A/N: I was going to post this a little later today, but I'm going to be absent from my house tonight so I thought I would just put it up now. The last one was done at one in the morning...this one was done by 3:30. Let's face it, I'm a nightowl. Alright, here it is. I had some reviews stating that an OC wouldn't be minded. If anything else, they only add things to the plot. Good, not good? Let me know. -KG

Chapter Three: An Interesting Conversation

Captain Ivy Frost Giahara had replaced Gin Ichimaru as captain of the Third Division after his betrayal. It wasn't until after Aizen's fall that she took up the position, but she had helped run the division before that, trying to straighten things out that had become chaotic. Her dark hair contrasted her lighter skin. The captain's haori was normal, but her robe was modified.

"Why hello, Ivy, Izuru, and...?" He greeted the familiar faces but paused on not knowing how to address the young man that accompanied them.

"Yukio Otori. Pleased to meet you, Captain Kyouraku, Lieutenant Ise." He bowed low, showing respect.

He stood about the same height as Izuru, with approximately the same build. His hair was crimson colored, deeper than the common red. He had a sort of air about him, but Shunsui couldn't place exactly what it was.

"Well! You must be the one Seireitei's been talking about. We're pleased to meet you as well, right Nanao-chan?" She didn't reply, but she nodded her head so they could see.

One minute down.

Shunsui invited them all for a drink, deeming it an appropriate time to do so. Nanao didn't protest, but she could've when he left to retrieve some of his reserves. She wasn't sure about this new character.

Two minutes down.

"So...Yukio here had quite the marks when he tested out of kido." Captain Giahara was attempting to make conversation. "They're nowhere near yours, but they were still quite impressive. I don't think we have anyone in the division with marks like those."

"Oh, that's good to hear then. Your division is slowly piecing itself back together." Nanao had to be nice. She didn't like to think that her and this stranger could have many things in common, at least not yet. He was still too foreign.

Three minutes down.

It was true. The defeat of Aizen was over five years ago, but they were still left with picking up the pieces that had remained of their division. Ivy Giahara was newly promoted, but she seemed to manage alright. At least Izuru had accepted her.

"Lieutenant Ise, if you don't mind me asking, how do you manage to get everything done in your division? I hear you're an excellent worker. I can't help but stop and appreciate such dedication."

Four minutes down.

She answered him as politely as she could in that instant, making small talk until, much to her relief, Shunsui returned to the room. He offered a drink, and the others seemed to relax a little. Izuru started up a question by asking Yukio something, much to her surprise. He was usually quiet around company.

Five minutes down. First impression over.

Nanao breathed a slight air of relief. Though hardly noticeable, Shunsui picked up on her overall sense of relaxation, if only a bit. It seems that she wouldn't have to light him on fire after all.

They continued the conversation for another hour before the Third officers decided they needed to go. All five of them stood up, and Ivy spoke up.

"Izuru, could you take Yukio back to the division? Maybe you could show him some of the work we do. I need to talk to Shunsui for a minute."

Nanao thought she saw an annoyed look flash across his face, but she couldn't quite catch it. The two shared a look for a moment before he nodded his head and walked towards the door. He and Yukio bowed before exiting, leaving the three alone.

"What was that all about?" Apparently Shunsui noticed that look too.

"What do you think of him?" It was an honest question with no hint of humor behind it.

"Well, he seems okay. My Nanao-chan didn't light him on fire, so he must have acted appropriately." He flashed her a grin. "What does Izuru think?"

The captain thought for a moment before responding. "Well...Izuru and I have talked about it, but I can truthfully say that he has a large disdain, for lack of a better word, of this one. I don't quite understand it."

"How so, Captain?" Nanao was also curious, having her suspicion of the annoyance confirmed.

"He says there's something not right about him, that he's too nice. I don't know, it could be something else entirely too. It might be that on the very first day he met me, he attempted to flirt. He didn't know that I don't like overly sweet guys. Izuru wasn't too happy about it, but I guess that's just how big brother types are, overprotective and all."

She gazed at the door, not knowing how her lieutenant was fairing. "I feel bad about making him look after him for a bit, but I figured I could use this opportunity to chat without prying ears."

"He didn't seem to upset when we were talking. He even talked to the guy for a bit." Shunsui was observant, just like she thought. That was one reason she brought him here.

"He's playing the roll. He doesn't really want to. He's doing it for me, knowing I'll get some of the blame if something breaks out." She sighed, thinking of a conversation they had. All were silent for a minute.

"I don't think he's jealous." They both looked over to Nanao, who had spoken up.

"Why not, Nanao-chan? It would be perfectly normal, even if it's like a brother-sister thing."

"Because he's not like that to hold grudges on something so stupid." She crossed her arms after readjusting her glasses.

"I agree with you." Ivy nodded her head after saying it. "It definitely isn't like him. He doesn't get worked up over nothing. I trust his opinion completely, so I agree with him about almost everything, like being too nice. Something doesn't really feel right...but as a captain, I'm obligated to show kindness until he does something foolish. I worry about Izuru though. I haven't seen him so upset since..."

She drifted off, the other two knowing exactly what she was talking about. They tended to avoid talking about the betrayal, especially around him. Although everyone had taken it hard, it wasn't easy losing someone you served under for so long.

"Do you know why else he could be upset?" Shunsui was unable to figure it out either, although he knew it must be something simple.

"Well, there was talk of promoting him to be a seated officer right away. They were directly talking about replacing my third seat, which I'm not happy about, but they indirectly were talking about a lieutenant's spot."

Both of the Eighth officer's eyes widened. "He's that good?"

"I don't know that either. I haven't seen him in action yet. His demonstration is at the end of this week. There really isn't a lieutenant's position available, even for Jushiro, because his two third seats run things pretty smoothly. Because they've pretty much predetermined that he'll be in the Third, there is gossip that they want to replace Izuru."

Nanao hid the gasp she wanted to let out. They couldn't just do that with a new recruit, could they?

"That's not right." She stated it evenly, getting her temper in check. "Even if he is very skilled like they say, there's no way they can promote a new soul reaper to such an important position so early. That would be irresponsible."

They all nodded their heads in agreement, trying to find the logic behind it all.

"What do you think of it? Would they really demote him?"

"Over my shattered zanpakuto. Even then, I'll pick up Makenshi's shards and fend them off with that."

Her tone was bitter, her hands curling into fists. They had worked hard to build up the team they had now. This well-planned system was not going to be broken by a gifted stranger. Besides, Izuru was a close friend of hers, one that she would like to stick around. Sure she had to play nice, but she didn't have to like it.

Nanao sensed the tension and did her best to lessen it. "From what I've seen so far, he seems somewhat organized and reserved, but I don't think that quite makes the cut for lieutenant. We would have too many otherwise, I believe."

"Yare, Nanao's right. I know none of us have much say in what Old Man Yamma and the Central 46 declare, but you could bring up a good case if you wanted to stop the promotion. I don't think they would just leave Izuru's skills like that."

Ivy sighed and put a hand up to her head. "They better not. We just got things figured out." She sighed again. "I guess we'll see at the demonstration. Who knows, for all his sweet talking, maybe he's not as good as he claims."

They nodded again, feeling the slight anticipation. They were already starting to be skeptical about the whole ordeal.

She turned to go but suddenly stopped, remembering something.

"Oh, he might be spending some more time here."

"Why is that?" Nanao didn't bother to hide her disappointment.

"It's more of that mingling business. If he seems better suited to somewhere else, they're going to ship him off there. They recommended him spending time in each division to get to know the heads." She chuckled a little. "I told them to send him to Eleventh first. Then we'll see what he's really made of."

The other two laughed a little before the Third captain took her leave. Their discussion had been strange, not really knowing what this new soul reaper was all about.

"So what do you think, Nanao?" Once in a while he dropped the suffix on her name. He got used to calling her by her real name sometimes.

"I can't really say yet. He was polite and tactful, for the most part. He doesn't seem so bad right now, although Izuru's and Captain Giahara's information is a bit troubling. It really isn't like Izuru to get upset over nothing." He agreed. "But even if that's the case, unless they want him to replace me, it's not really any of our business."

His eyebrows creased at the thought. What nerve would they presume to have.

She continued. "If that was the case, they would find that Captain Giahara is not the only one fully prepared to defend a position."

"They'd have to get through me too." They shared an understanding look. She was not going anywhere if she could help it.

"We'll just have to be careful for a while, that's all." She stretched a little, daring to show a little more than her usual strict self. "I'm almost done for the day. Would you like to go visit Captain Ukitake after?"

How she always found that right balance, he'd never know. It didn't matter though, it just made him love her all the more.

"Of course, Nanao-chan. What a wonderful idea."

-End of part three