GUYS! AMAZING NEWS! I HAVE COLLABORATED WITH MY GOOD FRIEND, LETHANWOLF!

We have decided to write a hitsuruki piece (sorry to our regular yaoi fans!) together, my side will be from Toshiro's perspective and LethanWolf will write from Rukia's. I really recommend you read both as it will give you a much better insight into their thoughts/feelings as the story progresses. We think it might read better for you if you split your screen and read them at the same time (scene by scene). Her story is called 'Mind of an Ice Princess' so give it a follow and keep up to date with our updates (we'll update at the same time).

Notes: This is set after the quincy war but there are some changes from the canon. Firstly, Ukitake is alive (yaay), Rukia and Renji never saw Tosh's mature bankai and Rukia achieved her bankai to save her brother in the war.

Warnings: STORY RATING WILL GO UP TO M IN LATER CHAPTERS, so keep that in mind before reading. Swear words, sexual stufffff ;)

Mind of an Ice Prince

Chapter One: Damn it, Matsumoto!

Toshiro huffed as he stalked through the streets of the Seireitei. Not even the harsh and bitter chill of winter that he normally loved so much could brighten his mood today. Once again, his useless lieutenant had deemed her time better spent away from the office and her duties.

Paperwork towered over both of their desks, and Toshiro was sure he was going to die at his desk one day; the only bit of exercise he seemed to get recently was during times like this when he was searching for Rangiku. He needed her help to run the squad, but the big-busted strawberry blonde was not very co-operative. She always had something on; lieutenant meetings, SWA meetings, and a number of other ridiculous things, such as drinking with friends and her supposed 'match-making' service. These were definitely activities she should be doing only in her spare time, and not during the working hours he paid her for. Toshiro tried to cut her drinking down, but unfortunately their own Head Captain seemed to going against him and actually encouraged Rangiku's party behaviour by joining her most of the time. It was on those days that Toshiro missed Yamamoto; Kyoraku was definitely more open to new ideas and level-headed when it came to issues such as crime and punishment, but he sure did drink a lot, leaving Toshiro to wonder just how much work got done over there; surely Lieutenant Ise couldn't handle it all?

The First Division had actually been one of Toshiro's first stops on his lieutenant hunt, given Rangiku's friendship with both the Kyoraku and Ise, but she was not there. The new Head Captain had been asleep but one of his sixth seats informed the prodigy captain that their own lieutenant was at an SWA meeting, and that's likely where he would find his own second seat. The young officer had not known the location of the meeting unfortunately, so Toshiro left the Squad One barracks and continued his pursuit.

He stopped at the regular haunts of the SWA; Kuchiki manor, Squad Two barracks, Squad Six and even Squad Twelve. The ladies were nowhere to be found, and no one seemed to have an idea where the newest meeting room was. Captain Kuchiki had twitched his mouth in sly satisfaction, informing the young genius that he'd set up a brand new and very elaborate defence system around his home and now no one would be entering his property without his immediate knowledge. The stoic noble man went on to inform him that he had granted the ladies access to his squad barracks for meetings, so perhaps he should check there next. Toshiro did check there but not even Lieutenant Abarai knew where he could find the SWA that afternoon. In Squad Two, Captain Soi Fon had been missing from her office, and despite running the Stealth Force, none of her ninja's seemed to know where she was, or maybe they knew but wouldn't tell him. Toshiro barely made it out of the Twelfth with his life; Captain Kurotsuchi wanted to 'study' him.

Rangiku was often more trouble than she was worth.

Toshiro now had two places left to try; Squad Four and Squad Thirteen. He was reluctant to try Squad Four, given that it was a hospital, so he'd left it to last. The Kotetsu sisters ran the place now since Unohana's death, and they were both in the SWA but Toshiro hoped the women's group would have a little more tact than to hold meetings inside the Seireitei's most critical barracks. Luckily, Toshiro was right next to the Thirteenth and since Lieutenant Kuchiki was another member of the SWA, it was worth a shot.

"Ahhh Shiro-chan," Ukitake greeted him upon his arrival at the office, "What brings you here today?"

"I'm looking for Matsumoto," Toshiro answered promptly; he liked Ukitake, but he didn't want to get caught with him for too long, lest the sickly man decided to give him more candy, "Apparently she is at an SWA meeting, but I can't seem to find her."

He didn't like not being able to find Rangiku; she was a massive pain in his ass, but she was also – rather regrettably, at times – his best friend and he cared deeply for her. He was always a little on edge when she disappeared and then reigned in her spiritual pressure; one of these days, she was going to get herself into some serious trouble and he would have to search the whole city before he found her.

"Young Rukia mentioned she was going to the meeting too," Ukitake nodded thoughtfully, before erupting in a small coughing fit.

Toshiro jumped to the older man's side, and helped him to sit down at his desk chair. He grimaced at the sight and sound of the kind captain struggling to regulate his breathing again; Ukitake had been sick the entire time Toshiro had known him, but these days, it seemed to be getting worse, and the prodigy hated seeing the man in such a state. Ukitake had always been kind to him, and had become a sort of mentor to him during his early days as a captain. Toshiro didn't really have a family, but Ukitake came close enough.

"I'm fine," the senior captain said unconvincingly as Toshiro handed him a glass of water, "Nothing new."

Toshiro frowned, but didn't say anything else as Ukitake lifted the glass shakily to his lips and took a small sip of water. 'Nothing new' but the man seemed to rarely get a break from his chronic symptoms anymore.

"Maybe you should take a break?" Toshiro suggested lightly.

"I will," Ukitake assured him, his voice hoarse, "I just want to ease some of the paperwork burden off Rukia – she's practically living in here now."

Toshiro glanced in the direction the older white haired man was pointing and noticed the bedding left behind as someone clearly spent nights here. He could only wish his own lieutenant was that dedicated.

"Sorry, Shiro-chan," Ukitake murmured, finally recovered from the short fit, "What were we talking about again?"

"The SWA," Toshiro sighed, stepping around the desk to face his colleague properly, "Do you know where I could find them?"

"I believe Byakuya lets them meet at his division now," Ukitake answered, "I think he does it for his sister. They've grown so close since the war."

"Which war?" Toshiro murmured bitterly, both the Winter War and the Quincy Blood War branded harshly in his memory.

Ukitake grimaced at the comment, and opened his mouth to speak again, but at that moment, Toshiro felt his lieutenant's spiritual pressure spike suddenly. Fortunately, Toshiro could tell she was excited and not in any harm. He could also pin point her location; Rangiku and the SWA were at the Fourth Division.

"Thank you, Ukitake!" Toshiro called over his shoulder but he was already out of the office and sliding down the hallways.

Rangiku had given away her hiding place, and Toshiro was going to catch up with her before she could escape his radar once more. It was time for her to do her damn job, and not slack off with her friends, especially not inside a bloody hospital.

Toshiro had time to plan his entrance as he made his way quickly as possible to the Squad Four medical barracks. He wanted Rangiku to know just how furious he was at her without him having to say anything, he wanted her to feel the coldness radiating out of his heart; in fact, he wanted all the SWA ladies to feel his wrath and then maybe they'd think twice about holding meeting during the work day.

The prodigy slipped in and out of the narrow Seireitei streets, gradually nearing Squad Four. Rangiku's spiritual pressure had receded again but he could still feel it thrumming softly; she was obviously still excited about something, and that was a major concern for the youngest captain who knew that it usually never meant anything good for him.

The Squad Four insignia came in to view and Toshiro burst through the double doors, ignoring the startled gasps of the healers, and set on down the hall way to the room he could sense Rangiku and her friends in. He let his spiritual pressure grow then, allowing the ice of his soul to spread out while freezing everything in his path. Finally he saw the door, and froze that with in an instant too. Rangiku would not get away from him this time. He hoped she was a little bit scared right now. He stepped forward and used a small burst of his power to shatter and crumble away the frozen wooden door in front of him.

Toshiro wasn't always a fan of the dramatic entrance but he wanted to deter his lieutenant from this behaviour; it had to stop, she was paid good money to do her job and Toshiro was not paid nearly enough to continually cover both her duties and his own.

Inside the well-lit room stood a small group of women, who were all staring at him with surprised and somewhat what terrified expressions.

He stepped under the door frame, allowing his icy power to linger menacingly. He hoped his big teal eyes were piercing Rangiku's very soul at that moment. He could see her cowering behind one of the other girls.

"Matsumoto," He called her; his voice was low but dangerous. Rangiku seemed to be more afraid of his quiet anger than when he yelled, which seemed to only make her laugh.

He felt something cool brush pass his arm, and out of the corner of his eye, the young Kuchiki girl was slipping out of the room, her strikingly similar cold spiritual pressure almost soothing as she ducked by. She was gone quickly, and Toshiro's full attention returned to his troublesome lieutenant who was now trying to unlock and open one of the windows but unfortunately for her, he'd frozen them shut.

"Lieutenant, now!" He snapped and Rangiku's body slumped in defeat against the window. He strode to her side, grabbed her forearm tightly in his grip and turned to the other petrified ladies in the room, before snapping again, "Don't you all have work to be doing?!"

They didn't answer, but to be honest, he didn't give them much time to do so. With his vice-like grip on his second seat, Toshiro flash stepped from the room, dragging the busty blonde with him effortlessly, like he'd done it a million times; He probably had done it a million times by now – It seemed Rangiku never learned her lesson.

…

Toshiro didn't let Rangiku's arm go until they were safely inside the office and he had secured the exits by once again freezing them shut. The woman hadn't tried to struggle during their journey, seemingly admitting defeat, and wisely knowing she could not fight him nor escape him. Safely locked inside his office with his devil woman of a lieutenant, Toshiro released her arm, and walked over his desk without saying a word.

He pulled the first sheet of paper off the stack and began to read through. It was an invitation from the Spiritual Arts Academy, asking him to come and perform a bankai demonstration for the students to show how – in some cases – a bankai can dramatically alter the wielder's appearance. It made sense that they'd want him since the news of his matured bankai had spread across the Seireitei, but only Captains Kuchiki and Zaraki had seen it. With a half-shrug he signed his agreement, and placed it in the completed pile for sorting, filing and sending off.

He took the next bit of paperwork off the pile and began reading through it, and by now Rangiku had worked out he wasn't going to speak first. She then immediately erupted in one of her melodramatic tirades.

"Captain!" She exclaimed, her wild hand gestures making it into his peripheral vision, "I was at a very important SWA meeting!"

"SWA meetings are rarely important," Toshiro said evenly, taking another report off the stack and skimming through it, "Your work here, however, is important."

"The SWA is important!" Rangiku burst loudly, and he glanced up to see her glaring at him, clearly outraged, "You wouldn't understand because you're a man. Captain, you're becoming very misogynistic!"

"Misogynistic?" Toshiro's voice developed a dangerous edge, "I take in the highest number of female soul reapers every year, I was the first male captain to introduce equal pay for my female workers and spent years defending your work ethic to Captain Yamamoto who wanted me to fire you. Please tell me how I am in any way prejudice against women?"

Rangiku opened her mouth to argue before promptly shutting it again, clearly lost for a good point to make. He smirked a little before taking another form from the stack and filling out the necessary blanks. It was all true; he'd done a lot for female soul reapers in his squad. Many of the male captains still allowed the inequalities between genders to survive in their divisions; namely Yamamoto before his death, Captain Kurotsuchi and Captain Zaraki. Head Captain Kyoraku had brought in equal pay just after Toshiro did, although his lieutenant had been campaigning for years prior to the event, and Captain Ukitake had followed immediately. Captain Kuchiki had taken much longer to bring around and it wasn't until after the Winter War and when his younger sister was promoted to lieutenant that he'd made the change; many suspected that it was the newly strengthened bond between him and Rukia that had forced the noble man to comply. The problem was that the Seireitei was ancient, especially in its values, and nobles in particular were sticklers for tradition, most believing a woman's place was still in the kitchen. Toshiro scowled at that; his female soldiers worked just as hard as their male counterparts, and if they'd be resigned to being mere housewives, so much potential would have been lost.

"You only gave us equal pay so I wouldn't keep spending your money," Rangiku pouted, eventually deciding on an argument, however untrue it was.

"It didn't work though, did it?" Toshiro clicked his tongue impatiently, before gesturing to the empty desk beside the window, "Now how about you do enough work to be worth what I pay you?"

Rangiku glared at him again and Toshiro clenched his jaw in response; always an argument to be had with her.

"I'm not working until you take back your comment about the SWA being unimportant," Rangiku crossed her arms over her chest, and tapped her foot against the wooden floorboards.

"I will when the SWA does something important for women or souls in general," Toshiro muttered, just loud enough for her to hear, but his eyes kept skimming over his paperwork, "All the SWA has ever done was raise money for Kusajishi's candy addiction and bought things for your own personal gain."

"Name one thing we bought for ourselves?" Rangiku demanded, offended by the truth.

"The swimming pool," Toshiro said instantly, reminded of the large pool they'd build at Kuchiki manor before Byakuya had obliterated it with his shikai, "Not to mention all that furniture for your various meeting rooms, all the snacks for each meeting and of course, the big shopping expeditions to the World of the Living. Oh, and that ridiculous beach trip."

Rangiku frowned, but to herself apparently, as no argument followed. Toshiro smirked once again; he was right, she was wrong, and finally she knew it.

"Now, do your damn work!" Toshiro snapped, pointing to her desk, "Or I'll ensure you never leave this office again."

The strawberry blonde menace yelped softly before immediately striding over to her desk and sitting down. Toshiro continued with his paperwork, watching her out of the corner of his eye as she picked her first document up and looked at it with severe distaste. Her disgusted expression turned to confusion and Toshiro sighed internally, knowing that she had no idea what half of these reports and forms were about, since she rarely ever did paperwork. Still, he let her sit in silent despair, concentrating on his own work load before he'd go help her with hers.

Toshiro managed to get on a real streak with his paperwork as the office had remained blissfully silent, the only sounds in the room were the subtle ticking of the wall clock, the shuffle of papers and the clinking of his ink brush against the ink pot; the sounds were both familiar and comforting to the prodigy, assuring him that work was finally getting done. Unfortunately, Rangiku had never been one for prolonged silence and it didn't take long for her to ruin the peacefully quiet atmosphere.

"Did you notice Rukia's hair, Captain?" Rangiku asked him excitedly, "She's growing it out again! You know, I was never a huge fan of her short hair."

"Now is not the time for gossip, Matsumoto," Toshiro felt his eyebrow twitch a little, "Do your work."

"I work better when I have something to talk about," She informed him with a mischievous grin, "But back to Rukia; I think the longer hair will make her look more mature, don't you think so, Captain?"

"I guess," Toshiro sighed and gave a half shrug, having learnt that sometimes it was better to just agree with the big breasted blonde.

"And sexier too, right Captain?"

"Sure," Toshiro mumbled back, only half listening, "Much sexi- Wait, what?!"

Rangiku was smirking at him as he replayed her words followed by his agreement in his head.

"I'm so glad you agree, Captain!" She clapped her hands together, her eyes lighting up.

"That's not- I wasn't actually listening to you!" Toshiro felt his face beginning to heat up; he'd spent decades working with the woman and yet she always managed to pull a blush out of him with little effort.

"Sure, sure," Rangiku smirked as if she knew something he didn't, "But in all seriousness, she does look sexier now, doesn't she?"

Toshiro wished he could say that he responded with a cool 'I didn't notice nor would I care if I did, a woman's sex appeal isn't defined by her hair or physical characteristics, Matsumoto, sexiness comes from the energy she exudes', but unfortunately, it was not the case. It wasn't even close to the case. In fact, he'd made a stammering, stuttering, tongue-tied mess of a reply, surprising himself as he actually thought back and considered the young Kuchiki girl's maturing appearance.

He'd barely seen Rukia as she slid by him during his rather dramatic entrance into the SWA meeting, but now as he recalled the event; he noticed that Rangiku was right about the Squad Thirteen lieutenant growing her hair out again. It was now similar length to when she'd accompanied them to the World of the Living to fight the first of Aizen's arrancars, sitting neatly at her shoulders. He could see it clearly in his mind now, the image of the younger Kuchiki slipping passed him and back down the hallway, her hair swishing gently behind her in the breeze and leaving behind a vague aroma of snowdrop flowers, like that of her own division symbol. Was 'sexy' the right term though? Toshiro wasn't sure; he didn't often consider a girl's hair – in particular, the length – being of importance to her sex appeal, but he supposed that if he thought about it, he probably would prefer longer hair on a woman, if only for him to brush out of her face and play with idly while lying side by side.

"Aww, Sir!" Rangiku swooned happily, "You're really thinking about it!"

Toshiro blushed a little harder, scowling at his lieutenant; the woman seemed to read his mind effortlessly when he was thinking of something embarrassing and then appeared to be completely oblivious when he was thinking of the countless ways he could kill her in her sleep.

"Do you prefer the long haired girls in your magazine, Captain?" Rangiku whispered across the room teasingly, running a hand through her long strawberry locks suggestively.

Toshiro gritted his teeth; the damn magazine. He was never going to live that down, Rangiku made it her life mission to bring it up at least once a week, despite all the threats he'd made about suspending her lunch hours and putting her on the weekend shift. It really wasn't as big a deal as she made it out to be; in short, Rangiku had been wrongfully snooping through his private quarters when she happened to find a discarded magazine – a magazine made for straight, adult men – that had been a very unwelcomed birthday gift from a certain flirty captain in a large straw hat and pink kimono.

The lieutenant had come flouncing into the office waving it around the place, singing "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"

She slammed it down in front of him and the prodigy had very quickly paled, recognising the magazine by its cover instantly.

"I found this in your bedroom, Sir," She giggled, "I didn't think you were old enough for this sort of thing yet, but I guess you really have grown into a man now."

Toshiro choked on air, "Th-this isn't m-mine!"

"It was in your bedroom, though?"

"Well, y-yes," Toshiro flushed, shaking his head in denial, "Kyoraku gave it to me! I didn't want it so I threw it out, and what were you doing in my bedroom in the first place, Matsumoto?!"

"Oh, don't you turn this on me, Captain," Rangiku sat on the corner of his desk, picking the magazine up again and flicking through the pictures, "And it wasn't thrown out… unless, of course, you put all your rubbish under your mattress?"

The devil woman blinked at him, her eyes filling with false innocence and her mouth twisting into a sly and knowing grin.

Toshiro blushed harder – if that was at all possible – and found that no answer could come from his mouth. Hell, no answer had even formed in his brain yet. His mind was literally blank, the shock and embarrassment killing his mental hard drive and he watched dumbly as Rangiku returned to flicking through the magazine. Her grin only grew bigger in the absence of his response, and at one point, a woman's picture in the magazine caused her to release a low and impressed whistle.

"I wish I was that flexible," She muttered under her breath, tilting her head as if it would give her a better view.

"Put it away, Lieutenant!" Toshiro managed to hiss eventually, ripping the magazine from her grip and thrusting it harshly into the paper bin beside his desk.

"They tried to tell me you were gay, Captain!" Rangiku had cheered at an uncomfortably loud volume, "But I told them they were wrong! I said 'a man can't have me as a lieutenant and be gay'."

"You actually almost turned me gay," Toshiro muttered under his breath, but Rangiku had been so caught up in her own tirade that she hadn't heard his comment.

The memory was still so fresh to him; embarrassment seemed to stick in his mind like glue, always able to recall moments of his greatest mortification at the drop of a hat. A special talent of sorts, not that it did his esteem any good. Rangiku was grinning at him from her desk, obviously recalling the memory as well.

"I noticed that the magazine wasn't in the bin at the end of the day," She drawled, leaning further over her desk and obliviously knocking over her ink pot with her boobs.

"Enough, Matsumoto!" He snapped, irritated by her spot on observation, "Get back to work, and do not speak again unless you have a serious work-related question."

"But, Sir-"

"I will deduct a day's pay for every word you say that isn't about the running of this division," Toshiro threatened, eyeing her seriously, "Now. Back. To. Work."

Rangiku swallowed, but didn't say anything as she looked back down at her paperwork. Toshiro caught a quick glimpse of a smile on her face before he sighed in frustration, turning back to his stacks of paperwork which appeared to have somehow grown since the last time he looked.

The next time he glanced up, he noticed that she'd actually completed a rather large chunk of the work, and was pleasantly surprised for a whole three seconds before he realised that she was just picking up the papers, looking for the line that said 'lieutenant signature' and signing it without even bothering to find out what the document was actually about. He groaned softly and resisted the urge to hit his head against the desk; now he was going to have to read over her work to ensure she had not signed off on something crazy, given that there were a lot of request forms in that pile; holiday leave, pay rises, promotions, division barracks renovations, division transfers, and she was just signing them off willy nilly.

Maybe Yamamoto was right about her.

No, Toshiro would always stand up for his lieutenant's contribution to the Soul Society. She might be a terrible administration worker, and the most infuriating partner, but her battlefield abilities were top notch, and her trust had been well earnt over the years. He just needed to start limiting her to practical work only.

With that thought in mind, Toshiro flipped through some of his completed paperwork, looking for a certain report he'd already signed off. Finding it, he pulled the document from the stack and skimmed through it to make sure it was the right one. It was a report regarding a joint investigation the Squad Ten had completed with Squad Two in the World of the Living several weeks ago, and the reports had finally been processed on his end, which meant that once he'd sighed them, Soi Fon had to read and sign them too, and luckily he knew just the soul reaper to send on a walk to the Second.

"Matsumoto, get up," Toshiro called her, causing her to look over in mild surprise, "You're going for a walk."

"Outside of the office?" Rangiku asked, her face brightening in delight, clearly anticipating her freedom.

"I need Captain Soi Fon's signature on these," Toshiro let his voice drone emotionlessly as he waved the papers about slightly and Rangiku was instantly snatching them out of his hand and skidding over to the door, which still happened to be frozen.

"Sir, you need to unfreeze door if you want me to get my job done," Rangiku told him, her voice higher in pitch as her excitement grew.

"Just one last thing," Toshiro fixed her with a pointed stare, "It's an hour's journey there and back. You will be back in this office in exactly sixty minutes, or I will deduct one day of paid leave from your contract for every minute you are late. Is that clear?"

"You're just full of threats today, aren't you?" Rangiku grumbled softly, an unimpressed frown forming on her face.

"Care to repeat that, Lieutenant?" Toshiro dared, raising a challenging eyebrow; he didn't take sass from any of his subordinates, not even his 'supposed' best friend.

"No, Sir!" Rangiku chirped, her face suddenly bright and happy again, "One hour; I'll be back on time, I promise!"

Yeah, right, Toshiro scoffed internally, allowing his doubt to show on his face. Rangiku seemed oblivious as she turned back to the door and practically bounced on the balls of her feet in eagerness to get out. The prodigy sighed mentally, and used his power to shatter the ice – only the ice this time, he actually wanted to keep his door – effectively unlocking it and his troublesome lieutenant immediately flew from the room.

Fifty minutes flew by as Toshiro used the peace and quiet to power through his paperwork, and then fifty-five minutes had gone by, and fifty-nine minutes soon after. Toshiro had almost completed his stack when the clock ticked over sixty minutes since Rangiku had departed the office. The prodigy heard a noise in the hall way outside the office, but the footsteps continued passed the door, probably one of his one of his squad members walking by on their way to their next duty. Sixty-one minutes passed and Toshiro sighed in resigned frustration; he'd had no hope that she'd be back on time anyway, but it still infuriated him that she'd disobey him especially given the threat on the line; Rangiku lived for paid leave days.

He was up to five days' worth of deducted leave when Rangiku finally burst through the door, her hair a wild mess and panic stricken across her face.

"You're late," Toshiro muttered.

"Ichigo's been arrested, Captain!" Rangiku exclaimed, throwing herself dramatically onto her knees in front of him, "They've got him locked up in the Twelfth!"

"Kurosaki arrested?" Toshiro questioned, shocking overcoming him, "For what?"

"Suspected mass murder," another voice answered him, and Toshiro glanced up to see Soi Fon standing in his door.

"Mass murder?" Toshiro repeated loudly, outrage pumping through him, "Ichigo Kurosaki?"

Ichigo was the furthest thing from a murderer of any description; Toshiro had fought alongside the young human boy enough times to know that. The substitute soul reaper fought only to protect his friends and family; he never went looking for a fight and certainly would never commit murder. The idea was completely ludicrous.

"We suspect his hollow got control of him," Soi Fon answered simply, her voice its usual no-nonsense tone, "I will explain on the way."

"On the way where?" Toshiro asked standing up and placing a comforting hand on Rangiku's head as she continually muttered 'it's not true, Ichigo wouldn't let that happen' while shaking her head.

"To the Twelfth," Soi Fon answered, ignoring the lieutenant's stricken behaviour, "The Kurosaki boy is being exceptionally difficult, and unless he wants to face execution, he better start talking, and that's where you come in."

"What does that have to do with me?" Toshiro frowned, "Surely Lieutenant Kuchiki or Lieutenant Abarai would be more helpful in extracting information from him?"

"One of them will be joining you," Soi Fon informed him, "But the Head Captain wants one of the captains to oversee the interrogation and Kurosaki seems to have the closest connection with you."

Toshiro sighed; after all that time he spent in the human world following Aizen's betrayal, he definitely knew the strawberry blond male better than any other captain. He grumbled his agreement, and followed Soi Fon out of the office, calling Rangiku to follow him, which she did instantly. As they neared the Twelfth Division, Toshiro prayed silently that Ichigo hadn't let his hollow consume him, because if he couldn't keep in under control the Head Captain would have no choice but to either execute him, or allow Kurotsuchi to forcefully separate them which was almost certainly worse, if you knew what the process involved and the consequences of such an action were.

They entered a building, and Toshiro was too caught up in his thoughts to realise where they were until he heard Soi Fon calling out to someone. He glanced up and saw two lieutenants walking towards them; Rukia Kuchiki of Squad Thirteen and Kiyone Kotetsu of Squad Four. Rukia looked particularly upset, although it was clear that she was trying to keep her emotions in check. Toshiro felt for her; Ichigo was one of her best friends, and now he was in a very serious and almost life threatening situation.

"Are you going to make him cooperate?" Soi Fon's harsh voice sounded in front of him as she spoke to the young Kuchiki girl.

"I'll do my best," Rukia replied, straightening her posture and narrowing her eyes suspiciously, "Just what exactly did he do?"

Toshiro glanced sideways to Soi Fon, eagerly awaiting her answer; she'd said she would explain on the way over but then she'd decided to wait until they caught up with either Kuchiki or Abarai so that she wouldn't have to explain herself more than once. It was one of the things he disliked about Soi Fon; she often thought her time was better spent somewhere else and that she was one of the more important captains.

"We found him in a right mess, in the middle of dead bodies and he won't tell us what happened," Soi Fon informed them, the hint of a smile forming on her face, "Captain Kurotsuchi has offered to… extract the information himself should you fail."

"We won't!"
"We won't."

Toshiro tilted his head slightly as both he and Rukia answered the exact same thing at the same time. She blinked at him in surprise but he kept his frown in place, pretending not to be somewhat satisfied by the passion she exuded when it came to protecting her friends. It was a trait the young Kuchiki shared with her currently imprisoned friend. He was glad it was her and not Renji they were sending in with him; he remembered seeing Rukia literally knocking Ichigo out of his guilt-induced slumps following the first Espada attack in Karakura Town in which he and his human friends had been hurt badly.

As for the prodigy himself, Soi Fon's comment had stirred a few emotional reactions out of him, causing him to spit the same line as Rukia. Firstly, although he rarely expressed it, he did care for Ichigo, and after the whole Kusaka incident, Ichigo had become his sort-of friend. The boy caused a lot of problems for the Soul Society but he'd also saved them numerous times, and Toshiro personally. The prodigy silently vowed to protect him to the best of his ability. Toshiro had also made the remark because he didn't like it when other captains questioned his ability to do his job, and Soi Fon's tone had done just that.

The Squad Two Captain stepped forward and opened the door to Ichigo's holding cell, and Rukia ducked in first with him following right behind her.

The chamber was empty and Toshiro frowned in confusion; where was Ichigo?

Suddenly Rukia gasped and the sound of the door locking firmly shut behind them echoed around the room. Toshiro turned to see Rukia bashing her fist against the door, her posture rigid with panic, and the soft hiss of a swear word escaping her lips before she halted her actions immediately and straightened up, as if she only just remembered he was behind her.

He kept his expression neutral as she slowly turned back to face him, but inside he was highly amused to hear a young noble woman and high ranked soul reaper saying 'fuck'.

Toshiro crossed his arms over his chest and eyed her up and down. He noticed her biting the inside of his lip, her eyes flickering with guilt briefly. He wanted to roll his eyes; she obviously knew why they were here but apparently didn't want to be locked in the room alone with him.

"Clearly you know something that I don't," he drawled, allowing his eyes to noticeably flicker to the door and back to her, silently asking for an explanation.

Rukia's cheeks were suddenly dusted with a light pink blush before she promptly looked away from him. Toshiro resisted the urge to smirk; so this is what it looked like to see someone blushing? Well, he could see why Rangiku found it so much fun; it was oddly endearing.

"I was so stupid," Rukia muttered, and Toshiro strained his ears to hear her soft voice, "I should have realised this was a trap."

Toshiro frowned, still not understanding, but then he heard the intercom crackle to life and the forever traumatising voice of his lieutenant sounded inside the room.

"Welcome to the looove shack!" Rangiku sung, causing Toshiro's eye to twitch; of course she was behind this, "You two aren't getting out until we see a kiss."

He heard Rukia's soft groan sound behind him but Toshiro was busy replaying his lieutenant's words back in his mind.

"See… a… what?" Toshiro repeated, completely dumbstruck by the situation; did they just say 'kiss'? Like him kiss Rukia? Surely not? He turned on the young Kuchiki promptly, "Care to explain, Lieutenant?"

Toshiro hates games, and he played more than enough with Rangiku as it was. What he wanted was an honest explanation.

The black haired lieutenant sighed, gazing around the room briefly, "Okay, I promise I will but first, can we just break out of here?"

She walked over to the door and studied it, as if looking for a weak point or some sort way to magically bring it down with her zanpakuto or kido.

"Don't waste your energy," the prodigy informed her as she turned back to him once more, "This chamber is made of pure sekkiseki rock, it repels spiritual pressure, hence why they'd have stored Kurosaki here if he had done something wrong."

Only the person in the control room behind the camera and intercom would be able to release them from this room, but being as that person was Rangiku Matsumoto, it wasn't going to be very soon. He glanced up at the camera in distaste; it sat innocently in the corner opposite the intercom and no doubt, Rangiku, Soi Fon, Lieutenant Kotetsu and whoever else were watching their every move. Clearly this was the work of the SWA.

The intercom crackled again and Rangiku's voice came back over the speaker, "If you freeze the camera, Rukia, I'll keep you in all night and day."

Freezing the camera was a good idea, but not when Rangiku was on the other side. Toshiro mentally commended Rukia on her idea though; it was very intelligent.

"Matsumoto," He warned, allowing his cold voice to penetrate the room; it was time for another threat, "If you do not release us this instant, I will chain you to your desk for the next two weeks without a single break, do I make myself clear?"

"Sorry, Captain!" She sung again over the speaker, "This is a one way intercom, can't hear what you're saying…"

"That woman," Toshiro muttered, his jaw clenching hard in frustration before he turned to face his fellow victim who seemed to stand a little straighter as his eyes skimmed over her, "So what is going on?"

Rukia went on to explain to him about the SWA meeting that he had interrupted that morning and about how, until his sudden arrival, Rangiku had decided to make him the next unfortunate soul to be the centre of her newest match-making scheme. According to Rukia, Rangiku had 'assured' them that he was straight and went on to explain all the reasons why the SWA had chosen Rukia herself to for his potential match, listing her height and similar zanpakuto abilities as key points. He'd only been half listening to the last part however, still firmly stuck on this 'assurance' Rangiku gave them, promptly reminding him of the damn magazine once again.

He must have muttered something about it under his breath as his fury grew, because Rukia was suddenly speaking up again.

"She didn't give us any details of how she knew, just that she did."

Toshiro glanced up and saw her shrugging her half-heartedly. The heat in his cheeks only grew hotter as she stared at him curiously, probably imagining just what Rangiku knew that assured her of his sexuality. He really should have bought a gay man's magazine too, just to throw her off, but then she'd probably be locking him in a room with a boy right now and demanding they kiss.

The prodigy sighed when Rukia suddenly looked away from him, and moved to the nearest wall to lean against it and get comfortable.

"Okay so we wait it out," Toshiro murmured softly, considering all their options, "They cannot keep us in here forever and eventually the other captains will come looking for us. It's not ideal given the paperwork and running of the divisions but hopefully it won't last long."

He was scowling and he knew it, but it was true that it was the best option for them. Instead of doing paperwork for the rest of the evening, Toshiro was going to stand here for as long as it took while mentally listing all the ways he could punish Rangiku when he got a hold of her next.

"I can't wait!" Rukia exclaimed, turning to him, her eyes wide and pleading, "I am meant to be having dinner with Nii-Sama tonight. I can't let him down."

Desperation flickered briefly in her eyes, which he noticed for the first time where an incredibly powerful shade of violet. They were as unique and intense in colour as his own teal irises, but he liked them more than he liked his own. Rukia's purple was softer than the harsh iciness of teal, and were actually rather pretty, now that he was thinking about it.

He felt compassion swelling in his heart as the worry in her beautiful eyes grew stronger by the second. He knew her brother well enough by now to know that he certainly did not like to be kept waiting; he was a captain and a noble, he did not wait. Toshiro also knew of Rukia's desperate need to make Byakuya proud, having lived in his shadow for years and never being able to please him until he finally showed his love for her to save her from Ichimaru's shikai, just minutes before the three traitor captains fled the Soul Society.

"I am sorry, Lieutenant," Toshiro murmured, sincerely meaning his words, "I don't have any other ideas."

He looked down and closed his eyes, feeling a little ashamed that he – a captain – couldn't get them out of this silly situation. Perhaps he could visit her brother once they eventually got let out, and explain the situation to him and how it was not Rukia's fault. Perhaps even, he could send Rangiku to work for him for a week, and then maybe she'd begin to appreciate just how lenient he was with her. He mentally added the new punishment idea to his list.

"I am sorry too, Captain," Rukia announced suddenly, and when he looked up she was just inches away from him and drawing closer.

He didn't have time to process what was happening, but was just about to ask as he suddenly felt her boldly grab him by his haori and pull his face to meet hers, her cold lips pressing firmly against his.

To say he was shocked was an understatement, especially when he felt her body press against his. He felt her spiritual pressure burst despite the room they were in, and he felt his own respond instantly without his approval. Ice mingled with ice, the temperature around them dropping quickly, but to them it felt good. Her lips continued to move against his gently, coaxing his mouth open and he let her. To be honest, it felt good. Really good, in fact. It was addicting, and he forgot where he was and who was watching as they practically become one person, their power and bodies seeming to fuse together. He'd heard about this happening sometimes between soul reapers with zanpakutos of a similar power, and sharing an element as harsh as ice and snow was one hell of a connection.

Her taste was sweet and almost wintery, like if snow really tasted as good as it looked. He wasn't sure what his hands were doing or where they were but he could feel a fabric beneath them that wasn't his own uniform. Most of his attention was on the lieutenant's lips though, which were soft and as cool as his own. They were both cold, but the connection almost made them warm – although a nice, comforting warm, not the uncomfortable warm of a summer's day.

The shock finally wore off, and Toshiro was beginning to enjoy the kiss properly. In fact, he was considering slipping in his tongue before Rukia quickly pulled back and detached herself from him immediately. Toshiro felt the connection of their spiritual pressures break instantly, and a weight settled in his heart as she refused to look at him.

"You're both free to leave," Yoruichi Shihoin's voice came over the speaker this time.

Toshiro heard the sounds of the other SWA ladies cheering and clapping in the background, Rangiku's voice sticking out to him almost as much as her breasts usually sat out of her shirt. The door buzzed open and Rukia fled form the room instantly without a glance his way. He felt a slight pang of hurt hit his heart, but managed to turn his pain into crazy anger, storming out of the room and towards the neighbouring control room in which he could still hear the SWA celebrating.

He ripped open the door, almost pulling it off its hinges in his rage and several sets of eyes blinked at him.

"I did not think this through," Rangiku murmured timidly, slinking behind a smug looking Yoruichi.

"MATSUMOTOOOOO!"

…

Toshiro reached a tiny bit more forward and cried out in victory when he caught his lieutenant's sleeve, rapidly pulling her back to him and into a more secure hold. He'd given her a whole five second head start back at the Twelfth, just so maybe she'd get hopeful that she could escape his wrath just to have it shattered minutes later when he caught up with her.

For the second time that day, Toshiro forcibly flash stepped Rangiku into their shared office. He didn't bother locking the door this time, because part of him wanted her to run away again after he'd yelled at her.

He was embarrassed; he could only imagine what those SWA ladies would have seen through the camera. The kiss hadn't exactly been a small peck, and he'd even been bold enough to put his hands on Rukia's lithe body, only for her to jump away from him only seconds later.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" He screamed, although Rangiku still looked pretty pleased with herself, "How dare you?! I am a captain!"

"I was just trying to help you out, Captain," Rangiku had the nerve to giggle a little, causing his temper to rise even higher, "You're so busy all the time, I thought I'd set you up with someone to relax you a little bit…"

"Relax?!" Toshiro spat, "How can I relax when I have a lieutenant as troublesome and disrespectful as you, Matsumoto?"

"Aw come on, Captain," She stepped forward to hug him, but he shook her away and stepped around his desk to put some distance between them.

"Are you really mad at me, Sir?" Rangiku began to tease him, "Or are you just upset that Rukia ran away so quickly afterwards?"

Fury, hurt and embarrassment pulsed through his body, causing his power to surge for an instant, and the light above their heads shattered loudly, causing Rangiku to yelp and jump away from the flying debris of frozen glass. She looked at him with a horrified expression and Toshiro clenched his jaw; he hadn't let rage take over his powers like that since he'd found Momo unconscious at Aizen's feet in the Central Forty-Six chambers.

"You can't force people into kissing," Toshiro continued evenly, ignoring the small explosion and placing his hands on the desk as he leant over it tiredly, "I can't let this go unpunished."

The young genius saw the blonde woman's shock as she no doubt started to wonder if perhaps she'd stepped over the line a little. She stepped over the line at least once a month, as far as he was concerned, but this time she'd gone too far. He was even considering giving her an official disciplinary warning, which would be the second in her career – Captain Shiba had given her one a long time ago – and leave her only one mistake away from losing her job. He could never do it to her in reality, but this was certainly the closest he'd ever felt to doing it.

"I didn't mean to make you mad," Rangiku said, her voice much softer this time, "I just thought you and Rukia-"

"You will write a formal letter of apology to Lieutenant Kuchiki and deliver it first thing in the morning," Toshiro cut over her, "Other than that one trip, you will be grounded to the division barracks indefinitely."

"Indefinitely?" Rangiku repeated.

"Until I say otherwise," Toshiro confirmed with a sharp nod, "Now leave."

"Captain, I'm really sorry-"

"I said 'leave'!" the prodigy snapped harshly, making eye contact again and glaring at his now very concerned looking second seat, "Don't make me ask you again, Lieutenant."

Rangiku took a timid step back and then another before she seemed to pause, tilting her head slightly as she considered something, her lips forming a slight 'o' shape as she drew some sort of conclusion in her mind. She opened her mouth again before promptly shutting it as Toshiro clenched his jaw, just daring her to say something. The blonde woman looked at him sadly as pity flashed in her eyes. He was mere seconds away from pulling out the disciplinary warning form when she finally slipped out the door, the sounds of her dragged footsteps growing softer as she moved down the hall way.

Toshiro practically flopped back into his desk chair, closing his eyes and forcing himself to take deep, even breaths. He could still feel a slight tingling sensation over his lips from the kiss with Rukia. It had been his first kiss ever, and it had been orchestrated by the SWA for their own enjoyment. Not to mention, Rukia Kuchiki was a girl far beyond his league, and she clearly had no interest in him. Luckily, he could just spend the next few months avoiding her until everyone forgot about the kiss; it would be easy enough – they were in different squads and they were both too busy to run into each other somewhere.

When he opened his eyes, he noticed a scroll sitting in front of him, waiting patiently to be read. Toshiro recognised the seal instantly; it was the emblem for Squad One. Opening it up, Toshiro identified the perfect print that could only belong to Kyoraku's lieutenant. It was an 'invitation' to attend a combined captains and lieutenants meeting this coming Monday; the term 'invitation' was used loosely since Toshiro knew those meetings were compulsory to attend. A second pang of hurt cut through his chest as he read further down the letter to discover Ukitake would be retiring at the end of next week. He was one of the few captains Toshiro liked, and the one he trusted the most.

Toshiro sighed; he couldn't exactly avoid a lieutenant at a compulsory meeting, or at the celebratory feast that would surely follow by the end of the week.

…

What do you guys think so far? Please review xoxo

Also if you haven't done it yet, go read Rukia's perspective for this story at LethanWolf's 'Mind of an Ice Princess'.