Hello! NaNo was pretty successful all around, I think! So from this point forward I'm going to start trying to post DE on the last Tuesday of every month again. Let's see how long that resolution lasts this time, lol - I have high hopes, though!

I didn't manage to get this one beta read, however. This month's just been too much for me to manage any sort of speed with the initial edit, so I wasn't about to try and ask someone to do betaing on xmas eve. From now on I should hopefully have more time available, however. We'll see. Again, high hopes.

Kaito led them through the maze of streets at a brisk pace, keeping to the smaller alleys and side-roads rather than the larger thoroughfares. They wouldn't be able to keep hidden forever — he didn't intend to remain hidden forever — but the extra time to create a plan was useful.

Getting away from the Fifth before the Captains left their meeting was a priority. The Captains could trace them at their leisure but the rank and file weren't always so skilled in sensing. And with Kaito under the cover of two wards and Kurosaki hidden in Urahara's training ground, the other three were not so noticeable.

(He didn't remember how it all happened. Didn't remember enough of the invasion—)

(His memories were useless. Too many changes, too many differences.)

(He couldn't let anyone down.)

"All right, take a moment to rest," he ordered the group once their distance from the Fifth satisfied him. Several of them were somewhat out of breath from his pace, but to his pleasure it didn't take them long to recover. "Hanataro." When the Shinigami glanced up in shy curiosity, Kaito continued, "Last chance to back out. We're about to draw attention and then keep it for about a day."

Hanataro nibbled on his lower lip and glanced away. Kaito almost dared to hope he would listen at last and return to his division. Almost.

"No," Hanataro whispered, shaking his head and straightening up, expression firm. "I—I agreed to this, and—and I'm not backing down. I'm not sure how much I can help, but—but I want to!"

Kaito sighed in resignation and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He'd given the other plenty of chances to back down and Hanataro had refused every one. "Fine. I'll do my best to protect you. If anyone other than those here ask, I kidnapped you to heal me from my fight with Kenpachi and then didn't let you go."

"But that's not—"

"If you want to be accepted after the invasion is over, you will listen to me on this!" Kaito snapped. "My father is an enemy of the Shinigami and if they believe you willingly threw your lot in with me, it will be your head on that execution stand next!"

Hanataro jerked back and stared up at him with wide, startled eyes.

"Will they really?" Inoue asked quietly.

Kaito grimaced. "If everything goes poorly. If we leave with more enemies than we started… absolutely. They will never trust someone who betrayed them to join the invaders." He glanced between the others then shrugged awkwardly and tugged the brim of his hat down to shadow his eyes. Ishida, Inoue, and Sado all appeared disbelieving but Ganju was looking away, arms crossed and a scowl darkening his features.

"He could get lucky and get exiled instead," Ganju offered when Kaito didn't continue. "How lucky depends upon what you think of the Rukongai, though."

"Or I suppose he could run," Kaito added, thinking about his father and the other two. "Run far enough, hide long enough, and they may just be willing to leave you be."

(*Worked for the Vizard, too,*) Ichigo agreed. (*I guess… I guess we need to keep an eye on Hanataro this time. He's… caught up in everything more than last time. If it comes to it…*)

(*If it comes to it, I'm grabbing him along with the others. He's helping us because he wants to. I'm not leaving him to his fate if things go poorly for us.*) Kaito cast a glance at Hanataro, trying to ignore the fierce pride Ichigo was radiating.

"I—" Hanataro shook his head and wrung his hands, not meeting Kaito's gaze. He looked so young, so fragile, that Kaito wanted to shoo him off on principle despite his training and abilities. "I don't care," Hanataro blurted out, straightening up and giving Kaito a worried but determined look, "I want to help you. All of you."

Ichigo made a thoughtful noise, (*I don't think you'll be able to turn him away.*)

"Very well." He agreed with Ichigo. Hanataro had decided despite his fear and seemed far too invested in all of them to change his mind. He'd just have to do his best to protect him. "So be it. Sado-san, try to stay near Hanataro. They'll believe the lie better that way."

Sado nodded in agreement and moved next to Hanataro, a hand coming to rest on Hanataro's shoulder. "Understood."

"Thank you." Kaito drummed the fingers of one hand on his thigh, casting his senses outward to double-check on where the Captains were heading. They were dispersing but none of them seemed to be making a bee-line towards them yet. "We have to get moving before the Captains decide we make great sitting ducks. Tell me if you need a break and I'll get us some space so we can all catch our breath. Does everyone understand?"

He received a chorus of agreement and felt some of his worry fade. He'd need to watch the others but he hoped no one would hesitate to speak up. And between him and Hanataro he was certain he could keep the group out of areas where their enemies could corner them.

He hoped no Captains decided to get involved.

(He needed to keep an eye out. Needed to keep track of Kurotsuchi at all times.)

(He refused to allow Ishida to run into that monster.)

Kaito braced himself, gave the group one last look, then dart out of the alley and into the main thoroughfare. The others followed at his heels, piling out into the open and looking around with wary gazes.

A group of nearby Shinigami stared at them in shock, frozen in position as they tried to process. Kaito smirked and waved cheekily at them, amused at the way comprehension and apprehension bloomed across several of the Shinigami's expressions. Clearly he'd made an impression on some of them.

"That's—" one of the Shinigami began, taking a step back and grabbing at his sword hilt. "The ryoka! The ryoka have shown themselves! Get them!"

"Mou, how unfriendly!" Kaito pouted. "Can't stop to chat, though, sorry Shinigami-san!" With a sharp gesture to the rest of the group, Kaito turned and ran in the opposite direction.

Shouts of alarm echoed behind him.

(Good. Now to keep that attention.)

"This is your grand plan?" Ishida grumbled at his side. "Run around like headless chickens?"

"Hardly," Kaito said with a sniff, scanning the street ahead of them. He turned at the next large intersection and grinned at the feel of familiar reiatsu. Minami would play along with his antics. "How do you feel about a little friendly vandalism?"

"I don't think such a thing exists, senpai," Ishida responded.

Kaito laughed and bounded ahead, hopping onto the rim of a nearby fountain. "Well, it does now!" he told Ishida cheerfully, digging through his bag of supplies and coming up with a bottle of food dye. He tipped it out into the water and watched the swirls of deep purple spread. "What do you say, Inoue-san? Isn't Seireitei a bit… colorless?"

She giggled at his antics, eyes bright with amusement and wariness fading. He doubted she had any intention of forgetting her suspicions but her happiness made him grin brighter in response.

"I think we should change that, then." He fiddled with the almost empty bottle of food dye while he waited for Minami to turn onto the street they were on. The moment the squad she was part of rounded the corner, Kaito stood and launched himself forward in a burst of shunpo.

The squad panicked. Split.

Minami darted aside, wary and suspicious—

Kaito flickered behind her. Tipped the bottle of food dye out across her hair. Laughed at her surprised shriek and flickered away.

"Wh—you!" she shouted as she lunged and swiped at him. "What did you drop on me?!" When Kaito held up the empty bottle of purple dye she snarled and lunged again, her playful gaze belying her furious tone and expression. "Get back here, you ass! Just wait until I rub that blond hair of yours in dye as well!"

"Have to catch me first," Kaito teased, keeping just out of her reach. "Which I don't believe I'll let you do." He smirked at her and flashed back to his group. "Come on, come on," he urged, motioning for them to turn and run. "Let's get out of here."

Ishida sighed in exasperation and glanced at the sky above them. "Kurosaki will understand when I tell him why I've failed."

"You—This isn't me getting into trouble!" Kaito squawked in protest, ignoring Shiro's mad cackling and Ichigo's quiet amusement. "We're not getting into trouble, we're just—"

"Getting into trouble." Ishida gave him a sharp look. "This is you, getting all of us into trouble."

"Well, maybe if you—woah!" Kaito ducked away from Minami's lunge and blinked at her in confusion. "How did you sneak up on me?"

She grinned, bright and sharp and dangerous, and said, "Wouldn't you like to know."

Kaito dodged her attempts at grappling him and darted past the rest of his group. "I'll figure it out later," he told her with a sniff. "For now, there is chaos to cause and havoc to sow and standing here isn't letting me do either of those."

"Unbelievable," Ishida muttered while Inoue threw up a golden barrier between them and Minami. "Senpai, please…"

"Well, if you had run when I suggested…"

"Or you could have not provoked her," Ganju complained.

Kaito gave his best innocent smile and gestured once more for the group to run. This time they at least listened to him, turning and bolting down the street, and Sado even scooped Hanataro up and carried him off to perpetuate the fiction.

Hanataro's startled yip should not have been quite so amusing.

"Later!" Kaito told Minami cheerfully as Inoue's shield fell, then turned to race after the others.

"Get back here!"

"Catch me if you can, Shinigami-san!" he shouted back.

Kaito retook the lead and set about leading their pursuers on a wild chase. He led them down streets and through squares, straight through any large group of Shinigami he came across. They had part of Seireitei in an uproar in no time at all, especially when Kaito led them over walls instead of sticking just to the street.

The minute a Captain took an interest in the uproar, however, Kaito hopped onto the rooftops and chivvied the group along. He didn't descend again until they were in a quieter area. "Hanataro-san, anywhere nearby we can hide?"

Hanataro pushed himself up on Sado's shoulder and looked around before squirming free and dropping to the ground. Kaito reached out to steady him and received a grateful smile. "Thank you, Kaito-san," Hanataro said. He pointed towards a spot further down the street. "We, uhm… we can hide down there?"

He moved down the street and knelt, prying up another trapdoor into the sewers. "I—I know you might—might not want to, but—"

"No, this is good. Thank you, Hanataro-san," Kaito praised him. He knelt next to Hanataro and looked down into the sewers. "We can't stay hidden for very long but we can use the sewers to get around."

Hanataro fidgeted, smiling bashfully when Kaito looked over at him again. "No one really—uhm… only the Fourth really… cares? Or knows them…"

"Sounds good. Let's relocate and cause more chaos somewhere else."

Kaito dropped into the sewer and glanced around while waiting for everyone else to descend after him. Once they were down and looking around, he switched to taking stock of his companions, looking for signs of fatigue or potential injury; a twisted ankle or cramping muscle was just as dangerous at this point as an actual wound.

(He wasn't about to let them get captured because of his carelessness.)

"Where—uhm… where would you like to go?" Hanataro asked as he closed the trapdoor and climbed down.

Kaito considered his options. With no solid plan he didn't know where best to bring them above ground again. "Not sure. How about you pick? Let's see… somewhere a distance from here and not near a barrack are my only requirements."

Hanataro looked down and scuffed a foot against the brick, forehead furrowing. "Uhm… hmm… oh! I think—I think I know where we can go." He gestured down one tunnel and glanced shyly up at Kaito. "We—we should go this way."

"Lead the way then," Kaito said.

"Uhm—I—all right!" Hanataro started down the tunnel, glancing over his shoulder every so often until everyone was walking after him.

They traveled in silence for a while, through almost identical tunnels lit only by Hanataro's dim lantern. Kaito did his best to mark their path but got turned around after the fourth or fifth intersection. His sense of direction wasn't helping either. Hanataro could lead them anywhere, even straight into the hands of a Captain, and Kaito would never know until the betrayal happened.

Except… except he trusted that Hanataro wouldn't do that to them.

(Foolish. He was being so foolish and trusting…)

Ichigo snorted. (*You're not. Hanataro wants the same thing we do. He'd never betray us.*)

"Made a new friend?" Sado asked, breaking the silence.

Kaito blinked and gave Sado a puzzled look, uncertain what the teen meant. He had made no friends he knew of, although he supposed Hanataro might count. But Sado's question didn't make much sense if he was asking about Hanataro.

Inoue and Ganju both broke into amused snickers at his confusion and Ishida fiddled with his glasses and looked away, a smile curling at the corners of his lips.

"He means that Shinigami you teased, senpai," Ishida explained at last. "We all saw how you two acted together."

"Wh—that's not—we're not friends," Kaito denied. He scowled when everyone only seemed more amused at his words. "I ran into her once before and we talked a little. That doesn't make us friends." When even that didn't quell their amusement, he growled and stalked down the tunnel, striding past Hanataro and putting space between himself and the others.

He wasn't friends with her. He didn't even know her. But she'd been an easy, familiar target who he'd already seen laughing at some of his pranks.

(He wanted to know if she'd heard of the morning's events. If she would turn on him. Suspect him. Call him a murderer.)

(Had she not learned of Aizen's death or… did she somehow trust it wasn't him?)

(*I understand where they got that impression.*) Ichigo reached out, trying to offer reassurance and sooth Kaito's prickling emotions. (*You went straight for her and both of you reacted more like friends teasing each other rather than strangers reacting.*)

Kaito leaned into Ichigo's comfort and considered his words. He had almost certainly acted too familiar with Minami; hopefully that wouldn't hurt her later. He hoped he'd read her right, and that she hadn't taken offense at his presumption. (*I don't… think that makes us friends though, does it?*)

Ichigo mulled it over. (*No,*) he decided, (*You get along well so there's potential there, but for now it's a tentative thing born of the situation.*)

He considered that as he walked, wondering at Minami's easy acceptance of him and his own reactions to her. (*Do we… actually get along? How can you tell?*) He didn't really understand Ichigo's confidence in the matter; were two brief meetings enough to judge friendship on?

(*Well, you don't hate each other. She's sharp and seems to enjoy playing along…*) Ichigo shrugged and settled back, presence calm and thoughtful in Kaito's mind. (*That's enough to start, isn't it? We didn't have much more than that, after all.*)

Kaito chewed on the inside of his lip and stared blankly into the darkness ahead. It was different than what he and Ichigo had to start but his friend was right; taken as a whole, the start was similar enough. Same with him and Hanataro if he was being honest with himself.

(*Allies and friends should never be overlooked,*) Zangetsu reminded him. (*Even the most insignificant looking bond could prove useful in the future. And the more who know you, the more who like you, the more who will be up in arms if you disappear.*)

(*I'll… think about it,*) Kaito tentatively agreed, listening to the laughter behind him peter out.

Inoue caught up with him seconds later, a shy look on her face as she glanced up at him. "Sorry, Kaito-san," she murmured. "We shouldn't have laughed at you like that."

Kaito grimaced and looked away, uncertain how to react to the unexpected apology. "It's fine," he settled on, tone gruffer than he liked, "but I wasn't lying when I said we're not friends. If you insist on linking us together, then we're temporary allies at best. I know next to nothing about her and same for her about me."

"Still, I'm glad there are Shinigami willing to help you, Kaito-san."

"They shouldn't," he grumbled, tucking his hands away in his sleeves and trying to ignore Hanataro's presence behind him. He worried for Hanataro's fate more than Minami's or Takara's but there was little he could do about it until the invasion was over. "It's dangerous for them, especially unseated Shinigami like her. Seireitei doesn't take kindly to divided loyalties."

"Because of your—" Inoue paused, twisting her fingers together with a thoughtful frown on her face. "No," she continued slowly, "you said divided loyalties. So… so it's not just who your father is, is it?"

"It isn't," Kaito agreed, "my heritage makes it worse but… it isn't the source, no."

She fell silent at his side as they walked, brows creased together and teeth worrying at her lower lip. Kaito wasn't certain what conclusion she would form but he hoped it would discourage her from insisting he form friendships with Shinigami. Minami and Takara weren't bad sorts but it would be better if they avoided painting a target on their backs by consorting with him.

(It was too late for Hanataro, even with the kidnapping lie.)

(If everything went wrong, he'd need to kidnap Hanataro for real and hope the other forgave him eventually.)

Ichigo grumbled in discontent, but Kaito refused to acknowledge him. Ichigo made friends as easily as breathing and had the charisma to keep Seireitei from turning on him. Kaito did not, on top of having the stigma of being Urahara Kisuke's son hanging over his head.

(*That at least will go away soon enough,*) Ichigo reminded him. (*Aizen's reveal blew that old lie out of the water and Hat'n'Clogs was pardoned soon after.*)

(*They still spent a hundred years believing it. And he's still a dangerous man who remains a rogue element. No. I doubt that stigma will go away any time soon.*)

Ichigo snorted but subsided, disagreeing with him but unwilling to continue the argument.

That made Kaito pause and reconsider. Ichigo knew more about how the Shinigami reacted in the space between the two invasions than he did. He'd been to preoccupied with his loss of power to pay attention to much of anything. But he still couldn't believe that the Shinigami would forgive his father so easily. On paper perhaps, but where it mattered?

He doubted it.

Inoue snagged his arm in a gentle grip, startling him from his thoughts. His confused look earned him an apologetic smile and a nod towards the intersection he'd almost walked through without notice. "Unless you know the way, Kaito-san?"

"Ah… no." He gave her a sheepish smile and turned to look at Hanataro. "Hanataro-san? Which way?"

"That way," he answered with a gestured down the smaller side tunnel. "Then—then a left at the next, uhm… intersection. We, uhm… we want the second ladder past that."

Kaito committed the simple directions to memory — right, left, second ladder — and resolved to pay attention to his surroundings. He hoped they ended up somewhere interesting; they needed to be able to cause chaos without being overtly threatening and getting a Captain involved. But they still needed to make enough trouble to keep attention on them and their actions. To keep them in the open and in the public eye.

Creative vandalism…

Yeah. That was probably just the thing.

The ladder let them out into another deserted nook with few Shinigami around, which was a relief. But it still left Kaito uncertain of their location; Seireitei was a bit too maze-like and identical for him to say anything about where they were with confidence. Just that there weren't any Captains nearby and that there was probably a division not too far away.

He hopped onto a nearby roof to scan the area and get a feel for the layout of the nearby streets. The others followed him up and drifted across the roof, looking around in curiosity. Disbelief and exasperation bled into their signatures as the took in how Seireitei was structured; it wasn't precisely a maze but the layout wasn't a grid either. And the number of intersections, squares, and dead ends didn't really make logical sense either.

Add in how unbelievably large Seireitei was and how similar all the streets looked and it was no wonder Takara had decided to ask if he could fetch their weapons right then instead of running and returning later.

"No wonder Shinigami are so useless," Ganju complained as he eyed the streets below them with a scowl. "How can they actually get anywhere?"

Kaito laughed and flashed a smile at Ganju. "Why do you think I keep taking the rooftops?"

"Th-there are— uhm… it's not… that hard?" Hanataro cringed back when everyone turned to look at him, head down and gaze fixed on the roof. "U-uhm… main streets are—are easy. A-and—uhm… there's a… pattern? I guess? To the rest? You l-learn after a while…"

"Oh, like a super secret code!" Inoue grinned and moved closer to Hanataro, standing on her tiptoes to try and get a better view of the streets around them. "Is every area different? I bet every area is different! Can you tell which division you're near by the way the pattern works? Oh, I bet there's so many cool little hidden areas that no one ever visits!"

Hanataro blinked at Inoue's rambling words, his body beginning to relax and a tiny smile creeping across his expression the longer she spoke.

Kaito listened to Hanataro's answers with half an ear, still scanning the area and trying to place where they were. He was almost certain they were near the Ninth Division, which made Ichigo perk up with interest.

(*Ichigo?*)

(*Ninth Division publishes a magazine,*) Ichigo cheerfully informed him. (*Maybe we can find the presses and get something fun printed to scatter around?*)

Kaito hummed and considered it. He'd never dealt with printing presses or publishing before and didn't know how difficult that was. But a press would have supplies like paper and ink that they could use for mischief either way. A press needed plenty of ink, after all, and the magazine was a color one if he remembered correctly. Which meant large quantities of colored ink they could steal and use.

"Hey, Hanataro," Kaito began, "do you know where they print that magazine I've seen around?"

"Uhm… I— well… yes? Wh-what do you..?"

"I don't want to destroy them," Kaito reassured Hanataro with a small smile. "I just want to get at the supplies so we can cause some mischief around Seireitei."

Hanataro winced and licked his lips. "Mischief..?" he whispered, tone resigned.

"Hanataro-san..?" Kaito stepped closer, concerned by what he heard in Hanataro's voice.

"It's noth—" Hanataro glanced up and cut himself off, flinching at whatever he read in Kaito's expression. He hunched his shoulders up and took a small step back, looking back down at the roof. "Printer ink stains are… hard to remove…"

(*Uh… whoops. The Fourth also clean Seireitei, I think…*) Ichigo sheepishly said. (*So…*)

(*So we just asked someone tasked with keeping this place tidy with how to make it a mess. A mess he and his fellows are going to have to clean up.*) Kaito wondered how much of what he'd done had already created problems for the Fourth without his knowledge. Had he inadvertently made their lives harder? Had he done what he'd never meant to and caused trouble for the healers beyond the minor injuries he knew had occurred?

He blew out a breath and reached up to fidget with the brim of his hat, considering his next actions. Getting into the supplies for the magazine had been a good idea, but he didn't want to cause more work for the Fourth when it was all over.

"I know!" Inoue clapped her hands in excitement and grinned at Kaito. "We could make banners and posters! You wanted to use the printer ink to paint with, right? So how about painting the printer paper and hanging it up?" Her grin softened as she nudged Hanataro with a shoulder. "Then clean up will be easy, right? Just pulling down all the paper and getting rid of it."

Hanataro nodded slowly, eyes wide and a small smile creeping in again. "Y-yes. That would— cleaning that— yes." He turned a hopeful look on Kaito and asked, "Could you..?"

"Of course," Kaito responded, glad that there was a solution that could make both of them happy. "We could raid the supplies and make stashes, maybe?" he mused. "Alternate where we are and the size of pieces. Hang a few in public spots and keep moving? Uhm… hmm…"

"Less bulk to carry," Sado pointed out. "Once we make stashes, we can keep everything in place and just move ourselves and finished pieces around."

"Sounds like a better plan than trying to carry everything with us." Ishida gave Kaito's second bag of supplies a pointed look, then turned to Hanataro. "So I take it we're going to use the sewers to stash the supplies?"

"It would be safe there," Hanataro murmured in agreement.

The plan sounded good to Kaito. Safer than his own version of it, too, and probably with much less hassle. Without knowing what the printing supplies looked like, he couldn't say for certain how viable his own plan had been. This would work with almost anything they found and had the benefit of keeping them mobile.

(The teens worked so well together.)

(They were incredible.)

Zangetsu radiated a quiet happiness and Ichigo felt so proud. Even Shiro seemed pleased with what was happening in front of them. It was enough to make Kaito warm, his own pride at the teens' advancement compounding Ichigo's until he had to turn and step away before the teens noticed anything amiss. He breathed out and stretched his senses to the limit, searching out the Captains and anyone of interest.

The Ninth's Captain didn't seem to be in residence, though a significant portion of the division did appear to be in their barracks. Kaito hoped they weren't close to any of the supplies; he'd rather avoid fighting the rank and file at this point, especially in enclosed spaces. He didn't know how well he could continue to temper his actions in combat, how well he could keep from injuring someone by accident. The rank and file didn't have the experience or the power to safely stand up to him if he slipped.

(He didn't want to kill. Not any more.)

(Just Aizen. Just Aizen and then no more…)

Kaito gave himself a mental shake and listened to what his senses were telling him. They were safe for now, he decided. The Captains seemed busy elsewhere with their own tasks, many somewhere near their own Divisions or with another Captain—

Except Kurotsuchi.

Kurotsuchi with his reiatsu honed sharp and his advancement deliberate.

(Hunting. Kurotsuchi was hunting.)

(Damnit.)

He grit his teeth and scanned the area again. They needed to move. Needed to shake Kurotsuchi's focus—

"Is something wrong, senpai?" Ishida asked in concern. He frowned and exchanged looks with Sado and Inoue when Kaito shook his head, stepping closer so he stood at Kaito's shoulder. "We're here to help," he said bluntly, giving Kaito a stern look. "But we can't help if you won't let us, senpai. You don't have to shoulder everything yourself."

"It's nothing you can do anything about," Kaito snapped without meaning to. He clenched his jaw to bite back any further words and took a breath.

(Kurotsuchi was hunting and there was nothing any of them could do about it.)

(Unless he—)

(No. No killing. They couldn't afford the reputation.)

Ishida's eyes narrowed and he scanned the area around them, reiatsu turning calculating. "Then tell us what or who we need to avoid, so we can do that instead."

"Captains. All of them."

Frustration bled into Ishida's reiatsu at the non-answer.

Kaito didn't give him a chance to speak again. "Hanataro-san, do you know where the supplies are kept?"

"Y-yes," Hanataro squeaked, then cleared his throat and pointed slightly past the barracks. "Th-that way. It's a giant building, y-you can't miss it."

"Right. Let's get moving then." Kaito didn't bother with trying to follow the streets. He couldn't see a clear path towards where Hanataro was pointing and didn't want to bother with trying when speed mattered at the moment.

They made good time across the rooftops to the building that Hanataro had indicated, avoiding a handful of patrols that never looked up and skipping over a handful of Shinigami going about their daily business. There weren't even any Shinigami around or inside the warehouse when they arrived.

Maybe their luck was beginning to improve?

(Oh, he hoped so. They could use the fortune.)

Prying open one of the doors and slipping inside was easy, but what they found within…

"This place is worse than our storehouse," Ganju blurted out, staring around at the overflowing shelves and haphazard stacks of boxes. Narrow aisles ran between everything, barely wide enough for two people to stand shoulder to shoulder. "What the hell is even kept in here?"

Hanataro laughed softly and moved deeper into the warehouse. "Uhm— inks and paints and printer parts…" he paused and pursed his lips, looking around like he was trying to orient himself, "and most o-of the Ninth's other supplies, u-unfortunately."

"I found the paper!" Inoue announced from deeper in the warehouse. "These rolls are /huge/! Come look, come look!"

Kaito moved down the aisle towards Inoue's voice and blinked in shock at the sight that met his eyes. Giant towers of brown-wrapped cylinders loomed over them, stretching towards the distant ceiling. How the towers remained standing he didn't know, but standing this close made him… uneasy. One wrong move and the whole thing could topple over and set off a chain of destruction inside the cramped warehouse.

The individual rolls were nearly half his height and looked thick enough that he'd need three of himself in order to encircle it with his arms. Kaito had no idea how they were going to do anything with these; he'd never expected printing paper to look like this instead of stacks of precut sheets.

(He'd never actually given it any thought at all, if he had to be honest.)

"How are we going to do anything with this?" Ishida asked, unknowingly echoing Kaito's own thoughts.

Inoue giggled at their expressions and darted over to Sado's side, taking his hand in hers and tugging him gently towards one of the smaller stacks that only had two rolls on it. "Let's get this one down and open it up!" She pulled Kaito and Ishida over as well then stepped back and pursed her lips. "No… no there should be something around? Hmm… Shinigami seem to do everything by hand— ah ha!"

She darted off and returned with a tangle of rope in her arms that she dropped at their feet and started to sort out. "I think we need to toss this over the roll? Maybe like— hmm, Kaito-san, could you—" she lifted a portion of the rope harness up and gestured towards the roll.

He took the confusing tangle in his hand and obligingly stepped into the air to drop the mess over the roll that she'd chosen. Inoue stepped up and fidgeted with the ropes, untangling parts of it and dropping other bits down the center. The more she sorted out the more sense it made to him and he moved in to help.

It didn't take too long for the two of them to have the roll strapped into the odd harness, and once they had a way to actually hold it the roll was easy enough to move. He and Sado and Ishida lifted the heavy thing and dragged it through the air to a clear space where they could set it down.

"We're definitely not taking that down into the sewers," Ishida stated, rubbing at his fingers and eyeing the roll warily. "Even if we could get it to fit through the trapdoors. Ow."

"That's why we take pieces with us instead!" Inoue grinned and tugged at the harness until it fell away from the roll, then found the edge of the brown paper covering it and starting to rip it open. "We can just unroll some and then make little paper rolls of our own!"

Kaito accepted the torn paper cover from Inoue and began to fold it up into a tidy bundle. "Okay. So… let's split up a bit to get this done faster. We need to find colors to use and something to paint with, along with making some rolls of paper to use." He glanced towards Hanataro with a smile, then back to the others, "And let's try not to make too much of a mess in the process."

Ganju scanned the shelves all around them and snorted. "We can't really do much worse to this place, but sure." He turned and wandered deeper into the shelves, scanning the contents with a sharp eye and reaching out to poke at things here and there.

"Do try not to get into any more trouble, senpai," Ishida said as he chose a different aisle to check and wandered off.

"I'm not going to get in trouble in the middle of a warehouse where there are no Shinigami present!" Kaito called after Ishida with a huff, eyes narrowing at the muffled and entirely too sarcastic 'sure, senpai' that he got in response. "Anyone else feel like commenting?" he asked, trying for offended and failing if Inoue's muffled giggles and Sado's amused expression were anything to go on. "Alright, enough. Inoue-san, I'll help you get the paper sorted out. Hanataro-san, Sado-san—"

"I'll uhm… I want to, uhm… to help you. With the paper," Hanataro broke in, smiling when Kaito made an agreeable noise. "Th-thank you."

Sado walked past them towards a different area of the warehouse than Ganju and Ishida were checking. "I'll look for supplies, then."

With that, the three of them returned to the giant roll of paper and began the process of unrolling and cutting segments of it off to be rerolled into more manageable forms. It was almost fun, working with Inoue and Hanataro to wrangle the giant strips of thin, glossy paper.

(It was certainly nothing he'd ever thought he would be doing.)

Kaito kept his senses on alert for any approaching Shinigami. He didn't want them to be surprised by anything, but otherwise…

Otherwise, everything seemed to be going right for once.

Inoue's plan worked better than Kaito expected.

They had to change things up a bit to account for the way the printer ink didn't want to dry, but that wasn't the end of the world. Carrying around small cans of ink, rags, paper tubes, and roller brushes wasn't difficult and let them stay on the move.

And it was fun. Dragging bright colors across the glossy paper and making something so harmless was fun. The reactions they kept getting from the Shinigami just made everything better, especially when they let Inoue decide what design to make.

Even the constant avoidance of Kurotsuchi couldn't put that much of a damper on his good mood. The monster didn't seem to be trying too hard to reach them, just continued to stalk the edges of Kaito's normal sensing range. Occasionally he slipped closer, dampening his output and approaching until Kaito noticed, then let them widen the gap again.

(It wore on his patience. Wore on his sense of safety. His heart settled in his throat every time Kurotsuchi moved closer without him being aware.)

(He wished he could do something about the man…)

Kaito didn't want to think about what information Kurotsuchi might be gathering on them but it was better than straight up confrontation at this stage.

"We need to get moving again," Kaito spoke up as Sado and Ganju finished hanging their latest piece across an intersection. It was a confusing one, all swirls and splatters and abstract shapes in every color they had available and could mix quickly. He hoped the Shinigami got a headache looking at it.

"Alright!" Inoue began to clean and close the little cans of ink they were carrying around. "Where should we go next?"

"West, I think." Kaito glanced up at the sky in relief; the sun was starting to set and the day was almost over. And beyond Aizen's ploy and Kurotsuchi's stalking there hadn't been anything dangerous or troubling.

If he just kept them moving for the last few hours. Kept them out of Kurotsuchi's reach. Kept them away from the Captains in general…

They could do it.

Where they would go to ground for the night was another issue. Perhaps a warehouse or somewhere in the sewers would work for them, with Ishida and himself trading sentry duty. Ishida was proficient at sensing and would be able to alert them if anyone approached.

(*Maybe you can get some real sleep, too,*) Ichigo said hopefully.

Kaito grimaced. (*I doubt it, but maybe.*) He trusted his past self, he did, but he'd had trouble sleeping while Yoruichi watched over his rest. The idea that he'd be more comfortable sleeping around the teens was ludicrous.

(He didn't know how much he trusted himself to sleep around the teens, either.)

"We're ready, senpai," Ishida announced.

He pulled himself from his thoughts and scanned the area for anything important left behind. Everyone seemed to have everything in hand and were only waiting on him to lead them away, though. "Good. We'll keep mostly to the streets this time, so I'm not certain where we'll end up." When they all acknowledged his words, Kaito took off, leading them away from Kurotsuchi and tracking him as they moved.

The monster was hunting them. He knew Kurotsuchi was hunting them. The monster's pace didn't change but he did change directions, honing in on their new trajectory and continuing to advance. He was closer than ever before, reiatsu a low, steady hum that grated on Kaito's senses.

(How had he gotten so close? What was he playing at?)

Kaito ran, attention fixed on Kurotsuchi instead of where they were going. He needed to get them away from Kurotsuchi. Needed to widen the gap once more. He was so sick of needing to flee—

"Senpai!" Ishida shouted, startling Kaito from his fixation on Kurotsuchi.

He snapped his attention to Ishida and then forward, following Ishida's wide-eyed stare to the Captain who stood just down the street. To the Captain he had overlooked in his rush to be anywhere away from Kurotsuchi.

(He'd paid too much attention to one monster and overlooked another.)

Kaito stumbled to a halt and took a defensive stance, hand rising to grip the hilt of Ichigo's blade.

(It was only Kyōraku.)

(Only.)

"Well, this certainly wasn't what I expected," Kyōraku mused as he examined the group then focused on Kaito. "Sorry, if I'd known we would meet like this, I'd have set out some saki so we could sit and discuss things like civilized people."

"I wouldn't have accepted," Kaito told him coldly, glossing over how he wasn't old enough to drink, "and neither would they."

"Ah, well. Surely we can still talk— no?" Kyōraku sighed and straightened from his slouch when Kaito drew his blade. "I had hoped for a peaceful discussion."

Kaito glared at Kyōraku and settled into his stance. "A peaceful discussion about what? Turning ourselves in and allowing this mockery of 'justice' to prevail? No. If you wanted to avoid a fight you should have avoided us."

Except Kyōraku couldn't have and they both knew it. Not with the trail of reiatsu the teens were leaving in their wake, revealing their presence to anyone sensitive enough. Even if Kyōraku wanted them to win, he had his own part to play in this charade to keep suspicion off of himself until the last minute.

(Damn his distraction! He could have avoided this if only he hadn't been so fixated!)

Kyōraku's lips pinched together and his hand settled on the hilt of his zanpakutou. "I suppose I shouldn't have expected otherwise." He drew his blades and took a relaxed stance across from Kaito. "Very well, Kaito-kun. If we must—"

"You're not fighting him," Sado announced, armor rippling into existence as he stalked forward.

"Leave it!" Kaito ordered with a scowl. "You can't best him."

"And you can?"

"My odds are better than yours against a Captain like him." Kaito spared a glance to Kyōraku and grimaced at the amusement on the man's face. At least he wasn't attacking while they were arguing, but that was a cold comfort.

"What about your promise to run?" Inoue murmured in worry. "You said if we ran into a Captain that you would run too!"

"Or," Ishida cut in with exasperation, "we could all just fight as a team like you insisted we learn."

"Running only works if you're faster or someone stays behind," he told Inoue before shooting Ishida a dark look, "and you know why fighting together isn't—ah!"

Sado moved closer. Set a hand on Kaito's shoulder and shoved.

Kaito stumbled to the side, limbs tangling and sword unbalancing him further. His shoulder collided with Ishida's chest and for a moment he feared they'd both fall—

But Ishida grabbed him in a bruising grip. Steadied both of them. Didn't let go.

"Get him out of here," Sado ordered, planting himself between Kyōraku and the group.

Ganju grinned wildly and cracked his knuckles, stalking forward to stand next to Sado. "Go on, get. We'll keep him busy while you lot run."

"You two don't—Ishida, let me go! This isn't—let me go!" Kaito snarled. Fought against Ishida's grip. Clawed at Ishida's hand with his free one. Twisted and shoved and struggled—

(He couldn't— no, no he didn't want— this wasn't—)

"I'm sorry, senpai," Ishida murmured. He tugged Kaito closer. Trapped Kaito's sword-arm between them and wrapped his arms tight—

(Like a vice. A trap. He was trapped-helpless-useless-worthless—)

Ganju laughed, bright and manic. Slammed a palm into the street. Sent Kyōraku darting away from the sudden sinkhole.

Power gathered in Ishida's grip—

Sado met Kyōraku head on.

A platform formed—

Kyōraku's blade rang against Sado's armor.

Kaito tried to lunge. Tried to escape. Couldn't—

Ishida ripped them away in a flurry of hirenkyaku.

Kaito screamed.