I slid open the door, not even bothering to knock or give any notion that I was there. Somehow, it didn't even phase him.

"Good morning," I said, shutting the door behind me.

"Yeah," he replied, his attention on the stack of papers in front of him.

"You happy I actually went through the door and not through the window this time?"

"Yeah."

I crashed on the couch in front of his desk and peered over the back, "Toushirou, are you just going to reply 'yeah' to everything I say? Because you know, that would never be a good idea."

He finally looked up, his turquoise eyes narrowed and his lips curled into a frown. I was obviously intruding on something important. But, like always, I didn't care. Yeah, I could be a jerk sometimes.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"Don't you have to be somewhere?" He set down the ink brush, leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.

"No. Why, do you?"

"Nazeka, I could sit here and play this little game of yours all day or I could finally get some work done."

"I like the first option." I grinned, "You never play games anymore."

"And I'm not about to start now. Why don't you go and bother someone else. Doesn't Ukitake need you to do something?" He returned to his work.

"Nah. Unlike you, everyone else in the Seireitei's taking a break and having some fun. The gang from the World of the Living is hanging out with us too. Apparently Ichigo's over at the dojo in Squad 11's barracks. I hope he understands how seriously they take it over there."

"And where exactly is Ukitake?"

"Out having a few drinks with Kyouraku. No point in going back to my barracks if my captain isn't even sober."

"Great, so you are stuck with annoying me."

"Yeah, pretty much."

He was already back to focusing on the large spread of paperwork before him. I sat in silence, still staring at him from the couch. A few minutes later, he muttered, "Why are you being so quiet? Weren't you going to annoy me?"

"Well... I have to let you get back to focusing. Once you're immersed in the work, I'll start annoying you again and I'll get an even more amusing response."

He looked up, the same expression on his face. I swear, his face was going to freeze that way. "You treat this like a science."

"I have to spice it up somehow."

He set down the brush again and stood up, sighing, "Okay, what am I going to have to do to get you to leave?"

"Nothing, but what do I have to do in order to get you to give up on your paperwork?" I stared him down, hoping he'd go for that option instead.

"That's not going to happen."

I stood up and folded my arms, "Oh, c'mon, why won't you try to have a little fun?"

He sat down as if to prove his point. Two could play at that game. I sat on the edge of his desk and started pushing on the tall stack of papers nearest me with my index finger. He froze, "You wouldn't."

"Oh I would."

He groaned, "What do you want!"

"I want to know what you're hiding."

He raised an eyebrow, "Hiding?" I nodded, "Yes, hiding. You've been in a bad mood ever since you were released from the 4th squad's barracks. What's eating you?"

He looked down, "Nothing." Well that wasn't obvious. I pushed on the stack harder, and the paper began to teeter.

"I'm dead serious! Nothing's bothering me!"

"You always try to cover it up, Toushirou. But you and I both know there's something you don't want to tell me." I put my elbow on the stack and rested my head in my hand as I waited patiently for his answer.

"I visited Hinamori earlier."

"And...?"

"She hasn't improved."

"Give her a break, it's only been two days since Aizen..." I silenced myself when I saw him grimace at Aizen's name. He clenched his fist and slammed it on the desk, "That man is the reason she hasn't improved. She's lost the very reason she wanted to live, to become a shinigami, to do any of this! She's never going to wake up! I knew that from the moment I saw her the next day! She... she has no reason to live anymore. Now it's just a matter of time..." He put his head in his hands, frustrated with himself.

"She's..." I muttered, hating every word I let roll off my tongue, "She's got you, though."

He shook his head, "That's not good enough."

Ouch. Well that hurt. I kind of wondered if he would say that if I were in a coma too. Oh well, couldn't let this become all about me. "Sure it is. She's just got to realize it, that's all. But doesn't it feel better to actually tell someone?"

He looked up from his hands and snapped, "No."

"That's just like you. Look, you need to get out and do something to keep your mind off it. Why don't we go take a walk? Just around the Seireitei."

"No."

"Oh, c'mon. It'll be good for you!" I said cheerily, sliding off the desk to stand up. But then I heard a loud fluttering of papers behind me combined with a thud. I turned around slowly to see that very stack of papers spilled over on the floor... and a very furious Toushirou. I had accidentally hit the stack when I had gotten up. Oops.

He was fuming, speechlessly so. He just stared at the mess at his feet in disbelief, his mouth gaping as he tried to form words. I gave a sheepish grin and said softly, "I think now's a good time for that walk. Let's go." I grabbed his wrist and pulled him away, flash-stepping the heck out of there. The longer he stared at that pile, the longer my lecture would be.

We were still in his squad's barracks, just on the opposite side. He was still ticked, and I backed away slowly, "Look, it was just an accident, okay? I'll pick them up when we get back from our-"

"NAZEKA!" He roared, fists clenched by his sides. I hid behind him and pushed him toward the exit, "Now, now, just calm down... let's go on that walk like I suggested befo-"

"Nazeka, I've had it with you popping into my office and screwing things up! You're almost as bad as Matsumoto!" He snarled, folding his arms and planting his feet so I couldn't push him any farther. I waited for more, but he seemed to be done.

"Is that it? That's all you're going to tell me? Couldn't you think of anything else to add to that little 'scolding' of yours?"

"Believe me, I would, but I can't think of anything else. I'm so mad I can't see straight, let alone think straight!"

I began pushing him again, "Then let's go and cool you down. Forget about all that stuffy paperwork and get a life already!" He wouldn't budge, and I gave up on forcing him out.

"Even if I did want to go, I'm not wearing any shoes and that mess is still there."

"I told you, I'll take care of it when we get back. And I can handle that shoe thing. Be right back." I disappeared, flash-stepping to the entrance of his office. His sandals were beneath the door leading outside. Grabbing those, I went to where I had mine and then I finally went back to where he was waiting.

"Here," I tossed him his shoes while hopping on one foot to put mine on, "Now we can go!" I began pushing him again, and he reluctantly agreed. It seems his temper had gone down quite considerably, though it didn't seem like he wanted to talk. I rolled my eyes, "Why do you have so much paperwork?"

"That's none of your business."

"I see... well, what do you think will happen now that we're out three captains?"

"They'll find replacements. Until then, the lieutenants will act as the leaders of the squad."

I thought about that for a second, "Man, poor Kira. He's not cut out to be a captain." Who else was missing a captain? Third squad, fifth squad, and... ninth squad. Hisagi should be fine, but... "Uh... who's going to take over for the fifth squad since Hinamori is...?"

Toushirou didn't answer. I assumed he didn't want to think about it, so I dropped the subject. This was more awkward than any other conversation I had had with him before. I put my hands behind my head as we turned down another street, when a girl with orange hair ran in between Toushirou and I in the opposite direction. I recognized her immediately.

"Uh, hey there, Orihime. Why in such a rush?" I called, walking backwards. She stopped and waved, "Oh, hey there Nazeka-san! You haven't seen Rukia anywhere have you?"

"No. Why, is there a problem?"

"Well I was going to give her a dress, but when I went into her hospital room, she wasn't there. Uh, shouldn't you be worried too? She's your subordinate isn't she?"

"Nah, I'm not worried. Rukia's tough. She can handle herself. It's a nice day, I'm sure she went out for a walk or something like we are. Are you the only one searching for her?"

"I was going to go find Ichigo to help."

"Ah. Oh, hey, you guys are leaving tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, well, I'll be sure to see you guys off then! See ya, Orihime. Good luck finding Rukia."

"Bye!" I waved and spun back around, putting my arms behind my head again. "One of the ryouka?" Toushirou asked.

"One of the new World of the Living friends," I emphasized, "That was Orihime."

"I see."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing."

We kept walking, "So how's your shoulder?"

He shrugged, "It's fine. A little sore is all."

"At least that's all. It was pretty deep, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Are you all healed up too?"

I raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about? I barely did anything! I didn't have a single scratch on me-"

"What about from your bankai training? That's what I was asking about."

"Oh." He had stopped me from ranting, which at this point was probably a good thing. I was still a little sore about the whole not-doing-any-fighting. He continued, "I was just thinking... about the current situation with the captains and the need of replacements... you do know what one of the requirements is for becoming captain, right?"

"Yeah, you need to know bankai. What about it?" I looked at him blankly, but it slowly sinked in. Not many people know bankai. The only people that I knew other than myself who knew bankai was Renji and Ichigo... and Renji would probably decline and Ichigo wasn't even registered in a squad and was human.

"There's not going to be too many replacements, are there?"

"You seem to be forgetting one tiny little detail," he muttered.

"What?"

He sighed and stopped walking, looking down at the ground, "You will be requested as a captain."

"What! No, no, no, no! I am not going to be a captain. I never even wanted to be a shinigami, let alone a captain or lieutenant!"

"If the Soutaicho says so, you'll have no choice. And you aren't exactly on good terms with him, so I don't expect him to agree to your decline."

"But... but... but I don't... I'm happy in the thirteenth squad. I don't want to leave. Ukitake is an amazing captain and I love my squad."

"One minute you're saying you hate being a shinigami, the next you're saying you love it. Make up your mind already," Toushirou muttered, shaking his head.

"Well... I mean... it's different. I've lived with this squad before I even became a shinigami, and then when I became one and joined the same squad, it really became my family. I wouldn't trade this squad with any other squad in the world."

"It's good that you've seen your squad that way, but... don't you think you're being a bit selfish?" He asked, and we stopped walking. I looked around, and we were in front of my barracks. I hadn't even realized where we were going the entire time.

"Selfish?" I asked. That hadn't even occurred to me.

"I can understand not wanting to leave your squad, but they can handle themselves. The thirteenth squad still has a captain and two third-seats. They're fine. But look at some of these other squads. The fifth squad has neither a lieutenant or a captain, the third squad doesn't have a captain, and the ninth squad doesn't have a captain. These squads are in dire need of some sort of leadership. They need a captain."

I looked down at my feet. I knew he was right. "I just... I'd rather have my orders come from Ukitake than Yamamoto-soutaicho. My reiatsu is puny compared to some of the captains and I couldn't even stand up to the soutaicho. I'm scared of some of the captains and I would have to get to know an entirely different squad. I already know all of the thirteenth squad and I don't want to have to learn everyone else's name on a squad I've never even been on."

"Just think of it as payment for doing practically nothing to help two days ago."

Ooh, okay, that was a low blow. I narrowed my eyes, "You wanna take that back?"

"Look, just think about it. But you know, the whole reason you were sent to the Shinigami Academy was to become a captain, remember? Yamamoto-soutaicho isn't going to take no for an answer. You have more potential than you think. If you think your reiatsu isn't that high now, then you'll just have to train some more. Maybe Ukitake has some ideas or some things for you to do. Talk to him. Anyway, I have to go." He folded his arms and disappeared, flash-stepping away before I had a chance to say goodbye. I sighed, looking up at the emblem of my squad on the gate beside me.

But then I wondered if he had forgotten about the papers that I was supposed to pick up. Whoops. I flash-stepped back to his barracks and threw my shoes off as I ran back into his office. He wasn't there. Maybe he had something else to do... but if he did, then he wouldn't have been so keen on doing his paperwork.

Trying to shake the curiosity from my mind, I began picking up the large stack that was still lying untouched. Halfway through it, I saw the change of squad numbers on the top of the pages. They were no longer for squad ten. They were squad five's. I glanced at a few of them, and they were mostly just report papers. Why is he taking care of these? Shouldn't Hinamori be doing... oh. He must be taking care of them for her while she's in the hospital. No wonder he didn't want to stop working...

I finished stacking all of the papers and took a stack of the fifth squad's. There were a lot of them left, not to mention the immense amount from his own squad. He shouldn't be doing all of this by himself. Though... Matsumoto's not going to help him. I continued to stare at the stack in my hands. I sighed, not exactly liking the idea that formed in my head. I had enough to do anyway, but... they didn't add up to anything like what he had.

"I can't believe I'm going to do this..." I muttered, tucking the stack underneath my arms and grabbing another stack that was for the fifth squad. I then found a blank piece of paper in his desk and wrote:

If you really needed help, then you should've just said so. I took some of the Squad 5 papers. I'll take care of them. You have enough to deal with already. I'll give these to you as soon as they're done.

-Nazeka

I left his office, put my shoes back on, and walked back to my barracks. It was late in the afternoon, and not many people were on the streets. The day had gone by quickly, and it seemed that the Seireitei was finally finding some peace after the last couple of days. Everyone had been on edge yesterday, even though the ryouka were now our friends. But now it seemed like everyone had gotten used to our visitors and things were settling down.

"Oi! Ichigo! Where the hell are you!"

The voice came so suddenly from behind that I nearly dropped all of the papers in my arms from shock. A large blur shoved me out of the way and I fell to the ground... all of the documents spilled in front of me. Just what was the deal with me and spilling paperwork all over the place! I stood up and yelled, "Hey! Who the hell do you think you-gah!" I stopped talking immediately as I realized that it was Kenpachi-taicho. Yachiru waved from his back and smiled, "Bye-bye Namo-chan!"

"Uh... Namo-chan?" I raised my eyebrow. At least it wasn't degrading this time. I waved half-heartedly back and watched as they turned a corner. I groaned when I looked down and saw the paperwork still in a large clutter. In frustration, I kicked some of the papers in front of me. I froze when I heard the sound of ripping, and slowly turned my gaze to the mess. Sure enough, some of them were now torn.

I began to panic, "No, no, no, no! Toushirou's going to be furious! He's going to kill me!" I scooped up the papers and made a break for it to my barracks.

The next day, I was to say good-bye to my new friends. I had barely gotten to know any of them, and here they were just leaving back to what used to be my home. I couldn't help but be a bit jealous. But, as it turned out, there were a few upsides in the day already.

First, I was one of the few that actually got to watch them leave thanks to me being Ukitake's lieutenant. Number two was that Rukia was staying with us. And three, it turned out that Ichigo would work for us as a substitute shinigami, so we could go visit him or vice-versa. At least it wasn't good-bye forever. Truth be told, I kind of wanted to use him as an excuse for more missions in the World of the Living. I hadn't been there in ages, and I really wanted to see what had changed.

We were allowing them to use the Senkaimon in order to return home. They all received Hell Butterflies as well; but Ichigo also received a combat pass, which would allow him to change into his shinigami form without using a gikongon pill, as well as alert him to Hollows. I thought it was pretty neat.

With Ukitake, Rukia, and I, there was Kuchiki-taicho, Komamura-taicho, Unohana-taicho, Renji, Sentaro, and Kiyone.

"It's time!" Ukitake said, and the Senkaimon glowed even brighter than before. Ichigo and his friends turned to leave, and approached the large entryway. I waved, "See ya, everyone! Come back again soon!"

They disappeared, and the Senkaimon deactivated, the large doors swinging shut. I looked at Rukia, who was still staring at the doors. She already missed them. Then I noticed the cloth in her hands and asked her, "What's that, Rukia?"

She glanced at it, as if double-checking that I was asking her about it, "Oh, this? Ishida made me this dress. Orihime told me I have to wear it... and she seemed pretty serious about it."

"Ishida made it?"

"Yeah, he's amazing at sewing."

"Oh, right, I remember you telling me that."

Ukitake motioned for us to follow him, and we ended our conversation there until we were in district 13 and closer to the barracks. "You gonna be okay?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh... yeah. It was my choice."

"Why'd you choose to stay?"

"Well... you see... I thought it would be best. I can't stay with them forever." She said, looking down at the dirt.

"That's true... but I'm sure we'll see them again real soon. Right?"

She looked up and smiled, "Yeah."

When we arrived at our barracks, I excused myself. I needed to talk to Ukitake in private. I found him in the office, staring at a stack of papers, puzzled. I asked him, "What's wrong?"

"How did some of the fifth squad's papers get mixed up with ours?"

I quickly picked them off the desk and set them on the floor, "Oh, that's nothing you need to worry about. Some things have happened while you've been sick."

He sat down at the desk and picked up a few papers and started reading them. "Um, Taicho..." I said, looking down at my feet, "I have a few questions."

"Okay." He set down the papers and folded his hands on the desk.

"Well... Toushirou and I were talking... and well, he mentioned that I might be possibly promoted to captain..."

"Nazeka, we've known about this possibility since you've arrived in Soul Society. It's why you became a shinigami, remember?"

Believe me, Ukitake, I remember. "Well, I know I've achieved bankai and everything but..." I told him everything I had told Toushirou. He was quiet for a little while, so I continued, "Well, I... I... I wanted to ask you if you had any ideas about my reiatsu problem. You know, like some sort of training or something..."

"I can help you with that, Nazeka. Why don't you find someone who will train with you?"

"Well, I would typically ask Rukia... but since she doesn't really have her powers right now..."

"Yo, Taicho... I've got a delivery for you." The door slid open and a man carrying a huge stack of paperwork that blocked his view walked in. He set it down by the desk and stood up, stretching his back, "Whew, all this commotion with those guys from the World of the Living and Aizen sure is causing a lot of paperwork." He shook his sleeves until they were covering his hands.

"Oh, good morning, Daisuke," Ukitake said, smiling. I was about to greet him as well, but then an idea came to my mind, "Hey, Daisuke, I have a favor to ask."

He looked at me, his same old bored look in his eyes, while he chewed on his toothpick, "What?"

"Would you help me with some training?"

"Training? Work? No thanks."

"C'mon, I really need this training. Please, Daisuke? I just need you to-"

"No."

"I guess you'll just have to take it as an order then, because as your lieutenant, I am ordering you to help me with my training."

"Oh, so you're pulling that card, are you? Tch..."

I turned to Ukitake, "So, now that I have a partner..."

"I'll meet you in the training grounds. Go on and get your zanpakutou, both of you."

I nodded and pushed Daisuke out the door, "C'mon, you, you're helping, now go get your sword." He shuffled along at an unimaginably slow pace. He was going to take forever.

"C'mon, let's go."

"If you don't take life slowly, you'll miss all the good things." He preached, and I rolled my eyes, "Now's not the time for proverbial sayings."

"But it's true."

"I don't care, now get your ass moving!" I kicked him forward, "When I get over to the training grounds, you'd better be over there with your zanpakutou ready to fight!" I departed to my own quarters, where Syugoryuu was lying against the wall inside the door. I attached him to my belt and took off for the training grounds.

Ukitake was already there, sitting on the grass-covered cliff above the bowl-like rocky ground that served as the 'arena' and sipping a cup of tea. I sat next to him, both of us waiting for Daisuke. Luckily, he wasn't taking his sweet time like usual and arrived fairly quickly.

Ukitake set down his tea, "Alright then... Nazeka, tell me, what exactly is it that you hope to accomplish by training?"

"Well an... an increase in my reiatsu I suppose."

"Do you know how that's accomplished?"

"Uh..." I scratched my head, "Isn't your full reiatsu supposed to become accessible once you learn bankai?"

"Typically, yes."

"Typically?"

Ukitake took another sip of his tea, "Your bankai was achieved through a different method. Therefore, your reiatsu will be achieved a different way as well. Have you ever used your bankai before?"

"No..."

"Then you have no idea your limits or that time limit you have, correct?"

"Uh..." I hadn't ever thought of that, "No..."

"Then that's what we'll focus on. You need to know how long you have until you lose control. Daisuke," he motioned towards the arena, "since you are Nazeka's partner, you will be fighting her until we know how long she can hold out. That's only step one, but we'll leave it at that for now. Go on, you two." He waved us to the dirt bowl and sipped his tea again.

I dropped down in the arena first, fingering the hilt of my blade anxiously. Daisuke, as always, didn't show any emotion other than pure boredom. We stood across from each other, a good few meters away. I drew my blade, but he just stood there, pulling on the strap that held his zanpakutou over his shoulder. He carried that thing around like a bag over his left shoulder.

I held out Syugoryuu in front of me, both hands on the hilt gripping it tightly. I was a little nervous. How long would I hold out? What would happen to me?

"BANKAI!"