Ichigo had been spending a lot of time in Soul Society learning all of the duties of a captain. He discovered that pretty much all he had to do was attend captain meetings, slay any powerful hollows (which were rare), and do lots of paperwork. He reasoned that he could leave most of that up to his lieutenant. Unfortunately, the relationship between Ichigo and his lieutenant was... awkward. Ichigo had nothing against Momo. The problem was that she, despite claiming she wasn't anymore, was still an Aizen fangirl and didn't like that her new captain was the man who had killed Aizen. Actually, Ichigo hadn't killed Aizen, but no one had told Momo that. They didn't want to risk her trying to free him.
Meanwhile
Ulquiorra still hadn't learned his sword's name. He kept claiming he didn't want nor need to learn it, but in reality, he knew that he could never gain true power without learning its name. Even if I wanted to open my heart, I do not understand how I would do so. I guess I would have to find a friend, but Grimmjow doesn't have any friends, and he unlocked his Shikai. I don't understand any of this... he thought with a sigh. A 6th squad member walked into the room.
"Ulquiorra, Captain Kuchiki-sama has a mission for you. A shinigami has claimed to have seen a special hollow that can change its appearance to that of a normal human. He says it changed form and ran into a crowd to escape him. He says that it takes on the form of a male human with pale skin, short brown hair, and red eyes. You and two other shinigami are to travel to the living world and slay this hollow," the squad member said.
"I'll leave immediately," Ulquiorra said.
Several Hours Later
Momo had agreed to do a week's worth of paperwork for Ichigo so he could go to the living world and hang out with his friends. He hadn't been able to visit them very often when he had been in the academy. But now that he was a captain he could visit them anytime as long as Momo was willing to do the paperwork and there were no captain meetings. I'm getting to visit the living world surprisingly often. I sleep in my own house as much as I sleep in the captain's quarters Ichigo thought cheerfully. He stretched out on his bed, looking forward to a good night's sleep. Suddenly he heard angry whispers coming from within his closet. "Rukia? Renji? Is that you?" Ichigo asked. Suddenly the door burst open and three people lay sprawled out on the floor. "What are you guys doing here!?" Ichigo exclaimed as he recognized who they were.
"Don't look at me, it was all their idea," Stark said while nodding his head toward Grimmjow and Ulquiorra.
"Leave me out of this too..." Ulquiorra muttered.
"Stark was complaining about needing a place to sleep so I said we could stay at your house for a while," Grimmjow explained.
"Why were you here in the first place?" Ichigo questioned.
"We were all sent on the same mission, to find a hollow that could take on the form of a human," Ulquiorra explained.
"And this mission could take a while so I figured we needed a place to stay," Grimmjow added.
"Who says I'm gonna let you stay?" Ichigo growled.
"I wouldn't want to stay anyway. I don't need other people's help," Ulquiorra said haughtily.
"Oh, get over yourself. I don't like asking for favors either, but sometimes you gotta. It's better than sleeping on the street," Grimmjow pointed out. Stark nodded his head in agreement.
"It doesn't sound like you were planning on asking," Ichigo growled.
"Can we please stay?" Stark asked hopefully.
"You can, but as for the other two..." Ichigo said.
"Hey! That's not fair!" Grimmjow whined.
"Fine, but only if you spend most of your time working on your mission so I don't have to deal with you too much," Ichigo said. Grimmjow grumbled at him.
"So where do we sleep?" Stark asked.
"My sister, Karin, has her own house now so her room is open. One of you can sleep in there. Another will have to sleep in the closet and the other can sleep on the couch. Yuzu still lives here so her room is off-limits," Ichigo said.
"Stark snores so he shouldn't sleep in the closet. I refuse to sleep in a closet, so it's all yours, Ulquiorra," Grimmjow said with a grin.
"I never agreed to stay here..." Ulquiorra muttered. Nobody paid attention to him.
"I can sleep anywhere so I'll sleep on the couch," Stark said.
"And I'll sleep in your sister's old room," Grimmjow said.
"Do you need any pajamas or anything?" Ichigo asked when he noticed they were in gigais. They all shook their heads. "Okay then, just try not to disturb my family," Ichigo said. Grimmjow and Stark left. Ulquiorra just stared at him. "What?" Ichigo asked.
"I never agreed to-" he began.
"Just get in the closet," Ichigo snapped.
"Why do you insist on making me stay?" Ulquiorra questioned.
"Because I'm not gonna let someone sleep on the street because they have too much pride to accept my help," Ichigo answered. Ulquiorra finally gave up arguing and went into the closet.
The Next Morning
"Ichigo!" Isshin yelled from downstairs.
"I'm coming," Ichigo grumbled. He walked downstairs to find an angry Isshin, a confused Yuzu, and an irritable Stark.
"Why was this guy sleeping on our couch?" Isshin demanded.
"Come on, you let Rukia stay here all the time," Ichigo pointed out.
"She was different," Isshin argued.
"Yeah, she was a pretty young girl instead of a lazy guy," Ichigo replied. At that moment, Grimmjow came walking downstairs.
"There you are, Kurosaki," he said.
"What is he doing here!?" Isshin exclaimed.
"Who're you?" Grimmjow asked.
"He's my dad..." Ichigo mumbled.
"Why didn't you ask for my permission before inviting these people into my house?" Isshin demanded.
"They were hiding in my closet late at night. I know them, and I've told you about them, so it shouldn't be a problem," Ichigo said.
"Are there anymore hiding up there?" Isshin demanded.
Hmmm, if I say yes, he'll likely rant at me even more. I could tell him no and just tell Ulquiorra to sneak out... Ichigo thought. "Nah, these are the only two."
"Huh? But what about-" Grimmjow began. Ichigo gave him a death glare. He got the hint and shut up.
"What about what?" Isshin asked suspiciously.
"I hear someone at the door. I bet it's Orihime and the others," Ichigo said quickly. Sure enough, Uryu, Chad, and Orihime were waiting outside. "Hey guys, come on in," he said. They all walked upstairs, followed by Stark and Grimmjow. "This is Grimmjow and Stark, two new shinigami who just recently joined their squads and learned their ZanpakutÅ's names," Ichigo said. Naturally, the introduction was unnecessary, but it would seem suspicious to Grimmjow and Stark if all of his friends acted like they already knew them. Ichigo introduced his friends to the two and then they began chatting. The closet door opened and an irritable looking Ulquiorra walked out.
"Why is there so much noise?" he demanded.
"It's ten in the morning. It isn't exactly early," Grimmjow pointed out.
"It is? I guess sleeping in a closet threw off my sense of time," Ulquiorra muttered. Orihime was staring at him with a strange expression. "Why are you staring at me like that, woman?"
"Er, hi, Ulquiorra-kun. Ichigo told me about you. My name is Orihime Inoue," she said timidly.
"Why are you acting friendly, as if you know me, woman?" Ulquiorra questioned.
"She was just trying to be nice," Ichigo said.
"Why? I'm not her friend and I have no intention of being her friend," Ulquiorra said.
He hasn't changed at all... Orihime thought drearily.
That evening everyone went home and Stark, Grimmjow, and Ulquiorra started on their mission. Orihime sighed as she walked into her house. I was hoping that he would be different... she thought. Suddenly she had an idea. I helped him change last time. Who says I can't do so again? That's what I'll do! I'll try my hardest to change him at least a little in the short time he's here she thought determinedly.
