"Do you think that was wise, Ichigo?" asked Rukia as they watched the portrait door swing slowly shut behind the young blonde student, her body posture indicating fatigue and mild shock.

Ichigo shook his head tiredly. "No. No, it definitely wasn't. But she was already recovering Kira's memories. Once the process starts, there's no reversing it. It was better for her to go through the recall with us there to comfort and assist her than by herself." He sighed. "I'm happy though. Luna's strong. She has a very sharp mind, and thankfully it was able to take the shock of the recall without driving her insane."

Momo bit her lip worriedly. "This changes everything though, doesn't it, Ichigo?" she asked. "How is it going to complicate your mission here? You have to kill Riddle, so what if Ki- er, Luna tries to help you? Surely some of that loyalty is going to show through now?"

The shinigami's expression was grave. "If I need help, I'll call for backup. But the bigger problem is those three kids. It was careless of us not to check for reiatsu when Luna came in. As high-ranking officers of the Gotei 13 we cannot afford to be so sloppy, even if we are guarding against children. When I am most worried about is what those three could possibly have heard. The wizards think that we're all in our early twenties or thirties, and if they heard us mentioning the incident fifty years ago as if we had been there, which we were of course, it could arouse all sorts of suspicion. I was already toeing the line when I invoked my diplomatic immunity to face down that idiot Fudge. Pulling a stunt like that again isn't going to work, and if the Ministry contacts the Japanese magical government about me with suspicions and the government thinks to check their records, they'll find that before my appearance and 'suggestion' to be sent as an envoy to Britain, they have no information on me whatsoever. I'm only authorized to use force against the Death Eaters, not against other wizards. It could seriously jeopardize the mission."

Toushiro smirked. "First mission in a couple decades and it's already messing up?" he teased, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.

The orange-haired captain snorted. "Shut up," he said with a small grin. "Anyways, until Riddle returns to a body, I think the mission parameters have to be changed a bit. Since Potter is likely Riddle's number one target, and I want to keep as many innocents safe as possible, the primary objective is going to be to protect Potter."

"Potter?" asked Byakuya smoothly, arching a thin eyebrow elegantly. "He was one of the eavesdroppers, correct?"

Ichigo nodded. "That's right. So just because I'm trying to protect him it's not like I'm just gonna tolerate him being a nosy brat."

Toushiro looked serious. "Ichigo, be careful with this. If he does get hurt, don't shut down on us, especially if Riddle is there. Even if you're protecting Potter, the main objective is still to kill Riddle. Make sure you get that done."

There was a pregnant pause as the shingami undoubtedly recalled Ichigo's greatest weakness. His guilt when he failed to protect a subordinate, or worse, bystander was so great that at times he would completely shut down and drown in angst. In such a vital mission, which was basically an assassination, that sort of shutdown was unacceptable.

"But no pressure," remarked Rukia in a light tone, trying to ease the tension. It worked. The others chuckled at this. Ichigo grinned also, his stress at all the recent events beginning to evaporate with the help of his friends. He was still the youngest and most inexperienced of the captains of the Gotei 13, despite his being so powerful.

"Meanwhile," Ichigo said, "I'll keep an eye on Luna. We don't know what sort of effects undergoing a total recall could have on her mind. I'll send a Hell Butterfly to Urahara and consult him on that, but I'm pretty sure this is a first-time scenario."

He stretched, popping his joints loudly. "Ugh, I'm so tired. I didn't know being on a mission could be so damn stressful."

Rukia smirked, slapping him lightly. "Come on, Ichigo," she said. "What happened to all your stamina?"

Ichigo smirked right back. "My stamina's perfectly fine. Care for me to prove that?"

Toushiro rolled his eyes at the glaringly obvious innuendo, while Momo blushed a bright red and Byakuya looked mildly repulsed at the idea.

Hisagi coughed. "We will be returning to watch these… tasks for the tournament?" he inquired.

Byakuya nodded in confirmation. "We shall remain in the world of the living for another day, to maintain pretenses as Ichigo's companions from the magical government of Japan, and then return to Soul Society. Ichigo will let us know when the first task begins, and we shall come to observe it."

"The tournament is judged by Ministry representatives, along with the headmasters of the attending schools," Ichigo said. "Your presence could be explained as possible interest in magical Japan taking part in the tournament. Your role would be viewed by the wizards as those similar to Karkaroff, the Durmstrang headmaster, or Madame Maxime, from Beauxbatons, albeit without the judging."

Hisagi nodded, and while he was still concerned about Kira- no, Luna, he reminded himself, -he trusted Ichigo as a captain of the Gotei 13 to take care of her. He knew that Ichigo now saw the blonde as one of his subordinates, just as he had fifty years ago in Hueco Mundo, and would protect her accordingly.

"What are you going to do about Potter and the other two?" asked Momo. "We don't know what they heard while they were listening in on us. I'm certain they heard the last bit about Riddle needing him alive. The way you phrased it, his suspicions of you being a Death Eater are going to be even stronger now. Worse would be if he heard us referencing the Aizen incident fifty years ago. They all think that we're no older than our thirties, like you said. They're going to wonder and ask questions about it."

Ichigo ran a hand through his air agitatedly his shoulders tensed until Rukia laid her hands on them, rubbing them soothingly. He relaxed his muscles, allowing his wife to massage his shoulders. "I'll just tell them that it's government business. The way we speak of the event, as though we were there, could be explained as the use of a Pensieve to view memories."

Toushiro stood up, dusting off his haori casually, although there was nary a speck of dust anywhere on it. "Very well. We shall return to Soul Society after dinner tomorrow night, after the champions have been announced." He turned to Ichigo. "I trust you have prepared sufficient sleeping arrangements for us?"

Ichigo drawled, "Come now, Toushiro. Have I ever not been prepared?" He winced at the smack Rukia delivered to his head. "Alright, alright, I get it!" he said hastily, not wanting Rukia to bring up every moment in his life where he had gotten caught off guard. "There are smaller chambers branching off from this common area. It seems that the magic of the school created them out of necessity. I would like to investigate further, as it seems magic is more than simply channeling reiatsu through the wands…." He shook his head. "Anyways, though I don't mind the two of you sharing a bed," he said, mock glaring at Toushiro and Momo, "just don't get too loud, alright?" The two flushed a bright red, with Toushiro spluttering slightly in indignation.

"Speak for yourself!" the white-haired captain retorted, and Byakuya visibly winced at the thought. Despite him approving of the marriage, it was still uncomfortable to think of his sister and Ichigo… He shuddered again.

Ichigo stood and clapped his hands. "Alright. It's been a long day, and I would like to get some sleep before whatever shit happens next. Goodnight, everyone." He walked towards the largest adjoining bedroom, with Rukia hurrying behind him. The door shut with a soft thud, and the other shinigami also departed to their own rooms, leaving a deserted fireplace crackling softly.

#

"Now that we are all full, it is now time to select the Tri-wizard Champions!" The Great Hall burst into thunderous applause, and Ichigo and the shinigami dutifully clapped along. The dais was cleared and the Goblet of Fire was set on its pedestal. The students waited with bated breath as the blue flames flared a bright orange, its flickering tongues of magical fire casting shadows upon the aged Headmaster's bearded face. With a roar and a small explosion of flame, a slightly charred piece of parchment was spat out of the wooden cup.

Dumbledore's hand shot out with a quickness that surprised even the shinigami, snatching the parchment out of midair like a frog catching a fly. Ichigo suppressed a snort at the thought of the Headmaster's face on a small green frog sitting on a lilypad, his beard trailing in the water.

"The champion for Durmstrang," Dumbledore read, his voice easily audible in the completely silent hall, "is Viktor Krum!"

The students exploded into applause, and Ichigo raised an eyebrow. From what he could hear of the uproar, the Norwegian champion was an international Quidditch star. Realization struck him after closely examining the stocky young man from afar. He was the Quidditch player at the World Cup, the Romanian one who had pulled a beautiful Wron-something feint. Ichigo was impressed. To think that a person who could pull off a perfectly-timed move like that was still in school… Ichigo applauded along with the crowd. This would certainly be an interesting tournament.

The Goblet flared again, the flames leaping towards the ceiling as it shot forth another piece of burnt parchment. The hall fell silent again as the students waited in anticipation. "The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!"

Ichigo again raised his eyebrows in interest and curiosity as he observed the reactions of the students. He noticed that the applause from the male population was rather enthusiastic, while the females looked less than pleased. Ichigo reached out with his senses, probing the champion's reiatsu. He frowned. The girl's reiatsu had a strange allure to it, almost seductive. He shuddered slightly as he eyed Rukia out of the corner of his eyes. Ichigo definitely didn't want to get on his wife's bad side if she found him affected by the seductive reiatsu. Not that he could, considering his own massive reiatsu.

The hall grew silent once again as the Goblet flared for a third time. Ichigo noticed with some amusement and some contempt that many students were throwing at the other house tables. He rolled his eyes. Stupid inter-house rivalries.

The piece of parchment fluttered slowly into Dumbledore's hand. Holding it up, the old headmaster coughed to clear his throat. The tension in the air thickened drastically, and Ichigo noticed with some intrigue that the thickness was caused by the wizards unconsciously raising their slightly-higher-than-normal reiatsu. It wasn't powerful enough to visibly manifest, like Ichigo's did when he flared his, but it was still enough to cause a noticeable change in the atmosphere.

"The champion for Hogwarts is Cedric Diggory!"

Pandemonium broke loose. The Hufflepuff table erupted into cheers, leaping to their feet as they cheered on their champion. Ichigo was disgusted at the dirty looks the other houses were shooting the nondescript-looking young man walking up to the teacher's dais. He sighed but said nothing. This silly rivalry was far too deeply ingrained in these wizards' culture that there was almost nothing he could do to fix the problem. It was a good thing Ichigo's mission was to kill Riddle, since if they were divided so much the wizards hardly stood a chance to do so themselves.

"Congratulations to you, champions of the Tri-wizard Tournament!" Dumbledore announced, his arms spread wide to gesture to the three champions standing on the dais. "And now, if you, along with your teachers, follow Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman to the adjoining room, you will receive your instructions there."

As the door shut behind the champions, Ichigo felt a flare of reiatsu. Turning in surprise, he beheld the Goblet of Fire's flickering blue flames again flare a bright orange, spewing forth yet another singed piece of parchment.

"I take it this wasn't supposed to happen?" muttered Toushiro softly, so softly that only the shinigami with their heightened senses could hear him. Ichigo nodded minutely, his eyes fixed upon the Headmaster, who unfolded the piece of parchment.

"Harry Potter!"

Muted whispers broke out from the crowd. Clearly, they hadn't expected this to happen. Judging by his shocked reiatsu, neither did Potter. Ichigo cursed under his breath. "||Shit… This makes my job harder. This entire affair reeks of conspiracy. I can't directly help him during the tasks, since that's illegal, so the only thing I can do is give him advice. I sensed several individuals with rather dark reiatsu. If any of them are agents of Riddle, this could be that bastard's plan to kill Potter…||" He rubbed his forehead. "||Fuck…||"

"||Is there any way to keep Potter from participating in the tournament?||" inquired Byakuya, a small frown on his face. "||Was there not an age limit for participants? If that is the case, then Potter is clearly underage and thus illegally entered. Is this not grounds for the officials to prevent Potter from participating?||"

"||Unfortunately, the Goblet of Fire ensures a binding magical contract with the students it chooses to be champions. If they try to not take part in the tournament, I believe it invokes their own magic and destroys them.||"

"||WHAT?||" Burst out Momo, drawing a few curious glances from the teachers and students for her sudden shout. "||Who in their right minds would think of a rule like that? They're endangering the lives of children, for kami's sake!||"

"||Who knows what goes on in these wizards' minds…||" sighed Ichigo, running a hand through his orange hair. "||Dammit…||"

#

Here's the next chapter! I want to thank light soceress for her (his?) amazingly constructive review. In response: Yes, I noticed that Ichigo was quickly becoming a Gary Stu, and in my last few chapters I have been working towards fixing that. Another author (I don't remember who) said that if you're going change a character, you have to change the others as well to compensate for their increased strength. Believe me when I say that Ichigo has quite a few flaws that are rather detrimental to his character, they just haven't had a chance to really make their appearance just yet. I do plan to show to the wizards, as well as you readers, that Ichigo is not a flawless character. He does have his problems, he is not a god (although he killed a wannabe-god), and is still human (albeit a dead one, and part hollow). Also, thank you for pointing out about the characterization. It's been a while since I went back and reread/watched the books/manga/anime, so you may be right about that. Since I have a long weekend and some spare time, I will try to familiarize myself again with the small nuances of the characters, and continue to write accordingly. Finally, apparently, according my English teachers, my descriptive writing is quite good, and I plan to write the tasks of the tournament very descriptively. I'll just say that they may take more than one chapter, and leave it at that. Don't worry, you weren't too mean with your review, and I really appreciate your advice.

Finally, I sometimes wonder how many of my reviewers actually bother to take the time and read these author's notes at the end. So I want to do a little experiment. In your review, if you in fact did read this author's note, to satisfy my own curiosity, please leave a small comment, something along the lines of 'I read the author's note' or something like that. If you don't want to, you don't have to. I was just curious.

Also, in case you didn't realize, "||When a character speaks like this, they're speaking in Japanese.||"

Anyways, thanks for reading, and happy Labo(u)r Day!

~fokker333