Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach but if I did, I'd give more appearances to Komamura, Kyōraku, Zaraki, and Kurotsuchi. After a super long hiatus due to school, this story came back to bite me after a long night in my hospital unit so I decided to make a go of it again with adding the latest chapter. This story deviates after the Aizen incident 10 years into the future since the manga is all over the place currently and I want to hold back on that chaos for now. :)

CHAPTER 1

Unwanted Promotion

A Hollow howled painfully as it faded into the air after the silent but strong swipe of a gleaming zanpakutō slicing cleanly through its bull-shaped head. The shinigami simply flicked the droplets blood off to the side with a lazy swipe and sheathed it. A thin strand of a sapphire colored ribbon with charms clattered against the sheath as the wind licked at the hilt of the owner's katana.

"Ruka!"

A chocolate haired shinigami turned with a lazy sapphire stare as two males bumbled in behind her, already too late to take on the enemy. She ran her fingers through her multilayered bob of brown hair and growled out in reprimand, "When I say there's danger and to be here in ten, I mean it! It's not an excuse to let you take a piss a minute later."

A fair-haired male with a German accent groaned at her tone and said, "You had it handled anyway. You've been taking out most of them this week."

Her dark eyes narrowed and she motioned with her hand to the town below them, snapping at the pair, "If this was a city district, you'd be dead and the citizens would be Hollow chow!"

The short woman of a five-foot height simply snorted and heard a cell phone beep from inside her uniform. Her eyebrow twitched in irritation as she scowled at the men for no reason except for their menial existence and answered the thing before the peppy ring tone drove her insane. She barked out sourly, "What?!"

A male voice replied with a more forceful and deeper tone, "Is this any way to treat your lieutenant, 3rd seat?!"

She deadpanned for a second, taken back by the voice, and hesitated before asking in a lighter tone, "I... Iba?"

"Yes, what other Tetsuzaemon Iba from 7th squad do you know of?" he snapped back angrily and she took away the phone from her ear a few inches in order to keep her hearing. This wasn't a good day apparently and she waved at the men in dismissal. The pair was more than happy to leave the irate woman to deal with her own business.

"Who knows? It's a big place" she teased with a chuckle and then furrowed her brows as she watched the skyline for any more activity. Despite it being a small town, the activity had been high this week and she'd gotten tired of flash stepping from one place to another while her colleagues slacked off. She tapped her other free fingers on the hilt of her zanpakutō as it hung on her left side and pointed out to her superior smartly, "Besides, I'm stationed in Bavaria. Don't tell me you forgot that you sent me here a month ago to work with the European Gotei 8?"

Iba faltered on the connection and she could swear papers were being shuffled in the background until he came back on the line to refute defensively, "Of course I did! Captain Komamura gives out your orders personally since you're barely here at all!"

"I like to travel" she grinned smugly and swung on the balls of her feet to occupy her time as she decided to pose her own questions on the abrupt disruption. With a firm voice of business, she asked, "What is this call for, lieutenant? I don't enjoy being late on my duties here so what did the captain specify?"

"Captain Komamura has ordered for you to return to the Seireitei no later than the end of this week" her lieutenant answered sharply and she heard more papers shuffling in the back. She ran a hand down her face and made a mental note to help him clean his desk once she returned. Iba stated crisply, "And don't try to talk your way out of this one, you haven't been here since the war against Aizen."

"So? I was there, wasn't I? That counts in the record book" she pouted with a sarcastic voice and heard him growl. Though he was her superior, the two got along despite their fights since Komamura wanted all of his squadron members on the same page.

"That was ten years ago and before that, you left for almost two decades!" he shot back tersely and she winced from the harsh bite of his voice. Well, he was right but she just didn't like the idle life of their Seireitei. Besides, she was more of a person to gather intel with the other international shinigami to take back and share with her own division.

"The captain knows I like to roam free and I always complete his missions" she stated simply and shrugged to herself. With an airy voice, she smirked, "I do everything he says so don't pop a vein. I'll be there, Iba. . .oh, and I got you the cutest sunglasses. They have a kitty on the rims just like your tattoo-"

"RUKA!"

Ruka bowed to her captain respectfully as she entered his office and his furry brown hand motioned for her to sit in the chair before his work desk. The chair gave the sitter the captain's full attention in the room and she hated that, she wasn't one for private or public attention. She gave him a big cheesy smile as she sat nervously and combed her fingers through her short strands, hoping to make them poof out and not stay flat. Once she had passed through the senkaimon, she'd traveled non-stop until she landed in the seventh division. She had to look presentable somehow but gave up once her ends lied flat against her flushed cheeks.

Damn thinning hair, she thought irritably.

"I came as quickly as I could, sir" she spoke calmly despite her dry mouth and twiddled her thumbs to keep her nerves in check. Every time she was summoned, she hoped she was doing well in her work and not slacking off. She wasn't a slacker, not by a long shot, and was always happy to make her captain proud. After all, he was her father figure after spending more than half a century within his squad and would destroy any who would badmouth the seventh division, even her own subordinates.

Her sapphire eyes blinked rapidly as she stammered, "I'll have my report from Germany tomorrow-no, in two hours! I'll even throw in a chart or two!"

Komamura chuckled deeply and let a smile grace his face as he locked his fingers together on top of his paperwork. Her nervousness radiated over the office and he soothed, "It's perfectly fine, Ruka. You're not in any trouble so relax and enjoy your return home. We've had a few changes these last few years; you really should stick around here more often."

Ruka let out an embarrassed chuckle but glared at the floor sourly the next second, "But Sajin, it's so boring here. You should see the other Seireitei's and I visited this division that was marvelously in sync with every member, just as good as us- and the technology!" She let out a blissful sigh that made him laugh as she declared, "I could lock myself in there for days!"

The captain stared at the woman's face with amusement as she prattled on about everything she'd seen and how she'd show him every piece of it. The 3rd seat was a niece to the eight division captain from his second youngest brother and had been left in his care since childhood after her parents' demise in battle. Captain Kyōraku, being more of a bachelor than caretaker, placed her in the seventh squad to raise her well as he checked in on her continually. Sajin then became her paternal figure as she grew and there was nothing she wouldn't do for her captain. Unlike her flamboyant uncle, she rarely slacked off or drank heavily but Ruka loved the pink kimono wearing man anyway.

Her ramblings halted to a stop when he uttered, "Ruka, I've nominated you for one of the lieutenancy openings and the other captains have agreed with me."

Her mouth gaped like a fish out of the water and instead of being thrilled like most, she demanded, "Why would you do that?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack, captain? I don't want to be a lieutenant!"

He raised his hand to calm her and she lowered her head respectfully for speaking out of turn. She was appalled at the idea of lieutenancy but she would never challenge her superior and waited for him to speak. He sighed deeply as her arms crossed over her chest to await an answer and Sajin spoke calmly, "Ruka, you're older than most lieutenants here. You should have a rank higher than this, now I know you enjoy your travels. . ." she grinned happily as he said this but groaned when he added, "But there comes a time when every parent must force their baby bird out of the nest and let them fly. It's your time to fly, Ruka."

"No, I want to stay in the nest" she refused his fatherly tone and scratched at her bare arms to occupy the stressing moment. She had ripped off the sleeves of her uniform three decades ago as she traveled the deserts and had liked the change in style. Some, mostly the nobles, called her a style catastrophe but whatever. She heaved a long sigh and tried to put her point across without sounding ungrateful. Gently, she told him, "I'm honored that you considered me for this but this division is my home and has been the longest division I've ever stuck with. I can't leave to go help run another squad of unknown people who aren't used to me. I refuse, if I ever become a lieutenant, it'll be after Iba dies in battle or from liver damage. This is the squad I want to always remain in."

The canine captain sighed again to her defiance and asked her kindly, "Would you at least think about it? For me?"

She was about to say 'no' instantly but the soft and gentle face on her superior made her insides melt. The golden puppy eyes look could never be deflected by her and she hung her head, her arms slacking and dropping to her sides. She couldn't refuse a kind request from her fatherly wolf. She licked her dry lips, already disliking the warm weather in the Seireitei, and looked up at him with a fond smile, "Only because you asked me, Sajin. If it was anyone else, I'd already be making my runaway break for the world of the living."

He regained his calm outlook and clapped his hands pleasantly, "Perfect. Now, I have a free hour before inspecting the squads and we can talk all about your trip as I catch you up on the news here."

Captain Kyōraku ran back and forth in his home as Nanao and Jushiro darted their eyes to follow his hasty movements as they stood side by side. He swung his sake bottle into the air and called out to the pair, "Are the steamed buns ready?!"

"Captain-"

"Are they ready?!"

Nanao pushed her round glasses up her nose and pointed to an oval plate holding six steaming buns in a perfect line. Her face was devoid of laughter and dryly, she stated, "They're right here. . .only six inches to your left, sir."

. . . "Oh"

Captain Ukitake shook his head at his friend's distress and eased him with one of his serene smiles, "Relax, I'm sure Ruka's fine. She's probably being debriefed."

"She's never late to see me" he insisted with a defensive and worried voice as his face took on a horrified expression. Nanao sighed exasperatedly and fought the action to whack him with her thick book as he cried out frantically, "What if a Hollow kept her? What if her hell butterfly died and she's trapped in between dimensions? What if an Espada revived itself and attacked? Oh, she could be Hollow food right now! Nanao-"

Footsteps rang through the floorboards as Ruka poked her head into her uncle's home with a wide grin, "I'm back!"

Shunsui made a double-take and turned around to see his young ward skip inside. He beamed with happiness as she came running up to him, arms open with a hug of reuniting bliss, and he leaned in only to be pushed aside for Nanao. His body almost collided into Jushiro, who moved aside instantly, and the brunette man stared dumbfounded at the pair as his straw hat slid off his head to his back.

His body gave a twitch of embarrassed outrage as he watched Ruka grab Nanao into a tight hug. His shoulders slumped and he blinked in astonishment and shock, his mouth wide open to murmur, "What. . .what just happened?"

Ruka laughed happily as she hugged her best friend, both entangling themselves into a babbler of updates as Jushiro patted his friend's shoulder sympathetically. When it came to childhood friends, no one could beat Ruka's Nanao. The two had been introduced to each other during their first year as shinigami by the eight captain and had been inseparable since.

Shunsui placed his hand over his forehead dramatically to exhale, "Forgotten by my own flesh and blood! I'll remember the days when she crawled and accidentally drank my sake-"

Nanao rapped him on the head with one of her hidden fans and he winced in pain as a red blotch appeared on his forehead. Ruka stared at her uncle and asked in concern, "Has he been like this lately?"

"He's on his third bottle today" she informed calmly and smiled happily at her, "What brings you back here this time?"

The smaller woman popped out a white bag from behind to give to her and chuckled in a similar fashion to her uncle, "Well, little Nanao's birthday's coming up and I couldn't miss it for all the gadgets in the world!"

Nanao knew better and raised an amused eyebrow to ask bluntly, "Captain Komamura brought you back, didn't he?"

She hung her head in defeat and nodded with a pout, "Yes, ma'am."

Instantly, she perked up and grabbed her uncle into a hug before he started reminiscing loudly and punched his chest lightly with a laugh, "I can't forget my favorite uncle but it's not my fault my best friend's your second."

He nodded kindly and joked with a goofy smile, "Yes, my sweet little Nanao-"

"Say, who wants to eat?" Nanao broke in sharply and jutted one of the food trays at his chest so he could begin lunch. Shunsui gave Ruka a bone crushing hug before letting her go and she stumbled over to hang onto Captain Ukitake for support. Despite he wasn't a blood relative, he always made her happy since childhood and she sought his advice on numerous subjects.

He patted her head softly as she wheezed out, "Why does he crush me every time I return, Uncle Jushiro? You'd think he'd want me to live a full life."

"Everyone does" he chuckled and his brown eyes twinkled as he smiled down at her, "Are you happy to be back?"

She thought about it, flicking her head to the side as she hung onto his arm, and smiled, "I think so, I'm with my family, can't beat that. However, Sajin recommended me for a promotion and I don't want it." Her eyes took on a sneaky glint as she asked him slyly, "Did you two vote on this?"

Jushiro feigned a face full of innocence and declared with a sickly tone, "Oh, but I rarely attend the captain meetings. What would I know of it?"

She noticed his hands tighten his captain's jacket from the chest and she shook her finger in front of his face to point out, "You grab your jacket when you lie, uncle. Why'd you agree to it? That's the last thing I want."

Her uncle joined their talk from the table as he bit into a bun and lectured her, "You should be at a better rank, Ruka, look at little Nanao-ow! Why must you hurt me, sweet one?"

He shook his scalded fingers from the hot tea she'd been pouring and continued, "You should be practicing to fully master a bankai by now. I mean, you're Kuchiki's age and he's been captain for fifty years!"

"I'm not Kuchiki and I'm happy with my rank" she said uninterested and shrugged lightly, sitting down neatly on the wooden floor to grab a decorated pink tea cup. She sipped the warm green tea with glee and smiled contently, "Oh, I missed you. All I've had to drink is coffee- it's quite delicious too- but. . .nothing says home like tea and oh! Steamed buns!"

Her uncle grinned and joined her eating frenzy while Nanao lost the distinguishing between both brunettes as they chowed down. Proudly, he said with smile, "I made them just for you."

Nanao pursed her lips and smacked his hand with her fan again, making him wince. He rubbed his hand to the scolding as she stated sharply, "I made them while you whined the whole time behind my back. That's not considered helping, captain."

"I helped mix in ingredients" he added in weakly and she rolled her eyes in silence, returning to her meal.

Ruka bit into her bun quietly and genuinely asked them, "Do you think I could handle a lieutenant's rank? I don't even know the captain, much less his squad."

"Shūhei Hisagi" Shunsui answered and she gave him a glare as if he'd answered the question perfectly with only two words. She didn't even know who that was! He patted her head innocently and her sulk deepened as he went on, "He's taking over ninth division so you'll be close to your dear uncle and Sajin won't be far. It's not like you're going far off to the thirteenth again."

Jushiro was about to defend his own division but Ruka beat him to it, "Thirteenth is nice, it was a cushiony job after leaving twelfth-"

"And good thing you left before you ended up as a half-bird creature or worse" her uncle said protectively and she sighed, wondering when he'd see her as an adult. Everyone had been dramatic to her first division choice but she didn't regret it. Eerily, he told her, "Crazy things go on in there. Half the people that go in never come back out."

She was actually fond of all her previous squads and sipped her tea as she defended again calmly, "I'd call it eccentric to the non-fanatics of science."

Shunsui gave her a lazy stare before lecturing, "Either way, you need stability in your life and you can strengthen your skills here instead of gallivanting elsewhere. If it were any other person, I'd tell them to enjoy the party of life but you're not."

Proudly, he gave her a one-armed hug from his seat and told her, "You'd be following in your dear uncle's footsteps in becoming lieutenant."

Ruka stared blankly at him and flatly cheered, "Great."

After the day with her family, Ruka was tired and still had to greet other friends' tomorrow. She lay on the grass outside the building she shared with the other twenty seated officers in squad seven and blankly stared at the darkened sky. She was stuck there now, like a fly in a spider's web ready to die. . .except in this case, the spider was handing her a promotion certificate. Her lips uttered a long sigh as she rejected the foolish idea and the wanderlust tickled her brain. It wasn't her fault; her uncle had let her roam free during her early years calling it 'teenage independence'. Heck, she'd been through three divisions before sticking to seventh. She enjoyed keeping up with both the Soul Society's and the living world's advances in science. Plus, she got to travel and visit the world of the living for more experience. Well, that and souvenirs.

Now I'll be traveling between barracks of a new squad, she thought sarcastically. That's a great adventure just waiting to happen!

She heard a soft yip and turned her head to spot her captain's dog, Goro, jumping ecstatically over the blades of grass. Turning onto her stomach, she called out to him and cuddled the mutt happily as he licked her face with his wet pink tongue. She ran her fingers through his shiny brown coat as his paws danced over the ground to run off and call his master. Her blue eyes watched the dog reappear over the small mound and grabbed the happy canine into her arms to coo at him.

The captain's voice spoke above her gently, "It seems Goro's not the only one who's missed you."

Ruka let the dog go to let him roam free on the field and sat up to bring up her knees to her chin. Even after numerous decades at his side, his reiatsu levels were barely detectable. She wrapped her arms around her knees as she peered up at him and softly said, "If you think this is right for me. . .then I will take the position. But I can't promise I will behave as friendly as I have here with them."

"Divisions always change and people change as well" he pointed out wisely and she fought the urge to cry. He sat down next to her, knowing the woman would cling to him rather than leave the division voluntarily. She had grown up as one of his charges and it stung to know she would be off in a separate sector but it was a part of life all must eventually take. Her arms wrapped around one of his own as he told her, "The Soul Society is stabilizing and with you in the picture, only one position will remain open meaning we are uniting again. Captain-Commander Yamamoto has also set new rules to bond our divisions further instead of leaving them lax of communication before the incident with Aizen."

Stupid point Dexter, she thought frigidly.

She nodded in agreement to his words and shook her head to snort, "Trust me, whoever becomes captain of that squad will be under a strict thumb- a thumb that can torch you into itty bitty dust. I love that about the Captain-Commander." She paused for a moment before asking gingerly, "You think I'll fit in with Captain Hisagi's squad? They don't know how weird I can get and I can slip out of it here. Remember that time I exploded green goo over the new squadron barracks? You let it go but Hisagi could execute me if I do it."

He squeezed her shoulder and assured with a hearty chuckle, "You'll do fine."

"But you won't be there like always" she said sadly and glanced at the sky, hating that tomorrow would bring on a horrible day.

(Flashback)

Ruka stumbled into the battlefield nervously, unknown to what frenzied combat would be like. She'd never had an assignment with her captain to the world of the living and had been used to working in inside environments in the SRDI. Her uncle decided to let her settle in his squad once she had graduated but she'd left to not make others think she had gotten her position due to her family connections. The twelfth division had been fun as she fiddled to create things but once Kurotsuchi took over, he changed and so did the division. Plus, there had been other topics there she wasn't about to discuss publicly. With the thirteenth, she didn't do much but had always helped the captain on his sick days. In this new division, she couldn't do either and had been put into battle instead.

What do I do?, she thought nervously as she unsheathed her zanpakutō. I have to analyze the enemy and attack the weak spots to-

A roar sounded off to her right and her eyes widened to the humongous Hollow standing before her. How was she supposed to find a weakness in that? It was the size of a building! She'd only fought creatures a third of that size! Her mouth dried up as her small hands rattled on her zanpakutō hilt which made her synchronization with it fade in and out. Sucking down her terrible fear, she called out a kido spell and saw that it only served to grab the Hollow's attention and she called out for backup.

"Hado #31: Shakkaho!"

Her attacks were feeble against it and she dodged when its large clawed hand shot down to grab her. She scrambled against one of the building walls, using her shunpo techniques, and watched it slam the ground angrily. It let out a shriek and just as its black eyes connected with her own, she saw a large sword held in a hovering hand cut through the Hollow's neck with ease. The next second, the body fell onto the ground to fade away and she spotted her captain quickly by his large helmet. She stood up shakily and ran up to her captain in gratitude while he sheathed his zanpakutō.

"Was this your first battle?" he asked her and she nodded nervously, gulping as her body tensed to his immense spirit pressure.

She stammered slightly before clearing her voice, "I haven't been in the world of living before and I'm not a good swordsman. It took me a while to release my zanpakutō during the Academy; he's grouchy sometimes."

"It was a rather large Hollow for one your size, you're still inexperienced" he pointed out and patted her head to assure her she'd be fine under his watch. Sympathizing with the scared shinigami, he spoke, "I'll have one of the seated members begin strengthening your swordsmanship."

She smiled appreciatively and stared in awe as her masked captain walked away to rejoin the rest of their group. She sheathed her zanpakutō and ran after him to not be left behind.

(End flashback)

"How did I even graduate? I couldn't fight right!" Ruka chastised herself as she laughed and scratched Goro's ears. She could only hope that the standards for graduation at the Academy had risen since then. Proudly, she raised her chin and stated, "I can now say that I bring no shame to your squad with my swordsmanship."

"That's why it's time for you to move up again" her captain pointed out and she bit her lip worriedly. She wasn't as sure of herself as he was and poked the earth beneath with her fingers to dodge it. Firmly, he told her, "I will need your answer by tomorrow."

Her eyelids lowered to shade her eyes and somberly, she asked, "Tomorrow? But that means I'll be leaving sooner than I thought."

"The divisions need stability, Ruka" Sajin advised calmly and stroked his pet's furry head as he jumped onto his legs to yip. "Captain Abarai eased Lieutenant Kira's responsibilities and you will lessen Captain Hisagi's."

She nodded quietly despite her inner thoughts and whispered, "Then for the Seireitei's ongoing protection, I will take the position. There is no need to wait for tomorrow."

Shinigami Extras:

Ruka popped inside Iba's office as he worked on his paperwork to place a sunglass case in front of him and popped it open. With a Cheshire grin, she spoke cheerfully, "Look, aren't they the cutest thing? They'll match your tattoo!"

Iba glared at the black sunglasses that held a tiny smiling white cat on each of the rims. His eyebrow twitched in repulsion to the monstrosity and Ruka then proceeded to pop out another pair to go along with the first.

"And if you lose it, here's a backup pair!"

"RUKA!"

A/N: All right, there's a first chapter and this is my first Bleach fic so I hope it came out all right. I tried to make Ruka as non-Mary Sue as possible: a regular shinigami, can be kooky, normal abilities as others in her position, and hangs out with the less popular crowds you see in the manga/anime. Then you have your character development but that's for later. Plus, I just love Captain Kyōraku and his pals and had to add them in. I know her name is spelled similar to Rukia's but that's the only name I actually liked after sorting through 500 Japanese names. I have other OC's for the ninth division to think of since the only canon one I know of is Hisagi.