Chapter 4:

Tomorrow was Friday and Ichigo couldn't be happier. He wanted this weekend to relax and take a much needed break from everything. His Soul Reaper duties weren't very troublesome this week. Even so, he still wanted a break from doing anything. He decided that this weekend, he was going to lay in bed and do nothing. He would only come downstairs for meals and to see what was on TV. The first thing he was going to do the instant he got home was take a hot shower and then a nap. That would be a great way to start off his weekend. He couldn't wait for tomorrow to end.

"Ichigo!"

He turned around. That was Rukia's voice. She was running up behind him, passing people by with ease. No one but Ichigo knew she was there. "Rukia, what are you doing here? Assignment or something?"

She stopped beside him. She made her point at once. "I need you to come to the Soul Society with me right away. Captain Ukitake wishes to speak with you as soon as possible."

"What? Why?"

"He wouldn't say. He just told me to bring you as soon as I could. Hurry up."

He wished he was given a little more notice but this was how things in his life seemed to work so he didn't complain. He swallowed the Mod Soul and stepped out of his body. "Ok, Kon, I need you to-"

"Rukia!" Kon reached out to grab Rukia but she stomped him in the gut as soon as he tried. "How could you do this to me, sister?"

"Rukia, that's my body you're pummeling."

"Yes, but he's the one in it. It's nothing personal. Let's go."

"Still…" Ichigo followed her, leaving Kon far behind. "Kon, go home and stay out of trouble!" Ichigo called as he left the World of the Living, even knowing that Kon was probably not going to listen to him anyway.

They wasted no time getting to Ukitake's office. Rukia knocked on the door and pulled Ichigo inside the moment they were given permission to enter. The Captain was sitting at his desk looking paler than usual. He gave Ichigo a welcoming smile and waved them both forward.

"It's good to see you, Ichigo. I'm sorry you have to see me in this state. I've been home the past few days and came in this morning. I'm sure you're busy so I'll try to keep this short. Sorry about the inconvenience."

"That's ok," Ichigo told him. He knew the Captain wasn't feeling well and took pity on him. He had no hard feelings towards Ukitake at all. He didn't want to make this any harder for him by complaining. "What did you need?"

"I wanted to get a report from you. Is that ok? It won't take long."

"A report?" Ichigo repeated. "Uh… sure."

"Good. Good, good…" Ukiatke took out a piece of paper and started to write things down. "Ok… Uh, first of all, I wanted to ask you how things were going in your area. Anything unusual happening in Karakura Town?"

"No more than usual."

"Ok." Ukitake wrote something down. "Um… How many Hollows have appeared in your area? That you're aware of."

"Not very many. I'm guessing around 3 or 4 in the past couple of weeks."

"Ok. And how many Konsos have you performed this month?"

"Three."

"Ok." Ukitake wrote this down on the paper.

Ichigo waited. Even when he was finished writing, Ukitake did not look up from the sheet of paper. Ichigo didn't take his eyes off the Captain, waiting. It seemed that Ukitake was thinking hard about something. Was the next question that difficult to answer?

Ukitake looked up. "Thank you. That's all."

"That's it?" Ichigo raised his brow in confusion. "I came all the way just for..? Never mind. It's ok." He didn't want to stress Ukitake out by complaining. He didn't like how pale Ukitake looked today. He must have been pushing himself just to sit at that desk and take notes.

Ukitake gave him a weak smile. "I'm sorry you had to come all the way down here for such a short thing. I know there are other things you'd rather be doing. I appreciate you coming all the way here, though. Thank you."

"Uh, no problem."

The Captain nodded to Rukia. "Thank you for bringing him. I think we're finished. Just keep an eye out, ok?"

"Yes, sir." Rukia bowed to her Captain and escorted Ichigo out of the office.

Once the door was safely shut, Ukitake slumped in his seat, the fake smile gone from his face. He hated lying. But his orders were clear from the last Captain's meeting: do not tell anyone the real reason for this. And he kept his word. He told no one, not even Rukia why he had called Ichigo into his office.

Akon had been contemplating something for some time now. Through his observations of Veneno, he had learned that he was obedient, a fast learner and eager to help. He had nothing to do all day aside from the chores he was given which he now finished within two hours' time. Akon was stuck keeping an eye on Veneno in the lab and therefore was unable to help his shorthanded staff. As the Third Seat, he had a lot of responsibilities and a lot of things to oversee. He felt like he was cheating his duties and his fellow Squad members by hiding in the lab all day doing nothing.

Out of curiosity, Akon gave Veneno a few new tasks to complete. He wanted to know if he could read or write. Apparently he could. It was like rediscovering a talent long forgotten. Once he started, he picked it up quickly. He had already read through the nature books Akon had given to him. He was quite taken with the pictures of landscapes. All he saw on a day to day basis were steel walls and stone. He had never seen grass before, or sunlight. All he knew was inside this dark lab. While he read, Akon filled out reports. The lab was quiet while they each did their own thing.

"Akon?"

"Hm?" He looked up. Veneno was looking at him from across the table, a large book in his lab.

"I was wondering… Could I go upstairs again?"

Akon was taken by surprise by this sudden and odd request. "What? You want to go up there? Why?"

"I…" Veneno looked down, shyly. "I wanted to see those other people again. They all looked very busy. I was helping them. I kind of wanted to do it again. Besides…" He started to grin, a sparkle coming to his green eyes. "It was really neat up there. So lively. And there were a lot of things up there that I've never seen before. It's cool."

Akon's pen didn't move, dripping ink onto the paper in front of him. This was what he had been wondering for some time. Should he take Veneno out of the lab and put him to work elsewhere? He was no longer challenged down here doing pointless work. He could be upstairs helping people who needed all the help they could get. He was dressed like a Soul Reaper so no one knew he was different. Thanks to his long bangs covering that Hollow mask fragment on his forehead, no one had any idea that he was an Arrancar. No one could tell the difference.

Akon looked down at the black blotches on the paper and set the pen down, getting up. "I'll go ask the Captain right now and see what he says. If he thinks it's a good idea, I'll take you up there."

"Really?" Veneno looked excited.

"I'll ask him. Until I get back, don't leave, ok? Do not leave this room."

"I won't. I'll stay right here." Veneno planted himself in the stool and set his borrowed book on the tabletop. "Hurry back, ok?"

Akon nodded and left without another word. He left through the only door into the lab and this time, he locked it on his way up the stairs. He knew where Mayuri would be around this time and was eager to reach him before he ran off to oversee some other assignment. When he reached the next floor, he saw the Captain moving the other direction. Akon jogged to catch up to him.

"Sir! Captain Kurotsuchi." Akon ran up behind him. "Captain, sir!"

"What is it?!" Mayuri spun around angrily. "I'm very busy. What do you want?"

"I had a question, sir. I'll keep it brief."

"See that you do." Mayuri started walking again, forcing Akon to chase after him.

Knowing that he wasn't allowed to discus the experiment outside of the lab, Akon wondered how he would ask permission with so many people around. "Well, you know that thing we're supposed to keep quiet in the lab?"

"Yes, yes. Get to the point." Mayuri shoved a Soul Reaper out of his way, picking up the pace.

Akon ran to catch up. "Since he is no longer challenged by any of the tasks we've been giving to him, I was thinking that we could have him do other work. So I was wondering if I had permission to have him put to work in other labs. After all, no one will know what's going on. No one really knows what he looks like and it was months ago when…"

"Just do whatever you feel is right. I don't care as long as no one finds out."

Akon dodged a Soul Reaper carrying a tray down the narrow hall. "So I have permission to let him out?"

"Yes! Yes! Permission! Yes! Now leave me be! I'm running late as it is!" Mayuri pushed more people out of his way, called Nemu and the two of them left through a large door leading to the next floor.

Akon knew the Captain was distracted when he answered, but permission was permission. There was no way he could get in trouble if Mayuri allowed him to do as he wished. Shrugging, he returned to the lab to where Veneno was waiting.

Upon his return, Veneno closed the book in his hand and stood up, waiting anxiously for the news.

"Ok. You can come upstairs and work."

Overjoyed, Veneno jumped into the air with a cheer. His jump wasn't controlled and he ended up slamming into the ceiling, bending a metal air duct and falling back down, landing on the table. He rolled off the table and stood up, giving a nervous laugh. "Sorry…"

Akon looked up at the ceiling. That was at least a three story leap. Without the ceiling there to break his jump, he may have traveled even further. "You've got to work on controlling that, man."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. I'm trying, though."

A Captain's meeting was held in secrecy. All the Captains managed to slip away at some point in the day to make it to the meeting room. No one was supposed to know about this. The Captains were sworn not to speak about what the meeting was about or what went on inside to anyone. Not even to each other outside of this room.

"So…" Yamamoto said from his chair. "Ichigo Kurosaki has not noticed anything in Karakura Town?"

"No, sir," said Ukitake. "I questioned him myself. He hasn't noticed anything amiss. According to him, everything is fine."

"I see."

"That can't be right…" said Soi Fon. "At our last meeting, we discovered that something strange was happening. And it revolves around him. He's either the cause of it or the target of it."

"Are you saying we question him?"

"Of course not. We're not allowed to speak of this matter to anyone. Not even him."

"Then what are you suggesting?" asked Unohana.

"I'm suggesting that he could be covering it up. He may be lying."

"How could he be lying if he hasn't been told anything?" asked Shunsui. "No one has spoken a word of these meetings to anyone so how could he have gotten information about it? It's not like anyone could have leaked information to him and come up with a plan, right?"

"He could still be lying!"

"I doubt that."

Unohana looked at the Head Captain. "Sir, what do you think?"

Yamamoto was silent.

"You did have a theory, right, about how Karakura Town could be in danger if Ichigo is involved in anyway?" said Shunsui. "Then what do you suggest?"

Yamamoto lifted his gaze to the Captains in the room. "We keep him under observation for another day. Tomorrow, we will bring him back to the Soul Society and decide from there." He looked down at the staff in his hand. "If need be, we will have no choice but to remove him from the area in order to protect the lives which could be in danger with him around."

What kept Ichigo motivated was his weekend of nothing. He kept repeating to himself 'weekend of nothing, weekend of nothing' all throughout the day. At last when the bell rang, Ichigo packed up his things and started to leave. Orihime left with Tatsuki and Chad, claiming that she needed his help with something. Ichigo waved good-bye to Keigo and Mizuiro, who were too busy with their own argument to follow after him. It was really more of a one-sided argument seeing how Keigo was doing all the talking.

"I'm just saying that if I was good at sports, I'd get a whole team of fan girls to chase me home everyday. But the teacher keeps giving us these things to do which is a total waste of my talent."

"What's that?" Mizuiro asked.

"How cruel! I suck at grades, so that means all I have left is sports! But there's nothing that I'm good at so no girl will notice me."

"Why don't you join the track team? You're a fast runner. I've seen you."

"But that doesn't count. That's not a real sport where girls come to cheer you on and stuff. Besides, they keep putting those bars in front of you that trip you up."

"You're supposed to jump those, Mr. Asano."

"I know, but I keep hitting my knees on them and then I trip and then I fall over and everyone laughs at me. There's got to be something else."

"There's soccer. Running is involved with that."

"Yeah, but again, I keep tripping over the ball."

Ichigo left the school grounds alone and started walking back to his house. It wasn't long until he noticed that he was being followed. He looked over his shoulder and saw Uryu following him closely. Strange. His house was in the other direction. Ichigo turned around and Uryu flinched.

"Why are you following me?"

"Was I?" Uryu looked around. "Oh. I guess I kind of am. Sorry. Guess I wasn't paying attention."

"Where's your head at today?" This was so unlike Uryu. Orhime spaced out more than anyone else he knew. Was she rubbing off on him? "Why are you spacing out so much?"

"I am not spacing out." Now this was the Uryu Ichigo knew. Uryu turned away bitterly. "Don't jump to conclusions."

"I'm not."

"Sounds like you are." Ichigo turned to leave when Uryu suddenly reached out and grabbed Ichigo's hand. Uryu had a firm hold on him. "Uh…" Ichigo looked down at their clasped hands. "What are you doing?"

Uryu blinked and immediately let go. "I have no idea. It was a reflex or something."

"Strange reflex."

Uryu turned away. "Don't you have something else to do?"

Rolling his eyes, Ichigo left.

That was the strangest thing. Why would Uryu..?

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Uryu, I thought-" It wasn't Uryu. It was Rukia. "Oh, it's you again."

"What kind of greeting is that?" she growled. She took his arm. "Come on. We have to go back to the Soul Society. I was asked to bring you again."

"Now?" Ichigo almost whined. So much for his do nothing weekend. "Ok, fine. Let's make it fast."

"Don't brother changing." Rukia stopped him from becoming a Soul Reaper. "Just come as-is."

The Soul Society looked exactly the same as it did yesterday. Nothing had changed. Ichigo wondered why he was summoned here twice in two days. What could have been so important?

He was led to Ukitake's office. Inside, he found two other Captains waiting for him on the couch. Shunsui looked pleased to see Ichigo while Hitsugaya looked indifferent. Ukitake was sitting across from them on another couch. He smiled when he saw Ichigo.

"Welcome back, Ichigo. Long time no see."

"It was a joke," said Shunsui. "Lighten up."

Ichigo stood in the middle of the office, looking from Captain to Captain. "So… why am I here again?"

"We have an assignment for you," Ukitake explained. "There has been some suspicious activity and we wanted you to check it out. A team will be dispatched for this mission so you'll have some help. Rukia will be joining you, of course."

"Joy…" Ichigo grunted as Rukia punched him in the spine. "It was a joke, lighten up."

"You will also be joined by my Lieutenant," said Hitsugaya. "Rangiku will be going with you. So will Ikkaku and Yumichika. Depending on how dangerous this mission is, we may be sending others to accompany you."

"So, you're not coming this time, Toshiro?"

"That's Cap-"

"We'd like to get this moving as soon as possible," interrupted Shunsui. "So we'll get everyone together and sent off for this mission. We'll give you more details once everyone is together. Hopefully we can pry Ikkaku away from the training hall for five minutes in order to talk to him. He volunteered but has no idea that you've shown up yet, Ichigo."

"So I was called all the way here to get an assignment?"

"That's correct."

Ichigo gave out a sigh. "You couldn't have just sent Rukia to tell me instead of making me come all the way here and then all the way back to-"

"Oh, you will not be returning to Karakura Town."

Ichigo's head snapped up so fast, he could feel his bone crack. "What?!"

"You're mission is elsewhere. We've already arranged it. You'll have a place to stay and everything you need."

Ukitake nodded. "You'll even have some help with this mission. I'm sure they'll be as willing as ever to assist. As a matter of fact, you'll be staying with them. They've put you up before, haven't they? Not to mention the fact that we're all good friends and have helped each other out in the past."

"Oh, yes. That's true," Shunsui laughed.

Ichigo felt his heart pulsating. He had a feeling that he already knew the answer but had to ask it anyway just to be safe. After all, if he wasn't returning to Karakura Town, there was only one other place he had allies who were more than willing to help him and have helped him in the past.

"Just where exactly am I going for this mission?"

All three Captains turned his way and answered at once.

"New York city."

And here we go!

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