Shiro and I had returned to the First Division's barracks. We entered our office together for the first time and gazed around in amazement. Not too long ago this place was covered in complete pink, but now the room had everything but it. Walls had been painted orange and crimson. A white dragon was painted across the orange and a black dragon across the red. Directly across from the door was a huge floor-to-ceiling window gazing out across the rest of our Division's property.

I walked over to orange wall and ran my hand down the paint. "Wow," I sighed happily. Both dragons were in well detail, beautiful even.

Shiro smirked at me and I returned a smile.

I heard her foot steps and sensed her Spiritual Pressure (I was getting a lot better at this) before Soi Fon even knocked on the door. After she knocked, there was a call, "Head Captain, sir, you sent for me?"

"I did Soi Fon," I replied while turning to face the door, "please enter."

Soi Fon pushed open the doors and walked in, the large pieces of wood closing automatically afterwards.

"I have a job for you," I continued to say. She nodded. "Send two members of your Stealth Squad to every Division in the Seireitei and have them search everywhere for a hidden bomb. As well, search for any females who would have joined the Seireitei at the same time as Hana."

"Yes sir, is that all?"

I nodded, and she flashed away.

Later on, Shiro and I were at work in our new office when we heard another knock at the door. Without the need to respond, Soi Fon entered.

"Finished?"

She nodded, but it was obvious that she had more to say. "Sir, we have found as much as ten bombs hidden in every Division. Four of them are standards, and we were able to neutralize them. Three were much larger, but are currently deactivated. However, three are none like there ever has been in Soul Society's history. We've sent orders to evacuate the buildings in particular that would be affected by such an explosion, but Soul Society will be almost completely destroyed if we do not shut them down."

I raced through my head for a good answer, but I honestly had none. I didn't know what to say, I wasn't a leader! For crying out loud I was merely a human before I became a Substitute Shinigami!

"Are the bombs accessible?"

Soi Fon nodded.

"Take us to one, an' we'll see what we can do."

"Sir?"

"Tha's an order, Soi Fon."

I could see that she was willing to protest, but she remembered her place and nodded. I gave Shiro a confused-as-hell look and he responded with a hand to my shoulder and a look that said, "Trust me."

"Alright," I sighed with a small nod.

Shiro smiled and the both of us took off behind Soi Fon as she led us to our destination. When we got there the very first thing I noticed was the smell. It was tangy, but sweet as well. There might've been some lemons, watermelon, or possibly even mango...?

"What is that?"

"The smell was already in the air when we arrived. It has nothing to do with the bombs as we've determined thus far."

"Would it be possible to have Mayuri investigate?"

"Captain Kurotsuchi remains in the Fourth Division. His injuries were... pretty large, to say the least," Soi Fon answered.

Great. Just great. "...What about Kisuke?"

"Urahara? No one has seen him in over a hundred years. We think he may have gone into hiding after Karakura was destroyed, but we don't know for sure."

'And the last one to see him was Tatsuki. She's gone,' I thought with frustration. Did they really think this far ahead, or was it all just me getting paranoid? Or could they all be related and this was planned by the enemy to get me paranoid?

"Ichigo, I'm takin' ya back to the house."

"I'm fine," I lied.

"No, yer not." He caught me in his arms before I could even blink and held me in such a way that it was impossible to escape. "I'll be back later Soi Fon. He needs to take a break."

Soi Fon nodded, before running off to help one of her own division members. I glared at Shiro before he rested my head in his shoulder, leaving me to pout while staring off into the distance. I didn't want to sleep or take a break. I needed to help. God, it's so not fair... I can't argue with him. If I did I'd definitely lose.

"Quit grumblin' would ya? Yer actin' like a child."

"Oh shut up. I am not."

"Denial's the first sign of a lie Ichigo."

I sighed. He was right, not like I'd ever admit that though...

"Just go to our room an' sleep." He whispered softly. My eyes fluttered closed as a result of his hand brushing gently the top of my back. "I'll always be there when ya wake up, and if not ya know how to reach me."

Noises and sounds begun to fade as sleep slowly took over my mind. His voice was like a lullaby, soft and sweet, music to my ears. Shiro was beautiful, and as I fell asleep my dreams were filled with him. It was going to be the greatest sleep I've had in a very long time.

And it was.

When I woke it was dark. A candle was lit just outside of the door trailing a flickering beam of light into what appeared as my room. I could make out the faint outline of the closed window and the wooden beams at the end of my bed. I lay in the middle, covered in a few light sheets.

I stood and looked around, allowing my eyes to get used to the darkness. After a little while I realised I was only wearing my hakama. My cheeks heated up a bit; it was probably Shiro who took off my shirt.

By then my only real instinct was to walk out to where the light was, so that's what I did. When I stepped out I could see that the light was coming from across the hall in the study. The door was wide open and I could hear the gentile clicking of computer keys that came along with papers flipping.

A silent sigh escaped my lips when my eyes fell apon Shiro, who was working hard to finish both of our weekly reports. I leaned against the door frame, crossing my arms as I did so. When Shiro didn't seem to notice me, I walked right up and bent his chair backwards so his eyes met mine.

"Now who's working too hard," I questioned with an eyebrow raised.

"Ha ha very funny," he sung in a blank tone.

I chuckled at the shock in his eyes, but Shiro quickly turned the tables by pulling my head down and smashing our lips together, officially transferring his shock to me.

"You haven' got a clue how good you taste..." He moaned afterwards.

I rolled my eyes and took hold of his chair, then pulled him a good three meters away from the desk. "Come on Shiro. It's dark out. We should both be in bed."

"Aww... Ichi, are ya comin' onta me?"

Okay, now I was really blushing. "N-No! But I'm n-not letting you stay out here either!"

He chuckled, ass hole, but I loved him.