Description: The other mew group members come to the Soul Society and get to know the Soul Reapers. Masaya comes along as well, and things get tense when Gin comes in to meet them. Lettuce really starts to hit it off with Izuru as well.

Rating: T

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The blond lieutenant was very tense as the now significantly larger group made its way into the Sereitei. Renji was ready to irritate his captain, all the while the girls would be enjoying their stay in the Soul Society.

Mint clung to Zakuro's arm like a child as they entered the strange world. Ichigo walked cautiously next to Masaya, now realizing what it meant to have him with her. What would Gin think?

Ryou and Keiichiro kept talking amongst themselves about the afterlife and what this means to the world. Purin bounced around the group, curious about everything and cracking jokes about Renji's pineapple looking hair.

Two familiar figures appeared down the long outdoor hall, approaching with friendly expressions on their faces. Ichigo smiled and waved to them, the man in the pink cloak waving back.

"Ukitake Taicho! Kyouraku Taicho! Come meet our friends!"

Ichigo was like a child in a candy store as she excitedly introduced the group to the captains. Ukitake greeted them all as Kyouraku shook their hands, kissing the ladies hands. Keiichiro and Ryou immediately began asking questions as the group mingled.

Ukitake and Keiichiro became enthralled in their own conversation as the rest of the group gossiped amongst themselves. Kyouraku informed Ichigo and Zakuro that the head captain figured that they would bring their friends back with them. The head captain didn't seem to have a problem with it as long as they didn't cause any trouble. As other officers began showing up, word got out quite rapidly that humans were in Soul Society.

Matsumoto was the next on the scene after the two captains, a curious expression painted on her face. The strawberry eyed Keiichiro and Ryou with a small smirk on her lips as she approached. Kyouraku immediately pointed the female lieutenant out to the group,

"Ah, the lovely Rangiku is here to make our acquaintance."

Keiichiro smiled and kissed her hand, making the woman coo in excitement. She and Ryou locked eyes for a few moments as they were introduced. Ryou felt his heart race slightly when the woman shook his hand, a slightly seductive expression on her face.

Mint scoffed and focused on Zakuro and her story about her experiences here. The wolf mew then smiled as someone approached from behind Mint. Renji had said his goodbyes and returned to his barracks, informing Zakuro he would cover for her with their captain.

Mint whirled around to see who was coming that excited her idol so much. There was an enormous man with a wolf head and a shorter man that Mint paid no mind to. The blue haired girl was taken aback, not even noticing the features of the smaller man. Zakuro made her flinch as she brushed passed her, grabbing the huge wolf man's hand and leading him over to Mint.

The bird mew took a shaky breath and forced a polite smile as Zakuro introduced Komamura. Masaya had been talking with Ichigo about what all had happened while she was here, the girl failed to explain the parts about Gin. The silver haired man startled Ichigo when he leaned over her shoulder from behind, interrupting her conversation with Masaya.

"Good to have ya' back Ichigo-chan, who's yer frien'?"

The black haired human had a confused expression on his face as he reached out to shake Gin's hand. This man made Masaya uneasy, something about him was off. This man seemed shady and not trustworthy right off the bat. Gin shook his hand and continued to grin as he stood close to Ichigo. Masaya forced a smile as he introduced himself,

"I'm Masaya Aoyama. You are?"

"Ichimaru Gin."

Gin's response was rather curt, but had a strangely friendly tone to it. Ichigo shifted uncomfortably trying to avoid Masaya's eyes. The human boy was figuring out what Gin was to her quickly because of her actions. Gin's smile faded at Masaya's next request,

"Ichimaru-san, would you mind if I spoke to Ichigo for a couple minutes alone? It's been a long time since I've seen her and wanted to catch up a bit."

The silver haired man nudged Ichigo and smiled at her,

"Sure 'ting, Be good Ichigo-chan~"

Ichigo smiled at Gin as he turned and began talking with Keiichiro and Ukitake. Masaya wasted no time and pulled Ichigo aside by her hand,

"Ao-Aoyama! What is it?"

Ichigo asked forcefully, knowing full well what was wrong with him. His brown eyes narrowed in desperation and hurt as he looked down at her, the two of them standing near a wall. His tone matched his expression all to perfectly,

"Ichigo, who is that guy? Have… have things changed between us?"

The red head felt almost offended at his statement,

"Of course things have changed! I'm… I'm dead! I can't live in Tokyo with all of you anymore, things are very different now…"

Masaya looked as though he didn't understand, he shook his head slightly,

"You wouldn't wait for me?"

A cold hand gripped Ichigo's heart when he said those words. She hadn't though of that even once. Perhaps it was a sign, she didn't think of that, therefore he didn't mean as much to her as she had thought when she was alive. Ichigo slowly shook her head and fought the knot growing in her stomach and throat,

"You want me to wait until you die and come here?"

Masaya reached out and gently laid his hands on her shoulders,

"I would wait for you, and I would do anything to be with you."

This struck a nerve with the girl, she shook his hands off of her as she stepped back,

"No! Don't you ever think of taking your life to come here! You wouldn't even remember us when you came here, regular humans don't remember their past lives when they come here."

His eyes lowered, saddened by her comment,

"So I'm a regular human to you?"

This argument was going no where. Masaya just didn't get it. Things were tense between them as Ichigo shifted back a couple steps, she fought the urge to cry. She had cried enough being here. Dainty hands wiped the forming tears out of the corners of her eyes, she turned and walked away from him. There was nothing she could say to him that could make him understand. It was better to not argue with him. Especially when this was supposed to be a happy occasion.

Komamura was kind to Mint, and answered all of her questions concerning Soul Society. The blue haired girl was particularly adamant about Komamura protecting Zakuro if she needed it. Zakuro ignored it for the most part, but enjoyed seeing her old comrade.

Izuru and Lettuce both were shy, and kept back from the loud banter of the group. The two ended up talking among each other as well, getting along better than they had thought they would.

Zakuro noticed Lettuce hitting it off with Izuru, she also noticed Rangiku flirting with Ryou. It was strange here, things were so different. The wolf mew glanced over at the blue haired mew beside her. The younger mew was talking to Komamura, asking him questions about the after life.

It was so nostalgic to have them here, it almost seemed perfect.

…

That evening, the girls all were having a dinner together. A few other members of the Soul Society decided to come and meet the group as well. Zakuro and Ichigo each sat at the head of the table, talking with those around them. Mint sat to Zakuro's right, keeping close to her idol. Beside Mint was Renji, he sat awkwardly beside Iba, and on the end next to Ichigo was Purin and Masaya. Masaya was on Ichigo's left, and on Ichigo's right was Lettuce, Izuru, Keiichiro, Ryou, and Rangiku. And Rangiku was on Zakuro's left. The table was loud, many conversations were going on at once. The captains were not there because of a captains meeting going on, they planned on coming after the meeting.

Ichigo tried to keep talking with Lettuce, avoiding looking at Masaya. The black haired boy seemed out of place, especially beside such a peppy young blond mew. Iba and Renji joked around with each other, not really involved with the others. Zakuro and Mint were talking about various things that had occurred in the Sereitei. The conversations were about to get far more tense with the new presence that entered the room. The silver haired and tongued captain of squad 3 quietly slid into the room, and startled Ichigo by placing his hands on her shoulders.

The redhead jumped and smiled weakly up at him,

"Oh! You scared me!"

The man's narrow eyes made Masaya uncomfortable, he didn't like not being able to see what someone was looking at. The lean man had his slender hands on Ichigo's small shoulders, his long fingers holding her skin in a sickening way. Masaya felt his stomach twist into a tight knot at the sight of him touching her. What made Ichigo ilke this man so much? He was so much older than her, she would never be with anyone like this if she were back in Tokyo… If she were alive.

Gin slid down next to Ichigo, between Masaya and the mew. The black haired boy shifted away from him slightly, fighting the urge to glare at the man. The young teen turned away from them slightly, but kept his eyes on them. He wasn't usually this aggressive and bitter, but seeing an older man touch his former love was unbearable. The fox like man hung over her like a silver curtain, he was a barrier between Ichigo and Masaya.

Down the table, Rangiku continued to make advances on Ryou. Keiichiro kept cracking jokes about it, but quit as soon as the two captains they had met earlier entered the cafe. Ukitake and Keiichiro immediately became engulfed in their own conversation. Kyouraku planted himself down between Mint and Zakuro, much to the dismay of the bird mew.

"Helloooo~ Ladies! And what stories of the world of the living are you chatting about?"

Mint was irritated with his presence at first, but then saw Zakuro's calm reaction and stifled her aggravation. The wolf mew and Mint engaged in the conversation with the outgoing captain, not noticing the tension on the other end of the table.

Gin was now talking with Izuru, Lettuce, and Ichigo, telling about the experience with Aizen and how glad he was it was all over. Lettuce was shocked to find out about Gin's relationship with Ichigo. Gin didn't come right out and say it, that wasn't his style. He made small hints to how he and Ichigo had grown close, and Lettuce, figured it out quite quickly. The green haired mew was happy for her friend, it was hard to believe she had fallen for someone after death.

Izuru began to feel uncomfortable as Gin kept talking with him about his own experience with the fight with Aizen. The table fell silent when Masaya suddenly stood up, rushing out of the room. The brown eyed teen left the room and walked out into the courtyard behind the small dining area. Ryou scoffed and ignored the mood swing, Keiichiro and Ukitake ignored it as well. Ichigo hesitated to stand, looking over to Gin for permission. The grinning man shrugged and leaned in close to kiss her cheek,

"Go ahead."

He whispered in her ear, then leaning back as she jumped up to follow her ex outside. Izuru felt thrown off by Gin's actions, Ichigo was his now, why let her go comfort her ex?

The blue eyed lieutenant stared over at his captain with a curious expression. Gin nodded to him slightly as Ichigo exited the room. Kyouraku's eyes were on the third division captain, he knew what was going on. Kyouraku was far more intelligent than he lead on to be.

This wasn't going to be good.

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MewMid: I just... keep getting ideas for new chapters. UGH. Shoot me! lol.

If you bothered to read this far, please R and R! :D