Byakuya grimaced as he walked through the cold white-covered world. He hated snow. It was too bothersome and bland for his taste. He preferred spring, when the trees would flourish and the animals would peek their heads from hibernation beds; however, he would never voice this opinion. No one except his beautiful departed Hasana would ever be able to become close enough to get this piece of information out of Byakuya.

He thought carefully about all that had been revealed today...and of his meeting with Lieutenant Seiko. That was a shock. It just seemed too ironic.

Seiko returned not too long after her 'allotted' five minutes had passed, trying to not only obey the Captain's orders, no matter how carefree they were given, but to also check in on his health. Since the attack weeks before, his coughing spells were growing closer and closer together and became longer and more violent. That worried Captain Unohana because the cold of winter was perfect striking time for a more serious, life-threatening attack to happen, and with his health just below par, Seiko was supposed to keep a keen eye out for any impairments in Ukitake's daily routine.

"I'm back!" Seiko called, however it was unnecessary as Kiyone and Sentarou, Captain Ukitake's third seats, had already began chanting her name and announcing her arrival.

"The Lieutenant's back!" Sentarou called, stacking up and stapling the signed papers on Seiko's desk before putting them into a box to be carried to the Head Captain's office later that day.

"It's good to see you, Lieutenant!" Kiyone said happily, doing the same at the Captain's desk.

"No way! I was going to tell the Lieutenant that it was good to see her!" Sentarou retorted, angling his eyes in frustration, preparing to fight Kiyone for the Lieutenant's good graces.

"Well, I did it first!" Kiyone challenged.

"No fair!"

"Yes fair!"

"Enough!" Seiko practically shrieked. She had worked with the pair for quite some time, but she never got used to the way they always bickered about everything, especially if the Captain was around. Ukitake just sat in his chair, smiling with his goofy boyish grin, and watching the scene unfold. "I'm glad you find this funny, Captain, because quite frankly, I find it annoying as hell!" Ukitake just chuckled before standing and making a 'shoo' motion towards Kiyone and Sentarou,

"Okay, guys. That's enough. Give us some space so that I can talk to my Lieutenant alone." A chorus of 'uuuugh's rang from the couple's throats, but they obeyed anyway, leaving the room and shutting the door behind them.

"What do you need to talk to me for? Are you feeling well?" Seiko placed the back of her hand on Captain Ukitake's forehead, "Oh, wow, you do seem a little warm. When was the last time you took your medicine?" Ukitake kindly brushed her hand away and smiled,

"Don't worry, I just took it. It's just a low fever and should go down now that it's in my system. But, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Sieko raised an eyebrow and tucked a piece of curly red hair behind her ear, waiting for him to continue. The captain motioned for Seiko to sit down, and she obliged. "I don't know what it is, but I know your family seal anywhere. If their calling for you, it must be important." Captain Ukitake said, pulling a purple envelope sealed with black wax and her unmistakable family seal out of the sleeve of his shihakusho. With careful hands, Seiko took it. It had been many years since the family itself sent word directly to her; If they ever needed anything, they would usually just go through her mother or father. The letter inside is one she had dreaded getting:

Miss Seiko Muramba,

We request your attendance tomorrow, December 23rd, at 2:00 p.m. to discuss family matters. Failure to attend could be devastating.

Seiko sighed and crumpled the note. She hated going to meetings with the family council. Last time she was there, they wanted to remove her from the Academy. That went over like a ton of bricks.

"It could be anything. I just think its strange that the council didn't send word through my parents. What could be important enough to send a notice directly to my place of work? It's not like I wouldn't get it." I thought of every possible answer about why they would want to contact me, but none of them ended well.