Chapter Text
Every Captain received a copy of Ichigo's report the following morning. Every single one of them.
It was obvious who left the work on their desks even before sunrise, considering the Substitute Shinigami had been sent home safely the previous day. At a certain point, it was even suspicious to see all the effort Squad 6 was putting into this.
When the Captain's meeting came, the air itself seemed different. Some of them were talking among themselves more than usual, and others had a stern but guilty expression plastered on them. To one side of the room, the Visored Captains met up in their own mini reunion before the main event, dragged there by a very insistent Shinji.
ーWhat's this about now? You're on overdrive today.ー Kensei scratched the back of his head with an annoyed look on his face and grunting at his friend's behavior. He was curious about the ordeal, but man, was he bothersome sometimes.
ーWhaaat? Me? Who are you talking about?ー the short haired blonde smirked and waved his hand around nonchalantly. ーWack, I'm just excited 'bout all of this! Did ya' read the report?
ーNo, I was in a hurry to get here.
Rose adjusted his hair behind his ear and sighed. Kensei quirked an eyebrow at him waiting for his answer.
ーI did.ー he admitted.
Shinji's grin widened.
ーAaand?
ーKurosaki… did a pretty good job. He surprised me.
ーKurosaki! That's a cold way to address him!ー Shinji did an exaggerated gasp and shockingly brought a hand to his chest. ーAren't ya' proud of our boy Ichi?
ーI wouldn't address him so lightly either.ー Rose scolded back. ーWith the position he holds now, it would be disrespectful, at the very least.
The white haired man widened his eyes and shifted his stare between his two friends.
ーWait, for real now? I have over a hundred years and I'm still not mature enough to learn to hold back, but you think he's ready for such a thing? With only seventeen years?
Shinji snorted a laugh at Kensei's confusion, also muttering a low "he's eighteen". Rose was the one to answer him.
ーIf only you had read his report, you would understand. But yes, for real. I signed the proposal.
ーOoh that's great! I'm proud of you my man!ー the short haired blonde was about to say something else, but the voice of Lieutenant Sasakibe cut all conversations to an end. He was calling for everyone present to take their positions, as the meeting was about to begin.
Kensei was the first to wave at his friends and walk away from them, but noticed movement in the corner of his eye in the last second. The blondes exchanged a few last words, before hurriedly scattering and going for their designated places as usual. What had that been about? The white haired Captain huffed angrily, they were leaving him out of whatever convo they were planning again…
ーThis Captain's meeting begins now.ー the old voice of Yamamoto and the solid hit of his cane against the floor brought all eyes to him. There was a moment of respectful silence, then he spoke once more. ーAll of you must be aware of the reason for it by now. Whoever wishes to give their judgement first, take a step forward and go ahead.
… too many Captains took a step forward.
Yamamoto raised his eyebrows and scanned the room in well hidden confusion.
ーTalkative, are we?ー he commented, as the other Captains glanced around each other with a bit of shock. Well, this was unexpected. ーWe shall take turns to give our verdicts, then. Captain Sui Feng, you may begin.
The short woman nodded and awaited for her comrades to take a step back before starting. With a serious voice, she practically scolded everyone present.
ーI hope all of you read the report the Squad assistant made about his assignment yesterday. You must agree with me it was outstanding. So, I believe your eyes have been opened and you realized how wrong you were about Ichigo Kurosaki. You should be ashamed. That's all I wish to say.
She went straight to the point. With her known elegance, she went back in line with the other Captains and crossed her arms over her chest, inwardly cheering at her magnificent speech.
Next came Captain Rose.
ーI'll admit I made a mistake. Even though I had previous experiences with the boy, I couldn't see his true potential. I have signed the initiative today, I realized it was a good idea from the beginning. And, if I may… I'd like to take him in my Squad next.
The moment of silence was too short for the general outburst that came next.
ーHold on, that's not right. We can't just call dibs on him and trash him around the Squads.ー the voice of Captain Hitsugaya cut through everyone else's first, clearly angry at how the matter was being treated. ーWe need a logical order to proceed, organize this properly.
ーWhy not just let him choose where he wants to go next?ー Captain Ukitake intervened next. ーIt's only logical we keep respecting his decisions.
ーNo way!ー to everyone's surprise, Zaraki roared into the conversation. ーIf we do that, there are Squads he'll never visit. Mine, for example! He never comes to say hi!
ーHe won't come to mine either, obviously.ー Mayuri muttered creepily.
ーLike I said, we need a logical order. We saw his opinion won't be biased considering what he… informed, about Captain Kuchiki, with all due respect, even though you were friends.ー Toshiro glanced at Byakuya, who seemed unmoved by his words, then continued. ーSince he went to Squad 2 and 6 already, why not go to Squad 3 next? So he continues with 4, 5, and skips 6… It's simple.
ーBut he has his right to choose.ー Juushiro insisted.
ーIf he agreed to this work then he agreed to our terms too.
The older white haired man sighed.
ーHe's mature and responsible enough to make the decisions by himself.
ーUsing that mindset, then we wouldn't need these meetings at all, if all Captains are mature and responsible enough to take care of their decisions.
ーEnough!ー the Head Captain roared at everyone to stop the discussion, effectively shutting them up. ーThis is not a matter worthy of such a fight. Captain Kuchiki, Captain Sui Feng, you should be the ones to settle this since it was your project to begin with.
Both black haired captains exchanged a glance, their eyes locking for less than a second before looking away uncaringly, not even nodding or saying a thing. The room waited for their answer in tense silence, somehow pressing the two with their glares.
Finally, and after a hesitant inhale, Sui Feng spoke up.
ーWe can give him privileges, but not that many either. He should stick to our rules somehow.
ーThat means?ー Kenpachi growled at her unclear answer.
ーHe should follow a logical order, as Captain Hitsugaya stated. Let him go to Squad 3.
There were a few glances and mutters of disapproval, nods and huffs in agreements, though overall, the reception of the final verdict was well taken.
All the while, unbeknownst to the other Captains, Shinji was grinning in success.
✿
ーAwe, my man, I'm so proud of ya!!
ーYeah, yeah, you can stop repeating that, I have things to do.
An hour after the meeting, and Shinji hadn't once stopped rubbing what happened on Rose's face. Now, with a quiet Izuru working in the background, the grinning blonde was openly chilling in Rose's office and commented every once in a while what an amazing thing it was for Ichigo to get the chance of evaluating Squad 3 before everyone else.
ーWhat do you think he'll say about ya'll? You're nothing like Kuchiki, I wonder if you'll be as good as him or not.
ーHm… ー Rose sighed and brought a hand to his chin thoughtfully. ーKuchiki got an 8 out of 10-
ー80 out of 100!
ーShinji, it's the same thing. Anyway… that was a pretty good mark. I doubt we'll get something as high as that.
ーWe're… the Squad of Despair, after all… ー a timid Izuru finally spoke up. Shinji widened his grin even more than humanly possible and inhaled to comment on that, but the Lieutenant went first. ーI… doubt Kurosaki will be comfortable here…
ーNah! He'll love it.
Captain and Lieutenant exchanged a doubtful glance, then Rose sighed and gracefully moved some wild strands of hair out of his face.
ーI'm only hoping this goes well… ah, it's about time. Izuru, if you may?
ーYes, sir.
Completely ignoring Shinji's confused yelps, the Lieutenant bowed and walked out of the room, and the chilling Captain could only stare at his friend demanding an explanation with his eyes.
Rose stared back, and gave a tiny smile. His friend was so dumb sometimes.
ーSomeone needs to go inform Ichigo personally, right?
Shinji's mouth took the form of an "oh", but making no sound. He grinned next and slumped down further on the couch he had reclaimed as his in the office, crossing his feet and putting his hands behind his head in a resting position.
ーAin't it funny that Ichigo was gonna come here anyway? No matter if you said a thing or not?
The artist quirked an eyebrow at this.
ーI understood about nothing of that sentence.
ーHa! Good comeback.ー he locked mischievous eyes with curious ones. ーI mean, even if you hadn't said you wanted him, he would've been assigned here anyway. A logical order, yanno?
ーOh… hold on a second.
Silence took over, then Shinji broke into a burst of laughter as Rose stood up and smashed his palms on his desk, his frown deep with annoyment.
ーYep, you realized!
ーThe so-called punishment of your bet was for nothing! Shinji, you…!
ーAdmit it! Ya' love me!
ーHell, I don't!
Though he was angry, the long haired blonde couldn't help his own chuckles that soon turned into an actual laugh.
Damn, a hundred years of exile with this man had twisted his sense of humor… how could he get mad at him, really?
✿
It turned out to be rather comical the way Ichigo had to squint at his memory and stare at Izuru for solid five minutes, while the Lieutenant stood in all his mighty gloom in front of the Kurosaki Clinic’s main entrance. A blush crept up the blonde Soul Reaper’s face after about three minutes of waiting, and given the fact he could see Ichigo’s struggle to remember his name, he felt like it would be impolite to interrupt his train of thoughts.
ーI… I’m so sorry, I know who you are, I honestly do!ー the orange haired man sighed and smacked his own head desperately. ーYour name starts with K, I remember that… come on, Kurosaki…
ーIt’s… not a big deal, really…ー Izuru honestly just wanted to deliver the news of his next assignment and leave, this was starting to surpass him. ーI’m just here to-
ーKira! Kira Izuru! Is that right, did I get it right? Please tell me I got it right.
The Lieutenant blinked. Oh, God, he actually remembered.
ーW-we never met formally, did we, Kurosaki…?
ーI can’t be sure, but I do know you’re from Squad 3. Lieutenant, right? We did cross paths at some point, we just never talked much.
ーI never thought you would remember the name of someone you’ve seen once or twice, at best… t-thank you.
ーWhat are you talking about? Come in, by the way.ー stepping to one side, Ichigo motioned for the blonde to walk in, then swiftly offered him a seat and something to drink. ーI’m sure someone must’ve told you your name gets mentioned more often than not, I can at least pick up on that.
The Lieutenant, who had accepted a glass of water and was nervously sipping on it, couldn’t help but spit it out at what he heard. The other man yelped and growled something incomprehensible, now scurrying off to get some cleaning towels for the floor. Izuru stuttered out desperate apologies and promptly helped to clean his mess up.
ーI- God I’m so sorry! Let me clean it, God, please forgive me, you caught me off guard and I didn’t know how to react… I’ll help you out, sorry…
ーHey, hey, it’s fine, it’s just some water. Why did you freak out, though? It surprised me.
ーM-my name is not all that well known…!
The Substitute Soul Reaper stared at him, then shrugged. He scratched the back of his ear absentmindedly as he thought on the matter.
ーI don’t think you’re aware of how many times Rukia or Renji have mentioned your name around me… not even them, it’s practically everyone I know from Soul Society. They thank God you’re so good at your work and always make things easier for them. Also, Shuuhei thinks you’re a great friend. And Renji has mentioned he studied with you, and that those are some treasured memories.
ーOh my God, stop…
ーSorry. Too much? Do you want more water?
ーI… would appreciate that…
This had gotten increasingly awkward from Izuru’s point of view. Internally, he was wondering why had Ichigo tolerated him so much up to that minute. He just wanted to deliver the news, that was his only job, not… getting flustered for finding out his name was known.
Once a second glass of water was set down in front of him, and the other man finally sat down and sighed, Izuru decided it was moment to settle it all down. To not look like he was rejecting the drink, he grabbed the glass, carefully drank a bit of it, then took a deep breath.
ーI came here to-
ーI’m sorry would you like some cake first?
Oh, come on.
ーI… no, but… thanks? I appreciate the offer.
ーAh, yeah, I’ve been baking with my sisters a lot lately, and I made some cake yesterday. I didn’t want to pass up the chance of offering you a bite. Now what did you want to tell me?
Feeling like that was a perfect way to start, Izuru smiled and used up his courage to finally say the one thing he had been sent to inform.
ーWell, there was a Captain’s meeting today. They all decided you have what it takes to be an official Squad Assistant.
Ichigo softened his frown and gave a wide smile at this.
ーReally? That’s amazing! I didn’t do so bad after all!
ーNot at all. My congratulations, by the way.
ーThanks! I’ll celebrate this with a cookie, something small, you know, since I don’t want my family to find out about it.ー the Lieutenant had to stay still for a moment and patiently wait as Ichigo suddenly stood up and went over to his kitchen, coming back with a bag of chocolate cookies and serving them on a plate, apparently for both of them. Izuru stared, and shifted his eyes between the food and the orange haired man, who also locked eyes with him back and lifted his eyebrows questioningly.
ーM-may I…?
ーWell of course?
ーT-thanks.ー the blonde gave one of the tiny cookies a try and enjoyed the flavor before speaking up again. ーThat’s not the only thing I came to talk about, though.
ーMhm?
ーI… bring you news on your next assignment.
Now Ichigo almost choked.
ーS-so soon?! I’m not ready!
ーC-c-calm down! It’s not for today! I’m just letting you know!
ーOh, thank God…
“What the hell am I doing…?” The sudden question rose up to his thoughts and promptly occupied more than half of his head, effectively making Izuru’s anxiety spike again. Why was he sitting down and eating cookies with someone who was currently ranked higher than him? Wasn’t he supposed to address him with more respect? Why was Ichigo being so damn kind, to begin with?
…Had he always been like this? Honestly, the Kurosaki he knew from memory was a glorious warrior whose sword was to be feared. The one who defeated Aizen, the one who defeated several Captains, the one with a path far more gruesome than Izuru could fathom. He was familiar with the despair of the battlefield, but whatever he knew so far was merely an inch of the horrors this man had faced.
And now he was very calmly sipping on water and sharing chocolate cookies, when he was supposed to be on an official mission. Honestly, what the hell was he doing?
ーAre you ok?
The sudden interruption brought Kira out of his inner rambling, and he blinked a few times as his vision cleared from the darkness that were his thoughts.
Ichigo, the Hero of Soul society… the one who had defeated all… the one who had sacrificed all for them. In what world was it possible for this man to not care?
Why… was he expecting Ichigo to not care?
ーY-yeah… I’m fine. I was just thinking about something.
ーYou wanna talk about it?
ーNo, but thank you.ー oh, finally, he had made his voice come out sure of himself and determined like he should’ve been from the beginning. For some reason, he felt like smiling. ーIt’s nothing for you to worry about, Mister Kurosaki.
The orange haired man gave a deep sigh, and Kira was about to ask him if he was fine when he muttered.
ーSeriously, stop calling me Mister, for Godsake…
ーOh, does it bother you? My apologies.
ーEveryone has been addressing me so formally since I got this job, it feels strange. I’m not used to it.
ーOh…
ーI hope your Squad has a more carefree way of doing things, haha! Squad six is certainly made out of discipline, I think sometimes you all should be more loose on what you do… if you get me, I mean. Not that loose. Am I rambling?
Boy, did Izuru have news for him.
ーO-our Squad… wait, how did you know your next assignment was with us?!
Ichigo blinked.
ーWasn’t it obvious if you’re from Squad three?
Point taken.
ーMaybe it was… g-get used to it, though, you might get visited by Lieutenants more often than not now…
ーLast time I got my mission through a Hell Butterfly. It might be both ways, I don’t mind. Also, has anyone been taking care of my Butterflies?
ーI’m… unsure?
He didn’t know when or how it had happened, but suddenly, the World of the Living didn’t feel so tense and grim to the Lieutenant’s eyes. In the blink of an eye, the Sun was setting and Izuru was yelping in surprise for how late it had become. He had to excuse himself and rush out, his Captain was most certainly waiting for him with worry by then. Ichigo snorted a laugh, then seemed to bask in the memory of Rose as an exiled Visored and as one of his temporal teachers.
The Lieutenant found himself exiting the Kurosaki Clinic with a carefully arranged bag containing a piece of cake and Ichigo’s regards for the blonde Captain. That was probably when Izuru understood, the reason the World of the Living had stopped being so bad… was because Ichigo lived in it.
And, to his surprise, Ichigo was so, so much more than just a Substitute Soul Reaper. He was probably the kindest human he had ever met.
His Captain would understand why he was late, then; he had met him too. Ichigo’s charm surely was strong, wasn’t it?