I am REALLY happy to actually get reviews this time! I was ecstatic when I received my first one by Sushii_Kun! Thank YOUUUUU!

I tried to point this out in the second chapter, but seeing sweetpotatopumpkin's review made me realize that I need to point it out even more:

THIS IS SUPPOSED TO TAKE PLACE SEVERAL YEARS AFTER THE WAR AGAINST AIZEN.

That's right folks, so you'll be seeing several familiar character that were once alive. So you shouldn't be freaking out over the fact that Orehime is now part of the Seretei.

Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns all of Bleach and all of its original badass characters.

FIRST ASSIGNMENT

The Captain's quarter wasn't too far from the girl's rooms in the east wing. In fact, it was located in the back of the building, secluded from the other quarters. It was closed off with a set of double doors thicker and sturdier than the ones that sealed the other rooms in the building. As they slid a door open and stepped into the office, they were greeted by a not too happy Captain.

"Rangiku Matsumoto! Care to explain this?!"

Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya stood behind his desk with a look of disdain on his face and one of his eyebrows twitching in annoyance. One of his hands planted itself on the wood that held him up as he leaned over the piece of furniture while the other hand held a glass bottle. Xepher could only guess what was in it and why he would be mad about it.

"That's not mine…" She stated with her lips puckered outward.

"That's not yours?!" He repeated before lifting a whole crate of them clearly labeled "Rangiku's Supplies".
"….Nope."

"Damn it, Lieutenant! To think after decades of busting you about this, you would stop! …. Or at least find a new hiding place!"

"Oh lighten up, Captain! At least I get my work done!"

"You hardly get ANY work done! In case you haven't noticed for the past near century of doing this, I have been doing most of your work for you!"

"And you do such a good job at it too!" She giggled.

Xepher blinked between the two. Was she drunk? She couldn't believe that Rangiku would talk to her superior like that, let alone the Captain letting her get away with it! It was disrespectful to the point that Xepher would smack Rangiku upside the head… IF of course she wasn't her superior officer.

"Umm… Should I leave?" She finally interrupted.

Toshiro stopped, turned to look at her, looked back at Rangiku who was still trying to hold back a nervous laugh, and then looked at Xepher again.

"No… I have things I need to discuss with you here shortly… Excuse my attitude but as you clearly see…" He looked at his lieutenant again and scowled, "My second in command has difficulty following standard policy."

"Ok…"

"First things first; I want to welcome you again into Squad Ten. I hope you have already settled into your new room?"

"Y-yes. Lieutenant Matsumoto was very kind into helping me settle in and tour me for a little bit." She tried to compensate for Rangiku, who was smiled thankfully at her. However, Xepher was nervous herself. Even though she and Toshiro had a kind confrontation not just yesterday, he intimidated her. His turquoise eyes seemed to pierce through her somehow and almost gave her the idea that he seemed to be reading her somehow.

He simply gave her a curt nod and smiled, "That's good to hear. So you know a little about how to get around, correct?"

"Honestly… It will take some getting used to but with some help, I think I will manage."

"Excellent." He turned around and sat at his desk again, "So as I said yesterday, I have asked my second in command to help you continue your training. It shouldn't be too bad. Knowing her attitude and the way she treats her comrades, I'm sure she'll be very reasonable with you. Before training however, you shall report to the main room for meetings and receiving assignments early each morning. You may not be assigned anywhere outside the Seretei for now but I think a few errand runs around the area should get you familiarized with its layout." He paused for a little bit before saying, "Also... I may not have to say this to you but I think it needs repeating… There shall be no drinking on the job and during training…"

Rangiku finally let out her nervous laugh, "R-right… You got it, Captain!" She tried covering it up with her cheery voice.

"Rangiku, every day, you will be leaving right after morning meetings to train Xepher until you see fit that it is no longer necessary to do so." He stopped, as if he was rethinking things, "On second thought… I will personally assess her every six months or so given when I feel like it…"

"Oh that's not right!" she huffed and pouted like a child, "C'mon Captain! I'll take care of her fine on my own!"

"As much as I'd like to believe that, I can't. Rangiku, your job here is to follow my orders and do what is necessary as your rank of lieutenant suggests. Continue to fall behind then I shall resort to more harsh punishments."

At that, he picked up the box of sake and walked over to Xepher. He held it out, silently telling her to take it from him and she obliged.

"Xepher, your first job is to take care of this. Get rid of it all! Report back to me once you are finished. I don't want to find another bottle in this building. If I do happen to find one…" his gaze turned dark as he turned towards Matsumoto once more, "I will have both of you punished."

"Y-yes sir! You got it!" Xepher squeaked and quickly exited the room deciding that it would be best if she didn't question him about why she would be dragged into Rangiku's wrongdoings. After dashing through the door, she guessed that Rangiku tried to follow her out for she heard an "Oh no Lieutenant! You stay here!" before she closed the office door behind her.

She eventually disposed the sake by dumping them in the sewers. She was directed to them when she had asked a fellow squad member what she should do with the bottles. It seems as if they themselves had to do the job many times before her for they seemed to know exactly what she was talking about without question. After tossing the liquor and scrambling around for hours trying to find herself around the Seretei, she had to admit to herself that she was lost. She continued to wander aimlessly until she found a familiar setting… or until she found someone who could help her out.

…And the latter was exactly what she got.

"Xepher?"

She yelped in surprise and whipped around to find Shuihei standing there with a shocked expression on his tattooed face.

"I was getting worried when I didn't see you yesterday in the Rukongai! What are you doing here?"

"I… Um…" she stopped and smiled at him, "I got recruited!"

She told him exactly what happened. From being attack and fighting that hollow to the Captain showing up at the right moment, she gave him every detail and every thought about the turn of events. He just nodded with all of it, taking each of her words in as if she were telling some grand adventure she had just had. At the end of all he smiled at her and gave her a pat on the back.

"That's great, Xepher! I'm glad you finally reached your goal of becoming a shinigami! The question is; what are you going to do now that you're here?"

"Well…" She sighed, "I promised I'd do whatever it takes to find anything about Sai's sister, Sakura."

"I know her."

She looked at him incredulously.

"Well… I used to know her. She was a member of Ichigo's squad before she went missing on that mission. She was actually a lot like you; very skilled for a newbie and willing to help those around her… though she was a lot more cheerful and energetic when it comes right down to it."

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"I-I mean she was a very hyperactive girl! She could get a little annoying sometimes… Like Yachiru… I-I mean." He tried defending himself, lifting his palms in front of him apologetically and laughing nervously.

Xepher just rolled her eyes, ignoring the fact that she didn't know a "Yachiru", and playfully punched him in the shoulder, "I know what you mean, Scarface… Just continue with what you were telling me."

"There's really not anything else for me to tell… I only met her a few times on collaboration missions and passing by. If you want to know about her I suggest talking to her former squad members."

"Right… I'll be sure to do that once I find the time to…" She looked around her surroundings trying to figure out the time and sighed, "I need to get back to my squad soon I guess… "

"What are you doing this far away from there in the first place? You know you were walking towards the Squad Nine barracks right? …My squad?"

"Well…" She laughed nervously, "I came out here to dump Rangiku's sake stash in the tunnels on Captains orders… and I sort of… got lost…"

He chuckled and shook his head slightly, "You poor girl… Can't get a map down and control her reatsu…"

"Would you stop teasing me about that?!" she screeched as she grabbed his sleeveless Shihakusho and shook him back and forth.
"Hey! Hey! Take it easy." He tried to calm her down but he couldn't stop laughing. She stopped and let go but continued to glare at him as he said, "C'mon, I'll lead you back to your squad."

He began walking off in the opposite direction from where she came from. She scrambled to follow him as he weaved around various corners and buildings that she was sure she had seen before.

"How do you even find your way around here?" She inquired.

"Hmm? Oh!" He rubbed the back of his head as he was thinking of an answer, "There's sort of a trick to it… I just usually pick a wall and a direction to go and follow it. The problem is; you just gotta know which wall to choose." He paused for a second, "Or… You can be like Captain Kurosaki and just flash step over everything…"

"The Captain of Squad Five seems to be quite the improviser…"

"His whole shinigami career was based on improvisations. The dude was still a living mortal when he first gained his powers. He grew more powerful as he faced opponents that grew even stronger as he pressed on. Ichigo Kurosaki is a man full of improvisations but he's still the hero that brought down Aizen."

"He sounds really amazing actually. I have been told the tale of Aizen's destruction from the older villagers but hearing how strong the guy actually was and how he was brought down was really impressive."

"You're going to have to meet the man. Hey, and maybe, he can tell you a bit more about Sakura."

"That doesn't sound too bad actually." She smiled, "Thanks, Shuihei!"

The rounded the last corner and, before Xepher caught sight of the building, she had run into another person. Before she could fall back and see who he was, the person grabbed her by her shoulders the steady her and spoke calmly.

"There you are. I was Just about to come looking for you."

Shuihei stood straight and saluted, "C-captain Hitsugaya!"

Xepher gasped and mimicked the lieutenant's actions, "Sir!"

He looked between her and Shuihei for a moment, "Lieutenant Hisagi…"

"Sir?"

"May I ask why you are here with Miss Ryokutsuki?"

Shuihei looked at him and blushed at this innuendo, "It's not like that, Sir! Well… You see Sir. Xepher got lost while running around for that task you assigned her for and being the good friend I was, I decided to help and guide her here."

"A good friend?" He thought for a moment, crossed his arms, then smiled," So… You must be the reason why Xepher is as skilled as she is now."

Xepher spluttered, "H-how did you figure?"

"Captain Abarai has complained a few times about his lieutenant disappearing after hours. I take it you two have been training around that time?"

"T-that would be correct, Sir…" Shuihei answered calmly this time.

The captain thought a little more, "I should inform your Captain about this. However, given that Xepher wouldn't be where she is right now without your help, I may just let it slide for a little bit. For now, I am going to have to thank you for returning my Third Seat and ask you to return to your squad."

"Yes, Sir!" He bowed before turning on his heal back toward where he came from. Xepher watched him go, hoping that he wouldn't get in trouble just for helping her. Was there a thing in the Shinigami code against leaving to help someone in need? Or was he really going against his Captain's orders?

"Xepher."

"Sir!" She directed her attention back to her own Captain.

"You are to report to the Lieutenant. Your first training session starts as soon as you two meet up."

"Yes, Sir!"

He turned to leave, but then paused as if he was going to say something else. He opened his mouth, shut it again, and left without saying anything else.

END

Woohoo! I would like to thank Insanity294 for the update on the estimated age of a shinigami. The research has really helped me and I am really greatful for all the reviews I'm getting.

REVIEW! PLEASE?! Reviews help me become a better writer and I know I have mistakes in here somewhere so pleeeeeaaaase tell me!