Ichigo's POV
My eyes were open faster than I had even realised. My surroundings were dark, but still light enough for me to see. My arms moved freely to investigate what I was lying on, quickly finding a blanket and a mattress.
"Well look who's finally awake," the person standing in the door way said. She flicked on the lights which temporarily blinded me. Though that didn't matter, I recognized her voice… Captain… Unohana! Yeah, that was her.
"Umm… How long have I been out?" It was an important question, but I still felt stupid asking it.
"Two days," Unohana responded with a knowing smile. "To answer your next question… Yes. All of your wounds have been healed so you may leave."
"Oh," I replied, surprised, "okay."
Unohana pointed to a wardrobe. "Your clothing is in there. Get dressed and hopefully I don't see you here again soon."
I chuckled, "Right."
Unohana left as I sat up. I swung my feet over the bed then suddenly had the urge to crack my neck. My arms spread out wide above my head while I shook my head sideways. I felt three pops against my neck before it actually cracked. Then I stood up, letting my arms fall to my sides, and walked towards the wardrobe.
Inside I found my black shihakusho, my white socks, beige shoes, my Zanpakuto and… a white robe? I swapped my current paper clothing for the usual ones. Then while tightening the red strap around my upper body, my eyes drifted to the white robe. I took it in my hands, the robe falling out and extending to the floor. I couldn't believe what I saw! Etched into the back of the robe in neat black sewing was the First Division's symbol. It looked like the robe was my size, but there was no way that I could be… could I?
It was then that I heard a small clatter. I looked to my feet where I tiny folded piece of paper sat. Careful not to drop the robe, I bent over and picked up the paper. I unfolded it and saw a short paragraph written on the inside.
I walked back to the bed and sat down, my eyes not leaving the paper. I didn't recognize the hand writing, but that didn't really bother me. I read, 'Ichigo, if you're reading this note then that means you've recovered and are ready to leave Division Four's barracks. I am going to make this short as to not waste your time. You and your inner hollow have successfully defeated the previous Head Captain, Hana and did so under the witness of over two Captains. This means that by law the two of you are the new Head Captains of the Gotei Thirteen. Good luck and if you ever need anything feel free to ask your fellow Captains.'
There was no name, not that it really mattered at the moment. Right now I was too busy freaking out over my sudden new status. And they said Shiro was going to be… too…- Hang on. Where was Shiro?
I took the letter and shoved it in my Shihakusho. Then I put on the Head Captain's robes, smiling with surprise as it really did fit me perfectly.
After I discarded the paper clothing I took to wandering the halls of the Fourth Division. I had been here once before and knew my way out, but I wasn't interested in the exit. I was making sure to memorize every stone one the floor, every crack on the wall, and every room in this bright place. Or at least that was my excuse. I was really looking for Shiro, obsessing over his health, hoping that he wasn't hurt.
Eventually I made it to the other side of the building. There was no sign of Shiro which was the good news and the bad. He wasn't here, which meant he wasn't hurt, but I now have the entire Soul Society (minus the Fourth Division) to search in order to find him.
'Alright,' I thought, 'where would I go after I finished a battle?'
The answer came to me before I had even started thinking about it. I left the Fourth Division's barracks after an awkward, "Glad to see you're better Kurosaki Sou-taichou!" from someone I didn't recognize. I explained that they really didn't need to call me anything fancy and just Ichigo would be fine, but they insisted so I just smiled.
I took to my right trying to remember the Seireitei's patterns. The sun had just reached the middle of the sky revealing all the colors of the Seireitei. I noticed that some buildings had become girly, and I didn't want to sound sexist or anything but pink and purple buildings did not suit an army.
Also while I was walking, I overheard a few conversations. One of them went like this:
"Can you believe it?" the first female exclaimed.
"Of course! I wouldn't expect anything less. Though I didn't expect him to be that cute," came a second voice.
"Don't start falling in love with a taken man, besides we have a job to do. Tonight we meet back here, okay?" the third voice commanded.
"Yeah, whatever," the second voice replied.
I passed the ally and that was the last of those voices. Occasionally I would bump into someone I knew or someone I've never met before and all of them smiled and greeted me as the Sou-taichou. The name was a little weird at first, but after the fiftieth time I started getting used to it.
After walking for half an hour I began to think I had gotten lost. However all doubts disappeared once I took a turn that led me right to my destination. The gates of the Sixth Division stood tall and proud just the way I remembered them.
I made my way towards the gates, the guards not moving an inch from where they stood. I was about to stop and ask if they'd let me in, but as soon as I came into their view they scrambled around and comically opened the giant wooden doors.
"Uhh… Thanks," I mumbled. God I'm gonna need time to get used to this…
As I took a glance around, I noticed that everything was surprisingly green. A stone pathway cut through dark green grass all the way towards a traditional Japanese styled house. The dark wood beams had been freshly coated in paint while the other paper frames stood out because of their bright color. A pond with clear water, cat tails, weeds and bright yellow flowers sat off to the left of the house. All in all it seemed peaceful, but I knew what this division was capable of.
I approached the doors of the house, everything except my footsteps remaining completely silent as I did so. My hand reached out and took hold of the side of the door. It didn't take much to open them, just small shove.
When I entered the first thing I noticed was immediately the many number of people in here. To the right of the door were Yoruichi and Kisuke, an unexpected but nice surprise. Directly in front of me sat Byakuya, his usual scowl present as he sorted through a bit of, which I could only assume, was paper work. In the left corner of the room stood Rukia, Ishida, Inoue and someone I didn't recognise just having a casual conversation. Then to the far off right, lying against the ground, were Shiro and Renji.
"Ah, Ichigo, it's lovely to see you again," Kisuke greeted cheerfully.
"I wish I could say the same," I mumbled. "What are you doing here?"
Kisuke made a disappointed grunt before flipping his trade mark fan in front of his face. "That's not very nice to say… Well, anyways, Yoruichi and I came to inspect what had the Soul Society on high alert and I guess it was because of you and that inner hollow of yours."
"Shiro," I stated quickly.
"Ah, yes, Shiro." I could see the glint of happiness suddenly appear in his eyes, he was definitely about to be… well… Kisuke. "I was wondering if you could settle a bet."
Suddenly I was being dragged by my arm over towards Shiro and Renji. After the throbbing pain of Kisuke nearly tearing off my arm disappeared, I was allowed a better chance to see what was actually going on. Renji and Shiro were both up on their arms and feet facing the ground. In other words they were both holding a plank.
"How long do you think you can hold a plank," Kisuke asked.
"Oh… umm…" I thought for a bit before replying, "An hour and two minutes… why?"
"He's got you beat Abarai!"
"Shut up," Renji hissed, his form shaking a bit with his voice.
Shiro just grinned. And I stared with awe at his completely still form.
"How long have they been at this," I questioned.
"They're coming on forty minutes now," Yoruichi answered from behind.
"And judging by what Kurosaki Sou-taichou just said; Shiro will beat Renji by two hours and twenty one minutes!" Kisuke exclaimed loudly.
"What? Where did you get that number?"
Kisuke smiled widely at me as he explained. "Well you see, you said an hour and two minutes and that times three is three hours and six minutes. Then I knew that Abarai can only got five minutes longer so-"
"I'm sorry I asked…" I interrupted.
'Kisuke took my time and tripled it…' I trialed off in my thoughts of Shiro and I, hardly noticing the minutes go by. Until...
"Shit!" Renji cried as he fell, gasping for air. I managed to come back into focus just in time to see Renji fall and Shiro laugh. The once tragic and terrorizing cackle had now become a prized possession. His laugh, Shiro's laugh, oh god I loved it!
I jumped when I felt an arm around my waist before I turned to the owner and smiled.
"Ewe, boy love," Renji remarked.
"Shut up Renji," Shiro and I said in unison. This caused my face to burn up, I was positive I was blushing.
The moment was interrupted by Byakuya when he cleared his throat. "Renji, Kisuke, Yoruichi… As much as we'd all like to visit, I'm positive that the two Head Captain's would like to settle into their own quarters and we should all probably leave them alone."
'At least he didn' say "Get out",' Shiro commented.
I wasn't expecting our link to still be working. 'Uhh… Right,' I responded, laughing a little.
"Thank you, we'll be off now," Shiro stated formally. He smiled though I noted shortly after he turned away that it grew into a smirk.
We walked all the way to the First Division, his arm remaining firm around my waist and his smile holding deviousness the entire time.