Hey guys an' gals! It's been a little while, I think. Haven't really had a chance to work on this, due to going through internet wars with my family. :P At any rate, I'm back and ready for action! Err... Story type... Action... Thing. Okay...

Aftonen: I'm sorry. I wasn't aware that there was a 'AU' section! If I did know, I would have put it as that when I started! D: Is there a section which is classified as 'AU' on this site (and if so, how do I transfer my story to it)? Or do I just put it in the summary? Sorry. I'm a complete newbie here. :P

Debido: Imagine roughly 50 or so years before the main Bleach story line. All the evil stuff that Aizen did already happened.

KuroiTori-sama: I was hoping nobody would catch that... At any rate, those points are great! And, I also apparently missed the part when they show "old people" getting their assigned districts. Ah well, back to the drawing board. ^.^

G96 Saber: He is going to remember bits and pieces of his human life. I'm trying to make it a bit more realistic. No super-human levels of increased energy gains in this story! :P

I'm glad you guys liked that last chapter! I'm hoping this one turns out even better! Speaking of which, on with the show!

Chapter 10: Joining the Big Leagues

Decisions are, like it or not, a very necessary part of regular life. Some are bigger then others, having much more at stake; while others are basic, almost unnecessary. In Seireitei especially, choices were all that stood between life and death. Sometimes they were hidden behind a curtain, requiring someone to rip open the protective covering to find what it hid. When those situations arise it can be difficult to decide what to do, and even more so to know if your choice was the correct one. For our orange headed friend, there was no exception. As the blazing sun shone upon the large city, the crisp morning breeze blew throughout the various alleys. The bright, blue morning sky housed variously shaped, white clouds as they hovered above all that existed. Some ignored the sign that it was time to rise, while others were already busy bustling about to whatever business lay on their day. For the Shinigami there was no option, not even for those who weren't working full time yet.

Ichigo found that even in the early morning it was crowded, as he traversed the many streets that spread throughout Seireitei. There were many beings moving about, either walking or running or jumping towards their objectives. Some were like normal men, and if they weren't carrying their swords with them or wearing the classic black outfit Ichigo might have mistaken them for being normal. But then there were others who wouldn't get away in any country. Some were small as a midget, not even coming up to Ichigo's waist; While others were like giants, their massive frame towering above anyone whom they passed by. Ichigo himself was a head taller then most of those he passed, but compared to others he also appeared normal in size. For that, he was thankful. Unfortunately he still had that shaggy mop of orange hair that drew eyes towards him. Right now, he was seriously contemplating dye and colored eye contacts.

His destination? Why, that was not yet known even to him. His week would be up in another two days, yet he had still not decided on his course of action. At the very least, he had narrowed it down to the two squads that meant the most. Squad 13 and Squad 5 were the ones. It should have been so simple. He was sure it would have been when he first arrived. But now that he had time to think about it, he wasn't so sure. He wanted to be with Rukia, he knew that. But, alternatively, he didn't want anything to happen to his other friends either. Nothing was certain about Aizen. By all accounts, he was one of the nicest people Ichigo ever met. He was polite, calm, conversational, and assuring. And yet somehow, in some uncertain way, Ichigo felt that there was something wrong!

He stopped then. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he failed to realize he was now out of the populated area. There he stood on a small, green hill with a lone tree standing tall above it. The green leaves, accompanied with the swaying grass gave him a small sense of calm. A loud sigh escaped his lips as he sat down, leaning against the dark brown bark of the tree.

'When did you start thinking so much?' he thought, as he rubbed a hand through his orange hair.

He had explained his dilemma to Rukia, but the midget didn't have much advice to give. How could she, when she wasn't getting the same feeling around Aizen as Ichigo was? But she had done the best she could, and had told Ichigo to follow his heart. As corny as that sounded, Ichigo felt that it might just be good advice, no matter how small it was. He just wished he could tell what his heart was telling him at the moment. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, letting the cool air blow through his bright orange hair. He let out another sigh, this one more peaceful then his other thanks to the calm environment. As the minutes went by, the calming breeze finally allowed sleep to overtake him.

Suddenly, his orange eyes opened as he let out a gasp. He wasn't on the green mountain anymore, the quiet scenery being replaced by a familiar blue tinted building. It only took a second for him to realize where he was as he let out a groan. He hadn't yet gotten used to being pulled into his inner-world like this, but he was no longer nervous about standing on a sideways building. He simply stared at the building across from him for a few seconds, before pulling himself up to a sitting position. In front of him stood Zangetsu, the black blade he was standing on not bending under his weight, if he even weighs anything at all; and his shadowed eyes observed his wielder with slight amusement. As his red tinted cloak waved in the wind, a smile crept onto his normally emotionless face. In all honestly, he enjoyed catching Ichigo when he was sleeping. It never ceased to humor him how he reacted. The Zanpakuto's slim sunglasses reflected light from an unseen sun when he tilted his head down slightly, the smile quickly leaving to leave a once-more emotionless appearance.

"You found something funny?" Ichigo asked from his position, his right eyebrow raised in a questioning form.

Zangetsu blinked in mild surprise, as he hadn't expected Ichigo to notice. He didn't respond, preferring to just stare at his master. Nothing could be read on his face. No emotion, and no thought.

Ichigo held down a chuckle at his Zanpakuto's peculiar behavior. "Why'd you call me in here, anyways? I was trying to take a nap!" he complained.

Zangetsu said nothing as he motioned with his left hand towards the sky. Upon looking, it wasn't exactly the usual blue, clear sky that he had expected to see. Instead it was a sky filled with menacing thunderclouds that threatened to break into a fierce storm at any moment.

"You are troubled about something. That is why I called you." said the tall, black haired man.

"Ah" Ichigo muttered, looking down at his feet. He should have known that Zangetsu would know when he was thinking about something. He does live in his head, after all. He explained everything to Zangetsu, and the Zanpakuto was openly frowning by the time he was done.

"I see." he said, looking off towards the sky. "And, what do you think you should do?"

"I don't know! That's the problem!" Ichigo yelled, his head buried in his hands. "I don't even know if I'm right about Aizen or not."

The Zanpakuto let out a small sigh, and jumped down from the black blade he stood on. He silently walked over to Ichigo, stopping at his side. "Sometimes" he said, "you just need to do what you think is right, not what is the best."

Suddenly, his cloak expanded around him and he faded away. Seconds later Ichigo's inner-world faded as well, an endless darkness being left in its place.

It was black like this for but a moment, when in a flash of light Ichigo was back on the calming hilltop where he was resting before. As was the usual case, not even a second had passed by during their conversation. It was their own little dimension, where they could talk for as long as they wished without worrying about the real world. A useful skill to have, but unfortunately it didn't exactly help him much in the current situation. The orange haired Shinigami leaned his head back against the tree, staring up at the distant clouds. Everything was silent, not even the birds were chirping as the wind died down to a low breeze. All to quickly, the silence was broken when the little sound of footsteps was heard.

"Still haven't decided?" came a familiar voice, and Ichigo knew exactly who it was.

"Nah." was his reply. Rukia sat down next to him, also staring up at the clouds. Once more a silence overtook the hill, as the two merely enjoyed the peaceful moment. As would normally happen, yet again the silence was broken by footsteps. This time however, it was two pairs that were approaching, not just one.

"Well now, didn't think to see you two here!" came the friendly sound of Jushiro Ukitake's voice. Ichigo glanced over at him with a friendly smile, though his orange brows betrayed it when he slightly frowned. Since when did a Taichou not "think to see you"?

"Ukitake-Taichou!" exclaimed Rukia, "Kyoraku-Taichou!" followed by a quick bow. Ichigo's cautious frown turned into a curiously raised brow. He hadn't met this Kyoraku yet. From what Rukia had said, he was obviously a Taichou. He was wearing the regular Taichou Haori, along with a pink kimino with red flowers in the design, and a circular, tanish-brown, straw hat was on his head. He had facial hair that looked very unkempt, which Ichigo noticed was much like Zangetsu, and the hair on his head was tied down into a pony-tail with one bang hanging down on the left side of his face. Accompanying all this was a laid back posture, and his face had a lazy grin plastered across it.

"You're Ichigo, right?" said the Taichou. Before he could responde, the Taichou continued, "Pleasure to meet you! The names Shunsui!" His grin had broadened into a smile now, and Ichigo couldn't help but feel himself relax.

"So, you won't try to kill me if I call you by your first name?" The orange-head asked, being cautious so that he wouldn't end up with an early retirement.

"Of course not. What a silly question!" said Kyoraku with a chuckle, though he gave Jushiro a questioning look. When the white-haired man noticed it (which was only a few seconds after the fact) he let out a 'O' sound, and answered the unsaid question.

"Sensei gave him a harsh welcome when he arrived. I doubt he wants to upset any of us because of that." he said, glancing at Ichigo as if looking for confirmation.

Shunsui let out a laugh then, and spoke with clear humor in his voice. "Ah! So Yama-jii got to you then? It's no surprise you're a nervous wreck!"

Ichigo let out a small chuckle before muttering, "Yeah. He's scary for an old guy." He quickly received a sharp pain on his head from Rukia's fist.

"Don't be rude, Ichigo!" She scolded, though he barely feigned an apologetic expression.

"He's not even here! Besides, he is scary. And we all know that he IS old" he responded, making the "is" in a louder voice then the rest.

Shunsui and Jushiro both began laughing at the two's antics. "Well now. Rukia seems much like my Nanao." said Shunsui in between laughs. Indeed, back at the 8th squad barracks Nanao had often scolded him in a similar way, after he had made a similar remark.

"Nanao?" asked the orange-head, after he had dodged another of Rukia's strikes.

"Ah, you'll have to meet her someday. She's my FukuTaichou. I don't know what I'd do without her!" Shunsui said with a laugh.

Jushiro let out a sigh, and said "The 8th squad would be a mess, is what would happen."

"Hmm. That's probably true. Speaking about my Nanao, she should be here any moment." he said, with his hand on his chin in a mock thinking posture. True enough, they all felt a reiatsu presence approaching fast, and it did not feel pleasant. Rather, it felt angry. Very, very angry.

"Taichou!" was heard from a female voice, and she sounded quite annoyed.

"That'd be her!" said the lazy Taichou, almost with an apprehensive look on his face.

It was only a matter of seconds before she landed, glasses, brown book of death, and everything else. "Taichou! What do you think you're doing? You're supposed to be at the barracks to-"

She was cut off by the older shinigami when he let out a loud exclamation. "Nanao! So good to see you! Did you meet Ichi- ow." And there she went with the book. There's a reason it's called the "Book of Death", after all.

"Don't change the subject!" barked the female FukuTaichou. She was very, very annoyed with Shunsui at the moment. She often wondered why he was always so difficult to deal with. For a brief moment, muffled laughter was heard, before another "whack"! Now there were two Shinigami wounded in action, one with dark brown hair and the other with bright orange hair. Both were gently rubbing the newly created mass on their heads.

"Nanao! Rukia!" Exclaimed Jushiro, "You two really should be more gentle. If you end up killing them you know what the SouTaichou will do!"

"Yeah, Rukia!" Ichigo shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the short Shinigami, "You really should be mo-" Yet again, a loud whack was heard as Rukia practically pummeled Ichigo into the ground, comically creating a small crater with no orange hair to be seen. The reason being: Ichigo's head was now buried into the center of the newly created crater, giving the appearance of an ostrich attempting to hide from a potential predator. In this case, the relation actually makes sense.

Unseen by anyone, Nanao let a small smirk appear on her face. Her expression quickly turning serious, almost threatening, she turned to her Taichou. "So that's what I need to do, is it?"

"Ah." Shunsui took several steps back, hands raised in front of his face defensively. "I'll be going now!" And he was gone! Literally in a blink of an eye! The FukuTaichou let out a sigh, bowed to Jushiro respectfully, and quite quickly began chasing after her Taichou. She had only barely acknowledged Ichigo's presence!

Ukitake let out a very slight chuckle, before turning to Rukia. "Rukia, actually I'd like to speak with Ichigo alone for a few minutes. Do you mind?"

Though confused by the Taichou's request, Rukia quickly nodded her head. "No, I don't mind Ukitake-Taichou. I will go back to the barracks." The white haired Taichou thanked her, and she was gone, making her way to 13th squad barracks.

Jushiro smiled slightly at the fading silluhette, before turning back towards where Ichigo was. Jushiro's eyes suddenly widened and he let out an "Ack"! Ichigo was still stuck in the crater!

*Minutes later*

Ichigo slowly awoke, his vision blurry and his head aching. For a moment, he thought it was a hangover but he quickly eliminated that possibility. He hadn't been drinking! How could he have one! He felt the top of his head, and let out a yelp from the sudden pain that coursed through his head. He had a bump, and it wasn't going to go away any time soon. A voice suddenly caught his attention.

"Oh, you're awake!" it said. He couldn't quite tell who it was, but when he looked he saw the friendly smile of Jushiro. "You've been knocked out for awhile."

Ichigo groaned and sat up. He remembered seeing Rukia grab him by the head, then he saw the ground. After that it was all blank. He looked over to where he had been sitting, only to see a small crater. "Oh come on! Now that is going overboard!" He shouted, staring wide eyed at the hole in the middle. He now knew why his head hurt so much. Jushiro remained silent while the orange-haired soul went into a long rant about how he would "get her back" and what not. Well, at least for the first few seconds. When Ichigo had decided to start walking away, a quick clearing of the throat caught Ichigo's attention.

"I wanted to have a chat with you, Ichigo." the white-haired Taichou said. "About you're little problem." This completely grabbed Ichigo's attention.

"Alright. But what's there to talk about?" Ichigo asked, "It's probably nothing, right? I mean, he doesn't seem like a bad person." He was referring to Aizen, of course.

Ukitake frowned inwardly. "Not quite." He paused for but a moment, before he continued. "I told Kyoraku about it all. That's why we came to find you."

Ichigo nodded with recognition. He figured they came for more then just idle chit-chat. "You see," the Taichou continued, "Kyoraku has been rather suspicious of Aizen for a little while now. About fifty or so years ago, an incident occurred which eliminated six of the Taichous, two FukuTaichous, as well as the Head of the Kido Corps and his second. I can't give you the details, but one of the Taichous blamed Aizen for the entire thing. However, it couldn't be proved, so the Central 46 ordered the Taichous to be banished, imprisoned, or killed. Despite the lack of evidence, that Taichou was never one to blame another for his own crime. Ever since then, Kyoraku has always kept a close eye on Aizen."

Scowling ever so slightly, Ichigo asked, "So, I wasn't just imagining things?"

Jushiro shook his head, "Not entirely, at least. If Aizen is conspiring against Soul Society, he has been very good at covering his tracks." Ukitake paused, honestly wondering if he was really willing to ask this of Ichigo. He knew that there wasn't much of a choice anyways. No one else had caught on like Ichigo had. "Ichigo, would you do both me and Kyoraku a favor?"

Ichigo raised and eyebrow in slight confusion. He hadn't expected the Taichou to ask someone to do them a favor. Him of all people! "Sure. What is it?"

Jushiro didn't respond immediately. He still wasn't sure whether to ask or not. He had already brought it up though; there was no point in turning back now. "We would like you to be our observer. We want you to observe Aizen."

Ichigo blinked in surprise. Observe Aizen? Was he really asking him to spy on Aizen? "You're asking me to keep tabs on Aizen, and report to you when I find anything?"

Nodding, the Taichou confirmed what Ichigo thought. "Yes, we want you to get close to Aizen. Make him think you trust him, make him think you're on his side. I know it won't be easy, but you're the only person who has a chance."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Ichigo asked.

"For starters, join fifth squad. From there," the elder Taichou responded, "Just rise through the ranks. You shouldn't have any trouble with that, right?" This was sounding more and more like a mission briefing. Oh wait, technically it was. "And if you find out anything, Kyoraku and I meet nightly at the bar."

'Drinking? That doesn't seem like something you'd do, Jushiro.' "Alright. I guess that solves my squad problem as well." Honestly though, he wasn't even part of a squad yet and he already had an "assignment"! Maybe becoming a Shinigami was more trouble then it's worth.

"Thank you. This will be a lot of help to us. And besides, even if we are wrong about Aizen, it still solved you squad choice! It's a win-win situation!" Ukitake responded with a smile. "Any ways, I better get going. It's not easy being a Taichou, after all!"

"Right. Later!" shouted Ichigo at Jushiro's quickly retreating form. He had a lot less to think about, and he supposed that Zangetsu was much happier with the sunny sky in his inner world. The sun was now much lower to the horizon then it was when Ichigo first arrived at the mountain. He would take his application to the fifth squad barracks in the morning. For the moment, he headed back to his room in the guest quarters. He took his time, enjoying the breeze that blew through the now empty streets. The sun had set when he finally reached the garden, a beautiful full moon rising in its place. Its white light illuminated the garden and the empty houses, giving the appearance of a forest village in the night. The reflection off the water saw briefly the shadow of the orange-haired man, before he entered the house. It's light brown walls and floors were now completely lacking in dust and dirt. Just because he lived in the stuff for the first part of his life in Soul Society, doesn't mean he wants to deal with it! Looking around briefly, Ichigo turned and sat on the small single seat bench that was on the porch. He sat there, simply enjoying sound of the river of water. Some workers had come during the week and installed a small fountain and a river. Ichigo was surprised at how fast they got the work done, but he figured Kido had something to do with it. For the rest of the night he sat there, dozing off a few hours after he sat down.

Zangetsu stood on his black blade as always, staring up at the clear blue sky of Ichigo's inner world. A small smile was on his face, and he looked at peace with the surroundings. 'Finally. It seems you're at peace once more, Ichigo.'

*Next morning*

The sun had long since revealed itself from the cover of the horizon. Just as the morning before, business went on as it always did. Ichigo stood in front of the Fifth Squad's barracks, piece of paper in hand. The only thing that remained was to go in, and give the Taichou it! Well, if it was any other squad, that would be the case most likely. But this is Aizen-Taichou we're talking about! 'Well, I'm here. I can't go back now, can I?' Swallowing the saliva that had generated in his mouth, he made his way towards the door one agonizing step at a time. Before he could even knock on the door of the large barracks, it opened suddenly, going outwards revealing the tall from of Ichimaru Gin, FukuTaichou of Fifth Squad.

His eyes closed to mere slits and a smile on his face, he spoke in his usual tone. "We were wonderin' when ya'd show. Welcome aboard."

'Act friendly. Act friendly. Act friendly!' "Uh, thank you." Was all Ichigo could really get out. The reiatsu radiating off of this guy was intense. The creepy smile on his face wasn't exactly helping at all.

"Don't mention it! C'mon! I'll take ya' to Aizen." And off they went. Just like that he was in the "belly of the beast", so to speak. The barracks itself seemed normal enough, the entire compound being filled with two story buildings, all of which were connect to each other. They all formed alleyways, down of which several of the Squad's members were going about their daily businesses. The walls were a whitish color with the roofs being a light brown, the tiled floor a light blue. After some time of traversing the barracks, during which no words were spoken much to Ichigo's relief, they finally stood in front of the Taichou's room. It was the largest of all the buildings in the compound, standing at the far end of a courtyard of unknown purpose. Really, it didn't seem very important at all. The only thing was that there were at least ten doors on each wall. On the Taichou's building, there was only one door.

"Here we are!" commented Ichimaru, in an almost carefree voice. He opened the door and walked in, not even bothering to see if Ichigo was following. Follow him Ichigo did, however. The immediate passage behind the door was a staircase leading up to the second level. There wasn't much to see on the inside, a long hallway with a few sliding doors on both sides. At the end was the balcony, which they walked across for some few more minutes. Throughout the walk, several of the members stopped and greeted Ichimaru, before casting a cautious glance towards Ichigo. Finally they reached another door, and on the inside was Aizen. He sat behind his desk with a polite smile, a stack of papers laid out on the desk. Various bookshelfs were set up around the room, as well as a table and some chairs. The smile on his face only widened when he saw Ichigo standing in the room.

"Welcome to Squad Five, Ichigo."

And I finally get it done! Once again, I'm extremely sorry for the long wait! Things just kept getting in the way, and when I finally did have time I just couldn't think of anything to type! And now that I'm done, I think this one was shorter then the last, but not necessarily worse (I hope!). Also, I'm thinking about going through the earlier chapters and redoing them a little bit. Just making them a little more advertising. Don't want people to read the original chapters and think "This story sucks" and move on! So, I might not have another chapter up for a little bit. Anyways, REVIEW! :)