(Bleach) Thirteen Reasons Why

Chapter 2

As the two of them walked through the Senkaimon, Rika's hand clenched in Jushiro's, she started getting a bit scared. The tunnel looked very dark and creepy, like something could just pop out at any minute. A few tears slid down her face, though with how dark it was the man next to her couldn't see her tears. The further and further they walked the more frighten she seemed to become. The man turned to her, "It'll be fine. We're almost through. Are you okay?"

"I'm scared," she trembled. She then started crying loudly. "I wanna go home!"

The man pulled her close. "Hey, it's okay. We're almost through. Please, don't cry." He had his arm around her as the two walked on. He didn't need to be holding her hand, as long as the two were touching she'd be fine.

"I can't help it. I'm scared!" She sobbed. Jushiro sighed, hearing her whining like a baby. He couldn't believe what he'd have to deal with. However, regardless of how he felt it was his job to protect this girl. And of course he wasn't about to tell her how he felt being the kind and caring man he was. Of course he couldn't blame her either. All this was very new for her. He understood how she felt being told her life was in danger and being taken to a strange place she never even knew existed until today. It was enough to make anyone's nerves pop.

But just as luck would have it she just had to trip up over her own feet and fall which made her lose contact with him. "Hey, you okay?" He reached down and helped her to her feet.

"Thank you, you're very kind," she sniffled. Her eyes then widen in fear at what she saw coming up from behind them as she had turned and looked behind her. It looked like a huge black void of nothingness. She yelled in terror and passed out.

"Oh crap!" Jushiro gasped. He lifted the dead weight into his arms before flash stepping the rest of the way through the Senkaimon. It was very lucky his flash step was so fast or they may have not been able to make it out of there. Right after he got through, the gate closed behind him.

"Jushiro, where are we?" Asked a voice in his arms. Rika's eyes fluttered open.

"As you can see we're in the Seireitei in the Soul Society where all the Soul Reapers live." He sit her back down on the ground being careful to steady her carefully so she wouldn't fall.

"Jushiro, this place is so beautiful. It's like something out of my history books," she told him. Her head kept turning to look at her surroundings, fascinated by what she was seeing.

"Would you like to tour the place or go directly to my place? If you're tired we can always do something later," he told her, giving her a gentle smile. He was trying to make her feel as comfortable as possible.

"Maybe some other time. I am a bit tired," she yawned. "How are we getting there?" She didn't think this place had any taxis or anything.
"We'll flash step," he explained.

She looked confused, "Flash step?"

He turned to her, "Flash stepping is basically how to get around in the Seireitei. Without it, it would take a long time to get to anywhere. Everything's so spare out it would take a day to even get to the Squad 1 barracks. As for what it is, flash step is a run that's so fast the naked eye can't see it."

She turned a bit pale at hearing that. She felt her stomach turning already and they hadn't even flash stepped yet. "Oh gee, that doesn't sound very fun. And what was that thing that chased us in the Senkaimon?" She remembered seeing something dark approaching them right before she'd passed out.

"That was the cleaner that cleans out the Senkaimon. It gets rid of anything that's not supposed to be in there, like humans. That was why I told you not to let go of me no matter what. It was so it wouldn't know you were there," he told her.

She looked down at the ground, a bit ashamed. A few tears came out of her eyes, "I'm sorry. I know I must be such a pest to you. People's always told me I'm a weak crybaby cause all I do is cry all the time about everything."

Jushiro lifted up her chin, making her look up at him. "You're not a crybaby Rika. It takes lots of courage and bravery to put up with what you've had to go through for so many years trying to hide from hollows and arrancars. You're the bravest person I know." At hearing what he told her, she sobbed, throwing herself against his chest, getting his clothes soaked.

"Thank you, no one's ever treated me this nice before. Not even my own parents. I get bad grades and they keep kicking me out of the house."

Jushiro felt enraged at that as he held the woman tightly, rubbing his hand up and down her back in a smoothing gesture. "If you don't stop this crying you're going to get..." it was too late as he heard a noise from her and her body shook at the same time as the hiccup came out, "...the hiccups."

She released him, "I'm… *hic*… sorry."

He shook his head. "No need to apologize for something you can't help. Here, let's go to my place. I have a remedy there that should help. I'll try to go easy." He lifted her into his arms as she nodded and hiccuped at the same time. He ended up having to stop to let her rest 10 times at least before they finally got to his estate. As she hiccuped Rika's eyes sparkled at how beautiful the landscape of his property was. It was like something out of a fairy tale.

There was lots of beautiful flowers around in all sorts of colors. Then there were also all the trees around as well of different colors. He even had a mot with a small bridge as well. And the whole yard went along pretty far. His yard wasn't real super huge but it was larger than any yard Rika had ever heard of before. And the whole property was surrounded by a white brick wall with a gated fence, which was the entrance to get into the yard. Seeing how she admired his yard he smiled and carried her into his manor where he sit her down on a sofa in the living room. "I'll be right back in a minute."

She nodded and watched him leave the room. A few minutes later Jushiro re-entered the room carrying a mug in his hands. It had some type of green liquid in it. It looked a bit like green soda but Rika knew it wasn't. "What's that?" She asked. Her body jerked with another hiccup.

"It's medicine. A home remedy for hiccups. It's an old family cure. However it might be a bit hot," he told her.

"What… *hic* kind of hot?"

"Like a hot pepper. That kind of hot. So you might feel like you just swallowed acid, but this stuff really works." He handed her the mug. She figured it best to drink it fast so she wouldn't spit it back up. So, eventually preparing herself she swallowed it all in one huge gulp.

"AH!" She cried out, feeling the after burning sensation running up her throat. After a few seconds though it stopped and she felt her hiccups were all gone. "It worked!" She gasped shocked it worked so well.

Jushiro laughed a bit, "Why wouldn't it? Here in the Soul Society remedies are quite a bit different. Now, why don't I show you to your room so you can get some rest?" She nodded, allowing him to take her by the hand and lead her to a room down the hallway. She was very lucky he was there. His home was so huge she was scared she'd get lost in it very easily. There were so many twists and turns everywhere.

After they got to what was to be her room she was shocked to see there was a modern bed in the room. "Were you expecting me?"

"Well, I get guests from time to time that don't like using the traditional style bedding, so I have quite a few guest bedrooms like this one here set up just in case." He showed her around and told her he'd be just down the hall if she needed him. She smiled and after he left the room she went over to a huge wardrobe and surprised to see normal nightwear she picked out a nightgown, changed and went to the bed, getting under the covers she was quick to fall asleep.

-

Deep in Hueco Mundo in a huge castle called Los Noches sit a man with curly brown hair in a secret room that only him and one other person an Espada doctor called Syazel knew about. Oh, and Gin knew as well. This man was Sosuke Aizen. He was formally the captain of squad 5 but had deflected to Los Noches, making everyone believe he had evil intentions when all he was trying to do was wake up his girlfriend.

Tiffany, who had been in his squad was under a very deep hypnotic trance and had been that way for years. The man who had done this to her was very dangerous. His name was Kaizar and he was the true enemy, not Aizen. His Zanpakuto was a twin to his own and he was keeping poor Tiffany in her coma to control him. Now Aizen wanted revenge on everyone for what had been done to the only woman he ever truly loved and a few months ago he'd gotten the Hogyuku out of Alison Kurosaki. She was the human woman who was currently staying with Byakuya Kuchiki under protection as well.

She was also Ichigo's fracture twin sister, who he knew could control the Hogyuku and Aizen wanted to use its powers to wake up Tiffany and finally take Kaizar down for good. But for right now he had to hide her in a secret room for her protection. No one but him, Gin and Syazel knew where Tiffany was at. Not even Kaname knew.

The man had revealed to be a spy for his enemy, spying on Aizen to make sure the man was following orders. Which Aizen had no choice but to obey Kaizar's every command or he'd end Tiffany's life in the blink of an eye. The woman was currently in a white hospital gown and laying on a hospital bed hooked up to tons of equipment. Every time Aizen came in here he secretly cried at the woman's bedside wishing she'd wake up.

"Don't worry my dear," Aizen rubbed his hand gently along Tiffany's cheek, "I'll get that woman to use the Hoguyku and I'll have you back with me again very soon. That's a promise." He'd often spoken to her whenever he came in here, like she could hear him even though she couldn't. He knew she couldn't but just talking to her gave him some comfort anyway. He gripped her hand in his as he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

-

The next morning Rika awoke to a nice smell. It smelled like it was coming from the kitchen. She grabbed a housecoat, made a quick fixing of her hair, leaving it down for now out of its buns style and left the bedroom following her nose to the kitchen. She entered the kitchen and found Jushiro there. "I smell something warm and delicious."

"Have a seat Rika. You must be hungry. I knew the smell of food would get you up," he gave her one of his handsome smiles.

'Oh god! He's so hot when he smiles like that. Wait! What am I thinking? We've only just met.' Pushing that thought out of her head she took a seat next to Jushiro. "Thank you." She then took her chopsticks and begin to eat.

"I'm going to need to head out to a Captain's meeting this morning. Will you be okay with just the servants for a few hours?" He asked her, taking a bite of his own food.

"Captain's meeting?" She questioned between mouthfuls of food.

"As I've told you the other day, I'm a Soul Reaper. You see, there are 13 court guard squads of Soul Reapers. In those squads there are leaders, the captains. Which is what I am. I'm the leader of the 13th squad. Then right under the captains are the second in command, the lieutenants, then the seated officers and workers below that." Jushiro hoped he explained it in a way that wouldn't come as such a blow to her. All this was a lot for her to take in but he figured she deserved to know everything since she will be staying here for a long time.

"Oh, I see. So it's like the military then?"

"In a way yes. I guess you could put it like that." Jushiro just noticed her hair wasn't in its buns style. Instead, it was hanging down loose. "Your hair looks pretty this morning."

Rika felt herself blushing at his words, "Are you trying to flirt with me? I'm not that pretty you know." She giggled a bit. She'd been called many things in her life, but pretty wasn't one of them. She'd actually never even had a boyfriend before. All the guys she'd met thought of her as too much of a crybaby to deal with her.

"Of course you're pretty. Don't you ever derail yourself again." Jushiro didn't know how she got the idea she wasn't pretty or who told her she wasn't. But whoever told her she wasn't pretty was wrong. It made him wonder if she'd actually ever had a boyfriend before. By how she was reacting to his words he figured she probably didn't. Though it was a bit unusual for a girl of 16 to have never been on a single date before he figured it does happen.

"By the way Jushiro. What am I going to wear? All my clothes are back at my house." She didn't think they've be able to get in and get her things without alerting her parents either. She'd figured she'd have to make do with clothing from the soul society for now.

Jushiro grinned as they both finished eating. "Follow me." He got up, took her hand and pulled her to her feet. She nodded and followed after him. He made sure to walk slow so Rika could keep up with him. He took her to a small building on the property that looked to be a storage building. He opened the door and the two made their way inside.

She gasped, "My things! But how did you… how is this possible?"

"A few of us went to your house the other day after I brought you here and collected your belongings. It was after you went to bed that I had contacted a few members of my squad and sent them after your things. As for your parents, don't worry about that. They've had their memories altered for now. They don't even know they have a daughter. When you're sent back their memories will be restored." He explained to her how sometimes they need to alter a human's memories if they see too much and how the memory re-placer actually works.

"My manga," she grinned happily, finding a box with tons of books in it. She wasn't very smart and never could learn how to use a computer but she enjoyed reading manga that she'd collected over the years. The two working together then moved all her things into her bedroom. Jushiro had a large bookcase put in her room for all her manga and she begin staking all the books on the shelves.

"Well, if you're all settled I really must be going now," he informed her. It was already starting to get quite late, so he needed to get going or he'd be late for the meeting.

"Oh!" She snapped her head around, away from the bookcase to look at him. "That's fine, go ahead. I'll be okay for a few hours." After he left Rika finished putting up her things and grabbed a change of clothes, heading into the bathroom to take a bath and get freshen up.

-

At the captain's meeting Head Captain asked Jushiro, "I heard you were able to find the girl. So, how's she holding up?"

"She's a bit stressed about being here," he told him. "I wish there was something I could do to ease her mind a bit." Jushiro felt really bad about the stress Rika was going under and wished he could make her time here more enjoyable.

"What? She's here? Humans don't belong in the soul society!" Soifon snapped. She seemed a bit angry about this. She was always real strict about following codes in the Soul Society and hated it when others went against them, no matter what the reason was.

Kenpachi smirked. "Is she strong? Maybe we can fight."

Jushiro looked over at the captain who loved fighting more than anything. "That's not such a good idea. No, she's not a fighter."

Kenpachi sighed, "Then who cares? Weak people should die."

"What was that!" Jushiro normally never lost his temper but Kenpachi was making him angry.

Kenpachi saw the way Jushiro was looking at him, "Never mind then."

"What we should do is let me take her to squad 12 and figure out how to release these crystal beasts of hers. That would really give us an advantage in the battle with Aizen," squad 12 captain Mayuri stated.

"Do that and you'll wish you were never born," Jushiro warned.

"Just saying it's a good idea. We should do everything we can to win this battle." This meeting was getting on Mayuri's nerves. He couldn't wait to get back to his lab and run more tests on his little lab rat Melissa Jones. She was a girl he'd found years ago when she was no more than a child. Now she was a woman of 15 human years old. She wasn't supposed to actually be in the Soul Society either as the blonde woman with red eyes was also a human. That was why Mayuri sneaked her in. He'd never got any chances before to run tests on a human. However, lately he'd found himself having feelings for the girl and was a bit worried. She was looking awfully sick and pale ever since he started testing his poisons on her. 'Perhaps it would be a good idea to stop. I don't need to lose my best research now.'

"Captain Kurotsuchi! Did you hear a word I just said?!" Snapped Yamamoto.

"Oh! Uh… what?" Mayuri had been off in his own little world thinking about the human he'd been hiding and missed what the head captain had just said to him.

"I said you will not be doing any of your experiments on this girl. Is that clear?" Yamamoto ordered.

"Yes, quite clear," answered Mayuri.

"This brings us to the other human who's been staying with us." Yamamoto turned to Byakuya, "How's Alison doing today?"

"She's been doing a lot better the last few months. Especially now that you've allowed us to have a relationship," Byakuya stated. About a month ago Alison who's the reincarnation of Byakuya's dead wife had been arrested and accused of being a spy for Aizen. But it was all a trap by the man to get the real Hogyoku that was inside the woman. Byakuya had broken the law just to rescue the woman, realizing how much he loves her.

Now Byakuya wasn't a hard case like he'd been six months ago when he'd first brought Alison here. He used to be a lot like Soifon but no longer, thanks to Alison. She changed him. He was now a gentle man, much like Jushiro. He then just thought of something. He was normally a quiet man but lately Alison had been getting him to talk more and he didn't even care the woman was Ichigo's twin sister anymore. "Captain Ukitake what if Rika were to meet Alison?"

"You know, that's a good idea. Letting her know she's not the only human here under protection might put her mind at ease. Plus, it'll give her someone else to talk with," Jushiro agreed.

"Well, we may as well have her meet all of the Captains and Lieutenants as well. Do you think you could bring her right over?" Yamamoto asked Jushiro.

"Right away sir. And this would be a good time for her to meet Alison as well."

Byakuya turned to Jushiro after he'd said that, "I guess I can go get her."

"Okay, we'll resume in one hour. It'll give the women time to get here. Until then, meeting adjourned," stated Yamamoto. Everyone started leaving the room.

Soifon grumbled something about it being wrong for two humans to be here in the Soul Society, then left. She was actually still in a very bad mood and had been for a few weeks now. After hearing the Head Captain was allowing Byakuya to be in a relationship with Alison she'd been cranky. She hated that decision but there wasn't much she could do about it. She believed in the rule that souls and humans were forbidden to be in love and hated Alison for finding a way around that rule.

"I guess this gives me time to work out with Sabrina then," Kenpachi grinned.

"Don't get dirty. You do want to look nice for Rika," Jushiro told him. Kenpachi ignored him and left the room.

Shunsui walked up to his friend, "What does she look like? Is she very pretty."

"Oh, she is. Just wait until you meet her. By the way, she's too young to drink so keep that to yourself," Jushiro told his friend.

Shunsui was a bit confused. "Too young to drink? How old is she?"

"She's 16 human years," he told his friend. Shunsui looked shocked as he left the room. This meant she was a bit young for him. Of course any human would be young for him. Him and Jushiro were both over 2,000 years old. His age was something Jushiro had yet to tell Rika. If he told her she'd be quite shocked by it. But if she did ask him Jushiro would tell her. With that thought in mind he left to go get Rika while Byakuya left to get his girlfriend.

-

Jushiro found Rika sitting in his garden reading one of her mangas. She was dressed in a red dress and had her hair back up in her two tight buns. He could see the cover of the book from where he was standing and saw the title said,'Sailor Moon' on it. The girl on the cover had her hair fixed a bit like Rika's but her hair was blonde and seemed to go down to her knees. No wonder she fixed her hair in two buns all the time. That was the hair style of her favorite manga hero. He came up to her slowly from the front. He didn't wish to startle her after all. "Rika?"

She looked up at him from her book. She then grabbed her bookmark and placed it inside the book, saving her place. She placed the manga on her lap. "Oh! Jushiro, you're back. How'd the meeting go?"

"It went okay. There's something I need to ask you about. You're free to refuse if you feel you're not comfortable with it though."

"Before that, can I ask you a question. It's been bugging me for awhile now. You know my age but I never got yours," she stated. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I am curious to know." Uh oh! This was going to be a shock. But Jushiro had promised he'd tell her if she asked him. He wasn't about to keep any secrets from her or lie to her. He wasn't that type of man. "You can't be no more than what… 21?"

"Try 2,000 years old," he told her.

Rika suddenly fell over, anime style. "W… what! 2...2… 2,000 YEARS OLD! No way you can be that old. Are you pulling my leg?"

"No, I'm quite serious really. Here in the Soul Society we age slower than humans do. Some have even stopped aging altogether at a certain age," he told her.

"Woah! Unbelievable!" She gasped in shock. She got up off the ground, wiping the dirt off herself. "Now, what was it you wanted to ask me?" She was taking this way easier than Jushiro thought she would. He thought he'd cause her to pass out in shock, but he didn't and was grateful for that.

"Well, the Head Captain basically the captain of Squad 1 who's supposed to be the leader of the Seireitei was wanting you to meet all the Captains and lieutenants since we'll all be protecting you. But I must warn you before you go there are a few who don't approve of you being here. See, humans aren't really allowed here but we made an exception for you. There is also another like you as well. She's also a human who was brought here for protection. Her name is Alison Kurosaki. Would you like to meet her?"

"Like me? She's in danger as well? Sure, that'll be fine." She looked at her state of dress thinking perhaps it'll be better if she had a nicer outfit to meet everyone in. Jushiro seemed to think the same thing. He took her by the hand and led her into some other room.

Jushiro went over to a closet and came back out with the prettiest kimono Rika had ever seen. It was a dark violet purple with a bright pink tie around it. "Why don't you wear this to the meeting," he suggested.

She touched the soft fabric and gasped at feeling how soft and smooth it felt to the touch. "I couldn't! It's much too nice."

"Which is why I want you to have it," he told her, handing her the kimono. Rika felt her eyes fill up with tears at how kind he was being to her. He saw her tears, "Why are you crying? You're too pretty to cry."

She once again threw herself into his arms crying at his sweet words. She couldn't believe such a kind and gentle man as Jushiro existed. Most men only cared about sex. Jushiro seemed to be the one in a million men who were kind and caring.

"Thank you," she sobbed as he hugged her back.

"No problem. Now I'll leave you alone so you can get changed. I'll be just right outside the room. I assume you don't yet know your way around here am I right?" He didn't want her to get lost.

"You assume right, thank you," she thanked him again. She watched him exit the room and close the door behind him. She then changed into the nice kimono and put on a pair of matching shoes that came with it that he'd handed her right before he left the room. She then looked at herself in the mirror wondering if she should do something different with her hair but shook her head realizing it would be fine the way it is. She then told Jushiro he could come in. He then took her by the hand and the two made their way outside, then he lifted her into his arms and flash stepped to Squad 1.

By the time they got there Rika felt a bit dizzy and light headed. Jushiro gently sit her down on her feet. "Are you okay?" He asked, hands on her shoulders like he was trying to help steady her, with a look of concern on his face.

"It's okay, I'll be fine in a minute or two. I just get motion sick easily," she informed him. Jushiro nodded and stood there waiting for her to settle down her stomach before the two made their way into the building.

Right when they entered the room they noticed the place was set up with a large table in the center with food on it. All of it looked very good. There was also different types of drinks as well, but not the liquid type as Rika was too young to drink. A man wearing a captain's uniform with a pink haori over it and wearing a straw hat came up to them. "So, this is the human huh. You're right Jushiro she is beautiful. Hard to believe she's only 16 years old."

Rika looked up at the man, "And you are?"

"Oh, this is my best friend Shunsui Kyoraku. He's the Captain of squad 8," Jushiro smiled.

"Nice to meet you," she told him. She then reached over to the food and got herself something to eat. She saw a woman just then with black hair and some things hanging down from her hair looking like pigtails. The woman had her arms crossed looking like she really didn't wish to be here. Rika smiled and went over to the woman. "Hey, are you okay?"

Soifon turned to the girl, "You must be the human Rika. Well, I don't approve of you being here one bit, but a job's a job. Now go away and leave me alone!"

"It's fine. I understand how you feel." Rika took her by the hand and smiled at her. "I know I shouldn't be here but if there's anything I can do to be less of a burden here please let me know and I'm truly sorry. I'd like to be your friend, please. What's your name?"

Soifon sighed, deciding she'd give her a chance. After all it wasn't the girl's choice to be here, "Soifon. I'm captain of Squad 2. My squad is also the punishment force. We deal with anyone who breaks the law."

"That's awesome." Rika let go of her hand. Jushiro was watching Rika talking with Soifon and was quite shocked by what he was seeing take place. Soifon was never friendly to anyone and here she was opening herself up to Rika.

"That Rika's one talented human," Shunsui stated. "To make friends with Soifon is no easy task."

"I know, I knew she was special the moment I met her," Jushiro agreed. He watched as Soifon had calmed down, no longer looking pissed off and the two women made their way over to the table and got some punch as they continued talking. Soifon was actually laughing at something she told her.

"Oh my god! She's laughing," Shunsui said in shock. It looked a bit creepy for him to see the squad 2 captain acting so out of character as she was doing now. Perhaps they all had misjudged Soifon's character all this time. Maybe she actually did care about others but tried to hide it.

It was then that Byakuya entered with Alison at his side. "Nice to see you again Jushiro," Ally grinned at him.

"Oh, Alison how have you been," Jushiro smiled back at her.

"Keeping Byakuya on his toes," she told him.

"I see that," answered the white haired man.

"Is that Rika over there with Captain Soifon?" Byakuya questioned.

Jushiro nodded, "That's her."

"Believe it or not she's 16," said Shunsui. Byakuya turned to him and nodded in reply like it was really no big deal to him. Hey, the woman he was with was one year younger after all. Alison's 15 but Byakuya figured it not to be a big deal when he was 242 years old. So, to him age didn't really matter.

"Hey, Rika, come over here for a second," Jushiro called out.

She got done talking with Soifon and came right over. She saw Byakuya and thought, 'Woah! Another hot guy! Are most of these Soul Reaper Captains hot men? If so I feel like I've died and gone to heaven.' She blushed a bit as she thought that.

"Rika, this is the human I've told you about, Alison Kurosaki," Jushiro introduced her. "She's also here under protection just as you are. She's been staying with Byakuya Kuchiki. He's the Squad 6 Captain." Though Rika had probably already figured it out Byakuya was a Captain by the way he was dressed but seeing as he was facing her she hadn't known what squad he led until Jushiro told her.

"You must be scared. I know I was when I first came here. But now I've learnt to love the Soul Society and you will too. Trust me," Alison assured her. "This place is great once you get to know it. I've been reading a lot of books about the Soul Society in my spare time. This place really has a long history to it."

"Really?" Rika asked.

"Ya, did you know this place has a Soul King that's the leader of the whole world? Now that's a very important job to have. Talk about having the world on your shoulders, literally," Alison giggled. A few minutes later Rika laughed as well. The two women started talking about this and that, becoming fast friends very quickly. It seemed the idea was working. Rika was beginning to calm down already and feel more relaxed.

"Bun Head!" A voice cried out. Rika saw a little girl running towards her, with pink hair.

"Uh… who? Sorry but my name's Rika," she told her. "Who are you?"

"Yachiru!" Squalled the girl. "Lieutenant of squad 11."

"What? But you're only a child," Rika pointed out.

"I'm not a child. How rude!" Yachiru puffed out her cheeks and gave a glare. She also had her hands on her hips. She looked like she was pouting.

"But anyway, why'd you call me Bun Head?" Rika asked the pink haired girl.

"It really suits you, don't ya think. Then again your hair does look like pork buns so maybe I should call you Pork Bun Head instead," Yachiru suggested, finger on her lips deep in thought.

"Yachiru what are you doing?" Another pink haired girl came over but this girl was a bit older and looked around Rika's age though in soul years she was probably way older than that.

"Awwww, Pinky! I was just having a bit of fun," Yachiru complained.

"Your name is Pinky?" Rika asked her.

"No, that's just what my sister calls me. You must be the human Rika. Hi, my name's Sabrina. It's nice to meet you. I'm the second lieutenant of Squad 11."

"Second lieutenant? I don't quite understand. How can a squad have two lieutenants?" She looked up at Jushiro.

"Some squads are allowed to have two lieutenants in their squad. If there's more than one person who qualifies for the position then both people get it," Jushiro explained to her.

"Anyway, we must go. I think I see my Captain over there." Sabrina grabbed Yachiru and walked off.

"Hey!" The girl cried out as her sister lifted her up like a slack of potatoes and walked away. Rika giggled at what she saw as the taller pink haired girl walked away carrying the smaller pink haired girl.

She then looked over to see where they walked off to and saw a man that was a bit tall. He looked wild and crazy like. He looked like someone she differently wouldn't want to run into late at night, or cross paths with period. She shook at bit. Her lips felt dry all of a sudden and she tried to lick them to put moisture back into them before realizing her whole throat was dried out as well.

Jushiro put a comforting hand on her shoulder realizing how shaken up she was. He looked over to where she was looking and saw Kenpachi. "Don't worry, that's only Kenpachi Zaraki, Captain of Squad 11. I know he may look scary but he's really quite harmless. Unless you get on his bad side which I'm sure you've never do." He laughed a bit.

She turned to him, "That's not funny Jushiro!"

"Sorry, I was only trying to make you feel better," he grinned. "I see your punch is empty. How about I get you some water for your throat. You look like your throat's pretty dried out."

"Thank you, that's very kind of you," she told him. He gave her his trademark smile and went over to the table to get the drink. He then came back over and handed it to her, gently taking the cup she'd been drinking the punch out of and sitting it aside somewhere out of the way. Rika gulped down the water feeling her throat getting better already.

"Are you sure I can't run any tests on her?" Another scary looking man came up to her. This man literally had white skin and black markings on his face. He looked even more creepier than the other guy.

"Captain Kurotsuchi, I thought I told you..."

Rika stuck out her hand interrupting Jushiro, "Look, I don't know who you are but you better stay the hell away from me!" Jushiro and Shunsui were both shocked by her vulgar language. So was Mayuri, apparently, cause he turned and walked away from her without another word.

"That there was Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi. He's the Captain of Squad 12 and leads the department of research and development," Shunsui told her.

"Department of research and development?" Rika wondered.

"How should I explain?" he thought a moment. "It's where we get our technology from or anything new is developed. Like our lighting, medicines, etc is all created from research and development," Jushiro told her.

"Oh, I see," she responded. Pretty soon the Head Captain finally arrived. And about 20 minutes later everyone else got there as well.

Rika counted, "Hey, I thought you said there were 13 Captains and Lieutenants. Why are there some missing?"

"You see there were but quite a few of them deflected from the Seireitei. Captains of Squads 3, 5 and 9," Jushiro told her the story about Aizen having betrayed the Soul Society.

"So, this Sosuke Aizen is the one your all protecting me from?" She asked him.

"Yes," Jushiro answered her. "But why he's after you we have no idea. But we intend to find out. The sooner we do the sooner we'll be able to protect you better." Rika nodded and Jushiro led her up to the front of the room where everyone could see her. He knew she was a bit nervous which was why he went up there with her.

"Everyone, this is Rika Macross. She's the human we are protecting from Sosuke Aizen. Like with Alison Kurosaki we must keep her safe as well at all costs," Head Captain Yamamoto called out to the whole room. "Now if you'll all introduce yourselves to our guest here." He turned to her, "My name is Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. As you probably already know I am the Head Captain of the 13 court guard squads."

"Uh… Captain Gen… uh… Gen..."

He interrupted Rika, "Just call me Head Captain Yamamoto. Everyone else does."

The woman nodded, "Head Captain Yamamoto, got it."

"And over there is my lieutenant Chojiro Tadaoki Sasakibe." Yamamoto pointed over to a man with hair the same color as Rika's eyes. He stood up and waved at her. Seemed he wasn't much of a talker at all.

Then Yamamoto looked around, a few captains and lieutenants Soifon, Byakuya, Shunsui, Yachiru and Sabrina shook their heads indicating they had already introduced themselves to the woman earlier. So, there was no need for them to introduce themselves again. "Okay, moving on then. Over there is Captain Soifon's lieutenant Marechiyo Omaeda." Said man stood up when his name was called.

"That's me. I'm the lieutenant of Squad 2. Let me tell you a few things about myself. You see, I like..."

Soifon interrupted Omaeda by punching him in the gut, "We don't have time for that you idiot. If we listened to your lecture we'd be here all day and all night."

"But you didn't have to be so mean about it," he told her.

"Shut up!" Soifon snapped. At that Omaeda sat back down at the table and started eating some more. Rika laughed at the way the two got along. It reminded her of how siblings got along when they got into a fight, though she'd never actually had any siblings of her own, her being an only child. However she had always wondered what it would be like to have an older or younger brother or sister.

"Now, the lieutenant of squad 3 Izuru Kira." At Yamamoto's words a blonde headed man stood up and waved at Rika.

"I'm so sorry you lost your captain. It must be hard on you," she told him.

"It is, thank you for caring. But I'm getting by. It's a pleasure to meet you," Izuru smiled at her. Seemed he was just as friendly as Jushiro and that made her glad to know. Seeing him smile at her she just had to smile back at him.

The Head Captain then continued on. "Over there is Retsu Unohana, the Captain of Squad 4, our medical department. It's where the sick and injured go to get treated." Rika stared at the kind woman and nodded. That was good to know. So, if she ever got ill she'd know where to go at.

"Just come to me if you ever need treatment okay," the woman gave a gentle smile.

"I will, thank you," Rika agreed.

"Then there's her lieutenant Isane Kotetsu." As the Head Captain said that he pointed over to where a white headed woman stood up and waved at her. She waved back. Seemed this person wasn't going to talk to her either. "Squad 5's lieutenant Momo Hinamori could not make it I'm afraid. She's been a bit under the weather since losing her captain who you know was Sosuke Aizen." He pulled out a picture of Momo and showed it to Rika and she nodded.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she gave a sad expression.

"She'll be back on her feet soon. Not to worry," Jushiro told her, arm around her shoulder in comfort. She looked at him and nodded, cheering up right away.

Yamamoto then moved on once again. "You've already met Byakuya Kuchiki the captain of squad 6. Next to him is his lieutenant Renji Abarai."

A man with red hair got up and simply told her, "Hi there." That was all he said before sitting back down.

"The seventh squad led by Captain Sajin Komamura." As Yamamoto introduced him Rika jumped in shock behind Jushiro.

"You're a fox!" She gasped. "A giant fox."

"Actually I'm a wolf not a fox. Totally different," Sajin told her. "You don't have to be scared of me. I promise I won't hurt you."

"You're right, I'm sorry. I was just a bit shocked there. A person's looks don't really matter to be after all. It's what's inside that counts and I can tell you have a kind heart Captain Komamura," she told him.

"Call me Sajin. You're a guest here not a Soul Reaper. There's no need to use my title. You know, you remind me a lot of my wife, Akira. Maybe I'll introduce her to you sometime." Sajin sat back down.

"That would be nice, thanks," the woman answered him.

"Next up would be his lieutenant Tetsuzaemon Iba."

The man stood up as Yamamoto said his name, "Nice to meet you girl!"

"You're awfully loud. Can't you speak a little softer please?" Rika requested. "And why are you wearing sunglasses inside?"

"I always wear sunglasses whether I'm inside or not girl!" He yelled out still talking loudly. Rika just rolled her eyes deciding right away she didn't really like this guy at all. He seemed very rude and mean to her.

"Up next, Shunsui's lieutenant Nanao Ise." Yamamoto pointed out a woman at the end of the long table who just looked up, waved and went back to the book. Rika was starting to feel a bit unwelcome here. There were quite a few captains and lieutenants that wouldn't say anything to her. Jushiro felt her tense up a bit and took his arm off her shoulder to grab her hand and give it a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

"Coming up next Shuhei Hisagi. He's the squad 9 lieutenant. He also lost his Captain as well."

"Thank you for pointing that out Head Captain," Shuhei commented, standing up so Rika could see him. She felt bad for Shuhei as well. She knew it felt very bad to lose someone important. She'd lost her birth parents at a very young age after all.

When Yamamoto introduced the captain of squad 10 she was shocked by his size. "Toshiro? How old are you. You're a bit young to be a captain."

"That's Captain Hitsugaya to you. And I'm not a child," he told her. He sounded pissed off at her.

"He's right you know. He's just very short," a woman with long orange hair and huge breasts spoke up. She had grabbed him from behind in a tight hug as she said that.

"Matsumoto, be more polite and sit back down until the Head Captain calls your name," Toshiro ordered, pushing the woman off of him.

She then turned and smiled at the human woman, "Well since I'm already up I may as well introduce myself. I was next anyway right? I'm Rangiku Matsumoto, lieutenant of Squad 10. Nice to meet you hun."

"Uh… nice to meet you as well," Rika answered her. Rangiku seemed like she'd be a fun woman to hang out with. The type who enjoyed going out to parties a lot. Unknown to her that wasn't the case right now. The lieutenant was going through a bit of heartbreak lately. She'd been in love with Gin Ichimaru and he left. She had no clue though that the man she loved was in love with the girl he'd taken with him, Sasami who they had all believed to be Aizen's daughter though she wasn't. She was actually a human being who Aizen had kidnapped away from her parents when she was only a toddler and made her believe him to be her father.

"And that there's Kenpachi Zaraki of squad 11. The man with Yachiru on his shoulder," head captain showed her by once again pointing. Rika was sure by now his finger was getting pretty sore from all this pointing he was doing, pointing out the different captains and lieutenants to her.

"Girl, do you fight?" He asked her.

"F… f… fight!" Rika cried out in terror. "Of course not! Are you crazy!? I'll get hurt."

"That's the fun of it," the man grinned. Once again she felt frighten of the squad 11 captain. He seemed to enjoy giving pain and causing it as well and that frighten her.

Jushiro noticed this. "Captain Zaraki! You're scaring her."

"Sorry," he apologized, deciding to keep his mouth shut. She was then introduced to Mayuri's lieutenant Nemu who she was surprised to find out was an artificial human being. Mayuri had made her himself to be like a daughter to him.

"And your lieutenant?" She turned to Jushiro. The man showed a sad expression when she asked that. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"My lieutenant has been dead for years. His name was Kaien Shiba. He was very brave and stood up for the innocent no matter what the cost. That eventually cost him, his life on the battlefield. He died while on duty," Jushiro told her.

Rika gasped, "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't of asked that."

"No need to apologize. You didn't know and it happened a long time ago. I'm quite over it now. Ever since then I've never gotten another lieutenant. There's just been no one who could fit the bill." He didn't tell her the full story. He didn't want to depress her. She was going through enough problems as it was, without him adding to her problems.

After everyone had been properly introduced to her everyone went back to the food, some making Rika feel welcome while others just ignored her. There were even a few she actually tried to avoid as well. After the meeting it was getting a bit late at night. It had taken all day after all. Rika yawned. She was starting to get awfully tired. Jushiro came up to her where she was falling asleep in a chair, "Here, I'll take you back to my place so you can get some rest."

"Thank you." She took Jushiro's hand and he pulled her to her feet and into his arms where he then exited the room, out of the building and flash stepped back to his manor.

He walked Rika to her bedroom, "Goodnight, sleep well."

"Goodnight to you as well," she smiled, going into her bedroom where she closed the door. She then got ready and went to bed.