The new guardian of Karakura town

[Soul Society - 10th Division's Quarters]

As the light scattered in the room through the windows, the silence helped create a peaceful atmosphere, and if one paid enough attention, the soft breathing of a woman could be faintly heard.

The room was pretty much an office, with a large bookshelf behind what could be surmised as the captain's table. A small distance in front of the desk was a low table with some snacks and two couches facing each other, one of them being where the origin of the sound lay asleep.

Suddenly, the door was opened, and a low and imposing, albeit a little childish voice traveled inside.

"Matsumoto, you here? Where are you?"

The intruder looked around, but there was no response. He entered the room, intent on finding his target.

"Huh, is she not here?"

A young boy walked inside, his eyebrows frowned in confusion. The rays coming through the windows shed some light over his attire, which consisted of a black kimono and hakama, with the kanji "10" on the back of his contrastingly white haori, matching with his similarly white spiky hair and blue eyes which seemed to pierce everything as he looked around. 

If Ren was here, he would immediately recognize this person as Hitsugaya Toshirou, the captain of Gotei 13's 10th Division, and a key individual in many of the events following the Soul Society arc.

"Hmm, but this room smells too much like alcohol for her to not be here…"

His words were very close to the truth, as something seemed to stir on the couch near him alongside the sound of rustling clothes, and soon a head popped up.

"Oh, cap'n… y' came for a chug?"

The slurred speech didn't match with the owner of the voice, a woman with delicate facial features, blue eyes and long, wavy blond hair, with a beauty mark under her lips. 

She was currently offering the boy a small white bottle of sake, while very clearly drunk, pretty much wasted. From the sound of the bottle's contents sloshing inside, not much remained, which could help explain her current situation. 

Faced with another one of his vice-captain's unsightly appearances, the boy was annoyed.

"Like hell I'd drink! Moreover, where's your report? Wasn't the vice-captain assembly today?"

Somehow, his questions made the other party drowsy again, and she simply lied down once more.

"Hey, don't sleep! Listen properl-"

He approached the couch in order to reprimand this drunk and lazy 2nd seat of his division, but was stumped speechless by what he saw.

Apart from her beautiful facial features, Matsumoto Rangiku was a curvaceous girl of simply gorgeous proportions, particularly her very large breasts. She similarly wore a black kimono, but did it so loosely, to the point in which her huge cleavage was clearly revealed, as well as the thin golden necklace amidst her twin mounds.

She was strewn about on the couch very inappropriately, and her robes had apparently loosened a bit more than usual from the movement, achieving some kind of odd equilibrium where even the slightest movement threatened to completely reveal her breasts. While the strong smell of sake lingered about, the feminine fragrance wafting from her skin would make even the most seasoned warrior's heart skip a beat.

The drunkard herself had already fallen asleep, mumbling something while probably having a pleasant dream.

"Aah, stop~ Not there…"

Toshirou's shock was only momentary, however, and he appeared unaffected by the display in front of him.

"Jeez, what kind of weird dream is she having?"

He was completely exasperated. Matsumoto was the one that influenced him to enter the academy and become a Shinigami back then, but after so many years, she became a slacker, often neglecting paperwork and leaving the aftermath for him to deal with, much like their previous captain, who she used to reprimand for the exact same reasons.

"Sigh*... I'll ask again later."

He left the room, making sure to lock the door.

[Previously, at the Vice-Captain Assembly…]

"Sorry for the delay!"

A young woman with her hair tied in a bun said as she entered a room in the first division's quarters, an armband with the kanji for "5" on her left arm. It was neat and tidy, and in the middle was a table where multiple people wearing the same black kimono and hakama sat. They were the Vice-Captains and/or their counterparts, and each was here representing their division.

Their attire was a little more customized in some cases, which wasn't a problem considering their ranks, but even so, all still wore the standard uniform in one way or the other.

"Oh, it hasn't started yet? Whew."

"It's okay, so just sit down and wait."

One of the vice-captains — the only one amongst them who wore a white jinbaori despite having the same rank — urged her from his seat at the head of the table.

"Y-Yes!"

She immediately answered, and walked towards an empty chair.

As she sat down, another voice echoed through the room.

"Matsumoto-san… isn't coming, huh?"

"She's probably having a hangover again."

"It's usually like this."

Since it hadn't started yet, the atmosphere among the people here was light and casual, with some banter here and there. The room buzzed with light conversation as they waited for anyone that might be on their way, some of them enjoying tea and sweets. Eventually, however, the head Vice-Captain called for the gathering to start, and the room fell silent.

As the work of a division involved various activities, even before factoring in their specific responsibilities, a lot of the grunt work and decision-making the captains didn't want fell to the second-in-command of each division, hence the need for such an assembly.

After some time, a concerning matter was brought to the discussion.

"Continuing, there's currently a vacancy for the position of Soul Monitoring in District 3600 of the Living World, Karakura-chō."

A woman with shoulder-length light gray hair explained.

"At this present moment, someone from our division is placed there, but because of his chronic muscle cramps worsening recently, he was and still is absent."

Normally, someone from the 13th Division would be there, but they still hadn't fully recovered from the tragedies of the past. Therefore, it was important to put someone in the overseer/guardian position, especially considering the area around Karakura Town was the current Juureichi (A.k.A Concentrated Spirit Zone).

"Heh, something like that can be fixed by giving him a kick in the right place!"

An annoyed voice complained. Honestly, since they were all warriors, it wasn't an unfair point.

"No, cramps are very hard to go through. We should let him rest properly."

Another person disagreed. Both arguments were sound.

"Vice-Captain Sasakibe!"

A girl with short blonde hair sat up.

"What is it?"

The one wearing the white jinbaori answered. It seemed the final decision lied with him, or that his word held special weight.

"What about our division's Kuchiki Rukia?"

She continued, proposing someone for the position.

"Hm, is there any particular reason?"

"Yes, sir. Regarding Kuchiki, Captain Ukitake wanted to assign her to a fixed position in the Human World for quite some time as of now. He believes it will be a good experience for her as a Shinigami."

"I see. A recommendation from Captain Ukitake…"

"Yes."

Hearing her explanation, Sasakibe fell in thought. Ukitake Jushirou held a long-standing position in the Gotei 13, meaning he was highly skilled in combat, and apart from always maintaining a level of honor and integrity at all times, he was very well respected and a perceptive individual with the eye to see through someone's character. There shouldn't be any problems with his recommendation. 

After a few moments, Sasakibe made a decision.

"Then Kuchiki Rukia from the 13th Division will be the substitute. Let's proceed to the next matter."

He stamped the document in front of him and looked at the light-gray-haired woman, who was standing up.

"Yes. Next, regarding the position of Vice-Captain of the 6th Division, the Captain's Council has chosen Abarai Renji, the current 6th seat of the 11th Division."

This earned a few gasps of surprise from the members present. It was a positive kind of surprise, though.

"Hah, he's just a delinquent. I'm worried that having that kind of person serving as a Vice-Captain will sully the name of the Gotei 13."

"Hehe, the only thing sullied here is your bald head~"

"What are you doing! You little- I'm not bald, and it isn't sullied either!"

The assembly would continue like this throughout the morning, as they discussed various topics of importance.

[11th Divisions Quarters, after the assembly…]

The atmosphere was calm, with a light tension in the air as the girl's words echoed solemnly through the japanese style room. The ambiance was serene and a light breeze sometimes entered through the opened sliding door leading to the corridor and courtyard. Most quarters followed this kind of layout around here.

Her raven hair was neatly tied in a bun and covered with a white cloth on the back of her head, and a man with blonde hair sat behind her. Both of them had been present at the assembly earlier. In front of her was a letter of recommendation previously stamped by Vice-Captain Sasakibe.

"Through this, I hereby appoint the 6th Seated Officer of Division 11, Abarai Renji, to the position of Vice-Captain of the 6th Division." 

Finishing the ceremony, she said with a smile, her voice no longer as solemn and formal as before.

"Congratulations, Abarai-kun!"

She sat facing a man with red hair tied in a ponytail and a white bandana covering the tattoos on his forehead. Despite his wild look, he was making an effort to be polite and follow the formalities.

"T-Thank you! Ah, no- I humbly accept this position, Vice-Captain Hinamori!"

"Hehe, there's no need for that much formality~"

To his display, she smiled awkwardly, but before Renji could respond, a voice sounded from a corner of the room, where a man with a cleanly shaved head sat with his back on the wall and his sword on top of his body as he commented on the affair. He wasn't present at the gathering earlier, and was hearing the news alongside Renji.

"Well, isn't this great? Now you're a step closer to Kuchiki Byakuya."

"Ikkaku-san…"

Renji looked back at the owner of the voice. He was the Vice-Captain of the 11th Division, where Renji served over all these years.

"With this, isn't it about time for you to have a chat with Rukia-chan? Even if she's now a noble, if you're a Vice-Captain, you guys are more than equal."

To his words, Renji fell lost in thought, but didn't answer.

"You struggled for forty years. I think it's okay now to go back to the way you were."

"I concur. But if that's the case, you'd better act quickly."

Renji's attention was drawn to the words spoken by the blonde man behind Hinamori.

"Kuchiki-san will be assigned to the Human World for around a month."

"Oh no! Abarai-kun, you should hurry!"

Renji pondered for a moment before shaking his head.

"No. In any case, I'll be officially assigned the position at the Promotion Ceremony nearly a month from now."

His words lingered in the air, but he continued with a smile.

"When she comes back, I'll surprise her by saying I suddenly became a Vice-Captain."

[Later - 13th Division's Quarters…]

"A transfer order?"

"No, no! It isn't a transfer. You'll go to the Human World!"

The blond girl from earlier, explained. It didn't seem like the other party understood, however, but she kept going.

"Remember when you were sent there once to help me? Way back when you just entered our division. It's just like that. Do you recall?"

"I-I see."

"See, she doesn't remember! It probably was such a bad experience she just deleted it from her brain. Right, Kuchiki?"

The question was directed at a petite girl, similarly wearing the standard Shinigami attire, which was called shihakushō. She had shoulder length black hair and purple eyes, and sat in the seiza position while facing the other two people in the room. Ren would definitely recognize her as Kuchiki Rukia, a pivotal individual in the events of the original series, and one of his favorite characters.

She seemed to struggle recalling the event in question.

"Um-"

Before she could answer, the two people in front of her started bickering.

"Hah, shut up! Why don't you bury yourself in the courtyard?"

"Wha- You little… You're the one that should hang by the clothesline!"

Among the 13 divisions of the Shinigami force, the 13th was a somewhat odd case, where there was currently no Vice-Captain, but instead two people sharing the 3rd seat. They were Kotetsu Kiyone — the short-haired blonde girl — and Kotsubaki Sentarou. At today's Vice-Captain Assembly, Kiyone was the one to attend.

The two were like water and oil, arguing constantly about things both big and small.

"Guys…"

Rukia tried to make them come to their senses, but before she could do so, a warm voice sounded by the corridor outside as a man with long, white hair and a captain's haori came. The symbol on the back depicted a snowdrop, which meant one was part of the 13th Division.

"You will be assigned to a specific radius around the center of Karakura Town. With your skills, it won't be a difficult mission."

"Captain Ukitake!"

"C-captain!"

Seeing who it was, Rukia tensed up, and the other two instantly stopped fighting as Kiyone quickly approached.

"This is bad. You should be resting properly."

Their captain was also known for his weakened health, which was thanks to a disease he contracted when he was three years old, which was a lot considering he had already served the Gotei 13 for hundreds of years. This condition made him frequently cough blood and had contributed to his overall emaciated appearance. It was also the reason his hair turned white, which didn't match his age, even for Shinigami standards.

"Calm down, I feel better today." 

Despite Kiyone's urging, he smiled reassuringly, explaining, "And even though it's only for a month. I thought Kuchiki would be nervous for her first solo assignment.", and looked at Rukia once more, "So I came to send you off."

Hearing his words, she paused for a moment before bowing deeply from her seiza position.

"Thank you very much!"

"Stop that, it's too formal." He smiled wryly, before asking as he stepped inside, "Have you already informed Byakuya?"

"Y-Yes… Not yet..." Rukia got up, but thinking of the person in question, a melancholic expression took over her face and she let out an almost imperceptible sigh, "Ah, no…"

She looked down before explaining.

"Captain Kuchiki would probably tell me… to not report such mundane events each and every time… So I would like to leave without saying anything."

"I see."

Hearing her words and seeing the way she deflated like a balloon, Ukitake frowned slightly, before getting on one knee to match her eye level.

"I understand. If you wish to do so, then it's okay. I'll tell him myself later."

He smiled warmly once again, hoping to reassure her. Kiyone and Sentarou did the same from the sides.

"You can go without worry."

Rukia looked at them, looking slightly surprised, before responding.

"Yes!"

—

Extra Titles: ("Winter is coming…", "How one remains sick for hundreds of years and can still fight is one of the mysteries of Soul Society.", "Noo, it should have been me!", "I want to be Toshirou so bad right now…", "An in-depth look at the Shinigami species in their natural habitat.", "Rangiku is definitely hot 🥵")