Raised Reaper

Prelude to Death

Ichigo sat in his quarters against the wall. His desk and bedding were untouched. He couldn't sleep; not tonight. Tomorrow was the big day, and his nerves were on edge. Tomorrow was Rukia's execution. Ichigo drifted into his thoughts since sleep would not come. He remembered graduating from the Soul Reaper Academy, not managing to match his cousin's record of two years, but doing a good job by completing his studies in four. He was brought into Squad Eleven first, but that didn't last long. He had wondered what it would be like to serve under his father in Squad Ten, but that wasn't likely to ever happen. His dad didn't want toruin his possibilities by starting rumors that he'd been favored. Nothing could have surprised him more than Captain Ukitake approaching him and suggesting he transfer into Squad Thirteen. Ichigo smiled at the thought. He could still clearly remember hisfather's words of encouragement.

"Well what do you have to lose?" he'd asked, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"But, that's the squad Kaien was in."

"So?" his father responded. "Captain Ukitake asked you himself right? What could possibly go wrong?"

"It's just...what if I'm not good enough? I mean Kaien was his assistant. What if I'm not as good as he thinks I am?" His father had punched him in the face, which had lead to a good amount of shouting until Rangiku had scolded them both for being children and told them to knock it off.

"Quit wallowing and grow up. Either take the offer or refuse it if you're really that concerned, but I don't think Captain Ukitake picked you because of your cousin. I think he picked you because he wants you in his squad." Ichigo had been very surprised by this statement and he remembered his eyes wandering over to Toshiro. The Third Seat of Squad Ten nodded his agreement. Ichigo had spent the rest of the night making his decision and returned in the morning.

"You're right dad. I've decided to join Squad Thirteen." Isshin had smiled broadly.

"That's my boy!"

"Congratulations Ichigo," Rangiku added.

"Best of luck, Mr. Shiba," Toshiro said.

"Thanks." Ichigo said. He went right to Captain Ukitake and could still remember the warm smile he'd received after he announced his acceptance of the transfer.

"I'm very glad to have you,"Captain Ukitake had said. Ichigo was excited and for the most part the squad seemed to accept him. Of course he wasn't sure if it was tied to him being part of the Shiba family or not. Still he tried not to think too much about it. But there was one soul reaper who stood out from the others; Rukia Kuchiki. She had been cold or extremely formal with him since day one. At first he hadn't known how to take it. She was also from a noble family so he had thought maybe they could get along, but then again she was from the Kuchiki family and if Captain Kuchiki was any indication he'd have better luck warming an iceberg. Eventually her coldness had melted little by little. He was rapidly climbing the ranks and was extremely hesitant when Captain Ukitake offered him the Assistant Captain position.

"I'm sorry sir, but I can't accept it. I'm no where near as good as Kaien was. I could never take his place." Captain Ukitake smiled with a warm, but sad expression and met Ichigo's eyes.

"I'm not offering you the position out of respect for your family, Ichigo. I'm offering it to you because you deserve it. Part of the reason why I requested your transfer from Squad Eleven is because I could see that you would never reach your full potential there. You needed a different environment, and as much as you might have reservations about Squad Thirteen, I needed an Assistant Captain. I wanted to give you the chance, and you've more than proven yourself. You can do this." Ichigo could feel his expression of surprise, but he also felt the warmth of knowing that Captain Ukitake believed in him. He accepted and raced over to the Squad Ten barracks to tell his father right away.

"Ha, ha! That's my boy!" Isshin said. Rangiku clapped delightedly.

"Congratulations Lieutenant Shiba,"Toshiro said.

"Must you be so formal?" Ichigo asked. Really it was just starting to hit him how things would change after this.

"Yes," Toshiro responded. Ichigo frowned, but didn't say anything further. Instead he enjoyed the praise from his father. But later he had stared at his reflection in the mirror in his room and wondered what he had just signed up for. Everyone had told him since he was a child that he looked exactly like his cousin Kaien. He stared at the mirror, at his black hair and brown eyes. He had seen pictures of his cousin and he agreed they did look alike, almost twin levels of alike. Did it mean anything? Was it just a coincidence?

Growing into the position of Assistant Captain had taken time and a lot of getting used to. Even now he couldn't think of himself as the Assistant Captain. Every time he heard 'Lieutenant Shiba,' he thought of his cousin. He did notice and was grateful that Captain Ukitake referred to him as 'Ichigo,'instead of by his title. Ichigo didn't know if that was intentional or not, but it helped him get the feeling that Captain Ukitake saw him as a person.

All of them had been confused when Rukia disappeared in the world of the living. They hadn't known what was going on, or what had become of her, but with her standing as a member of the Kuchiki family, they were of course concerned. That was until the report came in that Rukia had broken the law and abandoned her post in Karakura. At first Ichigo couldn't believe that she would be dumb enough to do such a thing, there had to be an explanation. Surely if she was willing to risk crossing the law and facing the consequences then the situation must have been dire.

Either way, he knew what the right thing to do was. Rukia was part of his squad in his mind, as well as that of his captain, and she hadn't done anything deserving of death. Because of that, they were going to defy this execution. As if his thoughts had triggered some insane series of events, he heard footsteps outside of his room. They stopped at the door and it slowly slid open, as if the person on the other side was trying to avoid waking him.