Chapter 15:

The peace of the Seireitei was broken when a pair of toddlers came running down the hall. They were both screaming their heads off and running as fast as their little feet would let them. They pushed people out of the way and ran between their legs, trying to get away from something.

"Out of the way, please!" Rukia came soon after, chasing after them. "Sorry! Excuse me! Sorry!" It was difficult to weave through the crowd of adult Soul Reapers. The toddlers were getting away.

Yurima was close behind, following after her. "Wait for me! Wait!"

Around the corner, Hanataro was asked to take the fresh bottles of milk down the hall to one of the rooms being used as a kind of daycare center for the toddlers and infants. He was glad to have this job and not have to mop up the vomit and spit-up like he had been doing earlier. Squad 4 was taking turns in that department. He couldn't complain about taking bottles down the hall to the children when faced with the alternative.

As he was making the turn, he almost bumped into a taller Soul Reaper. "Oh! Pardon me, ma'am." He let her pass before continuing his walk. Carrying all these bottles at one time was hard. He wasn't given a basket to carry them in. Only a tray. He had to be careful not to drop any of them or spill. He almost bumped into someone pushing a cart down another hallway. "Sorry. Please excuse me."

The rest of the walk wasn't so bad. At least until two toddlers came running his way, screaming their heads off. Hanataro had only a moment to take action. He held the tray above his head and stepped to one side. Before he could get completely out of the way, the orange-haired toddler pushed him aside. Balanced on one leg, Hanataro struggled to keep the tray from tipping. The bottles rattled. The boy following him ran between Hanataro's legs and chased after the other.

Hanataro breathed out a sigh and started to lower himself along with the tray.

"Excuse me! Coming through! Sorry!" Rukia came jumping from out of nowhere and landed beside Hanataro, who flinched and held on tightly to the bottles, trying hard not to fall. He hopped on one foot, trying to keep his balance. Rukia dashed after the toddlers.

Just when it seemed safe, a fourth person came running his way, bumping into Hanataro's arm, knocking it free from the tray. "Whoa!" He spun like a wheel in a full circle and the tray tipped to one side. The bottles slipped and fell to the ground, a good many of them shattering on impact. Hanataro fell, breaking the rest.

Yurima looked over his shoulder at his fellow Squad member. "Sorry, 7th Seat!" he called and ran after Rukia.

Ichigo pulled on Byakuya's arm, leading him down another hallway. "Over here! This way!"

They ran until they found an open door and ducked inside. They hid behind the door, hoping no one would spot them. Anything to avoid that sword. If it really was like getting a shot, that was the biggest, scariest needle they had ever seen. There was no way they would go willingly.

A minute passed and there was no sign of Rukia or Yurima. It looked like they lost them. It seemed safe to come out now. Ichigo bravely looked out into the hall to see. No one.

"I think we're good," he told Byakuya.

He let out a sigh. "Good. That thing's scary looking."

"Yeah, I know."

"Why would they want to stab us with that? Did we do something wrong?"

"I don't think so."

"What if they're trying to kill us?"

Ichigo gulped. "I hope not. What did we do?"

"I don't know!" Byakuya felt like crying. "I wanna go home! This isn't fun anymore."

"I know what you mean…" Ichigo was missing his mother already. What he wouldn't give to be held in her arms right now and hugged. Just how far away from home was he anyway? "We should go."

Byakuya nodded. "Yeah. I bet my parents will protect us. We should go home."

"Yeah. Let's go."

The two bumped into each other, both going their own ways. They stepped back.

"Which way is it?" they asked in unison.

Neither one had any idea how to get back home. And when they said 'home' they meant their individual homes. Ichigo never questioned where he was or why. He just went along with it. Byakuya had no idea why Ichigo was dressed so strangely and never bothered to ask. They were from two different homes further away than just miles alone. On top of that, they had no idea what the layout was of this building. Neither one had any idea where home was.

Ichigo looked around and pointed. "*I think it's that way."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Come on." Ichigo pulled on Byakuya's sleeve, leading him down the hall.

No one paid them any attention as they passed through the crowded hallway. The exit must have been around here somewhere. Ichigo stopped at the top of the stairs, looking down. It was a long way up. He looked at Byakuya. Maybe this led the way out. Ichigo and Byakuya got down and crawled down the stairs backwards, keeping a solid grip on the stair before them. It was slow going, but they managed to reach the bottom of the stairs four minutes later.

"Is this the way?" asked Byakuya.

"It's gotta be." Ichigo wandered over to a tall door, he guessed was the way out. "Over here!"

They threw themselves into the door, forcing it open very slowly. They pushed and pushed until it opened wide enough for them to squeeze out. The moment they were outside, they felt the warm air and sunlight on their faces. It was the exit after all. Only problem was it didn't lead them home like they wanted. This was just a courtyard. They looked around in confusion. There must have been a way home.

Even though Byakuya had walked here before with Rukia from his house, he did not know the way. He only followed her and held her hand. He had no idea how to get back. "Now what do we do?"

An idea came to Ichigo. "Maybe we can ask somebody." He looked around. He spotted a woman on a wooden bench at the far end of the yard. "Let's ask her."

Byakuya followed him over to the woman reading a book.

She looked down. Two toddlers were staring at her. She stared back.

Ichigo looked up at her with uncertainty.

"Well?" said Byakuya. "Ask her."

He hesitated. "I can't. I'm not a'pposed to talk to strangers."

This was getting nowhere fast.

The woman with glasses sighed. "I take it that you're Ichigo and you're Byakuya, correct?"

They blinked. "How'd you know?"

It was a simple conclusion drawn from the fact that one of them had orange hair and that one of them was wearing noble garments. Who else would it be?

She turned her body. That's when they saw the toddler in her lap. He had black hair, a pale face and a friendly smile. He patted the book with his hand, asking her to read more to him.

"Who are you?"

The toddler smiled. "Joshiro Ukitake. Nice to meet you."

Byakuya exchanged looks with Ichigo and the toddler. "No, you're not. I know Ukitake and he's way, way biggerer than you are. And his hair's not blank neither."

Little did either of them know, but Ukitake's hair was once this shade of black when he was much younger. It changed to white due to his sickness. This was him before that happened.

The woman taking care of him was aware that this was the captain of Squad 13 and was fully aware of his sickness. That was why she was keeping him calm by reading him a story. He had suffered a coughing fit moments ago before the two showed up and hoped that their presence wouldn't cause another.

They forgot all about going home and the sword-needle. They found a new friend to play with.

"What book is that?"

Ukitake looked up at the woman. "Will you read more, Nanao?"

She sighed. "If that is-"

"Does it have pirates in it?

She blinked. "Well, it has-"

"What about dinosaurs?"

"Um…"

"Does the bad guy get beat up in this?"

Before she could answer, Byakuya was already climbing up onto the bench with them. "Can I see?" He tried taking the book from her.

Nanao pulled back. "Don't do that."

"Wanna play with us?" Ichigo asked brightly.

Ukitake smiled and started to slide down from Nanao's lap. "Ok. I'd love to."

The lieutenant protested. "Cap- I mean Joshiro, you really shouldn't."

"I'm fine. I feel better. I wanna play."

"Ok!" Ichigo slapped Ukitake on the shoulder. "Tag! Now come get me!" He ran off in the other direction.

Ukitake straightened up. "Ok. Here I come!" He took two steps then started coughing. Three steps later, he was hunched over, coughing loudly. Then he toppled over, wheezing.

"Captain Ukitake!" Nanao rushed to his aid.

Ichigo stopped running and looked back. He saw Ukitake in the woman's arms and came running back. "Is he ok? Did he get hurt?"

Ukitake wheezed and held onto Nanao's clothes. He wanted the pain in his chest to stop and this headache to go away. She held him in her arms and walked him back to the bench. "It's ok. Hang in there. Just relax. Breathe, breathe."

He took in a deep breath and started coughing again. After calming down, he tried again, slower. It worked. He inhaled again, breathing easy. He sighed, relaxing. He hated when that happened. This was why he couldn't play with his siblings or any of the other kids. All he could do was stay in bed while his mother took care of him.

The two boys looked at him and then at each other. They didn't know what to do.

"What do we do? Does he need water or something?"

"No, he just needs rest."

"Then he can play?"

Nanao had a feeling they wouldn't understand completely. "Um… why don't you guys go off and see if you can find me, uh… a purple rock?" That should keep them busy for a while.

"Ok!" Both ran off to find her that rock.

Nanao sighed and sat back on the bench, glad to be rid of them.

It seemed that chasing them down wasn't working. They couldn't find Ichigo or Byakuya anywhere. Toddlers were good at disappearing. So Rukia came up with a plan to flush them out. Yurima went along with it, believing it would work.

They gathered up some candy and dumped it in a pile on the floor, setting a trap. Rukia then placed a box over the candy and a stick with a string attached to the end. When the kids came, all they had to do was tug on that string and trap them under the box.

The wait wasn't long. Yurima pulled on the string once he heard chomping. The box fell. "Got them! I got them, Rukia!"

"Nice job!" Rukia and Yurima came out of hiding and lifted up the box.

It wasn't them.

"Lieutenant Yachiru…"

The girl with pink hair looked up, mouth full of candy. "Hi~!"

"This is pointless…" he mumbled meekly.

Rukia tossed the box away. "Have you seen either Ichigo or Byakuya anywhere?"

"Ah..! Uh..! Um…" She was struggling.

"They look like toddlers. Ichigo's dressed in regular clothing the living would wear. My brother's in his noble kimono. It's blue with a star pattern on the collar and sleeves."

"Ah~! I know! I know!"

"You've seen them?"

"Nope!" she smiled.

Both slumped in defeat.

"Back to square one I guess…"

"Should we spilt up?"

Rukia nodded and pointed down the hall. Yeah, you go that way and I'll take this way. We'll meet up back at the office if we don't cross paths first."

"Got it. Good luck!"

Ichigo searched the grass on his hands and knees trying to find the rock Nanao was talking about. Byakuya helped him, searching further away. It took only a matter of minutes for them to forget what they were looking for and started searching for something else.

"Look, look!" Ichigo held up a blade of grass. "Isn't it cool? It's really long!"

Byakuya looked at it then tried to find one even longer than that to show off.

"Lady, lady, look! Look at this! Look what I found!"

Nanao glanced up. "Yeah, yeah, that's great." She looked back at the bundle in her arms. Ukitake hadn't coughed for some time and was resting now. She could care less about what the kids were doing. Her attention was focused on the tiny captain right now.

The door leading into the yard opened and out came Yurima, brandishing his sword. He looked out of breath, leading Nanao to wonder what he had been through. Surely talking with your zanpakuto wasn't that stressful.

He looked over the grass and found the two toddlers crouching near the bench. "Hey, you two!"

"Ahh!" Ichigo and Byakuya screamed, running away again. They suddenly remembered why they were out here in the first place. Stay away from that sword by all means necessary!

"No, no! Wait, wait, wait!" Yurima was forced to chase after them again. He stopped, tripping over a purple colored rock, allowing the two enough time to escape. "Dang it..!" He looked over at the bench. "Um, is that..?"

Nanao held up the sickly child. "It's captain Ukitake."

He blinked at the little one. Then he raised his sword. "I can fix that. Hang on a second."

Turning the blade over, he gave the child a small, sharp stab in the gut. He didn't cry out at all. Only moaned. So his zanpakuto was right. It didn't hurt them at all. Ukitake hiccupped and popped back to his normal age, crushing Nanao under his adult weight.

He blinked, looking around. "Um…" He looked down. "Why are you down there, Nanao?"

She pushed against his hips. "Just get off, please, sir."

"Huh? Oh, yes. Sorry about that." Ukitake stood up and stretched his body. "What happened exactly? I don't remember being out here with you or anyone else for that matter." He looked at Yurima. "And I haven't seen you in quite a while. Weren't you in a private room last time I checked?"

"Yes, sir." Yurima bowed. "Sorry, sir!"

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I- I, uh… Sorry, Captain, sir." He straightened up. "I, uh, I've found a cure, I think. I'm trying to turn everyone back to normal."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Ukitake clapped his hands together. "I'm sure going to miss these little guys… But productivity has been slow lately on account of this. It's best if they return to their normal ages."

"Yeah, but I've lost Ichigo and Byakuya again."

Nanao looked in the direction they had gone. "If you hurry, you can still catch up to them."

"Ah! Yes, that's right!" Yurima bowed to them. "Sorry! Thank you! Excuse me!" He went running after the toddlers.

Ukitake chuckled. "Excited fellow, isn't he? Wish I had that kind of energy…"

"Run, Byakuya! Run!" Ichigo shoved his friend in the direction they were trying to escape.

"I'm going! I'm going!"

"Hurry! He'll get us!"

"I know, I know!"

They ran back inside the building and tore through the hallway, not caring who or what was in their path.

Coming down the hall at that moment was the 3rd Seat of Squad 11 with his writhing toddler of a friend. "God, would you just shut up already? You're so annoying!"

"Put me down, you baldy freak!" Yumichika dangled from the back of his kimono, fabric held between Ikkaku's fingers.

"What did you just say?" He gave the child a small shake. "I dare you to say that again!"

"Baldy, baldy, baldy!"

"That's it! You're dead me-"

Two toddlers came running between Ikkaku's legs, nearly knocking him to the ground. They kept running.

"Hey! Get back here, you little-"

A third person came running, succeeding in knocking him to the ground. Ikkaku lay with Yumichika and Yurima on top of him.

"Ah! Sorry, sir!" Yurima scrambled up. Ikkaku grabbed the back of his clothes.

"Not so fast! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now!"

Yurima looked down at the toddler and turned his sword around. He stabbed the toddler and with a loud pop, the normal Yumichika was back, sandwiching Ikkaku to the floor. This gave Yurima the perfect chance to escape. "Sorry! Can't talk right now! Bye!" He raced after the toddlers.

Yumichika blinked and discovered Ikkaku under his body. "Um… I always said we should be closer, but…"

"Get off!" Ikkaku shoved him aside. "This is no time for jokes!"

He chuckled. "I was just messing with you. Couldn't resist."

Rukia paced the halls, looking up and down for the escape toddlers. They couldn't have gotten far. She had to find them quick before they got themselves into trouble. She decided to retrace her steps. She ran back the way she came. There were fewer toddlers this way, indicating that Yurima had been through here at some point during the past few minutes. This was good. Everyone would be back to normal soon.

The toddlers ran down the hall directly behind Rukia, trying to elude the man with the sword. They were getting close to an open door. Maybe it was a way out. Maybe it led to safety. They raced towards it, hand in hand.

"Smile!"

There was a flash, blinding the two toddlers and stopping them in their tracks. They both cried out in surprise.

Rukia turned back the way she came, hearing their yelps.

They rubbed their eyes, squinting.

Rangiku was crouched in the doorway holding a camera and smiling. "I finally found my camera! Took a while, but I did it! I couldn't let this opportunity pass."

Byakuya kicked Rangiku's shin. "Stupid meanie!"

She paid him no attention and took another snapshot.

"Stop that!"

Rukia poked her head around the corner. "There you are."

"Ahh!" Ichigo took off running again. Byakuya, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. Blinded by the second flash, he staggered around just long enough to be picked up by Rukia. She took her brother in her arms and chased Ichigo down. He fled into one of the rooms. He was cornered.

"Ichigo!" She trotted into the office, finding no trace of him. "Ichigo? I know you're in here. Please come out. No one's going to hurt you."

No one answered.

Byakuya struggled. Rukia patted his head to comfort him. Closing the door, she stepped inside to find the escaped toddler.

"Ichigo," she called again.

There must be someplace small enough for him to crawl inside of. The desk was obvious so she looked there first. Nothing. He wasn't under the desk. She looked under the couch next. Again, nothing. Byakuya fussed again. Rukia shushed him and stroked his head gingerly. She continued the search. As she moved to get up, she saw a gap between the books on the bookshelf. The shelf closest to the floor held something just small enough to fit with orange hair. She couldn't see him at all unless she was close to the ground.

She crawled over and sat beside the bookcase. "Hey…" she called gently.

He curled into a tighter ball, hugging his knees close to his chin.

"What are you doing in there, Ichigo?"

He didn't answer. He wasn't even looking at her.

"Why don't you come out of there?"

"No."

She knew he'd say that. "Why not?"

He didn't answer. She could tell already that this was going to take a while. She sat where she was and stroked Byakuya's head, cradling him in her lap.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He said nothing.

"I'm not going anywhere so I don't mind. I'm willing to listen, but if you don't want to talk then it's going to be very quiet around here."

They sat in silence saying nothing. Byakuya had stopped fussing and was sitting calmly in his sister's lap. Ichigo remained where he was, unmoving.

Five minutes ticked by. That was an hour to a toddler. Ichigo shifted his gaze to look at Rukia. She smiled at him and he turned away again. They continued to wait. Then Ichigo turned to look at Rukia again.

"I don't wanna."

"You don't want to what?"

He pouted and hugged his knees. "He was gonna stab me. It's scary."

"Oh, I know. It does look scary, huh?"

He nodded, hiding his face in his raised knees.

"But it's not that bad."

"It'll hurt! I don't wanna shot!"

"Oh, it's not a real shot," she told him. "It doesn't hurt. I promise. And I'll be there the whole time."

He whined. He didn't want to do this at all.

Byakuya tugged on Rukia's sleeve. "Big sister… My eyes are sleepy…" He looked about due for a nap.

Rukia patted his head. "Ok. You can rest right here, Byakuya." He placed his head on her lap and sucked his thumb, curling up. He must have been tired from all that running around. Ichigo slept later than Byakuya, so he was still running on fuel. He wasn't going to sleep any time soon. Rukia looked back at Ichigo, keeping her voice calm and quiet. "Listen… it won't hurt. I promise. It doesn't hurt at all."

He whimpered. That's what all adults say but it always does.

"And I'll let you in on a little secret. Ok?"

Ichigo looked up.

"This isn't a shot at all. All he has to do is stab you once and it's all over. But the thing is… it's magic."

He blinked. "Magic?"

"Yeah. Once you get it, something cool will happen."

"Like what?"

Rukia grinned. "Well, what if Byakuya gets it first so you can see what happens, ok?"

Very interesting. But was it a trick of some kind? Ichigo was too young to tell when people were lying or not and hadn't learned how to be deceitful yet. He trusted her.

He started to come out of his hiding place. But not all the way. He stopped when his head was just visible. His left hand was on the floor, supporting him.

Rukia had to encourage him to come out. She couldn't carry him off kicking and screaming with Byakuya in her arms. They needed him to keep still when he got stabbed. As long as he was calm, everything would be alright.

"Byakuya will get it done first so you can watch. I promise no one's going to get hurt. Ok?"

Ichigo have her the puppy eyes. "Promise?"

"I promise." She held up her pinky finger. "I pinky promise, promise."

Ichigo leaned further out and raised his right hand, pinky out. They interlocked. He smiled feeling as though nothing could hurt him now. He crawled out of the bookcase and straightened up, ready for anything.

"Good job. Very brave. Very brave." She patted his head. She stood up carefully, balancing Byakuya in her arm while holding onto Ichigo's hand with the other. "So brave. Good boy." The more she spoke to him and praised him, the more he seemed willing to do as he was told. He also seemed calmer. Children liked repetition. It comforted them.

As they opened the door together, Yurima came running passed them, completely overlooking the children.

Rukia had to called out to get him to stop and come back. "Yurima! Over here! Behind you!"

"Huh?" He screeched to a halt and came back, panting. "Oh… Sorry… Didn't… see you…"

Ichigo hid behind her legs. She patted his head. "Could you please change Byakuya back first?"

"Oh. Yeah, sure." Yurima took out his sword.

Ichigo tightened his hold on her legs, fearful. She reassured him that everything was alright and held out her brother. She knew he would change back and crush her, being so much bigger than she was, but she didn't want to put him on the floor either. So she held him out in front of her, sure he would land on his feet if supported from behind. She backed up a little, positioning her feet just right so he wouldn't step on her and so she could continue supporting him when he changed.

"Ok. Ready. Do it." Rukia faced away, holding her breath. She wasn't sure what was going to happen.

Yurima held up his sword and stabbed the napping captain with its tip.

There was a pop and Byakuya shifted back to his normal age, instantly awake. He landed on his feet as Rukia had hoped, but, not prepared for any of this and not knowing what was going on, was tipping backwards into Rukia. She threw all of her weight into him, keeping him in a standing position. The support kept him from falling. He recovered once he had his balance back and stood up, fixing his scarf.

Rukia stood back smiling at her big brother. He looked down at her. Then without a word looked away toward Yurima and his sword. He figured it out in a matter of seconds. He understood what happened and nodded to him.

"Cool!"

Everyone looked down to see Ichigo jumping up and down excitedly. "That's awesome! Me next! Me next!" That was the coolest magic trick he had ever seen! Was Byakuya a prince now? He wanted to change into something, too. He pushed Rukia aside and stood in front of Yurima eagerly. "Do me now! Do me!"

This was Byakuya's first glimpse of Ichigo as a toddler. First impression: what a hyper little brat! He hoped he wasn't anything like that as a toddler. His next thought was: he's so short. Hard to believe either of them were once that small.

Yurima turned the sword around and gave Ichigo a stab in the chest. With a loud pop, he was back to normal.

He blinked in surprise. "Wha..?" He saw Yurima. He started to put two and two together. "Did you just..?"

"I cured you!" Yurima grinned. "I did it! I did it!"

"Indoor voice, please," said Byakuya.

"Yes, sorry, sir." Yurima bowed.

Rukia snapped her fingers. "Oh! Toshiro! We left captain Hitsugaya with Renji back at the office."

Yurima nodded. "I've taken care of most of the children. He must be one of the only ones left. Let's go back so I can fix this."

Rocking him wasn't working. Talking to him wasn't working. Begging wasn't working. Hitsugaya kept crying. Renji was at his wits end. He hadn't stopped crying for a half hour at least. He just kept crying. Finally Renji had had enough. He picked up the baby, carried him over to the door and opened it. He set the crying infant in the hallway and closed the door again. At least the crying was muffled now. Peace.

Hitsugaya sat in the middle of the floor, crying his head off. What made it even worse for him now was knowing that he was all alone. It was scary out here all by himself. He cried even more.

Then people showed up. A whole group of them. He knew most of these people and reached out for them.

"What the hell is he doing out here?" Rukia asked, pissed off at the very idea of Renji abandoning a helpless infant like this. "Where is he?"

Yurima pushed passed her and gave the baby a stab. Hitsugaya popped back to his normal age and the crying ceased. He sat on the floor wondering what happened. He looked up and saw Yurima standing over him with a sword.

"Um…"

Yurima stepped back, returning the sword to his side and helping him up. "Captain Hitsugaya… My name's Yurima and…"

"I'm aware. Has a cure been discovered yet?"

"Yes, sir!" he smiled. "I just performed it. You should be alright from hereon out."

Hitsugaya gave a grateful sigh, smiling slightly. "That's good news…" He looked up again. "But how did I get out here?"

"Good question." Rukia moved towards the door. "Let's find out."

The door opened and Renji turned around. Rukia stood in the doorway alone. He fell apart in a fit of mixed emotions. "I know what you're going to say and don't. I'm done with kids! There's a huge pain in the ass! What works one second fails the next. They're so temperamental!"

"Renji…"

He held up his hand. "I still have to smack Byakuya for that bite he gave me! He's such a whiny little bitch! I swear, the next time I see him, I'm throwing him out that window and you can't stop me. I'll give him what for! You said he's a little angel, but I fail to see it. How anyone could love a face like that is beyond me."

"Ahem!" Byakuya stepped behind Rukia, glaring at his lieutenant.

Renji's face turned as white as Hitsugaya's hair. "Uh… By that I mean…"

Byakuya kept glaring at him.

"Um… What I meant was that… it takes a certain kind of… intellect and skill to find someone as… unique as you…"

"Save it."

"Yes, sir." Renji stepped back.

Byakuya turned to Yurima and gave him an order. "I want you to cure all the Soul Reapers affected by this and change them back. Once that is done, I'll see to it that your friend is released from his cell."

Yurima smiled and bowed deeply. "Yes, sir! Glad to do it! Thank you!"

It took most of the afternoon, but finally everyone was back to their normal ages. They had Yurima to thank for that. In return for returning everyone to normal, his friend was released as promised. Checkers was relieved to be free and held no grudge against his friend. The two were still good friends.

"How do we make sure that this doesn't happen again? I mean, is Checkers going to be alright?" Ichigo asked. "Is he still going to be turning people into toddlers or what?"

"I should think not." Yurima patted his zanpakuto tied around his waist. "My zanpakuto told me how to fix everything. I managed to not only cure the people affected by this but also my friend here. Everything should be alright from now on. If anything happens, I know what to do to fix it."

"Yeah, there's no need to worry." Checkers turned to his friend. "I'm sorry for all the trouble."

"No hard feelings?"

"None whatsoever."

The two shook hands.

"Alright, non-Soul Reaper," Renji shoved Checkers towards the gate. "Get lost!"

"What? But- but-but…"

"Move it, move it!" Renji pushed him out the door. "Visiting hours are over."

Checkers threw out his hands, grabbing onto the side of the gate, preventing Renji from throwing him out completely. "I'll be in touch, ok, Yurima?"

"Sure, sure!"

"And…" He pushed against Renji's body. "You'll still visit me from time to time, yes?"

"I'll do my best. Again, sorry for that little…"

"Think nothing of it. It's ok. It's all taken care of now."

Renji pried Checker's fingers off one by one and literally kicked him out the gate. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Love and hugs. Get out already!"

Checkers popped his head back into view. "Be careful Soul Reaping and everything."

"I will. Thank-"

The gate closed.

"… you."

Ichigo patted Yurima's back. "He's fine. Don't worry. You're gonna visit him soon, right?"

"Uh… yeah. If Captain Unohana allows it. I want to see him more often. I feel like I owe him."

"You let him out of prison."

"I know. But I still caused him a lot of trouble."

"Yeah and he caused us a hell of a lot of trouble, too," barked Renji, coming back up towards them. "Everybody's even."

Ichigo smirked. "You're just mad because Byakuya's gonna have your ass on a platter after everything you've said and done."

"Can it!"

"Aw…" Ichigo teased. "Is the little baby cranky?"

"I said shut it! And you're one to talk! You were a baby, too, you know!"

"Yeah, now I'm not." He smirked. "Come to think of it, I didn't hear much yelling. Just what did Byakuya say to you when you were alone in his office anyway?"

"Nothing!"

"I believe you."

Yurima didn't get it. "What's that mean?"

"Never mind!" Renji stomped back to the 6th Division.

"Somebody's pissed…"

"I don't want to talk about it!"

Renji had hell to pay for insulting Byakuya in more ways than one. He also had to answer for abandoning him more than once and threatening his life and so much more. What kind of sitter was he?

If that was the case, then why was Byakuya going through another kind of hell instead?

Rangiku had developed the photos she had taken a few hours ago and distributed them to each person transformed so they would know exactly what they looked like as cute little babies. Byakuya was staring down at his, his eyes focused on the image of him and Ichigo running toward the camera… holding hands. When had that happened? Why were they holding hands? For how long? He had no memory of this photo or when it was taken. He didn't know if that made it better or worse. If he knew why this happened then he could defend himself. Since he didn't, any explanation could be the real one. Which was terrible. What conclusions could people draw from this photo of them alone?

At least Hitsugaya's photos were safe. The majority of those were of him sleeping. Rangiku had even sent one home to his grandmother that afternoon. Hitsugaya had buried the rest in his desk drawer while his lieutenant kept the others. Momo was already teasing him about the photo of him sucking his thumb.

Ichigo found nothing wrong with his photos. They were no different from the ones in his house hanging on walls or in a photo album. Big deal. It wasn't like any of these pictures had him doing something embarrassing or in the bathtub or anything like that. Mostly him standing still or looking surprised at the camera. There were surprisingly few photos of them, though. Rangiku had just found her camera and them at just the right moment. Most of the photos were either of her captain or other Soul Reapers transformed.

Byakuya had this lone photo to look at. Unbeknownst to him, Rukia had the second. He kept staring at it. Why the hell are we holding hands? He couldn't stop looking at this photo. If it wasn't the hand thing it was the sight of himself as a child. He was rather cute, but still. He was an adult now. He wanted to keep his honor and respect. Being seen as a toddler, all plump with baby fat and pink and small and young... And looking surprised by that flash going off in his face. This was strange to look at.

Renji knocked on the door and came into the office. "I'm here, Captain. What's the punishment you had for me?"

Surprised by Renji's sudden intrusion, Byakuya crammed the photograph into his mouth. "Uh, hello."

Renji stopped, surprised. "Hello?"

Byakuya cleared his throat. "What was it you needed?"

He sighed, knowing what was bound to come. "You said to report here for my assignment. Here I am."

"Oh. Yes, that's right."

Renji blinked. "What are you eating?"

He swallowed. "Nothing."

After being dismissed by Ukitake, Rukia returned to the manor for a well-deserved rest. Ukitake knew that she needed some rest after all that had happened in the past couple of days. She went straight to her room and closed the door. She looked over her room. Everything was as it should be. She went over to the bookcase and took one of her favorite books off the shelf, opening it to the bookmarked page. She took the paper bookmark out of the book and replaced it with a photograph. She inserted the photo of Byakuya and Ichigo holding hands between the two pages and closed the book, putting it back on the shelf.

She smiled, returning the book to its place. "Looks like we have a new favorite bookmark."

It really was very cute. But to spare Byakuya the embarrassment, she decided to keep it hidden.

For now, at least. After all, there was no shame of showing it to Ichigo.

The End! ^-^

Hope you enjoyed it. I know no one wanted it to end, but all good things must come to an end at some point. Thank you all for reading and please leave me nice reviews if you enjoyed the story. If you hated it, then don't leave a nasty comment. No one likes that. It's mean, you meanies! XD Had on baby thing left in me.

So thank you and please review! ^-^