Disclaimer: Bleach, its characters and its settings are not mine

The sun was coming up. I'm scowling into the bathroom mirror surprised that my face hadn't puckered the glass yet. I was experiencing the joy of a shave that went all the way around my bloody head and I'd finally figured out Ikkaku's revenge.

Rat bastard had kicked me when I was down.

So he'd shaved my head, so what? My hair would grow back, what's the big deal with a shaved head? Other than the odd Pachinko joke and getting bitten by Yachiru once in awhile?

Shaving my head, like that was Ikkaku's revenge. Right. Ikkaku is way too smart for that, and too subtle. You wouldn't think it, looking at him, but Ikkaku is the Seireitei's master prankster.

Ikkaku's revenge wasn't shaving my head, Ikkaku's revenge was putting me in a situation where I have to shave my own head, I've got no choice but to look like bloody Ikkaku! Now every time I lather up I'm going to see Ikkaku laughing at me in the mirror.

I'll need something spectacular to pay him back for this one. And it has to include Renji, just in case.

Yeah, get Renji too, I could feel his fingers in this one, there's a certain je ne sais quoi in stuff Renji's involved in, I can always tell when he's played a part.

I'd need a cunning plan.

I finished my shave, closed my razor and toweled off my head like I was polishing a shoe.

Ikkaku, when I catch up with you-

Che. Time to find Yuzu. Before Morisato woke up. I couldn't do it here, someone could come into the bathroom at any time. At least in my room I only had to worry about Morisato.

I put my patch back on. Already decided to get up early going forward; if I'm going to be sharing a bathroom I want to make sure I have it to myself when I shave. I have to take my patch off, or at least move it from my head to my wrist.

Some people consider my empty eye socket a badge of honor. I see it as a gaping hole in my head. I have no choice but to look at it myself but I'm extremely uncomfortable when other people see it. Ashamed, embarrassed, call it what you want, I don't like people seeing me without a patch. My sisters have never seen it, my father has only seen it once.

To me it's private, nobody's business but my own.

Back to the room. Morisato has something that should make him a good roommate; he doesn't snore.

Sure enough he was still asleep.

I shut my eye and tried to find my sister. Have a bit of a knack for locating people with my mind.

If my eyes had been open they'd have widened.

All around me I saw spirit ribbons, but they weren't just red and white. This was the academy where white ribbons became red, and around me I could see every shade of snow white through blood red. Every kind of pink and rose and fuschia was there, hundreds of them, and reds, those must have been the senseis. In the distance I could feel the Gotei squads, and I knew if I looked I could pick out Renji, or Rangiku, or Karin or my father-

Oh crap.

My ribbon is totally red.

Shit. I'd forgotten about that.

Anyway, back to business, there was nothing I could do about it. Yuzu was-

Found her.

It suddenly dawned on me that Yuzu could tell Dad and Karin I was all right. I didn't have to risk exposing Renji or anyone else, Yuzu could walk straight through the gates, see Karin and Dad and no one would find that suspicious. Yuzu hadn't been on the original raid, no student could open a gate anyway (I thought, I wasn't really sure how that worked). I could kill two birds with one stone, without casting suspicion on anyone.

That was bleeding perfect.

Now I just had to get to Yuzu before she shouted nii-chan in a roomful of people.

This was going to work, it was really going to work. Ikkaku's plan was so fantastically audacious that no one would ever catch it if they didn't catch me. And they weren't going to catch me. Graduate, join a squad and I was home free. No one would ever dream I'd snuck back into the Seireitei.

My plan for finding Yuzu requires a flashstep. Fortunately I have a rather good one. The landscape blurred around me.

I actually got into Yuzu's dorm from the roof. Luckily for me the seventh year students were on the top floor, so I just found a corner to hide in and sent out my mental feelers.

It didn't take too long to pinpoint Yuzu's room and figure out that she also had a roommate. I could feel them moving around the room, getting dressed probably, then down for breakfast before class.

I was pretty proud of my plan.

Yuzu and her roommate came out. The other girl was a lot taller, she must have been my size so Yuzu looked like a child beside her. Which is fine with me, Yuzu is still my little sister, even if she is technically almost the same age I was when a certain dark haired girl came into my life.

Something about being a big brother, it's hard to let go.

I let the pair of them get about ten steps down the hall. Other doors were starting to open, it would be hard to navigate because the hall was filling up with girls. Seventh year girls who'd want to know what a first year guy was doing in their dorm.

I had to go before the crowd got any thicker.

I flashstepped down the hall, pulled the top textbook off the stack Yuzu was carrying and rocketed back the way I'd come.

Yuzu realized she'd 'forgotten' a book, told her roommate she'd go back for it and turned back towards her door. Just as planned.

In the instant you're in flash other things don't seem to move, it's like the fraction of a second the strobe light it on, everything seems still. You sometimes end up jumping over things to get where you're going. Not easy when the hallway is so crowded you can't see down it. I actually had to jump over Yuzu's head to get through the doorway ahead of her.

Then I was safe in her room. I was ready when Yuzu stepped through the door, and I slid it shut behind her. Yuzu whirled around when she realized she wasn't alone in the room, I caught her hand as she took a swing at me.

"Yuzu," I hissed, "it's me!"

Her mouth fell open. I had forgotten how little she was, in her time in soul society she hasn't grown at all. She still has her little fruit hair clips too, she was wearing the strawberries today.

How appropriate.

"Ichi-nii?"

I thought she was going to cry, so I hugged her.

Yuzu is still so tiny, smaller than Soi and Rukia, only Yachiru is more of an elf, and Yachiru can hardly be compared with anyone else.

Yuzu was shaking.

"Yuzu, we have to talk-"

"Your-"

The door suddenly slid open and the roommate striding in, said "Yuzu-san-" just as Yuzu finished "-hair."

The roommate looked at me. I looked at the roommate. Yuzu looked at the roommate. The roommate looked at Yuzu.

There were no men allowed in the women's dorm, and this was a seventh year-

"Fumiko-" managed Yuzu.

The roommate slid the door shut behind her, blocking me in. There's no way to flash through a solid object.

Fumiko-san, I guess that was her name, she was staring at me.

"You're Kurosaki Ichigo-sama, aren't you?"

Pardon me?

"Ah-" Sama?

Yuzu cut me off, pushed away from me. "Lock the door Fumiko."

I was surprised, Yuzu said it like an order. The tall girl obeyed her immediately.

"This is my brother," said Yuzu, "Kurosaki Ichigo."

"The Substitute," breathed Fumiko-san. I winced.

"Ichi-nii," said Yuzu, sounding very serious. "You can't be here. Has something happened?"

"It'd take too long to explain," I answered. I wasn't quite sure what I could do about Fumiko-san, maybe I could get my hands on one of those memory-erase things.

The Fumiko girl had a hero worship stare that frightened me. Worse, I wasn't sure if Yuzu could handle her. I knew I could, for a certain value of handle, but I could hardly rub her out for walking in on us.

"Fumiko," said Yuzu, "if Ichi-nii wants his presence kept quiet you can't tell anyone."

"No, of course not, Yuzu-san."

So Yuzu got a san and Fumiko didn't get a chan?

"No one can know I'm here," I said. "I had to tell Yuzu so she won't give me away. You can't give me away either, Fumiko-san." I said it with what I hoped sounded like an official authority.

"No, of course not, Kurosaki-sama."

"Sado," I corrected. "Sado Kon-kun."

Yuzu knew where that name came from. She looked at her little feet. "I'm sorry Ichi-nii."

I patted her head.

I'm her big brother. I'm allowed.

This had flat out blown up in my face. Fumiko might not say anything before she graduated but a day would come at some point, once she joined the squads. Someone might mention my name in passing, say I'd disappeared years ago (it could happen – it might be unlikely but it could happen).

She'd be trying to help, to be a good officer. Fumiko-sans loyalty would be to the Gotei, not to me, whether she called me -sama or not. She might assume it was some kind of secret high-level order, but she'd want to be sure. And for something high level, she'd probably go straight to the captain of her company, Taicho, you do realize Kurosaki-san is in the academy, don't you?

This girl's memory would have to go.

Time to retreat and think up plan B.

"Yuzu, you should go. Your friends will miss you at breakfast. Meet me on the fifteenth dojo roof tonight, we can talk then."

"Will you be able to get away, Kurosaki-sama? From the dorm I mean?"

"That's Sado-san. Yeah, not a problem. Just remember you never saw me."

"Of course, Kurosaki-sama."

Fumiko was going to get me caught.

"Yuzu, I'll see you tonight."

A tear ran down Yuzu's cheek. I think she'd figured out why I'd come back to soul society.

I've missed you so much lil' sis. I gave her little head another pat. "It's okay, Yuzu. Tonight, fifteenth dojo."

Fumiko-san opened the door and I flashed out.

If I wasn't quick I wouldn't get breakfast before class.

Next up, Kido 101.