The dining hall was busy the next morning. At a corner table, Toshiro Hitsugaya seemed bothered by the attention of several female members of his division, even going so far as to swat them away. At another, Zarachi Kenpachi was finishing his oat bran and prune juice, readying himself for his daily constitutional.

At a nearby table sat Kira, Renji, Ikkaku and Yumichika. Iba was off on a mission to return flea collars. As usual, Kira and Yumichika ate politely, while Renji and Ikkaku threw their breakfasts down their throats, scattering bits of food everywhere.

"Why do you have to be so indelicate, Ikkaku?" A disgusted Yumichika brushed a splatter of food from his sleeve.

Ikkaku looked up from his plate. "What? I'm hungry," he said, shoveling another forkful into his already loaded mouth.

"Hey, all! How's it going?" Shuuhei approached the table. He threw his leg casually over the back of an empty chair and leaned in, elbow on knee.

"No coffee today, Java Head?" Renji took a sip of his own and proffered it to Shuuhei.

"Maybe later. I'm trying to cut down." An impish grin crossed his face. He added, "It may take awhile."

"You having breakfast?"

"No, not today. Feel too good to be hungry." Hisagi smiled a big toothy grin, causing the scars on his cheek to wrinkle a little.

Izuru smiled. "This is a welcome change from the past week."

"It's been a rough week for everyone."

"Yea, we were thinking about killing you just to put you out of our misery," Ikkaku said absently, applying more food to his open mouth.

"You just like to kill things," said Yumichika.

"What's your point?"

"That was my point."

"You're still alive, ain'tcha?"

"You really do care, don't you?" said a touched Yumichika, kissing him lightly on the forehead.

Ikkaku reached for his sword as the blush spread to the back of his head. "I told you not to do that."

"Fixed any more roofs lately?" asked Renji, sarcastically.

Shuuhei laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Naw, that was a one-timer. With my captaincy on the line, I figured it couldn't hurt."

Renji smirked, "From what I heard, it was Hitsugaya that got hurt."

Shuuhei reddened a bit, "Fortunately, he forgave me when I explained that the tube flew out of my hand by accident. Plus, I told him where he might be able to find Matsumoto. On the downside, she won't forgive me until she needs a drinking partner."

"She won't be mad long then." The men laughed, slapping each other in mirth.

Yumichika nodded towards the corner table, "And, I heard that some of the females in division 10 think Hitsugaya looks rugged with that bandage above his eye."

"Score!!" Raucous high fives caused startled heads to turn throughout the rest of the dining area. Kenpachi growled as he used his haori to mop up the prune juice he had just splashed. However, the distraction had allowed a young white-haired captain to slip out the side door, much to the consternation of his attention-lavishing females.

The noisy Shinigamis, glad to be together again in a pack, didn't notice the attention.

"So, we're all good there," continued Hisagi. "I just have to get back in the good graces of a few more captains, like Kenpachi and Kuichiki, and I'm golden."

Renji remarked, "Captain Kuchiki likes you, Shuuhei. Matter of fact, he reamed me out pretty good for putting him in the position where he had to reprimand you."

"What about the thing Kenpachi told him, about me being a trouble maker?" Shuuhei nodded slightly in Kenpachi's direction, an act that did not go unnoticed by the sharp-eyed captain.

"C'mon, it's Byakuya and Zaraki," said Renji, a little too loudly. "He doesn't put much stock in what Kenpachi says anyway. Too low class to be worth the time, so you're golden with 'Byakuya Baby.' I'm not, but you are. He made me dust the entire office, not just the high places."

"Sorry Renji," Shuuhei smiled.

Renji chuckled, "Sorry nothing. I'm still mad at ya. It'll take you buying me booze to make me forgive you." Renji tossed a half-eaten sausage in Shuuhei's direction.

"I probably owe all you guys a couple of rounds," Shuuhei said quietly.

"Now you're talking, Coffee Bean," Ikkaku slapped him jovially on the shoulder.

Kira asked cautiously, "Not that I'm knocking it, because I'm not, but what brought about this change, Shuuhei? After all, you've been a Hollow's worst nightmare for days."

Hisagi looked at the floor, then raised his head slowly. With a slight look of embarrassment, he said, "I followed your advice, Renji."

"That can't be good…" Yumichika elbowed Ikkaku.

Ignoring him, Hisagi continued, "I went to see Isane. SQUAWK!"

The sound issuing from Hisagi's mouth sounded oddly like a chicken.

The four men looked at each other, and then back at Hisagi who was blissfully unaware of the barnyard sound escaping from his lips.

"Told you it wouldn't be good…" snickered Yumichika.

"Yea," said Ikkaku, "but it might be fun."

"I know, I know," Shuuhei continued, "after everything I said, I feel like a hypocrite. But it all worked out great. She re-hypnotized me, and now I feel like a new man."

Kira asked cautiously, "Who re-hypnotized you? You mean Isane?"

"Buk buk buk… Who else would I mean? Of course, Isane. B-KOK!"

"…and she didn't kill you?"

"Given our history, I feared the worst," Shuuhei shrugged, "but she was super."

"Who? Tell me who was super," Ikkaku bounced in his chair, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Isane, BR-WOK! you idiot! I just said that. Weren't you listening?"

"Oh, I was listening! Were you?" howled the seat-dancing man.

"Honestly, Ikkaku, what is your problem?"

Ikkaku threw his hands up in the air, "Man, I'm not the one with the problem."

"Well, me either now," continued Shuuhei, ignoring Ikkaku's gales of laughter. "I think everything is going to be just great between the two of us from now on."

Renji asked slowly, "You mean, between you and Isane."

"SQUAWK! Of course, me and Isane. Buk buk… What's the matter with you guys? Who else would I be talking about?"

"Beats me."

"Me too."

"Guess we must be talking about Isane."

"B-kawk!"

"Yep, gotta be Isane."

"B-KAWK!"

"Isane, it is!"

"BWAK B-KAWK B-KAWK! You guys really are idiots. I gotta go. I owe Captain Kyouraku a new hat and some sake. Don't ask. Long story." The dark-haired Shinigami was off, weaving his way through the tables of the lunchroom.

As he was passing Zaracki Kenpachi's table, Renji called out to him, "Hey, Shuuhei."

Still moving forward, Shuuhei turned his upper body towards his buddies, and hollered, "What?"

"Does it have to do with Isane?"

"B-KOK! IDIOT!" yelled Hisagi over his shoulder, almost directly into Kenpachi's ear.

Kira and Renji watched him disappear out the door. With the swiftness of a panther on the attack, an extremely irate Zarachi Kenpachi followed closely behind.

"That was mean," Kira reprimanded Renji.

"Yea, but funny as hell," Ikkaku laughed.

"I suppose we should call Squad 4," sighed Yumichika.

"In a minute," said Ikkaku. "Let Kenpachi have a little fun."

"Do you think we should tell Shuuhei about the post-hypnotic chicken suggestion?" asked Kira.

"Naw," said Renji, "Payback is a bitch."

"…named Isane," added Ikkaku. "Let's have fun with it for awhile."

Yumichika looked wide-eyed at Izuru, "Besides, have you seen the price of eggs recently?"