太陽の光る輝き、

あなたの優しい表情、

私は手放すことはありません。

Toshiro glanced around the forest. He was lost. Not knowing where else to go he ran straight ahead, hoping to find an exit.

Breathing heavily when he felt like he reached the same spot as he was before he started running, he stopped. After few minutes of thinking, Toshiro go frustrated and let out a scream. "Why does everything look the same?"

"Hey, are you lost? Want me to help you find your way out?"

Toshiro looked up to see a figure sitting on one of the branches of the trees. Her face was shadowed as the sun streamed from down to the ground from behind her.

The ground then began to shake as he tried to take a good look at the girl. The earth cracked open underneath his feet and he fell into the abyss.

"What a strange dream," Toshiro said to no one. He felt dizzy and annoyed. He's been repeating the same dream over and over again for the past few nights. It all stopped when he tried to recall the shadowed figure's face. Every time he did try, he'd wake up after falling into the abyss.

"What's so strange?" Yukiko asked as she appeared behind Toshiro. His ear twitched and he was still suprised of the fact that she managed to always sneak up on him, even in his office. He began to believe that she had somehow built secret passages into his office. After all, there were secret compartments everywhere in the office that he knew not of, hiding Matsumoto's sake collections.

"Just what are you doing here Yukiko?"

"Searching for Ran-nee. Have you seen her?"

"No, and if you see her tell her she needs to get her job done," he added.

Yukiko smiled and began to leave the room. She stopped and looked and Toshiro seriously. The look in her eyes somehow made his heart thumped. "Shiro-chan, before I forget. I was supposed to tell the captains something important from each division since the idiots mucked up the Jigoku Chou system. Captain meeting in five minutes."

Toshiro twitched and used shunpo without hesitation as he left the office and Yukiko.

Yukiko looked around the room and felt a strange nostalgia set in. Humming a melancholic tune to herself, she silently slid the door close and left the room.

'Geez, you really are dense. Haven't you noticed, the reason I'm walking by your side?' – Rikku, Final Fantasy X-2, Hadashi no Kiseki

"Yukiko-chan have you heard the big news?" Momo asked Yukiko as they enjoyed a nice cup of tea under the sun. Momo was close to Yukiko.

"I'm not sure. The gossip mill is slow in my squad. I think the biggest one has to do something with Renji. Though I'm not so sure."

Yukiko calmly drank from her tea as she listened to Momo. "Well, Abarai-kun got promoted into becoming a fukutaichou of the 6th squad." In an instant, tea came spitting out of Yukiko's mouth and due to the comination of 'Abarai-kun', 'fukutaichou', and 'sixth squad' made her shake in convulsion of unstoppable laughter. The image of Renji with his Zabimaru jumping wildly around Byakuya-san like some crazy madman was the epitome of hilarity. Of course, strength wise, Renji deserved the title. However, when it came to paperwork...she wasn't so sure. After all, Renji was a member of the elventh squad.

"Yukiko-chan, is something wrong?"

Snapping out of her reverie Yukiko turned and asked, "Renji? Fukutaichou?"

"Yup."

You snorted out a laugh. Right on cue, Renji apeared in front of Yukiko and her tea drinking ritual with Momo. Momo sighed as she gave Renji a pitiful look. Yukiko knew what that look meant, 'I'm sorry, Yuki-chan is going to embarrass you.'

"You're a fukutaichou now?" Yukiko sais as she began kneeling on the floor gasping for air.

"Yukiko-san you are just envious of my rank. It is understandable."

Yukiko laughed harder, "is that formality suppose to impress Byakuya-san? Pfft."

"Hinamori, I just realised something. Out of all people, Yukiko only uses –san with Byakuya-taichou. Even with Yamamoto-taichou she calls him Old Man."

Yukiko immediately stopped her giggling and looked at the smirk Renji has. The idiot most definitely thinks that she is in love with Byakuya. Pssh, like that will happen.

"Well, I'm not in love with him Pineapple. Don't give me that smirk cause I can see through your puny brain. Anyway, I'm going to find Toshiro. It's gotten boring teasing you."

With that Yukiko left a twitching Renji. She smiled and waved bye at Momo.

Few weeks have past since Renji's inauguration and it appears that the 12th division have spotted Kuchiki Rukia and Kuchiki Byakuya and Abarai Renji have retrieved her back.

A few days since Rukia's return she was found out into giving her shinigami powers to a human and she was sentenced to death but the story does not end here.

Kyuumu Yukiko will have to get ready to face a very big challenge…

"Ran-nee! Here you are. Toshiro and I have been looking for you everywhere."

The blonde bosom lady let out a squeal as her captain discovered her. Yukiko silently regretted giving her adopted sister a scare. However, when she wanted to go out for a nice meal, she will get that damn nice meal!

"It's okay Ran-nee. Actually I just helped Toshiro finish the paperwork. I was just wondering if you want to accompany us to go get some food. You're treating me though since I did your share of the paperwork Ran-nee."

Yukiko was anxious. Ever since the return of Kuchiki Rukia, Yukiko's been nothing but anxious. Her happiness felt like it will be shattered and the peace and quiet of Seireitei will be disrupted. Rangiku probably saw thorugh all the layers of happy smiles Yukiko put up and smiled sincerely.

"Okay, I'll treat you. How does parfait sound?"

Yukiko smiled brightly and nodded, "un! Sounds good. Toshiro you'll love it!"

Toshiro let out a small sigh and a slight smile. "I suppose I've got no choice. You did help me out. Lead the way then."

The three arrived at a small shack with a visible long line. Yukiko knew from the look on Toshiro's face that he would have to wait. She let out a light giggle. "Welcome to the hotspot of Rukongai's East District 1. We happen to be friends with the owner of this place, so a long line is no problem at all!"

"Captain what's with the horrified look? Are you sick?" Rangiku asked, touching Toshiro's head with her palm.

Toshiro looked as Yukiko calmly talked to the shop owner, an old man with an aura of cheerfulness and carefreeness. It seems that Yukiko was close to the man. He introduced himself as Hitsugaya Toshiro and it seems the man noticed his haori and respectfully referred to him as a captain, which pleased him.

Toshiro discovered the man's name was Takao Saito. He invested in a restaurant alongside Yukiko. Saito cooked whilst Yukiko served. Over time, customers increase, Yukiko left for Shinigami Academy and more people were hired to work for the restaurant. By the time Yukiko became a full fledge shinigami, business was booming and Yukiko handed over her part ownership to Saito.

Somehow Toshiro was annoyed. Despite the fact that he was so close to Yukiko, she seems to know so much more about him than he does of her. Her past was a mystery and he didn't like the fact that there was a part of her he didn't know. Of course the feeling was there, Yukiko is a precious sister to him.

He sat there as he mulled over his feelings while eating his parfait. He was getting dizzy. Alcohol perhaps?

...

"That was some good stuff, wasn't so bad now was it?" Yukiko giggled as she looked at a sulking white haired boy.

"You definitely loved it taichou." Rangiku smirked.

Toshiro had a red face. It was annoying. Somehow he had managed to choose a parfait with particularly strong sake and got drunk off of it. It resulted in him humming the parfait song Yukiko was singing on the way to the restaurant. It was an incident he never wished to remember, however he doubted his friend would ever let it go. Not to mention Rangiku probably got some evidence on camera she was to share with the Women Association and bring in loads of money for their monthly magazine.

All the way back Yukiko was twirling and giggled as she walked along Toshiro and Rangiku. Toshiro will not admit it towards Yukiko, but a slight small part of him enjoyed the time he spent with Yukiko. He walked and reminisced as the girls laughed and talked beside him. Yukiko was there for as he was for her during the times they knew each other. It didn't matter if he knew so litle of Yukiko's past, it doesn't matter. Yukiko is by his side now. That's all that matters.

Yukiko waved Toshiro and Rangiku a goodbye as she went her on way to her barracks. Toshiro gave a slight smile at her happy carefree appearance as she twirled into the night.

"You most definitely enojyed tonight taichou!" Rangiku smiled softly at him.

He scoffed the motherly smile and added, "it was just a one time thing."

He walked on ahead as Rangiku followed behind him, a content smile not leaving his face.

"Taichou, I'm pretty sure I saw a smile there! Nah, taichou. Taichou."

Yukiko wiggled in her sleep as she felt a disturbance and change in her surroundings. Light was streaming through her shoji, an unwelcomed advances. "Oi, wake up Yukiko," a voice said as it began waking Yukiko from her dreams of parfait.

Squinting her eyes to let it adjust to the light, Yukiko saw a shiny ball over her and some sort of lanky figure behind the ball. She instantly knew the figures to be Yumichika and Ikkaku. Rolling over in her futon she dug her face deeper into her pillow.

"Whap ihs iht?"

"Apparently some ryoka just defeated Jidanbou! It's gonna be so exciting around here!" Yukiko identified the sadistic glee in Ikkaku's voice. Though a part of her is excited of the ideas of new meat to play with, she did not apppreciate the disturb sleeping time. Letting out a muffled, 'that's good,' Yukiko shooed the goons away.

"Fine let's go Yumichika. We'll have fun without the brat, after all the captain said it's cool to let loose."

Hearing the shoji slid close, Yukiko lifted her head of the pillow and laid on her back. She looked at the red hues on her ceiling. Rangiku had chosen the washi for her birthday. A pattern of red and blue flowers visible on her fusuma. The nostalgia feeling returned to her as she closed her eyes and imagined the time she got her birthday present from Rangiku during her first year in the 11th squad. Now each member knew that the red and blue flowered room belong to the 4th seat who prefer to be left undisturbed in the mornings.

Slowly opening her eyes she turned her head and looked at the wall opposite her doors. A mix of red and blue splotched her wall. Standing up she changed into her shihakusho all the while steeling her resolve for the turbulent days to come. Worry etched her face as she left her room and looked up the blue sky.

'Don't let anything horrible happen. I beg of you Kami.'

To be continued...

Author's Note

I think this chapter got two hundred words shorter than the original. I changed a lot in this chapter as well. I got rid of a lot of dialogues and felt that the exploration of each character is more neccessary. I hope it's good. Sorry if it's a tad bit OOC.

Shoji = the sliding door of the Japanese room.

Washi = the paper on the shoji, it can be painted to suit your mood.