It was late in the afternoon when Ukitake's reiatsu brushed gently against Kaito's senses, warning him that the man was approaching and probably wanted something from him.

With a sigh, Kaito stepped towards the edge of the street to wait, giving Takara and Minami a faint smile of reassurance as he did; since both Shinigami had the day off — and since Kaito wasn't sure when he was leaving — they'd spent the day together just wandering through Seireitei.

They'd spent much of it near the great wall that encircled Seireitei, visiting little shops and parks tucked away in the maze-like streets that Takara and Minami knew of, and had eaten lunch at a small restaurant with simple but delicious food.

All in all, it had been a pleasant way to spend the day, and he'd enjoyed just being able to be normal.

(If he ignored where they were, it was… almost like what he'd seen his classmates doing now and again.)

(Just spending time together with no goal, no reason, just to be together.)

(He'd miss this…)

"Ah, Kaito-kun, there you are," Ukitake said with a warm smile as soon as he was within speaking distance. "And hello to the two of you, as well. I'm glad to see that Kaito-kun has friends among the ranks."

Takara practically squeaked as he straightened up, trying not to drop any of the bags he'd collected from the marketplace. "S-sir!"

"He's kind. It's easy to like him, sir," Minami added as calmly as she could, even thought Kaito could tell she was shocked to be addressed by a Captain.

Kaito grimaced at her words and rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly; 'kind' was not a word he'd ever expected to have applied to him, but he supposed he could see why these two would think so. And 'easy to like'?

Since when?

He'd never been described as 'easy to like'.

Yoruichi snickered and nosed at his chin as she quietly murmured, "You really won these two over, didn't you?"

"I have no idea how," Kaito murmured back, even if it was a bit of a lie; he still didn't think being bored and restless enough to teach Takara made him 'kind', but if they wanted to think of it like that he wasn't going to complain.

(He liked them a bit too much to argue about how they viewed him.)

"I'm glad," Ukitake told the two Shinigami, then turned his attention to Kaito and said, "Kurosaki-kun decided that this afternoon would be a good time to leave. Is that alright with you?"

Kaito blinked in surprise at the question, then nodded. "That's fine. I told Unohana-taicho before she went to talk with them that any time was fine."

Ukitake inclined his head a bit. "Then we should make our way towards the gate," he said, before looking at Takara and Minami and adding, "You two may come to see him off, if you wish."

The two exchanged looks, then Minami nodded sharply and looked up at Ukitake as she said, "We'd like that, sir. Thank you for the opportunity."

"It's no trouble at all," Ukitake told her as he turned around and gestured for them to follow him. "Friends should have an opportunity to say goodbye whenever possible."

Kaito lingered behind a moment, wondering what Kurosaki and the others would think about Takara and Minami showing up with him, then shook his head and hurried to catch up.

(It didn't matter what the teens thought.)

(He needed to remember that.)

(*If anything, they'll be happy you have friends beyond Hanataro,*) Ichigo pointed out as they walked. (*They're certainly not going to complain.*)

(*I suppose,*) Kaito grumbled as he tucked his hands back into his sleeves and tried to pay attention to the path Ukitake was taking.

Not that paying attention really helped: he still couldn't easily tell one street from the next, and Ukitake was leading them quickly through a warren of smaller streets that Kaito had never been down before. Even Takara and Minami looked a bit lost, their eyes wide and their gazes darting around as they took it all in, probably in an attempt to memorize the way.

"Not much further," Ukitake told them as he glanced back, another warm smile on his face. "I promise I know where I'm going," he added with a touch of amusement.

"We never doubted that, sir," Minami responded quickly, then cast a glance at the area again and added, "It's just… neither of us know this way."

"How anyone can know their way around Seireitei I will never understand," Kaito spoke up dryly, then shrugged at the amused looks all three Shinigami sent him. "Everything is too similar and there's basically no color anywhere around here. No idea how you can put up with it."

"It does get a bit boring after a while," Ukitake agreed, then arched an eyebrow and gave Kaito a very amused look as he added, "But it does make repairs significantly easier when someone gets thrown through a wall, or breaks a street, or causes other damage around the place."

Kaito bit back a smile as he met Ukitake's gaze and asked, "Does that happen often around here?" as blandly as he could.

"I suspect it will be happening more often in the future," Ukitake answered just as blandly.

Takara snickered, then turned his laughter into a cough when both Ukitake and Kaito turned to look at him. "S-sorry," he mumbled, clearly struggling to keep his laughter inside.

Kaito snorted and shook his head, unable to resist a small, wry smile as he said, "No, you're fine. I think we all know what Ukitake-taicho meant by that."

Ukitake chuckled softly. "You are hardly the first to be like that, and I highly doubt you will be the last. We've had this problem since Seireitei was first built and so many, ah… disparate personalities were gathered in one place. It's why Seireitei is built the way it is, and why the layout tends to change every few decades."

"Parts of the city are literally rebuilt differently each time?" Kaito asked incredulously as they rounded another corner and came out onto a wider thoroughfare. "How does that even work?"

"Not every time," Ukitake correctly kindly, then gestured towards the smaller, maze-like streets they'd just left. "A place like that — could you easily rebuild it the exact same if it was destroyed? Not just a wall knocked out or a street cratered like during your fights with Zaraki-taicho, but utterly flattened?"

Kaito glanced back, thinking about the truly daunting task of having to put a place like that back together if there wasn't much remaining. "Aren't there any plans?" he had to ask, even though his own sketchy memories of history class told him how unlikely that was. How many cities had been burned and rebuilt on completely different lines? Wasn't this just a smaller version of the same?

"If you truly think we've documented Seireitei to that level of thoroughness, I'm not sure what to tell you," Ukitake answered with a laugh, then quickly turned his head aside and covered his mouth to cough. It took him a few moments to recover, and when he did, Kaito spotted flecks of blood on the man's hand that were discretely wiped away before anyone else could notice.

(It was strange to see such obvious evidence of how sick Ukitake was despite his strength.)

(Could the healers truly do nothing for him…?)

Ukitake caught his eye and gave a small shake of his head, reiatsu brushing gently against Kaito's in reassurance.

Kaito scowled and looked away, ignoring Yoruichi's thoughtful noise in favor of trying to force his entirely unnecessary worry aside; Ukitake was ancient and powerful and knew his own limits, and there was nothing Kaito could do to help him. He was no healer — had no desire to be a healer — and, in any case, the idea that he could do something that Unohana couldn't was laughable.

Ukitake didn't need — or likely even want — his worry.

(Why was he worried about a Shinigami anyway?)

(Foolish…)

"So instead of documenting how you rebuild a section, you just… let the cycle continue?" Kaito asked with as much amused disbelief as he could muster, giving Ukitake a sidelong look as he did.

"Well, it's not like we entirely lack plans for the city. We do have some," Ukitake acknowledged with a nod.

Kaito narrowed his eyes at the man's wording and asked, "What's the catch?"

"Why ever would you suspect there of being a catch, Kaito-kun?" Ukitake asked with enough false innocence to drown a person in.

"I've heard that the library where things like that are kept is enormous, and also badly organized," Minami spoke up, then blushed and looked away when Ukitake looked at her in amusement. "Er… but that's just a rumor. Don't mind me."

"No, no, you're entirely correct," Ukitake told her kindly, then shrugged at Kaito's incredulous look and explained, "A thousand years of uninterrupted collecting will do that. There's records stretching back even further than that, of course, though those are much rarer and often fragmented. We have librarians of course, but, ah…"

"Not nearly enough, which means you have no easy access to the records you need to rebuild the same as before," Kaito finished for the man, then shook his head in exasperation at the very idea; a library like that would be nigh-useless for any practical purpose, and he honestly had to wonder what information was buried deep within its records that was considered 'lost forever'.

Ukitake nodded in agreement. "That's the sum of it," he said with a touch of amusement. "Of course, some parts of the city are more well documented than others, especially the main thoroughfares, the noble quarters, and the various barracks. Those tend to stay the same unless a Captain or Family Head decides to redesign something during the repairs, but the further you get from one of those points the more likely it is that the whole area will just be rebuilt from scratch with a new layout if it's damaged enough."

"Huh." Kaito eyed the street around them thoughtfully, trying to imagine living in Seireitei long enough to see the entire layout change; he supposed it would become a normal part of life after a while, and at least the changing city layout would provide a diversion from how… how stagnant everything else seemed to be.

The rest of the walk was done in a comfortable silence, with Ukitake leading them closer to Sokyoku Hill as the sun continued its slow descent towards the horizon; however, long before they reached the path up the hill, Ukitake turned aside and lead them through a wide gate into a large, familiar courtyard.

(Even he remembered this place, where the great gate that led to the Living World stood.)

(It was rather hard to forget, if he was being honest.)

"Oh, there's Kaito-san!" Inoue exclaimed as she spotted him, then bounced up onto her tiptoes and waved her arm in great sweeping arcs as he approached. "Welcome back, Kaito-san! I hope you had a good day?"

Kaito hummed and cast a glance at Minami and Takara, unable to resist a small smile as he admitted, "It was pretty good." A quick, one sided shrug jostled Yoruichi from her casual lounge across his shoulders, and she hissed in protest as he said, "Even though this pest decided to tag along and demand food."

"Pest?" Yoruichi asked, all offended pride and fond amusement. "I was a fount of information and entertainment today, I'll have you know, and all I asked was some food in repayment."

Kaito rolled his eyes in exasperation as Takara and Minami burst into laughter; it was great that the two Shinigami had mostly gotten over their awkwardness about Yoruichi, but they'd taken to her sense of humor a bit too gleefully for his peace of mind.

Inoue giggled and gave the two a small wave. "Hello there! I'm Inoue Orihime, it's nice to meet you!"

"Minami Yuuka, and this is Suzuki Takara. Nice to meet you, Inoue-san," Minami said while bowing in greeting. "It's nice to meet you properly, when this brat isn't dumping dye in my hair," she added as she straightened up and lightly elbowed Kaito in the side. "Kaito-san, introduce us to the rest of your little crew, please."

Kaito grunted and rubbed at the spot she'd elbowed, giving her a flat look. "Just for that, maybe I shouldn't," he said, arching an eyebrow at her in amusement.

"No skin off my teeth," Minami said with a sharp grin, then jutted her chin towards Inoue and added, "Bet she'd introduce us."

Inoue laughed and turned slightly, beckoning the other three teens forward as she did. "I can do that," she agreed, then gestured to Sado and Ishida first, "This is Sado Yasutora and this is Ishida Uryuu, they were there when we all met the first time."

"Not so sure I'd say we 'met'," Minami broke in with a small huff of amusement, sending a playful glower at Kaito. "I had a handful of seconds at best to register everyone's presence before I was accosted."

"You act like I did something truly heinous instead of simply adding a bit of color to your hair," Kaito grumbled. "A little bit of color never hurt anything."

"We'll see what you say when I manage to get you back," Mimami threatened with a smirk, hands on her hips and a glint in her eyes. "That blond hair of yours will color up very nicely."

Inoue's muffled giggles drew their attention to her, and Kaito sighed in exasperation at the pleased-amused-thoughtful looks he was getting from the teens. "Something you'd like to say?" he asked dryly, tucking his hands in his sleeves and narrowing his eyes at the lot of them.

"Not at all, Senpai," Ishida drawled, then nodded a greeting to Minami and Takara. "It's good to meet you properly."

"Likewise," Minami responded for the two of them.

"And if you'll let me finish," Inoue spoke up with a touch of sharp-edged cheerfulness, "the final member of our party is Kurosaki Ichigo."

"He's not as terrifying as the scowl makes him look," Kaito added dryly, ignoring Kurosaki's sputtering and Ichigo's exasperated amusement. "He's also their leader, and not half-bad at it, either."

Minami and Takara exchanged looks at that, something amused-disbelieving-exasperated about them that he couldn't put his finger on. Whatever it was, they apparently decided to drop it in favor of polite nods towards Kurosaki and another round of 'nice to meet you's between everyone.

(*They probably think you're the leader,*) Ichigo told him with amusement.

Kaito blinked (*Me? Why in the world would they think that? I kept to myself for most of the invasion, and even after it as well.*)

(*And whenever they were with you, who was the one who ended up giving directions and making decisions?*) Zangetsu asked pointedly.

(*That's not… I mean… I don't think— does that really count?*) Kaito mentally sputtered as he warily eyed the teens; did they also think he was their leader?

(He wasn't cut out to be a leader of anyone!)

(That was Kurosaki's place, not his!)

Zangetsu hummed a bit and settled calm-steady-controlled against his mind, soothing his rising panic before it could take hold. (*Why wouldn't it? You gave direction and they listened. You created the plan to distract Seireitei. You brought them to the Eleventh on the final night. You told Ishida to bring Hanataro to Abarai.*)

(*And they fought me on almost all of those!*) Kaito snapped, even as his stomach roiled at the idea that he'd usurped Kurosaki's true role in the group; if Kurosaki wasn't the leader then… how would things change?

(Not… not that he knew what was coming next.)

(Not really.)

(Not anymore.)

(As soon as Aizen was dead, he'd be as blind to the future as everyone else.)

Claws dug into his shoulder and a cold, wet nose jabbed at the skin right behind his ear, making him hiss a flinch away from the unexpected touch.

"You're almost home," Yoruichi murmured right into his ear. "Take a deep breath. Just like that, good. Now let it out."

Kaito grimaced and rubbed at the side of his nose, embarrassed by yet another lapse in front of so many people. "Thanks," he murmured as he tugged Zangetsu's calm closer and leaned into it.

(It didn't matter.)

(The future wasn't supposed to be known.)

(Everything would be alright.)

(He had to believe that.)

(He had to.)

A quick glance around showed that no one was staring at him at least, though he suspected that was more out of courtesy than anything else; at the very least, Minami shot him a worried-concerned-questioning look as soon as she sensed his attention on her. A small shake of his head seemed to be enough to satisfy her for the moment, given the way she relaxed and turned back to her conversation with Inoue.

Familiar reiatsu brushed against his senses, drawing his attention to Hanataro as his friend slipped past the group and appeared at his side with a small, shy smile. "R-ready to g-go home?" he asked softly as he adjusted his grip on the three bags he was carrying.

"I am," Kaito agreed, reaching out to snag his bag from Hanataro plus one of Hanataro's own bags, then arched an eyebrow when Hanataro scowled up at him. "Trust me, with this group's luck, you'll want to be carrying as little as possible when we go through that gate."

Hanataro's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "K-Kaito-san kn-knows something."

"Kaito-san likes to be prepared," Kaito declared, thinking back to the mess that every single trip through the gate had turned into. In fact, the only gates that hadn't been some form of trouble were the ones into and out of Hueco Mundo.

(Maybe he should stick to Garganta-based travel from now on.)

(That might be fore the best.)

(Though it would lead to others finding out about—)

(No, people already knew about Shiro.)

(So maybe it would be fine…?)

He shook his head in an attempt to knock his rambling thoughts free — now wasn't the time to think about this — and gestured towards the gate. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get moving."

Hanataro hummed in agreement and followed Kaito as he made his way towards the gate and the handful of Shinigami gathered around it; Ukitake had wandered over while Kaito was distracted with Minami, Takara, and the teens, and was currently off to one side speaking with Kyoraku. Other Captains had also gathered: the Soutaicho, Unohana, Kenpachi, Toushiro, the wolf-headed Captain who owned the dog… even Kuchiki Byakuya was present.

Kaito stilled, eyeing the Captains as they slowly turned their attention to him. That many powerful people watching him was concerning at best, but the worst was that he didn't even know why they were present. He didn't remember which Captains had been present last time, but this seemed like… more.

"You thought we wouldn't say goodbye?" Unohana asked with a small, sharp smile.

"Didn't know a lot of you cared," Kaito said a bit more warily than he meant to. "This is an interesting sendoff for a group of invaders."

The Soutaicho harrumphed and rapped his cane against the cobblestone, drawing everyone's attention to him as he said, "You have proven yourselves to be allies of Seireitei. Why would we not see our new allies off when they leave to return home?"

Kaito clenched his jaw at the Soutaicho's words and bowed his head, hardly believing the man's words of being 'new allies' but not wanting to risk making the Soutaicho a future enemy. "My thanks to you," he said as evenly as he could manage.

He could feel Ukitake's attention fixed on him, along with the lightest brush of worry-concern-question against his senses, and gave a small shake of his head in response. He needed no help. Not with the Soutaicho, not with the other Captains, not with anything besides what he'd already asked.

(Not from Ukitake.)

(Not from a Shinigami Captain.)

(No matter how comfortable he was starting to feel around the man.)

"Hmm." The Soutaicho examined him thoughtfully, piercing gaze lingering on his hair and face for a long moment. "If you happen to come across Urahara Kisuke in the Living World, perhaps you could inform him that, in light of new evidence, his exile has been rescinded."

Kaito scowled and immediately bit out, "I'm not your messenger, tell him yourself— ow! Yoruichi!"

"Be more polite when you tell the Soutaicho no," she hissed is his ear as she carefully pulled her claws from his shoulder again. "Do you truly want him as your enemy at your current skill level?"

"I'm certain we'll be in communication with him," Ukitake interjected as he stepped closer, nearly putting himself between Kaito and the Soutaicho in the process. "Think of it more as an… informal notice, so that he's aware of how things are changing."

Kaito stared at Ukitake for a long moment, then finally sighed and grudgingly said, "I'll think about it."

"That's all I can ask," Ukitake said with a soft smile, then turned to the Captains and asked, "It's about time that we let them be on their way, isn't it?"

The Soutaicho narrowed his eyes at Ukitake, the two of them staring at one another for a long moment before the Soutaicho finally nodded sharply and turned away. "Of course."

"Ah, Kaito-san, I almost forgot to mention. We've made sure to install the spiritron converter on the gate for you," Ukitake said as the other Captains moved aside and the teens and Hanataro stepped closer.

"Thank you," Kaito said, relieved that Yoruichi had remembered to pester the Captains about it; while he was certain that his father could reverse the issue without trouble, it was still one less thing to worry about.

"Of course," Ukitake said, "now then—"

"Next time ya show up, I'm going to kick your ass," Kenpachi declared with a sharp smile, interrupting Ukitake without hesitation.

Yachiru grinned at Kaito from her perch on Kenpachi's shoulder and added, "Yeah! Ken-chan's really looking forward to it, so train hard, Kai-chan!"

"I will attempt to not disappoint," Kaito told the two dryly, then glanced thoughtfully at the other Captains who had shown up, wondering if anyone else had something to say.

Komamura met his gaze warily, ears slanted back and stance stiff, then slowly relaxed the longer Kaito remained silent. "I thought you might like to say goodbye," the man eventually said, then whistled and—

A streak of fur bolted from the side and skid to a stop right in front of Kaito, barking all the way. Goro — the Captain's dog — pranced a bit in place, then pressed against his legs and tipped his head up in a clear demand for attention. When Kaito shot a look at Komamura, the man just perked his ears forward and made a 'go on' gesture.

"Tch," Kaito grumbled as he cautiously reached down and ran a hand over Goro's head like he had before, still marveling a bit at how soft the dog was. "You are still a ridiculous beast," he muttered to Goro as the dog leaned even harder against his legs, tail wagging frantically.

Yoruichi snickered as she leaned over his shoulder and peered down at the dog. "Should I tell Kisuke you want one?" she asked him teasingly.

"No," Kaito bit out, hastily snatching his hand away from Goro's head and making a shooing gesture at the dog. "Go on, back to your owner," he tried, only for Goro to whine and wriggle against his leg in demand for more attention. "No, go on. I need to go."

Komamura chuckled and whistled again, pulling Goro back to his side with an ease that made Kaito scowl at him. "He does answer to commands," the man said with amusement, one large paw-hand settling atop Goro's head as the dog leaned against his legs.

"They don't count if you're the only one who knows them," Kaito shot back and he brushed futilely at his kimono, trying — and failing — to brush the dog fur away.

"You seem to get along with him just fine," Komamura answered with a teasing edge. "Feel free to stop by when you return on your visits."

Kaito gave a shallow nod to acknowledge Komamura's offer but otherwise said nothing, not wanting to promise anything when he doubted that he would ever take the man up on it.

That decided, he turned his attention to Kuchiki Byakuya, wondering why he was present: surely the man had no interest in him— unless he was there to call Kaito out? To demand that he answer for being part Hollow?

(He hadn't really meant to avoid Kuchiki Byakuya the past week, but…)

(Well, he certainly hadn't gone out of his way to find the man either.)

"Safe travels," Kuchiki Byakuya said once Kaito's attention was on him, inclining his head a bit as he did.

Kaito frowned at the man, puzzled by Kuchiki's words when they certainly hadn't parted on good terms.

(What did Kuchiki want from him?)

"Thank him," Yoruichi murmured in his ear. "He's being polite and indicating that whatever happened between the two of you, he's willing to forget it. So don't throw that back in his face unless you want him as your enemy."

"Thank you," Kaito repeated automatically, wondering at why Kuchiki would decide to simply… ignore Shiro's presence; wasn't it a Shinigami's duty to get rid of Hollows?

(What was wrong with all these Shinigami anyway?)

(Ukitake and Kyoraku, now Kuchiki…)

(How many knew about Shiro and didn't seem to care?)

(And why now, after exiling his father and the Vizard for the same issue?)

(*Maybe they're learning better,*) Ichigo said with a shrug. (*They never seemed to mind me too much, anyway.*)

(*You never rubbed your Hollow nature in their faces constantly, the way Shiro and I have a tendency to accidentally do,*) Kaito replied in exasperation, then shook his head and looked away from Kuchiki and to the gate. (*Never mind. If they want to be weird about it, that's on them. I just want to go home. Father can worry about it later.*)

Ichigo chuckled and began to drift back, a teasing edge to his voice as he said, (*I'm sure he will.*)

(*The hell does that mean? Ichigo? Ichigo get back here and answer me!*) Kaito mentally yelled at his friend, scowling when all he received in response was more laughter, this time from Shiro. (*Goddamn bastard…*)

With a shake of his head he stalked closer to the gate, staring up at the gigantic thing that was all that stood between him and home.

"Ready to go?" Ukitake asked kindly, then smiled when Kaito gave him a sharp nod. "Then go. Be safe, and if there's ever anything you need, don't be afraid to ask me."

Kaito grimaced at the offer and grit out, "Thank you," before turning back to the teens and declaring, "Let's go."

Kurosaki huffed in amusement but still stepped away from Kuchiki Rukia. "Yeah, alright. Seeya later, Rukia, Renji," he called as he walked to Kaito's side. "We're ready."

"Good." Kaito glanced at the others, checking that they were ready as well, then strode into the glowing portal without wasting another moment.

(Home.)

(He was going home.)

(Finally!)