~Ai's P.O.V~

~Inside Kairi's Room, Inside Squad Thirteen's Barracks, That Same Night~

I watched as Rukia Kuchiki put Lady Yuuki to bed before I fully physically manifested, and sniffing the air around me, I almost choked on the secent I smelt on both Lady Yuuki and Heiwa's clothes, letting out a groan, I eyed Heiwa's sleeping form. Heiwa you idiot! You got Lady Yuuki drunk and off of sake no less! Ugh, if only Lady Yuuki had allowed me to join her and Heiwa then this situation wouldn't have happened in the first place, god Heiwa, don't you remember that we have to leave for the world of the living in the morning! I shouted in my head, as I quietly left both Lady Yuuki and Heiwa in Lady Yuuki's bedroom, closing the door quietly behind me, I went off in search of captain Ukitake…

~End of Ai's P.O.V~

~Captain Ukitake's P.O.V~

~Early the Next Morning~

I thought I was all alone when I took a seat next to the koi pond, and was about to make contact with my zanpakuto, Sogyo no Kotomori well, that was until I felt one of Jinjou's zanpakuto's take a seat next to me. Putting Sogyo no Kotomori away, I gave Ai a smile. "Well good morning Ai, I'm very surprised to see you up this early, is everything all right?" I asked him.

Ai smiled back at me and spoke to me. "Captain Jushiro Ukitake, I'm afraid Lady Yuuki was drunk last night when she got home, both her and her other zanpakuto Heiwa reeked of sake, and I have a very uncomfortable suspicion that it was Heiwa that somehow managed to get Lady Yuuki drunk, and seeing as Lady Yuuki will be leaving for the world of the living in a few hours, the last thing that I want Kisuke Urahara to see is his adopted daughter hungover all because Heiwa figured it would be okay if she let her mistress have a taste of alcohol, what was Heiwa thinking Lady Yuuki's only seventeen-," I cut the concerned Ai off with a wave of my hand.

Giving Ai a smile, I put my zanpakuto away and looked at Jinjou's zanpakuto with a hint of worry in my eyes. "I can clearly see why you and Jinjou get along, like Jinjou you both have a strong desire to protect each other and other people rather it be friend or foe, you and Jinjou are the perfect example of a true partnership between a zanpakuto and its master, I'm not sure how Jinjou's other partner Heiwa fits into the picture but, I'm sure there's a reason for why Heiwa was given to her master, I just figured it out yet." I confessed to him, knowing I was going off the topic at hand but, I just felt the need to compliment Jinjou's loyal zanpakuto, even if he doesn't still trust any of us. "Sorry to change the subject on you Ai but, I may I ask you a question?"

Cocking his head sideways, Ai frowned a little at my compliment on both his master and himself, he seemed unsure on how to handle a compliment from someone other then his master but nevertheless, he spoke to me. "Yes what is it captain Jushiro Ukitake?" He asked me, still unsure of where this conversation was going.

"Every zanpakuto has a purpose, a reason for coming into existence, do you know what yours is?" I asked him, trying to keep my question as simple as possible because I wasn't quite sure how much he understood because, quite frankly Jinjou's zanpakuto's were still a mystery to us.

Opening his mouth to speak, he closed it before thinking long and hard on how to answer my question. "I guess you could say my purpose- my reason- for coming into existence, is to protect Lady Yuuki but, why would you a captain of thirteen court guard squads, ask me a lowly zanpakuto such a question like that?" He asked me, as he lifted his head up and his body posture stiffed for a moment before relaxing for a moment then he spoke again. "I'm sorry to go off subject here captain Jushiro Ukitake but, could you please go back to my original question, how am I going to exactly hide the fact that Lady Yuuki and my other half are hungover, and hiding it from Kisuke Urahara of all people? I'm not sure how to deal with a situation like this because this is the first time that I've dealt with something like this, I mean Lady Yuuki being hungover. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time that Heiwa's been drunk, the last time she decided to drink was when Lady Yuuki started high school in the world of the living, and for about four days Heiwa was useless when Lady Yuuki needed her. I don't think Heiwa realizes what an issue this is, just in case we have to go fight a hollow or even a captain of the thirteen court guard squads." Ai said to me, his facial expressions kept changing from worried to unsure after he finished speaking to me, adding. "Please captain Jushiro Ukitake, if you could figure out a solution to this problem, I would be very grateful." Lowering his head as a sign of thanks for whatever answer I could give him.

I was just about to tell him my solution to this problem when low and behold my friend and also a regular consumer of sake showed up and stood across from us. "Well hello Shinsui, I could really use your assistance right now, if you wouldn't mind." I said to him, a little embarrassed about asking for his help on a subject that I really didn't know that much about.

Flashing Ai and myself a smile, Shinsui tipped his straw hat at us. "Well, you've come to the right person, and it just happens that my lovely Nanao all ready told me what happened last night, I would highly advise that you have someone make a pot of green tea right away and also leave a umeboshi pickled plum out, and have Kairi suck on it for an hour hopefully, by then her hangover should be at least a one, is that the answer to your question Jushiro?" Shinsui asked me with a grin on his face after he spoke.

Letting out twin sighs, Ai and I both stood up and headed back towards the barracks well, expect for Ai, who thanked us both for our help, and promised he would talk to Heiwa alone.

Turning his head Shinsui motioned for his lieutenant to join us on our walk back to my barracks, and as we were walking back, Nanao kept mumbling under her breath on how inappropriate it was for a captain to be giving his lieutenant pet names. Needless to say, our trip back to my barracks was a rather enjoyable one, even if Nanao wouldn't admit it openly to her captain or even to herself, I knew there was something going on between the two of them, and if you didn't know these two well enough to know them then, you probably wouldn't have guessed it…

~End of Jushiro's P.O.V~