Chapter 3: Oh Captain my Captain.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the characters of Bleach or the actually product of Bleach.

The house wasn't decayed in a condemned murder house sort of fashion, or any other style of decay, but it had all the makings of some type of haunted fun house, only lacking in the monsters to pop out. Rukia was practically latched on to Ichigo, her hands becoming claws as her fingernails dug deep into his arms, and she practically fainted when music started playing from practically nowhere. It was Moonlight Sonata, a Beethoven piece that was played at a slow pace to further incorporate the beauty of the song. Whoever was playing was very masterful in their finger work, but still they were only helping the house to appear frightening to them.

"That would be Saito-kun playing," said Kukaku with a grin as she started to pick up her pace towards the stairs. "He loves this piece to death."

"It's not him," said Yuruichi as she seemed to just look up the wall.

"What do you mean," asked the buxom woman as she turned to face her friend.

"He only has one arm, there is no way it's his arm," replied Rukia, knowing that it hurt Yuruichi to be reminded of the incident of how she had stabbed him in the back.

"The piano we gave him has a recording for his favorite Beethoven pieces," said Yuruichi as she walked up the stairs, her head looking down at her feet. "Urahara was the one who made the right choice by going against it and he was the one who made the piano for Saito-san."

The stairs gave off low moans as their feet touched the old wood, sending out creeks through the foundations of the house. The sound of the piano got louder as they walked closer and closer to the music, their heartbeats setting a tempo for the music as the music picked up to a faster pace, changing from Moonlight Sonata to Fur Eliz. The only person not moving at a cautious pace was Kukaku, who was very eager to see her gloomy friend and hopefully get him to cheer up a bit so he would come back. Light peered out of an opened door, pouring on the dark room like moonlight on a grey, seeming as ominous as the grim reaper himself, but still they walked towards it. Even Kukaku had slowed her pace down as the music started to turn darker and more oppressive, the player knew they were in his house and he was trying to show that they were unwelcome.

"You need to have better hospitality for me," shouted Kukaku as she stomped towards the door and peered into the room to find nothing but a lone piano and a casket. "What the hell, not this game again!"

"What is it Kukaku-sama," said Ichigo as he walked right by her and peered into the room as well. "Must have the piano set to play those pieces."

"Don't tell me he's out," moaned Yuruichi as she knew that he had developed the habit of wondering off to somewhere for months and showing back just as suddenly as he disappeared. "God now we'll never get him in time."

"In time for what," whispered a voice into her ear that made her jump in fright. Behind her was the man she was looking for dressed in a black kimono with a black hakama.

"God could you not do that ever again," asked Yuruichi as she glared at Saito.

"What it's not like you lost anything important," replied a laughing Saito as he brushed some of his black long black hair out of his face. "But what are you doing here?"

"Did you also forget me too," asked an angry Kukaku who was cracking her knuckle by flexing it.

"Oh Kukaku-chan, I didn't even see you there," said Saito just before her fist connected with his face in what was a blink of an eye, even for Yuruichi. "You still have the famous flash punch I see."

"I really do believe you are a masochist," replied a smiling Kukaku as she hugged him with her one arm.

"It's been far too long since we last saw each other," said Saito as he did the same in return. "Come, we can discuss what you have come ti discuss in the kitchen where I have other guests that I've been entertaining for an hour or so. I believe they are friends of yours, Ichigo Kurasaki."

"Who is here," asked Ichigo.

"Let's see, one of them is a buxom girl who has the oddest tastes I have ever seen in my entire life," replied Saito as he started to walk off with his arm over Kukaku's shoulder. "Her name is Orihime and the other two girls are named Tatsuki and Chizuru, it I remember correctly."

"How could you forget their names in such a small amount of time," asked Kukaku as she let out a sigh.

"Old habits die hard," replied Saito in a casual manner.

Tatsuki and Orihime tried their best to comfort their friend, or maybe hunter since she was always on the prowl, Chuzuru. Last night her best friend and on and off lover was murdered by some type of cult. The red head's hands were wiping away the tears from her eyes as her two friends stroked her hair and told her that everything was going to be okay, that they were going to be there for her when she needed it. Sitting across from them was the silent mountain of steel, Sado, who was just watching the two as they comforted their friend and he wondered why he was there since he never associated with the school lesbian, himself being a male. All he was doing was turning down another offer to join the vale tudo club because they could use his strength and his threshold for damage that made him as indestructible as a tank. Sado would always refuse to join, not because it was going against his ideas, but because he was always strangely nervous when standing next to the second strongest tournament fighter in Japan. Sado had never had a crush before, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he got every time she was near, a sort of fluttering feeling in his stomach that always made him uncomfortable.

"Don't worry Chuzuru, we'll be here to support you when you feel down," said Orihime as she slowly stroked her friends hair. "Please don't cry, Chuzuru, we don't want you to be sad."

"She's gone," sobbed Chizuru. "Shizuru is gone and I'm left alone without someone to love me."

"Your surrounded by friends, how are you alone," said a voice from the opposite side of her sitting position. It was the man who had lent her shelter when she was crying and had called her friends over to comfort her, Saito Haijime.

"But, the love that was shared between I and her," said Shizuru as she looked at the past memories of their love. "If she was still alive and we grew to a legal age, we would be getting married."

"Your pain is very understandable," replied Saito as he looked out at his garden behind the glass door. "I've lost many friends or they have lost me, but after time has passed, I find that there are others who can take their place. Right now you should try looking at the person who is to your left, Orihime-san, because she was the one who dragged Tatsuki over here."

"He's right," said Orihime as she held her friend close. "Would you let me take Shizuru's place to make you happy?"

"Now then, you two may leave to the garden to elaborate on your relationship," offered Saito as he pointed to the garden as he waited for the two girls to leave before he continued. "Now then, what have you come to ask of me?"

"Well, you know the majority of the soul society is sorry for what we all did to you," said Yuruichi as she knelt before him. "I, myself, am sorry for the role I played in the incident and for the wound I dealt you, even though we were great friends. We wish to make up for this fault by giving you back your rank and putting you in command of the newly formed fourteenth division."

"Would this have anything to do with the new hollow that attacked the girl's friend," asked Saito as he stared at her with a smirk as he saw her waver a little. "I could tell that the murder and you coming here with that offer were both related. It's harder to pull the walls over my eyes than it was years ago. Tell me why the hell I would like to rejoin the same organization betrayed me?"

"We have a gift for you, a right arm that was made from cultivated genes taken from your right arm," said Yuruichi as she took out a duffel bag that no one had noticed before.

She took out a right arm that was wrapped in black cloth and she held it out to him in the same manner a person would present a sword to their lord. The arm was as long as the original and had the same amount of reitetsu emanating from it as his original right arm. Hesitantly, Saito picked the right arm from her outstretched hands and placed it onto the stub where the right arm use to be and waited for Yuruichi or Rukia to attach the arm to the stub. To his surprise the arm attached itself to the stub, the fibers connecting and reviving the severed nerves in both the arm and the stub. Strong waves of pain hit Shenlong with the intensity of a thousand suns, bringing him to his knees as he gasped in pain, but the waves of pain resided, giving way to a strange calm in his body. He felt a hand on his shoulder, Kukaku's hand, and he rose to his feet.

"You don't have to accept the offer to get the hand," said Yuruichi as she held out the insignia of a captain. "All you have to do is decide whether you want to return or not, but until then, you will not be able to get back into the soul society, even if you were to die."

"Think about it, Saito-kun," whispered Kukaku into his ear. "If you come back, you and I would be able to see each other more often instead of these rare occasions. I miss you being in the soul society, I have few good opponents to fight with or people to talk to."

"You've managed to persuade me to come back," said Saito as he took the insignia from Yuruichi's hand. "But I'll need others if I want to hunt the creatures we're hunting."

"Creatures," asked Yuruichi as she turned her to the side a bit. "We thought it was only just one."

"Oh no there are more," replied Saito with a sadistic grin. "And there are more to come if we don't hurry."

Yeak i changed the Orihime pairing, but I wont do anything much with it until I do the sequel or have the side story as it's own fan fic. You decide.