It was just another normal day in Soul Society….or not.

Tsuki was taking a break from doing paperwork when the alarm suddenly went off and an announcement was broadcasted throughout the Seireitei, "There is a distortion detected in western Rukongai. Alert divisions three through eight! I repeat…."

"What?!" Tsuki outbursted with surprise, standing up and going outside to investigate. Everyone was running about trying to get together. Tsuki looked through the crowds and found who she was looking for then ran towards where she last saw him.

As she caught up to him she asked, "What's going on, Renji?"

"I think there's an invasion going on." The vice-captain replied seriously while he kept running. "I'm going to go check it out. You stay here."

"But I want to come too." She stated stubbornly as she followed him. Renji gave her a warning look and she continued with a pout. "Okay, I'll stay here." – he then disappeared around the corner and Tsuki started to think – "But I think I'll just go for a quick visit to the cells…."

And so with a smirk she left to go find a key for the jail in the squad six barracks while everyone else was busy.

Being sure to look around cautiously for anyone around before she entered any room or hallway, Tsuki made her way to the cell where Rukia was being held. Most of the division was out on duty because of the alert, but she made sure to be cautious and look, or else she'd get caught and that wouldn't sit well between the captain and her.

After a few twists and turns, she finally came up to the door she remembered would lead to Rukia's cell. 'Time to hear her side of the story.' She thought to herself before taking out the key she stole and sticking it into the keyhole.

Tsuki heard a click, a sign that the door was unlocked, and she headed in to the dull lighted room.

Rukia was still there – as Tsuki had hoped – sitting on her chair. She had turned her head to the door, though, having heard it unlock and open. For a while Tsuki just stood there in the doorway, looking at the girl in the cell who was to face her death in less than twenty-five days.

Now that she had done the deed, she was thinking why she had even done it. It felt like she was standing there for an hour or so, when it had actually been a few seconds. She couldn't move or speak, but Rukia knew that she was there. It was too late to go back now.

Finally Rukia spoke, breaking the silence. "Show yourself. I know you're there, and I can feel your reiatsu." She stated with a slight cold undertone to her voice.

Slowly Tsuki stepped up to the bars of the cell and sighed with an apologetic smile while waving.

Rukia's eyes narrowed slightly before she continued, "I know you. You're the girl from yesterday. The one who came with my brother and Renji to let me know about my sentence. What are you doing here?"

"Well I…wanted to talk with you." The third seated officer explained while she fiddled with her fingers nervously. She stopped, gained her courage, and continued by saying, "But first, I think an introduction is in order. My name is Tsukiko Kishin. I am the third seated officer in squad six."

"Kishin-san, is that all you came to do?" Rukia asked, turning around to face the soul reaper she was talking to. "To talk with me?"

"Y-yes. There were some things that I wanted to make sure of." She replied with difficulty. "Rukia-san, are you really getting sentenced to death….because you gave your shinigami powers to a human?"

"Please, just call me Rukia." She stated pleasantly in response, and then her smile fell into a slight frown before she continued. "And yes, I did give my soul reaper powers to a human; a total stranger at first. But because I gave my powers to him, I changed his life…."

For a while there was silence until Tsuki spoke up, saying, "Well," making Rukia jump and look up to see that she was sitting down now. "No one's going to be around for a while, so why don't you tell me a story."

Tsuki said as she got comfortable on the floor. Rukia just stared at her with surprise and confusion so Tsuki continued, "Go on tell me about this human you gave your powers to. It'll probably make you feel better once you got it off your chest."

Rukia was silent for a little bit before she started to tell Tsuki about the orange spikey haired teenager she met while in the world of the living. And Tsuki heard about everything; the first day when she gave him her soul reaper powers so he could protect his family and friends, the days they spent together defeating hollows, and the final night when he protected Rukia to the very last moment before Renji and Byakuya took her away to the Soul Society.

Once Rukia was finished recalling her past month with the human named Ichigo Kurosaki, Tsuki was silent, deep in thought. Finally she asked, "What about this human's feelings on this matter? Surely he can't blame you for changing his life."

"It's my fault he got hurt and he's probably dead by now…." Rukia replied with sadness while looking down to her lap.

She fell silent and Tsuki stared at her until she stood up and grabbed the bars of the cell stating, "I don't think that's true. Sure Renji and Byakuya might have practically beaten him and took away his powers, but I think that since he came to protect you that last night, he's not going to just sit around and die. From what you told me, I think he could be that kind of guy. For all we know he could be on his way to rescue you because you made such an impact on his life. So don't lose hope."

"Thank you for the pep talk," Rukia said in response with a smile as she looked up to Tsuki from her seat. "But what if he is dead?"

"Then I'll find a way to get you out of this mess." Her visitor replied with courage and a smile. "Believe me when I say that sometimes your brother and I don't always think the same, and if he's not doing anything, then I'll save you." – her gaze upon Rukia and her smile softened a bit – "After all, she wouldn't have wanted this to happen to you."

Rukia was about to ask who this "she" Tsuki was referring to when someone suddenly opened the door, interrupting her. The two women turned to look who was there and found….

"What are you doing here, Tsuki-san?" the stoic voice of none other than Byakuya's resonated through the room and the person he was talking to looked back at him in slight shock. "I expected to find you in your office working diligently, but where are you really? Spending time with the prisoner."

"From what I heard Rukia was just trying to help!" Tsuki spat out with anger to protect her. "Is there really any harm to find out her side of the story?"

"Giving your soul reaper powers to a human is a crime punishable by death." Her captain stated simply in reply before turning to leave. "Now come, Tsuki-san. You have work to do"

"You can't just let them do this! She's your sister!" she shouted at her captain, still standing at the bars. "What about His-?"

Once again, Byakuya cut her off by ordering, "That's enough from you." And gave her an icy glare. Tsuki looked to Rukia one last time and Rukia said to her, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I don't want you to be on your captain's bad side. So go."

The third seat sighed before giving Rukia an apologetic look and leaving with her captain out of the room. Once the two were out in the hallway and the door was locked, Byakuya turned to Tsuki.

"I don't want you coming back here again." He ordered.

"Yes sir." She stated with obedience while looking away downheartedly before following him back to the squad station.

All was dead silent as Tsuki and Byakuya headed back to his office. Staring at her captain's back as they walked, she was deep in thought. She wanted to help Rukia desperately, but she was lost emotionally as well. She didn't know what to do.

So then and there she decided that she'd wait and see what would unfold in the next few days. And when the time was right, she'd choose sides.

When they had arrived back to the Captain's office, they found Renji waiting for them.

"Got in trouble again, Tsuki-chan?" he asked with a smirk, noticing the third seat follow Byakuya in through the door.

"Oh be quiet Renji!" Tsuki rebutted, crossing her arms and making a pouty face at him. "Don't you have work to do?"

Before the lieutenant could answer, Byakuya asked from his desk, "Your report, Renji?"

"Oh right." The red headed shinigami stated while scratching the back of his neck, facing his captain. "Captain Ichimaru prevented the ryoka from getting in, so everything is fine now." He looked as if he wanted to add on to that, but he said nothing.

"Right. Tomorrow you will escort Rukia to the Senzaikyû Shishinrô. The day of her execution has moved up." Byakuya commanded while turning to his paperwork. "She has fourteen days left."

A worried and utterly shocked look appeared on Tsuki's face once she had heard this so Renji lightened up the mood a bit by asking, "So what did you do all day today, Tsuki?"

She refused to answer, so Byakuya answered for her, "She snuck into the cells where Rukia was held. I was thinking of a small punishment for her."

Renji looked over to Tsuki with shock. Sure Tsuki was a no good trouble maker when it came to standing up to the captain, but she had never done anything this drastic in the past month.

"Did she have a good reason for doing this?" the red head asked concern apparent in his voice.

"Not good enough for me to let her go without punishment." Their captain replied with indifference. Renji sighed before getting a pretty good idea.

He gave Tsuki a sneaky grin and said, "How about she does my paperwork from today and the paperwork she never did."

"That's not fair!" she shouted defiantly. "I'll be up until the crack of dawn doing that paperwork!"

"Maybe that'll teach you to not disobey the captain." The vice-captain stated with the grin still on his face.

"Fine, I'll do it." Tsuki said as she stomped off to go do the work she skipped out on. But before she left the office, she blew a raspberry at Renji.

The next day was pretty much uneventful. Renji left to go take Rukia to the Senzaikyû Shishinrô but when he came back he seemed to be somewhere else entirely. Something must have shaken him up, but Tsuki decided not to ask about it.

In the meantime, Byakuya was called in for a captain's meeting, so most of the day Tsuki was alone at the squad station. Kioku hadn't come back to see her for a few days now and she was starting to get worried. She couldn't even go to see if he had come back to the squad five barracks because she had so much work to finish.

So most of the time she was shut up in her office, doing paperwork or delivering papers to the other divisions. The day after that Tsuki was alone again because Renji was unexpectedly called in to a vice-captains meeting.

'It's so not fun without Renji or Kioku to keep me company….' She thought to herself while taking a break and looking at the sky. 'I wouldn't even mind if it was Byakuya either.' – she sighed – 'It's going to be a clear night tonight.'

She then stood up and brushed herself off before returning to her office to finish her work for the day. Later, as Tsuki was taking her nightly stroll to her room to retire for the day, she heard the alarm sounding out as it had two days before, "Emergency! Emergency! Intruder in the Seireitei! All guardsmen to battle stations!"

Tsuki jumped at the sudden noise and looked back towards the squad station where other soul reapers were running about to get into position.

'I'd better meet up with Renji and Captain Kuchiki to see what exactly is going on.' She thought before running back to where she could sense the reishi of the two. Once she reached them she asked, "Could it be the same person that was trying to get in a couple of days ago?"

"I can't say for sure." Renji replied. "But we need to stay alert." Tsuki nodded in agreement before a light in the sky caught her eye. "What's that?!" he continued with disbelief as the three of them watched it climb higher and higher into the deep blue starry sky. A second passed and after it crashed into the protective barrier around the Seireitei, it split into four tiny comets, and disappeared into the streets.

"What do we do Captain Kuchiki?" Tsuki asked with concern as she turned to him for an answer.

"Stay alert. They could be anywhere." He replied seriously. "There should be soul reapers already in position to apprehend the ryoka."

"Right." The third seated officer agreed while relaxing a bit.

All around, she could feel the clashing of reishi as the battles started. One in particular stood out. This reishi felt the same as a soul reaper's but at a captain's level. Tsuki wondered to herself who this person she was sensing could be, but she felt as if it could be that human Rukia was talking about. Her eyes narrowed with worry. What was she going to do now?


That's the third chapter for today. More to come on the weekend!

And don't forget to post any questions you might have, whether it's your first time reading or your second or more!