Chapter 11

Yoruichi felt that something had happened, it was as clear as day to her. Her eyes traveled from Ichigo to Tia, almost seeing the tension between them.

The two couldn't even look at each other without Ichigo blushing like a maiden, and Tia's face remained as impassive as possible.

She snuck a peak at Rukia, noticing that the girl had been glaring at the blonde Arrancar. The curiosity has been eating her alive for a few hours now, since neither of the duo wanted to say what transpired.

'They didn't bang, nah not that kind of vibe. Besides she would have to force herself on Ichigo to get results.' Yoruichi rubbed her chin. 'Maybe I should just be blunt about it? After all he squirms so cutely.'

Somehow Ichigo felt her wicked intentions, and looked at her only to receive a kittenish smirk and wink.

Blushing he turned his attention to the board again.

This was one of those days that he wished he lived as a hermit in the middle of nowhere. After the morning's "incident", Isshin tried to give the two of the "talk". Making the situation even more uncomfortable for them.

But the worst part was that Ichigo was starting to see things… or at the least that's how he rationalized it.

Because there was no way that Tia would be even remotely attracted to him. Had he misinterpreted the long stares she sometimes gave him when he pretended to not notice. Or that she was way more casual with psychical contact than before. Ichigo blamed his hormones. No one couldn't say that Tia wasn't stunningly beautiful, and it was only natural that such a bombshell in near vicinity of a teen male would make nature take its course. At least he managed to master the art of not staring at her curves every time there were on display. Tia had quite the liberal sense of clothing fashion, and wore the style quite often.

Ichigo sighed. He hoped that lunch break would give him a much desired…

"Kurosaki-kun…would you go out with me after school!" Orihime asked with a flushed expression. Almost as soon as Ichigo crossed the threshold of the hall. Which was instantly filled with gasps.

'peace…' He thought numbly, looking at the blushing girl in shock. 'Did she just asked me out? Oh hell, what to say? It's Friday and I have to go to the Soul Society today, but I can't just brush her off like that…' Only then he noticed Rukia, Yoruichi, and Tia staring at him.

Goodbye peace.

"Sure Inoue, but only for a few hours. I have to go you know where today." He gave her an apologetic smile, rubbing his neck. He might as well of said that he just won a lottery and was giving her the prize.

Inoue's face beamed with pure joy, as she clasped her hands together, pleased.

"I'm so happy Kurosaki-kun!" In the spur of moment she wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a tight hug.

"G-Good." Ichigo stuttered, awkwardly returning the hug, his cheeks redder. "See you after school then?"

Inoue nodded eagerly, and quickly returned to Tatsuki and the rest of the girls, a face splitting smile on her.

Tatsuki caught Ichigo's eyes, and gave him a thumbs up with a Cheshire grin.

Suddenly Ichigo felt the dire need to change his location, as three pairs of eyes started to bore a hole into his head.

"Errr I'm gonna go meet with guys. See ya later!" Ichigo made a quick escape, leaving the three ladies alone.

To say that they were shocked would be the understatement of century. No one expected timid Orihime to act in such a way.

While Rukia and Yoruichi planned on making their respective moves soon, Tia was still in the dark in about the matter. She thought that she had time to dwell on her new found feelings, and how to maybe signal them to Ichigo somehow. She wasn't expecting that the very next day Ichigo would be asked out.

She knew enough of the Human World that such an invitation would mean…

A rival had arrived.

'Grrr it's always the quiet ones.' Tiburon growled angrily. 'Why the hell wasn't it you?!'

'I only recently realized my… attraction to him.' Tia told her.

'I call bullshit. You were just in denial because of some hidden complexes. Now look what happened! You can say bye bye to your chance!'

'One date won't change anything.' Tia replied hesitantly.

'Sure... because it isn't the classic childhood friends set up.' Tiburon sneered.

Tia couldn't reply to that. Looking at the other two women she could see the same frown that was now adorning her face.

'Make it three rivals.' She thought dryly. While Yoruichi was more obvious in her intentions to everyone, except Ichigo, Rukia was much more subtle in her approach. Limiting herself to simple gestures and kind words, but the urge to get closer was obvious.

True to Tia's theory Rukia and Yoruichi were in the same state of shock towards Orihime's sudden boldness. They realized that her best friend, Tatsuki, was probably a major reason she suddenly grew a spine.

That was unexpected, and needed to be addressed as soon as possible. Else the consequences would be dire….

Meanwhile on the school's roof Ichigo was telling Ishida what happened, since Chado was there when it happened.

"What do you plan to do then?" The Quincy finally asked.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked confused.

"Ishada probably means whether you want to continue to push it, or drop it." Chado clarified.

"I don't know… I mean I've known Inoue almost all my life, but I don't know if I like her that way…" Ichigo sighed.

"You better straiten things out fast." Ishida said. "The sooner you come to a decision the better."

"Why?" Ichigo narrowed his eyes.

"Many reasons actually. If you drag this out for to long Inoue will get her hopes up, and then if you decline she will be devastated… Even more than if you gently reject her now." He explained.

"That's one reason, what are the others?" Ichigo asked with narrowed eyes.

The two other boys exchanged a look.

"It's not our place to tell you." Chado said diplomatically. "But, well, like Ishida said you should make up your mind about Inoue. It would be best for all of us…"

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Ichigo exclaimed. "It's not like me going out with Inoue is gonna be the end of the world."

Both boys sent him deadpan looks.

'You have no idea…' They thought in unison.

"You guys are pissing me off." Ichigo stated, glaring at them. "Whatever. I still think that you're overreacting…" Ichigo grumbled and walked towards the roof access. Ishida and Chado followed him silently.

A few floors below they heard a commotion.

"Extra! Extra! Ichigo Kurosaki was just asked on a date by his classmate, Inoue Orihime! Read more on page 11 of Karakura High Newspaper!" The head of the Newspaper Club announced. Around him was a sizable crowd of students, and even some teachers wanting to get their hands on the newest piece of gossip.

"SERIOUSLY?!" Ichigo exclaimed, drawing the crowd's attention. "Don't you have anything better to do than to butt in someone else's life?!"

The choir of no's killed him a little bit inside.

The rest of the day was even more annoying.

Students were gossiping behind his back, but that wasn't the strangest part. For some reason Yoruichi and Rukia became rather cold, more so in Rukia's case. Yoruichi simply teased the hell out of him, but it lacked her usual cheerfulness.

Tia on the other hand regressed to her former self, positively becoming mute. She seemed to ignore Ichigo for some reason, only responding when asked a direct question. Even then the answers were short and flat.

'Great… and I still have to go and deal with this Soul Society crap.' He sighed.

When the bell rang Ichigo steeled himself, pushing his nervousness aside. He knew Inoue all his life, and there surely was no need to worry... right?

"Let's go Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue chirped, wrapping herself around his arm. Ichigo felt his face heat a little when Orihime's rather generous bosom touched his body. "I have a few things planned for us."

Followed by murmurs they left the school hall together, reinforcing the circulating gossip.

Tia gave a few curt nods to their friends and left for home as well.

"Well I think it's time to return to Urahara." Rukia said, idly fiddling with her backpack.

"Yeah, I think so too." Yoruichi agreed, looking at her nails. "But I have something to do."

"What a coincidence me too!" Rukia gasped. "It seems like I have to head into to city center…"

"Oh my, me too!" Yoruichi chirped with a sly smirk. "Maybe we should go together?"

"I think we should." Rukia returned the smile.

'Old Lady/ Flatchest.' They thought respectively. A tender alliance was made.

City Center

"…then the spell broke, and it exploded in my face!" Ichigo said throwing Inoue in another fit of giggles. "Still I think I'm getting better every day."

"Of course you are Kurosaki-kun, you're talented." She replied with a smile, sipping her coffee. "You will be a master in no time!"

"Thanks, I really hope I will." Ichigo returned the smile. "At least then my men would really start to respect me."

"Oh? The last time I was in the Soul Society you were a hero." Inoue inquired surprised.

"Don't get me wrong, they respect me. They all know that I can beat any of them. But it's more like… slight disappointment." Ichigo rubbed his chin. "Almost everyone in my squad knows Kido better than me, and I'm their Commander, so you know…."

"But you've only just begun learning it!" Inoue stated, with a rarely seen passion. "They should give you more time!"

"Like I said they're not bad, and they know that I'm learning. Hachi told me that they're still quite scared about their division getting disbanded since their Commander is lacking. That's bull of course, but they are cautious." Ichigo explained.

"I see. How are the rest of the Captains treating you?"

"Some better, some worse." He shrugged. "Guess this's all new to them too." He chuckled.

"Well you tend to drastically change the lives of people around you."

"Hey! You know I'm only the victim of circumstance here!" Ichigo protested.

"Sure~ Always in the wrong place at the wrong time." She teased.

"But I always try to make the best of it." Ichigo smirked.

"Yeah, you seem to excel at the impossible, Kurosaki-kun."

"Says the one who can literally can bring back the dead." Ichigo stated. "How's training those skills coming anyway?"

"I learned a new trick or two. I can now create and maintain a healing sphere twice as large, for twice the amount of time!" She admitted, with no small amount of pride.

"That's awesome! I knew there was still a lot to discover about your powers!" Ichigo told her with genuine happiness at her progress.

The duo was blissfully unaware of a pair of eyes watching, and ears listening to their every word. Dressed in inconspicuous coats and hats, and totally not suspicious glasses or fake mustaches, Yoruichi and Rukia observed the date.

"This disguise is ridiculous!" Rukia shouted/whispered.

"You don't understand the fine art of hiding in plain sight, it's perfect!" Yoruichi replied, listening to the conversation. To her delight it hadn't left the "safe" area. So by now it was nothing but a meeting between friends.

'You might have acted first, but you have no idea how to proceed, eh?' Yoruichi eyed the girl. Despite her apparent calmness, Yoruichi could see the nervousness creeping through her mask.

"She looks like she is about to confess." Rukia muttered.

Indeed Inoue was mustering all her courage to finally confess her feelings to her long time crush.

"Kuro-"

"Change! Nabikanai nagasarenai yo ima kanjiru koto ni sunao de itai no!" Ichigo's phone rang.

"Sorry I need to take this." Ichigo apologized. "Wassup Hachi, what's the... OH hell I forgot!" Ichigo exclaimed. "I'm so sorry Inoue, but I need to get to work asap!" He pulled out his wallet, and through a rather large bill on the table. "See ya around!"

Without much ado he ran out of the cafeteria, leaving a shell shocked Inoue behind. The moment the dust settled, Ichigo's disappearance finally hit her.

SLAM!

Orihime's head connected with the table.

WHAM!

Her fist did so too.

The process repeated few times until the teary eyes girl pulled out her mobile, and called her best friend Tatsuki. After a quick explanation Rukia and Yoruichi could hear angry cracks from the phone, promising Ichigo a world of pain.

While both of them felt pity for the poor girl, they couldn't be more happy at the outcome. A kiss would complicate their plans immensely.

Ichigo's denseness worked to their advantage. Since he would probably misunderstand any romantic attempt as friendship. No, a more direct approach was needed to crack that nut.

1st Squad HQ

The Captains gathered before the usual meeting with bored expression's on their faces. Nothing was going on, yet they were forced to meet up and give boring reports, that their subordinates could very well supply. The only reason some of them were attending was the newest addition to their group, namely Kurosaki Ichigo.

Watching him stumble along and make mistakes of protocol was somewhat entertaining. Almost as much as watching him learn Kido.

The meeting was starting in five minutes, yet there was no trace of the young Shinigami.

"Is he really going to be late for this meeting?" Shinji complained. "Isn't there like a shit-load of books riding on this?"

"Even if he makes an appearance he will not break the seals protecting these books. I've been trying for over a century." Mayuri stated idly. "The boy won't be anywhere near the level of knowledge needed for it for a long time."

"Who cares. Let's just get it over with. I've got better things to do than stand here all day listening to your whining." Zaraki grumbled.

"It's not like anything interesting will happen-"

As soon as those words left his mouth a Garganta opened in the middle of the waiting room. Streams of white steam poured out from inside.

In an instant all the Captains had their weapons bared at the black shadow that jumped out of it.

"I'm so late- WOAH!" Ichigo narrowly avoided death by impalement. "What the hell guys!?"

"My my. You shouldn't enter the Seretei with that, Ichigo-san." Unohana said sheathing her sword. "Some might mistake it for an Arrancar attack."

"Really? What Arrancar would be stupid enough to open a Garganta right on the Captain Commander's doorstep?" He asked rhetorically.

"I see one standing before me." SoiFon growled, still pointing her sword at his chest.

"Hey SoiFon can you cut that shit out?" Ichigo asked almost politely. She glared at him for a moment, and followed suit.

"Remember Kuroskai, I'm watching you very closely." She stated with disdain.

"One: It's Commander Kuroskai to you." He smirked, remembering a certain white-haired Captain that constantly nagged him about it. "Two: I wasn't aware that I had a personal stalker." He felt a little bit of satisfaction when a vein popped on her forehead. More so when some chuckles came from the group.

"I'm not a stalker!" She yelled at him, fury in her eyes.

"You could've fooled me." His smile widened, much to her ire.

"Remember, I can finish you in two moves you... you dirty Hollow." She snapped, her voice dripping with venom. Insulting not only him, but the rest of Visored present. Ichigo's smile fell, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. The temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.

"What makes you think that I will let you land even one blow on me?" He asked, making her gasp. Insulting her pride as an assassin was… unforgivable, but he wasn't finished. "If I recall correctly, that little trick of yours couldn't do shit against Aizen…" He trailed off. SoiFon's face turned red with anger. Ichigo had hit her most sore spot. That was stain on her assassin's pride, which could never be washed away. She glared at Ichigo, eyes full of hatred.

"Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi!" Her sword changed its shape to a black and gold gauntlet, with a small chain linking to the stinger-like blade on her middle finger. "Then let's test how well it works on you then." She charged him, aiming for his heart.

A few Captains were ready to interfere, but what they saw next shocked them completely. Ichigo straightened his right, and had taken the hit on his open palm. Surprisingly the black tattoo didn't appear on his hand.

SoiFon's blade could pierce his skin. Unknown to them, Tia put extra effort on strengthening his Hierro. Aka beating him until he didn't feel a thing. She also taught him how to harden the part of his body he was utilizing right now.

Ichigo grabbed her hand in an iron grip, and lifted her from the ground. Soifon stared into his eyes with surprise and shock, having a hard time comprehending what was happening right now.

'It's time to teach this bitch a lesson.' Ichigo though with a rare malice. It was time to show off his Kido skills a little. Albeit this spell was the only one of it's level he mastered.

"Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own power…." He stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, gentle yet firm. He turned his head and saw Unohana with her small smile… yet he could fell that she was tense.

"Ichigo-san, I think you've already made your point. Why don't we all cool down before something that we would all regret happens?"

"I was just kidding around." Ichigo let the stunned female Shinigami free.

"Interesting sense of humor, yours." Rojuro said. "To pretend to hit someone with a level 90 Kido."

"Oi Ichigo, when did you learn to do Kurohitsugi?" Kyoraku asked.

"Oh, that, probably when Aizen tried to kill me with it." Everyone present sweat dropped. "Then Hachi asked me to do it, and with few pointers, I managed to pull it off correctly."

"Wait! You can cast a level 90 spell already?" Toshiro said with a rather large amount of shock, and a tiny bit of respect…maybe. "You've been learning Kido for only three months at most."

"Yeah, that's the only high level spell I can do. I'm actually stuck at fifty something right now." He rubbed his head slightly embarrassed, unaware that his progress was simply amazing in the everyone else's eyes. Well except for Zaraki, because in his humble opinion Kido was for weaklings.

Before anyone else managed to add anything more, the doors to the meeting room opened. The crowd of Captains moved inside, taking their usual places.

"The meeting has begun." Yamamoto announced. "But before we move to the main topic, I'd like to ask what the commotion about?" He looked at Ichigo, and then to SoiFon.

"It was about a reckless usage of Hollow powers." She stated.

"What did he do?" He asked with sigh. She opened her mouth to speak, but Ichigo was faster.

"I got here through a Garganta. Otherwise I would've been late for the meeting." Ichigo interrupted.

"That's it?" Yamamoto asked incredulously. He was far too old to deal with such minor trivialities.

"Captain Commander-sama you can't be serious! How can you tolerate such blatant usage of Hollow powers by that…" She stopped when she felt Ichigo's gaze on her.

"Why do you have such a problem with using Hollow powers for the good of the Soul Society." Ichigo inquired.

"So you wouldn't have problems with letting, let's say, an Arrancar into our ranks?" Shinji asked casually. Ichigo had to use all his will power to not to snap at the blonde Captain.

'What the hell is he thinking- oh wait… ah I'm such an idiot! Thanks Shinji.' Ichigo reminded himself to buy him something nice in future. "If I knew and trusted them, then no I wouldn't." He replied. The other Captain gave him perfect occasion to test waters for eventual discovery of Tia.

"Hmph, trust a Hollow. That's absurd." SoiFon snorted.

"I agree. It's impossible to befriend a Hollow or Arrancar. They are nothing but beasts that should be exterminated." Byakuya added.

"That didn't stop you letting Nel go, did it?" Ichigo shot back. Byakuya lost his famous composure for a moment.

"I deemed her harmless, besides I had much more pressing matters to attend then chasing after weak opponents." He replied stoically.

"So would you think when I let you know that you just let the former Tercera Espada go?" Ichigo asked. He felt little bad about using Nel in such a way… but it was all for Tia. Still he felt bad about it.

"What? You cannot be telling me that that child was an Espada?" Byakuya asked eyes wide. "Impossible."

"Her mask was broken by another Arrancar, and her Reiatsu leaked from it, forcing her to revert to a child-like state to survive. Though she can regain her powers for a moment when they are needed. Thanks to her I'm still alive, and yes, I would gladly accept a person like her into my squad." Silence followed his statement. Some of the Captains looked at him with awe, others with anger, and some with interest.

"Ichigo, I think you went too far." Toshiro told him. "You know that you can't negotiate with Hollows." Ichigo recalled that he fought Tia, so he decided to take a risk.

"Then tell me, you fought with the newest Tercera Espada, yes?" He nodded. "What was she like, was she a beast that should have been slaughtered?" He was treading on thin ice here, but the insight might be worth it.

Toshiro looked at him, thinking about the answer. The opponent he fought was different from what he expected. He thought he would be fighting a mindless monster, set on killing everything in its sight, and yet she was disturbingly… human. He saw the pain in her eyes when her Fraccion had fallen. The pain at Aizen's betrayal as he cut her down. None of it had anything to do with physical pain. On the battlefield she didn't behaved any differently than a Shinigami.

"No she wasn't. If I didn't know any better, I would say she wasn't really any different from us." His statement shocked the other Captains, as well as Ichigo. He was sure that Toshiro would deny it and go with the mindless monster version. Ichigo grinned inside, he just got a potential supporter for Tia's case.

"But that doesn't mean I would agree to let her join the Soul Society." Ichigo's inside grin faded.

"Tsk, you're just some Hollow lover." Kurotsuchi snarled. "They are only good for experiments... it's a pity that I couldn't recover the Tercera's body from the Human World. It would surely provide many interesting results." Ichigo felt righteous fury building. The very thought of him laying his dirty hands on Tia made his blood boil.

"Don't get me wrong." Ichigo started. "There is no love loss between me and Hollows… after all one of them killed my mother." He paused, looking directly into Kurorsuchi's eyes. "But I also heard that a certain now-dead Shinigami Captain let said Hollow loose on her." Some of the Captains looked at him with wide eyes. "So tell me, who I should blame for her death? The mindless monster, or the ones that pointed it at her?" He asked rhetorically.

A pregnant silence followed this sentence, and some of the Captains had the decency to look ashamed for not exposing Aizen earlier.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, I believe that the grudges with Aizen are resolved." The Captain Commander told him. "You had your revenge."

"This isn't about revenge. Such things won't bring her back. What I'm trying to tell you is that you shouldn't judge others because of the race they belong to. I know that Hollows aren't the most lovable creatures, but the Hōgyoku changed all that. The borders between Shinigami and Hollow were dissolved, and you can see the results of that standing in this very room. In Hueco Mundo I had met many Arrancars, and I dare say that some of them were quite decent people."

"Kurosaki we have not gathered here to discuss Arrancar." Komamura stated.

"Indeed." Byakuya supported. Ichigo looked like he was about to say something more, but he decided not to.

"True, but before we get to retuning my property, I have one more matter to bring up." Ichigo said. "Can we get a table and set of chairs in here?"

Silence fell after he uttered those words.

"Kurosaki yet again you do not understand the value of tradition." Byakuya nagged him.

"Really? Tradition of what? Training our leg's muscles, or having to hold everything in our hands?" He asked rhetorically. "I want to put forth a motion to include these, Captain Commander-sama."

The old man sent him heavy look, but the law was the law.

"All in favor of Captain Kurosaki's motion?" He skipped the usual ceremony, since there was no way that his soldiers would trample the long and honored tradition of…

Only Byakuya, Kurotsuchi, Soifon and Hitsugaya were against it.

"The motion has... passed." Yamamoto glared at the blasphemers. "From this time forward we shall have these at our meetings…"

'Is he pouting?' Stray thoughts went through gathered heads.

"Now onto the matter at hand. Captain Kurosaki are you ready to unseal the book?" The Captain Commander asked.

"I think." Ichigo replied, totally lying. He hadn't had the faintest idea on how to unseal the books.

"He thinks." Kurotsuchi mumbled, throwing the book at him.

"Hey! Careful how you treat MY property." Ichigo snapped, catching book and examining it. It had a brown cover, and was about 800 pages long. On the cover Ichigo could see various seals. He guessed that it was these that prevented just anyone from reading them. He opened the book and stared at the blank pages.

'So that's how it works. It does not prevent then from opening the book, but hides what is written in it. Clever.' He thought.

Urahara Shop

"Achoooooo!" Tessai sneezed.

"Bless you." Urahara replied automatically. "Someone talking about you?"

"I doubt it, and if so, probably someone not worthy of my attention."

Ichigo suddenly felt very pissed, but didn't know why. It wasn't from the fact that he hadn't even started any lessons on seals. He could seal and re-seal the drawers in his desk, but that was more like using a remote than anything else. He looked at the book from every angle, feeling the stares of the rest of the Captains.

'So embarrassing.' He thought. He decided to push some of his Reiatsu inside and see what happened. When he began the seals started to glow, but aside of that nothing had happened. He added more, but the seals only started to glow brighter. As he stopped the lights dimmed.

"Hmmm." He started to scratch his chin.

"Ichigo-san do you know what you are doing?" Ukitake asked.

"Absolutely... not." He deadpanned. "I haven't learned seals yet."

"So I see that we are wasting our time here." Byakuya stated.

"Now probably yes, but in two months I could probably crack it." He replied offhandedly, still deep in thought.

"Right! Like a brat with no experience could open it, where the greatest mind in the Soul Society couldn't." Kurorsuchi mocked and gloated at the same time.

"I don't recall Urahara-san trying to open it." He shot back, making the pale Captain inhale sharply. He was about to retort when Ichigo raised his hand to silence him.

Ichigo closed his eyes and extended his senses, he immediately felt the other Captains, but he wasn't looking for them. He ignored their auras and focused on the one in his hands. Then he felt it, small but there it was. He examined it closer, and found it was a Reiatsu of some kind. He had a distant idea that he knew it, but he couldn't place it. Then he did the smartest thing that came to his mind today… he tried to rip it apart using his power.

An electric shock came as soon as he did, almost knocking him unconscious. He gasped and let the book out of his hands.

Everyone noticed his sudden movement when the shock hit him. Kurosuchi grinned, he knew what had just happened. A fail safe.

"That friggin hurt!" Ichigo grumbled aloud. Now he knew how it felt to be shot by a stun-gun.

"That means you failed right?" Shinji asked, and Ichigo nodded. He looked at the damn book, and couldn't help feel that this vile object was mocking him.

'Wait, what?' He thought, then and he got it. He knew whose Reiatsu it was… he had enough training with Tessai to recognize his work. But there was something more, something almost independent from his signature. Similar yet different at the same time.

"Ok, I think I have a way to get it working." Ichigo stated, a smirk forming on his face.

He has deduced that if the object is able to mock him, it was sentient or at least half-sentient. He approached it once again, but this time he tried to resonate with the Reiatsu.

He succeeded.

The whole world around him turned into a gigantic library, with bookshelves reaching to the very sky. He looked around seeing the shelves continued on to the horizon.

A silhouette started to form in front of him, appearing as a ball of white light at first. Then it exploded like a flash bang, blinding him for a few seconds.

After his sight returned Ichigo couldn't believe what stood before him…

Captain Unohana!

"Unohana-san what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, flabbergasted by her presence.

"I'm not Unohana… I'm Hana, Guardian to Knowledge, Zanpakuto of Tessai-sama." The Unohana-like person replied.

"Wait you're his Zanpakuto!?" Ichigo uttered. "Why do you look like Unohana? And why are you here?" He bombarded the sword with questions.

"I won't speak about my wielder's preferences." She replied with shrug. "I am here because he tasked me with protecting all the knowledge gathered by the Kido Corps, from falling into the wrong hands."

"But how can you make a Zanpakuto protect and entire library like this?" Ichigo asked.

"The explanation would take to long. So let us just say that it has something to do with my abilities, plus a few trick he picked up over time." Hana explained. "So what I can do for you, young Commander?"

"Can you lift the seal on the books that Kurostuchi stole." He asked hopefully

"No. Only the Kido Corps Commander has the right to read this book." She replied instantly, killing his hope.

"But I am a Kido Corps Commander!" Ichigo protested, pointing to his Captain's Coat.

"Negative. You haven't signed the contract." She smiled at him.

"What contra…" Then he recalled his talk with Tessai about the previous Commanders and the tattoo. "Oh that. I'm well on my way to get that, so how about you open this one now, and the rest after I get it?" He tried to reason with her.

"I cannot do that." Came her short reply.

"But then the Kido Corps will never get the scrolls and books back! That maniac Kurorsuchi will keep them forever!" He yelled. To his surprise Hana's face turned into a snarl.

"I see... You want me to lift the seal on this particular book, yes?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Only on this one?" She asked again, Ichigo nodded.

"Fine. I will comply, but I will do it on two conditions." Ichigo nodded again.

"One: You will tell them that this book is called "The Mechanics of Sacrificial Kido"." She told him.

"What's the real title?" He asked curious as to why he had to lie.

""Flames of Rebellion" by Date Muramasa." She said gravely.

"Why do I have to lie?" Ichigo inquired, failing to see why this book was so important.

"Because this book was banned, and almost every copy destroyed." She told him with a sad expression. "This is the last one, and original at that."

"Why?" Ichigo pressed.

"Because it tells the history of rebellions and uprisings throughout the centuries in the Soul Society."

"So? I heard the same thing in my lessons." He replied, not seeing the reason why such a book was banned.

"It is written by one of the rebels, and shows their side." She looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please don't tell them that it survived."

"I promise." He replied instantly. The very idea of destroying books, just because they didn't fit the current policy line, repulsed him. He remembered the saying, if you forget history you are condemned to repeat it. "What's the second condition?"

"You will have to do me a favor." She told him with a sweet smile.

"Sure." He replied instantly, slightly charmed by her smile. Surely it wouldn't be anything major from such sweet and caring sword spirit.

"Are you sure?" She asked to confirm it, a gentle smile building on her face.

"Anything you ask." He promised, certain that it would be something innocent…

"Ok." She grabbed the edge of her coat, and in one swift move she took it off, revealing a tight leather suit.

It was all black, with long gloves and thigh boots. Aside from that she had only leather panties and a matching bra. If there was a floor Ichigo's jaw would've surely hit it, and gone through it.

"HA-HA-HANA-SAN! What the hell is this?!" He asked blushing madly. She lifted his chin with the tip of a whip she literally pulled out of nowhere.

"It's Mistress Hana to you pig!" She licked said tip, smiling in a way that only Unohana could.

"Wha?-"

WHACK!

"Obey me slave!"

WHACK!

"IT HURTS!"

Meanwhile the Captains in the meeting room were witness to a whole array of emotions on the young Shinigami's face.

They watched Ichigo's changing facial features with immense fascination. From shock, confusion, slight anger, to confusion again, and then utter and total terror. He opened his mouth in a silent scream.

The second it happened the booked glowed with a golden light, showing the seals around it. The marks pulsed a few times before finally breaking down.

"It appears that he managed to break the seals." Ukitake said with surprise evident in his voice.

"Impossible! How could this brat manage to achieve in minutes what I couldn't in decades!?" Mayurai howled with anger.

"That brings us to the question who the real genius is, eh Kurotsuchi?" Unohana said with satisfaction.

"Yeah, but what the hell is wrong with him?" Shinji waved his hands before Ichigo's eyes, not getting any reaction at all. "It's like he's in some sort or trance." He looked at Ichigo's face, which had an expression he really couldn't place… like if he saw something so absurd that it fried his brain. In that very moment Ichigo eyes flew open, and he let out surprisingly girlish scream. He started to hyperventilate, having a mini panic attack.

"Oh God Oh God!" He chanted trembling all over.

Unohana placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He turned his head toward her, and she gave him a reassuring smile. She couldn't anticipate his reaction.

Ichigo's face morphed to the one of pure terror and horror.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He screamed like a man possessed, and preformed a Shunpo at a speed that would put Youruichi to shame.

Unohana just stood there with her hand in place where Ichigo's shoulder used to be, mouth slightly agape.

No one dared to speak for a few minutes after his exit. Everyone tried to comprehend the what they just saw.

"That was interesting." The silence was broken by Kyoraku. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"I agree, but I hope that we won't have to look for a new Kido Commander. Whatever happened hit him pretty hard." Kensei stated. "Aside from that, since he did break the seal, that means that the library is going back to him, yes?" He asked the Captain Commander.

"That is correct. Captain Kurosuchi prepare to transport all scrolls and books you confiscated two hundred years ago… all of them." He stressed the last part.

"Right away, Captain Commander-sama." The pale Captain replied through his teeth. A vein pulsed on his forehead

"Now let's continue with the meeting…."

Kido Corps Headquarters

Hachi had been drilling Roja, Hashiro, and Shinda since the morning. They all proved to be excellent students, and he was happy to see their progress. He was just about to call a break when he felt Ichigo's Reiatsu approaching. He turned and saw Ichigo Shunpo to the field.

Ichigo strode up to him, and just as Hachi was about to greet him, pushed the book into his hands giving him a look with haunted eyes.

"You didn't see me." Then ran into the main building, activating all the defenses on his way. All his officers looked at him with mouths agape.

"What the hell just happened?" Shinda asked.

"Dunno, but man he was freaked out." Hashiro replied.

"Wonder what could scare him so much that he'd practically isolated the whole building." Roja deadpanned. "Now we can't get inside."

"Don't worry. I will deactivate them… soon. Have the rest of the day for yourselves." Hachi said walking towards the building.

"What if our Commander need us?" Roja asked. He really didn't like leaving people in need to themselves.

"I'm sure Hachi can handle it, don't worry." Hashiro told him.

"Me too. So I don't know about you, but I'm going drinking!" Shinda told them with a grin. Hashiro smirked and Roja rolled his eyes.

"Good idea, count me in!" Hashiro accepted his offer.

"Kami! Why did I befriend alcoholics?" Roja complained to the sky.

"Nah, don't sweat it, someone has to bring our drunk asses back here." Shinda patted his shoulder.

"Yeah and watch you so you don't do something stupid." He grinned. "Like that paint balloon you threw at Zaraki. You're lucky that he didn't found out that it was you."

"Ha next time I'll fill it with pink paint." They left for the bar, leaving the pink haired giant behind.

After five long hours Hachi finally managed to bypass the defenses, and only thanks to knowing the patterns. He once again marveled at the mastery of the old Kido Commanders.

He spent two hours looking for Ichigo, only to find him in the showers. He was washing himself intensely, mumbling something about being filthy.

He managed to convince his Commander to go to his room and lie in bed. He tried to ask what had happened, but failed to get anywhere.

After a while he just let the teen sleep, unaware what was happening in poor boy's head…

Ichigo's Mind Scape

"Please tell me are you really gay, or just mentally retarded?!" Hichigo yelled sounding furious.

"Leave me alone!" Ichigo snapped in an almost teary tone.

"I would if not for the fact that you acted like a pussy all day!" He roared.

"Screw you, I'm a victim of a rape! She violated me!" He yelled back.

"Stop exaggerating. There's a difference between kinky sex and rape." He replied sounding nonchalant.

"She tied me up! I begged her to stop! I don't see the difference here!" He started to tremble.

"Kami you're so pathetic. A hot chick just did you, and ya cry like a little bitch." He face palmed.

"I didn't plan to lose my virginity like that!" Ichigo shouted back.

"You technically did a chick, and you're crying about it!? What is your damage?" Hichigo was on verge of tearing out his hair. "Besides a part of you enjoyed it!"

"What!?"

"You could have stopped it the very moment the seals were broken, but you let it continue few moments longer" His grin widened. "The only reason that you didn't enjoyed it was that it was that you weren't the one who did the dominating. If she was groveling at your feet, and calling you master..." He trailed off letting that information sink in. Surprisingly, Ichigo had to admit that his Hollow was right. Ichigo blushed fiercely at that realization.

"Ha! I see you finally turned your imagination on. Hey let's make a deal." He suddenly proposed.

"What deal?" Ichigo asked, not sure if this would end well.

"Next time ya will try to unseal those books, and she appears, you switch with me." He raised his hand to stop the wave of protests. "No rampage, killing, or the other stuff you puss out on. Just let me deal with her, and in return, while I'm dealing with her I'll show you a few tricks." He grinned, and extended his hand.

"How do I know you won't hurt her?" Ichigo knew that she was an artificial being, but still.

"Oh come on! I may be a psycho, but I'm not a sadist... much. I promise I won't hurt her… much."

"I know that I'll regret this, but fine I agree. If you break our agreement, or start hurting her, I will immediately take control." He shook his hand firmly.

"Deal!"

"Deal." With that Ichigo disappeared from the mindscape.

"I have to say, I'm impressed. You handled this trauma pretty well. Maybe you should became a psychiatrist." Zangetsu suggested with a slight smirk.

"Nah, I like hurting people too much. I helped him cause I was afraid that he would seriously become gay from this." The Hollow shook his head in disappointment.

"You wouldn't like that, huh?" Zangetsu pointed out

"No, but you wouldn't like it even more." Hichigo gave him his trademarked grin. Zangetsu's smile fell when the implications of his words hit him.

Hichigo bust out laughing.

Next Day

Ichigo had finally left his room. He was feeling a lot better, and he had to admit, his Hollow would make one hell of a psychiatrist. Doing some quick stretches he got up and went to the dining room. His men looked at him funnily, but didn't made any comments. He saw Hachi and went to sit next to him.

"Hey." Ichigo greeted.

"Good morning Ichigo… how are you?" Hachi asked looking a bit wary of him.

"Good. Better than yesterday." He replied.

"So care to tell me what happened?" Hachi asked with some concern. Ichigo sighed and summarized everything, excluding the most hardcore parts of his deal with Hana.

"So she asked for a favor huh?" He asked with grim face after Ichigo finished.

"She did." Ichigo replied. "Wait you didn't…"

"Yes, I did her a favor too… I sympathize with you." Ichigo gave him an incredulous stare.

"Let's not talk about it ever again." Ichigo proposed.

"Agreed… and about that book, you know it's illegal?" Hachi quickly changed the subject.

"I know, I was… informed." He shuddered.

"I see. So what are you going to do with it?" Hachi asked.

"Unless you're going to tell, I'm gonna read it." He smirked.

"Hmmm, tell what?" He grinned.

"Exactly. Anyways what about the rest? Have the books been delivered?" Ichigo asked.

"It will take some time. The amount is simply staggering, but we got the first shipment." Hachi explained. "Oh, that reminds me, we will need more recruits soon. We're still horribly understaffed, also you will need to consider appointing a vice-commander, and the seated officers."

"Can't you become my Vice-Commander, Hachi? It would help me immensely." Ichigo said.

"True, but it would also undermine your position. There are whispers about trying to make me a Commander of Kido Corps."

"Why am I not surprised?" Ichigo sighed. "Still I need to find someone I can totally trust. Where do you think I should look for recruits? The next batch of academy students is still a year off. Not to mention I took a look at the next year's finest from the academy, and they are mediocre at best. All of them look like spoiled brats from the rich houses. They have no back bone at all." He furrowed his eyebrows, recalling all that wasted time to find suitable officers.

"Maybe you should look around the Rukongai's lower districts. I recall that some of the best Shinigami came from there." He proposed.

"Hmmm, you may be right. If I remember correctly, Hashiro, Roja and Shinda came from seventy something."

"Yes. Sadly life in those districts is hard, but it creates perfect situations for Shinigami. The people there know how to survive." He told Ichigo.

"Hmm. I got two more days here, and if I leave today in the late afternoon, I should have over a day and half to look for someone. Ok then, it's settled." Ichigo stood. "So how about some Kido training?" Ichigo proposed.

"Why not. After all, how long can you be worse in Kido than most of your subordinates?" Ichigo scowled at his jab, making him laugh. "Just kidding, let's go."

As their stared to train, Ichigo noticed that the spells were much easier to learn than before despite being higher level. Ichigo thought it was a matter of experience and usage of Kido, which he's been using a lot lately.

Yet Hachi told him that he could be considered a prodigy. He already managed to get Hado up to 60, and Bakudo up to 59. He had to admit that the books Yoruichi gave him were helpful. Not to mention small tips written in her neat and elegant style were a pleasure to read.

Hachi told him that soon they could start on seals and barriers.

After they finished, Ichigo moved to train his subordinates. First he took his regular soldiers and tested their skills. The results were what he expected. While proficient in Kido, none of them stood a chance in close combat and also…

"Ok, what the hell is this?" Ichigo asked pointing to one of the soldiers.

"What Commander?" One of them replied.

"That retarded mask, it's just getting in the way." He pointed to the gray mask with a long stripe, going almost to the very ground.

"But Commander, it's tradition…"

"I don't care if it's traditional or not." Ichigo interrupted. "It'll restrain your sight, so it's pretty deadly in close combat. Remove it from your uniform at once." He left no room for argument. "And it looks like I will have to take care of your sword training, cause in most cases it sucks." He noticed that he went to far as most of his men had a downcast expression. "Ok look. I know that we're supposed to be long distance fighters and all, but I can't allow my men to be so defenseless at close quarters. We'll fix it soon enough… and since you did rather well in your training, and you are all working hard with the books, you all are free until tomorrow morning. Have fun." He smirked when his men cheered.

Ichigo, pleased with his actions, went to his office. Since his men were relaxing he had nothing to do. So he decided to read his new book.

"Flames of Rebellion by Date Muramasa." Ichigo read aloud. He noticed how elegant and sophisticated the hand writing was. So he guessed that the person came from the upper part of society. Ichigo moved to the prologue.

"My name is Date Muramasa, the last of the once great Muramasa Family. This book is dedicated to all who've tried to fight injustice in the Soul Society. I will not say that all of those rebels had noble causes. Some of them fought for power, others for wealth, ect. I will not deny this. But a great number of them fought for a higher cause, and now they are deemed as an outlaws and enemies of peace.

This is a history filled with despair. The history of people chained by tradition and unchangeable laws which lost their purpose long ago.

You who read my book now, I will not try to convince you to my point of view. I will just show you my reasons, as well as the others who couldn't accept the reality they lived in. Whatever you do with this knowledge is none of my concern.

But let me give you some advice: If you want enemies, try to change something."

Ichigo re-read the prologue a few times. His thoughts unwillingly bringing him to Aizen's words, "Because I wanted to change the world around me." , "I wanted to get rid of the injustice in the S.S., it's corruption and arrogance.", "But if you've seen what I have seen, knew what I have known… I was desperate…". His words echoed in the young man's mind.

He was brought from his musings by loud knocking on his doors.

"Enter." He ordered, and to his surprise he saw Rukia walking towards him.

"Hello, Commander." She said with a smile.

"Yo, and drop the formalities." He returned the smile. "I thought you were in Human World?"

"The things were calm there so I decided to check on you. I heard that something happened during the unsealing of the books?" She asked with worry.

"I don't want to talk about it, but I'm over it now." He replied with a small shudder.

"That's good, but I have to give you a warning: stop making enemies." She looked at him completely serious. "My brother told me that you almost hit SoiFon with Kurohitsugi, and pissed Mayuri off beyond belief."

"It's not my fault! SoiFon has some personality problems, and Kurorsuchi stole my stuff. I wanted it back and it's not my problem that he had objections to that." Ichigo replied confidently.

"But maybe you should be more timid in dealing with them." Rukia argued with him.

"If I were more timid you'd would be dead by now." He shot back.

"…You're right, but it's different now that you have a position of power. You have to be more diplomatic."

"While I agree that diplomacy isn't all bad, I won't agree to be manipulated or threatened by anyone. I'm not a dog on the Soul Society's leash." Rukia's eyes widened at his bold statement. "I don't give a shit about my position. The only thing that keeps me from resigning is the responsibility I have towards my men."

"Ichigo you can't be serious! Being a Captain is a great honor!" She yelled, shocked by his words.

"Tsk, they told me that I can't go to Hueco Mundo without permission. Wonder what else I can't do?" He mumble the last part.

"Why the hell would you want to go to Hueco Mundo?" She asked, her gut was telling her that it had something to do with his Arrancar guest.

"First of all, I don't like my freedom restrained, and it's a good place to train." He stated. "That way at least me and Tia won't destroy anything."

"Ichigo, I still think that it's a bad idea keeping her." Rukia blurted. Ichigo meanly groaned, somehow he knew that she would bring that up.

"Rukia we've already talked about this. She's staying." He replied calmly.

"Ichigo, I understand that you might feel... attracted to her, she is pretty." Rukia begrudgingly admitted making Ichigo blush much to her displeasure. "But you have to understand that any relationship with her is doomed to fail."

"Why?" He asked, but he already knew the answer.

"Because she's an Arrancar, and the Soul Society will never accept one of its Captains fraternizing with the enemy." She explained it to him, as if speaking to a child, which irked him to no end.

"Don't forget that I am human. So the things I do in the Human World shouldn't interest the Shinigami." He felt his patience is growing thin.

"Ichigo the moment you first gained Shinigami powers, you stopped begin an ordinary human. You have to understand that I'm worried about you… you should really think more about yourself. She's a danger to you." She continued without missing a beat.

"A danger I'm willing to take a chance on." He replied with all the honesty he could muster. He could have sworn he could see a flash of pain in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by anger.

"You fool, they will execute you for treason! Why don't you see that!" She exploded, growing red with anger. "I know that whore seduced you, but damn it get over it!"

"Enough!" Ichigo roared, standing with such force that his chair fell down to the floor. His outburst shocked Rukia so much, that for a moment she couldn't gather a single thought. She opened her mouth to speak, but Ichigo silenced her with one glare. "Now listen," He started with a barely contained fury. "Tia is not a whore, and she didn't seduce me. We're friends, good friends, and I will never allow anyone to speak about my friends like that… even you Rukia." That statement froze Rukia's heart, she just couldn't believe she heard what she heard.

"Ichigo you can't be…"

"I'm deadly serious." His voice didn't flatter. "After we left Urahara's that night, when we fought those Vasto Lordes, because of your words she wanted to find a job and move out as soon as she got paid… I didn't let her go. I wanted her to stay with me… I may be a fool for going against the laws of the Soul Society, but I'll be damned if she's not worth it. She's one of the most wonderful people I have ever met." He smiled kindly.

Rukia looked at him with sadness, but saw that she was too late. The Arrancar had sunk her claws in too deep.

"I see we've got nothing speak about then." She stood and went to the door.

"Rukia!" He shouted, gaining her attention. "Why do you hate Tia so much? What did she do to you?"

'She took you away from me.' She didn't dare to speak those words aloud, and moved towards the exit.

"Rukia! If you've ever considered me a friend, please don't tell anyone about her… please." He begged her.

"You will end up hurt and neck deep in trouble… but I won't tell anyone about her." With that she left, unshed tears filling her eyes, which Ichigo couldn't see.

When the doors shut, Ichigo picked up his chair and sat heavily in it. He felt like he was older than the Captain Commander. He had a horrible feeling that he just traded a friend for a friend.

"Why can't life ever be simple?" He asked into the air, closing his eyes.

"Life can never be simple, child." A voice replied. Ichigo's eyes snapped open, and he jolted from his chair. Looking frantically around, he put his hand on his sword's hilt.

"Who's there!?" He yelled, ready to counter an eventual attack. His demands were met with silence. After a while he relaxed. "The stress must be getting to me... maybe I should just go to Rukongai?" He mused aloud. "Hopefully something good will come of that."

I made it! Right on Christmas Eve guy! I wrote it like crazy so once again sorry for the mistakes, but I hope you liked my gift! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!