Yup. I'm back. This week was stressful:/. Oh well, I have a bit of a reprieve this week, so hopefully I can write quicker. Anyway, nothing much on the plot front, but this will be the last chapter before we get to a pretty important life point for Rukia *hint hint.

Just something random though. I wonder if Ichigo's character is actually capable of doing anything cheesy for/towards Rukia...

Thank you all once again for your likes/alerts and reviews. I take note of all your suggestions, but just remember, I can't make everyone happy.

Disclaimer: Bleach isn't mine.

Chapter 25: All Together Now

"So what division are you planning on joining, Hinamori?" Renji asked Momo as the three of them waited with the crowd of graduates, all clad in their newly acquired shihakusho and ready to finally exit the Academy for what would probably be the last time for all of them.

At once, the blank look on Momo's face disappeared and she brightened up. "I'm going to join Aizen-taichou's division!" she said eagerly.

Not entirely surprised, Renji continued, "Really? Just like that? Have you tried considering other divisions?"

Once again, Momo answered almost immediately. "Of course, but I decided that Aizen-taichou's squad was the best choice. How about you, Abarai-kun?"

"I-" Renji paused. Come to think of it, he hadn't spent much thought about which division he was going to join. He had spent most of his time alternating between worrying about whether he would be the mastermind of his own death or whether he could even pass the final exam. After all the tests, the subsequent relief, then elation, had pushed all thoughts about his future out of his mind. In fact, he hadn't even remembered it when he asked Hinamori that question.

"I have no idea," he said truthfully. "How about you, Izuru?" he then asked, diverting the spotlight from himself.

"I'm a little uncertain myself," Izuru, who had obviously given it some thought. "I feel like joining the 4th division because I want to learn healing; however, I don't feel like staying there for the rest of my career."

"Why don't the both of you join the fifth division as well?" Momo suggested. The two young-looking men looked at each other, both thinking the same thing – that wasn't such a bad idea.

"I don't know, Hinamori-chan… I wanted to see which squad Ichigo was in before making a decision," Izuru said uncertainly. "I mean, Aizen-taichou is nice, but I'm a little hesitant to make a decision now."

"You have a point," Momo said. "But I've already made my decision. I hope to serve under Aizen-taichou. Who knows, I could even become his fuku-taichou in future!"

"That'll take quite a while, you know. Ichimaru-fukutaichou is currently in that position, and I don't think you can usurp a fuku-taichou's position that easily," Renji pointed out.

"Not true," Izuru said. "Ichimaru-fukutaichou is slated to become a taichou soon – Gengoro mentioned that in our first year, don't you remember?"

"Obviously not. Why are you bothering with information that was told to us six years ago?" Renji asked, looking at Izuru as if he'd lost his mind.

"That depends. Do you remember when you got your first tattoo?" Izuru returned.

"In our first year. Why, you want one?" Renji asked blankly.

" Obviously not. Why would I bother with something that happened six years ago?" Izuru said sardonically.

Renji scowled. "Oh sure. Laugh at the friend, won't you, my dear 'one of the top performers' friend?"

Izuru laughed and clapped Renji on the back. "Come on, you're not still sulking about that are you? Who was the one who said he didn't care if he failed Kido? Besides, results count for nothing. What's the point of getting high grades if I don't make a name for myself in future?"

"So you're shooting for a fuku-taichou position as well, I see," Renji replied.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Well, one thing's for sure though," Renji said. "If any squad concentrates more on Kido, you definitely won't find me there."

"Well, it's not like they'll accept you in the first place," Izuru pointed out.

"Of course they'll accept me; I'm not going to accept though," Renji said shamelessly as he used his height to scan over the top of the crowd of newly-graduated shinigami. "Where's that stupid guide? I want to be out of this place already!"

"I'm sure they're on their way already…" Momo offered, and right on cue, a shinigami suddenly appeared in front of the crowd. He stood silently in place even as the crowd before him talked amongst themselves, no one paying any attention to him. However, the large smirk on his face and his casual posture suggested he didn't really mind.

One by one, the crowd began to notice someone standing before them, and the noise began to fade rapidly. The three who were standing near the back were one of the last few to notice that their guide had arrived. In fact, it was Momo who noticed him first, and when she got a good look at him, she realized-

"Wait, isn't that Kurosaki-kun?" Momo suddenly whispered to her friends, since the crowd was now silent. Surprised, they turned to look at their guide, and all three of them stared at him in shock for a moment, or more specifically, to stare at the armband he had on his left arm.

"That bastard! He's already a fuku-taichou? How in the world did he pull that off?" Renji whispered back in shock.

"Don't be daft, Renji, Hinamori-chan. That's not Ichigo. For one, this guy's hair is black!" Izuru joined in.

"But he looks so much like Kurosaki-kun…" Momo pointed out.

"So? His hair is black. Does Ichigo look like someone who'll change his hair color? Besides, this guy is smiling. When was the last time we saw Ichigo do that, huh? Ok, that was because of Kuchiki-chan so that's not really a good example, but my point is, that's not Ichigo. Fine, they look similar, but that can't be him. Where's his Zanpakuto anyway?" Sure enough, the shinigami's Zanpakuto was strapped on his waist instead of across the back like Ichigo's was.

"Greetings, new graduates," the shinigami said once he was sure everyone was listening. "I am the fuku-taichou of the thirteenth division, Shiba Kaien." Renji ignored the nudge from Izuru that meant 'I told you so'. "I shall be your awesome guide for this tour around Seireitei, after which you'll be given two days to make your decision on which division to join, but I'm quite sure you were told that already."

"Shiba…" Izuru said, recognizing the name, much like a few of the other shinigami.

"Why? Is there something wrong with that name?" Renji asked.

"No, no. Shiba is one of the more well known noble houses. I think they're one of the four great noble houses, but no one really knows since they usually keep to themselves."

"So why does he look so much like Kurosaki-kun?" Momo asked in confusion.

"Well, he definitely doesn't sound like Ichigo," Izuru said.

"Any questions? No? Good! Let's get this tour started, shall we? Don't fall behind or wonder off or I'll kick your ass, send you to the fourth division for healing and then kick your ass again."

"I'm quite sure that sounds a lot like Ichigo," Renji replied back.

Unbeknownst to the three who were still waiting to be released from the academy, their two friends were currently standing a distance away while keeping the Academy's gates in view, waiting for the new graduates to emerge. They had been waiting for quite awhile with nothing interesting happening, so it was to their surprise when they suddenly spotted a figure entering the Academy. It looked like-

"Huh? What's Kaien-dono doing there?" Rukia asked in surprise when she saw her superior entering the Academy.

"Hmm, considering the fact that it's usually a fuku-taichou that does the tour, I'd say he's responsible for it," Ichigo said thoughtfully.

"But why didn't he tell me?" Rukia asked indignantly.

"Why does he have to tell you?" Ichigo shot back.

"Because he knows we have friends that are still in the academy and that they're supposed to graduate this year."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Really? Last I checked, you made no effort to ask every time I asked you to ask either Kaien-dono or Ukitake-taichou."

"I had my reasons…" Rukia protested, her face slightly red. Unknown to Ichigo, her persistence and eventual chastising at the hands of Kaien when she asked about Ichigo all those years back was still fresh in her mind.

Ichigo shook his head slightly. "Well, it doesn't matter either way. Let's just wait for him to come out." However, Kaien-dono didn't strike Ichigo as being the type to forget things easily, so he was pretty sure that the lieutenant knew that they had friends graduating this year.

They waited for a few more minutes before the Academy gates opened yet again and a group of shinigami, obviously the new graduates, walked out of the Academy in a semi-orderly fashion. Kaien obviously didn't bother about them being in line so as long as they didn't run off.

"I wonder if they actually return back here after the tour…" Ichigo said to himself, although it was loud enough for Rukia to hear.

"What do you mean? Shouldn't you know?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo just shrugged. "I was called away, remember?"

"Oh yeah…" Rukia said. "In that case, let's follow them. We could always pull them away once the tour is finished." Ichigo immediately agreed to that and the two of them followed behind the group of new shinigami.

"And over here we have the fourth division headquarters, and if you guys had been paying attention, you'd notice that its building is the largest out of all the other divisions we've seen so far. This is because it not only houses the fourth division, it is also the medical centre for the entire Seireitei…"

While their two friends followed at a distance, the three new graduates were diligently following Kaien as he gave the tour, although one of them was already bored.

"Man, this is getting boring," Renji complained, although he was tactful enough to say it softly. "I remember passing by that tattoo shop where I got my tattoo, and I'd rather get it now instead of going on this tour in case I forget."

"Well, judging by how concerned you seemed about your tattoo, I highly doubt you'll forget it that quickly," Izuru said dryly. "I for one think that this tour is very important. You never know when we might need to go to some of these places. You don't hear Hinamori-chan complaining as well."

Sure enough, Momo was silent despite the complaints from Renji. However, that didn't mean she was actually listening. Instead, she was looking left and right, as though looking for something.

"Where're Kurosaki-kun and Rukia-chan?" she asked, unaware that said friends were following them. "I thought they would be coming to find us?"

"Meh, they've probably forgotten about us," Renji said immediately.

"Don't be so cynical," Izuru said. "They could be waiting for us till after we finish the tour… Or perhaps they've forgotten what day it was."

"Oh well, even if they've forgotten, we could always go look for them," Momo suggested.

"But how do we do that? Which squad do we go to?" Renji asked.

"Simple. We could always ask Shiba-fukutaichou later." Izuru said. "I think he might know which division he's in. And didn't he say he was the fuku-taichou of the thirteenth division? Didn't Kuchiki-chan say she was in the thirteenth division as well back in our first year? That means that Shiba-fukutaichou is Rukia's superior."

Renji looked at Izuru with some slight disbelief. "How do you remember things that happen five years ago?"

"I listen, that's why, and I pay attention to things," Izuru replied a little smugly.

"And you still manage to fail last year," Renji shot back.

"… So you still see fit to remind me of that, I see," Izuru said.

"Of course," Renji smirked.

"In that case, how about I remind you about your Kido test?" Izuru retorted.

Renji scowled and was about to argue but Kaien's voice suddenly boomed out, "Oi! You three! What are you doing?"

Surprised, the three of them whipped around to find that they were the only ones standing there; the rest had already walked off. Embarrassed, they immediately hurried to rejoin the group.

After completing the tour, Kaien brought the entire group of graduated shinigami to their temporary living quarters, where they would be staying for a few days until they knew their division.

"So are there any questions?" Kaien asked with a grin. "No? If not, you guys are free for the rest of the day, but don't go off making any trouble. If you do, you will be punished once you get posted to your division. The last person who got in trouble three years ago is still cleaning out the sewers," he added, his grin turning nasty, such that no one knew if he was kidding or not.

Just as he turned to leave, Momo ran up to him, followed closely by Renji and Izuru. "Uh, excuse me, Shiba-fukutaichou?"

"Yes, what's the matter?" Kaien asked, looking at the three of them. "You're wondering where Rukia and Ichigo are, aren't you?"

All three of them widened their eyes simultaneously. "How did you-"

Kaien laughed. "You guys weren't exactly talking very softly back there, you know."

"So you know what division Ichigo is in?" Renji continued unabashedly.

"Sure. I could tell you, but I think he'd rather do that himself," Kaien replied. Seeing the confused looks they were giving him, he continued. "They're right over there, you know," he said, pointing somewhere to his left. Surprised, all three of them turned to look in the direction he was pointing, but when they saw nobody, they all reached out to sense for their friends' reiatsu.

However, they couldn't detect any familiar reiatsu anywhere in the direction Kaien was pointing at. Well, they would've, but Ichigo and Rukia had moved the moment they saw Kaien point in their direction, and they flashed-stepped behind their unsuspecting friends before lunging at them.

Ichigo charged at Renji and aimed a punch at his lower back, not bothering to hold back on his strength, while Rukia crept up behind Momo and screamed into her ear. Izuru, who was standing in between Renji and Momo, jumped violently when the person on his right suddenly gave a loud "OUCH!", leaping into the air and the person on his left gave a shriek of surprise. The combined magnitude of the sound was enough to leave his ears ringing, as all three of them whirled round to confront the culprits who had scared them.

Standing in front of them were Ichigo and Rukia, both standing there, arms folded and identical smirks on their faces. "I see you're still just as inattentive even after becoming a shinigami, Renji," Ichigo said smugly.

"… Shut up," Renji said irritably. "I was distracted when Shiba-fukutaichou pointed us in the wrong direction. We thought you two were really hiding where he pointed, or else we would've sensed you coming from afar."

"Oh, we were hiding there," Rukia clarified. "We moved the moment we saw Kaien-dono pointing at us, because we wanted to surprise you guys and didn't want you finding us." Immediately after that, she turned to her superior, who was standing nearby and watching the spectacle. "How did you know we were there?"

"I sensed the two of you, of course," Kaien replied with a grin. "You two weren't exactly subtle, you know. I knew you guys were there back at the Academy."

Confused, Ichigo asked, "But how? We made sure to suppress our reiatsu in case any of them were looking out for it."

"It's not that hard once you know what to look out for," Kaien boasted. "I knew you two would probably want to look for your friends so I was keeping a look out for you both."

"We almost mistook you for Kurosaki-kun, Shiba-fukutaichou," Momo admitted.

"Eh, enough with calling me 'Shiba'. You three are Rukia's and Ichigo's friends; you can call me Kaien-fukutaichou. Well, we do look similar," Kaien said. "You're not the first ones to mistake the both of us despite our hair color. Rukia here still occasionally called me 'Ichigo' even after being in my division for a month a few years back," he said, his grin widening. "I think she was still pining for him."

"What? That's not true!" Rukia blurted out, her face immediately turning red when everyone turned to look at her. "I never did that, Kaien-dono!"

Kaien just laughed. "Sure you didn't. Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I really must be going. Miyako's out on a mission, so I can't leave my two fourth seats alone with Ukitake-taichou or they'll bring down the entire division. Besides, I'd rather not stand in the way of your reunion. You can take the rest of the day off, Rukia. Ichigo, I know you're not my division but you can come look for me if your Captain gives you any trouble. Besides, if he really needed your help, he'd send a Jigokucho anyway." With that, he turned around and flash-stepped away.

Once Kaien left, the five of them turned to stare at one another, none of them knowing what to do or say next. Eventually, it was Rukia that took the initiative and restarted the conversation. "It's great to finally see all you guys again," she said with a genuine smile.

"Yeah, what's it been, five and a half years?" Momo agreed. "You left so quickly we didn't even have a chance to talk for long."

"And after that, Ichigo decided he couldn't bear to be separated from you, so he left after the second year, leaving us three poor souls alone and shut up in the Academy while he ran off with you," Renji chimed in.

"Of course I did," Ichigo replied even before Renji had finished. "I couldn't leave her alone without any company."

"Don't be an idiot," Rukia said, lightly swatting Ichigo on his arm. "I told you before; I could've managed on my own."

"Oi, you two. We didn't come here to see you two get all mushy with each other," Renji droned with a bored expression. "Let's talk about more important stuff, like what you two have been up to this past four years."

"We aren't-" the two of them started to argue, but Izuru cut them off. "Yeah, how about you tell us your division, Ichigo? Renji and I still haven't made a decision yet, although Hinamori-chan already has."

"I'm joining the fifth division!" Momo said immediately without any prompt.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Did you consider the other divisions?" he asked.

"Of course I did. The fifth division is the best," she replied without hesitation.

Ichigo looked like he wanted to disagree, but Renji suddenly cut in again, "Well? We're waiting. What division and position are you? Please don't tell me you're already a third seat or something. If you are, I might as well be a lieutenant by now."

Ichigo just laughed at the irony of it while Rukia just smirked silently. "In that case, you wouldn't make a very good lieutenant. What lieutenant can be defeated by a t- one that isn't?" he said, nearly letting slip his position. "Why don't I tell you later? I don't feel like standing here any longer."

The rest all agreed, and they all began heading away, albeit with no clear destination in mind, Ichigo leading the way. Rukia fell in step with him, leaving the three to follow them.

"I'm sorry," Renji said, shaking his head vigorously. "I must be imagining things. I heard you say you were a third seat in the sixth division. My hearing must be going bad. Could you repeat that?" he said, cupping his ear and leaning in closer. They were currently seated in a food establishment that was recommended by Rukia, since she and Ichigo frequented this place together many times, having dinner and catching up with each other.

Ichigo gave a bored sigh and resisted the urge to clip his friend on his ear. "I'm the third seat of the sixth division," he said again in a monotone for what seemed like the umpteenth time. It was bad enough that Renji was reacting in disbelief to his rank and Izuru and Momo were staring at him in shock, but Rukia was also sitting beside him and sniggering, which was not helping things.

Seeing the look on his friend's face, Renji's laughter slowly died down. "Seriously?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Yes, that's what I've been trying to tell you for the past couple of hundred times." He detected a strange tone in Renji's voice the moment he'd mentioned the sixth division, but he couldn't imagine why.

"Wow, Ichigo, that's some achievement. I don't think anyone other than Ichimaru-fukutaichou was made a third seat that soon after they graduated," Izuru said in slight awe.

"Those were my sentiments exactly," Rukia offered her opinion.

"So why the sixth division anyway?" Izuru asked curiously. "I always thought you'd join the thirteenth division, since that's where Rukia's at-"

"Or even the eleventh division, since you also enjoy fighting," Renji added.

Ichigo shrugged. "I don't know. Kuchiki-taichou seemed strong all round, so I decided to join his squad."

"But aren't most Captains strong as well?" Momo asked. "Surely it must be more than that. For example, I chose division five because Aizen-taichou is the nicest out of all the others!"

Renji snorted. "Come on, Hinamori, you didn't even meet the other Captains." Shaking his head, he promptly shifted his attention back to Ichigo. "Are you sure it wasn't to be near Rukia, since it's her nii-san's squad after all."

Well, that was one of the main reasons and deciding factors, but Ichigo wasn't about to tell Renji that. "Partly," he admitted, but nothing more.

Renji didn't look all that convinced. "If you say so," he said with a shrug.

Ichigo just scowled, determined for some payback. "But enough about me," he said. "What about you guys? How did you guys fair in your graduation exams?" Of course, he didn't tell any of them that he and Rukia already knew their scores.

"Eh, it was okay, I guess," Izuru said. "I got within the top few, I think. I wasn't really listening, since I don't think it really matters."

"Well, it does if you want to get to the division of your choice," Ichigo reasoned. "How about you, Hinamori-chan?" he asked, leaving Renji for last.

Hinamori beamed. "I did pretty well!" she said, then her face fell slightly. "Well, not as good as I'd like, but still pretty well either way."

"And how about you, Renji?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I want to know what you got as well, Renji," Rukia played along, realizing what Ichigo was trying to do, since she also knew Renji's character all too well. "Are you still blowing Kido spells up in your face? It's a miracle they even let you pass."

True enough, Renji took the bait, unaware that his two friends knew the truth. "Heh, who do you think you're talking to?" he snorted. "I would have you know that I'm much better at Kido now! Why, during the Kido practical, I hit the target dead on! It wasn't all that powerful, I'll admit, but pretty soon I'll be casting Kido spells in my sleep!" he boasted.

Both Ichigo and Rukia didn't have to glance at the confused looks on Izuru's and Momo's faces to know that Renji was lying right through his teeth. "That's great!" Rukia exclaimed, feigning ignorance. "So how well did you do overall?"

You could see Renji's chest puff out slightly. "Well, I'm only a few places below Izuru, but that's because of my Kido," he lied. "I was one of the top performers for Zanjutsu and Hakuda, but my Kido grades unfortunately pulled me down. If not, I would've been the top graduate this year." Well, that was true to an extent, since his Kido grades did pull him down.

Rukia and Ichigo exchanged looks, both silently agreeing that now was a great time to call his bluff. "Wow, so Renji was only a few ranks below you?" she asked Izuru for confirmation.

"Uh-"

"Of course I am," Renji cut in before Izuru could say anything.

"Hmm, that's good to know," Ichigo said, nodding his head. "You know, one of the tasks I have as a third seat under Kuchiki-taichou is to do some paperwork for him, since he doesn't have a lieutenant. One of my tasks is to compile the names and scores of all the graduates every year."

Out from the corner of his eye, Ichigo saw the grin on Renji's face vanish. He pretended not to see it and continued. "So I checked every year, nervously hoping that I might find your names written down. So a few days ago, I did the same thing, and I was real relieved to see that all of you managed to pass." At this point, he couldn't suppress a grin. "Naturally, I had a look at your scores since I have to compile them anyway."

"So you mean…" Renji said, looking at both Rukia and Ichigo, the former also shaking with suppressed mirth.

"I saw your scores, idiot. So what happened? Did you blow yourself up at the first spell or did nothing come out?" Ichigo asked, a huge smirk on his face. Rukia's lips were pursed together, obviously trying not to burst out laughing, but Izuru and Momo were laughing.

Renji scowled. "That's none of your business," he snarled, taking his annoyance out on the poor bowl of rice that was sitting in front of him.

"Well, you can't blame us for making fun of you," Rukia said. "You brought it upon yourself." Renji just fumed.

"Oh cheer up, idiot. You were right in saying you did well in all the melee combats. In fact, you were definitely one of the best," Ichigo said.

"Yeah," Rukia agreed. "The only reason why we made fun of you was because you chose to lie when we asked you how you did. If you'd just admitted you suck at Kido, we wouldn't have focused so much on it."

Renji snorted. "Humph, like you two would've," he retorted.

"No, I guess not. We would still tease you regardless," Ichigo admitted, resulting in Renji's scowl deepening.

"Some friends you are," he grumbled. "Don't talk to me like you know me," he threatened. That only made everyone at the table smirk. They knew how thick-skinned Renji was; he'd get over it eventually.

Surely enough, by the time they were done with dinner, the relaxed atmosphere had once again returned, Renji reverted back to boasting about something he was good at, and they were happily talking among themselves. Even though this was the first time the five of them were able to seat as a whole group for more than five years, it was almost as if that span of time never existed.

They talked as if they'd been friends for many years, laughing and teasing one another, the group of newly graduated shinigami wanting to know what their two friends had been up to, while the two more experienced shinigami wanted to know what the three had been up to in the Academy.

"Oh, oh, I need to tell you guys something!" Momo suddenly said excitedly. "You remember my childhood friend Shiro-chan?"

"Yeah, he's the one we went to see as well," Renji said. "Why?"

"He told me he's considering entering the Academy!" she said in delight. "Apparently, he met a shinigami who told him he had extremely high reiatsu that was leaking all over the place, and recommended that he join the Academy."

"Wow, sounds like competition for Ichigo," Rukia said, nudging the shinigami seated next to her.

"How is that even competition? It's not as if we're fighting for a particular seated position," Ichigo retorted. The rest had nothing to say to that.

And so it was for the rest of the night. They spent their time talking, with Izuru and Renji deciding their squads in the process. They discussed their Zanpakuto names and abilities, all of them agreeing to demonstrate their respective Zanpakuto's abilities at an eventual date. Most of the time belonged to Ichigo and Rukia, who retold their many experiences and mishaps they'd experienced while the three had been languishing in the Academy. Renji was particularly delighted when he learnt (from Rukia) about Ichigo blowing up a high leveled Kido in his face. The fact that it was high-leveled and extremely difficult to cast did nothing to quell his glee.

Too absorbed with enjoying each others' company, it was already very late by the time they decided to call it a night. The newly graduated trio adjourned to their temporary sleeping quarters, eager to begin life as a shinigami, which left the remaining two. Ichigo walked with Rukia back to the Kuchiki Mansion before returning back to the sixth division barracks, glad that everyone was finally back together. Now that they were all certified shinigami, their adventure was only just beginning. Who knew what awaited them in the future.

Oh well, like I said, nothing much on the plot front, but that shall end this chapter! The next chapter or the one after that will shift a few years to an important even in Rukia's afterlife. If you don't know what I'm talking about, exit this page now and go read the manga first, lol. But this time, she has someone extra with her!

Would Renji lie blatantly to make himself seem impressive? I don't know, but I considered that when he tried to use Kido to light up the corridors in Las Noches. The ending was a little forced though, imo. I wanted to add something extra in, like maybe bumping into a certain evil dude, but ultimately I decided not to.

i never really understood why Renji didn't talk to Rukia during this point in canon, so I'm not doing the same here. As for Byakuya, the animosity will remain.

But despite that, hope you guys still liked this chapter anyway. Hopefully I can complete another chapter by this time next week, but no promises. So next update will either be next Tuesday or Saturday.

Hope you guys can show your support by dropping a review and putting a like/alert! Comments and suggestions are welcomed, but a reminder not to hate or criticize without backup! If not, see you guys soon!