13th Squad Barracks

April 30th, 1965

There was a knock on the door, so I automatically said, "Come in."

I heard it slide open, and then shut, but I kept my eye on the papers in front of me. I had learned to do the paperwork as soon as I got it so I wouldn't have to deal with it all at once, so now I was working on what I had just gotten earlier.

"Nazeka?"

I looked up to see Toushirou standing in front of me. I smiled and went back to filling out a new recruit's log.

"Hey, Toushirou."

"Are you going to sit in here and work on paperwork all day when it's your birthday? Or are you actually going to do something fun?"

"Since when have you actually wanted to do something labeled 'fun'? Ever since Kusaka died, you've been so much more serious. I haven't seen you smile in years."

"Don't... Don't mention his name... Not now at least."

"Alright, I won't. Now, what is it that you want to do? Besides, don't you have work to do too? I heard you were being recruited as the new captain since Aijou-taicho is retiring. You ready for the responsibility, my short friend?"

I could almost hear the vein in his forehead pop when I mentioned his height.

"I'm taller than you are now! At least I'm growing... a little!"

"Someone's got a Napoleon complex..." I sang, and he growled, "Shut the hell up. You're shorter, so you have no room to talk! None at all! And you won't grow!"

"Don't remind me. So, what were you planning on doing, 'Oh Tall Future Captain'?"

"I wanted to show you something."

I raised an eyebrow, "Where?"

"In Rukongai. Over in Hokutan."

"Hokutan? Why there?"

"You'll see. Come on," He held out his hand and I took it, following him out the door and down the hall. We passed by Ukitake who was having one of his good weeks, but wasn't doing any of the paperwork (much to my annoyance).

"Ah, Hitsugaya-kun, Nazeka, where are you two...?"

"Toushirou wanted to show me something, since it's my birthday, so I'll be back later, okay?"

"Perfectly fine with me. But make sure you come back to my office around six."

"Uh... okay. I don't think I'll be gone that long, but I'll remember!"

Toushirou dragged me around the corner, out of the barracks, and through the western gate. Hokutan was farther back than Junrin'an, so we had to go through the first and second districts. While passing through the Junrin'an, we saw some kids playing tops in a small little arena. I saw Toushirou smile a bit for the first time in such a long time, so I made him stop and asked, "Didn't you tell me you were really good at tops?"

"In Junrin'an, I was the undefeated champion. But, that doesn't mat-"

"Would you like to play? I've never played that game before!"

"You've never played? Seriously?"

"No. Can you teach me?"

"Sure."

We walked over to the kids and their wooden arena, but as soon as they saw us, the cowered a bit and stopped their game. I tried to smile, "Hey there. Mind if we join you?"

They didn't answer, and kept their distance; however, one of them stepped forward and asked, "Why are you here?"

"We just wanted to play tops. I've never played before, and my friend here offered to teach me. We'll play with you if you want."

"No, I mean why are you here?"

"In Hokutan?"

"Yeah, shinigami," he spit the name out, "why the hell would you want to come to the Rukongai? Don't you have something to do in your plush life other than show off here?"

"But-"

"Get out of here shinigami!"

"Yeah! Get out!"

"Go away!"

"Enough!" Toushirou yelled, stepping in front of me, his lip twitching in anger, "Leave her alone, damn it! She asked nicely and you guys just took the fact that she was a shinigami and threw it in her face!"

"You're shinigami! You've never been nice to us!"

"Well she certainly is! You kids don't give any of us a chance!"

"That's 'cause you guys don't treat us fairly!"

"Toushirou..." I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, "It's fine. You don't have to teach me. It's obvious these kids aren't going to change their mind right now, and it doesn't help that you're yelling at them. C'mon, let's just go."

He sighed and glanced at the kids, many of which were sticking out their tongues, "But..."

"C'mon," I urged, pushing him away from them, "What were you going to show me?"

"Alright, come with me," He stepped away from my hands to keep me from pushing him and instead grabbed my wrist, pulling me behind him and away from the inner 'city' of Hokutan. He led me through the forest and we started going up one of the mountains.

"You know, I've never been to Hokutan before. What mountain is this?"

"Mount Koifushi. Junrin'an has some smaller mountains, but they're on the side farthest from the Seireitei."

"And we're going up this mountain?"

"Yes."

"So... what is there to show me up there?"

"You'll see."

We climbed higher until we reached a cliffside covered in soft grass and some small trees. He pulled me farther toward the edge and sat down, motioning for me to join him. I sat down and looked out over the edge.

"Wow!" I exclaimed, amazed at the view. I could see almost half of the seireitei, including the my squad's barracks and the tenth squad's barracks. I could even see Inuzuri, which was number 78 in South Rukongai-a pretty far distance from the Seireitei.

"I thought you'd like it."

"It's amazing! I can even see Inuzuri! How'd you find this place?"

"I asked Ukitake if he knew of anywhere you'd like to go, and he said to ask Rukia about a mountain in Hokutan. He said that she and Kaien trained up here once, and when I asked her about it, she told me about this place. I came up here the other day."

"It's beautiful."

We sat in silence for awhile, staring out at the huge expanse of both the Seireitei and Rukongai, before Toushirou said, "I got you something."

"Really? You really didn't have to."

"No, I really wanted to. Here," he handed me a small box, "Hyourinmaru taught me how to make it after I had learned bankai..." I could see his face turn red when I took the box and opened it. Inside was a small crystal of ice on a silver chain. I picked it up and held it up to the light, "Toushirou, it's beautiful!"

"Unless my reiatsu disappears completely, the ice won't melt."

"That's amazing! I didn't know you could do that!"

"Well, now you know."

"Thank you, Toushirou. I love it," I cupped his cheek and kissed him. I could feel him stiffen, but then his lips curled into a smile and he kissed me back. But he broke away and took the chain from my hand, "Here, I'll help you put it on."

He wrapped it around my neck and fastened the clasp; it was cold, but it was a strange cold. It wasn't unpleasant at all, in fact, it was like the ice was alive.

"As much as I don't want to, we should go back so you can go see Ukitake about whatever it was he wanted."

"Do we have to?"

He stood up and helped me to my feet, "Yes. I'm the one who's going to get in trouble if I don't get you back in time."

"It's only like... four! He said I didn't have to be back until six."

"Yeah, but it takes us an hour and a half to get back. Let's go."

"Aw..." I moaned as I tucked the necklace under my shitagi.

Toushirou followed me inside the office and I asked, "Ukitake-taicho, you wanted to see me?"

Ukitake smiled and set down his brush, "We're going out to eat tonight! Kyouraku's treat!"

"O-out to eat?" I asked, "Why?"

"It's your birthday, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but..."

"We decided to do something special."

"Er... why now?"

"Kyouraku's idea. Toushirou-kun's invited too!"

"Eh?" Toushirou asked, surprised. Ukitake nodded, "Of course! Now come on you two, Kyouraku said he'd meet us there, so let's go!" He stood up and left the room, disappearing around the corner. I looked at Toushirou, "What... just happened?" I had no say in this!

"You're being invited to dinner. What, has this never happened to you before?"

"Actually... no... I mean, Kaien asked me and Rukia to accompany him before... and Ukitake-taicho and Kyouraku-taicho once asked me to join them to drink some sake but..." I remembered the last time I drank sake, "Yeah, that's not going to happen anytime soon. And I remember that Renji, Momo, and Kira asked me to join them once... they invited Rukia too."

"You never accepted any of their requests?"

"Um... no, I never did. It just seemed like a total pain in the ass... and it still is."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because I've never been out to eat before... I don't think I ever went when I was alive either..."

"Well, it was going to happen sometime, wasn't it? Why not now? It is your birthday after all."

"I still think this whole 'birthday' thing isn't a big deal. I mean, everyone else's birthdays don't seem to be celebrated often, so why mine?"

"Because you're liked by a lot of people in the Seireitei."

I looked at him questioningly, but he just passed it off with a sigh and walked out the door, "Might as well follow him. After all, he never did say where we were going... so we're gonna end up lost."

"Aw, crap."

13th Squad Barracks

February 14th, 2010

"Oi! Wake up damn it!" The door to my room slammed open and I glanced over at the shadowy figure. I growled and slammed my pillow over my head to block out the light.

"Nazeka! Wake up! Do you have any idea what time it is!"

"Um... time for you to go the hell away? I'm sleeping, dammit!"

The pillow was ripped from my head and a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me to a sitting position, "It's one in the afternoon! Why the hell are you still in bed!"

"Because I only got two hours of sleep last night! So I'm making it up now. I even asked Ukitake-taicho, and he said it was fine."

"You promised me you'd help me out with my paperwork since that...that... that lame excuse for a lieutenant won't help me!"

"Good insult."

"Shut up!"

"Back at'cha. Go away Toushirou... I'm extremely tired."

"That's Hitsugaya-taicho."

"Like I give a damn. Go bother someone who cares."

"You promised!"

"Matsumoto-san it your lieutenant, so she's your problem! Tell her to do her own paperwork and leave me out of it! I have enough to do!"

"But you said-!"

"Toushirou!" I screamed, my temper rising, "When I say leave me alone, it means leave me alone! I'm tired, I'm in a horrible mood, I don't want to look at another piece of paper for as long as my afterlife shall live, and you're really not making it any better! So unless you want to end up getting cut up with my zanpakutou, then I suggest you get the hell outta here!" I grabbed my zanpakutou and unsheathed it, pointing it at Toushirou's face.

"N-No need to go that far... jeez... are you really that cranky?" He looked down the sharp blade level with the space between his eyes.

"Have you ever seen me get mad?" I fumed. He shook his head, "Not like this..."

"You should be glad you haven't seen my bad side."

"This isn't your bad side?"

"Far from it. Now, before I really start to hate you, I suggest you get out of here. Come back and talk to me when I'm in a better mood and when I've gotten all my sleep!" I lowered my sword and sheathed it, set it next to my bed, and got inside the covers. I pulled the sheets over my head and moaned, "Just go away now."

"Fine. Raising your sword at a captain... If I wasn't your friend, I could have you arrested for that..." He muttered.

I heard the door slam close and his footsteps disappear down the hall. I groaned and tried to go back to sleep, but the longer I laid there, the more awake I became.

"So... gonna tell him sorry and go help him? 'Cause now you're awake."

"Not after how angry I got. Jeez, he'll never let me live it down if that happens."

"Yeah, but are you just going to sit here for hours doing nothing? I'd go and help him. I'm sure he'll forgive you. And if you don't... I'll sit here and ramble off all my 'corny' jokes. So, what did the mother buffalo say to her son?"

"ARGH! I get it! I'll go!"

"Wait, can I finish this one? Okay, she said, 'Bison!' Get it? Get it?"

"Utter one more word and I will go in there and kick you in the face. I swear I'm gonna die one day listening to your jokes," I muttered. I put away my bed and got dressed, sliding on my lieutenant badge and grabbing my sandals. I left the barracks after explaining where I was going to Ukitake-taicho, and then headed for Toushirou's office. When I reached the door, I stood there for quite some time, trying to swallow my pride and apologize.

After awhile, I opened the door and took a deep breath, stepping inside. He looked up and raised an eyebrow before going back to work on the stacks of paper crowding his desk.

"What do you want?" He asked. The tension in the air was so thick, it almost hurt. I scratched the back of my head and sighed, "A-After you left... I couldn't fall asleep again, so I came to help... well, that and the fact that Syugoryuu threatened to bombard me with corny jokes until I came."

"So, you didn't come here because you wanted to keep your promise," He said quietly, not looking up.

"Well... since I'm here, I can do that too."

"I'm not sure I like your reasoning."

"Excuse me, at least I'm here ready to help you!" I folded my arms, but then immediately put them down and sighed again, "I guess I'm just trying to apologize, and it's not working out so well."

"You've had trouble doing that over the years."

"You've had an attitude problems ever since Kusaka died."

He raised an eyebrow again, this time in annoyance. I held up my hands, "Right, my bad."

"Never mind. Your stack is over there on Matsumoto's desk," He pointed to the single stack on her desk with his brush. I sat down at her desk and picked up the first paper asking, "So, where is Matsumoto-san?"

"She's out drinking with some friends... as usual."

"Ah," I began working on the paper when my stomach growled... quite loud actually. I held my it tight, but it only growled louder, "I haven't eaten all day... great..."

"Your fault for skipping meals before you came over."

"Can't I grab something before I start?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"C'mon! I just want some food!"

"No!"

I pouted and looked back down at my paper before muttering, "If only I could have some Teriyaki Udon... agh, I'm drooling just thinking about it..."

"You know what I'd like?"

"What?"

"A nice cold glass of shut the hell up."

I thought about that for awhile before replying, "Good one."

"Thank you."

Our moments of sarcasm were often like that. If it was clever or amusing, we'd comment on them before going back to whatever conversation or argument we were having. I smiled and continued to work on the papers, trying to hold in the growls coming from my stomach.

I woke up to find myself on a couch with a blanket draped over me. I yawned and sat up, confused. I was still in Toushirou's office, but I couldn't remember how I ended up on the couch. I turned around to face the desk behind the couch, but Toushirou wasn't there. The door opened behind me and I suddenly smelled my favorite food: Teriyaki Udon. I turned around to see Toushirou smirking and holding a plate of probably the most delicious food on the planet.

"I asked the kitchen to make you this."

"Seriously! You're the best!" I took the plate and the chopsticks and dug in, saying with my mouth full, "Itadakimasu*!"

"Your welcome," he said quietly as he sat on the couch across from me and went back into his normal frown.

"Hey, something the matter?" I asked, but he shook his head. I tried to start up a conversation again, "So, how did I end up on the couch?"

"You fell asleep while finishing the last few documents. I moved you to the couch because you were getting ink all over your face."

I stiffened and felt my cheek, trying to see if there was still some left. He scratched his head, "I wiped it off. You would've gotten ink all over the couch."

"Oh, so that's the only reason, huh?" I asked slyly, grinning. His face went red, "Yes, that's the only reason! Jeez..."

"I'm just joking," I laughed. I finished up the plate of food and set it down on the table.

"Ukitake wanted you to go back to his office. He sent one of the third seats over here to tell you, but you were asleep."

"Why didn't you say something earlier!" I stood up and walked to the door, "See you later! And thanks for everything."

He nodded, and I left, smiling. Thanks, Toushirou. You're nicer than you let people think.

Ukitake's Office

July 2nd, 2010

"Um... you wanted to see me?" I asked my captain, and he ushered me into the room.

"Nazeka, I need to discuss something with you."

"Yes?" I asked, sitting down in the chair next to his desk. He leaned forward and folded his hands, "Rukia was sent to the World of the Living under your orders, correct?"

"Well... yes. You were sick and so when I had to assign people, I assigned Rukia to area 323.2 in Karakura Town, Japan. You even agreed and asked Kuchiki-taicho if he was fine with it, and he was."

"Yes, yes, but here's the problem. Rukia Kuchiki has violated a major law in the Soul Society. She's transferred her shinigami powers into a human-"

"She's done what now? Why would she do that? I mean, there's gotta be a logical explanation. Rukia would never do something that stupid unless she had a good reason-"

"Nazeka." He interrupted, and started coughing.

"Sorry."

"Lieutenant Abarai and Byakuya Kuchiki are going to investigate down in the World of the Living to see what's the problem. But, if they have to bring her back..."

"She's going to be imprisoned by Central 46, isn't she... and then..."

"And then executed. Correct. They will kill the human she transferred her powers to as well."

"Poor kid."

"Well, I need you to do me a favor."

"What's that?"

"I need you to find out from Abarai and Kuchiki what they plan to do to Rukia and where she will be kept. When they come back, I need you to find out Rukia's situation. Maybe we can get her out of this."

"Right. I'll start on this right away, taicho," I stood up and left the room, grabbing my sandals and walking over to the sixth squad's barracks. Renji had been moved from squad to squad over the years. He had started out in the fifth squad, but was then moved to the eleventh squad. Now he's become lieutenant of the sixth squad.

I entered the barracks, getting a lot of strange stares from the shinigami there, since it was unusual for me to be there. I asked a few people for where I could find Renji, but they all shrugged and said they had no idea. So, instead, I just went to Kuchiki-taicho's office, where I found only the captain... a very scary moment.

He merely looked up for a second before ducking his head back down to focus on his paperwork, so I took the initiative to ask him about Rukia.

"Um, Kuchiki-taicho, I've been asked by my captain to find out more about what you and Ren-er, Abarai plan on doing with Rukia in the World of the Living. Also, once you come back with her, where will she be staying?" I bowed slightly in respect, absolutely terrified.

"We will do what is necessary, according to what happens."

"Meaning...?"

He looked up with a bored expression, "She will be dealt with according to our law."

"Oh. And um... about where she will be kept...?"

"She will be imprisoned here in the sixth squad's prison. That has been ordered by Central 46."

"I see. Thank you very much, Kuchiki-taicho," I left immediately, closing the door behind me and sighed, "He is one of the scariest captains I have ever met... not including Kenpachi-taicho or Kurotsuchi-taicho. They're a different story," I walked down the hall not too far before passing the familiar talking red pineapple.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned.

"Oh, hey Renji. I'm here on business from Ukitake-taicho. Hey, um, can I ask you something?"

"Um, sure?"

I waved my hand for him to come closer, and I quietly asked, "Does Kuchiki-taicho scare you at all?"

"Taicho? No. In fact, he's my enemy."

"Your... enemy?"

"Yeah. I'm determined to defeat him one day. I have to keep training though..."

"Did he kick your ass?" I asked knowingly.

"Very harshly yesterday..."

"Well, good luck with that one Renji. I can't help you there. Anyway, I gotta get going. I need to tell Ukitake-taicho what I found out."

"Alright. Bye, Nazeka."

"See ya."

I walked out of the barracks and into my own, entering the office to see Ukitake still sitting at his desk. Do the captains do anything but paperwork? I sat on the couch that was turned away from him and kneeled on the cushions, looking over the back.

"Something wrong, Nazeka?"

"Kuchiki-taicho is so scary..." I muttered. Ukitake laughed and set down his brush, "So, I take it you found out something already?"

"It wasn't hard. Kuchiki-taicho said that Rukia will be dealt with according to the law of the Soul Society, and she'll be kept in the sixth squad's prison."

"I see... Nazeka, how much do you know about the Seireitei's government?"

"Um, what they taught me in the academy. I know the major laws and such, and I know that if you break certain ones, you will go under trial of Central 46 and have options such as execution. And I know that the execution takes place on the Sokyouku hill, but I don't know what happens."

"When you are executed on Sokyouku hill, you are placed on the wooden beam that you can see all the way down here. The Sokyouku is released from its binds and it disintegrates the soul completely. It's not a normal death. It's rare when a person is executed this way."

"Oh. And... how come you asked me about this?"

"Because the punishment that Rukia is going to receive, is this execution."

"W-What!"

He nodded.

"B-But like I said before, there's gotta be a reason she would've done such a horrible crime!"

"I know. But we're going to have to wait until Rukia's brought back here to hear what she has to say. For now, just don't think about it and relax. I'm sure we can figure out some way to save her."

Sixth Squad's Prison

July 19th, 2010

"Renji! Let me damn it!"

"No! My orders are to keep everyone out except those on duty here!"

I shoved him backward, "Well my orders are to talk to Rukia! Renji, you're pissing me off! Let me in there! Damn you!" I yelled when he shoved me back by the head, but instead of falling, I bumped into something bigger than me.

"What is going on?"

I froze when I heard the cold, calm voice behind me, and I looked at Renji's slightly scared expression, "Sorry, taicho. I didn't realize you were there."

I stiffened even more when I heard him say 'taicho'. Oh man, he's right behind me... and to make it even worse... I was knocked into him! Crap! No, forget crap, holy shit this bad!

"You're dead."

You think!

I bit my lower lip and turned around to see Kuchiki-taicho glaring down at me. Yep, glaring down at me. Why did he have to be so much taller than me! It was bad enough with his attitude, but whenever I was near him, he was two heads taller than me, so I felt so small!

"Ah, sorry, Kuchiki-taicho."

"I asked what was going on, Renji," He went back to staring at his lieutenant.

"Nazeka wants to see the prisoner, but I told her no since you said only those at their posts inside the jail can see her."

"I was ordered by Ukitake-taicho to talk to her! I have to follow orders! Please, Kuchiki-taicho, you have to let me in," I begged, backing away from him to give him room. There's no way I'm getting in... not after what happened... His face was completely impassive as he said, "Let her in, Renji."

"What?" We both asked in astonishment. Renji sputtered, "B-But captain!"

"I said it's fine. Do you have some other reason to not let her in?"

"That sounds like a death threat."

It does, strangely enough.

"No, sir... I-I'll let her in," He muttered. Renji stepped aside and I bowed to Kuchiki-taicho, "Thank you so much, sir!" I walked past Renji, pulling down my eyelid and sticking out my tongue as I passed. His lip twitched, but he didn't say or do anything. I wandered down the row of cells, looking for Rukia's; it wasn't long until I found her. She was sitting with her back to me in the single small chair-the only piece of furniture in the whole cell. She wasn't even wearing the normal shinigami uniform; instead, she was wearing a simple white yukata.

"Rukia?" I tapped on the bars, and she turned around, "Nazeka! You got in?"

"Yeah."

"I heard you and Renji arguing, but once you guys stopped yelling, I couldn't hear anything."

"You heard all that?"

"Yeah. So, what did you come here to ask me?"

I looked around for a spare chair, and I found one further down the hallway. I held up a finger and ran down to get it, bringing it back and sitting down in front of bars. She had turned her chair around to face me by the time I got back.

"Ukitake-taicho and I want to know your side of the story. We think we may be able to get you out of this mess."

"I don't think that's possible."

"What, you don't believe in us? Your superiors? C'mon, have a little faith in us. Tell me what happened while you were in the World of the Living."

"Well, I was just fulfilling normal duties. I took care of any Hollows, and I made sure that all of the souls were sent here. But one day, I met this guy. He could see Hollows and souls, even me. His name is-er, sorry... was-Ichigo Kurosaki. He was fifteen.

"But the same night I met him, the strangest thing happened. I couldn't sense a nearby Hollow, even though the spiritual pressure was enormous. Once I left his side though, I could sense it extremely well. It attacked his sisters and was going to eat the one with more reiatsu. I stopped him from doing anything reckless by putting a binding spell on him, but he just broke it. He attacked the Hollow, trying to get it to go after him instead of his sister. I tried to get Ichigo to stop, because the Hollow was going to bite him in half; he didn't listen, so I went out there and stepped in front of him. The Hollow bit my shoulder instead, but I ended up damaging its face as well. It was a pretty deep cut-my injury-and I panicked, so I ended up losing more of my strength than I intended. Unless I did something fast, Ichigo, his family, the soul of a girl that almost ended up as its food, and me would all be devoured. So, I did the only thing I could do. I gave him my shinigami powers."

I sat there and thought about the situation. I don't think that with that situation...

"Um, Rukia... I would like to say that it was the only thing you could do but... you could've used kido, or used a healing kido on your shoulder, so you could recover and take out the Hollow... and you could've taken out the Hollow before he attacked it instead of hesitating. I'm sorry, but as much as I'd like to say that that was a legitimate reason, it isn't."

"I know. I'm sorry, Mamori-fukutaicho."

Normally, I wouldn't let her get away with my title, but with this... I needed to show my authority.

"I'll let Ukitake-taicho know, but first..." I leaned in, "Tell me more about this Ichigo guy."

"Oh, sure. He has short, spiky orange hair-"

"Wait... orange?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I've seen some weird hair colors, so I guess this doesn't surprise me. Hey, wanna know a secret?"

"What?"

"Nemu told me that Kurotsuchi-taicho has blue hair underneath all that weird stuff!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! But, continue with Ichigo."

"Okay. Well, he's very tall, and his dad is a total knucklehead, but... as for Ichigo, he's serious most of the time. When he smiles, it's a smirk. He hides his feelings a lot, but he tries to be happy when around his sisters. He cares for them a lot, and same with his friends. He's not exactly happy about dealing with shinigami duties, but he gets the job done well. He makes fun of my drawings too."

"Wow, seems you've learned a lot about him."

"I attended school with him. I had to blend in since I was going to be there until my powers returned."

"Ahuh... how was high school?"

"Horrible! You learn a bunch of pointless things like... like algebra. I mean, what the hell is that going to do for you?"

I started laughing, "You're frame of mind is just like every other high schooler's by the sounds of it. I hated high school too, though I was only there for half the normal time. It's horrible, I tell ya."

"That's right. You went to the high school in Karakura too!"

"Yeah. What's it like down there?"

"You have to wear grey uniforms. The girls have to wear short skirts, and a bow-tie, but you have a choice of either a sweater or a jacket to wear over your white shirts. As for the guys, they have to wear ties and grey pants. They also can wear a sweater or a jacket."

"Huh... I guess they changed it. When I was there, there were longer skirts and we had to wear a sweater. We also had to wear a tie, like the guys. There weren't any jackets... and the guys had to wear khaki pants instead of grey."

"Well, the building was all shiny too. It looked pretty new to me. Maybe they tore down the old school and rebuilt a new one."

"Maybe. Anyway, I better get back to the captain. Good luck, Rukia-chan!"

"Thanks, Nazeka!"

*Itadakimasu means 'thank you for the food'... or something similar. That's what I learned at least.