"M-Mummy! Daddy!" a girl cried out, tears rushing down her cheeks. Her parents lay in front of her, blood flowing out of their wounds.

"Don't leave us!" she whispered. "DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE US!"

Her mother looked up at her with all the strength she could gather.

"F-Forgive me, Y/N... I'm so proud of you, my beautiful girl. Please, live on... I'll be watching over you."

Breathing heavily, you woke up from your not-so-peaceful slumber. Your eyes slid open, and you brought your hand up to your cheeks.

Tears?

You sat there, trying to recall your dream. A look of confusion came over your face as you wracked your brain, but nothing came to you. With a yawn, you stood up, and stared out the window. Birds sung to each-other, making you smile to yourself. You closed your eyes for a moment or two, just listening as the sun came up. Eventually, you walked into the kitchen and gnawed into a peach, as well as some sort of spicy crackers. You were starving- you hadn't eaten lunch or dinner the day before- but you had basically nothing in the cupboard. That was understandable, though, because you couldn't expect an empty building to be loaded with food, especially since you came on such short notice.

Rubbing your tired eyes, you slid on a pair of sandals that were laying by the door. You had looked through the cupboards, but you couldn't see any clothing.

Lots of things I have to ask for, huh? I wonder where the shops are in the Seireitei.

You yawned again.

Why was I asleep on the couch, anyway?

You thought for a second, suddenly remembering. Your face heat up. You weren't usually one to show sadness near others. It was embarrassing. So very embarrassing.

With a sigh, you stepped out the door, the socks and sandals feeling strange. You slammed the door behind you, and jumped down the two steps.

Oh, yeah... where do I go now?

You looked up, noticing a building... practically right in front of you. You shrugged and walked into it, forgetting any doubts.

"Oi! Give me back my sword!" growled a man with a moustache.

"It's mine, you idiot. Besides, it's not a sword, it's a zanpakuto, degrading dumbass!" retorted a blond man with glasses.

"Go to hell!"

You stared at the two bickering squad members, deeply interested by their conversation.

"Hmm... I agree with glasses-guy," you affirmed, and they turned to look at you.

"Who the hell are you?" asked the man with the moustache.

"Y/N L/N, 3rd seat of this division..." you answered grumpily, taking advantage of your 'rank'.

"S-Sorry for the disturbance!" they both shouted, bowing respectfully. You raised your eyebrows in surprise.

"Disturbance? Oh, right. You there, what's your name?" you asked, pointing to the blond guy.

"U-Uh... Sato Asahi, and this is Watanabe Haruto, ma'am!" he answered diligently. You nodded, feeling strangely in control.

"Asahi, Haruto, please be aware of your surroundings next time. Now, could you please direct me towards Hitsugaya Taichou's office?" you asked, vivaciously smiling at him.

"Yes, ma'am! One question though..."

"Shoot."

"Why have we not seen you before now?"

You rubbed the back of your head sheepishly.

"Actually, I started yesterday," you told him, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh. Hah. Well... This way, please."

He pointed at a building in the near distance, and you flashed him a bright smile.

"Thanks! Bye byeee~" you sang, accidentally talking informally again.

You ran out to the other building, bursting through the door happily. You resisted the urge to skip.

"Taichou! I found you, and- oh."

Your Captain looked very annoyed with you. You shuffled nervously, waiting for him to speak. He didn't.

"What?" you questioned self-consciously, looking down at yourself.

"This is an office. I'm your Captain. You need to knock." he answered slowly, as if speaking to a child. He sounded exhausted. You frowned.

"Sorry."

You were disappointed with the reaction you got.

"Still, at least you came. Where's Matsumoto?" he inquired. You stared blankly.

"Who? Oh, right! The Sake family lady! Uhmm, I have no idea!" you answered honestly.

"Then how did you get here?" he demanded, muttering something under his breath.

"Some guy called Ass... uh, Asahi led me here!" you beamed, sitting on his couch. He sighed.

"She's probably off drinking," he fumed, scratching away at his paperwork with a deadly gleam in his eye. You dazed off, staring at light bouncing off a blue glass on his desk. You suddenly shifted uncomfortably, itching with the need to be useful.

"Uhm...?" you began meekly, trying not to make him madder than he already was.

"What now?" he snapped.

"W-Well... I..." you struggled to find the words to say.

He looked up from his paperwork, his eyes softening. You stared into those stunning turquoise eyes, your heart skipping a beat.

"Your eyes are... really pretty," you commented. Your eyes widened, mortified at what you had just said.

"Ah! Wait, no I mean... I mean, I meant... wait, what? That makes no sense. I make no sense. Ahem... what was I going to ask again? Oh, yeah! Don't I have any work to do?" you babbled, your face heating up slightly as you tried to change the topic.

"Work? Paperwork...? But you're-"

He glanced at you with a mix of surprise and confusion, before looking away.

"Oh, right. My third seat," he mumbled, seeming flustered himself. "Well, I actually do have some here. Thanks for reminding me," he praised you, and you simpered proudly as he handed it to you.

"Thanks, Taichou~!" you smiled, never feeling so glad to receive work. In fact, ever since you were a kid you didn't dislike doing school work - so long as it was easy - but then again, paperwork was... notably different, especially here.

"You're welcome, I guess," he muttered, looking back to his own work. He was probably confused about the fact that you wanted to do it. Smiling brightly, you started the first page.

64th rukongai.

Fire.

Unauthorised tree planting.

You read through every single one with interest, whereas your Captain glanced through each briefly and signed it. Soon, though, you got bored out of your mind from reading almost the same thing over and over, and ended up skimming over all the words before you signed it. In the middle of signing, you changed your signature three times, until it ended up cute-looking... which would probably cause problems in some way or another. Oh well.

After about an hour, you found yourself on the last page. You decided to savour it, and read each word slowly and carefully before signing it.

The thing you noticed about paperwork was that it was hardly ever giving permission for anything. It was more often than not just stating some sort of happening, and getting you to acknowledge it.

"Taichouuuu! I'm doneee," you whined, before sneezing a little.

"Good. You can go back now."

You stayed on the couch, a frown on your face. You dazed off again, staring into his eyes.

Jeez, how did I not notice before? They're so...

"L/N!"

You were torn from your daydreaming, and opened your mouth in surprise.

"Y-Yes, sir! Understood!" you babbled, even though you had no idea what had been said.

"I didn't say anything other than your name," he stated, glaring at you. You shrugged, a sheepish grin on your face.

"You said my last name, not my name."

He sighed in annoyance.

"I said you were excused, and you are still here after almost an hour. If you'd like to stay here so badly, then you can do Matsumoto's paperwork too," he threatened, expecting you to leave immediately.

"Really? Sure," you grabbed it off her desk.

"Wait... you weren't meant to actually-"

"Don't worry! I'm an expert when it comes to forging signatures," you assured him.

"I don't think that's something to be proud of," he sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly. Still, he didn't stop you.

"Huh. It is in the world of the living."

"Really?"

"Really."

"...Interesting."

~*~