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Ichigo, crouching on the top of the wall that surrounded 13th Division's barracks, couldn't believe what he was seeing. Rukia and Toshiro, arms wrapped around each other, pressed together in a passionate kiss. A brief flash of jealousy ran through him, followed by the familiar surge of worry he felt every time he saw Karin or Yuzu with a new male. Ichigo bit his lip. Rukia would not appreciate him barging in on her, he was sure. She would probably punch him, throw some kido that he didn't know how to block at him, or possibly release Sode no Shirayuki and freeze his balls. That was just Rukia – he didn't dare contemplate what the young Captain would do to him, just in case Toshiro managed to somehow pick up on it.
The orange-haired Vice-Captain gritted his teeth and concentrated on locking down his reiatsu. They were both pretty preoccupied, but it was better to be safe than sorry. It was about time for dinner, so everyone else was probably in their various dining halls eating, leaving the garden deserted. Urahara had invited him to eat with the Ninth, but he had declined, wanting to talk to Rukia about what was bothering her as they ate.
Looks like he didn't have to any more.
Ichigo decided to stop eavesdropping, as it was an activity his father would be proud of, and he took pains to avoid those on principle. He jumped down behind a thick clump of bushes and headed for the kitchens. He would get a tray and take it to Rukia's room. Dinner would be an excellent excuse to be waiting for her there.
It wasn't until he heard footsteps approaching that he considered she might not be alone. He tentatively reached out, attempting to sense how many people were walking down the corridor, just in case he needed to make a speedy getaway out of the window. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realised that Rukia was alone.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded as soon as she slid the door open.
"I brought you dinner!" Ichigo said quickly, waving a plate of her favourite rice dumplings at her.
Rukia sniffed. "That's all right then." She bent down to unfasten her waraji and padded quietly across the tatami to flop down on the cushion he had set out for her. "What made you decide to feed me?"
"Oh, I got back late, and I knew that you hadn't eaten yet. I wanted to talk to you about last night, but now I don't have to."
Rukia stiffened and glared at him, frozen in the act of pouring a cup of green tea. "What?" she snapped, the temperature in the room dropping.
Ichigo sighed. "The middle of the garden isn't a secluded place, Rukia. I'm not planning on splashing this everywhere, but I'm not going to pretend that I didn't see you either."
Rukia gaped at him, the hand that held the teapot beginning to tremble. Ichigo quickly took it from her and poured the steaming liquid into her cup, then his own before setting it down.
"I think you should let Renji know," Ichigo continued, piling the shrimp filled rice dumplings and half the omelette strips onto her plate, adding tomatoes and cucumber. "He can't look out for you if he doesn't know what to look out for, and you know how he worries."
Rukia sat and stared as Ichigo heaped food onto his own plate. She was torn between telling him everything and grabbing Sode no Shirayuki with the intention to turn him into an ice cube. She decided that the best course of action would be to pick up her chopsticks. It was hard to make rational decisions on an empty stomach after all. Ichigo grinned at her around a mouthful of spicy pork as she unwrapped a rice dumpling and set the leaves neatly on the side of her plate before biting into the warm filling.
"Whoever the cook is appears to have improved," he said, setting his own dumpling aside to nibble on some cucumber. "These are much better than last time. Spicier too."
Rukia smiled, sipping at her green tea. "They still don't match the ones that the chef at the Kuchiki manor can make. You should come to dinner some time, then you can see for yourself."
Ichigo shuddered, shaking his head. "Eat at the same table as Byakuya? I don't think so."
"He's not there most of the time, he practically lives at Sixth Division Headquarters."
"So... you're suggesting that we take advantage of his absence?" Ichigo asked, dropping the piece of omelette he had picked up in his surprise.
Rukia giggled. "It's my home to, you know. All the servants are very fond of me, as they were of my sister before me."
A shadow darkened her face as she regretted the loss of a sister she had barely known. Ichigo reached across the table to grip her shoulder, unsure whether she would accept comfort from him. He decided to change the subject to something more lighthearted.
"Did you know that Matsumoto is mad at Renji?" he asked. Rukia's head flew up and she peered at him incredulously.
"What? Why?"
"Kira said it was because he won't sleep with her, because he likes guys." Rukia snorted.
"She should know that already."
Ichigo slapped himself on the forehead. "You mean you knew too?" he asked. Rukia looked at him curiously.
"Of course I did. He's been my best friend since forever."
"Oh...." Ichigo looked down at his half-eaten pork dumpling. "She also said that he wanted me," he said quickly, before stuffing the dumpling into his mouth.
"WHAT?!"
xxx
Shuuhei peered at the senkai gate out of the corner of his eye, hoping that it would mysteriously vanish, along with the altogether far too exuberant Captain standing in front of it, ordering the two scientists from the Research Bureau around. One seemed resentful, the other appeared to be ecstatic that the founder of the Bureau was deigning to speak to him.
Resigning himself to the reality of the situation; namely, that this mission was going to happen whatever he did, Shuuhei turned to look at the three Shinigami he was babysitting. He couldn't think of it any other way. He was not looking forward to this. It wasn't fair; he'd thought that Urahara's plan was months away from actually being implemented. Then he had learnt otherwise in the Senior Officer's meeting the night before.
Yamamoto sou-taicho glared around at the assembled Captain's and Vice-Captains standing in nervous rows before him. Shuuhei tried to ignore the shiver that Yamamoto's fiery reiatsu always provoked in him.
"Captains and Vice-Captains of the Gotei 13," Yamamoto boomed. "I have called this meeting to inform you of some changes that have been approved recently. Firstly, Squad Five is now the Hueco Mundo specialist squad, and will deal with any and all missions relating to the Hollow Realm. Please inform your squads that any missions scheduled to take place in Hueco Mundo have now been cancelled."
Shuuhei stared across at Hirako Shinji and Sarugaki Hiyori, who he supposed had been chosen to represent the Vizard. Their stances suggested that they expected opposition, but the silence was not broken by any mutterings. Shinji took a step forward and cleared his throat.
"As we have four former Captains and four former Vice-Captains, we have decided to split the Division into eight squads. Each squad will patrol Hueco Mundo, and report on any changes there, as well as dealing with any Hollows they come across while patrolling. By splitting the Division, each patrol will have a high level leader present to deal with any Arrancar still hanging about."
Shinji stepped back into line, and Shuuhei noticed several Captains nodding in approval, the Captain of the Eighth being the most obvious about it.
"I have also approved changes to the Ninth Division," Yamamoto continued. Shuuhei stiffened as everyone shifted slightly to stare at Urahara. "Urahara-Taicho, please explain your strategy."
Urahara stepped forward and smiled. Of course, Shuuhei was behind him so he couldn't see that he smiled, but he somehow knew that the bastard had to be smiling.
"It has come to my attention that the Gotei 13 are shamefully out of touch with the Real World," he began. "Abarai-fukutaicho, for example, was wearing clothes that were at least forty years out of date during his first long term mission."
Shuuhei looked across at Renji as he snorted and opened his mouth to protest, but then he glanced at Ichigo and seemed to think better of it. Shuuhei tried to see exactly what Ichigo was doing to shut Renji up, but Zaraki was in the way.
"We now have a unique opportunity to study the Real World," Urahara continued. "My shop is still open, providing interaction with living humans. Inoue Orihime and Ishida Uryuu are available for fashion consultations, and Sado Yasutora, also known as Chad, has also agreed to help. The eventual plan is that Division Nine will take over the majority of the patrols in the real world, and members of any other Division on a mission to the Real World will consult with a specialist during their mission."
"Is this really necessary?" Soi Fon asked, frowning. "We've got by so far without a squad specialising in the Real World."
"Society is changing more rapidly than it used to, with new things coming in every five to ten years. It used to be that fashions would stay the same for decades, now things change from year to year. The Real World is moving rapidly, and we are not doing a good job at keeping up," Urahara said patiently. "Technology is advancing as well, and several devices that may be useful to us are being developed. We need to keep a close eye on the Real World."
"You will, of course, bring examples of this new technology to the Research Bureau," Kurotsuchi interrupted.
Shuuhei fought the urge to roll his eyes. If Urahara and Kurotsuchi got into a scientist's pissing match the meeting could go on for hours, and he had a feeling that he needed to go home and pack. If Urahara had managed to get Yamamoto to approve his crazy plan, Shuuhei would be sent to the Real World with the first group. Anything else would be unacceptable to Urahara.
"Hisagi-kun!" Urahara called, breaking Shuuhei out of the trance he had fallen into. "They're ready for you!"
Shuuhei suppressed a sigh, and gestured for the Shinigami to follow him, not bothering to check to see if they followed. He strode towards the gate, which slid open as he approached.
"Good luck, Hisagi-kun. Tessai-san will look after you. See you in two weeks!"
Shuuhei nodded, wishing that Urahara's creepy grin wasn't going to be his last memory of Soul Society, and stepped through the gate, the three Shinigami close behind him.
Omake:
TKCB: Wai hai everyone, it's been a while. Looks like I'm in charge of the omake this week. *grins evilly*
Shuuhei: Uh...what have you got planned exactly? And why do I get a bad feeling about this?
TKCB: Weeeell, it involves lots of shirtless men, a giant fire and a hell load of chocolate sauce.
Renji, Ichigo and Shuuhei: Say WHAT?!
Renji: Run for your lives!!
*mass running*
TKCB: But I meant a beach party with a bonfire for after dark and ice cream...I like chocolate sauce on my ice cream... *cries*
Authors Notes: Short chapter,and a long wait I know, I'm sorry. I was attacked by writers block... or possibly writers exhaustion. Too many projects going on at once! Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing writing fanfiction on top of a creative writing degree...
