Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

-

Toshiro sighed as he came out of the 1st division's office. Yamamoto soutaichou had assigned him with a new mission, and it seemed that he would have to leave soul society for an unknown amount of time.

"Taichou~!!"

Toshiro sighed again as the familiar voice of his fukutaichou's voice reached his ears. Undoubtedly, she had been out drinking again, ignoring the piles of papers stacked upon her desk. At this rate, 10th division office might be overflowing with papers when he came back… Toshiro shook his head and cleared the thought out of his mind. Matsumoto might seem to loaf around a lot, but she took her responsibilities seriously when needed.

Matsumoto skidded to a halt in front of the 10th division captain and smiled joyfully. "Good afternoon Taichou! Are you done with your meeting with Soutaichou?"

Toshiro answered while continuing to walk towards the 10th division. "I'm to go down to the real world for a mission. I'll be working undercover, so you will be in charge of the 10th division for a while."

"Oh, really? For how long?"

Toshiro sighed at her jubilant tone and answered in a tired voice. "I really don't know. Apparently the 2nd division and the 13th division have been working together on this mission for a while, so I need to get some background information from Ukitake before going down to the real world and get the details of the mission from the 2nd division shinigami who has been sent as an undercover agent around a hundred and fifty or so years ago."

"Hundred and fifty years?!?!" Matsumoto gasped. "Taichou~! Soutaichou won't send a taichou as an undercover agent for that long?!"

"Of course not. We are already short of three taichous. However, there is a possibility that Aizen might be planning something in that place and if that's the case, a regular shinigami will not be able to handle this mission." Toshiro replied and looked up at his lieutenant who suddenly became quiet. "Matsumoto…?"

Matsumoto was facing towards the sunset that was painting Seireitei with its reddish orange color. Her silver gray eyes were clouded and distant, and when she finally opened her mouth, her voice was barely audible. "…Please be careful and come back safely, won't you?"

Toshiro blinked at her unusual display of insecurity, but soon smirked confidently. "Of course. Who do you think I am? Have some more faith on your taichou, Matsumoto."

-

Toshiro looked around the dingy old pub. Soi Fong said that the agent will meet him at the pub called Leaky Cauldron, but he could not find anyone who seemed like an undercover shinigami. Assuming that he or she was not here yet, Toshiro sighed and started to head for an empty seat in the corner when an unfamiliar voice called his name. "Hitsugaya-kun?"

Toshiro whirled around and came face to face with an old lady. Her hair was silvery gray and her face wrinkled with age, but her eyes sparkled brightly in the dim pub. Toshiro blinked, reluctant to believe that a grandmother who looked around eighty or so was an undercover agent of the secret mobile force.

As if reading his thoughts, she smiled reassuringly. "Nice to meet you. My name is Penelope Flamel. Although it's been a long time since I met your father, Ukitake-san and I are good friends." Toshiro blinked again at her words and noticing her meaningful gaze, looked around to see that various parties in the pub were observing them with curiosity. Toshiro looked back at the lady who introduced herself as Penelope and she smiled at him in a grandmotherly way. "You must be tired from your long journey. Why don't we order some lunch and go upstairs? I have booked a room for you to use for your stay here during the summer."

Toshiro sighed at being treated like a kid, but followed her like an obedient child. They stopped in front of the bartender to order some soup and sandwiches before going into the room upstairs. While Penelope swished her wand around the room, Toshiro sat in a chair and observed her. He recognized some privacy charms and the runes she was drawing from the books he had been studying for a while now, but it was still interesting to see the complicated movements she drew effortlessly all around the room.

Tom, the bartender, came by to deliver the ordered soup and sandwiches, and Penelope completed her work on the closed door. Then she hevily sat down on the empty chair and smiled tiredly. "Forgive my manners, but this gigai makes me feel like I'm really old."

Toshiro waived her apology away. "It's alright. I suppose that gigai is also Urahara Kisuke's work?"

"Yes. Just like your gigai, it allows us to grow naturally like humans, but he insisted that my gigai should make me feel tired quickly, reflecting my age." Then she smiled ruefully. "Urahara-san was a good taichou no matter how flippant he seems. I'm glad that the charges cast upon him were dropped."

Toshiro raised his eyebrows at her, and she smiled proudly. "He was my division captain in the 2nd division. When I was assigned with the undercover mission here, he created this gigai that will let me age like a human so that I could blend into the society more easily without having to change my gigai every now and then. Although he didn't say anything, I know that he worked non-stop for days to be able to finish this gigai in time for my departure."

"…and you secretly contacted with him over the years even after he was exiled." At his words, she just smiled and offered no answer. Toshiro sighed and rubbed his forehead. He wasn't here to talk about Urahara Kisuke's past. He fixed his piercing gaze on Penelope and asked the question that had been bugging him ever since he received the mission. "So, what is the reason you need a child in their early teens for this mission?"