While the captains were busy taking care of repairs, receiving reports, or doing paperwork, the siblings were ordered to stay put and to refrain from doing anything obstructive to the work of the shinigamis much to their disgruntlement. They were confined to a room in the 10th division with the two exiles temporarily until they were given permission to leave. The room was a bit small but quite comfortable, with two couches siting on opposite sides of a low table, a large desk, a couple bookshelves, cushioned chairs, and an elegant dark red rug draped across the floor.

The room was really nice but for the restless people in it, it wasn't very enjoyable. "What are we, little kids?" Ichigo grumbled. Urahara chuckled, "Well, in terms of age, yes you are. The shinigamis are centuries of years older than you after all."

Karin scoffed as Ichigo muttered, "Some of them sure don't act like it." Yoruichi quirked an eyebrow and asked, "You're thinkin' of Byakubo aren't ya? He was bein' a bit of an ass during the meeting but he's always been a stiff so don't take it too personally."

"A bit is an understatement. Pompous bas- I mean jerk." Karin rolled her eyes and said, "Ichi-nii, its okay to swear in front of us. We probably know more dirty words than you could even dream of knowing anyway." Ichigo looked like he was going to demand exactly what they had been learning when Yuzu timidly spoke up, "Um, I-I don't…"

The rest of her words trailed off into incomprehensible mumbling which grew even less sensible when they turned their attention onto her. Karin sighed and said in a slightly softer tone than her usual gruff one, "Come on Yuz, spit it out." Yuzu blushed a bit before blurting out, "I don't think Kuchiki-taicho is a mean person!"

There was silence and she buried her face in her hands, afraid they would yell at her or argue against her. But instead, she felt a familiar hand pat her head gently and heard her big brother's voice speak with its usual warmth, "Chill Yuzu, I'm not mad. I want to hear why you think that."

Feeling more confident since she wasn't being automatically rebuked, she spoke in a bolder tone, "Um, it's just that… Kuchiki-taicho reminds me of Ichi-nii in some ways. Both act kind of scary since it's in their nature but are in reality, really kind inside. The only thing is, Ichi-nii isn't afraid to do what his heart tells him too." Playing with the folds of her robe, she softly stated, "Kuchiki-taicho is."

Yoruichi nodded approvingly, "Sharp and intuitive when it comes to reading people as always Yuzu. You're exactly right, Byakubo hates doin' anything that will go against his duty as a shinigami. That's both his strength and his weakness. He was even willin' to let his own sister die when there was a sudden declaration for her execution by the big, big bosses which turned out to be a farce cooked up by Aizen."

Karin and Yuzu's eyes widened; they had not been aware that Rukia, one of the first people outside the 10th division to befriend them, had been the one ordered to be executed. The only thing Toushiro had told them -rather tersely might they add- was that someone had been sentenced to death for stealing an important item, a lie he had clearly not believed for even a minute but had been unable to do anything to stop it.

Urahara tilted his hat down and said, "In the end, the combined efforts of myself, Yoruichi-san and some help from others (after a bit of bribing here and there) managed to clear the mess up and Miss Kuchiki was spared but it was an unpleasant experience for everyone, especially Kuchiki-taicho." Looking at Ichigo through shadowed eyes, he asked, "So does that change your opinion of him Kurosaki-kun?"

"No."

Yoruichi snickered, "That was a fast response. You really don't like him do ya?" Ichigo scowled and replied, "I get that he probably has his reasons for being so law-abiding but that doesn't give him the excuse to just watch his own sister die. I don't hate him; I'm just going to show him how to be a real older brother."

Karin smirked and stated more than asked, "You mean you're going to show him you can protect family and still kick the right person's ass right?" Ichigo returned her smirk with a grin of his own as Yuzu sighed at her older siblings' aggressive behavior, her own smile threatening to break out at their familiar antics.

Urahara and Yoruichi silently exchanged glances while Yuzu admonished her elder siblings playfully. On one hand, they were pleased they had succeeded in reuniting the siblings and making them happy again but on the other, they would be piling a ton of new burdens on them, burdens that could crush even some of the strongest people. Placing his fan down and for once, speaking without hiding his expression, Urahara asked, "Kurosaki-kun, I really need to clarify this. Are you absolutely sure getting involved in this war is what you want to do? You are aware of what doing that entails yes?"

The cheery atmosphere sobered at the man's sudden seriousness. Karin and Yuzu looked questioningly at their older brother since neither quite understood what Urahara was talking about. Ichigo sighed as he leaned back against the chair he was sitting in, seriously thinking about the question before responding.

"To be frank, I'm a bit scared. Goat-face told me that this Aizen guy was one hell of a terrifying bastard and that there was a pretty damn high chance that I could lose. And even if I won, there would still be inevitable deaths, maybe of people I didn't know or people that would be really close to me." A determined glint lit his eyes as he said, "But I have to try or everyone will die anyway."

"That's not what Urahara-san was asking."

The familiar slightly frosty voice of their captain captured the twins' attention as they whipped their heads to the door. "How long were you there midget?" Karin asked, puzzled. Scowling at her, Toushiro snapped, "Don't call me short when I'm taller than you! And call me by my proper title you impertinent brat." She stuck her tongue out at him which caused him to roll his eyes in exasperation. "And to answer your question, I only got here just as Urahara-san asked his inquiry."

Smiling a bit at their banter and slightly curious about the small tension that seemed to crackle between Karin and the young captain, Ichigo remembered what Toushiro had said when he made his presence known and asked, "What did you mean when you said that wasn't what Urahara-san was asking?"

Teal blue eyes flickered in his direction before the prodigy replied, "He didn't ask what you had to do, he asked what you wanted to do. There's a huge difference between those two." Striding into the room, he headed towards one of the unoccupied couches and began lifting one of its cushions and putting it back down. Briefly meeting Ichigo's gaze again, he said, "He wants to know if you're really willing to accept becoming a 'savior' of Soul Society."

Breaking eye contact, he began shifting things on the couch again before moving away and heading towards some shelves. As he examined them, Yuzu asked, "Isn't becoming a hero a good thing? Heroes save lives and in return, they feel gratitude and respect for them right?" Yoruichi plopped down on the floor and sat Indian-style as she explained, "While that's true and all, actually being a hero isn't very fun. You're essentially accepting the responsibility of many lives into your hands and once you're in, you can't back out. You have to be the one who goes against the big bad guy while everyone else deals with the small-fry and lackeys."

Urahara hummed in agreement and added, "Being a hero is almost like being a scapegoat. If you succeed, hurray everyone adores you and you have a happily ever after. But if you fail, they will put all the blame on you. I'm sure Isshin explained this to Kurosaki-kun which is why I'm just verifying that this is what he wants to do."

Karin pinned her older brother with a glare and said accusingly, "You weren't going to tell us that were you?" Ichigo had a brief deer-in-the-headlights expression as he quickly said in a placating manner, "Whoa calm down Karin! I was going to tell you, just..." Yuzu smiled brightly and finished for him, "You were just going to wait until after it was too late to back out weren't you Ichi-nii?" Although her smile was similar to her usual one, there was a certain frightening edge to it that spoke of promises of pain and misery.

Hell hath no fury compared to a younger sister lied to.

''Yuzu's scary when she's angry...' was the unanimous thought. The sound of Toushiro shutting a cabinet door provided a lovely distraction from the current conversation, one that Ichigo swiftly latched onto. Looking over at the captain, he curiously asked, "What are you doing? You sound like you're searching for something..." They watched as Toushiro moved the rug and lifted one of the floorboards up, a flicker of triumph flashing in his eyes as he reached down and pulled out a stack of papers. "I was looking for this."

Karin suddenly had an "Oh crap" expression as her captain calmly shuffled the papers into a tidy stack and said in a scarily neutral tone, "Two certain irritating individuals who make it a habit of trying to be the banes of my existence insist on hiding my paperwork and making me look for them." The air grew slightly colder as he icily asked, "Have anything to say for yourself, Kurosaki Karin?"

Said girl had her best innocent expression on as she replied, "I know nothing. Ask Matsumoto-san." The other occupants in the room blinked when they heard a petulant whine from behind the desk across the room, "Karin-chan, you traitor! It wasn't me!" Karin didn't bat an eye as she easily replied, "I'll call you Rangiku-neechan."

A figure suddenly leaped out from behind the desk as the 10th division's lieutenant announced with a flourish, "It was absolutely entirely my idea taicho! I couldn't help it, I wanted you to take a break. It was all in the name of your health!" Toushiro looked like he was about to strangle her as he grit out, "If you're going to make deals like that, at least do it when I'm not within hearing distance you idiots!"

As a full blown argument commenced, Ichigo looked at Yuzu and asked, "Is that normal?" She beamed, "Yup! Hitsugaya-taicho really does work too hard so Karin-chan and Matsumoto-san make it their duty to try to help him relax." "Is that really relaxing?" Yoruichi asked, amusement laced in her tone as they watched the verbal battle going on.

Ichigo glanced at where Matsumoto had been hiding and asked, "How'd she get there anyway? She wasn't there before..." Yuzu looked over at the desk and her eyes lit up with realization as she exclaimed, "Oh I see! That desk is hiding a secret passage the lieutenant of the 11 division made once. She made lots of hidden tunnels in different buildings since she was bored."

Not quite sure how he was supposed to respond to something like that, Ichigo just nodded before noticing Urahara had been unusually quiet for a while. Normally the mischievous man would have at least made a comment about the humurous events that had just transpired. Seeing his mentor had a speculative expression on his face, he tilted his head to the side a bit and asked, "Something wrong Urahara-san?" The scientist snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head, "No, nothing's wrong per say. I was just contemplating the best way to get you situated here since you seem insistent on helping in the war."

When it looked like he had fallen back into his thoughts, Ichigo sighed and coughed really loudly to get his attention back. Past experience with the other man in his contemplating mode had taught him that simply waiting for Urahara to finish thinking guaranteed several wasted hours. The cough managed to bring Urahara back to reality as he blinked and said, "Oh oops, apologize. I never finished what I was saying."

Settling himself down on one of the couches, he began speaking in a thoughtful tone, "I have an idea but it would be unprecedented and extremely difficult to pull off. I'm not even sure the soutaicho would agree. Or Shirosaki-san for that matter. He'd probably be the most against my idea." Ichigo blinked in mild surprise since he hadn't been expecting that. He could sense Shiro stirring restlessly in his mind again, expressing his obvious displeasure and apprehension about whatever Urahara was going to suggest. Toushiro and Karin had paused in their argument as the former warily asked, "And what exactly do you have in mind that would garner such opposition?"

Folding his arms into the sleeves of his robes, Urahara replied in a completely serious tone, "I believe Kurosaki-kun should become a captain of the Gotei 13."


AN: Right, I lied. It will probably take me longer than I initially planned to get some of the next few chapters out for all my stories in the next two weeks. After that, I should have more time to work to my heart's content on them so please be patient with me!


Deleted Scenes Time!

Fury of a Sister

Yuzu smiled brightly and finished for him, "You were just going to wait until after it was too late to back out weren't you Ichi-nii?" Although her smile was similar to her usual one, there was a certain frightening edge to it that spoke of promises of pain.

Yuzu blinked when she suddenly remembered something and made a motion with her hands to indicate for a pause in the scene. When she was sure that the scene was paused, she faced her now very confused siblings and beamed.

If her previous smile had been scary, this one took the icing on the cake. Quailing under the might of the demonic smile, Karin whispered, "Okay Ichi-nii, what'd we do?" Ichigo grimaced slightly and whispered back, "Judging by that smile, I'd say... we did that." Karin groaned and muttered, "Seriously? We actually did that again?" Everyone else looked at them curiously as Yoruichi asked, "Care to explain to us out of the loop people what that is?"

Looking like they were about to face the devil himself (or herself in this case), they managed to form a reply.

"We forgot to capture Kon so she could use him for a dress up doll."

Problems with Age

Not quite sure how he was supposed to respond to something like that, Ichigo just nodded before noticing Urahara had been unusually quiet for a while. Normally the mischievous man would have at least made a comment about the humurous events that had just transpired. Seeing his mentor had a speculative expression on his face, he tilted his head to the side a bit and asked, "Something wrong Urahara-san?"

Said man retained his serious expression and Yoruichi worriedly asked, "Yo Kisuke, you okay there buddy?" A small sound echoed in the suddenly silent room as Urahara's face relaxed into a happy look. "Whew, I just couldn't get that little bit of gas out!" He blinked when he noticed the rather suspicious quiet and said slightly nervously, "Um, sorry?" A vein twitched on Ichigo's, Karin's, and Toushiro's heads as the captain snapped, "That's gross!" while the siblings shouted, "Die you disgusting bastard!"

"B-but it's not my fault! Old age makes you gaseous."