Author's Note:
Uhh. . . well. . . this took a while, huh? Again, no real excuse for this. . . just laziness.
More importantly, though, I'd like to clarify that while the scenes at Soul Society and the scenes in Karakura Town DO take place in chronological order between themselves, the events do not exactly take place like they're presented in the chapter. This won't really affect much for readers, but as (one of) the writer(s) behind this fic, it's just something to keep in mind.

In a small, dimly lit apartment, in a tenement house at the edge of Karakura, sat twelfth seat and senior intelligence operative Zuri, with three of his fellow agents busy at work, analysing data, going through photos, creating files, all in the most carefully quiet, efficient manner that their commander had taught them. The world of the living was strange at times, but fairly easy to operate in- few people could sense spiritual particles, and fewer still could bypass a spiritual cloaking field that suppressed their reiatsu. Their work had been, until now, simple: survey four targets, gather data, report any findings back to the commander herself. It would have been easier if they had been allowed to move around, but Soifon-taichou had ordered maximum stealth; something like moving out, even at night, was by necessity only, and something like shunpo was simply out of the question.

Monitoring the reiatsu emissions of their targets was plenty of work, more than enough to distract him. Gani, Riko, Shin, his comrades- who, like all onmitsukidou members had left their names behind, now answering only to their code names- were all of them doing their best.

Kurosaki Ichigo. Arisawa Tatsuki. Ishida Uryu. Inoue Orihime. Two engineered shinigami with enough potential to actually unlock bankai, one Quincy of considerable power, and a human girl with powers yet unidentifiable. It was only natural that they had been dispatched to observe- to assess their level of strength, their behaviour, the potential threat they might pose. They had already placed bugs in their school, their homes, and the routes they took home- nothing was too small to report on. However, only last night, they had received orders to investigate another target- a group of spiritually powerful human beings, based in an abandoned building not far away. It was a hassle, but duty was as duty was.

As if on cue, the fifth member of their group, Yuin, quietly slid into the dark little room they operated from.

"Report." Zuri said.

"Six human beings, of exceptional spiritual awareness and power." Yuin said, kneeling and bowing before him. "Technically possible that they are natural instances, but the odds of six of them gathering at once..."

"Are astronomical." Zuri nodded. "Were you seen?"

"I maintained a very long distance from the targets, sir," Yuin said. "I doubt they could have sensed me even if they tried. Of course, this meant my readings are limited."

"What have you got, then?"

"It is my assessment that they are empowered humans. Possibly a Quincy cabal, although the reiatsu structure makes it unlikely. This level of organization suggests an agenda. Recommend continued observation."

"Agreed," Zuri said, nodding. He looked to the others. "I will need to file a report to the commander soon. What are your assessments?"

"Arisawa Tatsuki." Gani said. "Young, powerful, more prone to acts of violence than her other friends. Better reasoned than most of her friends, but susceptible to extreme overconfidence in battle. Would likely become heavily distracted if she perceived her comrades as being in danger, especially Inoue. Powerful, more competent than any in the group in a purely martial sense, but inexperienced."

"Ishida Uryu." Riko said. "Rational. Intelligent. More skilled in terms of sensing and using reiatsu than any in his company. Physically frail; limited human endurance, susceptible to even smaller wounds. Prefers long range attacks; could likely be outmatched by a strategic attack. Has access to a powerful artefact, of unknown but immense power."

"Inoue Orihime." Shin said. "The most emotionally frail and physically weak member of the group. Less battle-ready, less experienced. Fairly easy target, making her more likely to depend on the protection of others. Serves mainly as a healer to the group. Could easily be assassinated to demoralize, or used as a hostage."

"And that leaves Kurosaki Ichigo," Yuin said at last. "Powerful- very powerful, moreso than you would expect of any human. Emotionally charged, especially after the loss of a family member. Unwise to tackle without a sound battle plan. Prone to rash decisions- does not display calm or rationality in a combat situation. In the event of combat, would require captain class level of skill to assuredly put him down."

Zuri nodded. "Good. Keep observing. The commander will be pleased."

oOo

"Heeeyy, Ichigo, my man! What are you doing here, all by yourself?"

Disgruntled, Ichigo opened his eyes and looked up. Unsurprisingly, what he found in front of him was, in fact, Keigo. What was more surprising was the fact that other than him, the classroom around him was entirely empty.

"Guess I must've been a bit too deep in thought during that last class..." Ichigo grumbled as he stood up, stretching.

"Ah, c'mon, Ichigo! Just admit that you dozed off there- that's perfectly normal!" Keigo said teasingly.

Ichigo frowned. Why did it have to be Keigo who found him like this...? "Perhaps for you that's normal, but most people don't sleep during class. I was just… deep in thought, and didn't notice that class had ended."

Keigo shook his head dramatically. "Tsk, tsk, Ichigo. I know that the influence that that nerd Ishida has had on you recently is great, but you cannot deny your true nature to me! You are one of uuuus, one of-"

"Keigo, don't." Ichigo interrupted him in a tone that he hoped would make it clear that he was in no mood for joking around. "I have way too much on my mind as is, so I don't need your stupid babbling as well!"

Keigo fell silent, as a shocked expression appeared on his face. For a moment, Ichigo considered saying something to take back his words, but decided against it. There would be no point in lying about this now.

"...So what is it?" Keigo asked quietly, after the initial surprise had worn off.

"Huh?"

"So what is it that on your mind all the time?" Keigo repeated, his tone urging.

Ichigo hesitated. There were so many things that would answer this question, so many things that he couldn't say- his shinigami powers, the Gotei, the Fullbringers, the issue of figuring out who was trustworthy and who not... and of course...

"...My sister. Yuzu." Ichigo said reluctantly, hoping that it would be enough to satisfy Keigo.

It wasn't. "You know, I get that losing a family member is a big deal. It really is. But thing is, you were acting strange before she… passed, and you keep acting strange the same way now. There's more to this, isn't it?" He shrugged, and gave Ichigo a look. "I know you think I'm an idiot. And I'll admit, most of the time, I kinda am. But I'm not blind, Ichigo, and I've known you for years. I can at least tell when you're being weird. So what is it?"

"..." Ichigo just stared at Keigo, completely taken aback. He had known that he his efforts at making it seem like everything had been normal for him weren't exactly working out to well, but to think that they had been this bad... he needed to come up with an excuse. Quickly.

But once again, Keigo foiled his plans. "Ichigo, I know that there's something going on in your life recently that you don't want to talk with me about- or Mizuiro, for that matter. Something that you do talk about with Arisawa-san, Inoue-san and even that nerd Ishida. And if you don't want to talk with me about it even now, that's fine. But please, at least acknowledge it! I don't want to see one of my best friends drift away from me for some reason I'm not allowed to know, without him even acknowledging it!"

Ichigo continued to stare at him, flabbergasted. Keigo had just spent the last few minutes saying things that Ichigo never would have imagined him being capable of being serious about them- and now he had to react to it.

"...This does have to do with my sister. But yes... you're right. But I cannot tell you about it."

Keigo sighed and nodded. "Okay... that's all that I wanted to hear. I'll leave you alone with your thoughts, then."

With that, he left, and to his thoughts Ichigo was left. Knowing they would not make for the best company, Ichigo followed suit and walked out of the classroom, too. Just around the corner, he found Tatsuki, with that irritating 'concerned best friend' look on her face- but though he wanted to, he knew better than to alienate the people closest to him. It was bad enough that he was excluding Keigo and Mizuiro...

"Hi there." Was all she said.

"What, no asking me if I'm all right, if I want to pour my heart out, that sort of thing?"

"Why would you say that?" Tatsuki said, frowning.

"'Cause it's written all over your face. It's all right, though," he said, changing his tone, "maybe that's not so bad."

"What brought this on?"

"Keigo." Ichigo murmured. "He knows something's up. He doesn't know what, but he noticed- I guess I'm not so subtle, after all."

"Gee, who'd have guessed?" Tatsuki said, smiling, almost to the point of a grin. "Then again, being all broody and aloof is kind of in character for you."

"Yeah, well, maybe he just has a nose for this," Ichigo said, shrugging. "If he does find out, we could always change his memory."

"Yeah, I suppose," she said, shrugging back, "but... well, are you all right? That whole thing with Yuzu..."

"See, I knew I was right about that," Ichigo nodded enthusiastically, "I knew it."

"Well, what the hell else are we for, dumbass?" Tatsuki said, her tone somewhere in between affectionate and annoyed. "Don't keep it all to yourself- this macho crap is just going to hurt you in the long run. When Orihime's feeling down, she lets me know, and when I-"

"Yes, yes, I know," Ichigo said dismissively, "open up, don't do the whole conceal-don't-feel thing, I know. It's just..."

"We're here, all right? I get that you don't like Ishida much, and you're not close with Orihime- but I'm your oldest friend, and I'm in the same seat as you. You don't have to keep it all to yourself."

"Wanna know how it is?" Ichigo said irritably. "I'm nineteen, I'm supposed to be in school, and instead I'm chasing monsters so much that it might cost me my grades, and it'll never end because I don't see how I can turn a blind eye to it. I suddenly have a dad, my sister's been passed on to him, I found out my mom's been lying to me, and on top we got a very powerful organization on our case which we can't really trust. How does that make me feel?" He paused, and took a deep breath. "Honestly? I've been in better places. But I don't go bringing it up all the time, because I'm not the kind of guy who whines about every little thing to everybody!"

Tatsuki nodded, and there was a silence. Ichigo breathed, fast and hard; he hadn't realized how worked up he had got.

"Feel better now?" Tatsuki asked after a while.

"...yeah. Sure." He mumbled. It wasn't untrue- saying it out loud was a relief, if not a burden off his shoulders.

"Thought so." Tatsuki put an arm on his shoulder, and gave him a serious look. "Look, I gotta run, but... there's a difference between letting off steam, and whining. You did good- but next time, remember that I shouldn't need to pry it out of you. When you feel like this, just come to me. Lean on me, if you need it."

"Sure. Whatever. Gotcha." He mumbled back. It felt a bit embarrassing, baring himself like this; it was unfamiliar. He'd got few people who he could speak to seriously, and people like Keigo, occasional seriousness aside, would probably just have laughed it off.

"I'll see you around, okay?" She said, and walked off.

"Yeah. See you around." He said, and watched her walk away.

oOo

"Kisuke! Can you at least try to not look like you're plotting to violently take over everything that you see?" Yoruichi hissed, hoping that she had been quiet enough so that their 'escort' didn't hear it.

An exaggeratedly annoyed expression on his face, Urahara turned around his head towards her, and whispered, "Oh, shush, you! I will enjoy this early taste of victory while it lasts, and you're not going to stop me from it!"

Yoruichi could've groaned- but refrained from it, as it would have only made them more suspicious to their escort. "Well, could you at least do it a bit more subtly, then? Since we came here, you've constantly been looking around you as if you were looking over your new property! Don't you think we need to get at least some trust from our allies?"

"Pah. Low-ranking soldiers like them hardly matter. If they have heard of us before- in itself not too likely- then they have only heard stories of the villainous and diabolical traitors, and we're not here to put these stories to rest. At least not yet. For the time being, all that matters is how the old man and his lackeys see us, and we're not standing in front of either of those yet." Urahara whispered back, speaking finally in a more serious tone.

"I really hope that you know what you're doing, Kisuke... this all sounds like it could backfire greatly." Yoruichi sighed.

"Ahem. I don't mean to your interrupt your whispers, but we've arrived at the Squad Thirteen barracks." Rukia suddenly said, and sure enough: The squad's barrack grounds were stretching out in front of them, and they were filled with exercising shinigami.

With a quick order, Rukia dismissed her subordinates (who seemed to not mind this in the slightest), before continuing to lead Yoruichi and Urahara towards Ukitake's office. As they walked, the heads of several shinigami they passed by turned towards them, but neither of the alleged traitors paid much attention to them. Yoruichi was far too busy keeping an eye on Urahara, who himself simply stared ahead with a neutral expression, having seemingly taken Yoruichi's word to heart- which she was rather glad about.

For the rest of their way, they walked in silence. Before long, they had reached their destination: Ukitake's office. Saying something about informing her captain about the situation, Rukia rushed in, leaving Yoruichi and Urahara alone in the hallway.

"Kisuke..." Yoruichi began once she was sure that there was no one around who could eavesdrop on them.

The shopkeeper sighed. "What is it now, Yoruichi?"

Yoruichi frowned. This conversation was already starting nicely... "I just want to remind that you need to be careful what you say once we're in there. If we want to ally ourselves with the Gotei, we'll need to give them good reason to do so, and being on your best behaviour is going to be important for that."

"What, so you want me to kiss these people's asses, while subtly manipulating them according to my plans?" Urahara scoffed. "You should know me well enough to realize that this is Aizen's style, and not mine, Yoruichi. I'm well aware of how important this is going to be, and I am certain that I will be able to handle this. Just trust me on this. And even if I do mess up... well, I still have you, right?"

Yoruichi quietly stared at Urahara, before nodding. He was right- if things really went badly, she could always interject, and stop him before he said or did anything inappropriate.

Though in the ideal case, it wouldn't even come to this...

A moment later, the door to the office opened once more, and Rukia came back out. "Ukitake-taichou will be seeing you now."

Feeling slightly uneasy, Yoruichi entered the office alongside Urahara, and Rukia shut the door behind them. Inside, they found Ukitake sitting at his desk, waiting for them; as white-haired as ever, as pale as ever... but also looking a good deal more tired and wary than he had been the last time Yoruichi had seen him.

"Urahara-san, Yoruichi-san." He greeted them, speaking with a slightly strained undertone in his voice. "What an... unexpected pleasure to see you here this soon."

"Yeeah, isn't it just, Jushiro, old friend?" Urahara laughed, foregoing any typical nicety. Yoruichi tried her best not to roll her eyes. "It's just has been too long since we've last seen each other! How long has it been again? One hundred years?"

"...Rukia, I believe I will not need your assistance, after all. You may resume your duties." As he said this, the dawning realization of just what exactly he was in for was so apparent, that Yoruichi thought that even Urahara had already picked it up- and not to mention, Rukia as well.

Accordingly, the first response that she gave her captain was a look that conveyed both skepticism and concern, though it was followed by a quick nod almost immediately after.

"Actually, if I might interject here..." Urahara noted, causing Ukitake's eyes to twitch for a moment. "I believe you would do well to meet up with Shiba Kukaku, Kuchiki-san. The person you are supposed to be looking for should have arrived at Soul Society by now."

Rukia stared at him, bewildered. "Err. Excuse me, but how do you know about any of this?"

Urahara shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, Kuchiki-san. Do you truly believe that a man such as I would just reveal his methods? In my position, it is vital to maintain a certain sense of mystery about the way I gain knowledge, and-"

"Kukaku told him about it this plan to search for Ichigo's sister. Ichigo let her pass on just recently- of course, he didn't tell Kisuke anything about it, but since he's keeping track of spiritual activity in Karakura Town, he found out anyway."

Urahara gave her a frown and a pout that would not have been out of place on the face of a five year old child. "Yoruichi, please."

Yoruichi and Rukia however ignored him. "Would... that be alright, Ukitake-taichou?"

"I see no objection to you taking on that mission. You're dismissed from your current duties until the search is over." Ukitake responded, casually joining in on the ignoring of Urahara.

"Understood!" Rukia said, nodding. She then turned around and left the office, not exactly in a hurry, but still quickly enough for Yoruichi to understand that she was rather glad to be out of it. She could hardly blame her for it- the entire Gotei was in war preparations, and Rukia herself had only recently survived an execution- it was only understandable that she would not want to be involved in any of the Gotei's negotiations with potential allies. Especially if that ally was Urahara Kisuke...

Right now, though, this ally was evidently still too upset about being ignored and denied his entertainment to even think about anything diplomatic. "Really Yoruichi, why can't you just let me have my fun?"

Yoruichi turned around to glare at him. "If by 'having fun' you mean being an annoyance to deal with for everyone around you, including your friends- then you have already been doing that all day long. Don't you think it's about time to stop 'having fun' now, and actually do what we came here for?"

"Hmm..." Urahara stared at her, as his expression slowly changed- Yoruichi could only hope that it was because he was starting realize that this was not a moment to mess around.

"I do have to agree with Yoruichi-san here..." Ukitake suddenly interrupted them, speaking with a new-found confidence "I would indeed like to know your reason for coming here, Urahara-san. So would you care to fill me in?"

Urahara turned his head towards Ukitake and began to smile- a smile that Yoruichi recognized as the kind that he always had when he was talking about his plans. "Well, now that you mention it..."

oOo

Ichigo and the others had left the "fullbringers" the other day with gruff words and suspicion, but even so, something had eaten away at him since. He did not trust them, but neither, he found, could he trust the Gotei- there had been some good people there, sure, but something about them never seemed to quite add up. Power corrupted, and they certainly were very powerful... more so, actually, than most human governments, in terms of the authority they had over the people. So here he was, after classes had ended, looking for Uryu. He clutched at his substitute's badge in his pocket; he remembered what that Ginjo had said about it- that it was used to watch them, all the time.

He had to check. A little voice at the back of his head told him he was being manipulated- but then again, it's not like they would have had any chance to switch the badge out; he had it on him at all times. Uryu was good at this- if he found nothing, then he'd know they were full of shit. It would put him at ease.

After a little while, he found Uryu in a classroom, putting his books together into his bag. A few students were still trailing behind, but all were eager to get home by now. Ichigo gave Uryu a look, and waited till they were alone.

"I take it there is a reason you walk in here, looking all serious and brooding?" Uryu said dryly, as he closed his bag.

"It's nothing," Ichigo said, trying not to frown, an unfamiliar and difficult exercise.

"Clearly not," Uryu retorted. "You have that look in your eye when something is clearly bothering you, but you'd rather not tell."

"I do not," Ichigo protested. "Well, actually- never mind that. Yeah, you're right- I do have something." He pulled out his badge. "You're real good at the whole reiatsu reading shtick, right?"

"Your powers of observation are astounding," Uryu said sarcastically, "but I'm not sure what that has to do with that badge."

"I want you to check it out, okay?"

"Why?" Uryu gave him a sharp look. "You listened to that shady individual, after all?"

"I just wanna make sure, okay? We're surrounded by shady people- I just want to know if there's any truth to it. If not, then they're liars, and we don't need to think about them ever again. If it is... then we've got fair warning."

"Fair enough," Uryu said, walking up to Ichigo. "I can have a look- but I don't have any knowledge whatsoever of the specifics of shinigami science. I might not be able to tell you anything at all."

"It's worth a shot, isn't it?"

"Very well," Uryu said, and took the badge from Ichigo's hand, inspecting it closely. "Let's see here..."

He looked at it carefully, no doubt sensing its spiritual properties.

"It is protected by a ward of some kind," He said, frowning, "it cannot be opened by force."

"Are you done, then?"

"Please." Uryu said dismissively. "It's protected against force- but not against subtler manipulation." He held his hand over the badge, and with a click, it opened, revealing some complicated-looking circuitry.

"I just did the equivalent of unscrewing its screws- from the inside," Uryu said, and Ichigo thought he sounded almost smug.

"So what can you make of it?"

"Be quiet and let me look," Uryu said sharply. He looked at it closely, tugging at a few bits of wire here and there, sensing for its functions. It took several minutes, and Ichigo started to feel impatient.

"So?" He said at last.

"Shush." Uryu said, still observing. "...all right." He mumbled, nodding. "I have some ideas- but don't make any hasty conclusions. I am not a scientist, and I'm still learning about reiatsu reading."

"Yeah, sure, got it," Ichigo said dismissively, "now tell me- what did you find?"

"Do you see this little stud?" Uryu said, pointing at a small, round metallic device inside the badge. "I think this is what separates your body from its soul- it's designed to separate strands of reiatsu from other material."

"And?"

"And," Uryu said irritably, "I think... that's all they'd really need. It doesn't seem to need a power source, like a battery, and these wires inside... they're not really connected to it at all. They don't seem to have a function." He closed the badge, sealing it again. "Do you want a conclusion? The machinery inside could be monitoring you. It's consistent with the kind of enhancements you would need to read reiatsu more effectively. I'd still ask Urahara Kisuke if I were you, but... it does look like what you would need to track somebody's reiatsu accurately."

"...god damn it."

"Don't jump to conclusions," Uryu said quickly. "I have no love for the Gotei, but it's possible there are other explanations- or that I am plain wrong. Is that clear?"

"Yeah, yeah," Ichigo murmured. "Sure. Uh, catch you later..." He turned around, and walked out of the classroom.

"Good grief," Uryu murmured. Kurosaki would undoubtedly jump to conclusions anyway- but it was true, what he had seen was- potentially- disturbing.

oOo

The same night, Ichigo called a meeting. He had thought long and hard about the badge, about being monitored, about whether to tell or not- and decided that the least he could do was share what he learned. He had called each one on their cell phones- with all they had learned about magic and spirits, it was almost ridiculous to think that they could have so much use of normal technology, but it was simple and efficient. He had told them nothing more than that he had something to discuss, something important- and one by one they had showed up, each one tracking his reiatsu to a small back alley not far from his house, where he stood leaned against a wall.

Tatsuki was the first to arrive, in shinigami form and with Orihime on her back. As Orihime dropped down to her feet, Tatsuki said irritably,

"Well, this better be good. My mom is barely buying my excuses as it is, and I still have homework, too."

"It'll be okay, Tatsuki-chan," Orihime said, chipper. "I'm sure Kurosaki-kun has a good reason."

"I do." Ichigo said, nodding.

"Did it have to be a run-down place like this? This isn't some detective drama- you don't have to meet up somewhere shabby to tell something private."

"It works, okay?" Ichigo grunted. "Let's just wait for Ishida. He shouldn't be long now."

He wasn't. Within a couple of minutes, the Quincy landed elegantly on the street, an irritated look on his face.

"Kurosaki," He said, his voice making clear he was not in a patient mood.

"Why are you so gruff, Uryu-kun?" Orihime asked.

"Because I am very sure what this is about." He said.

"Well, go on, tell us," Tatsuki said, lifting up her arms. "Don't tell me you're just keeping quiet to raise suspense."

"I'm not." Ichigo said, standing up straight and walking closer to his friends. "I called you here, because…" He held up his badge.

"Kurosaki, I expressly told you not to jump to conclusions," Uryu sneered. "Honestly, do you ever listen to anything? For somebody with grades this good, you do act pretty thick sometimes."

"They need to know!" Ichigo snapped back.

"Know what?" Orihime asked.

"This thing." Ichigo said, tossing his badge up in the air, catching it again nonchalantly. "Remember what that shady guy said, about being monitored? About them not trusting us?"

Tatsuki groaned. "You believed him, for real? Seriously?"

"I didn't!" Ichigo said sharply. "But I… I had to be sure, okay? So I had Ishida check it out."

"For the record, he iis/i jumping to conclusions. Probably." Uryu said.

"Probably?" Orihime asked. "Uryu-kun, what did you find?"

"Yes, Uryu-kun," Ichigo said mockingly, "what did you find?"

"All right, I can buy Ichigo being like this," Tatsuki said thoughtfully, "but… Ishida-kun, did you find something?"

Uryu sighed. "I examined the badge, and found equipment superfluous to the need of expelling a soul from its body. Equipment consistent with- but, I stress, not conclusive with- invasive surveillance. Potentially capable of reading every last bit of reiatsu flow in your body, all the time."

"…really?" Tatsuki said, blinking.

"They don't trust us, do they?" Ichigo said darkly. "And frankly, the more I think about it, the more I wonder why they would. I mean, we're renegades. We're not under their control. Potential enemies."

"Ichigo, shut up," Tatsuki said, an edge to her tone. "There could be any number of reasons. They might need our data for research. This could be standard for all shinigami, as far as we know. Or it could be as you say, but we don't know. Have you tried asking them?"

"…no." Ichigo mumbled, wondering whether his righteous anger was so righteous, whether he was just being stupid- or whether they really were the villains he had imagined for the last few hours. "It's still not right- why the hell would they need to? Why would they tell us if it were true? What if that shady asshole was right, huh?"

"Or maybe he's got you exactly where he wants him, because you're being gullible." Tatsuki shot back. "I'm- I'm not trying to be mean, I'm sorry, but… there could be a good reason. Did you even consider that?"

"Thank you for saving me the trouble of saying the reasonable thing." Ishida said sardonically.

"Why would they need to?" Ichigo insisted stubbornly.

"Kurosaki-kun," Orihime said, stepping up to him, "you need to calm down, okay?"

"But-"

"Please, calm down." Something about her voice, her pleading, got to him. Shouting about something never solved the issue- he had expected them to be angry, like him, and that they weren't angry had made him angrier still. It was no way to keep going.

"All right, all right," he murmured. "I'm good, I'm good."

"When Urahara-san comes back, we'll ask him." Orihime said, nodding affirmatively. "He'll know. And we can trust him. Well, more than we can trust… that guy. Yes?"

"…sure." Ichigo mumbled.

"Well, if you're done…" Tatsuki said, gesturing with her thumb at the exit of the alley. "I got work to do, and a fussing couple of parents. Was there anything else?"

"…no." Ichigo mumbled, feeling a little silly.

"Ichigo, it's okay." Tatsuki said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You got worried. We're all on edge here. And it's not like it's not something to be concerned about. But… just keep calm, okay? I don't like the idea of being watched either, but we need to know more. Yeah?"

"Yeah." Ichigo said, nodding.

"All right." Tatsuki said, nodding back, and patting him on the shoulder again. "Well, see you later. Ishida, want to escort Orihime back?"

"I, er," Uryu said hesitantly.

"Sure you do." Tatsuki said with a smile. "I'll leave it to ya. Bye now!" With that, she dashed away, leaving an awkward-looking Ishida, and a smiling Orihime.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school, Kurosaki-kun!" She said cheerily. "Shall we go, Uryu-kun?"

"…yes." He managed. "I'll ah, escort you to your door."

"All right!" Orihime cried, and to Ishida's surprise, climbed up on his back. "Away at the speed of light, blitzen!"

Uryu shot Ichigo a look, half pleased and half defeated, and took off, leaving Ichigo alone in the night, contemplating what the hell was happening to his life.

oOo

The magnificent, ancient and most revered hall of the Gotei's captains, where each meeting was held, seemed to Urahara every bit as old, dusty and outdated as it had been last time he had been there. Of course, back then, he had worn a captain's coat… oh, how the times changed. As he slowly walked inside, to meet Yamamoto, he let himself take in the nostalgia, if only for a moment. He had not been unhappy here. He had done what he did best, and done it with purpose and skill. This had been his home- well, this place specifically had been more like the boss' office, but even so…

The nostalgia, of course, was instantly followed by old resentments, by the memory of the unjust court that had duly and without much evidence sentenced him to die. And following this was glee, unbridled, unabashed glee that finally, after all this time, he was right and they were wrong and they knew it. Despite himself- no, because he wanted to- he grinned wide under his hat.

"Don't look so damn smug!" Yoruichi hissed, her voice a whisper. Something about these walls had always brought out the formality in her; this had been the one place where, without fail, she had been expected to behave professionally back in the day. Old habits died hard. "You with your 'just as planned', and your big grins- you think this is any way to make friends? This is the captain commander we'll be speaking to, and he doesn't take kindly to disrespect, you know that!"

"Well, strictly speaking, I would have said 'everything proceeds within acceptable parameters' if I wanted to be strictly correct, but that doesn't sound nearly as impressive as 'just as planned', does it?" Urahara said, grin still present on his face. "Style and flair, Yoruichi-san, style and flair is half of everything. Appear to be in control, and most people will believe you."

"Yeah, well, that might work when you are around people who let you act smug, who let you get away with that, but the old man won't." Yoruichi snapped.

"Don't fear, don't fear," Urahara said jovially, "I promise, on my honour, that I shall be on my best behaviour."

"…you don't have any honour." Yoruichi said.

"Oh, you wound me!" Urahara said, but it was quite clear he was anything but hurt. "But never mind that- here he is now."

At the end of the hall, in his imposing, elaborate throne of a chair, sat the soutaichou- every bit as oppressive and intimidating as this dull, dusty old room, and every bit as joyless. Urahara bowed, taking off his hat, but it was obvious to Yoruichi that his gesture was one of mockery.

"Urahara Kisuke," the old man said, rumbling out each word. He looked just as old as last, just as stubborn and unforgiving. "The Gotei Thirteen greets you as a guest and ally. Your arrival, though unexpected, is welcomed."

"My most gracious thanks, soutaichou," Urahara said, managing to keep his grin in check enough that it was just a smirk.

"I am not a man for pleasantries, now less than ever," said the old man, "so let us get right down to the matters at hand. The upcoming war-"

"Ah yes, that," Urahara said. He was interrupting, he knew it, and the fact that it would irritate the old man only made it all the better. Behind him, Yoruichi glared at him. "The war. Of course, that's why I came here. Why else would I?"

"…yes." The old man narrowed his eyes at him.

"Except," Urahara said, "I don't see the first reason why I should want to help you."

Behind him, the glare intensified enough that he could feel it between his shoulder blades.

"Explain yourself." The old man's tone had sharpened.

"Marvellous place, this," Urahara said, gesturing to the hall itself. "Richly decorated with the finest art and architecture of our ancestors, kept intact for a thousand years. Truly, a suitable home for the leadership of the Gotei. I recall when I stood here as one of them."

"You refer to your incarceration?" The question was a formality; it was obvious where this was going.

"Oh, really? That old thing?" Urahara waved dismissively, chuckling. "That old time, when I was sentenced to life in prison at best, on no hard evidence? That time when I lost everything? I hadn't even thought of it."

"Aizen Sousuke duped us all-"

"Oh, he sure did," Urahara said, interrupting a second time now, "and he will have his wicked way with all of you, unless I help, because I've been studying him and every move he made for a hundred years now. For a hundred years, I've been an exile, in hiding. For a hundred years, I've been running scientific research on little more than fumes, and for almost as long, I've been your go-to guy for requests your officers make that aren't legal, but still necessary. I've been doing your dirty work for a long time now, and when you get your hands dirty, you dig up a lot of dirt."

"Is this going anywhere?" Yamamoto said, his tone making it clear he wasn't in a patient mood.

"I'll be happy to help," Urahara said, his voice having turned outside that smooth, calm façade he always kept, "but before we even start, before I do anything for you, I demand an apology."

Behind him, Yoruichi's palm met her face.

"A formal, written apology, signed by yourself and anybody who was a captain at the time. This partnership," Urahara spat, "starts with a two thousand word essay on how sorry you all are."

For a moment, Yoruichi thought that the old man would just burst from his chair, and crack Urahara's skull like an egg. The Gotei had never been keen on admitting its mistakes; their pride and arrogance was enormous, fuelled by wealth, self-importance, authority, and a thousand years of tradition. She felt his anger, subtle little strands of reiatsu changing ever so slightly, the old man's spiritual energy becoming agitated, little wisps of energy moving about in the air…

But he didn't. Yamamoto Shigekuni-Genryusai was nothing if not in control of himself, and he remained calm on the outside, looking as unmoved as ever.

"Will that be enough for you to accept a formal alliance, then?" He said, after half a minute or so of silence.

"…yes." Urahara said, nodding, as if surprised he would actually agree like so. "Well, that, plus the money I will charge you for my services- which, you should know, will be quite shameless."

"It is settled, then," Yamamoto grumbled. "Now, shall we finally get down to business, or do you pups have any more self-important outbursts to make?"

Urahara shook his head casually. "No, I believe for that for the time being, I am done with that. With regards to our alliance, my offer to you is as follows: I will relay all data that I receive on the movements of Aizen and any of his allies or potential allies, as well as some of my scientific data on hollow or hollow-like creatures." He paused for a moment to give Yamamoto a taunting look. "But just so we're perfectly clear: I do have every intention to fight Aizen and his little freak-show by any means necessary. But what I'll do, I'll do by my own choice, in the name of peace and sanity... but not in the name of the Gotei."

Yamamoto met Urahara's look with a cold glare. "As I would have expected it. Very well- I accept your terms. Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

Urahara paused for a moment, looking at the old man sceptically. While he'd freely admit that his own social skills were not exactly the best, he got the odd feeling that Yamamoto was being unnaturally passive and accepting right now. Of course, the treason of Aizen and his subordinates had already humbled the man quite a bit, as his offer to let Urahara and Yoruichi re-join the Gotei had shown... but this was just downright unfitting for the head captain. "Nothing left to discuss, no. Though I will have to ask for the Gotei to extend its hospitality just a bit further- there are still some things that I would like to take care of here at Soul Society. We'll discuss details later."

"We will keep an eye on what you do during the time that you stay in Soul Society." Yamamoto stated flatly, not batting an eye.

"No surprise there, soutaichou. Now, if that is all that you have to say on the matter... we'll be taking our leave, then." With that, Urahara turned around, and headed back towards the door, with Yoruichi following him a moment later.

"That... was easier than expected." She whispered, once they were out of Yamamoto's hearing range.

"I have to agree with you on that... I suppose Aizen's treason has allowed age to finally catch up with the old man a bit. But whatever the reason, I am not complaining, since this makes things easier for us..." Urahara whispered back, finally allowing himself the confident grin that he had been holding back during the entire conversation. Things were truly going just perfectly...

Except that they didn't want to go just that perfectly.

"Actually, Urahara Kisuke..." Yamamoto suddenly spoke up, just as they had reached the captain hall's door. "There is another issue that I would like to discuss with you."

Confused, Yoruichi and Urahara stopped dead in their tracks, and turned back around towards the old man. He stood up, and marched down toward them in complete silence, a foreboding, grim look on his face- grimmer, that is, than usual.

"Soutaichou, is there something-" Urahara began as he came closer, but before her could finish, the old man took two swift steps forward, and made a swift motion with his arms, too fast for even Yoruichi to see. For a a short moment, she thought that he had drawn his sword to stab Urahara through the neck, and her body tensed- only for her to realize, that it was "just" his cane that he was holding... and pressing against Urahara's neck. Fiercely.

Yoruichi stopped thinking. All that mattered now was to get Yamamoto away from Urahara- there was no doubt that he would able to kill him with just his cane, and no time to consider other options. Balling her fists, Yoruichi prepared to make a move to attack the head captain-

"...Please stay calm, Yoruichi. Soutaichou, may I ask what the meaning of this is?" Urahara said, his voice sounding strained, but still entirely calm, as if this were the most casual situation you could think of, his face almost entirely obscured by his hat.

Yamamoto made a disapproving noise. "Humph. Even now you act like you are in total control of everything... even when your body itself betrays you. You are sweating with fear, trembling, yet you still act as if everything is going as you want it to. Your arrogance is remarkable."

"I'm afraid that I have no idea what you are talking about, soutaichou." Urahara responded, his tone unchangingly composed.

"Don't even try to deny it, pup." Yamamoto snarled. "I have been leading this Gotei for far too long and have slain far too many men to be fooled by the act of a snot-nosed brat such as you. Aizen may have been able to fool us all, but I will not make the mistake of letting another arrogant schemer run on anything but a short leash. So consider this a warning: Give me any reason to distrust you, overstep your boundaries by the smallest measure... and it will be my blade that you will find at your neck instead of my cane. Am I understood?"

"...Completely, soutaichou." Urahara said, his expression and tone as unmoving as before.

"Then you are dismissed."

oOo

The moment the two of them left the office, Urahara stormed down hallway that they originally came from, leaving a surprised Yoruichi behind him. Her surprise however wore off quickly, and she ran after him not a moment later.

"Kisuke, hold up!" She shouted after him as she caught up. "What's the matter with you?"

Urahara meanwhile simply continued walking, as if he hadn't heard a word she just said, mumbling things that she could only barely make out as he did so. "...Arrogant... me... the nerve of that old man... doing something like that..."

"Kisuke!" Yoruichi said once more, her tone more concerned this time.

The shopkeeper stopped dead in his tracks, and looked at Yoruichi with an unreadable expression. "Yoruichi... are we alone? You are better at figuring this out than me."

Before she answered, Yoruichi took a careful look at Urahara. There was still sweat running down his face, and his body was still trembling ever so slightly. To anyone else, who did not know him as well as she did, he might have seemed like his usual confident self, but Yoruichi knew him well enough to see that the head captain's intimidation had been more effective than Urahara would ever be willing to admit. "No... I can't sense anyone else nearby. Unless the onmitsukidou reached a level of mastery in stealth greater than mine since the times that I was their captain, there is no one here aside from us."

Urahara nodded and started to grin weakly. "Good... yeah, that's good."

Then he threw his head back and started to laugh. Not in the sort of casual, self-confident way that he usually did. No, this was the same kind of joyless, mad laughter that she had last heard about one hundred years ago... when they had escaped Soul Society- seeing him like this again, now of all times, was unsettling.

"What's gotten into you?!" Yoruichi yelled, grabbing him by the shoulder.

Urahara's laughter gradually become quieter, until he finally stopped. "Sorry for that." He then said. "Just look at me, Yoruichi... one unexpected move from that old fart, some threatening words, and I'm already more afraid than I have been for several decades. This was a good reminder... even if things are going well in accordance to my plans, I shouldn't let my guard down. I may've let my guard down just now, but I can't allow myself to be as scared as the old man is."

Yoruichi blinked. "Yamamoto? Scared?"

"All things considered, yes..." Urahara said, nodding. "He has lost the Central Forty-Six – though that is for the most part good for him – three captains, and is facing a war against an enemy of uncertain strength and number. He wants to have us on his side badly, and he gives in to my childish demands without even protesting, while resorting to violent threats to keep us in line... he may not be aware of it himself, but our dear soutaichou is scared. Scared, because..."

"...For the first time in hundreds of years, there is an enemy that could very well pose a legitimate threat to the Gotei." Yoruichi finished his sentence.

Urahara nodded. "Precisely."

Yoruichi bit her lip, swallowing the retort she had thought of- namely that even with all of the reason that Urahara had brought up, Yamamoto probably still was just as confident in himself as both Aizen and Urahara himself were, just as they themselves might still be scared.

"Well, leaving that aside... shouldn't we be leave this place now? We still have a few things to do, after all."

"Hmm... you're right." Urahara said, cupping his chin. "We shouldn't let our old friends wait, after all."

oOo

The Shiba residence was well out in the Rukongai, far outside where most nobles put their houses- in secure, beautiful and serene places, close to the Gotei. The Shibas were of a different mind, something Rukia appreciated at this time- they had a lot of ground to cover, and new souls tended to spawn further out. This was just not any mission- they were tasked to find the daughter of Shiba Isshin, and Rukia was eager to complete the mission. It was a strange feeling, being in command of others, leading a mission- but far more important than personal insecurity was finding her, helping the Shiba find what was theirs. She owed them that much. Now, they stood outside the mansion, hundreds of shinigami behind her, all standing to attention and awaiting orders. So many at once was uncommon- but Isshin was a captain, and his reach was long. Even with war preparations, he had managed to send four hundred of his troops their way, mainly by using the greenest, least experienced soldiers in his division.

"Well, there y'all are!" Said Kukaku, walking out from the mansion doors. "I don't think you lot need me holding your hands- you know what you need to do. All Shibas who ain't dead or dying will be joining you- you'll be going out in squads, each one of you with one of us with you. We know the land better, so you'll follow our leads. That sound good?" She turned to Rukia.

"Yes, ma'am!" Rukia said, saluting. "We'll find her- we won't let you down, I promise."

"Attagirl," Kukaku said, nodding approvingly. "And don't get disappointed if it don't come easy- this could take weeks. Lotsa ground to cover- thousands of miles if needed."

"Actually," Rukia said, digging a device out of her pocket, "it might be easier with this. We borrowed it from second division- it's a reiatsu tracker, with a sample of Kurosaki Yuzu's reiatsu. An effective range of five miles. Should make things easier- we've got five more to use."

"You done good, girl," Kukaku said approvingly. "Now, let's get out there- I got a cousin what's all alone and defenseless, and we ain't leaving her out there!"

And so, the search began, and Rukia felt excitement, elation, a bit of fear and determination in her chest. She would not fail.

"I'll say it again: I do not like this, rewards be damned. I don't like this in the slightest."

oOo

Tsukishima sighed, as Moe and Jackie made grumbling noises that suggested that they agreed with what Riruka had just said. In the meantime, Yukio chimed in: "As much as I usually disagree with Riruka, I will have to agree with her on this. We should not be staying here any longer."

"And I will say this again: If Ginjo says that we need to stay here until we are done with this mission, then we are doing just that. He is our leader for a reason, and his word on this is final. And let us not forget the reward that we have been promised. That alone should make it more than worth it." Tsukishima said, making no effort to hide his annoyance. For as long as they had already been staying in Karakura town, the subject of the necessity of their stay here had constantly been brought by either Riruka, Yukio, Jackie, or even Moe- though in most cases, they had dropped the subject soon enough. Not to so this time.

"Well, that you would agree with everything Ginjo does is obvious." Riruka snarled, glaring at Tsukishima… who found himself rather unimpressed, as he was more than familiar with Riruka's moods. "But even you have to admit that staying in an area that has this much spiritual activity is dangerous, let alone reaching out to two substitute shinigami is dangerous for us- we're basically asking for the Gotei to find us, and no reward in the world will make me ignore that."

Tsukishima frowned weakly. Riruka was of course right; luxurious as the house that they had here in Karakura town was, the risk that their mere presence in this town presented to them could not be ignored, and the rewards the Ginjo had mentioned to them had been vague... and yet, they had to do this. "What I think about this is entirely irrelevant." Tsukishima remarked, throwing an aside glance to Ginjo, who was sitting (almost lying) on a couch in the same room- whether he was asleep, or just too deep in thought to pay attention to their conversation, Tsukishima could not tell. "We have our mission that we have to fulfil, and that's that."

Riruka's glare intensified, and Tsukishima could tell that she was about to hiss a lengthy rant back at him... but before that could happen, Jackie spoke up, in a clear effort to prevent Riruka from opening her mouth. "What do you think about this, Giriko? You almost never say anything when we discuss this. You must have some opinion on this."

Giriko, who had been quietly reading a book until now, closed the book and looked up. "My opinion is much the same as Tsukishima's in this matter. Ginjo has given us more than enough reasons as to why we should do this mission. This is all that I personally need to know to accept this situation that we have to endure for now."

"Yeah, yeah, our big-ass reward, and all this shit about repaying a debt to our 'benefactor'..." Moe grumbled from his corner of the room. "What I just wanna know is this: Why does this guy needs these four kids if he's such a high an' mighty shinigami rebel? I mean, yeah, I could tell that they were kinda strong, but shouldn't he have better guys at his side?"

A deafening silence followed his words. Riruka, Yukio and Jackie looked to Moe, as if they were surprised that he brought up such an argument, looked at each... and then looked at Tsukishima expectantly. Giriko had simply resumed reading his book.

Tsukishima looked aside, not sure on how he could even respond to that. Moe's argument was valid: While they certainly knew what their 'mission' was, the reason why they had to do it no one knew- except for maybe Ginjo, who did not seem willing to tell anyone else if he did. And yet, the question was lingering on everybody's mind, and even Tsukishima could not help but to wonder about it...

"What Aizen Sousuke wants with these four kids is none of our concern." Ginjo suddenly said, breaking the silence. "What does concern us is that once we have gotten these kids to the point where they question the Gotei to such an extent that they are beginning to not trust them anymore, Aizen will consider the debt that we have to him to be repaid, and reward us, even. And if it somehow furthers his plans along the way... all the better for us."

"Oh, so you're awake, after all." Jackie noted, sarcasm in her tone. "Are you going to lecture us on how our benefactor's promises should more than make up for any risk that we'll have to deal with, and how we owe him anyway, since he has been watching out for us?"

"Not really." Ginjo yawned, as he sat up properly, stretching himself. "I've been awake for a while now, but kept quiet since I hoped that you'd be able to settle this argument without me for once. Seeing as this doesn't seem to happen any time soon, I figured that I end this before our visitor arrives."

"Visitor?" Riruka questioned, a sceptical look on her face, suspecting that this was just an excuse of Ginjo's to silence them.

"Just be patient for a moment."

Everyone fell quiet once more, and sure enough: They all could sense somebody approaching their house... alone. Before long, they were inside, and approaching the room that they all were in.

"Well then, let's see what's gonna happen next..." Ginjo mumbled quietly.

The door opened, revealing Kurosaki Ichigo on the other side, a serious and troubled expression on his face.

"Tell me more."