Pairings: Ichigo x Rukia, Renji x Rukia, Hisagi/Kira, Hisagi x Hinamori, Hitsugaya x Hinamori, and slight Hisagi x Matsumoto
Rating: M
Warnings: There is also slight OOC, language, some sexual content, and talk of suicide. Not to mention any errors that I may have left.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, Tite Kubo does.

"So once we get there, you're telling me that everything's going to be different?" Ichigo asked as he looked over at Rukia.

Rukia looked at the humans that were standing behind her, none of them had changed, all of them standing before her in the same fashion that she had remembered them. The memories came back as she looked at the four of them, remembering the time where she was stationed here, the time when they had broken into the Soul Society, saving her from execution, the time where the three captains had betrayed them. All of the memories rushed to her as she tried to lock them away.

She was happy now. She knew she was happy. She had finally found love in a man who she had thought had given up on her. As she looked at Ichigo, she knew that there was nothing there. She didn't have feelings for him. But the deeper she looked at him, the more the memories came back to her, the memories of the former 13th Division lieutenant. She closed her eyes as she thought about Renji, thinking about how deeply he felt about her. He was everything that she needed. He was everything that she wanted.

"More or less," she answered as she looked forward.

"Is it better or worse?" Ishida asked, concerned about the state of the Soul Society. "You make it sound like it's a savage land that we won't recognize…"

"You won't…everything that you knew, everything that you held dear is now all changed," she looked over at the Quincy, watching his eyes grow wide. "Don't fret, Ishida, it's not a war zone."

"You make it sound like the Apocalypse," Chad breathed.

"It's not…" Rukia answered, her voice quiet. "It's just different…"

Orihime took a deep breath. "What about Ichimaru Gin and Tousen Kaname? Are they still at large?"

Rukia took a deep breath as she thought back to the day when the two of them helped them to defeat Aizen. The pain that was apparent in the two captain's actions. The look of betrayal that was upon Ichimaru's face as Aizen dumped him. She remembered the last sword fight that occurred between the two of them before Aizen's apparent death. She remembered the pain that rolled through Tousen as he came to the battle, Hisagi Shuuhei's blood fresh and warm on his sword. The description that Renji had given her hours later was still within her mind as he tried to imagine what the execution of Aizen was like. Both Tousen and Ichimaru had nothing to do with that man anymore.

"No," she breathed as she looked forward.

"So you got them?" Ishida asked.

"Kind of…"

She remembered the last day that the two men were there, the last moments of their existence in the Soul Society. The sorrow within them was still on her skin as she felt their loss. The two men had run off into the distance together, not to be seen for months. She looked forward as she knew that wasn't the last that she was going to see of the two of them.

"We're going?" Ichigo asked. "You said that this world was different. I want to see what you've done to that place… besides I have a bone to pick with Renji…"

Rukia looked forward as the gate opened, the five of them walking forward, everything that they knew, everything that they held dear, was about to be torn asunder as they saw the new Soul Society.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"I know you're excited to get out of here," Renji breathed as he watched Hisagi stare into the night sky. "God knows that you've become nothing but a suicidal wreck in the last week…"

Hisagi took a deep breath as he looked back at the younger captain. "Abarai, I want you to know that what happens in Hueco Mundo is going to stay in Hueco Mundo. You tell anyone about what you saw me try to do and I will massacre you…"

Renji rolled his eyes. "You had a sword pointed at your chest, Hisagi-san…"

Hisagi moved closer to him. "You will not tell anyone what happened. You will not tell them about Aizen. Understand?"

Renji stared wide-eyed. "Are you alright? Why are you so tense?"

Hisagi closed his eyes as he remembered that burning body, the eyes looking up at him as the kidou burned away at it. His heart stopped as he remembered those words. No matter what he did, he was unable to shake that man's presence off of him. He took a deep breath as he could still taste his blood on his tongue, his stomach churning as he remembered the sensation.

"Are you going to be sick?" Renji asked, staring at Hisagi's paling complexion. "You look awful…"

Hisagi looked out into the night sky. "I don't know…"

"You want to hold off going back another day?" Renji asked. "I mean, we have ten hours left, we can make it twenty-four…"

"No," Hisagi breathed, his voice thick with fear. "We're going back right now?"

"Right now? I don't think we're allowed to go back that early?" Renji asked.

"I'm the one who opens garganta. I'm the one who will decide when we go back. We need to leave now," he closed his eyes as felt another wave of pain going through his chest, the urge to vomit filling his body. "I can't be here anymore…"

Renji moved to put a hand on his shoulder. "Hisagi-san! Are you sure you're alright?"

Hisagi looked into the sand and stars, his body feeling heavy as he wondered if Aizen was still watching him, waiting for the moment to steal what was his. He swallowed hard as he could feel those eyes on him. He shuddered as could feel those hands getting closer to him, those toxic words in his ear. At that moment, Hisagi knew that Hisagi was in pain.

Renji then stood up. "We're leaving now… I'll inform everyone. You just stay here and try to get a hold on yourself."

Hisagi looked down into the sand as he closed his eyes tightly, sweat forming on his body as another wave of pain went through his body. His body tensed as he ran his hand through the sand as his muscles shook. He couldn't live here anymore; he couldn't handle the pressure that Aizen had put on him. He was very much alive, and he was out for his head, or rather, his heart.

"I have to get out of here," he breathed as he looked up at the moon, his eyes sparkling with tears of pain. "I can't live like this…" he felt another wave of pain that almost pinned him to the ground. "I have to get out of here…" he grasped the necklace around his neck as he looked deeper at the moon. "Rangiku-san…"

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Shuuhei's coming back today," Matsumoto breathed as she looked over at her captain. "You can at least pretend to be excited…"

Hitsugaya scoffed. "Excited? Without him here we actually get crap done…"

"You're just saying that because you don't want him to come back and sweep Hinamori off of her feet…" Matsumoto smiled as he pressed her hands to the desk. "I know you, taichou, you're jealous of Hisagi Shuuhei?"

"I'm not jealous…" he scoffed yet again, Matsumoto smiling wider.

"Oh sure, sure, I mean, who could be jealous of him, right?" she turned and walked away from the desk. "He's only taller, more muscular, older, prettier, and sweeter than you. I don't know how in God's Kingdom, you could be jealous of him…"

Hitsugaya looked up at her. "Then why don't you sleep with him if he's so amazing at everything?"

"You know I can't sleep with him, taichou. You know that," she looked out the window. "It's weird how thing have changed for him. He left when he was with Hinamori, and now when he comes back she's going to be gone away from him."

"She wasn't happy…" Hitsugaya still looked down at his work.

"And now there's Kira," she took a deep breath. "I think it's for the better this way… I think that Kira's in love with him…" she watched as he captain looked up at her. "I seriously think that he's in love with him."

"How do you know this?"

"He told me…" Matsumoto breathed as she looked at her captain. "Why?"

"Is Hisagi in love with Kira?" the captain asked.

"I don't know… maybe…" Matsumoto was confused. "Why do you ask? What are you trying to do?"

Hitsugaya stood up and looked out the window. "If Kira loves Hisagi and Hisagi were to love Kira, then Hinamori would no longer feel indebted to him. She could free herself of the chains that she has wrapped around her body. She could finally free herself from her suffering."

Matsumoto sighed as she looked at the floor. "Taichou…"

She knew that the world that both Hisagi and Renji knew was torn apart. They were going to come back to a world that was completely alien, and she knew that the change was going to destroy Hisagi. She closed her eyes as she hoped that Kira could be his saving grace. She hoped that Kira could save him from the sorrow. There was no other way to rescue him.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Ichigo walked through the gate, his eyes wide as he looked around at the world that was before him. This was nothing like the world that he had once known. The agony was apparent even in the atmosphere. He looked to the left and then to the right as he could smell the bloodshed that had occurred. The sky was darker than he remembered; the scenery was quieter than he remembered. He closed his eyes as he tried to block it all out, trying his hardest to think of what used to be. Desperately he wanted to go back to then, back to the innocence.

He looked up and saw the captain that was standing before him, a familiar face. He watched as Kuchiki Byakuya stood before him with a sorrowful look on his face. Underneath his eyes were dark circles, his skin looking even paler than usual. He looked worn out, tired, broken. He looked deeper into the captain's eyes as he knew this was not the man that he had remembered.

"Byakuya?" Ichigo asked as he walked closer to the captain. "What the hell happened to you?"

Kuchiki looked up, a small smile on his face. "Kurosaki Ichigo," he breathed, his voice almost quiet.

Ichigo looked to Kuchiki's side as he saw someone he never thought he would see in his presence. There stood Ayasegawa Yumichika, the man looking at his captain with sad eyes as he heard the brokenness that was in his voice. He didn't look all that much better; he looked worn out, broken, dead. The two of them looked like they had been dragged into the pits of hell and then they were regurgitated to stand before them.

"What are you doing here, Yumichika?" Ichigo asked.

Kuchiki took a deep breath. "He's my lieutenant now, Ichigo…"

Ichigo shook his head. "But Renji… you fired Renji?"

Kuchiki looked over at Rukia. "What did you tell him I did to Renji, Rukia?"

Rukia looked at Ichigo. "Ichigo, Renji was promoted to captain of the 13th Division, Ayasegawa is now the lieutenant of the 6th Division… and I'm the lieutenant of the 13th Division…"

Ichigo shook his head. "You're a lieutenant? Renji's a captain? What the hell?" he looked over at Kuchiki. "Well at least Aizen didn't get his hands on Byakuya…"

Kuchiki flinched as those words, closing his eyes. "At least you can be thankful for that…" he looked over at Rukia. "You're mission is accomplished, you may now proceed to the captain commander now…" he turned to walk forward.

Ichigo looked over at Yumichika. "What about the 11th Division?"

"I was kicked out…" Yumichika answered as he looked into Ichigo's eyes. "When I was let go, Kuchiki-taichou was kind enough to take me in. He told me that I had something that he always wanted in the 6th Division. I guess he thought that I was comparable to Renji since we spent a lot of time together in the 11th Division."

Ichigo walked alongside the lieutenant. "And why am I here?"

"I can't spoil the surprise…"

0o0o0o0o0o0

Hisagi walked through garganta as he looked around the field in the Soul Society. He took a deep breath as the pain as finally stopped within his chest. The innocence that he had once loved was filling his body again. He closed his eyes as the breeze rolled across his face, his body tensing as he felt Renji's hand on his shoulder.

"Beautiful isn't it?" he asked as he looked to the sky. "No more eternal night, finally some sun…"

Hisagi took a deep breath. "I need to get to the 3rd Division…" he looked across the blowing grass of the field. "I've waited so long, almost too long to come back here for him…"

"So Kira is the one that you choose…" Renji smirked.

"Of course he is…" Hisagi swallowed hard. "I love him…"

Renji froze in place as he heard those words. "You're what? In love?" a smile formed on his lips as he looked at the other captain. "You're in love with him," he chuckled. "Holy shit…"

"I feel like an idiot…"

"Idiot? You're in love with him, Hisagi-san…" Renji pulled his hand away from his shoulder. "There's nothing idiotic about it. If you want to know what's idiotic… try being madly in love with someone and for fifty years trying to convince yourself that they still could have feelings for you. That's idiotic, but if that can end in love, then yours can too…"

Hisagi walked through the field, the small number of men left following them. He looked down at the buildings of the Soul Society knowing that this was the moment of his rebirth. After months of thinking, after months of debating, he had finally found out the man that he wanted to be. He walked deeper into the Soul Society as he knew that everything had changed, even him.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Ichigo looked around as they walked into the 1st Division; everything seemed to be calmer in this particular building. He looked around as he watched Kuchiki walk through the door into the room where the soutaichou was. Expecting to see Yamamoto, Ichigo was taken aback as he looked at who was sitting at the desk in the middle of the room. It was not Yamamoto.

"Ukitake-soutaichou…" Kuchiki announced as he walked deeper into the room to stand behind Ukitake who was sitting at the desk.

Ukitake looked different than how he had remembered him. He remembered him being pale; he remembers his dark eyes looking tired, almost lifeless. Yet as he looked at him now he saw color in his skin, his eyes looking lively, robust, this was not the man that he had remembered. Ichigo took a deep breath as the man stood up.

"Kurosaki Ichigo-kun," he smiled as he looked at the human. "I'm so glad that you've arrived…" he looked over Ichigo's shoulder. "You've even brought your friends…"

"Forgive me, Ukiake-soutaichou…" Rukia bowed in his presence. "It was the only way that he would come here with me…"

"I'm not angry…" he looked over his shoulder at Kuchiki. "Byakuya… have you told him why he's here?"

Kuchiki shook his head, Ichigo raising an eyebrow. "I have not…"

Ukitake sighed as he looked at the humans' confusion. "You probably have a lot of questions…"

"What happened to Yamamoto-soutaichou?" Orihime asked.

"Is Aizen really not dead?" Ishida asked.

"Why did you need Ichigo to come here?" Chad asked.

"And why the hell is Kuchiki listening to you like he's your freaking lapdog?" Ichigo pointed at the 6th Division captain.

Ukitake was now ready to answer questions. "Genryuusei-dono was murdered by Aizen. On that night, we suffered many loses… no… in that time frame we suffered many loses. Before that night, Kuchiki here was stabbed through the lung, put into a coma for weeks. Kyouraku Shunsui was also attacked only weeks after," he took a deep breath. "But that night, Aizen was able to kill Genryuusei-dono, Sasakibe-fukutaichou, and he almost killed me as well…"

"But you survived?" Ishida asked. "If it could kill the previous captain commander, why were you saved?"

"When Yamamoto-soutaichou was poisoned, he was then brutally torn asunder by Aizen's sword," Ukitake closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, Ichigo's body freezing. "I was cured by Tousen Kaname and Ichimaru Gin…"

"They betrayed Aizen?" Ichigo asked.

"Ichimaru Gin was cast aside by Aizen," Kuchiki looked at the human, his eyes filled with sorrow. "He is the only reason that the damage that Aizen caused was so minimal…" he looked down at Ukitake. "He's the only reason that Ukitake-soutaichou is still alive now… and then there was Tousen…"

"How did you get him on your side?" Orihime was curious.

"Hisagi Shuuhei…" Ukitake breathed. "He was stabbed through the chest with Tousen's sword… that moment was the moment that turned his life around. He realized that the path that he thought was the safest for his lieutenant was the complete opposite. It took him shedding blood that he had cared deeply about to turn him back to our side…"

"As for Aizen, he was stabbed by Ichimaru…" Kuchiki shook his head. "But we're not completely sure that act really finished him off, or if it was just an act. Aizen was always a step ahead of us… he might have had a plan, knowing that Ichimaru would betray him…"

"So you're not sure if he's dead?" Ishida asked, his voice thick with frustration. "This is a man who killed the captain commander, you think it's wise to just sit here and wait for another attack."

"We're not sitting and waiting, Quincy," Kuchiki hissed as he looked straight at Ishida. "You try fighting something that you can't see. He's been missing for months, we've been searching for any remains, but the team from Hueco Mundo hasn't returned yet, we don't expect them for another few hours."

Ichigo chuckled. "And you brought me here to solve your problem…"

Ukitake raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Why else would you bring me here?" Ichigo saw a smile roll across Kuchiki face as he tried to hold back laughter.

"You're not here to be a savior, Kurosaki," Kuchiki breath, his voice full of belittlement. "You're here to be a lieutenant…"

Ichigo froze right then and there as he heard those words, his body freezing as he looked into Kuchiki's eyes. "Lieutenant?"

"Of the 9th Division…" Ukitake announced as he looked at the shocked expression on Ichigo's face.

"Does that mean that Hisagi Shuuhei…" Ishida's words trailed off as he couldn't finish his sentence. "That night you said he was stabbed. Did Tousen…?"

Ukitake shook his head. "No, Hisagi-kun is very much alive…" he looked at the Quincy and then at Ichigo. "He's going to be your captain, Kurosaki-kun…"

Ichigo closed his eyes tightly as he thought about the whole situation. "When do I become a lieutenant…?"

"Tonight…" Ukitake breathed as he sat back down. "You are now dismissed. Hisagi-taichou will explain more once you two are together. Good work Kuchiki-fukutaichou…"

As Ichigo was about to leave, he heard a voice call out to him. "And I'm not his lapdog, Kurosaki," Kuchiki walked closer to him. "I'm the next soutaichou… if anything were to happen to Ukitake, I'm going to take his place…"

Ichigo shook his head as he walked out of the room, looking at Rukia as she walked deeper into the hallway. A smile rolled across his face as he knew that the two of them were finally together again, all of the sorrow and emptiness that he had felt was now all disappearing before him. He knew that he was finally whole again, now that he was with her.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Hisagi walked into the 9th Division office, taking a deep breath as he moved closer to the desk. All of the pain that he had been through was starting to disappear as he moved toward the desk, his breath catching in his throat. He closed his eyes tightly as he looked down at his hands, seeing the scar that was on his wrist where he had been bitten by the beasts. He closed his eyes as he moved closer to the desk, looking at the drawers.

He dug through them and found a pair of fingerless black gloves, he couldn't show any sign of being bitten by those beasts, the only one who knew was Renji, he wanted to keep it that way. He slid the gloves on his hands, the glove running half way up his forearm, covering the marks that were along his arms.

"I can't show any weak points," he closed his eyes tightly as he dropped Kyouka Suigetsu to the ground, looking at the paperwork that was on the desk. "Well… looks like it back to work now…"

He closed his eyes as he looked down at the desk, hearing footsteps coming toward the door. As the door opened he saw the face of a man that he never thought he'd see in the Soul Society ever again. He fell against the desk as their eyes met.

"Kurosaki Ichigo?" he asked as he looked at the boy. "What are you doing here?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "You're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be in Hueco Mundo…"

"Well you're supposed to be in the world of the living, so I guess we're both somewhere we're not supposed to be…" Hisagi moved to sit at the desk. "What brings you to the 9th Division?"

Ichigo took a deep breath as he looked at his captain. "I'm your new lieutenant…"

"Lieutenant?" he laughed as he looked down at the paperwork. "So they finally realized that I'm going out of my mind with work…" he looked up at Ichigo. "So… are you ready to be a lieutenant?"

"I heard it's tough… that's what Rukia told me…" Ichigo looked directly at the scar that was on Hisagi's chest.

"It's not that tough," Hisagi breathed as he looked down at the paperwork. "You're in the right division if you don't want someone to breathe down your neck the whole time. I've managed this division by myself ever since Tousen left; you're here for support…"

"Support?" Ichigo asked, his eyes still on the scar, Hisagi not wasting any time avoiding the subject.

"I was stabbed through the chest by my former captain, it severely damaged my heart… actually more like it was destroyed…" he took a deep breath as he looked up at Ichigo. "I was then given a new heart… which is why the tension is so high in the Soul Society…"

Ichigo shook his head. "How could a heart transplant cause so much hysteria…?"

"It wasn't the fact that I've been given a heart transplant…" he looked up into the lieutenant's eyes. "It's the fact that I was given Aizen Sousuke's heart…" he could feel the shock that was on Ichigo's face. "It's given me tremendous ability. Sixty percent of his power was given to me, which included control over Kyouka Suigetsu…"

"You can use Kyouka Suigetsu?"

"I am a master of Kyouka Suigetsu: shikai, bankai, I can do it all… and due to my new reiatsu, the bankai of my original zanpakutou was easy to obtain," he looked up at Ichigo. "So you see, I'm the reason why everyone thinks Aizen is still alive. I'm the reason that this hysteria is still occurring…"

Ichigo scoffed. "And that's supposed me make me hate you?"

"It worked for everyone else," Hisagi breathed as he ran his fingers along the necklace that was around his neck. "Yet you're not everyone else, are you…" a smile rolled across his face as he looked at the human. "I think that I'm going to like you…"

Ichigo nodded. "I hope you do…"

Hisagi looked out the window into the outside world as he knew that life was already turning around for him. For once in his life, he knew that Aizen was wrong. He was something without him. That was a dream that he wished would not be broken before his eyes.

This chapter was to more of a recap for Ichigo to understand what is going on in the Soul Society (i know pretty boring for you) but I didn't want one of those "BAM! Ichigo knows everything even though nobody told him what was going on!" moments. And the chapters after this will be a lot more interesting as we have the return of the dreaded Kira/Hisagi/Hinamori love triangle.

The next chapter is going to have the first appearance of the Renji/Rukia/Ichigo love triangle, as well as have Orihime meet Ichigo's captain (and it's not going to be pretty.)

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