Long ago and far away I updated... In fact, I had some chapters written, but then university started and I couldn't find time to type it all. I'm sorry.

I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, it's one of those I particularly enjoyed writing... or maybe I just enjoy writing Ulquiorra and Grimmjow too much? Anyway, I hope you'll like it.

Read, enjoy and review. Okay?

Dear Renji,

didn't you understand something wrong? Are you really all going to a festival with girls? Ichigo too? With who?

Wait.

Sado has a child?

How? I mean, no, I mean, this can't be. If it's true, then he, his girlfriend… Maybe you didn't understand it at first, but this must have lasted for a long time already!

But – but maybe it's all a joke, or something. You should check the news about Sado as fast as possible. Only then can we start thinking about what to do. Let's not draw conclusions too early.

You wrote that you wondered about the Arrancars' future. The decision has been already made and luckily, it's a good, although a cautious one. Yamamoto-sotaicho stated that as regular spirits they can live in Soul Society, but due to their high reiatsu level and past deeds, they have to stay in Seireitei under constant observation. Fortunately, somehow, most shinigami became fond of them.

As for Cifer, I already passed Inoue's letter to him. Unlike some people, I didn't read it first and gave it to the recipient untouched.

He didn't show any emotions, but the next day he – himself! – went to the Senkaimon and accosted a shinigami that was going to Karakura and asked him to deliver a letter. For Inoue, of course. He then put a chair next to the Senkaimon and sat on it, only to stare blankly at the gate.

I was passing by with some reports for Ukitake-taicho just in time to see Cifer take his seat. I looked at the scene and stopped, confused, only to notice that everybody around me did the same. Cifer didn't seem to realize what a commotion his actions caused.

He stared at the gate and we stared at him.

You know how many stories about events in Hueco Mundo circulated around Soul Society, so now imagine what all those shinigami felt when they saw the cold, powerful former enemy, almost a legend, sit on a chair and observe a gate as if it was the sense of his life.

After a couple of silent minutes I felt someone tug on my robes. I turned my head slightly to see Hinamori-fukutaicho, worried as always.

"I think we should do something," she whispered.

Oh yes, we were taking care of Arrancars before. I nodded with an obstinate expression and bravely took small steps towards Cifer, with Hinamori-fukutaicho behind me and eyes of everyone on our backs.

We stopped in front of the Arrancar and, because his eyes were still fixed on the gate on our right, I cleared my throat. He finally looked at us.

"Um," I started, not really knowing how to address him. "What are you doing?"

He looked at me strangely.

"I am waiting for a letter, Kuchiki woman."

Now I looked at him strangely.

"You don't need to sit here, you can wait in your room," I said.

Cifer blinked.

"No," he replied finally, as if waiting like this was a natural thing to do.

There was a moment of silence. Cifer remained emotionless.

"It can take days-" I started, but suddenly Hinamori-fukutaicho spoke from behind me.

"Aren't you hungry, Cifer-san?"

The Arrancar turned to her, his face changing just a little bit and "expressing" curiosity, I suppose.

"What are you doing here," he asked and, after scanning the girl in front of him and thinking for a while, added, "sad woman?"

I wonder if he didn't remember her name or it was the name he'd given her in Gensei and now he struggled to remember the person.

Meanwhile, Hinamori-fukutaicho smiled politely at the adjective she was described with and continued talking to Cifer.

"I have a couple of things to do here and there… I just wondered if you wanted to eat something, since it seems you're going to stay here for… some time."

She's such a helpful and innocent person. I observed for a while how they discussed what meal would be best, before I realized I still hadn't delivered reports to my captain and decided to leave them alone. They didn't notice I disappeared.

It's been five days since Cifer sat on the chair. Hinamori-fukutaicho still brings him food, blankets and all that, and when the Arrancar needs to go to bathroom, there are always a few shinigami ready to keep watch on the gate. He even sleeps there. There was one time whole Seireitei thought this would stop – when Inoue replied – but he only wrote another letter and is now waiting for another one from her. For some reason, shinigami came to like him even more since his gate life started. He even has a nickname.

Faithful dog Hachiko.

I'm not sure if he's realized that yet.

I didn't pay much attention to Cifer, though, as I still had to deal with the problem which was Hisagi-fukutaicho. Still running around Soul Society dressed as Ichimaru-taicho. I spent days thinking of a plan to make everything go back to normal, but in vain, so I decided to just talk to him.

Because he found it hilarious to cosplay Ichimaru-taicho and because he didn't have anything better to do, Grimmjow went with me.

When we entered Hisagi-fukutaicho's room, he was getting ready to leave.

"I wanted to visit Rangiku-san, I mean, Ran-chan," he said with a sense of pride. I didn't know what he wanted to achieve after tricking Kira-fukutaicho, who was ignored by Matsumoto-fukutaicho even after "becoming" Ichimaru-taicho.

He didn't let me say anything and went away though. I turned to Grimmjow, hoping he'd say something, but he was more interested in going through Hisagi-fukutaicho's things.

"If he's Ichimaru now, he won't need this guitar, will he?" he asked suddenly, showing me the instrument he found.

I rolled my eyes.

"We're going to change that," I replied coldly and dragged him out of the room.

We caught up to Hisagi-fukutaicho the moment he reached 10th division buildings. When he noticed us, he only smiled and winked, before he stepped into the office where Hitsugaya-taicho and Matsumoto-fukutaicho worked.

Intently and suspiciously observed by the captain, Matsumoto-fukutaicho, who wasn't really working anyway, invited us to another room. We sat at a table and were served a cup of tea each. I looked around. Me, a woman that finally had an excuse to ditch work, a guy that pretended to be Ichimaru-taicho and an ex-Arrancar. Perfect.

"It's nice you found a moment for us, Rangi- I mean, Ran-chan," Hisagi-fukutaicho spoke, trying to localize his cup with his eyes closed.

"Y-yeah," she replied, smiling awkwardly.

She looked quite uncomfortable and glanced at me every now and then, as if seeking some help. She then glanced at Grimmjow, who looked like he was watching a drama on TV and held his cup tight, waiting for anything funny or dramatic to happen. Matsumoto-fukutaicho turned back to Hisagi-fukutaicho and looked at him seriously.

"Shuhei."

"Gin," he corrected her and Matsumoto-fukutaicho sighed.

Grimmjow snorted in his tea and I suddenly felt like kicking him.

"I think Matsumoto-fukutaicho knows better how she wants to address you," I decided to step in. "If she calls you Shuhei, then you're Shuhei. Not Ichimaru-taicho or anyone else."

Hisagi-fukutaicho, confused, opened his eyes and looked at me and then at Matsumoto-fukutaicho. Because he always had his eyes shut, he didn't know that after he changed, she looked worried whenever she faced him, just like then. As he saw her, all the brightness disappeared from Hisagi-fukutaicho's face.

"What does she mean?" he asked Matsumoto-fukutaicho kind of desperately.

"Exactly what she says," she replied firmly. Hisagi-fukutaicho kept staring at her and she smiled softly at him. "I don't want you to pretend anyone, it really doesn't work. Gin is long gone and it's true that I miss him, but seeing you looking like him hurts me even more. I want to remember Gin as Gin I met in the past and I want to remember you as Hisagi Shuhei who cheered me up when Gin passed away and is always by my side when I need it."

She took his hands in hers and only then did I notice that her eyes were brimming with tears. She meant every word and Hisagi-fukutaicho felt it too, as he took off his silver wig and smiled back at her.

"Then I'll be Hisagi again," he said.

Covering my mouth and trying to stop my tears, which suddenly appeared in my eyes, I nudged Grimmjow and pointed to the door. I thought we should leave them alone so that they could sort things out themselves. I wasn't even that shocked when I noticed that Grimmjow's eyes were no less puffy than mine and we left the building with Hitsugaya-taicho looking at us with confusion. Outside we could finally cry freely. Grimmjow kept repeating that he's "not f***ing crying".

After that talk, things went back to normal. Hisagi-fukutaicho is himself back and cheerfully does everything Matsumoto-fukutaicho tells him to. It may seem as if nothing changed, but if you look better, you can easily see they got much closer. I think that deep inside Matsumoto-fukutaicho loves Hisagi-fukutaicho, she just hasn't realized that yet. It's good to see them laughing and spending time together happily again. They also often hang out with Kira-fukutaicho, like in good old times.

The only strange thing that happened was when Hisagi-fukutaicho asked if I'd seen his guitar because he couldn't find it. I didn't know what to say.

Other than that, Seireitei is calm and peaceful, something I haven't experienced in a very long time. I don't know why, but I've got a feeling it can't last long. Maybe I'm just supersensitive?

I hope that your situation will get better. About the festival, I'd love to go with you, but unfortunately, it's impossible. Have fun anyways! Good luck!

Chappies,

Rukia