A few years after Katsurou joined the 13th, a new member was going to be welcomed to the division. Rumors said she was a part of the nobel Kuchiki family and sister to its leader, Byakuya.

Katsurou had just left a few papers to his father and was walking down the hall when he heard Kaien's voice from a room.

"In fact, it's not a problem if you forgot every now and then and adressed me as captain Kaien"

Katusurou smirked and leaned against the doorframe.

"Don't give the poor girl any ideas Kaien"

"You know I was just kidding Katsurou."

"Sure you were"

Katsurou walked into the room and looked at the girl. She was short with black hair and purple eyes. He then remembered that he had seen her at the Soul Reaper academy a few years earlier.

"Rukia this is Katsurou. He's the 4th seat of our division and you better treat him well since he's the son of our captain"

"Of course. It's nice to meet you 4th seat Ukitake."

"There is no need to be so polite with me Rukia. I'm just a member of the division like anyone else here.

-So please call me Katsurou or just Suro."

"Okay"

"Hey Suro, can you please show her around the division, Kaien asked."

"Sure. Come with me Rukia"

Rukia followed him out of the room and he showed her around the barracks. As they walked, Rukia was so focused on what Katsurou was saying that she didn't notice that she walked right into someone.

She looked up to see who she had walked into and knew just by looking at the Haori that she had walked right into a captain.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't see were I was going"

"It's okay"

"Ah captain Aizen. It's been a while"

"It has Katsurou"

"I guess you're here to talk with my father"

"Yes, is he busy right now?"

"Not at all. I left a few papers to him a short while ago but I believe he has time to talk with you.

-Do you want me to show you to his office?"

"That would be kind of you"

"Right. I'll be right back Rukia so wait here"

"Yes sir"

"This way captain"

Rukia watched as they walked down the hall and just a moment later, Katsurou returned and they continued.

"Was that man really a captain?"

"Yes. That was captain Sōsuke Aizen of the 5th division. He is a very kind man. And you can kinda say I owe him since he save my life once"

"He saved your life"

"Yes. When I was in my sixth year at the Soul Reaper academy, I was tasked to lead an exercise for the first years along with my best friend and two others. Right when we were about to finish everything, a giant real Hollow appeared and attacked us. Our friend Kanisawa got killed while my best friend and our other friend, Aoga got injured.

-My best friend and I tried to fight back against the Hollow to save the first years and right when it was about to attack us, three brave first years came and helped us. We managed to blind it but we ran into a bunch of other Hollows. It was then captain Aizen and his lieutenant Gin Ichimaru came and saved us"

"I see"

"I owe captain Aizen for that. If not for him, I might have died back there."

They then walked outside were Katsurou saw two people sitting against a tree with two empty Sake bottles next to them.

"Rukia wait here"

Katsurou walked up to the two and glared at them before he slapped them on the head. Rukia just watched as the two held their heads in pain.

Then Kaien came.

"There you two are. I've been looking for you"

"Lieutenant"

"Thanks for finding them Suro"

"No problem. I just saw them as I was showing Rukia around so I figured I better wake them up"

"Right. Kiyone, Sentarō you two are coming with me right now!"

Kaien grabbed the two officers by the collars of their uniforms and dragged them with him.

"Who were those two, Rukia asked"

Katsurou sighed and crossed his arms.

"Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki, two officers here in the division. They have a habit of drinking while on duty so Kaien and I usually do what I just did or throw water on them to sober them up and make them go back to work."

Rukia giggled a little and it made Katsurou smile. He had thought that she seemed so uneasy earlier but now she seemed more relaxed.

Some time after Rukia joined the 13th division, they got reports on a mysterious Hollow that had taken the lives of many Soul Reapers. Miyako, Kaien's wife was sent out along with four others to investigate.

It started to get dark and the recon team still hadn't returned. Kaien was speaking with Katsurou and Jūshirō about it when Rukia came in with some tea.

"Rukia is there any report yet from the recon team."

"I'm afraid not captain. They still haven't returned."

Then Sentarō opened the doors.

"Sir the recon team. There's bad news."

All four in the room followed him to were another Soul Reaper were tending to Miyako's wounds. Kaien looked at his wife, worried but got to know that her life wasn't in danger. Jūshirō then asked about the other four and they got to know that all four was dead.

Later that night Jūshirō and Katsurou were talking about the events.

"I can't believe everyone in the recon team got wiped out by a singel Hollow.

-How strong do you think it could be, dad?"

"I'm not sure but we need to be careful if it shows up again so what happened today won't happen again"

Suddenly, they heard screams and ran to check were they came from. The two of them along with Rukia were shocked to see that Miyako were killing members of the division. She was just about to attack them when Kaien came.

"Stop it Miyako."

Miyako stopped and started to act weird before she jumped over them and went to the other side of the barracks. There they heard screams and headed after her to find even more dead Soul Reapers.

"I can't believe Miyako did this, said Katsurou."

"Oh Kaien, said Rukia"

"Let me go after her captain. She couldn't have gotten very far sir."

"No don't, think about it Kaien. Following her is exactly what the enemy wants you to do."

"That may be but it's still the only option. This monster that's controlling Miyako used her to kill her own men, men who trusted her. Miyako's honor has been defiled.

-You must let me go captain!"

"Very well. I shall go with you."

"What you captain?"

Kaien looked surprised at the captain who nodded.

"Rukia and Katsurou you two are coming as well."

"Yes sir"

"Sentarō and Kiyone seal off this area and call the squad to their battle stations."

"Understood sir"

"Let's go"

With that Jūshirō, Rukia, Kaien and Katsurou started to run towards the forest were Miyako had gone.

Once they had gotten a bit into the forest they found what looked like a kosode hanging from a branch. Kaien was just about to grab it when tentacles came out of nowhere. All four got away and stood on a branch of a large tree.

They all looked down at a green Hollow with tentacles on its back and flame like markings around the eyes of its mask.

"I'll go first sir"

But before Rukia could do anything, Kaien took a step towards.

"Captain I beg of you. Permission to go fight it alone."

The captain gave his permission and Kaien jumped down so he was in front of the Hollow. They watched as Kaien tried to fight the Hollow without his sword until he got knocked away. Rukia got ready to help him but was stopped by Jūshirō.

"Captain, Kaien has been disarmed. We have to help him."

"But if we were to step in now what would become of Kaien's pride.

-Even by going to his aid, you're somehow succesful in saving his life. The cost of such an act would certanly be the death of his pride forever."

"That doesn't make any sence captain. What good is pride to a man if he's dead?"

"Listen now and remember these words.

-There are two kinds of battles and those of us who've choosen to be warriors and to fight those battles must always be aware of the difference between the two. There are battles that are fought to protect lives and there are battles that are fought to protect honor."

"What the captain is trying to say Rukia is that right now Kaien is fighting with all his heart and soul to protect honor. Not only his own honor but the honor of his men who died and above all...the honor of his beloved wife"

Rukia let go of her Zanpakutō and they looked down at the battle again.

Suddenly, something happened with the Hollow. The tentacles left its back and went towards Kaien. It got onto his arm and into his body while the body of the Hollow crumbled.

"Lieutenant Kaien..."

"What is it girl?"

When Kaien turned towards them his skin was green, his eyes hollow and around them was the same markings as on the Hollow's mask.

Then he jumped towards Rukia but both Jūshirō and Katsurou used their Zanpakutō to block him.

"Captain, Katsurou."

"Rukia get out of here."

"You heard the captain. Run away now Rukia!"

Rukia got onto her feet and ran away while the other two fought the Hollow.

"Why aren't you attacking me Soul Reapers? I think I know what you two are waiting for.

-You're trying to think of a way to rip me out of this body so you can still save your friend. But this is different from human possession since we're both spirit beings and now when our spirits are united it can never be undone."

Then, both Jūshirō and Katsurou attacked the Hollow. One of them sliced the side of its throat while the other hit the shoulder.

"Then you leave us no choice. We'll kill his body with you inside it."

"Are you two insane? What Soul Reapers would slay one of their own men?"

"Lieutenant Shiba no longer exists. We won't let a monster like you have his body."

Then both attacked again but the Hollow jumped away from them.

"Coward!"

Then Jūshirō fell to his knees, coughing blood.

"Dad"

"Katsurou...stop...the Hollow"

"Right. Howl Towards The Shining Moon Kuroi Ōkami"

-Kage Pakku."

Katsurou's sword took on its released form before black wolves came from the energy around the blade as well as the darkness around them and surrounded the Hollow. Katsurou then jumped and tried to cut the head but the Hollow jumped away and ran into the forest again.

It was after Rukia who had turned around and cofme back.

"Rukia you idiot! You were supposed to run away!"

Katsurou quickly helped his father get up and they ran after the Hollow to try and stop it from getting to Rukia.

As the Hollow got close to her, she held out her Zanpakutō to defend herself and the Hollow ended up getting impaled by the sword.

Then, Kaien somehow regained control of his body as the captain and Katsurou reached them.

"My captain...thank you...for understanding and...for letting me fight...to the end.

-Rukia...I apologize to you for getting you involved...in all of this in the first place. I know this was painful. But thanks to you...I'm saved...Now I can still leave my heart here."

Then Kaien's hand got limp and he died. Rukia put her free hand on his back and started to cry as the rain fell over them.

Jūshirō and Katsurou watched as Rukia cried over Kaien until Katsurou walked up to them and gently pulled Kaien's body away from Rukia's sword.

Rukia looked up at the clam but still sad look in Katsurou's eyes as he lowered Kaien onto the ground. Both of them then heard coughing and looked at the captain who fell to his knees. They could see blood between the fingers of the hand that he covered his mouth with.

Katsurou quickly moved over to his father's side and placed an arm around him to help him stand up. He then looked down at Rukia.

"Katsurou please don't worry about me. Take the captain back to the barracks. I'll take Kaien to his family"

"If you're sure that you can handle it then I'll allow it."

"Thank you"

Katsurou then quickly Flash Stepped back to the barracks were Kiyone and Sentarō came up to him and asked what had happened.

"I'll explain later. Kiyone call for captain Unohana. Sentarō gather the others."

"Yes sir"

The two disappeared to do as they were ordered to do. As they did that, Katsurou carried his father to his room. Once he had placed Jūshirō on the futon, his hand glowed with healing Kidō.

Just a short while later, Retsu came and took over the healing. While she did that, Katsurou walked to the room were the whole division was gathered.

"4th seat Ukitake what happened?"

"Were is the lieutenant?"

"Everyone calm down and I'll tell you what happened."

Katsurou explained everything to them. How Kaien bravely fought the Hollow on his own to try and protect the honor of so many people, how the Hollow had taken over his body and forced him to attack them, how he and the captain tried to defeat it and how Kaien had died.

"Our division lost two great people tonight. 3rd seat Miyako Shiba and her husband, lieutenant Kaien Shiba.

-Once the captain is back on his feet, a new lieutenant will probably be choosen. Until then, let's all work together, we can't lose hope just because our lieutenant is gone."

"Hope is the symbol of our division."

"That's right Kiyone. Our division flower, the snowdrop represents hope so let's keep it up even after this terrible day."

"Yes sir"

Everyone stood up and left the room. Once Katsurou left, he meet captain Unohana in the hallway.

"That was a good speech"

"Thank you captain.

-How's my father?"

"He'll be just fine but needs to stay in bed for the rest of this week."

"I understand"

Retsu smiled and put her hand on the young man's shoulder.

"I'm sorry for the lost of your lieutenant. Kaien was a great man"

"Thank you captain Unohana. I better go and tell dad what I told the others"

"You should"

"Thank you again"

Katsurou bowed in respect before he walked to his father's room.

Once he got there, he quietly opened the door and saw that Jūshirō was awake. The white-haired captain turned his head towards his son and gave him a small smile as he knelt next to him.

"Did you tell the division?"

"Yes. I told them everything that happened back there. How Kaien fought the Hollow, how it took over him and how he died"

"Did you mention that it was Rukia's blade that killed him?"

"I did but I said that she did it to defend herself against the Hollow. So the others won't blame her at least.

-They all understood that it was the Hollow's fault that Kaien died and not hers"

"That's good. But I'm afraid she'll blame herself a lot for this"

"I have the same feeling"

Katsurou then noticed that his father started to look tired.

"Get some rest dad. Captain Unohana won't let you get back to work until the start of next week and I'm gonna make sure you follow her orders"

"Like you always do Suro"

Katsurou smirked a little before Jūshirō closed his eyes and drifted of to sleep.

A week later.

Jūshirō and Shunsui were sitting on the porch outside the 13th division and watched how Katsurou were helping the members train.

"He sure has taken Kaien's job to his heart"

"You're right. Suro worked really close to Kaien so he knows what do to and how to do it."

"Do you think he'll appreciate what you're going to do?"

"We'll see later. But my son has potential to be even greater than Kaien. I'm glad the other captains agreed with me on that"

"They know just as well as you and I that your kid has what is needed for a lieutenant. Maybe even a bit more than the others, excluding my dear Nanao of course"

Both chuckled before they looked up and saw the training wrap up and how all members bowed to thank Katsurou.

"Well I better get going before Nanao comes looking for me. See ya later Jūshirō"

"We do Shunsui."

Just a few hours later, the whole division was gathered and waited for the captain. Most of them were talking to each other about what they thought the captain was gonna talk about.

Then, Jūshirō entered the room and looked at everyone.

"Thank you for gathering everyone. As you know, today marks a week since our division lost not only our 3rd seat but also our lieutenant. It's a great lost but we can't lose our hope and grive them forever.

-During the time I've recovered, I've thought on who to take their place and reached a decision"

He looked at all his men until his eyes landed on two certain individuals.

"Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki, the two of you will work together as co-3rd seats."

"Thank you so much sir. We won't dissapoint you"

"Good. As for the position of lieutenant...Our division's new lieutenant is none other than 4th seat Katsurou"

Katsurou looked up at his father with a shocked and confused expression. First he thought all others would think bad about it since he is the captain's son but to his surprise, everyone started to applaud for him.

"Come up here Katsurou"

He slowly got up from were he sat and walked up so he stood opposite Jūshirō who held out a badge like the one Kaien used to wear.

"This is now yours. Do your best to help the division"

"I will. Thank you captain, I won't disappoint you"

"I know you won't"

Both smiled as Katsurou took the lieutenant badge and put it on his left arm. Everyone else in the room cheered a bit for him.

A few days after Katsurou's promotion, he was called to a meeting at the 1st division. It wasn't really a meeting but more a chance for the other lieutenants to welcome him.

Once he reached the 1st division he meet a silver/grey haired man with the 1st division badge on his arm.

"You must be the new lieutenant of the 13th division"

"That's right. I'm Katsurou Ukitake"

"Nice to meet you. I'm Chōjirō Sasakibe, the 1st division lieutenant.

-Come with me, the others are waiting"

Katsurou followed Sasakibe into a room were ten other people waited.

"Everyone settle down. The new guy is here so introduce yourselves."

The all stopped talking and turned towards the two.

"I'm Marechiyo Ōmaeda of the 2nd division"

"I'm Izuru Kira and I became the lieutenant of the 3rd division not that long ago"

"My name is Isane Kotetsu and I'm the lieutenant of the 4th division"

"I'm the lieutenant of the 5th division, Momo Hinamori"

"My name is Ginjirō Shirogane and my division is the 6th"

"Tetsuzaemon Iba of the 7th division"

"My name is Nanao Ise, lieutenant of the 8th"

"Shūhei Hisagi of the 9th division"

Katsurou couldn't help but smile at seeing his best friend.

"So you've become a lieutenant too Shūhei"

"Hello there. I'm Rangiku Matsumoto and I'm lieutenant of the 10th"

"Yachiru Kusajishi of the 11th division that's meeeee"

"It's really nice to meet all of you. My name is Katsurou Ukitake and I'm the new lieutenant of the 13th division"

After about an hour, the lieutenants left the meeting room and once the others had gotten a bit away, Shūhei threw himself onto his best friend.

"Shūhei get off me, he laughed"

"Why didn't you tell me you had been promoted, you sly fox"

"Well, a lot of things has happened in my division for the past week so I guess I didn't find the time to tell you"

Shūhei smirked and let go of Katsurou.

"Well, I'm happy for you. You deserve it"

"Thanks"

"You know, it's been a while since we last saw each other since we've both been busy with work. So do you wanna go to a cafe and catch up on what has happened since last time we meet?"

"Sorry but I can't. My father and I are going to see Kaien's siblings to see how they're doing after his death"

"That's kind of you"

"You know my father. Kindness is a big part of him"

"I know. Then how about having our lunch break together tomorrow instead?"

"Sure"

"Make sure to remember that"

"Don't worry my friend. I'll remember it"

The two then split up and went back to their divisions and once he got to the 13th, Katsurou walked to his father's office.

"I'm back"

"Did everything go well?"

"Yeah, the other lieutenants were very welcoming"

"That's good"

Jūshirō then got a serious expression on his face.

"We better go to the Shiba house, I've heard that they never stay in the same place for too long. We should go now so we're back before it gets dark"

"Yeah"

They made sure to instruct their 3rd, 4th and 5th seat on what to do until they returned before they went to the gate that led to west Rukongai.

"Welcome to Rukongai captain and lieutenant of the 13th divison"

"Thank you Jidanbō"

They two then Flash Stepped towards the countryside.

They soon saw a house in the distance with two giant stones arms on each side of it. As they got closer, they saw that the arms were holding up a banner with "Kūkaku Shiba" written on it.

"Looks like we found their home"

"Yes. Let's go Katsurou"

They walked closer to the house but once they reached it, two large men appeared in front of them.

"What do you want Soul Reapers?"

"We're here to speak with Kūkaku Shiba, said Jūshirō"

"What buisness do you have with the master of the Shiba house?"

"We just want to see how she's doing after Kaien's death a week ago"

Suddenly, someone flung the door open and charged their fist as the two.

"Bakudō #8 Seki"

Katsurou quickly got in front of Jūshirō and the fist clashed with the blue orb that had formed in front of his hand. The person that had tried to attack them was then sent flying back slightly.

They looked at the person and saw that it was a women.

"You must be Kūkaku, Kaien's younger sister, said Jūshirō"

"How dare you speak his name after what happend! My brother trusted you Soul Reapers, especially you, his captain!"

"Mrs Shiba, the captain and I came here because of what happened a week ago, said Katsurou

-We came here to see how you were doing since his death and if you want, we can tell you the full story of what happened"

Kūkaku looked at the two before turning to the men behind her.

"Koganehiko, Shiroganehiko"

"Yes master"

"Find Ganju and make sure he stays away until I'm done talking to these two"

"Of course"

Koganehiko followed the trio into the house and right before they entered a room, Katsurou caught the glimpse of a boy that stuck his head out from around a corner.

"Must be their little brother. Maybe he heard Kūkaku yell at us and wondered what was going on"

The door to the room then closed and Kūkaku sat down among some pillows while the two Soul Reapers sat down in seiza a bit from her.

"So, tell me how my brother died and why that Soul Reaper that came here said it was her fault"

The two told her everything that had happened the night Kaien died.

Once their story was done, both got into deep bows.

"We're really sorry over your brother's passing. Please accept this apology from us, not only as Kaien's captain and subordinate but also as the current and next head of the Ukitake family"

The two remained in their bowing for a while to really show Kūkaku how sorry they were.

"Get up you two!"

They lifted their heads and looked at Kūkaku who's expression had gone a little softer than when they arrived.

"I accept your apology and I'm grateful that you came all this way to tell me the whole story"

She then stood up and walked over to them as the two stood up as well. Her eyes were mostly turned to the captain

"I don't blame you two for not stepping in to help him. Kaien told me a while back that you believe in that "two kinds of battle" thing and that you teach your men about it.

-So I thank you for letting him fight alone when he asked you and that you thought of his pride, even though it cost him his life"

The two Soul Reapers looked at her in surprise before both nodded. They then said their goodbyes and returned to the Seireitei.

A few days later.

"Good morning lieutenant Ukitake"

"Morning. Is everyone ready for morning training in five minutes?"

"Yes sir"

"Good. Tell them I'll be right there"

"Of course"

The division member bowed and ran outside. Katsurou then sighed and looked out the window with a distant look in his eyes.

"I better get going. Worrying about that isn't gonna help me with my job"

He took a deep breath before walking outside were the others waited. What he didn't know was that his father had seen him stand there with that distant look in his eyes.

"Something is brothering him"

Jūshirō walked to his office and sat down with some paperwork until he notice the training wrap up outside. So he told Sentarō and Kiyone to take care of things before he walked outside.

Once everyone had left the training area, he walked up to Katsurou.

"Let's take a walk Suro"

"Sure"

So the two left the division grounds and started to walk through the Seireitei.

"So what's on your mind?"

Katsurou looked surprised at his father.

"You noticed?"

"Yes. Ever since you were little, you've had this look in your eyes when something is on your mind. The same look I saw in your eyes earlier.

-So what's bothering you?"

Katsurou looked away and sighed before his eyes meet Jūshirō's.

"I was thinking about how Kūkaku is the new head of the Shiba clan now when Kaien is dead"

"She is since she's the oldest after Kaien. But what does that have to do with you?"

"Because one day, the same will happen to me. I'll be the head of our family"

"That's right. As my son, you will take over the day I either retire from the position or the day I die.

-Is that what's bothering you?"

"Yeah"

"But why?"

"Because I'm afraid that I won't do a good job or that I'm not worthy of the position since I'm not of Ukitake-blood"

"Suro..."

Jūshirō looked concerned at his son before he looked around and saw where they were. He placed a hand on Katsurou's shoulder and led him somewhere.

"Were are we going?"

"A place were we can talk alone. And don't worry, it's on our family's grounds so we're not trespassing or anything"

"I see"

They kept walking until they reached a small structure above some type of rock. Katsurou walked closer and knelt down so he could see the text engraved on it.

"This is our family grave"

"Yes, all past generations of the Ukitake family since my great-great-grandfather have all been laid to rest here, said Jūshirō"

He then knelt down next to his son.

"The reason to why I brought you here is because I want to tell you something about our family"

"What's that?"

"You're not the first child to be adopted"

"Really?"

"Yes. Our family has always been known for our kind hearts. When my father was young, my grandfather found a young girl abandoned the same way as you. He decided to taker her with him to his home and make her his daughter.

-She grew up to become a very strong woman who wanted to do her best to live up to the Ukitake name that she had been given by the man she now saw as her father"

"But she wasn't picked as the next clan head, that was grandfather"

"You're right about that. But there was one time when my father had been terribly injured and the family needed someone to lead them. Since she had been watching both my grandfather and father, she took it upon herself to lead the family until my father was well again.

-She wasn't of Ukitake blood just like you but she led the family just like any leader of the family blood would"

Katsurou looked at his father before looking back at the grave with a smile on his face.

"I guess I worried about nothing then"

Jūshirō laughed slightly before placing a hand on his son's shoulder.

"It's okay to worry Suro.

-If anything, I should have started to prepare you for taking over the position when you were younger. But I wanted you to grow up without having a burden of responsibility on your shoulders when you didn't need to have it"

"No need to blame yourself over this dad. I understand that you wanted me to have a normal childhood and then time just went too fast and I was suddenly old enough to enter the academy"

"You're right"

Jūshirō then stood up and Katsurou was right behind him.

They left their family grave and went back to their division to continue with their work for the day.

Notes:

Seiza: the traditional and formal way of sitting in Japan. (The kneeling way they're sitting)

Nemu wasn't present at the lieutenants' meeting since I'm not sure when Mayuri created her and if she was created at the time of Kaien's passing, she may still be very young.

Not much is known about the Ukitake family more than they are low-class aristocrats and that Jūshirō is the family head so that story he was telling Katsurou is just something I came up with for this story.