Disclaimer: I do not own rights to Bleach or the characters within the Bleach universe.

Without A Hero

Chapter 1: "Eternity"

She stood under her will high atop Soukyoku Hill, the muzzled voices of the members of Soul Society heard from a distance. It was as if she had fell into this nightmarish trance…a trance that she certainly wouldn't be awaking from. Decked in proper execution garments, the guards placed in charge of controlling the Soukyoku stood behind Rukia Kuchiki in a foreboding manor that made the young woman quite uncomfortable. The bindings that held her by her neck felt as if they were choking the life from her empty body. That sense of anticipation, even after coming to terms with the inevitability of death, began to creep up from her bones and sent shivers down her spine. At this point in time, there was nothing that Rukia could do but acknowledge her fate and apologize for her mishaps.

A blinding blue light flashed the morning sky, signifying the beginning of Rukia Kuchiki's high-profile and public execution. While it certainly wasn't an obligation, many of the Captains and Lieutenants took it upon themselves to begin heading towards the execution grounds.

"Rangiku, are you coming to the execution?" questioned Toshiro Hitsugaya.

"Of course, Captain," she answered not long after.

"Then perhaps we should be getting a move on. It is unfortunate what is happening, but it is only right that we go."

Elsewhere, the two loud-mouthed and often obnoxious members of the 13th squad, Kiyone and Sentaro, were looking for their Captain within his quarters. For them, Rukia's execution would be a more personal blow to the morale of the 13th squad as she was once apart of their structure. Captain Jushiro Ukitake made it perfectly clear to his co-lieutenants that he wouldn't allow a fate like this to befall on Rukia and had been diligently working behind closed doors to provide a remedy for this situation after his request for her release was denied.

"Captain? Captain?"

Both Kiyone and Sentaro banged frivolously on the door to Captain Ukitake's room for a solid few minutes before hearing any sort of response. It wasn't loud, but Kiyone was sure he had heard a distinct groaning coming from the Captain's quarters, however it wasn't persistent enough to decipher exactly what was being said.

"What was that, Captain?" exclaimed Kiyone through the surface of the door.

"We still can't hear you, Captain!" Sentaro followed with, attempting to take control of the situation.

"Back off dip-shit, I'll figure out what the fuck the Captain is saying!" interjected Kiyone, fueling another typical fight between the two soul reapers.

"Kiyone, would you just move the fuck away from the door so that we can get the Captain?"

"The execution is almost starting, Rukia is about to die and I'm supposed to trust that a dumb-ass like YOU is going to handle this situation? Fuck no, Captain! Captain!"

In a fit of rage, Kiyone's outstretched arms shot out towards Sentaro's neck and clasped firmly into position as he pounded Sentaro's head into the wooden floor with full force. Blood already beginning to flow from the back of Sentaro's soft scalp, he responded with a neck-clasping of his own…this time driving Kiyone's head through the Captain's doorway. Both bodies flew with such force that the door didn't stand where it was anymore; heck, the door didn't stand ANYWHERE for that matter. Pieces of destroyed matter flew as they both took swings at each-other from atop the battered doorway. Usually the battles weren't this fierce between these two co-lieutenants, but it seemed as though everyone was on edge with the execution set to take place on this day.

Clasping his stomach and lying on his side, Ukitake made as much of an effort as he currently could to stop their fighting. Fortunately, Sentaro hadn't been knocked on conscious yet and he was able to realize that their fighting had knocked the door completely ajar. Quickly hopping to their feet and dusting off their kimonos, the two soul reapers realized that something was up with their Captain. Ukitake dragged himself towards the back wall close to his bed and began coughing up blood, his eyes looking as if he was completely delirious. Meanwhile, both Kiyone and Sentaro were covered in their own blood from the mouth, nose and head. It was quite clear that neither of the three men were feeling all too well at this very moment, but Ukitake looked so ill that it simply couldn't have been ignored.

"Captain…? Are you alright?" both soul reapers said almost simultaneously.

It was widely known that while Ukitake puts on a strong visage, his reoccurring illness always comes back and brings him to reality. Ukitake suffers from Tuberculosis, often resulting in internal bleeding and a feeling of dramatic fatigue. It usually occurred when he put a lot of stress on himself, and that's when it hit them.

"Captain…you shouldn't put so much stress on yourself to save the life of Rukia Kuchiki," said Kiyone. " We don't need to lose both of you…"

Kiyone was cut off with an exasperated sigh escaping the mouth of Captain Ukitake.

"I…I…can't…save her…" mumbled Ukitake through gasps of air.

Both Kiyone and Sentaro rushed to each side of their Captain, urging him not to move despite all his efforts. While Ukitake knew he was terminally ill, his efforts to show others that he wasn't ill would never cease to occur.

"Please, Captain…don't speak. We'll take care of this…"

"No. I failed. I couldn't develop…a…"

It was obvious that their Captain needed to rest, so they hoisted him back into his bed and motioned for him not to argue. Rukia's execution was getting closer and closer and still no solution was to be found within the Seireitei. Rather than attending their comrade's execution as they had previously planned, Kiyone and Sentaro would be left to care for their Captain until his episode passes. The sun seemed to dim as the time went by, as if the mood was changing within the environment itself.

"Release the Sokyoku," shouted Captain Yamamoto, the crowd now fully gathered around the execution grounds.

Another blinding blue light shot through the ropes that held the Sokyoku in place as all of the guards meditated around it. The blue light flickered and sparked as it began the process of releasing after being kept away for so long. Each of the binding ropes lashed out, wrapped around the Sokyoku and then shot out off the cliff as the process went into its next step revealing a large halberd. Three blocks, two binding Rukia's outstretched hands to each side and one binding her feet together began to rise as they raised the woman high atop her grave. In a flash, the Sokyoku released its true form into that of a fiery inferno with the visage of a phoenix.

The image was certainly captivating from all different perspectives…even that of Rukia. Thoughts of her friends raced through her head as she attested for all her sins and just…accepted it. It had been quite some time since Rukia felt the energy presence of Ichigo, Chad, Uryu and Renji…and she certainly had been worried. Gossip hadn't traveled around town about the Ryoka's where-abouts, so it was a complete mystery on whether or not any of them were even still alive. However, Rukia had it set in her heart that they were strong enough to still be alive.

"Ichigo…"

A/N: Alright. So it has been LITERALLY 5 years since I've attempted a fan-fiction story. This chapter is a much-needed recap of the situation going on and the time period it is occurring during the Bleach story-line. While some of it is changed, this chapter wasn't too much of a change. This story will NO DOUBT be changed, so don't get discouraged after reading this chapter.

Look to the next portion of this story being released in a week or two.