A/N: Hello there! Chapter six is all ready for you, so hopefully you're ready for it! …Wow, I need to stop…. Anyway, here you go – please enjoy!

Disclaimer: Like I've said a few times, I do not own Bleach. But I do own Hiryu (you know you're jealous ^_~) and a few others.

Second Chance

Chapter Six: Rest for the Weary

The prisoners had been picked up by the Stealth Force as soon as the offensive team had returned. Soi Fon was there with her squad to meet them, but only to inform them that Unohana had requested an immediate meeting – she wanted to speak with the Captains and Lieutenants who had been on the front lines while it was still fresh in their minds. So, after the prisoners were escorted away, Soi Fon accompanied them to the Meeting Hall.

The other Captains were gathered, properly lined up and waiting patiently, when they arrived.

Unohana looked up and smiled at them kindly as the doors closed behind them. "Welcome home, everyone. I'm glad to see you look well."

She paused long enough to assure them her words were genuine before continuing with a quick glance to Hiryu, who stood behind where his Captain was usually stationed. "We've already spoken with Hiryu, but he didn't have the opportunity to tell us much. Captain Hitsugaya, what did you and the others discover?"

With a respectful incline of his head, Toushirou answered her honestly.

He told her about their strategy to split into teams and surround the enemy, and about the organized attack. He explained about the landmines, and overall fighting prowess of their opponents. He told the story of the final battle, and how it was – really – Ichigo who had won them the day (and he managed to refrain from adding 'again').

And when he was done explaining all of that, he went on to explain what they had learned after.

A handful of mature citizens of the Rukongai had gotten together a long time ago and begun comparing notes. One of them – the one they had dubbed 'the ringleader' while they'd been fighting him – had been the older brother of one of the squad members Mayuri Kurotsuchi had sacrificed during an invasion many decades previously. He was bitter over his brother's unfortunate fate, and when he'd been talking to the other men, he learned he wasn't the only one who'd lost a loved one to Soul Society.

During their conversations they had come to blame the Soul Reapers – and their twisted law – for all of the pain and loss they had had to endure. And they began to feel that Soul Reapers were corrupt. They felt that equal amounts of bloodshed needed to be dealt in order to right the wrongs against them.

So those with high enough spiritual pressure had gone to the Academy, to study Soul Reaper techniques. While there, they found others who were bitter – or becoming bitter – towards the authority of Soul Society, and recruited them. Those recruits found others – friends, relatives – with similar feelings, and after only a few years their numbers had grown drastically.

Once they finished their Academy courses they returned to the Rukongai, and one of the men offered up his family home as their base of operations. From there they began scheming, paying off low-level Soul Reapers when it was necessary in order to learn something they could not otherwise know. And with that knowledge, they planned.

"We can only assume," Toushirou concluded, "that their goal was to eliminate as many high-ranking Soul Reapers as possible, and in the process to completely destroy our way of life."

He paused as he removed the tote – which was full of rolled-up documents – from his shoulder. Holding it out, he added, "Captain Hisagi, Hiryu, and myself went through the building after the fighting was over, and we found these. Maps of Seireitei, and blueprints for many of the individual squad barracks. All current. They were well prepared."

Unohana eyed the bag for a moment in silence before she said, "Bring that to me, please, Captain Hitsugaya."

Toushirou did as requested, stepping forward quietly until he was standing before her.

She calmly took the bag from him, selecting one piece of parchment at random and setting the bag beside her on the ground before unrolling it part-way. Her face betrayed nothing of her thoughts as she examined it quietly.

When she was done, she rolled it back up and returned it to its place in the bag. Then she turned her gaze outward, noting that Toushirou had returned to his previous place, and asked, "Did you apprehend everyone who was involved in this scheme?"

Toushirou dropped his gaze to the floor in frustration. "I'm not inclined to believe so, Head Captain. None of the men we interrogated would confirm that, and quite frankly I just don't believe that they were all home when we attacked."

"I see," Unohana replied calmly. "Please don't berate yourself for this, Captain Hitsugaya. You and the others did a miraculous job this day, and you deserve to be commended for it."

She paused again and swept her gaze out, glancing at the other gathered Captains and Lieutenants before she added, "However, it seems the threat is still active. We must remain on our guard, as we no longer know where to search for these individuals. So we will stay here, where we are at our strongest, and give them an opportunity to make their move. We have dealt them a blow they cannot ignore, so we should not be waiting long."

Focusing her sweeping gaze on Soi Fon, Unohana said, "Please interrogate the prisoners again and see what more – if anything – you can get out of them."

Soi Fon bowed and said, "Yes, Head Captain."

Looking forward once more, Unohana finished, "I, myself, will go over these documents. Once I am done I will have a better grasp of the threat at hand, and you will all be notified with any information you need to know. For now, go rest, and recover your strength – but remember to keep security at cautionary levels."

The Captains dispersed, and many of the offensive team headed home in search of a hot bath and good food.

"Ah, Ichigo, Orihime," Juushirou called as he stepped into the hall outside of the large gathering room.

The bright-haired Soul Reapers turned at the familiar voice, and Orihime smiled. "Juushirou! You're looking better already!"

Juushirou smiled as he stepped up to them. "Yes, of course; I have a good doctor, after all."

One eyebrow cocked, Ichigo asked, "Where're Kiyone and Sentarou?"

Juushirou's smile faded as his tone became serious once more. "I left them at the barracks. I thought it might be safer there tonight." He paused, studying his Lieutenant before looking back to Orihime and adding, "I'm glad to see you're both alright. It sounded like a bit of a difficult situation."

"Tch," Ichigo scoffed, crossing his arms in his loose sleeves. "It was nothing we couldn't handle."

With a soft laugh Orihime added, "It's true, your Lieutenant is very impressive. In fact, if you're not careful, you might just lose him if Captain Sasakibe really retires."

Ichigo made a choked sound and looked away, unused to genuine compliments. When she finished he muttered, "I'm not ready for that!"

Juushirou chuckled and clapped a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "Don't sell yourself short, Ichigo! Orihime's right, you are incredibly accomplished, especially considering how short your time as a Soul Reaper has been. You should be proud of yourself."

"I didn't say I wasn't," Ichigo replied, lifting his gaze to meet his Captain's as he spoke. "I just don't know if I'd be ready to be a Captain. For one thing, you do way too damn much paperwork." Immediately his eyes went wide and he cut a glance to Orihime before mumbling, "Uh, sorry…"

Orihime laughed again and waved her hand at him dismissively. "Psh, don't worry about it, I've heard worse!" She paused, her eyes twinkling suspiciously before she added, "In fact, I think I heard worse from you earlier today."

Ichigo paled for an instant, before his cheeks flushed faintly and he looked away, reaching up and scratching the back of his neck as he said, "Sorry about that…I've been trying to curse less, but it's not working so well."

Both Captains laughed at this and Juushirou said, "I highly doubt your language offends anyone, Ichigo. We've all heard worse."

With a smile, Orihime added, "But it was nice of you to apologize."

Before Ichigo could comment a familiar, male voice hollered, "Captain! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

The trio turned and Orihime smiled in greeting. "You didn't have to come running for me, Hanatarou, I was going to be heading home in a minute. Is something wrong?"

Hanatarou, who had bent at the waist in order to catch his breath, stood properly and gasped, "Oh, no, it's just that…I was…worried about you! Are you alright?"

"Of course," Orihime replied easily. "I barely even brushed the dust off of my kidou skills." She turned, then, back to Ichigo and said, "However, I'm starting to feel rather hungry, so I think I'll get going. Thank you so much for protecting me out there, Ichigo." She added a 'good night' to them both before turning again and starting towards her barracks, Hanatarou at her side.

"Good night," Juushirou and Ichigo called simultaneously.

For a moment, Captain and Lieutenant stood in silence as they watched the young Captain of Squad Four walk away. Then Juushirou turned to Ichigo and asked, "So you protected her?"

Ichigo glanced at him curiously before shrugging and saying, "Yeah, what of it? You heard Captain Hitsugaya – we broke into teams, one Captain and one Lieutenant to each. I was the only one up for the job."

Juushirou did his best to hide his smile, turning and starting forward as he said, "No need to get defensive, Ichigo, I was just curious. Truthfully, I'm glad you did. Orihime is an amazing healer, but she's never been much for fighting."

Ichigo automatically fell in line behind his superior, arms loose at his sides and mind miles away. "Yeah, I gathered that much. Though she does hold her own pretty good when she needs to."

"You're still up, Captain?" Isane asked later that evening as she poked her head into Unohana's large office.

The older woman looked up from the unrolled document on her desk at the familiar, gently spoken, inquiry. "Yes, I'm afraid so, Isane," she replied.

The Lieutenant stepped fully into the office and softly shut the door behind her before moving forward. "Are those the papers that Captain Hitsugaya found?"

"Yes," Unohana said with a nod. An uncharacteristic frown settled on her face and she added, "I'm greatly disturbed by the detail within these papers. The maps and blueprints are of the same quality as the ones here, in my office."

Isane's eyes widened. "But how is that possible?"

With an inaudible sigh, Unohana let her eyes close and shook her head. "I don't know, Isane."

Hesitantly, Isane asked, "Are there blueprints…of all the squads?"

"No," Unohana replied, her eyes opening once more. "Only five, actually. But I am concerned that that means those five squads are the ones they will attack." She paused before she added, "And, for the most part, the squads in question are already well-defended. I worry, though, because one of the squads is Squad Four. You know as well as I do how poor the security is there."

"That could be a huge problem," Isane agreed, disbelief and concern warring for dominance in her voice and on her face.

"I'll have to call for volunteers," Unohana stated. "None, of course, from the other targeted squads – which eliminates the Stealth Force and Eleventh."

Isane looked down, her eyes glazing over faintly as a million thoughts ran through her head. Quietly, she asked, "Will we be okay when this is over, Captain?"

Unohana blinked, before lifting her gaze and smiling reassuringly at Isane as her Lieutenant looked up once more. "Of course we will, Isane. This is just another obstacle in the road of life, but the road continues on as it always has before."

Isane smiled gratefully at her superior. "I'll get word out for volunteers first thing in the morning, Captain."

"Thank you, Isane," Unohana replied with a faint nod.

Ichigo's scowl deepened as he caught sight of the line of Soul Reapers (none of whom he recognized) filing into Fourth. He knew that his Captain hadn't been the only one notified about finding volunteers, but he hadn't expected to see an actual line of them. And though he supposed he should be relieved to see that so many others had responded to the call, he found he was frustrated. Frustrated, and highly tempted to use the badge strapped to his arm to skip the line altogether. But he talked himself out of it and set his jaw, determined to be patient, as he walked through the entrance.

Two Soul Reapers with medical bags strapped to their backs were walking towards the entrance, obviously leaving, and going wide to avoid the incoming stream. They started when they saw Ichigo and stepped back, bowing at the waist and chorusing, "Good morning, Lieutenant Kurosaki!"

"Morning," Ichigo grunted as he passed.

Ichigo followed the line impatiently, finding himself judging the spiritual pressure of the men and women ahead of him. There was no way any of them were ranked above Eighth. And that's being generous, he grumbled internally.

"Um, excuse me," a timid voice asked behind him.

One of Ichigo's eyebrows lifted and he slowed his stalking pace enough to properly turn his head as he glanced over his shoulder and asked, "What is it?"

He found himself face-to-forehead with yet another man he didn't recognize.

The unfamiliar man swallowed before asking, "Is this the line for the volunteers?"

"Yeah," Ichigo replied with a heavy frown. He turned his attention forward then and resumed his silent critique. Or, at least, he tried to.

The shorter man seemed to gain confidence after their (brief) successful interaction, and he asked curiously, "If you don't mind my asking, what squad are you from?"

Ichigo had to remind himself not to be overly rude as he ground his teeth together, knowing full well where this was leading, before he said, "Thirteen."

"Oh! I heard Thirteen has a really good Captain. I'm in Squad Three," he commented, adding his own information almost as an after-thought. "How long have you been a Soul Reaper?"

They rounded another corner and the line slowed drastically.

Between the line and the prattling behind him, Ichigo's attempt at patience was about at its end. Still, he took a deep breath and replied, "About thirteen years."

The shorter man laughed good-naturedly and said, "Thirteen seems to be your number!"

Ichigo bit back a sigh, allowing his eyes to close for a moment. Really? Damn my luck.

His silence didn't seem to discourage the man behind him, as he easily continued, "Still, that's impressive. I've only been a Soul Reaper for seven years myself."

Wait, Ichigo thought, for once actually interested in the conversation. As the line moved forward at a crawl he asked, "What rank are you?"

"Oh, um," the man hedged, "well, I'm a Fifteenth Seat right now."

Ichigo felt his left eye twitch. If a bunch of lower-ranked officers were showing up to protect Fourth, he was going to have his work cut out for him. "And you're volunteering to defend an entire squad?"

"Yes, of course," he replied. "I mean, I know I'm not the most impressive fighter or something, but I figured there will be other volunteers, and this could be really good experience." He noticed Ichigo's fists clench at his sides and hesitantly asked, "Um, what…what rank are you?"

"I'm the Lieutenant of Squad Thirteen," Ichigo replied firmly. The two men ahead of him in line stopped and turned to look back, as if seeking to verify that they'd heard correctly, and then they quickly looked away when they met Ichigo's glare.

"L-lieutenant?" the man behind him stuttered. Obviously, he hadn't noticed the badge on Ichigo's arm. "I'm so sorry! Here I've just been rambling on and I'm probably annoying you! Oh, I'm so sorry if I've offended you by thinking I could volunteer for this!"

Ichigo sighed. Great, now I feel like a jerk. Uncurling his fists, Ichigo glanced over his shoulder and attempted to offer a reassuring smile. "No, listen, it is good experience. And 'volunteer' doesn't mean you have to be highly-ranked, you just have to be willing to fight. I'm sure Captain Inoue will appreciate your help."

There was a stretch of silence, and the Fifteenth Seat of Squad Three allowed a hesitant smile to curve his lips.

But before he could actually reply a loud crash echoed down the corridor. It was immediately followed by someone shouting.

Ichigo's head whipped around, his eyes going wide as he realized it had come from the direction of Orihime's office. "Out of my way!" he bellowed, shoving the men in front of him to the side as he launched forward. The roof overhead was too low for him to flash-step over the crowd, so he was going to have to be forceful.

The crowd was talking, stopped in place, and most were doing what they could to move out of Ichigo's way as he plowed through remorselessly. He didn't particularly care if he stepped on a few toes or elbowed a couple of stomachs.

And then the crowd gave way to the entrance to the office. The door was shut, but Ichigo wasted no time in sliding it wide open as his other hand lifted for the hilt of his zanpakutou.

"Captain!" he called as he burst into the office, immediately looking around for someone to fight.

Orihime jumped at his sudden entrance and looked up from where she knelt on the floor. Before her was an unconscious Soul Reaper, who didn't actually appear to be injured, and there was a broken chair just to the side.

She relaxed visibly when she realized it was Ichigo and smiled faintly. "Good morning, Ichigo."

Ichigo forced his hand to release Zangetsu as he dragged in a deep breath. "What happened?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, were you worried?" Orihime asked, her smile becoming apologetic.

Behind where she was kneeling, Hanatarou rushed in from an adjacent room, a damp cloth in his hands. "I've got it, Captain," he said as he knelt beside her.

"Thank you, Hanatarou," Orihime said, briefly turning her smile to her own Lieutenant. As she watched him set the cloth over the unconscious Soul Reaper's forehead, she added, "Could you take care of him for a minute please?"

"Of course, Captain!" Hanatarou assured her.

Orihime pushed to her feet then and turned to properly face Ichigo as she moved aside to give Hanatarou room.

"I'm sorry," she said again. Gesturing to the unconscious man, she added, "He sat down sort of heavily in the chair, but he didn't aim right or something, and one of the chair legs snapped and sent him flying forward. I had moved the chairs further back from the desk earlier, so he went flying face-first into the ground, and when he fell his legs kicked the chair back and it crashed really loudly."

Ichigo released a breath and shook his head. "It's okay…. I mean, it's not okay that that guy hurt himself, but…it's good that you're alright."

She just stared at him for a heartbeat before a smile curved her lips and she said, "Thank you." She paused, her gaze flickering to the still-open door and the disheveled crowd behind him, and asked, "Did you push your way through all those people just to save me?"

"Uh," Ichigo began without thinking. His face quickly heated as he realized that that was exactly what he'd done. It had seemed totally understandable and excusable at the time. Reaching up with one hand to scratch at his neck he said, "Yeah…I guess you could put it that way."

Orihime's smile brightened for a moment before she glanced back at the line and asked, "What brings you by, anyway? Does Juushirou need something?"

Arm lowering again to his side, Ichigo opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the groaning of the now-not-unconscious Soul Reaper.

With an apologetic smile, Orihime mumbled "Hold that thought!" and turned to help Hanatarou.

Ichigo watched quietly as she dealt with the other Soul Reaper, and after he was up and walking in a straight line, Hanatarou escorted him out of the office.

Orihime turned back to Ichigo then and, with a sheepish smile, asked, "You were saying…?"

"Ah, yeah," Ichigo began. Now that he was here, he found himself suddenly wondering how he was supposed to explain why. "I, uh…I mean, we heard you needed volunteers and I thought I'd lend a hand."

For a moment, Orihime said nothing, staring at him with widened eyes. In hindsight, she supposed she shouldn't have been surprised that that was why he was there, but she was.

Then her wits returned to her and she smiled again. "Well, I suppose I'd have to be pretty silly to turn down such a generous offer. If you're sure you want to help defend my squad, we'd be happy to have you, Lieutenant Kurosaki."

"Thanks," Ichigo began, stubbornly fighting back the embarrassment that wanted to flood through him as he added, "but that's not exactly what I meant. Of course I'll help however I can, but the way I figure, if someone's gonna target a squad, their main objective has to be to get at the Captain. Plus I figure if something happens you'll probably want to be there to help however you can, so someone needs to be around to watch your back."

He has to stop doing that, Orihime decided as, once again, she found herself surprised by his shouldn't-be-surprising declaration. Something inside her was shifting, twisting strangely and slowly – just a little more every time they interacted. She was trying to tell herself it was respect, admiration, appreciation – or all of the above – but she knew better. She knew what those things felt like, and this wasn't the same.

"I'll feel awfully selfish having my own personal bodyguard," Orihime replied with another growing smile.

He shrugged. "You're the Captain, you're entitled. Besides, I'll help in other ways if I can; you just need to understand that you're going to be my priority."

Somehow, she doubted arguing that she wasn't that important, or that she could defend herself, was going to work. So, instead, she nodded and said "Alright, then. But what about your duties as Lieutenant?"

Ichigo grinned and said, "Not a problem. They went years without a Lieutenant, so Kiyone and Sentarou know how to handle the extra work-load."

Orihime returned his grin with a small one of her own and asked, "Well, in that case, I guess you're just going to have to sit here with me and greet all the other volunteers. Are you up for that?"

"Sounds boring," Ichigo replied easily. "But I imagine it won't kill me."

Orihime laughed softly and turned toward her desk before pausing again, scrunching her lips thoughtfully. "Hmm. We need more space for this, don't we?"

Ichigo glanced over his shoulder at the line of fidgety Soul Reapers and tried not to grimace. Her office would be overrun, and god-forbid anyone needed to get through in a hurry – like he had earlier. "Yeah," he said. "That'd probably be good."

"So," Orihime asked several hours later as she and Ichigo walked the perimeter of Squad Four's barracks, "what do you think?"

They had spent nearly three hours interviewing the volunteers, Ichigo interjecting his own questions as they struck him, and Orihime assigning different areas and tasks to each. She turned no one away, no matter how unqualified they technically were for the task that they were supposedly volunteering for. And Ichigo was inwardly disturbed by how many low-level Soul Reapers had turned out, seeking 'experience.' Only a handful of them (including the one he'd talked to earlier) actually seemed to have potential.

Now they were walking around, partly to give Ichigo a feel for the area, and partly to check on the new security.

Many of Orihime's Seated officers had already come up to Ichigo to thank him for his help, and each time they did, Orihime had to stifle a laugh. He was strangely uncomfortable with receiving compliments.

Ichigo frowned thoughtfully as he considered Orihime's question. "It's a definite improvement," he said after a minute. "It's good that you posted the more qualified Soul Reapers along the perimeter."

"Do we still seem defenseless?" Orihime asked with a knowing smile. She, of course, had never considered them defenseless. And, in her opinion, if they had needed a little extra muscle, Ichigo would've been more than enough all on his own.

He, of course, hadn't seen it that way.

With a faint chuckle and a shake of his head, Ichigo replied, "No, definitely not."

"Good!" Orihime chirped. "Now come on, we need to finish your inside tour!" As she spoke she reached out and grabbed his hand, starting forward at a brisk pace.

Ichigo allowed her to half-drag him, her hand holding his, as he fought to swallow properly, simultaneously battling against the heat rising steadily to his cheeks. He wasn't sure what it was about her, but she threw him completely off-balance.

He could only hope he'd figure it out soon.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Heehee, don't worry Ichigo, you will! Hmm? Oh! Right! So, that was chapter six! Hope you enjoyed it, and don't worry, the action's not over yet! I'm just taking a minute or two to build suspense…and tension ^_~ So let me know what you thought! And stay tuned for the next installment!