Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Certain accidents were bound to happen when training new squad members to reach materialization with their Zanpakuto. After all, some powers were more potent than others, and required more training in order to be used correctly. Ichigo accepted this when he started the training the day after his...eventful evening at the Kuchiki mansion.

However, he did not plan for this.

He stood, looking dumbly at the spot where the east end of his barracks used to be. There was now a giant crater, and not much else. Behind him where the rest of his squad, including the one responsible, with the same expression as him, Rukia was the first to snap out of it, turning to the guilty party.

"Would you mind explaining why we just lost a section of our squad barracks?" The trainee looked at her nervously. She had gotten something of a reputation for being the more strict between her and Ichigo, since he was usually just a bit irritated or uncaring.

Stuttering, the recruit replied nervously, "W-well you see my Zanpakuto's power i-is to move objects through space for a short distance." Ichigo finally broke out of his shock and turned around, looking more impressed than annoyed.

"That's pretty cool, where's it gone to then." He looked down and muttered something into the ground, causing Rukia to growl with irritation, at both the recruit and her Captain's attitude.

"Shut up, Ichigo. Now speak up, where is it?" Looking at his Captain rather than face his Lieutenant's cold glare he replied guiltily.

"I...lost control in shock...I don't know where it's gone." Rukia scowled at him and turned to Ichigo, who just raised his eyebrows and turned back to the missing chunk.

"Well...that's a pain." Rukia raised an eyebrow and glared at him.

"Is that all you can say?" He shrugged and waved off the surrounding Shinigami.

"Go do something else, what else can I say? I made mistakes when I trained with Urahara, and we have no idea what powers they have." Ignoring her glare, he walked of to find an officer.

She followed him, neither spoke whilst they walked until Rukia saw who he was looking for. "Your fourth seat is just over there."

Her voice lacked the cold edge to it and the Captain smiled internally, hoping that would be the last he heard of it. "Thanks, midget." She rolled her eyes as they walked up to the officer, who was talking in a group with a few other members. As they approached, they caught some of the conversation.

"...I suppose she's an okay Lieutenant, maybe a bit harsh but she gets the job done." Rukia shot him a smug smile and it was his turn to roll his eyes.

Another member spoke up, none of them having noticed the Captain approaching them. "What about Captain Kurosaki."

"I haven't seen that much of him, he seems laid back, but he isn't what I expected from the stories...He's not as much of a bad-ass as they make him sound." Rukia was fighting back laughter by this point, and Ichigo was seeing red.

"Is that so." The group froze at the sound of their Captain's voice. Slowly they turned their heads to see him, all praying that they had misheard him. By the glare he was shooting his fourth seat, they had not.

"U-uh Captain..." That was as far as he got under Ichigo's glare, he looked back to his friends for help but they where either holding back laughter or looking at him with pity.

"I'm sorry if I don't meet your expectations, but I would be happy to give you a private demonstration." The man paled, if possibly, even further, and shook his head rapidly.

"No! That won't be necessary, Captain." He was not placated however, and just continued to glare.

"Then I suggest you move your ass down to the Fourth Squad and tell them that we have misplaced the east end of our barracks." He got a few questioning looks, but he ignored them in favor of glaring at his near shaking fourth seat. The man had not moved, so he leaned in closer and ordered softly.

"Move." The officer jumped and ran without question from the room, leaving the rest of his friends with the now less, irritated Captain. He gave them a look, but walked off after a moment, his Lieutenant once again beside him.

"That building will come out of your wages." Rukia reminded him, only getting a grunt in response.

Despite not responding, the thought triggered another, his wages. The only time he had actually spent any money was when he went out with Rukia to grab some lunch. The thoughts of what else he might want for his sparse living quarters and office occupied him as he wondered back to his office with Rukia.

The day was just about over when the two of them looked up to see a hell butterfly approaching after they had shifted into his office to work together for a while since it was more convenient. It landed between them and relayed a message to both of them.

'This is a message to all Captains and Lieutenants; there is a meeting by order of the Captain Commander which is compulsory. All relevant members must report in as soon as possible.'

It's job done, the butterfly left the two, and Ichigo looked down at the pile of work. "It's a good thing that we are basically done, let's go midget." Rukia glared at him, and wiped his smirk off his face by knocking a small stack of files off the desk.

"Oops, looks like you'll have to rearrange them after the meeting." Ichigo snarled and pushed out of his chair, grumbling as he stepped over the files.

"Bitch, that took me an hour to do." She just jabbed him in the stomach and walked ahead slightly. Ichigo grunted but didn't respond, as he probably deserved it.

All of the Captains, with the exception of the 3rd and 9th, stood in front of Yamamoto with their Lieutenants standing behind them, all waiting patiently. The Captain Commander brought down his cane and the meeting officially started, no one else making a sound.

"I have called you all here to discuss an urgent matter. A few days ago we lost contact with a squad of scouts that we had posted in Hueco Mundo in case the remaining Arrancar revealed themselves, or Aizen had other forces in reserve." No one moved, and he continued.

"I therefore believe that we must send a team to eradicate whatever threat they had found, and if necessary retreat with information on what we are dealing with."

He looked around at the assembled Shinigami, all who were looking at him expectantly. After a few moments of deliberation, he made his choices.

"For this mission, I ask that Captain Kurosaki and Lieutenants: Abarai, Kira, Kotetsu, and a team of members from the Fifth Squad. Are you all prepared for this?" This was a clear invitation to open up the floor, and Unohana stepped forward.

"May I ask why you are requesting my Lieutenant on this mission?" The old man turned his attention to the eldest woman present.

"This mission could be very risky, so I want immediate and expert aid to be available for the team." Unohana seemed to accept this reasoning and stood back, only for Ichigo to step forward.

"Uh, I will go but shouldn't someone else lead the mission, I haven't lead a squad before." Yamamoto squinted at him as always before responding.

"You have spent ample time in Hueco Mundo to know how to fight there, and you have lead your friends when they accompanied you. I do not believe that another Captain will be required." Ichigo was surprised by the faith the man had in him and bowed his head slightly, stepping back into line.

The only other person with a problem was Kenpachi who looked irritated because he wasn't invited along. "Why can't I go? If there is anyone worth fighting then it will be in that desert!" but Yamamoto just shook his head.

"You are not required Captain Zaraki, and will not be going on this mission." He looked like he wanted to argue back, but didn't instead looking like he was brooding on it. With all the interruptions out of the way, Yamamoto turned his head back towards the whole group.

"You will leave at dawn tomorrow, until then you are dismissed." The assembly filed out of the room, with a few grouping up afterwards to discuss the mission.

Ichigo walked out with Rukia on one side, and Renji on the other, feeling confused about the mission that he had been given. She noticed his strange look and rolled her eyes. "Don't wear that stupid face, Ichigo. You would have to lead a mission at some time, and it's not like this is nothing you haven't done before."

Renji joined in, clapping a hand on his back, "Yeah, though I don't fancy taking orders from someone like you." He laughed and Ichigo turned to him.

"What was that, pineapple? That's a shame because you're going to have to." The Lieutenant growled back at him and huffed.

"I'm supposed to, as long as you don't get me killed." The orange haired Captain glared back and pulled out his ace.

"Oh, well I would hate to have to inform Byakuya of your lack of discipline." Renji froze for a second before stalking off, muttering insults under his breath. He knew exactly what his Captain would do if he found out that he was disobeying orders from a Captain, even if it was Ichigo, and it wouldn't be pretty.

Ichigo smirked at his retreating form before turning and almost jumping as the fourth squad Captain took his place.

"Captain Kurosaki, I hope you will take care during the mission." There was a definite threat of something...horrible, if anything happened to her Lieutenant. He stared at her in shock for a moment before nodding rapidly and responding.

"I will take every precaution necessary, I hope your Lieutenant will not even be needed." She smiled her weird, creepy smile and walked off, taking his words as a promise. Ichigo was given the creeps by the 'healer' so much so that he jumped slightly when Rukia poked his arm.

"Ichigo-" She gave him a strange look and he grumbled and turned away.

"What? She's creepy, it's worse than your school girl thing." Rukia debated whether that should earn him some physical abuse, but decided on just ignoring his stupidity.

For now.

"Whatever, did you want to do something? We were finished when we left, and the meeting didn't last that long." She looked at him questioningly and he considered it.

On one hand, he could remember the stack of paperwork that she had knocked over that still had to be re-filed. On the other, he could go and spend some time outside of the office or Kido practice with Rukia. Rukia would win as always.

"Yeah, give me a sec." He wondered if he should remind her of her thoughtful joke, but decided that she would just bitch at him for leaving it for later. "How about you show me that shopping area you were speaking about the other day, or is it too late?"

Rukia shook her head and looked up to the sky. "No, in fact I would say that we are going at prime time." Ichigo gave quick smile, before his face settled into his usual scowl as he realized what he was going to be doing.

He was going shopping with a woman. Damn. He hadn't really thought about it when he mentioned it, but he was kind of regretting it now. On one hand, it might not be too bad, on the other Rukia was bad enough in the human world, making him buy her anything that was cute enough, or using his money without asking him to buy Chappy related things.

Surely, she would be better in the Soul Society. Right?

Shopping may not have been the best option. Ichigo had come to this conclusion after following Rukia around countless stores, most of which sold very similar items. Groaning, he looked over to his happy Lieutenant.

"When you said you were going to show me around, I didn't mean around Chappy shops." She just glared at him and went into another shop which was selling the same thing.

He followed her, but groaned again, mumbling something about a rabbit obsessed midget. Rukia just ignored him, feeling quite happy with her current position. This grew when she spotted a limited edition plush toy.

She squealed, causing Ichigo to jump, and looked at it with awe. "Wow, look at that, Ichigo!"

He rolled his eyes and walked up next to her. "Very nice, but you said that you were out of spending money." She scrunched up her face as she remembered that she was indeed out of money.

Turning to him, she looked up with wide eyes and pouting lips. He took one look at her and crossed his arms, scowling. "Not happening, midget." She continued to stare at him and he looked away. After a few moments, he ventured a look back, only to find her still staring at him with almost teary, big, violet eyes.

He looked into them for a few moments before snapping out of it and shaking his head. "No. We are leaving." Grabbing her wrist, he pulled a pouting Rukia out of the shop and into the street, ignoring the female cashier giggling behind him.

Once they were out, he pulled her along aimlessly, just trying to get out of what he had now dubbed: Chappy district. The petite Shinigami stopped pulling against him after a couple of yards, allowing him to lead them without any idea of where he was.

He felt some resistance behind him again, and he turned back questioningly. "Do you even know where you're going?" He just scowled and looked away, and Rukia rolled her eyes.

"Anywhere but here." He looked around for a moment, not recognizing the area. "Where are we now?"

Rukia looked around too before answering. "We are still in the shopping district, but this area sells food mainly." Ichigo looked around, surprised.

"Really? I wonder why no one told me about any of this stuff, I mean, I've been here a couple of months now." She just rolled her eyes and gave him an exasperated look.

"You have been busy with your duties as a Captain and I didn't want to sidetrack you. Besides, you are rather unobservant if you didn't notice that the Seireitei is larger than just the division barracks and Central 46." The young Captain scowled, but didn't retort. It was true that he never really considered what else was in the Seireitei aside from the few places that Rukia had taken him.

As she watched him thinking, realization hit and her eyes widened, and speaking softly, she called out to him. "Ichigo..." He turned to her, surprised at her tone.

"What, Rukia?" She looked down and he followed her gaze. Finally, he noticed that at some point when they had been standing there that his hand had slipped off her wrist and was now holding her hand.

A deep blush spread across his face and he pulled his hand back hard as he took a few steps back to regain his balance. Rukia was embarrassed too, but she couldn't deny that deep down, she missed his large hand holding hers for it was a comfort that she had never known before. Ichigo wasn't faring any better, as the memory of her soft fingers was playing across his mind as he stuttered for an apology.

"U-uh sorry...I didn't realize..." He mumbled some more under his breath and she smirked at him, despite the current situation. Turning around, she walked off, leaving him alone for a moment before he noticed she had left and he ran after her.

"Oi, Rukia where are you going?" She only turned her head slightly to respond, not stopping for him.

"If you want to experience Seireitei food then you better hurry up strawberry." He grinned in spite of himself, and Ichigo jogged up to her side, with a half-hearted glare.

"Silly midget, leaving me alone." She smirked back at him.

"Aww, did I hurt Captain 'berry's feelings?" He just scowled in response and looked around at the stalls lining the street.

"So, where are you taking me for your fancy food?" Rukia fought back the urge to hit him again, instead settling on insulting him.

"Well carrot-top, I'm taking you to a vendor that I've known my whole life." Ichigo ignored the insult and raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, so was he from your Rukongai District?" She nodded her head before continuing.

"He and his wife were there before me, but moved into the Seireitei when a Captain, who took a liking to their food on one of the old inspections a long time ago, offered them some property here. I haven't seen them in a long time actually, not since Kaien died." She looked sad as she finished, so Ichigo wondered why she hadn't gone, when he asked her she just shrugged.

She had spoken of Kaien before, and he knew how much he had meant to her. He had been what her brother should have been before, the person who built her up as a strong person and helped her become who she was today. Apparently, she had idolized his wife more so than she did him, but he was the friend that was always there and was all she had after Renji's abandonment.

He would have liked to meet him, maybe one day he would, you never now with the reincarnation cycles and such. It would be lying to say that he didn't feel a tinge of envy for all those years he had never known her, but he was glad she had someone then.

"I haven't had the time, and when I do I forget to visit them. Still I'm glad I got around to it." Ichigo just nodded and remembered something else that she had said.

"What do you mean by old inspections?" Rukia smiled sadly and turned her head to face him.

"Well, a few hundred years ago, all of the Rukongai districts had some of the squads check up on them every now and again, to make sure that peace was maintained. However, that stopped after the districts became too big to mange, or that's what they say at least. So really only the first five or so districts have any sort of police, the rest just do what they can."

"I remember when I was in your area briefly...it was horrible." Rukia just snorted and waved him off.

"The people who live there, like I used to, learn to deal with it. They get along just fine." Ichigo didn't need to double check to tell that she was lying to him, but he didn't push the matter, as her eyes had lightened up as they approached a booth.

An old woman was working, and looked up, her eyes grew wide in surprise. "Rukia? Is that you dear?" Rukia smiled widely and walked up to the booth, Ichigo trailing behind her slightly.

"Yes, Hiromi. I'm sorry it has been so long." The old woman just chuckled, and Ichigo looked her over. She had curly grey hair and a cheerful, yet wrinkly face. She put down the food she had been preparing and called out.

"Juro, come out here, we have a guest." There was a shuffling around in the back and around from behind the wall came her husband. He was as old as her, and exactly what you would expect; his face seemed just as cheery and wrinkled, though his waist was wider and he had thin head of grey hair on his balding head.

He smiled as she had when he saw Rukia before him. "Ah, it seems our favorite Shinigami has come to visit at last." His wife smiled again, and then noticed Ichigo, who was watching the scene with interest.

"It looks like she has brought a visitor as well, that's new!" Three pairs of eyes turned to the Captain as he scowled as usual, unsure what to do with the attention. Juro, who chuckled and nudged Rukia across the counter, broke the silence.

"Does he always look so grumpy Rukes?" She smirked back and nodded, turning to see Ichigo's scowl deepen slightly.

"Oh yes, the strawberry does like to look tough." He growled and took a step towards her.

"I am not a strawberry, you midget." Hiromi chuckled at the pair and spoke to Ichigo.

"Well, who might you be..." She gave him a once over and looked back at him"...Captain?" Ichigo blinked dumbly for a second, then realized that she had obviously seen his haori.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, Captain of the 5th Squad." The old lady smiled at this and turned to Rukia, pointing to her insignia.

"And you are now his Lieutenant?" She grinned back briefly, surprising Ichigo with how happy she looked. Juro then spoke up, a small frown on his face.

"Kurosaki...I've heard that name before." He looked over at Ichigo and did the same as his wife; took in his appearance: the Haori, orange hair, amber eyes, and blade strapped to his back. Suddenly it seemed to click and his eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Wait, Ichigo...the Substitute Shinigami?" Ichigo scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and Rukia rolled her eyes at his fame.

"Uh, not any more, I've been a Captain for a few months." The old man started to grin widely, and his wife suddenly cottoned on to what he had realized and took another look at the young Captain.

"Oh, you're the one they have stories about." Ichigo was quite surprised at this and just blinked at her. Rukia crossed her arms and sighed, tilting her head towards him.

"Why did you say that? His ego didn't need to get any larger." The married couple chuckled at her and Ichigo smirked and puffed out his chest slightly. She noticed and instantly stuck out her leg and tripped him to the floor.

"Argh- what the hell!" He asked from the ground, sitting up and rubbing his back where he had landed. Rukia turned away from him, back towards the old couple.

"I could practically feel your ego growing, so I decided to help you out." Ichigo grumbled as he stood up, and Hiromi laughed at the pair.

"Young love, you two make such a cute couple." Both froze for a second before they spluttered and turned red. Well Ichigo spluttered, Rukia just looked at the ground and avoided their eyes. Finally, Ichigo regained the power of speech.

"N-no, we are just friends." The old woman just nodded in understanding, with a twinkle in her eye. Neither noticed it and the tried to go on as if the moment had never happened.

The four spent the rest of the afternoon and evening talking about numerous things; Ichigo was told a few stories about Rukia before she became a Shinigami, and in return Ichigo shared some of his own stories about the world of the living, most of them involving Rukia.

They didn't notice when the sun dipped below the horizon, and night took over, with them still chatting away in the candlelight.

Beta'd by OpenSourceArtist

(A/N) Updates might get less frequent now as I am going back to school and I will have work to do :/ I will try and keep it semi-regular though.

Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry if I couldn't respond.