinji got the message loud and clear: Of all the people in Soul Society, she was one of the ones that could relate to his situation better than most.

He understood the unspoken words well enough, but felt no comfort in them, like he was sure she was hoping he would. "Honestly," he said in a low voice, "I hope that ain't true." At her confused expression, he tried to turn the conversation back to a lighter note. "I mean, if ya spent any amount of time around Ulquiorra, surely ya wouldn't be as nice as ya are now."

Orihime blinked a few times and a rush of emotions flooded her body. Ulquiorra. Something tugged at her heart at the thought of the stoic Espada and she couldn't help but smile. "That's not true," she said, almost laughing at Shinji's bewildered expression. "I saw him a lot while I was there, and he was always really nice to me."

"Yeah, right!" Shinji snorted, looking off to the side. He didn't mean to tell her how she felt about someone or what happened while he wasn't around, but there was no way Ulquiorra was a nice person to anyone. "You've gotta be exaggeratin'."

"I'm not!" Orihime insisted. "He took really good care of me. Maybe he was a little intense at times, but it suits him, don't you think?"

"A little intense? Don'tcha think that's a bit of an understatement?" Shinji shook his head and then realized just who he was talking to and just why she must be here. "Hey, you probably came t' see Ichigo, right? The Fourth Division was back that way." He doubted she knew her way around Soul Society very well.

"Ichigo? Oh, I've already been to see him," she said with a light smile. "I was looking for you, actually."

"For me?" An eyebrow shot up at that and he finally stopped their travels as they wandered back into the Fifth Division's boundaries. "Why were ya lookin' for me?"

"I'm sure you've seen a lot of people since you've been back, and I'm sure they've all asked you what happened while you were there" she began, clasping her hands together once her arm was released from Shinji's, "but I thought maybe no one's really asked you how you've been doing." Her expression dimmed from happy to concerned. "I thought maybe you needed someone to talk to."

Unsure of what else to do with his hand, Shinji raised it to rub at the back of his head, shifting his gaze to avoid the imploring eyes staring into his. "How I've been?" he repeated, musing over an honest answer to that question. Finally, he smiled at her. "I've been doin' just fine, of course!" He had no honest answer to give, at that point. At her stubborn expression, he waved his hand. "Really," he insisted, "I'm used t' Aizen's tricks. Nothin' that guy could do could touch me, anymore."

Orihime tried to determine if Shinji was being honest, but skepticism had never been a strong trait of hers. Naturally, if he said it, she believed him. And she was impressed. "Is that really true? Aizen's such a scary guy when he wants to be!" She remembered all too well.

Shinji snorted. "He's only that scary 'cause everyone says 'e is. He's really just a big creep."

"You're so amazing!" Orihime gushed, eyes bright with admiration and smile wide. "I didn't think anyone could view someone like Aizen in that way. You must not be scared of anything!"

Shinji couldn't have agreed with her even if he wanted to. And he badly wanted to. "That ain't true," he told her. "Everyone's scared of losin' their friends, ain't they?" He gave her a wink. "That's why I only make friends with really strong people. Like Kisuke an' Ichigo," he paused, "an' you."

"Me?" she asked, once again confused. Shinji said a lot of confusing things, she realized.

"Of course!" Shinji told her. "Everyone underestimates your power. I ain't talk' 'bout that thing ya do with your hair clip, but your other powers. Ya know, how you're able t' always be so upbeat an' nice, no matter what." He gave a moment's thought before continuing. "It doesn't surprise me at all that Ichigo goes t' such great lengths for ya. He realizes it, too. If there's anything in the world worth protectin', it's what ya got."

Orihime took a few moments to let the words sink in and immediately felt tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't help it, really, and even if she could have, she probably wouldn't. She had always been the kind of person to wear her heart on her sleeve and, evidently, that's what Shinji liked so much about her. So, who was she to hold back when she felt like crying? And certainly the other's words moved her to start sobbing.

"N-no one's ever s-said such n-nice things ab-b-bout me!" she bawled, hands curled into fists at her side as she tried to at least retain control of her voice.

As soon as the tears started flowing, Shinji's eyes popped open and he began waving his good hand in an attempt to erase away every single tear. "H-hey, cut that out!" he said, worriedly, looking in every direction around himself. The last thing he needed was for someone to see him making a girl cry. Orihime, no less.

"I-it's okay!" she said, catching her breath, though the tears were still sliding steadily down her cheeks. She managed a smile, as if it would make things better. "They're t-tears of happiness!"

"That don't really make a difference," Shinji groaned, relieved at least that no one else seemed to be around. Now if only Orihime would stop crying. "A woman cryin' is still a woman cryin', no matter the reason!"

After a few more awkward moments, Orihime finally raised both hands to wipe away the remaining tears that hadn't splashed to the ground. She immediately leaned in to give Shinji another, less intense hug and pecked his cheek lightly, nearly giggling at the burst of color left behind at the action. "I want to talk to you more, after you're settled in, okay?" she took a step in retreat, intending to leave the other to his own devices for the time being. "I hope I didn't distract you too much from whatever you were doing."

"I said I wasn't doin' anything important," Shinji told her, raising a hand to rub lightly at his cheek. "Ya don't have t' go so soon, ya know."

"Well, I don't want Renji and Ishida to come looking for me. They don't trust you very much, though I'm not sure why." Again, the notion of not trusting someone so obviously trustworthy went right over her head.

"They don't trust me?" Shinji repeated, obviously offended. "Well, why not? I'm a perfectly likeable guy!"

"I know!" she insisted, as if Shinji had just spoken her exact thoughts. Which, really, he had. "I told them that, too! I said 'Oh, I don't have to worry about Shinji. He's as harmless as a kitten!' or something like that."

Harmless. Kitten. Shinji stared for a few minutes before leaning forward in emphasis of his obvious objection to the statement. "A kitten? I ain't anything like a kitten! Why'd ya tell 'em somethin' like that?" He gave a groan as she only laughed and gave another goodbye, raising his able hand to cover his face. If only all the pretty faces around weren't out to destroy his reputation.

"Enter."

The single word beckoned a pair of doors to swing open, allowing entrance to the First Division's office. Urahara had never really gotten comfortable walking through those doors, but Yamamoto had summoned him, so what else could he do?

"Ah, Captain Commander!" he greeted with an overly-friendly smile. He had also not really gotten back into the habit of acting as a captain should. Though he hadn't spent nearly as much time around the old man, Urahara's attitude toward his superior was more like Kyouraku's than that of someone who was, despite his age, a relatively new captain. He hadn't been in the position for very long before everything happened all those years ago.

"Urahara Kisuke," Yamamoto said in a low, gravely voice. He waited the short amount of time it took the other man to walk properly into his office, using that opportunity to reflect on just who he had called to his division and why. Urahara was not a man to be treated lightly and they both knew it. Yamamoto wondered if it was because he was so unfamiliar with their faces these days or just that something about the transient world had given them something that Soul Society did not offer, but those he had exiled seemed more intimidating than even his strongest captains. Of course, he would never tell them that.

After a moment of watching the other carefully, Yamamoto spoke again. "I have called you here today to talk about Hirako Shinji."

"Shinji?" Urahara repeated, internally sighing because it wouldn't be nice to do so out loud. He could guess at what the other man wanted to know, but Urahara was going to be painfully dry of answers; Shinji was being cautious even around him.

"Has he told you," Yamamoto began, brow furrowing lightly at his anticipation of the other's answer, "of any plans to return to Hueco Mundo?"

And there is was. One of a million questions Yamamoto would ask that Urahara couldn't answer. He really didn't like not being able to provide information, least of all because he wasn't being useful to his superior. In honesty, he didn't like it mostly because he knew Yamamoto could- and perhaps even wanted to- help Shinji with his goals. But none of them could if Shinji wouldn't be straightforward with them. Still, he had to do his best to convince this man that assisting the Vizard, in whatever he was trying to do, was a good idea.

"He hasn't mentioned anything to me about that," he admitted, frowning a bit, "but I'm positive he's going back." He glanced off to the side, remembering that time so many years ago that he had begged the Captain Commander to allow him to follow Hiyori into an unknown and hostile situation. "I think Hiyori is still there." This time around, he wouldn't ask it.

"You think?" Yamamoto repeated. Urahara's hunches were about as dead-on as Shinji's usually were. And had Shinji not spoken of a 'gut feeling' that another of their rankings was still there? He would have to be a fool to deny the obvious. What Shinji wouldn't tell him and what Urahara was trying so hard to.

"I'd bet my hat on it~" Urahara said lightly, though the smile that accompanied the statement was pained, at best. "Shinji will go back, with or without our help."

"I believe," Yamamoto said carefully, "that he is planning on taking Kurosaki Ichigo with him, as well."

"That wouldn't surprise me," the younger man said with a sigh, "and Ichigo will agree, even if only so Shinji doesn't go alone." He shot a glance to the other captain. "What will you decide?"

And for all of his age and wisdom, Yamamoto felt himself conflicted. It was against his policy to fight a losing battle and, depending on Ichigo's condition, their battle may be quite futile. But if both Shinji and Ichigo were to rush head-first into Hueco Mundo, Yamamoto would be hard-pressed to stay back and watch. How many times had Ichigo saved their society? How much did he still owe Shinji? He was beginning to believe that their allies would do them more damage than their enemies.

"Soul Society will do as it has always done," he finally said, "and do whatever it must to survive and persevere through even the darkest of times." He saw the look in Urahara's eyes and continued, closing his own. "It will also come to the aid of its allies and stomp out its enemies." Because no matter what the other reasons were, Aizen was still alive and that was enough of a reason to press onward.

A smile teased Urahara's lips. "It seems like the war isn't over, yet." The past year had been peaceful, if not overshadowed by the loss of their friends, but Urahara knew it wouldn't last forever. "Should we tell him?"

"No." That decision took no thought. "We will sit back and observe and act only when we are needed."

"Right," Urahara agreed, chuckling to himself, "Shinji probably wouldn't accept our help, anyway."

Aw, look. Shinji has friends. Speaking of friends, he'll get bombarded with them next chapter.