A/N: Hi! So here's Chapter 2. Hope you like!


One week later

Gathering all the relevant paperwork from his desk, Hisagi looked up and grinned at Ichigo, "Congratulations, Kurosaki! Now your official title as one of Seireitei's temporary officer is the Vice-Captain of the Training Division!"

Ichigo had learned when he walked through the senkai gate back into Seireitei that Hisagi Shuuhei, the vice-captain of the 9th division, had been assigned to walk him through all the necessary paperwork and starter protocol trainings. He didn't mind much. As far as he was concerned, Hisagi was cool; he appreciated the honesty, bit of humor, and most of all, tendency to get straight to the point. Most of the time.

Ichigo slumped back into his uncomfortable wooden chair, letting out a sigh of relief and exhaustion. Three hours of questionnaire and trivial analysis. Three freaking hours. Full name, physical measurements, battle experience granted, but who gave a damn if his favorite snack was chocolate? Or that he played the guitar? Favorite number - he refused to answer that - or anything else of his personal interest for the matter? His head was going to explode. Along with his bladder.

"Great. Excellent. Fantastic. Now, where's the bathroom in this place?" he blurted out in monotone, not bothering to hide the impatience in his voice.

The black-haired vice-captain let out a huff of laugh, shaking his head, "You've just been given a position of great honor, and all you can think of is going to the bathroom?"

"More like a position of terrifying amount of paperwork. If they'd assigned me as a Captain, maybe then I'd be a bit more excited about it."

"Judging by how much you know about technical combat and the paperwork involved with the job, you're not ready to take position of a captain. Power and brute fighting ability of the moment are not all there is to it."

"I thought I only had to get the referral and approval crap from few of the captains to become one?"

"You have to earn those crap, as you call it, Kurosaki. No one in their right mind would refer nor approve of someone who doesn't have the patience to do anything properly."

"Yo! I'm more capable than I seem. Anyhow, all Kenpachi ever does is growl around looking for excuses to start slashing away at people, never anywhere near books and paper. Hold on - lemme backtrack - just slashing away at people, not needing any excuses. How come only he gets to get away with it?" Ichigo grumbled, though only halfheartedly. He knew that Hisagi was right about the fact he was more than lacking in many of the qualities, and even if they overlooked that, he was after all, a substitute shinigami. Whoa, he was dreaming big, even has he thought more of it there and then.

"Captain Zaraki defeated the previous captain of the 11th division in front of the right audience, with proper consequences. Even slightly suggest doing that to anyone to the Commander General, and you're looking for time in prison for treason and stupidity. Or worse, you're headed to the Maggot's Nest." replied Hisagi, quirking up an eyebrow before continuing, "Besides, it's you who couldn't want even half a minute to accept the offer. You like the job, and you're getting paid for the job you like. I suggest you stop with the whining."

It was a little chastisement, but his tone was playful. No serious offense taken, then.

Scowling, Ichigo retorted, "Fine. Let go. Question, though - why did the office need to know about my favorite food, activities, music and stuff? Throwing a welcome party for me sounds too good to be true."

Hisagi grinned sheepishly, "Oh, not a party, sorry to disappoint. I probably should've made it clear that a column about the newest officer amongst us is going up on the next issue of Seireitei Communication! You just contributed to the one-on-one interview section of it for the last hour, that's all."

"WHAT?" yelped Ichigo, eyes widening, jumping up from his chair - and falling right back onto it with a resounding crack. Gah, his legs weren't up to the job of supporting him after hours of inactivity. Hopefully his tailbone hadn't shattered from the impact...

Standing up again - successfully this time - he continued, "I don't remember agreeing on giving some useless interview! Yeah, you should've made it clear from the start if it meant getting this thing done an hour earlier."

Hisagi replied, still grinning, "Give it a break, Kurosaki. We needed that interview, and we figured that you wouldn't have contributed by choice. You didn't turn down the questions when I asked them, so technically, you weren't forced."

Ichigo groaned and bit his tongue back. First day on the job, throwing a fit over an issue like that won't do him anything good. Besides, he was tired. He gave a slight kick to the chair he had been sitting on, sending it cluttering a foot away. He turned his attention back to a more immediate concern,

"Bath. Room. Where?"


After a brief trip to relieve himself, Ichigo was walking after Hisagi along the roads of Seireitei to his assigned quarter at the training barrack near the cliff where Sokyoku used to stand. As he looked up to the cliff, memories started flooding back. The blood, the pain, the truth and the betrayal slamming into him like a cold brick wall... He was glad that the events were more or less behind him; he was sure that he didn't want to go through it all over again, at any given moment.

Giving his head a mental shake to clear off the memories, he asked, "So I'm the vice-captain, cheers. You never told me who the captain is. Do I know him, or is he a new face in the squads?"

Hisagi replied right away, "She, actually. She's been here for only a year, so she would be a new face to you. She's also the 3rd seat of my squad, the 9th." the slightest look of annoyance crossed over his face. He continued, "She's still a raw talent, started off much like you when Kuchiki-san first found you. But it's terrifying, the speed at which she had been developing her Shinigami skillsets."

After letting out a small 'oh' in response, Ichigo fell silent.

He was in no way a sexist, but he wasn't expecting having to work for a woman. Not that he didn't think women weren't up to the job. How could he, after being around terrifying women like Yoruichi-san(superwoman), Unohana-san(scarywoman), and Soi Fong(bipolar?). He was pretty sure they could reduce him to an unconscious heap of flesh and bones if they ever bothered.

But then there were those other women shinigamis that got him squirming. There was Rangiku-san, whose favorite pastimes(according to various sources) were not working, drinking and flashing her cleavage around everywhere she went. Yachiru, who chased butterflies around while she wasn't yapping away all her world's thought on Kenpachi's shoulder. That creepy mad scientist Mayuri's vice-captain, who seemed almost as creepy as the captain himself. Then the vice-captain of Aizen's former squad, who shakily fell to pieces by the whole betrayal thing. Were there any stable women shinigami anywhere? But then he couldn't really say that the men were stable either, so all a moot point, he guessed.

Oh, he almost forgot Arisawa, who has been at his side for most of his life. From the few girls he knew, she was the strongest fighter. Or wait, there was Ikumi-san too, who beat up a handful of thugs singlehandedly back when the said bunch of idiots showed up...

Thoughts of his human friends, or the fact that it took him this long to remember them, made him feel somewhat uneasy.

He looked up just in time to see a cluster of white clouds scattering in the otherwise clear, azure sky.


"Alright, it's here. You'll be staying at the far end of this building. Training grounds are at the back, I'll show you to your office."

The vice-captain gestured to the side of the large building the they were standing in front of and they walked up to it. There were no unusual symbols marking the walls or the front door, which Hisagi explained that it was because the training division was formed quite recently. They walked up to the second story and onto the wide walkway encircling the building, covered by the roof jutting out from the above.

Ichigo looked over the railing of the walkway, and saw a very simple but well-kept garden. Nearest to him, there was an empty, crystal-clear pond. Cluster of rocks of various shapes and sizes lie farther ahead, followed by a crude pavilion. Several young trees here and there provided shades. The whole garden was covered by a layer of soft-looking green grass that made him want to collapse onto it, close his eyes and fall asleep.

Across the garden was a forest of tall, ancient-looking trees and dense, low-lying bushes. Barely visible above the tips of the trees, was the Soukyoku hill, high up and barren in all its empty glory.

Ichigo turned his attention back to the building.

Noticing the lack of activity in the building, Ichigo asked, "Aren't there supposed to be people working here? I can't see anyone."

"Building's quite large in size, and it's only been a month since the training division formed, so there aren't many people working here right now. And the ones who are, are probably off to eat lunch." Hisagi answered, looking around as if to check.

Walking up to a door with a piece of paper that read 'Captain: Training Division' and stopping, Hisagi explained, "Captain's office is right here, yours is little bit up ahead. She is on a short leave for personal training now, but she'll be back quite soon."

"When exactly?" asked Ichigo.

Hisagi opened his mouth to answer, but with a flash of white, the door to the captain's office slid open with a loud crash that couldn't have been any good for the wooden structure. Fraction of a second later, a large black shape shot out of the open door at a breakneck speed, over the railing of the walkway, across the garden and into the forest. Sound of a solid WHAM and a crunchy crash along with a low muffled scream told the two dumbfounded shinigami that the black shape was a man, who unfortunately seemed to have plunged headfirst into a tree and then landed in a thorny bush somewhere.

Wide eyes returning to normal size and closing his open mouth, Hisagi muttered at Ichigo - who was still in a state of slight shock - "Now, I suppose."

With that, he turned his head somewhat dejectedly towards the office and shouted, "It appears that you are making yourself at home already, Kurozachs."

Low, agitated female voice growled in response, "Trying to. Why is an idiot like him in our squad, and whose stupid idea was it to provide his ego an unnecessary boost by giving him a seat, Hisagi?"

"First of all, vice-captain Hisagi to you."

"It's a damn mouthful!" the female voice rose in pitch.

"Live with it. And it was probably my idea to give him a seat, and it's his choice to take such pride in his position."

With that, Hisagi strided into the office, gesturing at Ichigo to follow.

Ichigo stepped into the office, eyes immediately focusing on the somewhat petite female shinigami leaning onto the side of the wooden desk in the middle. She looked surprisingly young, younger than him perhaps. Her skin was lightly tanned, dark eyebrows knitted in annoyance(much like himself, he grudgingly noted), dark crimson eyes below glaring. Nose straight, mouth closed in a stubborn line. Her jet-black hair was tied back into a haphazard bun, few strands escaping at the front and hanging over her eyes. She wore standard shinigami uniform with sleeveless shihakusho, toned arms crossed in front of her moderate chest.

She took one look at Ichigo, dark eyes annoyed but intelligent, and gave Hisagi a questioning look.

Returning the look with a slight grin, Hisagi spoke, "But it's the Central 46 and the Gotei 13's unanimous choice to appoint this," he jerked a thumb in Ichigo's direction, "one as your vice-captain. Kurozachs, meet Kurosaki Ichigo, your new vice-captain. Kurosaki, this is Kurozachs Kladias, your new captain."

Hearing Ichigo's name, flash of recognition ran across the woman's visage, annoyed look replaced by one of mild curiosity. Her mouth stretched to a small smirk, and opened to speak - but was cut off by Hisagi,

"Complain, and you'll be the next one out that door, in a similar fashion as the last one. Applies to both of you."

Ichigo was inwardly startled that Hisagi just threatened to throw him and the woman out literally, but he thought that he heard a note of amusement in that, so he supposed that it was an empty threat.

Seeing no harm in playing nice for once, Ichigo started, "Uh, pleased to meet you..." What was he supposed to call her? Captain? By last name? Last name with honorific? First name?

Small smirk stretching into a full-face grin, the woman leaned away from the desk and walked towards Ichigo, stopping few feet in front of him, arms still crossed in front of her. He saw that the top of her head came up to his eyes, but she gave an impression of being taller than him with that sharp, dark, dark red eyes. Ichigo silently swore; what if this one was yet another violent, demanding free spirit?

Voice clear and musing, she answered, "Kladias. That alone would be fine, and nice to meet you too. Kurosaki okay for you?"

To Ichigo's surprise, she uncrossed her arms and offered him a hand. Missing a beat because he wasn't anticipating, he took it, gripping firmly - someone at school said something about firm handshake being a crucial part of a good impression, not only at a job interview but everywhere else.

Kladias's hand gripped back, releasing after a second. If either of their hands were crushed(Ichigo's was, she had a death grip), they didn't show it.

Somewhat relieved that his new boss at least didn't seem like a psychopath, he answered, "Yeah, Kurosaki would be fine, thanks."

With that, the not-a-psychopath captain turned her attention to Hisagi and playfully purred, "So, vice-captain Hisagi, do we qualify to walk out the door on our own two feet or are you still set on tossing us out like a family of stray cats?"

Hisagi raised his eyebrows slightly and answered, "You're both on suspiciously good behavior today, so no." Ghost of a smile playing across his lips, he continued, "So Kurozachs, what's the first impression in the kid?"

Crossing her arms again and then bringing her right hand knuckle to her lips, Kladias stared at Ichigo right into his eyes. Dark reds bore into brown as if to penetrate right through. Something about those eyes irked Ichigo, as if he should recognize them, and he didn't like it. But he stared straight back, determined not to appear intimidated at the least.

After a few tense seconds, the pair of dark reds ended the mini staring contest. Kladias brought her arms to her side, rolled her shoulders back, and threw her head back with a sharp bark of laughter. Grinning ear to ear, showcasing a set of neat, white teeth with sharp canines, she mused, "He seems smart, determined, has plenty of common sense and attitude. For once Seireitei seems to make an acceptable decision."

Relieved once again, Ichigo grinned - though with less teeth - and mused back, "Let's see."

"Excellent! Let's show you to your new office, and go grab a bite. I'm starving."

With that, Kladias briskly strided past the two men and continued onto the direction Hisagi and Ichigo had been heading towards to. Ichigo was few steps into following along when his head was snapped back by Hisagi's shout,

"Hey - Kurozachs! You're going to just leave him in the forest, knocked out cold?"

Without looking back, Kladias let out an overly cheerful "Yup!" and walked on.

It took for a second for Ichigo to catch on to what they were talking about; when he did, he looked at the other vice-captain to spot his eyebrows raised in a mirror image with his own. After a second, Hisagi sighed, closed his eyes and shrugged, which Ichigo interpreted as 'Her problem, not mine.' Then they both caught up to Kladias and fell into strides either side of her.

"So what are you going to do if he bleeds to death in there?" Hisagi inquired.

"His overlarge ego should encase him like a cocoon and shield out all the harm that little forest has to pose. 'Sides, he's not bleeding too bad." Kladias answered nonchalantly.

Curious, Ichigo asked, "What did he do to deserve a one-way ticket to the forest, anyways?"

"Got ridiculously drunk in broad daylight, stumbled into my office uninvited and tried to 'outheat the sunshine' with me," she saw the quizzical look on Ichigo's face and snapped, "his words, not mine. I'm not that terrible of a poet."

She then turned her head towards Hisagi said with stated, "In your language of formality, vice-captain Hisagi, I think it's public display of drunken behavior, trespassing and sexual harassment." Deadpanning, she added, "can I add stupidity?"

A snort and a sigh of exasperation after, Hisagi asked, "Who was it?"

Rubbing a hand to her neck, Kladias answered, looking up as she thought, "Didn't catch much from his drunken jabbers. His name sounded something like 'Umemori' and he was going on and on about '20th', '15' and 'strongest'."

"That sounds like Umesada Toshimori, one of the sixteen 20th-seat officers of our squad. He's been quiet for some time, what the hell got into him?" Hisagi muttered.

Kladias suggested, looking semi-serious, "Unseat the moron, let's see how his ego fares the catastrophe of his life. Tell him that it's me who suggested it, and the next time he storms into my office, drunk or not, I could throw him over to the Sokyoku hill. I swear my aim's gotten better lately."

Ichigo blurted out, part ridiculed, part horrified, "You throw people out the door like that on regular basis?"

Kladias looked to Ichigo and flashed her all-teeth grin again, "If you say so."

Which Ichigo took as a yes.


After being shown to his office - which consisted of Kladias pointing at a door with a piece of paper that read 'Vice-Captain: Training Division' -, Hisagi took off, saying that he had someone to meet. Kladias had dragged Ichigo down to the mess hall, snagged(secretly, for some reason) a couple Gotei 13 standard-issued lunchbox and ate beside him in an unexpected, complete, thoughtful silence sitting in the shade of a maple tree. Not exactly comfortable, but neither completely unbearable.

So, from Ichigo's point of assessment, his new superior was a woman. Who was shorter than him but could stare him down like nobody else's business. Absolutely laid back, with plenty sense of humor and sarcasm and not much care for honorifics.

She also threw people out the door if they pissed her off. Who knows what else she did.

'Interesting' was an absolute understatement.


Over 3k words chapter? I must be out of my mind. Anyhow, thoughts? A sentence or two on whether it's terrible, awesome, good, bad, bearable, unbearable, would be appreciated. You're welcome to just choose a word from what I listed, if you'd like :P