A/N: The chapters have all been named and a few token edits made to some earlier ones. Thank you for any and all reviews, favorites, and follows, as well as all you other readers out there!

Bleach and all products thereof are copyright to Tite Kubo, et al.

Saturday, February 15, 2003

By the time Sasakibe-fukutaichō arrived to summon Rukia and Ichigo, they had managed to pry themselves apart and were sitting beside one another against one of the walls of the 1st Division's main barracks hall. Rukia leant almost as much against Ichigo as she did against the wall for support. Between the lack of sleep, the lack of food, and the experience of weathering whatever Alan's horrible reiatsu was, both were already exhausted, and the morning was at best only halfway over.

The man ignored them at first, going instead to retrieve the odd cylinder—he must've been instructed in its deactivation—and Alan's attaché case, before walking back toward the pair. Rukia let her eyes track his progress without really watching him. Once he was near them again he politely coughed to draw their attention and said "Yamamoto-sōtaichō requests your audience," before continuing on.

With effort, Ichigo hauled himself to his feet beside her and offered Rukia a hand to help her up. She took it without protest, and then they filed in after the man. He led them through the doorway the Lieutenant Colonel and sōtaichō had gone through earlier, down a hall, and to a rather smaller room. It was of extremely sparse furnishing other than a long rectangular kotatsu and various sitting pillows. Sasakibe handed the case to Alan and then promptly left without a word.

Rukia and Ichigo, seeing little recourse, sat beside one another on one side of the kotatsu. Alan sat on the other, and Yamamoto sat at the head of the table. None of them said anything to one another. Seeing that there were still numerous forms of snacks upon the table and several kettles of tea, and that both of their senior officers had helped themselves, the pair began to eat and drink without comment, only occasionally shooting death glares at Alan.

The Lieutenant Colonel, for his part, completely ignored them and withdrew from his case two different and altogether more mundane machines that Ichigo recognized as basically being a laptop and projector, although they seemed rather more rugged than civilian ones he had seen before. He put them together in short order and powered them up and so the four became both the first and last group to see a Windows XP loading screen appear on one of Soul Society's walls.

A few minutes later and a PowerPoint presentation was open to a slide that showed photographs of varying quality of seven individuals, each labeled with a name. They were, in order, Kūgo Ginjō, Giriko Kutsuzawa, Riruka Dokugamine, Jackie Tristan, Shūkurō Tsukishima, Yukio Hans Vorarlberna, and Moe Shishigawara.

"This group calls itself Xcution; Soul Society has been tracking their activities," Alan said, glancing at Yamamoto. It was not at all a question. He then proceeded to detail each of the individuals and what was known about them before explaining that Ichigo and Rukia's first mission would be the dismantling and destruction of the group.

He kept referring to the pair as "Combined Task Force Raven One."

After Alan had finished his presentation, Yamamoto had given his surprisingly brief approval of the entire enterprise and promptly excused himself from the room. Apparently he had sent word earlier to the taichō to appear soon—he had wanted Rukia's full report and any negotiations with the American to be strictly in confidence.

The remaining trio sat in silence for a minute before Ichigo slapped a palm on the kotatsu, making the various chinaware clatter, before exclaiming "I don't get it!"

Rukia glanced sideways at him and Alan once more ignored him in favor of continuing to shut down and disconnect the portable computer and projector.

Ichigo soldiered on with his indignation. "Didn't you call him 'a militarily incompetent, senile, brutish war criminal' when we first met? Where the hell do you get off on being friends with him all of a sudden?!" he pointed accusingly across the table.

"I respect him. I would also respect a nuclear bomb. That doesn't mean I like it, agree with it, trust it, or that I'm friends with it, Ichigo," Alan said dryly.

"You bastard, don't think we didn't see what you did out there!" Ichigo growled.

"What does 'Combined Task Force Raven One' mean?" Rukia asked.

"Combined, because it's a multinational effort, Task Force, because you have a specific goal, Raven, because," Alan stopped and pointed at Rukia's hair, "One, because," he stopped and pointed at Ichigo.

"Why not 'Fifteen'?" Rukia asked, spacing for a moment after everything that had happened.

"Too obvious," Alan replied.

"It even read that on the PowerPoint!" Ichigo seethed, "You planned this whole thing out from the very start!"

If Ichigo was fire, Rukia was ice, and returning to focus upon the Lieutenant Colonel she simply let her most grim Kuchiki look drill into him. "We won't forget this," she said ominously.

Alan was utterly unaffected by their combined performance. He finished packing away the attaché case and took it off the kotatsu before clasping his hands in front of him, looking at the pair for a moment as if in sincere consideration. At last he just smiled faintly "Did you know that I've known about the two of you since 36 hours after you first met?"

The two both blinked at him, then looked at each other before glaring back at him and saying "What's that supposed to mean?" in unison.

Alan smiled at that and said "It means that I have been uniquely privileged to—"

He was cut off by Sasakibe opening the door. The pair in shihakushō turned to glare at him irritably. The fukutaichō, to his credit, ignored their obvious ire, saying "The taichō have assembled, your presence will soon be required in the main hall," before departing.

Both Ichigo and Rukia's heads snapped back to Alan, their expressions demanding he finish whatever it was he had been about to say. The Lieutenant Colonel instead reclined and stood, taking on an officious posture. "Anyway," he began, "Staff Sergeant, after this is over with, I will be departing immediately for redeployment. I have stayed overly long as it is. You will receive future orders by text, e-mail, and mail for the foreseeable future, and will be expected to report weekly. Materials relating to your position will be arriving shortly at your home. Let's go before we're late." He grabbed his case and went out the door.

The Shinigami and the Daikō would've burned holes in him with their looks had they the power, but they instead rose and adjusted themselves and one another to look presentable, following after him. Their revenge was already in motion, and Alan's imminent departure would do nothing to stop it.

Alan had once more put his cap and coat on and was already standing at attention behind and to the right of Yamamoto's chair when they walked back into the main hall. In front of Yamamoto were assembled all the taichō of the Gotei 13: Suì-Fēng, Rose, Unohana, Shinji, Byakuya, Komamura, Shunsui, Kensei, Hitsugaya, Kenpachi, Mayuri, and Ukitake. The sōtaichō had just concluded bringing them to order over some spat or another, probably related to Alan, as the two both stepped out.

The pair came to a stop side-by-side behind and to the left of Yamamoto's position and likewise stood at attention, staring forward and slightly upwards, each doing their damnedest to ignore the curious and in some cases disbelieving looks that shifted from the Lieutenant Colonel to them. Ichigo endeavored to ignore Rose, Shinji, Kensei, and Kenpachi to the utmost. Rukia did likewise for Ukitake. Both did not dare look anywhere near Byakuya.

"This meeting is now called to order," Yamamoto said, as if nothing unusual was happening. "The first matter at hand is the finding of Kuchiki-fukutaichō regarding the mysterious discharge of reiatsu in Karakura: it has been determined that this was a side-effect of the return of the powers of the Shinigami Daikō, Kurosaki Ichigo," Yamamoto declared. At this there was much disbelief, particularly from Mayuri, but Ichigo's reiatsu was there radiating for all to see, just as it had before. The eyes of Kenpachi, who had been grinning wickedly the entire time, seemed to twinkle at this.

Yamamoto banged his cane on the floor to bring the assembly back to order. "Second, it is hereby declared that Kurosaki Ichigo is stripped of his status as Shinigami Daikō and all attendant duties related thereto. He will henceforth be addressed as Kurosaki-gunsō, is accountable only to myself and to Ukitake-taichō in all matters, and is to be afforded respect commensurate with such accountability," he continued. This drew an even greater degree of disbelief, particularly from Byakuya and less so, Ukitake. Several of the taichō were clearly confused by the previously unknown title of gunsō.

Yamamoto banged his cane again. "Third, Kuchiki-fukutaichō, while maintaining her station, is hereby relieved of all related normal duties and responsibilities attendant to it until further notice," he said. Once again, Byakuya and Ukitake led the shocked response, although this time the severity was reversed.

Once more, Yamamoto struck the floor with his cane. "Finally," he said, opening his eyes slightly and glancing momentarily toward his right, finding he didn't have the heart to use the strange designator the Lieutenant Colonel had chosen for them, "Both are hereby to be regarded as on special assignment, again accountable only to myself and Ukitake-taichō, and when not on deployment to the Living World will be based out of the 13th Division. You are to accommodate them in any matters on which they request your assistance to the utmost of your abilities. You are to inform your fukutaichō and seated officers of the same. You are dismissed."

There was practically a riot of questions and demands for answers in the aftermath which Yamamoto weathered without any concern at all. Shinji, Kensei, and Rose all had a rather good idea of who the man in the military uniform represented and what this might be about, and withdrew first to discuss among themselves. Suì-Fēng, Unohana, Komamura, and Hitsugaya, after listening for their own sundry reasons, likewise soon retired as they ultimately had no great issue with what had just happened, token questions aside. Shunsui commiserated with Ukitake for a moment and also quickly departed.

This left Byakuya, Kenpachi, Mayuri, and Ukitake. Mayuri was upset about the total lack of explanation about the discharge incident, the return of Ichigo's powers and what, exactly, had happened to the reiatsu of the 1st Division's barracks earlier in the day. (Both Rukia and Ichigo put it together from his remarks that whatever that cylinder was that Alan had activated, it had prevented his reiatsu from being observed outside, and at the same time temporarily occluded Yamamoto's and Rukia's, and delayed the reveal of Ichigo's until after the summons were well underway, and possibly more besides.) After being stonewalled, he too left, followed shortly by Kenpachi, who had just been looking at Ichigo with terrifying satisfaction.

Byakuya had, after the dismissal of the taichō, merely stared at the pair in vague disapproval. As he had considered, however, he came to several conclusions. First, his sister had done her job admirably quickly and was to be congratulated for it. Second, to be marked out for special assignment in such a fashion by the sōtaichō was in actuality an honor and likewise spoke to her credit, and he was sure she would impress him again in her new duties. Third, although he and…Kurosaki-gunsō…did not see eye-to-eye, he knew from personal experience the boy would do everything in his power to protect his sister and would never willingly do something to hurt her. Fourth, for some reason, Rukia always seemed happier around him. Fifth and finally, he had other ways of finding out what he wanted to know. This all in mind, Byakuya returned to his Division without further comment, already making plans to follow up.

Ukitake was left by himself with the old man, the strange military man, and the newly minted special agents. The latter both visibly relaxed now that the public ordeal was over. Yamamoto called for Sasakibe to open a senkaimon to return the Lieutenant Colonel to the Living World. The American left with the fukutaichō and gave Ichigo and Rukia a final all-too-happy wave before putting on his aviators and disappearing into the sun's glare. Raven and One just stared at his departure with pure disdain. Ukitake found himself wondering what the mysterious foreigner had done to offend them both so.

As Alan walked out onto dusty lot outside the Urahara Shop, he noticed his local burner cell phone began buzzing the moment it found the network again. It was then that he found that his work cell phone was similarly active. Opening both he found several missed calls and text messages, all from the same number. It was Ikumi Unagiya's.

Looking back at the Urahara Shop, he thought for a moment, and had a pretty good idea how to connect the dots: Rukia had used her denreishinki to call Urahara while he was out of the room, and the pair had instructed the shopkeeper to forward Ikumi his contact information, probably using Ichigo's cell phone, from the business card he'd given Ichigo, which was probably on his person.

"Well played," he said in English to no one in particular, before laughing "But the joke's on you: I actually like her." He dismantled the burner and smashed its SIM card, holding onto the pieces to dispose of at various intervals during his walk. "Good luck, you two, do your best," he muttered, before calling Ikumi back on his work cell phone. He could spare a bit longer and have lunch before leaving.

Yamamoto had yet again excused himself after dispatching Sasakibe and so at last it was just Ichigo, Rukia, and Ukitake in the 1st Division's barracks hall. "So, do I even want to know what that was all about?" the taichō asked them.

They shared a look at that and Rukia, clearly frazzled, asked "Can we get back to the 13th Division first, please, Ukitake-taichō?"

"And maybe have a real meal first, and a shower, and a nap…" Ichigo trailed off muttering, likewise seemingly at wits end. He was not prepared for the fist that Rukia suddenly slammed into his cheek and fell into a heap on the ground in actual pain, only sputtering "Wha—What the hell was that for?!" up at her in surprise after a moment.

She glared down at him with a deadly intensity before turning with a huff and stomping off toward the hall's entrance.

Ichigo felt a sweatdrop form on his forehead at the sudden change in her mood only to blink as he noticed Ukitake extending a hand to him. After a moment he took it and let the white-haired taichō help him up. The man let go once he was standing and lightly clasped him on the shoulder, saying quietly "I think it was that the way you spoke implied that you would be showering and napping together…"

Ichigo felt his cheeks flare red, which the taichō politely ignored as he turned to follow after Rukia. "Come on, Kurosaki-gunsō, you can surely still use shunpo? We could be there in a few minutes."

"Jūshi—Ukitake-taichō," Ichigo said, rubbing the back of his head, "Do you have a change of clothes I could borrow? Anything at all would do, I—"

The white-haired taichō turned his head and smiled kindly, saying "Don't worry, I'll have something sent over." With that he continued walking, and Ichigo followed after. Ukitake found that he was forced to stifle a laugh as he approached the still visibly upset Rukia and opened the doors. He was now certain that it would in fact work out for the best.

They had arrived back in the 13th Division's district in fairly short order and Ukitake had split off from them. Rukia hadn't said a word to Ichigo on the way but knew that he hadn't been immediately aware of the implications of what he'd said—he could be dumb like that. She wasn't truly upset with him, but examples had to be made. Even if… Her eyebrow twitched and she said "Come on, idiot," to Ichigo, escorting him to her apartment.

Her fellow special agent wisely said nothing in response and followed her.

The place she spent her workweek at was, despite being called an apartment, one in the more traditional definition: it was its own compact free-standing building. Rukia didn't bother to lock the door since crime in Seireitei was unheard of and her position both by rank and clan deterred even her peers from exploiting this fact. She led Ichigo inside. It was just as clean as she had left it. Both took off their waraji by the door.

"Rukia, this is your place?" Ichigo asked, looking around in moderate surprise.

"Of course," she said with pride, then suspiciously snapped "Why?"

Ichigo held up both hands in defense "It's nice, that's all, it's just a compliment!"

She regarded him critically for a moment, before leaving the room to get him a towel. Returning, she chucked it at him, before pointing out the bathroom. "I'll get food while you shower," she said, not leaving room for debate.

"Ah, b—but…" Ichigo began.

"The taichō will surely have brought you clothes by the time you're done," Rukia said, relenting a little, before turning, slipping on her waraji again, and going back out the door. Ichigo was left looking at the door, the towel, and then the bathroom in that order.

By the time Rukia returned with food, Ichigo was in the living room area, dressed in a relatively simple but still rather quite stylish yukata that was a sort of chocolate brown color inset with sky blue hexagons that were both linked and unlinked. He appeared to just be studying some of the items in the room and gave only the smallest of smiles at her when he heard her walk in.

She found she couldn't help but return the expression and unpacked the simple bentō boxes she'd retrieved from the Division's cafeteria. They dug into the food without conversation, both finding they were famished. Rukia had actually gotten four boxes instead of two, and she wound up eating one and two-thirds, while Ichigo cleaned up two and one-third. Sitting back in satisfaction, they both sighed happily.

"Alright," Rukia said, rising and heading to the bathroom, "I'll be back out in a bit, don't wreck the place."

Ichigo muttered something she didn't catch and chose to let go, and so she went and got a yukata for herself and then went to shower, passing by his neatly folded shihakushō garments outside the bathroom door.

Once Rukia had finished she took both of their clothes to a small utility room that housed a combination washer-dryer, dumping all the whites in and setting it to go. It was one of the modern conveniences that Soul Society had adopted in earnest because it was simply too useful. Their black kosode and hakama were still in good shape and didn't require attention.

Returning to the living room, she found that Ichigo had cleaned up the bentō boxes and taken them to the kitchen for disposal, and had at some point passed out on a low couch. He was breathing softly and didn't respond to her quiet calls. She smiled as she watched him. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him asleep but now he looked…

She pulled herself away to retrieve a light throw blanket and coming back, draped it over him, finding that he didn't shift. After another moment she went to her bedroom and flopped down onto bed. She decided she would nap too and they would report to Ukitake in the late afternoon. She closed her eyes—

—Endless clicking shadows inexorably coming closer and closer, their eyes an evil red like hot steel, advancing out of the scorched city as it was lit eerily by massive bursts that rocked the ground seconds later, a male cry to her left of "They're breaching the perimeter!" and to her right of "Form a firing line!" Men and women in strange uniforms running about with odd weapons before taking up positions, her own voice crying "Fire, fire, fire!" before a wall of bright beams shot out to meet the horde—

—Rukia's eyes snapped open and she felt herself shiver. She sat up and looked toward where she could feel Ichigo's sleeping presence. She looked down at her bed in hesitation for a moment before she pulled off a blanket and picked up a pillow, padding back out to living room. With only a trace of embarrassment she braced the pillow against one of Ichigo's arms. With that, Rukia leaned against the couch, resting her head on the pillow and drawing the blanket up over herself, Ichigo's reiatsu lazily swirling around her. She closed her eyes, and this time promptly fell asleep.

"It went largely as planned, sir," Alan said to the speakerphone as he drove back to Yokota AB.

"You're behind on your time-table, Hayward," a voice critiqued. The man's tone was not genuinely upset.

"I figured you would prefer a job well-done," Alan responded.

"That remains to be seen," the voice replied.

"I have every confidence, Colonel. Give it a few months. They'll be field-ready, especially when the thing with the Quincy is sorted out," Alan said.

"Do you believe that will require a full-scale intervention?" the Colonel asked.

"That remains to be seen," Alan echoed back.

End of Part 1