The day was one of those days, one where a soft breeze blew through soul society, where the sun beat down on ones skin, warming it and causing one to wish to sleep, napping the day away Also, the smell of the Spring air made for such refreshment of the senses, many people had problems not being lazy.

Due to this, captain Isshin, who had his subordinates refer to him by his first name, not last, and his Lieutenant Tomo Atsuo were in no way surprised that their third seat had in fact not come in to work that day. It was a bad habit of hers to spend nice days like this in places away from the office.

While it could be easily stated that Matsumoto Rangiku was a lazy person, she had what mattered in her heart and on the battle field. However, everyone in the tenth division knew that she had the tendency to shirk the paperwork. Many had placed the bet that if she had to ever get a job outside the Gotei Thirteen, she would not last a day.

Normally this laziness and tendency to disappear was no problem, but no one had seen her the night before, which meant she had spent the time away from the division since noon the day before. It was now over twenty-four hours since anyone had seen her, making it prudent that they find her, as to make sure no harm had befallen her.

Isshin was about to send a hell butterfly to his third seat, and also to her childhood friend, the newly appointed captain of the third division. The young man had the knack of almost always knowing where she was, even though she had problems finding him. However, before one butterfly could be sent off, a silvery head stuck itself around the door jamb, giving off its trade mark smile.

"Captain Isshin-san… have you seen Ran-chan? I haven't seen her since two days ago. She isn't mad at me again, is she?"

"Ahh, Gin-kun, I was just about to send a hell butterfly to ask you the same thing," the man smiled, intelligence in his eyes, not to mention a streak of mischievousness that mirrored the younger captains. He indicated for him to take a seat so that they could have a chance to talk.

Ichimaru Gin sat down, his body slightly tense from the familiarity that the captain had used with him. He had known the captain for quite some time now, so it shouldn't have concerned him that the man used such lax of formal etiquette. Plus, it wasn't in Isshin's personality to be anything but informal. The only thing that Gin could think of to explain this off was that this was the same as what he did, except this was done for the exact opposite effect.

"That wasn't the only reason I came though… I was wondering why you volunteered to be part of the captaincy testing?" the young man tilted his head with curiosity.

"Ahh… that," Isshin set the brush he was using down. "Do I need any other reason except for the fact that you've been a good friend of Ran-chan's?"

"That is a nice reason, but one really didn't know if I was the right person for the job," the fox-faced taicho smiled.

"Ahh, well, Rangiku is not the only one who rather knows you, though I say that she and Aizen have had a much longer time to get to know you. I think personally from what I've seen, how you care for Ran-chan, you would make a great captain," the second command suddenly smirked, speaking up for his captain.

"Speaking of Ran-chan… "Isshin suddenly smirked. "She still hasn't learned to mask her reiatsu!"

At this statement, Isshin suddenly moved towards the doorway, hiding himself from view. Atsuo shook his head at his captain's actions, knowing that only certain kinds of results would occur when this scenario happened. "What is the point of masking ones reiatsu when we are supposed to be allies?"

"Good practice for when hollows are around," the goat bearded man laughed.

"Says the man who has everyone call him by his first name instead of last," the lieutenant muttered under his breath as Isshin moved his finger to his lips for the two others to be quite.

That was when Matsumoto came barreling through the door, excitement written all over her face. Isshin instantly leapt at her, "My daughter Ran-chan is home! Give daddy a big hug!"

As the man went to give her a hug from behind, Rangiku brought her left elbow backwards and into his child hard. Gin's smile twitched for a few seconds, for multiple reasons, partially due to his protectiveness of his childhood friend and also for the fact that the blow had to have hurt. However, he couldn't help but chuckle at the scenario, as that was his personality, to find humor in such things.

Matsumoto folded her arms around her ample chest. "Old man Isshin needs to stop his sneak attacks, I am not his daughter… oh… captain, I apologize for hitting you."

"Yes… we really don't have to worry about our third seat Rangiku being accosted, that is for sure, as she has the reflexes of a cat," Atsuo shook his head, straitening his papers as he did so.

"I'm there to protect Ran-chan, so why would she need to worry," came Gin's voice, protesting what the man had stated.

"Ichimaru," Matsumoto suddenly growled in irritation, as if she took his words to mean she was weak and needed to be protected. She went over and wrapped her arms around his neck, causing some of the tension in his body to leave.

"I only meant Rangiku," he started to clarify what he meant, "that I don't like it that men, especially older ones, flirt with you just because you're pretty."

The last word caused Matsumoto to suddenly pull away and place her hands on the back of the chair. "Pretty… I thought you liked me for other reasons then everyone else. I don't know, because I'm possibly smart?"

"Ran-chan has no brain," came the sudden reply from the younger taicho, which caused the other in the room to snort out a laugh from where he was sitting, Isshin having already moved back to his desk. The lieutenant raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Matsumoto, who had only been slightly upset before, suddenly shook Gin by is shoulders. "Ichimaru Gin!"

"I like Matsumoto Rangiku because…" Gin paused, thinking of the right words to say.

"You can't think of it," she hissed, continuing to shake the silver haired man.

"I like you because you know when people aren't feeling good and try to cheer them up," came his final reply," He also muttered under his breath so only she could hear him. "Ran-chan also makes the bad feelings go away."

"I'm sorry… thank you," Rangiku suddenly went back to hugging him around the neck.

"So, Rangiku, why were you missing the last couple of days?" the lieutenant suddenly asked.

"Oh… I found something absolutely adorable," she smiled.

"New clothes?" Isshin suddenly chuckled, causing the others to stare at him. "What, that is typically what she calls adorable."

"No. It's white, small and has green eyes," the young woman smiled, snuggling closer to her childhood friend.

"A kitten," Gin suddenly laughed. "You know you captain won't let you keep it… mine won't either."

"Who says? Kittens grow into cats that can catch mice," Isshin grinned. "Unless they are cats like our Rangiku who prefer to nap all day."

"Taicho," Matsumoto shook her head smiling. "What I found isn't a cat… I have to say… one could liken him to a kitten, though he wouldn't be please with the comparison."

"So our Ran-chan's grown up and found a boyfriend? Daddy's so proud," came the ecstatic reply of Isshin, not to mention the re-tensing up of Gin.

"I am not a pedophile!" Matsumoto snapped. "He reminds me of Gin actually."

"How so?" came her friends reply.

"Well… it is rather hard to explain," she pouted. "I just feel a similar feeling like I did when Gin was a child, except… more so. I kind of got attached to the little guy. He's also special, like Gin was as a child. I don't know how to really explain it otherwise."

"How exactly did you come to find… this kid," Atsuo asked, folding his arms in front of him.

"About that… yesterday I was out patrolling one of the areas b the wall, where they sell stuff. That's when I saw this small kid being bullied by the shop keeper. They dropped his change on the counter and he couldn't reach it. I mean, the guy did it as if the kid was some sort of untouchable."

"You did say that he had white hair and green eyes," the captain commented, shaking his head, knowing that certain things people looked down upon.

"That isn't a reason to treat him like that," Ran's voice was livid, but defiantly not at her superior.

"You know as well as I Matsumoto, that people like myself are seen as jinxes for our looks," Gin commented suddenly, continuing to smile.

"Still… I hate it when people do that, so… I made sure that stall manager knew I wasn't pleased. Unfortunately, the kid got knocked over."

"The shop keeper did something that cruel to the kid," Isshin frowned. "Sometimes I wonder if the problems out there are due to us living in two different worlds, or their lack of ability to put certain issues like looks aside."

"Ahh… actually," Rangiku put a finger to her mouth, trying to give the impression that she was rather innocent about the whole thing. "See, he turned around and crashed into me, then fell and hit his head on the counter. I told him to not cry about it and learn to stand up for himself."

"Ran-chan," Gin suddenly sing-songed. "Are you sure he wasn't crying from embarrassment of getting a face plant in your rack?" This caused the woman to let go of him and back away, a frown on her face, closely followed by a smack on the back of the head. "I was right though that was how he got knocked over?"

"Yes," Matsumoto muttered," I don't know why he would be embarrassed."

"I believe," Isshin suddenly spoke up, a slight smirk on his face. "That some people would be embarrassed by that. When Ran-chan gets children of her own, she can embarrass them that way just like I embarrass her now!"

The young woman however choose to ignore him. "He's equivalent to a seven or eight year old," she suddenly commented. "Which was why I left him a letter to get into the academy."

"What? Came two male voices from behind desks.

Gin frowned. "Ran-chan, they don't even let nobles into the academy that young."

"Which is why I wrote him the letter and the pass to get through the gate," she smiled.

"That won't work," the lieutenant frowned. "It's not a good enough reason… they'll send him back. We can't just send them every stray that we find; they have to pass a test."

"These are really special circumstances though," Ran snapped. "The kid is already being contacted by his zampakuto and he's freezing the old lady that he considers his grandmother to death at night. He's a danger to those around him, not to mention himself."

Isshin then stood up, heading towards the door. "I believe I will be taking a late night stroll. Care to accompany me Gin?"

"Isn't that away from your usual walking route captain?" his lieutenant asked.

"Don't worry. I am going to make sure the kid makes it to the academy safely and gets entered," the man gave a small smile.

"I need to speak with Ran-chan," Gin gave a half smile as the man disappeared through the door. They noticed that he also removed his captain's cloak and placed it under his arm so it couldn't be identified as such.

M

Hitsugaya Toshiro was lost, stubborn and lost. He had gotten through the gate just by telling the giant that he had a pass to get through. Now, he was wandering the streets, trying to follow the woman's hand scribbled map to get to the academy. Unfortunately, the map was very bad, as it was just a circle and general locations.

The stubborn part came from the fact that he didn't want to show the letter she had scribbled to them either. The letter was legible, but the messiness of the handwriting made it seem like he had been given his note by a child, which if anyone saw it, they might in fact turn him away. The fear of killing his grandmother ran through his heart deeply, causing him to keep up with his stubbornness.

Unfortunately, this had led to him walking around for a full day, non stop, causing his feet to become blistered and swollen. Even being the active child he was, he had gone overboard in what he could do, causing him to start walking with a slight limp. He moved around, until the sun had almost gone down. That was when someone finally noticed that he rather looked out of place.

"Kid… what are you doing out this late at night," the man stated.

"I am supposed to be going to the academy," the boy muttered.

"Do you even know where the academy is?" the man suddenly laughed.

"I am sure I can find it on my own," Toshiro frowned at the man.

"Yes, well I can't let you do that, as letting a child wander around would rather be a threat to security," the man narrowed his eyes. "Anyways what business do you have at the academy?"

"First… how can a kid be a threat to security? Second, I am going to the academy to take the test and join," Toshiro stated, only to get the man suddenly laughing extremely hard at him.

"Kid, you're to young to enter the academy," the man tried giving him a serious look.

Toshiro glanced at the ground, suddenly holding up the two pieces of paper. "A shingami wrote me these passes to the academy."

The man picked up the papers, trying not to laugh even harder. He glanced them over, shaking his head. "How do I know that these are legit?"

"The woman was a bimbo… I think anyone would recognize her if they saw her," the boy stated.

The man suddenly stopped laughing, his face filled with shock. "Did you just call a woman a bimbo?"

"Yes," the boy commented, crossing his arms in frustration. "Its better then the other thing that I could have said to describe her."

"And that would happen to be?" the man frowned at him, not realizing where this was going.

Toshiro then sighed. "She had really, really big boobs, bigger then any that someone should normally have."

The man then turned pale, "I can't believe that you said something worse… a kid your age shouldn't know such words."

"I am smart for my age. Also, I wouldn't have said the second if you hadn't asked what could be worse," the boy commented.

"I should really wash your mouth out brat," the man snapped.

"You should wash your mouth out," Toshiro suddenly gave the man a scowl that had a glint of knowing something the man didn't. "All one did was harass me about the academy instead of telling me how to get there."

"Ahh, about that," the man started, giving full instructions to the academy and handing back the passes. Toshiro then took off, getting out of eyesight before he heard the man suddenly yell, realizing he had been tricked. He then took off running away from the man, off towards the academy, quickly getting out of sight of the man, but unfortunately making things worse for his feet.

When he finally arrived at the doors, he glanced around, quite surprised at the immense size of the place, wondering where he should go and who to talk too. That was however, when he heard someone call out, "Shiro-chan?"

This caused him to glance around, suddenly seeing Momo come hurtling towards him, a couple of her classmates close on her heels. One of them spoke up, "Hinamori-chan, who is the little boy?"

"He's Hitsugaya Toshiro. Grandmother raised the two of us together," she commented, trying to kindly brush them off so she could talk to the young boy.

"Ahh… so he's your little brother," the other girl commented, causing him to flinch. However, he flinched even more at what she said next. "He is so adorable!"

"Shiro-chan, what are you doing here?" she suddenly asked, putting aside trying to get rid of the other girls.

"It's Hitsugaya," he muttered, a tad bit miffed.

"Remember, I told you I would call you that when you joined the academy," she suddenly commented. Her face then creased in a frown. "Toshiro… if that is why you're here, you're too young to join the academy. Go home."

"No. I'm going to join," Toshiro stubbornly folded his arms across his chest.

"But grandmother will be lonely without you there," Momo sighed, striking a hurt spot with him."

"You left us alone, plus she can take care of herself," The young boy suddenly wished he had taken the time to look his childhood friend in the face, as her hand came smacking across his face hard.

"You can tend to be mean to me, but I won't accept you talking about grandmother like she doesn't have feelings Shiro-chan," Momo frowned. "They won't even let someone as young as you take the test. It is too dangerous."

This caused his eyes to darken, and his mouth to open suddenly. However, he found himself suddenly yanked off his feet. "I caught you!"

"You again?" Toshiro grumbled, not to please with being held as far above the ground as he was.

"I really need to wash your mouth out, those words one said and the way you guiled your way out of me marching you straight back to the wall!" the man stated.

"What exactly did he say?" Momo suddenly had a shocked look in her eyes.

"He said… what he said should not be repeated in front of young ladies," the shingami suddenly commented. That was when the current head of the academy walked over to all of them.

"May I ask what is going on?" the man frowned, glaring at Toshiro.

"This brat told me that someone wrote him a letter to get him into the academy," the shingami holding onto his collar shook the boy hard. "He also has a really fowl mouth and is devious."

"You're the one who walked into letting me walk away from you," Toshiro muttered.

"Just take him back to where he came from," the head rubbed his forehead.

"Wait… it is late, at Shiro-chan is like a brother to me. He could stay the night with me in the dorms and then I can walk him back in the morning," Momo suddenly protested.

"I… you do know him Hinamori-san?" the man asked. "I don't see a problem with that, but there is no way that I can admit a child to the academy."

"And why not," came a third voice. A man with a goat beard stepped out of the blue.

"Ahh… Isshin," the headmaster narrowed his eyes, none the bit happy about the situation.

"I believe that I can handle this matter," the man stated to the shingami, who set Toshiro down, then hurried off, away from everyone, rather in a huffed mood. The man then turned to the head master. "Could you and I talk to the side for a moment?"

The two men walked off, Isshin noticing that the boy eyed him, curiosity evident, but more evident was his outward wariness. The captain then turned to the head master. "Why is it that one won't put him into the academy? My third seat wrote him a letter this morning."

The head master suddenly raised his eyebrows. "So the papers he was carrying were legit? Even so, I can't just let him in."

"Rangiku told me that the boy has a very high level of reiatsu," Isshin suddenly commented.

"One is taking that drunkard's word," the head master commented. "I can't let someone that young in."

"Let's just say, his reiatsu was killing of his grandmother. Even if one doesn't enter him into the academy, at least test him. And even if he fails the test, keep him around," Isshin commented, ignoring the comment.

"I can't believe a child would posses such a strong reiatsu," the man snapped at the captain. "Just because you are the rank that you are…"

"He is though staying tonight?" Isshin suddenly asked, speaking suddenly loud enough for all to hear. He saw the boy turn pale at what he said at the second part. "I am quite sure that one will find out tonight the results of not letting him join the academy. Take my word for it."

"I don't really care," the man shook his head, then walked over to Momo. "He can stay tonight, but that is it."

"Hai headmaster," she commented, then as she watched Isshin walk away, she muttered under his breath. "What did that man mean by finding out tonight?"

"Nothing except child's tales," the man stated, glaring at the young boy.