Rukia was shocked when she heard her brother 'Shiba?' her eyes widened at the sight, it was none other than Ichigo. It would be him to fight Byakuya, verbally, of course. The mission she was assigned to would be difficult she knew that, but she still wanted to enjoy the nostalgic air of Rukongai; she had so many childhood memories there, she had to go. She could feel her brothers cold aura freeze the room; he always had the last word with her captain. Ukitake respected Byakuya and he also saw through his façade, but this time it wouldn't be a captain Byakuya would talk to, it would be a lieutenant. She noticed Ichigo's eyes, he was determined and wouldn't allow Byakuya to stroll in and order his division around. Rukia also noticed a single lock of white hair, it confused her. She almost forgot that her brother called Ichigo a Shiba earlier, she had to ask him.

"I'll lead the party of shinigami." Ichigo noticed Rukia's wide eyes look at him; he winked at her and turned to face a wide eyed Byakuya.

Byakuya was caught off guard, he turned to leave "If there's a lieutenant with them, then I have no complaints. I'll take my leave…" He quickly disappeared from Ukitake's office, leaving a smirking Ichigo and a flabbergasted Rukia.

Ichigo stretched his arms up "When's this mission meant to be again?"

Rukia was awakened from her trance; she looked at Ichigo "Tomorrow morning, sir." Rukia received a quick flick to the forehead.

Ichigo smirked "I have a name, you know?" Rukia nodded "Good. Anyway I still have a mountain paperwork, so if you excuse me."

He was about to leave, only to be stopped by Rukia's grasp "Thank you, Ichigo…" She uttered with her soft voice.

Ichigo smiled at her "Don't worry about it Rukia. I wouldn't allow someone to boss around my subordinates."

Ichigo arrived at his office quickly, only to notice that the 3rd Seats disappeared. He mutter some insults and went to work, it was going to be another long day.

Night came quickly and Ichigo wasn't even halfway done, he heard footstep stop outside his door, turning his attention to, the still closed, door. Ichigo got slightly irritated at the door not opening; he decided to do it himself. He opened the door and looked left then right, not spotting a soul, he then looked down. He was met by a frozen Rukia; she had two cups of green tea with her.

Ichigo tilted his head at the sight "You know we have a mission tomorrow?" she almost jumped in surprise. She hardly made it to his door and he already opened it.

"I thought you might me thirsty, so I got you some tea…" she offered, Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"As long as is has enough poison to knock me out, I don't mind some tea." Ichigo said with a smile, the work was getting more annoying and boring by the minute. He would hate not to have company, he moved back to his seat, reading a complaint document. Ichigo looked up to see Rukia at his door step "You can enter; I'm not going to bite… Unless you're annoying." He chuckled.

Rukia nodded and entered his humble office. She was still curious to how Ichigo became a lieutenant so fast, but what bothered her most was the Shiba part of his name. "When did you find out your last name?" she had to be blunt.

Ichigo turned his attention to Rukia again "Just the other day. Captain Kurotsuchi looked into my blood…" he sighed "… and found my blood ties."

Rukia's eyes widened 'He's related to Kaien?' she quickly recovered from shock and calmed down. She kept going around his office curiously looking at all objects, Ichigo let the 3rd Seats decorate his office and they added a lot of random statues and flowers. He was happy with the look of his office.

Rukia noticed the massive amount of documents Ichigo still had to go through, she decided to help him. She picked the top document and started reading it; the document was another standard complaint form. Rukia raised an eyebrow 'I don't remember the last time our division destroyed a food stand…'

Ichigo noticed her reaction and smirked "There's at least another hundred of those in the pile… Are you sure you want to stick around?"

Rukia narrowed her sight; she took half of the documents "I bet I'll be done with mine faster than you're done with yours…"

Ichigo would retort, but with the amount of work he had any helping hand would be appreciated. "There's no way a weak shinigami like you is going to beat me." He smirked when he saw her reaction.

Rukia glared at Ichigo, her eyes as cold as ice, but at the same time she looked determined to prove him wrong.

Ichigo yawned; the morning sun was already rising. He finally finished all his work. In the end he had to do most of the work, Rukia fell asleep shortly after their bet. Ichigo slowly picked her small frame up and carried her to his bed, tucking her in. He still had to go and talk to his captain about his white hair. He stretched and left his office.

Ichigo knocked onto the door of his captain office, not receiving an answer. He was quickly met by a Hell Butterfly 'At the training grounds.' Ichigo nodded and headed towards the 13th Division training grounds.

Ukitake was sipping his tea and enjoying the sight of shinigami training in the early morning. Ichigo sat next to his captain, looking at the shinigami training "They sure are fierce."

Ukitake nodded "They aim to become strong shinigami in the future, they train every day. It's quite an inspiring sight."

Ichigo smirked "I'm joining the mission today. It was the only way to get Captain Kuchiki to agree…"

"It's going to be your first mission. It was going to happen sooner or later." Ukitake thought out loud.

Ichigo smiled "You don't have to worry about this shinigami. I can handle anything they throw at me." Ukitake turned to face Ichigo and nodded, noticing his white lock in the process.

"Since when do you have white hair Ichigo?" Ukitake asked curiously.

"That's what I want to know, I thought you might know an answer." Ichigo hoped that his captain would have the knowledge; he did have white hair after all.

Ukitake thought about it for a moment, he couldn't find an answer "Maybe Captain Unohana would know."

Ichigo tilted his head "The Captain of the 4th Division…They are a healing division, they should know." He quickly stood up and bowed before leaving for the 4th Division.

Ichigo wanted to go to the 4th Division, the problem was that he didn't know where the 4th Division was located. Luckily he spotted the 3rd Seat duo, rushing towards them "Good morning 3rd Seats!" Ichigo said enthusiastically.

The blonde 3rd Seat whispered to the other "He's planning something…" the dark haired 3rd Seat nodded in agreement.

"Could you direct me to the 4th Division?" Ichigo smiled sheepishly.

The 3rd Seats looked at him with wide eyes; their faces screamed 'Oh!' Both the 3rd Seats pointed to the same direction.

Ichigo nodded and swiftly left for the 4th Division. Leaving two astonished 3rd Seats.

Captain Unohana was taking a walk outside the 4th Division Barracks, she enjoyed the morning breeze; it was soft and calming. She was quickly met by bright orange.

Ichigo bowed before the captain "I apologize for the interruption, captain Unohana. I have a question."

Captain Unohana nodded "If you would follow me." She headed towards her office. Ichigo noticed Hanataro while passing through the 4th Division Barracks, he seemed more confident. They entered Unohana's office; she took her seat and looked at Ichigo with curiosity.

Ichigo simply pointed to his white lock "I've always had bright orange hair, but yesterday I've noticed this white lock…"

Unohana looked at his hair hard, it was a medical condition "You aren't overworking yourself, lieutenant? A person's hair can whiten due to stress…"

Ichigo frown at the thought 'I haven't slept for like four days and each night I've fought Zangetsu…' he sighed. "I've been training and working intensely the past couple of days… Could that be the cause?"

Unohana narrowed her sight "That could definitely be the cause, lieutenant. Please don't overexert yourself even further; it may cause greater damage to your body."

Ichigo nodded "After today's mission I'll make sure not to push myself too hard."

Unohana smiled "Mission?"

"I'm leading a group of shinigami to the outer quarters of Rukongai; we have to eliminate some pests." Ichigo explained.

Unohana nodded "As long as there's no major stress involved."

"Thank you for your help captain. I thought it might be something serious, I'm relieved. If you'd excuse me, I have to organize the team and get ready for the mission." Ichigo smiled, before bowing and leaving for his own office.

Ichigo was again in his office, checking the list for his mission. His attention was interrupted by a hum. Ichigo completely forgot that someone occupied his bed, Rukia was still sound asleep. He looked over the paper he held in front himself and saw Rukia rolling in her sleep. Ichigo smirked at the sight, he had to wake her up, their mission was about to begin. Being late would only project Ichigo in a bad light.

He walked up to his bed; Ichigo almost got knocked out by the sight. Her nose was slightly red and her bangs were over her eyes, both her hands were in front of her bright pink lips. She looked like a cute little 'Rabbit!' Ichigo mused. She hummed lightly, slightly opening her eyes.

"Wake up sleepy head." Ichigo said softly, smirking to the fact that her nose moved, making her look more like a bunny.

Rukia didn't notice that she was sleeping in her lieutenant bed. She simply groaned "Five more minutes…"

Ichigo frowned 'I know my bed is awesome and all, but we're going to be late…" he sighed "Oi Rukia, wake up." He raised his voice.

She picked up the pillow and planted her face into it, groaning even louder "Leave me alone… I said five more minutes…"

Ichigo was getting slightly aggravated, if words won't wake her up, maybe something else; Ichigo flicked her forehead.

Rukia's eyes shot open "What was that for?" she caressed her forehead.

Ichigo sighed "Our mission starts soon. Get prepared." He walked back to his desk and gave his full attention to the document.

It took Rukia a couple of minutes and a few stretches to figure out that she slept in Ichigo's bed. She quickly jumped out of his bed, her face bright red.

Ichigo yawned loudly, scratching the back of his yeah "You ready to go?" He raised an eyebrow at Rukia.

She was still too flustered about the fact that she slept in her lieutenant's bed.

Ichigo sighed, he walked to Rukia and flicker her forehead again "If you plan to ignore me, then do it in your free time. We've got a mission to complete."

Ichigo was the first to leave his office. Rukia wanted to put on a clean shihakushō so she headed to the Kuchiki mansion.

The rendezvous point was the West Gate of Seireitei; Ichigo was the first to arrive, stretching his aching muscles before leaning onto a wall. Because Ichigo lead the mission he had the privilege of selecting his team. He had to select three regular shinigami, a medical shinigami, a Kidō expert and an expert swordsman. Ichigo selected three new shinigami academy graduates, Hanataro as the medical shinigami, Rukia as the Kidō expert, and since there weren't any expert swordsmen free of duty he signed the role 'My speed should be enough to pass…' Ichigo thought.

'Now that my reiatsu is compressed, what do I do if a fight occurs?' Ichigo asked Zangetsu.

White Zangetsu smirked "You obliterate them!"

Black Zangetsu sighed "Just don't enter Shikai and everything should be fine."

Ichigo wanted to know more, but the three new graduates came and Ichigo had to brief them on the mission objectives. "You guys don't have to worry about such a mission. It'll be easy." Ichigo smiled "Questions?"

One of the shinigami stepped forward "Why are you coming along this mission?"

Ichigo scratched his head sheepishly "Well someone wanted to postpone the mission… So I had to go along to make sure the mission's successful." It was only a moment after when Hanataro appeared and bowed to Ichigo.

"Good morning, lieutenant Shiba. I won't disappoint you!" Hanataro said confidently.

Ichigo nodded and smiled 'Good, he's finally confident; one less thing to worry about.'

They were all briefed and ready, and one person was still missing. He knew Rukia was hardworking and wouldn't be careless, but she was still late.

Rukia arrived only minutes after, carrying what seemed to be a large backpack.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow "What's with the backpack Rukia?"

"Nii-sama prepared me this for the mission…" he looked at the ground, blushing lightly.

Ichigo tilted his head "The mission's going to last a day, maybe two. It looks like you have enough supplies for a year." He crossed his arms "Empty the backpack and take only necessaries…"

Rukia inwardly growled at Ichigo, he had the last word and he was the leader of this mission 'And Nii-sama cared enough to prepare me this…' she cried to herself.

Ichigo's eyes widened at the amount of food Byakuya prepared for Rukia 'Scratch a year's supplies; this is enough for a decade!' he looked at the mountain of dried food packets. She quickly packed he backpack with several and nodded to Ichigo.

Ichigo sighed "Alright, let's get moving." Flash-stepping out of Seireitei, others followed suit.

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