A while after Jūshirō obtained his Bankai, Shunsui awoke his own, Katen Kyōkotsu: Karamatsu Shinju.

Once the two of them had mastered their powers at least a little, they noticed that while in his Bankai, Jūshirō wasn't affected by Shunsui's. This led them to call Jūshirō's Bankai "The ultimate defence" & Shunsui's "The ultimate attack"

As time passed and their powers grew, Yamamoto who had noticed the power they held, made a decision.

Shunsui and Jūshirō were walking through the barracks to Yamamoto's office.

"What do you think sensei want, Jūshirō asked"

"Beats me.

-I know neither of us have done anything bad"

"You sure Shunsui that he hasn't caught you flirting with the female officers again?"

"Then why would you be here?"

"True.

-Let's just see what he has to say"

They reached the office and were let in.

"You wanted to see us sensei, said Jūshirō"

"I did"

Yamamoto turned around and walked over to them.

"I have decided to send the two of you to divisions 8 and 13"

"What?!"

Both got up from their bows and looked at their teacher with wide eyes.

"What do you mean old-man Yama?"

"There might come a day when the two of you have to fight alone and away from each away

-To prepare you for that, you need to train up your individual skills on your own. Away from each other and away from me"

"But sensei, said Jūshirō"

"Silence!

-It has already been decided"

Seeing no use in arguing with their teacher, the two friends bowed their heads.

"We understand sensei"

"When do we leave?"

"You two will report to your new divisions by next week.

-Shunsui will work with captain Hayato Kita at the 8th and Jūshirō at the 13th with captain Tsukiko Miya"

"Yes sir"

They bowed and then left the office before Flash Stepping to the forest clearing they had been their secret training ground.

In frustration, Shunsui kicked a bush.

"Why did the old-man decided that before talking to us?"

"I don't know but probably cause he knew we'd say no"

"It's ridiculous. One day we have to fight away from each other or alone.

-Does he even know how well we fight together"

"I'm sure he does and he kinda has a point"

"Don't tell me you're actually agreeing with him Jūshirō"

"Of course not. I'm against him doing this just as much as you and if anything, he should have asked if we were okay with this before deciding.

-But let's at least give it a try. It might be good experience for us"

Shunsui sighed and scratched the back of his head before looking at his best friend.

"Allright"

A week later, the two gathered their things from their room before making their way to Yamamoto's office.

Inside, they found their teacher with the two captains the friends would serve under.

"Shunsui, Jūshirō this is Hayato Kita and Tsukiko Miya, the captains who requested you two for their divisions"

"Nice to meet you"

The two bowed out of respect before looking at the captains.

Hayato had purplish almost black hair that reached his shoulders and grey eyes. He wore a regular uniform and a sleeveless Haori.

Tsukiko was a woman with tan skin, dark hair that was tied in a ponytail and green eyes. She wore an Haori with sleeves over her uniform.

"It's nice to meet the two of you as well, said Hayato"

"Yamamoto has told us a lot about the two of you, said Tsukiko

-He always praises the strength you two hold"

"And they will grow stronger, said Yamamoto

-Seeing how they haven't fully mastered their Bankais yet, there's a lot of room to grow"

"Indeed"

The four then left the office, Hayato and Tsukiko promising Yamamoto to take good care of his students.

After they had walked separate ways, Tsukiko looked at Jūshirō.

"Is something the matter?"

"Oh... well I guess it's just that this came out of nowhere for us"

"I heard of the reactions you two had about having to go separate ways.

-You two must be really close"

"Shunsui is my best friend and has been there for me in tough times, like when my father and great-uncle died

-He's also the first to accept my illness and treat me the same as before he found out"

"That's truly a good friend

-And speaking of your health. Yamamoto told me about it"

"He did?"

"Just the basics. What signs to look for and that there are times you've had to go to the 4th for a few days

-He said that the rest is your choice to tell or not but I don't have to hear it unless you want to tell me"

"Right"

"I was also told there have been times you've shown signs of being sick but kept working rather than resting

-Or that you go back before being fully recovered"

Tsukiko couldn't help but chuckle at the embarrassed look on the young man's face.

"That won't happen from now on

-As long as you work with me, I'll have an eye on you and if I see the slightest sign, I'll order you to your room to rest"

"Understood ma'am

-Speaking of working under you. What position will I have at the 13th?"

"3rd seat. Same as you had at the 1st

-But my plan is to make you my lieutenant before the year is over"

"Your lieutenant?"

"Yes. I have one now but he lacks a few things I want my lieutenant to have"

"And I have that?"

"Yes. You're observant and quite intelligent according to Yamamoto

-My lieutenant is the type of person to act first and think later. So having someone like you around could be a huge help"

"I see"

They soon arrived at the 13th division barracks where a man waited for them.

"Welcome back, captain Miya"

"Thank you Eijiro"

Tsukiko then turned to Jūshirō.

"Jūshirō this is Eijiro Sato, my lieutenant

-Eijiro, this is Jūshirō Ukitake. He's Yamamoto's student who will work with us from this day on"

"Nice to meet you sir"

Jūshirō bowed and Eijiro grinned.

"So you're the recruit.

-Welcome to the 13th"

"Thank you sir"

"Please gather eeryone so I can properly introduce them to Jūshirō, said Tsukiko"

"Yes captain"

Eijiro left while Tsukiko led Jūshirō to a room where he left his things before she took him to another part of the barracks.

"Ready to meet everyone else?"

"Yes ma'am"

She smiled and they entered the room, everyone's attention turned to the captain as she cleared her throat.

"Good afternoon everyone.

-I had you all gather so I can introduce the newest member of our division"

She gestured for Jūshirō to come closer and he stood next to her.

"This is Jūshirō Ukitake. He got transferred here from the 1st division and will become our 3rd seat

-I expect you all to treat him well and teach him about the 13th"

"Yes ma'am!"

Tsukiko then dismissed everyone so they could go back to work.

A walked past Jūshirō, welcoming him to the division and as the last person left, someone came up behind him and put their arm around his shoulders.

"Been a while Jūshirō"

"Kazuhiro

-How long has it been?"

"Since graduation I guess.

-But it's good to see you again"

"Same to you"

Tsukiko then came over to them.

"You know him, Hayashi?"

"Yeah, Jūshirō and I were classmates at the academy and we both graduated in the top six of our class"

"I see.

-Could I trust you to show him around then?"

"I'd be glad to"

"Good. Then I'll leave it to you"

"Yes ma'am"

So Kazuhiro took Jūshirō and showed him around the barracks, helping him find his way around to the training hall, mess hall and the sleeping quarters.

And actually having someone he knew there, made Jūshirō think that maybe being at the 13th wouldn't be as bad as he had thought a week ago.

Author Note:

So if you wanna know how Tsukiko looks like, just look up Cecil Aijima from Uta No Prince Sama and imagine him as a female, that's where her design came from.

Hayato if inspired by young Aizawa from My Hero minus the piece of hair between his eyes.