Ya'll know what? I think it's finally about time. We're gonna get this story's paring going. I mean, not gonna pair them up in this chapter but I'm going to build it up since story-wise, Ichigo and Lily had known each other for over 4 years now. So it's about time Ichigo grows feelings for her!:D

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters associated with it. All rights belong to the creator Tite Kubo. This is an AU story with some OOC.

Chapter 19: A Captain and His Lieutenant

-X-

Death was a powerful concept that Ichigo never got around to thoroughly understanding. When he died and woke up in Hueco Mundo, the first thing he worried about was knowing where he was. He didn't stop to think about the fact that he had died because he, as a child, never understood death. Yes, he knows that everything has to die since his father, a doctor, had told him about life and death but he never stopped to think about why there seems to be life after death.

What's supposed to be after death? What's supposed to be after his death? Does he get to go to Heaven? Is there Heaven? Is that the reason Soul Society exists? Because that's what Heaven's supposed to be? But if that's true, and Heaven is a powerful concept like death, then how can he possibly prove it? What proof does he have that Soul Society could have been his Heaven? Or maybe Hueco Mundo is supposed to be his 'Heaven' but what proof does he have that the life he's living now is his Heaven?

Honestly, he has one.

Angels.

It felt strange for him to think about Angels. His religious beliefs mention nothing about Angels, well, anything that resembles the western-versions of Angels.

But he was a hard believer in this moment.

And it all has to do with the beautiful angel that he was looking at right now.

Ichigo has to wonder why Lily wears nothing to what she's wearing right now! The backless, black dress with gold moons going through its cycles by the sides of the dress that end just below her knees made her look angelic. The dress was hugging the curves of her body in a way that her usual clothes would normally reveal, but there was something more appealing with her current clothes. She put her hair up to a bun while letting two strands frame her face. He checks her out from head to toe and notices the lace-up, black heels. That explains why she seems to be a little taller and oozing sex appeal.

He was no stranger to sex. Though the act has never been done, he has the mental understanding of it. Szayel and Urahara had explained that the Hōgyoku had sped up his mental-growth. Making him understand and with it, notice the opposite sex and he has notice. It instantly started on the day that Lily changed her clothes to something more revealing.

At first it flustered him. He couldn't understand why Lily started dressing like that, but he never talked about it. He commented about the choice of clothes and that was it, but as time passed by, he noticed the way she had gained the attention of the opposite sex. He didn't like the way they would stare at her with hungry eyes, and not the hungry-type of eyes that means they were ready to eat her.

Although something was telling him that they wanted to eat her in a different manner.

He had tried everything to convince Lily to wear normal clothes, but as she'd stated before, "What are you talking about, Ichigo? These are normal clothes." Her comment only started an argument between the two of them, and by the end of the day he never got to convince her. She kept wearing those way too short-shorts and the vest, just the vest. He was fine with the vest. It gave her a nice sexy look that he appreciated seeing from time to time. The only problem with it was her not wearing a bra, and sometimes he feels like the winds will blow hard one day and reveal her breast to everyone.

Damn it! He doesn't want something like that to happen in public! He should be the one that gets to only see them!

His eyes widened at the end of that thought. 'What! Hell no!'

'Hell yes!'

Ichigo violently shook his head. 'Damn it, Zangetsu, stop trying to influence my thoughts with your dirty thoughts!'

Zangetsu 'tsk' at Ichigo while waving off a single finger. 'Oh-ho? You think I let some of my fantasy inside your thoughts? Ha! That's a funny joke kid. Sorry to tell you this, but you're the one with the desire to see Lily's tits!'

'Can we please not start a conversation about Lily's breasts!'

The Inner-Hollow wishes his mischievous eyes could gleam brighter. 'You're right, let's stop talking about Lily's tiny hills and let's talk about Yoruichi's whopping Mt. Fuji twins! Remember that day she walked out of Starrk's room after she pranked him!' He didn't wait for Ichigo to reply. He knew the kid was thinking about it. 'Actually, I can always replay that memory again, y'know, because why not?'

'Why are we having this conversation?' Ichigo closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose.

Shrugging, Zangetsu brought Ichigo's attention back to Lily when he saw the girl staring at him with a look that sent a shiver down his spine. 'Hey Ichigo, can a girl read minds?'

'What are you talking about now, Zangetsu?'

'Now I'm no genius, but with that death stare Lily's looking at us with, I think she just heard our small chat about her breast.'

Ichigo looked at Lily as she walked towards him and he could see the way her face was fuming with streams that seemed to come out of her ears. Warning bells started ringing in his head. "Umm, hey there Lily—!"

"YOU ASSHOLE!" She tightens her hands around his neck. "I got you a really nice suit for you to wear and you show up wearing your uniform?! Do you know how long it took me to find it!? And not to mention I had to be sure it fit you!" Oh, she was mad, very mad. It took her an entire week for her to find the perfect suit for his ceremony/promotion; but the asshole is wearing his uniform instead? "Do you know how much time and effort I put into it?! I'd asked Starrk about your Division's colors theme so that I could find a nice dress! A dress Ichigo!? How many times have you seen me wearing one!" She could see the way he wanted to break free and speak up, but he seemed dazed and distracted about something. Instead of letting him speak, she kept going on with her ranting, but she loosened her grip. "I risked my hide since I had to sneak into the Human World to get them."

He heard her but he was too distracted to say anything. Up-close he could see the signs of makeup on her face. He could see the rosy-blushed makeup on her cheeks, the typical black eyeliner on her lone eye, and found a peach shaded color tracing her lips. He couldn't help but wonder when Lily had found the time to learn how to apply makeup to herself. After feeling her loosening her grip more, he finally said something, "You look beautiful."

His words caused her cheeks to blush. "What?" She asked him with a narrowed eye. Does he think a simple compliment would make her forgive him? "Nice try asshole but that won't save you." Before she could continue her action, Ichigo grabbed her hands. Sure Ichigo was stronger than her and honestly she felt as though the redhead could have easily broken out from her grip but held in doing so and right now she was expecting him to overthrow her in a show of strength but instead of a rough grip, she found her hands being held with such unexpected tenderness from the guy who she almost choked to death.

Ichigo wonders if his brain finally got enough oxygen for him to think straight. "You look beautiful." But as he repeated himself, he knew his head was slowly filling back-up. "How come you wear nothing like this around?"

She's hoping the makeup on her cheeks was hiding the blush that she's for sure feeling on them. "Well, this is a dress and we're in the middle of a war. Would be inappropriate to wear something like this around." She could feel such intensity from his eyes and wanted to look away but she couldn't; wouldn't actually. No matter what, Ichigo's eyes were too beautiful to look away from. She stared back at them. "Do you not like what I usually wear now?" How was it that this dress was getting a better reaction out of Ichigo than her other clothes? She looks amazing in her other clothes and had hoped to get a compliment from him or even a reaction, but he said nothing. He usually only looks at her and although she likes the way his eyes scan her body, words were what she was aiming for.

He shook his head. "They look good for combat, but I honestly feel you should wear a bra or something to cover your chest." He saw the small frown on her face and wondered if he said the wrong thing.

"Do I look good in them?"

"Good in them?" He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

Lily couldn't help but sighed as he answered her question. Definitely not the words she wanted to hear. Yeah, a simple 'Yeah' and he even sounded a bit doubtful too. Wasn't showing off some skin a good way to gain a guy's attention? She forgot about her blush and gently removed her hands from Ichigo's gentle grip to fix his suit. Looking at him closer, they both looked like a pair thanks to the colors being so similar. "Did you atleast eat the breakfast I left for you?" She asked as her hands fixed the collar on his suit.

"No." Ichigo felt her grip his collar, he looked down to see her glaring at him and couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Lily." He gestures to his Hollow mask.

She looks away, embarrassed that she had forgotten. "Ah."

Starrk was staring at them from the sidelines, Shinji and Kensei standing on his side, both wearing their Captain's outfit.

Shinji's Traje De Luces colors were the same as everyone else besides his ends being white and his Division's Insignia; a white hourglass at the center. He'd gotten rid of his street clothes and went back to wearing his old Captain uniform. While they considered Kensei a Captain and wore his Shinigami outfit, the man refused to wear a Traje De Luces since he felt as though he couldn't fight with one, so deceived to have his Division's Insignia tattoo on his right bicep; a black shield.

Starrk felt a sense of Déjà vu when Lily choked Ichigo. 'She acts alot like you, Anna.'

'Ha, I knew she would!'

He raises a mental brow at her tone; she sounded enthusiastic. 'Then it runs in the family?' He felt as his words caused her to feel gloomy. 'Do you want to talk about it?'

'No.'And just like that, she ended their conversation.

Starrk waited for a few seconds before forgetting about it. He'd been trying hard for the past few years to understand Anna better, but the woman was tight-lipped about her past-life. She's there for him when they need to do some training, but besides that, he hasn't gotten to learn of her at a much more personal level. It's not like he isn't trying and he sure doesn't want to pressure her but a part of him is dying to figure out in what way he could relate both Lily and Anna into. He has a couple of guesses, actually, one of them was a possibility while the other one felt too far-fetched but could still be a possibility.

His first thought was that perhaps Lily and Anna were sisters; a possibility but the only flaw with that guess is the fact about why Anna split herself into him and Lily or why was it that Lily's soul got eaten by her own sister, but it's not like he never heard of it. Szayel's older brother was ready to eat him.

The second guess and perhaps the least likely would be that Anna is actually Lily's mother. Again though, the idea that Anna would do something so cruel as to eat her own daughter's soul felt too disturbing.

'You'll tell me soon, right, Anna?' Starrk shifted from his thoughts to Mashiro as he saw the young woman coming up with Ulquiorra.

"What's going on here?"

Everyone else turns around to see Ulquiorra and Mashiro. The green-eyed Arrancar was wearing the same outfit as he used to wear in the Human World only that an orange scarf that looked strangely the same as Mashiro's replaced his bow tie. The lime-haired woman was wearing an orange V-neck long-sleeve, Polka Dot blouse with a black 3 hoops short skirt that ended just a little above her knees. A pair of black Mary Jane Lolita Shoes that had an orange bow around the ankles accompanied the long, black stockings that cover her legs.

Lily looked up to her sister to see her hair still combed in their usual manner. "Hey, what gives. I thought you were trying to set your hair down in waves." She also notices the absence of her scarf. "And you're not wearing your scarf? I thought you never took it off." She knows that because Mashiro always wears her scarf, even when she's sleeping. 'Except for this morning. When Ulquiorra was there.' She looks from Mashiro to Ulquiorra as she slowly puts the pieces together. 'There's no way.'

Ichigo ignored how Lily was looking at the pair. He was more focused on the fact that Ulquiorra came dressed. "Really? They dragged you into this?" He cock an eyebrow and smirked slightly at the sight of Ulquiorra's twitchy eyebrow—the one and only sign for whenever he's annoyed, a very rare moment to see since the pale-skinned Arrancar always has his emotions under control.

Ulquiorra looked at Ichigo with narrow eyes. "He's not dressed." He spoke through gritted teeth and turned to look at Mashiro with a little forceful smile. "No one besides us and Lily came dressed."

"But I told them to wear their best suit!" Mashiro defended herself. "I even sent everyone a little reminder."

Shinji raised his hand to gain their attention. "Ya did, but then I decided against it."

"You will never catch me in a suit." Kensei added.

"I'll only announce Ichigo's promotion and head straight to my office. Need to see if anything has happened since the week I left." Starrk yawned before looking at an imaginary watch on his wrist. "Would you look at that? It's time to start."

"We're starting already?" Ichigo looked around. "But we're missing everyone else."

Sighing, Starrk turned to Ichigo. "Announcing your promotion in the Plaza was Lily's idea. All I wanted to do was send a letter to all the captains and they would announce your promotion to their divisions. The reason I planned it that way was because I didn't want to put all of our forces into one place. We can't remove all our troops from Menos Park in fear of Baraggan's army cutting our food supply, and we can't have all the Divisions here in case of attack. I also made it optional for them to come."

Ichigo didn't know if he should feel thankful or a little hurt that not everyone was here. "What's Lisa doing?" He asked Shinji.

"Doing my job, what else?" The blonde responded in an obvious tone. "I wanted a little break from all the paperwork."

"What about Rose and Love?" Ichigo asked.

Rolling his eyes, Kensei answered. "Their job is more active than ours, and you know it since we need both of them to watch over Menos Park."

"Szayel and Urahara?" The redhead desperately asked again. Now he was feeling hurt that everyone was more focused on their job.

"While those two aren't that far away from the Plaza," Starrk started walking towards the stage, everyone following behind him. "They're both busy working on their latest project that will hopefully power-up the city and more. As for Hiyori, well, since she never accepted the position of Lieutenant, she didn't get an invitation to the stage, although it doesn't mean she's not out there. Tessai and Hacchi are constantly focusing on the barriers they created around La Estrella in case of unwanted visitors. As for Yoruichi, well, you know better than anyone else that she's our eyes in the Human World. Thanks to Yoruichi's transformation ability, she can spy through Karakura Town undetected. Keeping tabs and updates in the Shinigami." He turns around and stops before walking through a pair of red curtains to look at the redhead. "I'm going to do a little run-down of your achievements and when I'm done, I will gesture for you to step forward and bow. And then boom, we're done."

"Just like that?" Ichigo asked, both eyebrows reaching his hair-line.

"Well, yeah, we all got jobs to do and the sooner we finish the better." Starrk replied before walking through the curtains.

As soon as his body disappeared to the other side, Ichigo could hear thousands of cheers. "And here I thought that I wanted an uneventful ceremony." Sighing, he follows Starrk's actions. "Might as well get this over with."

He heard the cheers; he expected a few of them to come, maybe a little of two-thousands Hollows. But as his eyes stared at the white sea of Hollows that reached past his horizon, he couldn't help but feel oddly happy, did half of the population of La Estrella show up? 'So many of them came... for me?'

'Who else could it be for?'

Ichigo smiles as he positions himself between Shinji and Lily, the former standing next to Starrk's left side. Kensei, Mashiro and Ulquiorra, in that order, stood to Starrk's right. He watched as the brunette raised a hand to silence the Hollows before starting off his speech and as soon as the first words left the brunette's mouth; he blocked off the rest of the speech. He was still a bit awed. So many Hollows came, and as he looks around the crowd, he notices a few familiar faces. Mosqueda and his friend Dordoni were at the front of the crowd, keeping things in control. Looking back into the crowd, Ichigo found Rudbornn easily stinking out with his humongous form. He even found both Menoly and Loly resting on his branches. As he found those two, he started searching for the other group member of that group. But Zommari seems to be missing.

For whatever odd reason, those four stuck together. Even though they work under different divisions, they always find the time to meet up and talk.

The redhead went back to hearing about Starrk's speech to figure out what he was saying about him now but as he still spoke about some of his battles and influence on the war; he went back to staring at the crowd which is still something that he was having a hard time believing.

'You need to thank her, asshole.'

'What?'

Zangetsu rolled his eyes. 'Thank Lily. We both know you wanted nothing like this but seeing the lack of friends coming for your promotion may make you realize that you wanted the attention.' He felt as Ichigo lifted a mental eyebrow at him. 'What?'

'You're not going to tease me by calling her my girlfriend or something between those lines?'

'... Thank her.'

Ichigo stared at the crowd unemotionally. Is something going on with Zangetsu? The Inner-Hollow would use every opportunity he has in teasing him with Lily, but right now he sounded genuine about it.

He looks to his left and would quietly thank Lily when he realizes just how close she was to him, he could hold her around the waist with a simple arm-reach. He looks to his right and notices an obvious gap between Shinji and him. Since she was so close, he looked back at the crowd and would thank her in a quiet voice that only she would hear but stopped. He wanted to look her in the eye and thank her properly. He shifted his sight on her and went mute.

The feeling of always having eyes on her was ever so present. She got used to the feeling already since no matter where she goes, everyone would stare at her. Figure as much since they considered her a powerful public figure, apparently royalty since she's Starrk's 'sister', and one of her favorites, because she's Zangetsu's lover.

Yep, that last one always made her laugh bitterly. She could guess that Loly and Menoly started that gossip since they have seen them, not only living in the same apartment but sleeping together in the same bed, in what most people would say, in various intimidating sleeping-positions that lovers would only be found doing. She hasn't even bothered to hush those whispers in hopes that they could reach Ichigo. But then what? Ichigo would probably laugh at it before waving off the rumor, or most likely annoyed that such rumor started.

Or maybe things could go differently.

'Differently in what way?' The voice in her head spoke in a harsh and poisonous tone, making Lily drop the smile on her face.

'I want him to accept it.'

'Why? So that way it'll be easier for him to accept you?' It spoke in the same tone again. Almost as if her and Ichigo getting together disgusted it.

Lily said nothing, not when the voice was right. She wanted Ichigo to accept her presence in a different and new way. The voice was ready to speak again when she felt it, an unsettling feeling of a pair of eyes on her that shook the voice away and made a blush spread across her cheeks. Only one person could make her feel anxious under their stare. She moved her head to the right so that her pink-eyed could look at Ichigo's set, but unlike her, he was looking at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Something you want to say, Ichigo?" She whispers loudly enough for him to hear her before she murmurs out, "And can you please stop staring at me."

He doesn't even care about the fact that she caught him staring. "Thank you."

"Huh? For what?" Lily pursed her lips. What is he thanking her for? She saw him gesturing to the crowd with his head, slightly making her frown. "Oh, and here I thought you wanted nothing like this." She shrugs her shoulders and looks back at the crowd. If they keep looking and speaking to each other, then the rumors won't stop. "You're welcome." She couldn't make it pass 20 seconds before looking back at Ichigo, she could still feel his eyes on her, she turned her head to look at him as he did the same.

"You look beautiful."

Again those stupid words. "I know, you keep saying it."

"When did you learn to put makeup on you?"

She moves her head over to see Starrk, the brunette still talking about Ichigo. "I asked Yoruichi to teach me." She answers while looking back at him.

"You asked Yoruichi?" Ichigo asked with a quizzical expression on his face.

This time she controls her pink hue on her cheeks. "Yes, I asked her, but only because I knew this was a very important moment for you."

"And you had to look nice for me?" He replied with a small and playful grin.

"I did, Captain Kurosaki." She replied back with a small smile on her face.

"You didn't need to." He went back to looking forward but kept looking at her from the corner of his eyes. He could still hear Starrk talking about him, so he kept engaging in a conversation with Lily. "You had a suit ready for me. How did you get my measurements?"

"I asked Ulquiorra."

The redhead moved his head back to her. That was such a straightforward answer that sounded so real but couldn't be. "But Ulquiorra knows nothing like that." He watched her look at him with a mischievous smile on her eye and face.

"Well, I asked him to find out for me."

Ichigo knitted his eyebrows together and really thought hard about it. 'When the hell did Ulquiorra have the time to ask me anything like that.' He looks back at Lily to see her still looking at him with the same mischief smile. 'I don't remember Ulquiorra ever asking me for my clothes size. Well, there was that one time he measured me for my Traje De Luces to see what my size would be...'

Watching her friend sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose made her smile turn to a grin. "Finally figure it out." Wasn't a question, she knew he figured it out.

"I did." Instead of sulking about it, he asked the next thing on his mind. "You didn't put yourself in any danger, right?"

Her grin dropped as she spotted his worried expression. She sighs and looks back to the crowd. "I wasn't joking when I said that I risked my life by getting the outfits. The only place I know of is Karakura Town and you can imagine that every time I open a Garganta there would be a Captain or two heading my way but I was okay because I asked Szayel to give me one of his cloaks to hide my Reiatsu."

"You'd been doing something that risky behind my back?" Ichigo asked.

"Because I wanted to surprise you!" She argues.

"You could have gotten yourself hurt or worse." He felt like arguing, but decided against it. Last time they argued she stopped talking to him for a week. "When did you find the time to sneak into the Human World, multiple times, if I may ask?" 'Even when I was always watching you.' He mentally added.

"I did it when you were asleep." She heard his lips snap open and sent him a glare. "Don't you dare say anything! I still remember how you used to sneak down to Urahara's basement to practice your Capa Cero, you know, that very dangerous technique that blew your arm up."

"I did it for you." Ichigo replied, glaring back at Lily. "Every time I practice my Capa Cero, I have you in mind."

"What?" His words both confused and excited her. Was he trying to tell her something? "Tell me what you mean." She eagerly questions back.

Ichigo loosen up his glare as Lily looks at him with a big hopeful look in her eye. "Every time I practice and fail, with mostly my arm getting blown to pieces, I make sure to recall the reason I was doing what I was doing; to protect you." He started feeling a bit blue as he looked back on the first incident in the Human World. "When Captain Kuchiki's Kidō Spell hit you, I thought you were dead. I thought I lost you."

"Would my death matter to you back then?" Lily nonchalantly asked him. "If I had died, then you should have remembered that you still had Starrk and Szayel left. Just because you could've lost me didn't mean you couldn't have kept living without me."

Ichigo frowns at her remark. "Are you saying this because of how you felt back then? Because you thought your life didn't matter, you thought I wouldn't have cared if you had died?" He couldn't stop himself as he caressed her left cheek with his hand, an act that was a little too bold for him. "If I had lost you, I think I wouldn't know how to keep going. I know it sounds stupid to say that when I still would have had Starrk and Szayel with me but you, you gave me a sense of feeling I probably wouldn't have ever felt."

Her heart was racing. Wait, does she even have a heart? She must have one because she could feel the beating tempos of a heartbeat against her chest. "You mean a emotion, right? What sort of emotion is it?"

Ichigo felt the world go quiet. He was sure that the only thing he's focused on right now was Lily, who was patiently waiting for his answer. An answer he was still unsure of the proper emotion he was feeling for her. So how can he give her a straightforward answer? He sighed and put together some words and hoped they came out sounding right. "You make me feel so, so happy. From the first day we met, you have always been there to make me smile and laugh. Not once, after my death, did I feel like I was dead. Not when you were there to always make me feel alive."

He raises an eyebrow as Lily's face goes full red and wonders if he said the right words or if Lily has figured out what he has been feeling for her lately. He moved in closer to her when she took a huge step away from him to make sure there was a considerable distance between them and went back to looking forward. "Lily?" She said nothing, and that made him believe he said something wrong. He was ready to step closer to her when he finally noticed how quiet everything around him was.

"Ahem."

Ichigo looked to his right to see Shinji with a sly grin and looking past him, he saw Kensei and Ulquiorra with an annoyed look, Mashiro with a know-it-all expression and Starrk with a little smile on his face while gesturing out with his hand.

"It'd been a couple of minutes, Ichigo."

The redhead looked at the crowd and saw all the Hollows waiting for him. 'Oh shit!' He stepped forward and bowed, instantly causing the Hollows to cheer. He looks back to Starrk to see the man still smiling, with a smile that Ichigo finally realizes meant that he would hurt him later on today. 'Great job Ichigo, you made yourself look like a fool in front of everyone.'

Starrk drops his smile and sighs. 'And we're done.' He was ready to disband the entire gathering when he saw Lily jumping and waving over at her spot. 'Ohh... that's right.' He cleared his throat and started his other speech. "Ofcourse, being a Captain isn't an easy job."

Ichigo looks at Starrk with a puzzled look. Didn't the man say after his bow the ceremony would be over?

"Sometimes, they need a little help."

That made his eyes widen. Starrk would announce his Lieutenant! 'Who the hell could it be? Wait... is he going to give me Hiyori!? Don't you dare give her to me, Starrk!' But Hiyori wasn't the only person left that could get set as his Lieutenant. There was always Dordoni and Mosqueda, but from what he understood, Kensei wanted those two to stay in his Division since they were more openly accepted by the Hollows than him. Nel is a candidate, but she's a member of Rose's and Love's Sub-Division and since the team at Menos Park regularly gets attacked by Hollows, keeping Nel there helps them out big time. 'Who's left?' He wonders if it was possible that Starrk would let a normal Adjuchas become his Lieutenant, that would definitely raise moral support as a mental ease to their citizens. But the question would be who? Which Adjuchas would be the first to receive such an honor? The only two that come to mind are Zommari and Rudbornn, both powerful Hollows, but Zommari was by far the strongest of the two.

"-and without further ado,"

Ichigo cursed. He was sure Starrk had just said some hints about the person appointed to become his right hand.

"Please step forward, Lieutenant Gingerbuck of the Search & Protect Division."

Ichigo gaped and turned to see Lily, the young woman waving and smiling at the cheering crowd.

"Looks like you're stuck with me no matter where you go, Captain Kurosaki." Lily stepped back to his side and hip-checked him, almost making the redhead fall over.

Loly felt somewhat remorseful for Rudbornn. She patted the Hollow's trunk. "Sorry that you didn't get to become Ichigo's Lieutenant, but you had to have seen it coming. You're just not strong enough to get set as a Lieutenant."

"LOLY!" Menoly exclaimed, making her sister shrug her shoulders.

"What? I'm just saying what's true." She started feeling Menoly's glare on her skin and Rudbornn feigning indifference around the atmosphere, so she changed the subject. "Where the hell is Zommari at? He said he would be here."

"He's behind the stage, waiting for Starrk-sama to call him out." Rudbornn answered the girl.

"Called him out for what?" Asked the scorpion-like Adjuchas.

He turned his head to look at her, her sister also paying close attention. "Now that Captain Cifer lost his Lieutenant, who do you think will take the spot?"

"Zommari will become the Lieutenant of the Communication Division!?" Both sisters yelled out, gaining the attention of some surrounding Hollows.

Rudbornn nodded. "They filled the Communication Division with some of the fastest Hollows La Estrella offers and Zommari, outside the class of Arrancar and Visoreds, is the 2nd fastest Hollow. Nel, being a Vasto Lorde makes her a tap bit faster."

Menoly frown. "How was it that you were in a Division full of speedsters? No offence but you're not fast because of your size."

"How is it that you know about Zommari's promotion?" Loly asked with her appendages crossed.

"That's because I'm the one who recommended Zommari after I rejected both promotions to become Kurosaki's and Cifer's Lieutenant." The tree-like Hollow replied.

"What?" That caught Loly off-guard. The moment Rudbornn heard of Ichigo's promotion, the Hollow did all it could to make sure he set the proper requirements of being a lieutenant, it wasn't an easy task either, not when he had people like Nel and Zommari to compete with. However, Zommari was aiming to fill-up the spot that Ichigo left open and from what she understood, Starrk-sama didn't want to transfer Nel away from Menos Park. So Rudbornn's chances of getting into Ichigo's Division as his Lieutenant went higher with his only real competition being Lily, but her friend was already a Lieutenant.

"Why would you do something like that?" Menoly frown.

"Well..." Rudbornn started recalling his encounter.

-Flashback, One week before Ichigo's Official promotion-

Rudbornn stood with his upper-limbs behind his back at attention. He was in a large circular white room that from what he had heard was the Captain's meeting room. A basic and very spartan-like room that only comprises a large wooden door that he came through and colorful, marvel-made pillars that stood proudly behind the Captains; each pillar with their Captains' Insignia carved in them. There were six pillars, but only five of them had their respected Captains in front of them. He glanced towards the gold pillar standing next to Captain Cifer, a moon carved in it.

'Ichigo's.' He looked towards Starrk, his gray pillar stood larger than the rest with a five-pointed star and with the gentle King of La Estrella standing in front of it with his arm crossed and his eyes judging him, he felt a bit intimidated.

"You understand what's happening, right?"

He nodded instantly. "I do Starrk-sama."

"That's good then."

He heard Shinji and turned to the man. The pillar behind him was a white faded color-shade with an hourglass. "Hope our reasons for promoting you don't seem misunderstood."

He felt a bit lost. "What reasons are they?"

"We have three reasons." Kensei spoke up, standing a distance away from Shinji's right side; a silver pillar with a black shield standing behind him. "The first, and possibly the most positive reason is because we have looked into your abilities and found out that it could become very helpful for Ichigo."

Szayel step forward and notice the lack of a Captain's uniform but from he has heard from the Science Division was that both the Arrancar and Shinigami scientist were competing to see which of the two can top the other one and because of that competition, not one of the two has taken the mantle of Division Captain; although it's an unspoken rule that both men were basically ordering the Division around. "Your abilities to create one-track mind drones for easy instructions means you can help Ichigo's Division since its goals will be to search for Hollows everywhere; from the Human World to Hueco Mundo and bring them here to La Estrella for protection." The pink-haired man stepped back to his light-shade rose pillar with an angel feather and then Urahara, who still wore his usual clothes, stepped forward.

"Of course, your powers are very limited because of your current state so we're not expecting too much from you." The blonde casually added his bold comment.

He automatically nodded back. He already knew that. "If I'm lacking in power, then why promote me?"

"Because of reason number two." Starrk spoke, gaining his attention. "It's no secret to us that most of the Hollows don't want the Visoreds and Shinigami here, they still don't trust them and because of the lack of trust, some Divisions have been having a harder time recruiting Hollows into joining them. Before the recruitment of Mosqueda and Dordoni, Kensei had a hard time gaining any trust among the Hollows but afterwards, his Division has been steadily gaining members and with it some trust between him and our citizens."

"The Hollows don't have a problem with Ichigo now after they learn of his 'Zangetsu' identity, so he'll have no problem recruiting Hollows but what will happen to the other Divisions if every Hollow wishes to join Ichigo?"

He heard his Captain speak and turn to answer Ulquiorra. "The other divisions would lose strength."

"That's right!" Urahara eagerly butt in. "Most Divisions have either an Arrancar or Visored as their Lieutenant so mentally some Hollows don't see a problem if they choose not to join one, they'll think we need no more numbers since we already have strong soldiers."

"But the truth is that to win a war, we need both numbers and power. Some Hollows out there may have very useful abilities that could help us, but how would we know if they never bother joining." Kensei crossed his arms over his chest. "By appointing you as a Lieutenant, we hope to encourage Hollows into joining a Division."

In other words.

"I'll become a public image." He didn't know if he should feel honor of being a change to La Estrella or dispirited that his only reason for becoming promoted was to become a guinea pig to a public experiment.

"We said not to misunderstand them." Starrk said. "We have already talked to Zommari, the Hollow you recommended to us, but we feel like the reasons went over his head and he wants to become a Lieutenant."

That sounded a lot like Zommari. "What's the third reason?"

"Ichigo."

He couldn't stop himself from frowning in confusion as he heard Starrk's final reason. He guesses his expression was obvious since Starrk answered his uncalled question right away.

"Lately we're getting worried about his current state." Starrk raises his hand, and stops from opening his mouth. "It's nothing too grave, we hope, but we feel as though Ichigo's growth is something very abnormal... to say the least. Would you believe me if I say that Ichigo was nowhere as strong as he was a few years back?"

"He has been fighting in this war for two years straight, so he would only get stronger." He stated.

"That's not how power works for a Hollow." Urahara said. "Shinigami gets stronger as the years pass by, but I'm talking about years. In theory, because Ichigo is an Arrancar, he should have taken 20 years to achieve his current strength, but... Ichigo isn't even 20 years old yet. He died at the tender age of 8, no knowledge of the afterlife, but still his power was higher than a lower-level Adjuchas."

"But then came the first incident in the Human World and Ichigo's power levels went from a normal Adjuchas to a powerful Vasto Lorde. A Vasto Lorde more powerful than I. Of course, back then I wasn't as strong as I am today but still, the thought that there was something more powerful than me scared me because it came from Ichigo, a boy who has been an Arrancar for 2 years."

Starrk's words almost cause him to lose his composure. Almost… He couldn't open his mouth because Starrk continued.

"We didn't plan to make Ichigo a Captain so soon, but we feel as though fighting has caused his body to only react and enhance his powers. So we're hoping that settling him down with some paperwork and light work will hopefully slow him down."

"Why is that a reason to make me his Lieutenant? Can't you ask him to stop fighting?"

"Ichigo only has one thing on his mind, and that is to protect. So if we asked him to stop fighting in this war, then we're asking him to stop protecting the Hollows." Starrk sighed. "We're hoping that you could be Ichigo's reason and talk him out of any unnecessary fight and have him focus on running his Division. You don't have to give us your answer but in about a week I would like to know."

"A week?" Shinji asked, watching Starrk leave through the doors before stopping and answering his question.

"I'm gonna go out to train."

He left after that. He was having mixed feelings about his promotion because from what it sounds like, the Search & Protect Division was created only to house Ichigo. He felt a bit honored with being selected, even though he knew Zommari has a chance of being Ichigo's lieutenant but his fellow Division member will most likely become Ulquiorra's Lieutenant. 'I have no reason to not join the S&P Division.' He made a turn around a corner and stopped as Lily stood in his way, looking a bit highly strung.

"Umm, Rudbornn, right?" She even sounded a bit nervous and upset.

"Indeed, Lilynette-sama."

"So, have you decided about it?"

He raises a mental eyebrow. How could she know about his supposed promotion? 'Besides being a Lieutenant herself, I thought they would only share my promotion among the Captains.' He tried to speak, but Lily spoke first. And just like her brother, she answers his uncalled question.

"I saw Zommari looking a bit excited and asked him about it before he told me." She nervously shifted her weight to her right side and rubbed her right arm with her left. "He's excited about filling up Ulquiorra open position but since I know of Ichigo's promotion too, I know he will need a Lieutenant. So I guess that'll be you, right?"

Is that what's making her nervous? 'But why would that—' He stops his thoughts as he remembers about the rumors, and then his back goes stiff. The rumors always spoke about the possible unannounced relationship between Lieutenant Kurosaki and Gingerbuck, but he has only heard those rumors as words. There's no proof. Unless one of the two speak about it then he'll believe it and right now it looks like the princess will tell him about it. 'Is she going to tell me about it now because she wants to be his Lieutenant?' Is Lily hoping by telling him about her and Ichigo's private-affairs would cause him to back away from the offer?

But then why would she seek him out? She could go straight to Starrk and tell him that she wants to be Ichigo's right hand.

Unless Starrk disapproves of their relationship. 'Or doesn't even know about it.' But that's so unlikely since the rumors have spread far and wide across La Estrella, or possibly even across Hueco Mundo.

After realizing he has said nothing yet, he opens his mouth but instead of beating around the bush, he questions her straightforwardly. "You want my position." It was a stated fact that caused the young woman to look at the ground with a sad smile on her face.

"No, I'm not here to do that to you. Menoly and Loly have told me how hard you've been working to be sure the other Captains see you fit to be his Lieutenant. I…" she raises her head to look at him. "I just want you to promise me something."

Now this wasn't something he was expecting, in all honesty, he was pretty much expecting her to claim his position. 'But she would never do that, not when she respects every Hollow like an equal.' What would her request be? "What do you wish from me?" He saw her smile brighten up a bit.

"Protect him."

Now he's lost, and it seems she could read him like Starrk-sama.

"Ichigo will always end up getting himself in a stupid situation and I'm hoping you'll be there by his side to make sure he doesn't get himself hurt." She gave him another smile before turning around and walking away with slumped shoulders.

He would have let her walk away but he didn't feel satisfied with her words, they're not what she really wants to say. "Why don't you become his Lieutenant?" He asked her and she turned around.

"Because you've been working too hard for me to take it away from you and if you have been getting stronger to be his Lieutenant, then I don't have to worry about him getting in danger."

It took him a while, but then he figured it out. "You want to protect him, don't you?"

"I do." She raises a hand over her chest. "I sometimes feel like Ichigo would only listen to me if I told him not to do something stupid. With others, he would probably wave their words away, but mine, I feel like he only listens to me." She lowers her hand and bows deeply. "Please, since I can't do it, protect him on my behalf!"

He watches her leave soon after those words.

- End of Flashback -

"I realize after that moment that the rumors might hold some truth in them and so after a week of thinking it over I gave my position to Lilynette." Rudbornn looked towards the sisters, surprise written all over their faces. "After sensing Starrk-sama return from his training, I told him about my choice. I sensed both of you leave before I even got there. After a few minutes of talking, he said he was fine with my decision and that I had to inform Lily about it too." Looking back to the stage as Zommari got announced as Ulquiorra's Lieutenant, he added. "Although I wasn't expecting her to be so prepared at the last minute with her choice of clothing."

"You mean the dress?" Menoly asked before looking back at the stage. "Lily had the outfit ready about a week later the moment she heard of Ichigo's promotion about two weeks ago."

"So either being his Lieutenant or not, Lily would have been wearing the dress, anyway." Loly added.

Both their statements made Rudbornn laugh. "Guess I made the right choice then." He remembers the way both teens got lost in each other's presence, the world forgotten to them. 'What's small between you two will turn into a friendship, and that friendship will turn to a bond that will soon turn into love.' He left as Starrk ended the ceremony.

- Soul Society -

Turquoise eyes open to the rays of the sun breaking through his dark room. As the light hit his eyes, Tōshirō covered them with his blanket. Wishing that another day wouldn't start so soon, but with no way to stop the bright object in the sky, he threw the blanket and got up. He was already late.

What's the worst thing his Captain can do to him, anyway?

-X-

And we're done. Phew, that took a while. Heh, sorry about that folks, I have been busy playing Monster Hunters Iceborne, work is picking up because of the Holidays too and had to wait for a while to place the Wi-fi in my new place.

The next chapter will be out before or after Christmas.

-Ten Out.