Sunset in Heaven

Chapter 18

Ichigo blinked as he looked up from his table, eyeing the raven-haired noble who was currently standing before him.

Byakuya's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "I said, meet me at the outskirt of Rukongai 78th tomorrow at 4 in the afternoon." After that, he quietly left the office with a swish of his hair and scarf as if he was the one bothered.

Ichigo continued to blink stupidly even after the noble was long gone, unable to form any coherent thoughts about the bizarre event that just occurred before him. What the hell was that? Byakuya suddenly came to his office in the 13th Division and then said those words without any explanation or invitation! Wasn't that just too annoying? Surely Byakuya knew how to ask if the teen had something else to do tomorrow?

He sighed. Knowing Byakuya, there was no way it was some form of subtle bullying. The man wouldn't be so subtle about that. Maybe it was a mission? Then why wasn't he informed directly through a Hell Butterfly? He raked his hair in exasperation and lack of proper explanation.

"Oh." He looked up when he heard the voice and saw Rukia with her arms on her chest. "Are you theorizing about the pedagogy of saving the world?" Ichigo arched an eyebrow at her and Rukia sighed. "I meant you're thinking really deeply and your eyebrows were all creased added to the scowl on your face."

Ichigo scowled for real. Yes, earlier was just his normal facial expression. "And? What do you want, midget?"

"Don't call me that!" Rukia exclaimed. She marched through the room and dropped the stack of papers on her Taichou's desk with quite a force. Ichigo merely shrugged. "And? What's bothering you?" She asked when she calmed down a bit.

"Nothing, really." The orange-haired teen stretched before he started looking at the papers that Rukia brought.

"And why was nii-sama here, by the way?" Rukia asked, curiosity written all over her face. Byakuya rarely visited the 13th Squad Barracks when Juushirou was still the Taichou and now that the white-haired man was no longer alive, the raven noble never visited the place anymore. Well, he did visit once but it was only the night when everyone held a party for Ichigo when the latter became a Taichou.

"Just talking about something." The young Taichou answered with a shrug. Something he didn't quite understand at all.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Byakuya kept on pacing to and fro his room as he waited for the time. He didn't know if he was feeling excited or nervous or both. And why? He didn't know. All he knew was the fact that at 4 in the afternoon he and Ichigo would be sparring.

He sighed as he willed himself to just sit in a seiza and watch his garden. He knew he didn't give Ichigo much of a chance to even say anything. But he thought it would be bad if the teen had the chance to either mock him or, worse, refuse. He knew it was a very selfish thing to do, especially since the Taichou looked really busy with all the new recruits that he had decided to have.

'Master, calm down.' Sebonzakura voiced in his mind.

"I am calm." He voiced coolly and he somehow knew his zanpakutou raised an eyebrow at his answer. "Why do you want me to spar with someone anyway?"

'It will help you realize a very important fact.' His zanpakutou simply said, inwardly smiling.

When the time came, Byakuya headed straight to Rukongai 78th. He arrived at the clearing where Ichigo and the others often sparred. How he knew of that fact, no one would know, except perhaps Senbonzakura.

Ichigo finished his paperwork quite early and headed straight to where Byakuya said they would meet. He initially thought that they would have a mission at the place. But Ichigo knew that Renji and Kenpachi, and sometimes Shinji too, sparred at that place so there's no way something unusual would occur there. Maybe it was a different kind of mission from exterminating Hollows?