Some things never failed to surprise him about Kuchiki. Here Kaien was expecting to be waiting for another good hour or two in an uncomfortable silence with Ichigo and then here she comes! Not only that but with two others: a blonde human and a... pig? They all seemed to be well acquainted and friendly though the blonde did seem to be easily distracted. How did Rukia find these people? Was it the same way he stumbled upon Ichigo?

Wait. The pig talked. That would have to be something Kaien asked Rukia about later. It'd be poor manners to do so now.

"Hey Kuchiki!" the vice-captain called, walking over to the shorter shinigami. He gave her a resounding slap on the shoulder before asking, "You gonna finally cheer up or what? Did something happen out there while you were heading here or are you in your usual slump? I swear, you must hate coming to see me or something. You always look so down."