Next up!

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Ever wake up one morning and just know that your day was going to be exponentially awful? Have you ever felt that way while waking up in Squad 11 surrounded by fight-crazy men who will do whatever it takes to make sure you fail and get kicked out of their squad? Have you ever felt that way when your captain doesn't really like you and if it wasn't for some unknown reason you wouldn't be there? NOT FUN!

--

Migoto opened her eyes and tried to decide to between getting up and falling back asleep. Last night hadn't been very kind to her as she spent half the night simply trying to fall asleep because of her excitement and nervousness, and then kept waking up every so often. Eventually choosing to be responsible she sat up, wiping her eyes with the heel of her hand, and started to get ready. After slipping on her shihakusho, the haori going around the outside of the hakama, cutting off right under her butt, and putting on her sandals without socks, she did her best to brush her waist long, brown hair eventually just letting it fall around her face. Sticking Mizukaru into the back of the white sash she walked outside, narrowing her eyes at the sudden light. Now where was she supposed to go? After thinking she jumped up onto the roof of a nearby building and looked around, turning her gaze to the direction of clinging blades. A bald head and weird feather things. Ikka-kun and Yumi-kun.

Not sure what else she started running. Training was really all she could do right now, because apparently if she didn't get stronger the captain would kick her out…or kill her. Whichever came first. She sighed at the thought then watched the battle between Ikkaku and Yumichika. Apparently most of Squad 11 was still asleep, even Captain Zaraki and Yachiru…probably since the sun was barely up which means she could have slept in more. Migoto could have cried, okay not really but still; it was depressing. She blinked and the two men vanished, making her more than a little skittish.

Something was behind her. On instinct Migoto jumped away, turning in the air to see what was about to attack her when someone kicked her from behind towards the ground. Total face plant. She sneezed as dust blew up into her nose and looked up to see two pairs of feet and looking higher two grinning faces.

"Was there a purpose to that?" she asked, letting her cheek fall back against the ground which ended with Ikkaku prodding her shoulder with his foot.

"Showed that you need a lot of training if you wanna stay here," Ikkaku replied.

"Please tell me that means you two are willing to help."

"Well we wouldn't want such a beautiful face to keep hitting the ground now would we?" Yumichika said with this slightly annoying, narcissistic smirk. Migoto couldn't respond to that. Instead she got up and dusted herself off. It was true that she need work and if someone didn't show here exactly what it was to practice than she couldn't get better.

Migoto reached behind her and grabbed the hilt of her zanpakto. In truth these guys might seriously hurt her…but hopefully they had more control than that.

"Alright then, what's first?" she asked. To answer they asked to see her sheath and sword. Confused, and not wanting to do anything that might turn them against helping her, she grudgingly handed it over. Ikkaku looked it over and smirked as he tossed it over to Yumichika who, returning the smirk, immediately disappeared.

Migoto's eyes widened as she reached a hand out as if she could turn back time and stop him. "Wait a minute! Give me back Mizukaru!" Ikkaku grinned.

"If you want your sword back you'd better get faster. You're too slow to even hope of defending much less attacking. Now here's how it's going to work: you'll either catch him or you won't get your zanpakto back. You have till the end of the day."

"What if I don't manage to catch him?"

"Then you won't be getting your sword back and you try again tomorrow." They hated her…didn't they? How was she even supposed to find him? Her head dropped but when she raised it up she had a determined look on her face. Fine! If this is what it took than she'd have too. She'd prove to these people that she could be good enough to stay in Squad 11!

Shooting off in the direction she hoped he went she tried to lock on to his spiritual pressure…which she had a hard time doing since he kept moving so fast.

As soon as she started she felt the pit in her stomach from not eating anything this morning. She almost never ate breakfast but then maybe she should start if this was how her days were going to be.

--

Migoto ended up running for hours, continuously having to find and lock on to Yumichika's spiritual pressure, when it stopped. It surprised her so when she came up to it she skid her feet on the ground to stop, sending dust and dirt up into the air as she ended up at least 10 feet away. He was completely relaxed as he sat at a bar. As she stomped up to him the first thing she noticed was the zanpakto. How there was only one. And it wasn't her's.

"Where's–breathe–Mizukaru?" she asked while catching her breath. Endurance wasn't one of her best points…but then compared to these people did she have any good points?

"Weren't you supposed to be looking for her?" he asked, looking up at her. His face was filled with mock surprised which really just pissed her off. Even worse that he was eating. The smell of the dumplings wafted over to her and made her stomach growl and mouth water. Damn hunger to hell.

"I was supposed to catch you!" she said infuriatingly.

"Tsk tsk. That Ikkaku giving you such broad instructions. You need to find your sword which I handed off to Ikkaku almost an hour ago," he replied cheerfully, clearly not noticing Migoto's twitching eye. "Look, you need to feel out for this Mizukaru of your's…not for me or Ikkaku."

"Ugh, whatever," she sighed before running off, taking one last look at the food. They really did hate her…well surely they didn't because they were trying to help her; at least she believed they were. She jumped onto a random building and sat down, crossing her legs in a meditation pose. With her eyes closed she did her felt to try and feel out Mizukaru's energy. Not much time passed until she found it, at least she was pretty sure it was Mizukaru and she had thought it wasn't much time until she opened her eyes and the sun was setting. "What?!"

Migoto ran as fast as she could to try and reach the Squad 11 barracks before the sun completely set. This was bad. She never got Mizukaru back and she was kind of scared of what Ikkaku and Yumichika would say to her. She was probably a disappointment to them and they might not help! Or they were laughing their fucking asses off at her pathetic attempt. She didn't like either option. She felt her heart drop as the sun fell behind the buildings surrounding her. Her feet skid across the ground as she stopped in front of a shinigami. Putting on her sweetest smile she asked, "Excuse me but can you please show me the way to Squad 11?"

The man's face brightened a bit at seeing the cute girl but dulled at her request. "S-s-squad 11?" Dammit these people are useless! It's not that scary! she yelled in her mind.

"Uh-huh," she pouted cutely.

"S-s-sorry, miss, but I, um…never 'eard of 'em!" he lied pathetically before running off, her watching after him with a dropped jaw. Seriously? Never heard of them? Please tell me he didn't think that would actually work. Her spiritual pressure flared a bit. Damn she was starting to get pissed. She forced herself to stand and breath and after a moment she calmed down a bit. Anyway, back to business.

Running in a random direction Migoto prayed that it was the right way. She shot around a corner only to slam into someone. A tall someone. Squad 11 Captain tall. Wait, didn't this exact thing happen to her yesterday? Well no…at least yesterday Ikkaku was only walking while Captain Zaraki was apparently running in her direction full force which, believe it or not, made it even more painful for her as she fell to the ground, landing on her butt.

Clutching her pained nose she stared up at him, noticing the toned muscles and, once again, noting that never will she want to be his enemy.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, not even bothering to help her up, although since her nose was killing her, Migoto decided to just stay on the ground.

"Well right now I'm currently hurting," she said, putting more attitude into her response than desired. The last thing she wanted him to think was that she didn't respect him. Because she did…she just happened to fear him more. Instead she saw a small spark in his eyes, as if he wasn't used to people talking back to him…well, if that counted as talking back to him anyway. She instantly started to stand, just in case she ended up needing to defend herself.

Captain Zaraki opened his mouth to say something but someone beat him to it. "Hi Mama-chan!" Pink hair appeared over the captain's shoulder. Mama-chan? Migoto thought questioningly before she remembered the lieutenant's nickname for her. She held back a sigh. Yachiru smiled as she propped herself up on the captain's broad shoulder before deciding to surprise Migoto by leaping at her, thus slamming into her gut and knocking her back to the ground. Yachiru was sitting on Migoto's stomach as she giggled just like the little girl she was. "So what are you doing all the way out here, Mama-chan?" she asked.

"Shouldn't you be training?" Captain asked before adding, "Or is staying in my squad just not important enough for you?" He sounded smug and it really just pissed her off.

"Shut up! I'm going to prove to all of you that even a girl like me can make it in Squad 11 and don't you even try to say otherwise!" she snarled, sitting up suddenly causing Yachiru to tumble backwards. Migoto basically went into maternal mode and hastily picked her up, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, Yachiru," she said softly. Yachiru stared up at her, slight confusion in her eyes, before smiling. Then she squeezed Migoto's breasts together.

"You have really small boobs, Mama-chan!" Blink. Blink. Migoto's face flushed bright red as she let go of Yachiru to wrap her arms around her chest, embarrassment clear on her face.

"They're not that small," she murmured, suddenly finding a fascination with the empty wall to her left.

"Yes they are!" Dammit, Yachiru, lower your voice! "Aren't they, Ken-chan?" If possible, Migoto's face burned even hotter. Thank God that there wasn't anybody else around.

She stood up and, hoping to steer away from this topic, asked, "So can y'all help me back to the barracks…I'm kind of lost–" Sadly they wouldn't seem to hear of it. At some point Yachiru had gone back onto the Captain's shoulder.

"Why are you asking me, Yachiru?" Captain Zaraki responded.

"Um, excuse me, but can–"

"Because." Yachiru's voice held finality so apparently she wouldn't accept any argument and the Captain seemed to know it since he just sighed and shook his head.

"Hello! Can you help me back to the barracks or not?" Migoto demanded, losing patience, which isn't usually a good thing, especially since she was speaking to her captain. They both looked at her and continued to just stare. Oh yeah, they definitely weren't used to someone talking like that to the captain. Oh shit, I need to start keeping my emotions in check or else I'm gonna end up dead!

--

"Hello! Can you help me back to the barracks or not?" He wasn't exactly fond of the tone she was using and couldn't help but imagine how easy it would be to simply cut her up so that he wouldn't have to deal with her. It's only been one day and he never even saw her during the day and she's already getting on his nerves. Maybe it was just that he didn't like that a weak female had been assigned to his squad without his consent. Dammit.

This girl's going to end up dead if she keeps talking like this, Kenpachi thought.

But you've got to admire it, seeing as you're hardly used to such a weak person standing up to you like this, much less a girl.

So? That's doesn't mean anything, just that she doesn't understand the position that she's in.

Maybe she's a lot braver than we thought.

Or she's just stupid.

Well that was the end of Kenpachi's inner argument. With no decent outcome he zoned back in to the conversation.

"So neither of you know how to get back?" They were still talking about that?

"Sorry, Mama-chan, but Ken-chan didn't do exactly as I said so we're lost too."

"You brat, I followed every direction you told me to. This is your fault," he retorted. Yachiru frowned at him.

"You really shouldn't blame others for your own mistake, Ken-chan." He was about to sigh and just drop the argument, as usual, when Migoto spoke up.

"Now I don't really think that's completely fair, Yachiru. It can't be entirely his fault if you were the one giving the instructions." Yachiru pouted and tears came to her eyes.

"But Mama-chan–"

"No buts. Now why don't we go find someplace and get something to drink," she suggested with a soft smile and the young pink-haired girl instantly brightened.

"Alright! That's fun, isn't it Ken-chan!" Kenpachi only grunted, thoughts swirling around in his head. She had actually handled Yachiru very well, considering how the young lieutenant was. Most people would probably have ended up doing whatever she wanted because they were too frightened to do otherwise, but this girl had almost scolded Yachiru! Migoto had sounded…motherly.

Not to mention she defended you against Yachiru.

She didn't defend me, dammit, she just…I don't know…

Yeah, I can tell.

Shut up!

It isn't healthy to tell yourself to shut up.

I don't care if it ain't healthy, just shut up!

She's very brave.

Dammit! Shut up! And she ain't being brave.

Yeah yeah, whatev–…where's her zanpakto?

Holy shit…I think I saw Ikkaku carrying around an extra one around earlier.

Guess now we know what she was doing all day.

…she really is stupid.

--

I am so stupid!!! Fucking shit! Why did she do that?! They could have just gone back to the barracks and go their separate ways but NOOOO she had to invite them out for something to drink!

The three of them actually managed to find a small bar close by, oh if only they could find their barracks that easily, sigh. Captain Zaraki got sake, Yachiru got candy the server had possibly just in case from the look on his face, and Migoto just got some tea. She didn't drink from it though, just held it, feeling the warmth seep into her fingers.

"It's going to turn cold if you just let it sit there." Her eyes glanced up to see her captain not looking at her or the cup of tea he just commented on.

"That's the plan," she said, concentrating on the cup. After a moment she felt eyes staring at her and regretfully looked up, meeting Captain Zaraki's eyes…er, eye. His face said 'What the fuck?' so she added, "I hate hot tea." Her captain only shrugged and with a murmured, "Whatever," kept drinking his sake. Migoto watched curiously, wondering what it tasted like, since she had never had it before. Actually she's never drunken anything alcoholic before. They sat in silence until Migoto decided the tea had had long enough to cool but when she sipped at it she stuck her tongue out with an, "Ugh."

Apparently the look on her face was enough that Yachiru laughed and even Captain Zaraki seemed to be holding back a small chuckle. Damn them.

It didn't seem that long until the three of them needed to get going. On the way back someone was apparently still awake…and drinking sake while sitting on his ass. Captain, Yachiru on his shoulder, was going to just walk past but Migoto put on the nicest face she could despite her exhaustion and walked over to him.

"Excuse me," she said. The man looked up and seemed to plan on ignoring her but Captain caught his eye and he was instantly on his feet.

"Yes, ma'am, what may I do for you?" Migoto tilted her head in confusion, not acting because being called ma'am had caught her off guard. Realizing she needed to say something, after standing there like an idiot, she asked if he knew where the Squad 11 barracks were. He actually did. He spoke so fast she thought about asking again but once he finished he gave a quick bow to Captain Zaraki and ran off in the opposite direction.

With a shrug Migoto started walking in the right direction, Captain and Yachiru following up behind. Captain Zaraki looks annoyed. "Something wrong, Captain Zaraki?" she asked.

"You didn't have to ask for help," he grumbled. Migoto looked at his almost pouting face and couldn't help it when a bubbly laugh escaped her lips. Holy crap, is just genetic that all males seem to hate asking for directions? "What's so funny?" he demanded, possibly feeling mocked. Migoto simply waved her hand as if to wave away the comment.

"Oh nothing, not a thing." He was clearly unhappy with the answer but she went back to putting all her focus into finding the barracks.

They'd probably never find their way back anyway.

Amazingly enough they did.

As the sun started to rise.

WHAT THE HELL?!

Captain Zaraki stretched his arms and yawned a bit, Yachiru doing the same. They both walked into the barracks definitely planning to sleep. Well I can't argue with that plan, Migoto thought as she walked into the barracks only to be pulled out by the back collar of her black kimono. By a man with a bald head. Ikkaku.

"Where do you think you're going? Just because you were out all night don't expect to get out of training," he grinned. Evil bastard. He was tapping a sword on his shoulder.

"Mizukaru!" Migoto made a grab for her precious zanpakto only for it to by grabbed away by Yumichika. He ran off through the Soul Society. Migoto stared off after him, eyes wide. She switched her gaze to the Squad 11 barracks and back again before looking at Ikkaku, tears in her eyes. He only grinned.

"Better get moving." She narrowed her eyes and growled slightly. She shot off, the wind carrying her words back to him.

"DAMN YOU, IKKAKU!"

--

And that's how her first day worked out and how her second day started.

How'd y'all like it? Hope it's still interesting to read.

REVIEW PLEASE but NO flames.