Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, but how nice would that be?


Saya woke up the next morning snuggled and warm beneath her blankets. What a peaceful sleep I had last night. She thought to herself as she stretched her body. She threw the covers off and went into the bathroom and drew herself a bath. As she was soaking she heard a knock at the bathroom door.

"Who is it?" asked Saya.

"It is Tsukiko, mi'lady. I am here to help you get dressed for the day."

"Oh, of course. Please enter then, Tsukiko-chan. I'm ready to get out of the bath anyway."

Saya rose out of the tub as Tsukiko came in and put a robe around her. The robe was soft and fluffy and felt good against Saya's skin.

"Please sit at the vanity, mi'lady and I'll fix your hair for you." Tsukiko said.

"Thank you." Saya said as she sat down.

"Your brother instructed that you wear it up today. Apparently you are going to meet the other captains; it should make for a relatively long day. It is wise just to go ahead and put it up; that way you don't have to worry about it."

"Whatever my Aniki instructed is fine, Tsukiko-chan."

Saya watched as the young girl carefully brushed the knots out of her hair and began to tie it up. She was much gentler than Asuko, probably because she was afraid of hurting Saya and getting into trouble. Saya smiled to herself, a little amused. Surely she wasn't an intimidating person?

"Please use this ribbon, Tsukiko-chan." Saya said as she held up a sky-blue ribbon.

"Yes, Saya-sama." Tsukiko responded as she reached out for the ribbon, "This is a very pretty ribbon indeed. It goes with your eyes."

"Thank you. Aniki bought it for me about 20 years ago. It remains my favorite ribbon and I'm wearing it for him today." Saya replied. After Tsukiko had placed Saya's hair up in the ribbon, the two young girls went to the wardrobe to pick out kimono for the day. Saya was debating what would be most appropriate. It was going to be a long day if she was meeting all of the captains, so her kimono had to be nice, but it also had to be comfortable if she was going to be spending so much time in it.

"Which one do you think, Tsukiko-chan?" Saya asked. She was so used to Asuko picking out her kimonos at home and giving her an honest opinion that she just expected Tsukiko to do the same. However, that was a wrong assumption to make. Tsukiko was looking at Saya with wide eyes.

"I'm sure Saya-sama will look fine in whichever kimono she chooses." The young girl answered. Saya looked a little annoyed at Tsukiko.

"Thank you, but I really would like your opinion. I won't get mad if we disagree or anything. It's just that I have a hard time picking out things to wear. So I do really want your help. I'm not asking just for the sake of asking."

"Uh, yes, of course, I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize either."

"Uh, well, um… how about this one, Saya-sama?" Tsukiko asked, a little on the nervously. Saya could hear the shakiness in her voice. Why is she so scared of me? Did I do something? Saya turned her attention to the girl instead of the kimono she was holding.

"Tsukiko?"

"Yes, mi'lady?" The fear in her voice only growing.

"Are you afraid of me or something? You seem so timid around me. Like I'm going to bite your head off if you do something wrong. Why are you so scared? Did I do something that would give you that impression?" Saya said with a gentle voice.

Tsukiko looked like she was on the brink of tears, "No, mi'lady! It's just that I'm new here, serving Master Kyouraku. I'm so afraid to mess up because I don't want to lose my job! My family doesn't have a lot of money, so this is a really good position for me and I can help them out a lot and so, and so….." Tsukiko realized what she was saying and gasped a little bit, "Please forgive me, Lady Kyouraku, I…" but Saya interrupted her.

"There is no need to apologize, Tsukiko-chan," Saya said with a smile, "Please, you are doing a fine job. Just be a little more confident, is all. Everyone screws up at some point or another anyway. I don't see you doing anything that would get you fired. Plus, you work for my brother. Who else could be more laid back? You'd have to practically commit murder before he would fire you. So relax a little bit."

Tsukiko just looked up a Saya with a slight smile and nodded.

"Now… back to my kimono…"

………

Saya came down to the dining room wearing an ivory colored kimono with an obi that matched her hair ribbon. Shunsui was already seated at the table reading a newspaper and sipping tea. He looked up when Saya entered the room. He smiled when he saw the ribbon in her hair.

"You look very nice, onee-chan. How did you sleep last night?" Shunsui asked.

"Very well, thank you brother. When did you take me back down to my room?"

"Oh, not long after you fell back asleep," Shunsui lied as he took another sip of his tea. It was only a little before the sunrise that Shunsui had taken his sister back down to her bed, "Anyway, I'm planning on introducing you to the other captains of the Soul Society today. You already met Ukitake-san yesterday, so that leaves eleven more for you to meet."

"Am I really going to meet all of them?"

"Yes, it would be rude of me to only introduce you to a few. The others might be insulted. I wouldn't want to do that now would I, Saya-chan?"

"No, of course not. What are their names?"

"Well, let's see. Yamamoto is the head captain. Then there's Soifon of the second division and stealth squad. Hara is the third division taicho. Unohana of the fourth. Aizen of the fifth. Ito of the sixth. Seventh has Komamura-taicho. Uh let's see, Tosen is the ninth. Saito is the tenth division taicho. Zaraki of the eleventh. And Kurotsuchi is the twelfth division's captain and head of research and development." Shunsui finished taking a deep breath. Saya was pretty sure she had lost track after Unohana. (A/N: Ichimaru, Kuchiki, and Hitsugaya wouldn't be captains at this point in time so that's the reason for the unfamiliar names for the third, sixth, and tenth divisions. Also, I would think that Ichigo's dad wouldn't be in soul society right now either, and no one knows what division he was captain of when he was there anyway) "Oh look, there's breakfast! Dig in onee-chan!"

Saya and Shunsui ate omelets and fresh fruit for their morning meal. Saya also had some green tea with honey to help wake her up a little more and to help calm the butterflies in her stomach. She was a little nervous to meet all of the captains. Hopefully she made a good impression on them all. I wonder if they will all be as nice as Ukitake-taicho? I doubt we'll have time to visit the thirteenth division again today. She was a little disappointed that they probably wouldn't be dropping by to visit Ukitake-taicho again. She really did enjoy being around him. He was so friendly and welcoming. It didn't hurt that he was incredibly attractive. Stop it! She shouted in her head while mentally slapping herself.

"You ready to go, Saya?" Shunsui asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Oh… yes, brother."

"Alright then, let's be off. We'll save Old Yama for last. He'll take it as a compliment. Like we were saving 'the best for last.' You know how old men can be." Shunsui laughed.

"So where are we going first then, brother?"

"Hhmmm… let's head over to the second division with Soifon."

Saya walked beside her brother, taking in the sights (once again). People were giving them friendly "hellos" and bowing and waving politely. Saya noted the people who were sweeping the streets and clearing out garbage cans. They don't look much for fighting, I thought Shinigami were supposed to all be warriors? Saya mused to herself. Of course, she did see others who seemed to fit stereotypical "warrior" type. Big and bulky, hhmmm, more muscles than brains, I bet. Saya thought to herself. Then Saya looked up at her brother. Aniki possesses the brains and braun, although one would never know on the first encounter with him… or second… or third… well, perhaps after a few years they would figure it out. Saya smirked to herself and turned her attention to the people around them once again. She had to admit, but Saya saw a lot of interesting hair styles and colors on the various Shinigami. Perhaps it is because they all have to wear the same uniform, so this is their way of expressing their individuality? Saya was most intrigued by the hair colors. You had your regular variety blacks, browns, with the occasional blonde, but then there was also a variety of orange, red, purple, and even neon green. Saya didn't care for the neon green at all. She swore she even saw a little girl run by with bubblegum-pink hair.

"We're here." Shunsui said, knocking Saya out of her thoughts. Saya followed her brother to the headquarters. There wasn't anything interesting about this building; it was the standard white with the red-orange roof. There weren't a lot of plants around either. It wasn't nearly as scenic as the headquarters in the thirteenth division; nor was it as peaceful as the eighth division's. It seemed a little stark.

Shunsui had raised a hand to knock, "I'd like to see Soifon-taicho for a little bit if I may."

The door slid open, but Saya didn't see anyone on the other side. Shunsui stepped through and Saya attempted to follow but as soon as she took a step inside there was a blade pressed to her neck. Saya gasped as her eyes opened in fear. Shunsui whipped around and grabbed the wrist of the person holding the blade.

"I forget how on guard you all are… all the time. I have with me a guest. I should have made that clear. Forgive my mistake." He said to the guard, he didn't attempt to hide the annoyance in his voice that his sister had just had a knife to her jugular, "Are you alright, onee-chan?" Shunsui asked with his attention on Saya. His brow was furrowed a little bit; it was clear he was upset that he had let that happen.

"Uh, yes, Aniki. I'm fine." Saya said, clearly a little shaken. What is up with this place! Saya thought.

"My apologies Kyouraku-taicho," the guard stated, "I would have never done that if I had known… "

Shunsui cut off the guard by putting his hand up in the air, "Just lead us to Soifon-taicho. I've brought my sister by to introduce her. We won't take much time."

The guard started to lead the sibling pair down a long hallway towards another door. This was when Saya really took note of how he looked. The outfit he was wearing wasn't the standard Shinigami uniform that Saya was so used to seeing. It was all black, with tighter fitting pants and boots instead of the standard socks and sandals. The top wasn't a standard kimono top either; it looked like it was pulled over the head instead of being tied to stay in place. But what really caught Saya's attention was that his head and face were covered too. The only thing that Saya was able to see was his eyes.

"I did mention that Soifon was in charge of the steal squad, didn't I? He's a member of the stealth squad, that explains his uniform." Shunsui said, as if reading Saya's mind.

"Oh, I see." Was all she said in reply. The shinigami knocked on the door of the main office and informed his captain that she had two guests.

"Allow them in." Is what Saya heard in response. Her voice sounded cold and strict. Saya made a mental note that this was probably not someone to take lightly.

The voice, Saya was surprised to see, belonged to a rather petite looking woman. She was clearly older than Saya, but not as old as Shunsui. She had a rather stern look on her face.

"What can I help you with, Kyouraku-taicho?" she said, rather impatiently. Saya was beginning to wonder if this captain really would have been offended if Shunsui had not introduced them. She seemed to be acting as if Shunsui was wasting her time.

"Ah, sweet sweet Soifon-taicho. I would like to introduce my little sister, Saya. Saya, meet Soifon-taicho."

Saya bowed to Soifon, "It's a pleasure to meet you, taicho." When she rose back up she saw that Soifon was scanning her through narrowed eyes. Is she trying to figure out if I'm an assassin or something? What's with that look? Saya thought to herself. She wasn't going to falter under this pressure. She simply put on a sweet smile and looked back at Soifon. Soifon finally stopped glaring at Saya, apparently she had reached the conclusion that she wasn't a threat after all.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Kyouraku-sama. Thank you for dropping by."

Saya was a little taken aback by this. It wasn't like Soifon had been outright rude, but she made it clear that their ridiculously short visit was over. Saya just kept her smile and bowed politely. However, the thoughts running through her mind weren't as polite as her outward gestures. Saya looked over at her brother who had an amused look on his face.

"What Soifon, not even one cup of sake?" Shunsui asked. All this did was earn him a glare from the rather harsh female captain, "Alright, alright. We won't take up any more of your time, Soifon. Let's go, Saya." Saya nodded and followed her brother. She was happy to step outside again. Although she did look around to make sure that she wasn't going to have another knife at her throat. Once they were outside the division grounds and a good way to their next destination Shunsui turned to his sister.

"Charming, isn't she?" He asked playfully.

Saya laughed at his question, "Oh yes, extremely so, brother. I hope to visit her everyday."

"Sorry to do that to you. But I did say I was going to introduce you to everyone. At least she's out of the way. She does have her good points though. She's incredibly loyal to the soul society and is a very good teacher to her squad. She excels in hand-to-hand combat."

"I'm sure she does have her good points, brother. I'm just also sure that most of these probably don't involve social scenarios."

"Too right you are." Shunsui said, "ah, here we are. Division three."

Saya looked up to see the customary stone archway that indicated the entry way to a division. She was trying to remember the captain's name, but for the life of her couldn't. Oh well, Shunsui-nii will say it again anyway. They made their over to the training grounds. The captain was leading his men in some swordsmanship exercises.

"Mind if I interrupt you for a moment, Captain Hara?" Shunsui asked.

"No, of course not. What can I do for you, Kyouraku?"

Oh good, he's friendlier than Soifon. Saya thought with a little bit of relief.

"I would like to introduce to you my sister, Saya. Saya, this is Hara-taicho."

Saya gave him a bow and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." She stood up giving him a smile.

"What a pretty young sister, you have Kyouraku-san. No wonder you've kept her hidden all these years. You better watch yourself, young lady. Who knows? Perhaps some devilishly handsome captain will sweep you off your feet." He said in a playful manor, indicating that he was said captain. Saya looked at him and thought him anything but attractive. He was short, squat, and had lost most of his hair. What hair he did have left on his head was a sad sort of gray. But Saya assumed he was joking and took her fan out to cover her face.

"I'll remember your advice, sir. Hopefully someone like yourself can help me stay clear of anyone hoping to take advantage of me. I'm sure you would help protect me were my Aniki unable to do so." She said with a fake giggle.

The captain laughed at her, called her "cute" and then reached behind her fan to pinch her cheek. This last action didn't really sit well with Saya. She wasn't overly fond of being touched on her face. But all she did was give another giggle and raise her fan so that only her eyes could be seen above it. Originally she had held it only so it covered her mouth. She waited patiently as Shunsui and Captain Hara exchanged a few more words and then he waved bye to them and they were off to yet another division.

………

"Division four headquarters," Saya read the sign aloud as they walked under the gate. Saya looked around and saw that this must be the medical facility. It was set up much like a hospital would be. She also noticed that many of the members of this squad looked like the "non-warrior" type that Saya had seen earlier cleaning the streets and such. I see, they may not be much use in battle, but their healing abilities make them valuable members of the protection squads.

"This way, Saya-chan." Shunsui said, apparently he had spotted the captain. Saya followed his gaze to a kind-looking woman sitting on the porch having tea. She seemed to be observing her squad members as they completed their tasks. Saya thought that she seemed very motherly, which would only make sense as she was the captain of the medical squad. She wore her hair in a rather unique fashion. It was braided under her chin and down her front. Saya thought this a bit odd, but it did suit the woman.

"Kyouraku-taicho, to what do we owe this great honor?" She said sweetly.

"Ah, Unohana-san, this is my sister, Saya. I wanted to bring her by to meet you."

"Oh, it is a pleasure to meet you, Kyouraku-sama. I heard that your brother had invited you to stay with him for awhile." She said as she inclined her head slightly towards Saya.

"It is very nice to meet you too, Unohana-taicho. Thank you for letting us interrupt your day." Saya replied with a slight bow.

"It's no trouble at all. Why don't you two sit and have some tea?" The woman replied kindly.

"Well, I might be convinced if it were some sake," Shunsui said with a smirk on his face.

"Very well then, sake for you and tea for your sister."

The three sat there with their drinks and made small talk for a little while. Saya decided that she really liked Unohana-taicho. She was kind and thoughtful. She seemed to care about all of her squad members, despite their rank. Unohana gave off a warmth much like Saya's own mother. Saya absentmindedly turned her head towards the direction of her home. She was thinking about Akemi and if she was feeling any better, or perhaps she was just getting worse? Shunsui turned to look at his sister. Her face was expressionless and he was unable to read it even in the slightest.

"Onee-chan?" Shunsui said. He elicited no response, "Onee-chan?" He asked again.

Saya's head snapped to look at her brother, "Yes, Aniki?"

"Are you alright?"

"Oh, yes. I was just… thinking about everything I've seen in the last couple of days. I hope I don't forget anything." Saya replied with a smile. She knew her brother would pick up on her lie, but she didn't want to talk about what was really on her mind in front of Unohana. Shunsui simply looked at her and then turned his attention back to Unohana-taicho.

"We should probably be leaving, Unohana-san. I'll see you around." Shunsui said.

"Yes, thank you so much for having us. I've really enjoyed my time with you." Saya said after her brother.

"It was very nice having you. Please feel free to stop by if you need anything, Kyouraku-sama."

"Arigato, Unohana-taicho."

Shunsui and Saya bowed to Unohana and then started to head towards the fifth division. Saya knew her brother was going to break the silence between them before too long. He had easily seen through her ridiculous lie and he was about to call her out on it anytime now.

"So, Saya-chan…" Shunsui started. Saya didn't give him the chance to finish.

"I was thinking about mother."

"I see."

"Unohana-taicho kind of reminded me of mother. So I started thinking about her, and how she wasn't doing so well before I left."

"It's alright, Saya-chan. I know you're worried about mother. She wouldn't want you worrying about her, even though it's hard not too."

"Do you worry about her, Aniki?"

"Hai, I do. But it will all be for the best in the end, Saya-chan."

Saya just nodded at her brother's words, not exactly understanding their full meaning. They continued walking for a few more minutes. Saya's gaze was fixed to the ground the entire time. It wasn't until she heard a voice that she looked up.

"Kyouraku-taicho. How nice to see you, who do you have with you?"

Saya looked up at the man standing in front of her. He had wavy brown hair, thick-rimmed glasses, and a kind smile on his face. Saya couldn't help but smile back at the man. She also noticed a younger looking man a step behind him. He had silver-purple hair and a creepy smile. Something about this man didn't set right with Saya, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. However, the captain seemed to be a kind man.

"Ah, Aizen-san. This is my sister, Saya."

"Saya, did you say?" He said, looking at Saya with an interested expression. Saya wasn't sure what to make of it. "You must be his adopted sister then, Kyouraku-sama?"

"Yes sir. I was adopted a little over 20 years ago." Saya said.

"How lucky you are to have been taken in by such a loving family."

"Yes sir, I'm very lucky."

"Now now, Saya-chan. I heard about how they found you, ya know? What a horrible thing to have 'appen to ya. How wonderful it is that you're alright now, don't cha think?" This time it was the silver-haired man that spoke. Saya looked at him and tried to hide the distrust she felt.

"Yes um…."

"Oh, I'm Ichimaru Gin. Lieutenant of the fifth squad, under Aizen-taicho here."

"Well, Ichimaru-fukutaicho, like I said before, I am very lucky to have been taken in by such a wonderful family. Either fortunately or unfortunately, depending how you look at it, I don't recall that night, or anything that preceded that event. My memory stops 20 years ago." Saya said. She still felt uncomfortable and wasn't quite sure why she felt the need to share that information with the creepy Lieutenant.

"Well, Kyouraku-sama," it was Aizen-taicho who spoke again, "I'm glad that I finally got to meet you. I've been interested to meet Shunsui's sister, especially when I heard you were going to be staying here for awhile." He wore such a friendly expression on his face. It calmed Saya's unease she felt towards his vice-captain. "Don't hesitate to drop by anytime you want, Kyouraku-sama. Our door will always be open to you." With that, Aizen gave Saya a friendly pat on the head, not unlike her brother, except Aizen-taicho didn't mess up her hair.

"Thank you so much, Aizen-taicho, Ichimaru-fukutaicho. I'm so happy to have met you as well." She said with a bow. Aizen and Ichimaru continued on their way and this left Saya and Shunsui free to head towards the sixth division.

"He seemed very nice, Aniki." Saya said with more of a cheer in her voice.

"Yes, Aizen-taicho is well liked by everyone. In fact, I can't seem to think of a single person that would dislike him, or even have something bad to say about him." Shunsui mused.

"Yes well, I can't say the same for is fukutaicho. Something about him doesn't sit right with me." Saya said.

"Oh?" Shunsui said, "Gin is a little… different. But for the most part, he's harmless."

"Yes well… still."

Shunsui decided to change the subject, "Saya, why don't we head back to my headquarters? We can have lunch with Nanao before we go meeting the rest of the captains today."

Saya smiled up at her brother, "Sounds good to me! I was starting to get pretty hungry!" Right on cue, her stomach gave a growl.

………

"Did ya hear that, taicho? Poor thing was attacked so badly she lost her memory." Gin said with a smirk once he and his captain were back in their headquarters.

"Yes I did, Gin. What a shame? She seems to have forgotten every aspect of her life prior to her attack." Aizen sat down at his desk and propped his head up on his fist, "I should like to get to know this Saya a little better."

"What do ya have in mind there, taicho?" Said Gin, his smile widening even more.

Aizen simply smiled back, "Nothing, Gin. I simply stated I would like to get a little more familiar with her."


Author's note: Thanks to Sareenah for always giving me a nice review! Also, I need to thank White Alchemist Taya for helping me with some translation errors/questions I had! Anyone else please feel free to review, but don't be harsh! This is part one of meeting the captains. I hope it doesn't feel like I skipped over the meetings too much… but hell, there's 11 of them she needs to meet and it could take forever to write if I didn't glaze over it a little! Hope you enjoyed it:-)