She stared as the captains fell one by one. There was no way they could beat him when everything they felt was an illusion. Were the captains even defeated, to begin with? If Aizen could control everything, what stopped him from making him see these horrifying images of failure?

Nothing.

But everything at the same time.

Although she had been trained to fight until the very end, every will she had to fight left her. What good could she do Soul Society if she was dead? No, her duty to her Division, to her clan, to her friends was to stay alive until hope, until Ichigo, returned. Once there was a chance to win she would fight until her last breath. But for now she had to find shelter, somewhere were she could remain safe.

"Ah, and where do you think you're going, Kuchiki Rukia?" an amused voice said from behind her.

Rukia came to an abrupt stop and immediately turned to see the mocking smirk of Aizen Sousuke. How in the world had he appeared there? He had been fighting Komamura-taichou just five seconds ago.

Her violet eyes widened in realization, but it was already too late.

"I really do hate leaving things unfinished. Allow me to conclude what I tried to months ago, Kuchiki Rukia."

He was too fast, or too slow, or not moving at all; Rukia could never tell.

She gasped and blood splattered.

"Nii-sama!"

Her breathing was harsh and heavy, not unlike how she had been that day. She didn't like to think about it, lest dream of it. Dream of the day where she lost almost everything she had, the little she claimed ownership. No, it wasn't exactly a dream, more like a memory. Her mind had a nasty knack for repeating her failures over and over again. All the embarrassment she brought the Kuchiki clan, Kaien's death, her execution sentence, her attempted escape. . .

They were all painful memories that wouldn't leave her alone regardless of how much she tried to amend them.

She yawned and stretched her arms, giving a pleased moan when she heard a bone crack. Her line of sight went to her sleeping bedmate, the one whom she had shared her room with for almost five months already. Her long orange hair sprayed haphazardly in her futon, the longer strands even reaching the wooden floor.

Gray eyes opened immediately when Orihime finally realized she was looking at her. Alert at first, her gaze calmed down once she concluded there was no danger and she gave Rukia one of her lazy smiles. "Good morning, Rukia-chan," she whispered in her childlike voice.

Rukia returned her smile with a little one of her own. "Good morning, Orihime. Sorry if I woke you up; I didn't mean to stare."

The girl immediately got up and started to desperately wave her hands in front of her, a gesture reminiscent of her old self. "Oh, no, no, don't worry, it's fine! I was just excited since today is Saturday and all! Are we leaving any time soon?"

The shinigami nodded. "In around an hour or so, or whenever Urahara decides to get off his lazy ass and open the Garganta."

She giggled at her flat accusation. "Poor Urahara-san! Everyone insults him!"

"Well, he deserves it," she grumbled, crossing her arms. Last time he had been careless and closed the Garganta an hour before he was supposed to. Orihime and her had been forced to spend a night in the Forest of Menos. Luckily for them they were acquainted with Kano Ashido, who helped them survive the night without any problems.

Orihime giggled again and stood up with a jump. "Well, I'll just go change and brush my teeth and I'm going to tell Urahara-san to be more careful because if he doesn't he'll feel my Super-Combo-Tickle-and-Pain attack!" she exclaimed, pumping her fist upwards. Rukia grinned at her excitement and cheered along with her. Before she could say anything, the redhead stood up and rushed to the bathroom, forgoing her clothes.

Rukia's grin disappeared from her face and was replaced with a frown. Orihime had taken her best friend's death hard. For one that wore her emotions on her sleeves, Orihime had been an unreadable rock those first few weeks. She hid underneath empty smiles and shallow laughs, trying but failing miserably to convince everyone that she was fine and there was no reason to worry about her. Rukia had understood her position, Orihime must have thought that there were more important things going on than her grief, but unless she had opened up and healed, Rukia would've never been able to regain her strength.

Sometimes she needed to see others succeeding before she put herself up for failure.

She went to her drawers and got out a black shirt and a pair of denim jeans. The thing she loved the most about her gigai was that she wasn't obligated to use her shihakusho. Sure, she wore it with pride, but after wearing it for so many years she had grown slightly bored of it. She had grown so accustomed to it that she still had problems wearing any shirt color other than black!

Rukia closed the door behind her and went to the mess hall. The underground facility Urahara had built many years ago was large enough to house around one hundred people. Not that they needed so much space, since most of their shinigami were in Soul Society. At least the captains and lieutenants were here.

Well, most of them were.

It was hard to hide them all from Aizen. Even though he won, he still hunted the shinigami that resided outside of Soul Society. Rebels, he called them, a contamination of their traditions. Intelligence from Yoruichi's many infiltrations informed them that he offered promotions to those who killed them. They ran away in this place with a total of seventy-two people, and that amount had dwindled more to forty-nine.

Even more disturbing was the fact that he had picked ten of his strongest men, hollowfied them, and converted them into perfect Vizards. The power of the Hogyoku amplified their abilities and talents to such levels that even the original Vizards admitted they would have trouble with them, especially with Aizen around to make them stronger.

Urahara guessed that he didn't do all of this for the purpose of exterminating them, but more for making sure that they were a challenge for the Royal Guard. Aizen knew that the Soul King wouldn't take it too kindly that he just invaded his realm and was going to send the heavy artillery against them.

"Kuchiki-san, would you sausage or eggs with your toast?"

Rukia snapped out of her thoughts and stared wide-eyed at Ishida. Either he was getting better at being unnoticed or she was too distracted to notice anything, most likely the latter. Cooking for forty-nine people wasn't easy, especially when most of the captains and lieutenants refused to do such "low-level" job, so it was mostly up to the unranked shinigami to cook for everyone. Of course, people like Ukitake and Ise enjoyed preparing dinner every once in a while, though it was the general consensus that someone else better take over.

"Eggs, please." Ishida scooped a mouthful of eggs and placed it on her plate. "Thanks, Ishida."

He pushed his glasses further up his nose. "No problem, Kuchiki-san. You're going out today, are you not?" At her nod, he continued, "Good luck, then."

She smiled at him and hummed her thanks. It had taken him and his dad months to get used to living with shinigami. They hated Aizen for destroying Karakura more than they hated them, but that still didn't mean they had to be friendly to the shinigami. Rukia and Renji were two of the few shinigami he talked to without a frown or a sneer, so she took that as a compliment.

Rukia got her juice further down the long table, bypassing other shinigami that were getting their breakfast from the other cooks. She added a fork and knife to her plate and left to find a table to sit in, which was hard considering all the shinigami got up and ate around the same time.

"Sensei, over here," a soft voice beckoned her. She really was distracted today to not notice the relatively empty table her pupil had taken. She was only sitting with another woman she recognized as Shirogane Mihane, one of her Nii-sama's subordinates, or ex-subordinates now that he was no longer captain.

She thanked her and sat down, intent on eating her meal without chatting. When she talked she got sidetracked, and right now she couldn't afford distractions. Not when Ichigo was on the line, at least.

"You're awfully quiet, Sensei. Is something wrong?" Kaigan Arutemisu asked her in her trademark faint voice.

She swallowed a piece of her toast before saying, "I'm going out today to Hueco Mundo."

"Ah, yes, the weekly rounds," Shirogane murmured. "Think you're going to have any luck?"

Rukia gave a noncommittal shrug. "I don't know, probably not, but we'll never find out unless we go."

"It would benefit Inoue-san to go out, yes. I'm afraid there isn't much to do out in the city and she really dislikes her new school. Going to Hueco Mundo will take her mind off of things."

Shirogane added, "Plus, that Espada has a soft spot for her, so it's more likely that he's going to tell you something if you go to Las Ruinas."

Rukia shook her head. "I'm not planning on going to Las Ruinas today. It's too far away and I don't want to stay too long in Hueco Mundo."

"Say, if Kurosaki-san is found, how will that tip the war to our sides?"

"Well, first we're going to have someone that can actually fight Aizen head-on, so that's always a plus. His appearance is going to boost morale around here. I mean, look at the Eleventh Division table." Shirogane pointed a thumb sideways at the pitiful-looking remnants of the Eleventh Division. Ikkaku looked like he wanted to die and Kusajishi actually looked sober and was that a stray hair in Yumichika's face? Not to even mention Zaraki-taichou seemed constipated. "No one wants to fight them and it's discouraged, since we can't afford to get wounded or die right now. Ichigo could serve as the perfect diversion. Besides, even if some might not admit it, we all know that even the captains would be happy to have him back."

Rukia blinked owlishly at her. "Uh, yeah, you have most of the reasons down. Though I have my doubts about Nii-sama; he seems to enjoy this place more than he enjoyed his mansion."

"I have my doubts about that," Kaigan muttered darkly. "He treats us like his personal servants and always looks snobbishly at us whenever we don't do something like his old servants used to do them."

"Nii-sama has had a sheltered life, we can't blame him for that."

"Doesn't mean we must like it. Sometimes I wish I had asked to join Ukitake-taichou. Which brings me to my next question: are the rumors true?"

"What rumors?"

Kaigan waved a hand nonchalantly. "Oh, you know, the talk that you'll be the Thirteenth Division's next lieutenant." She was certainly surprised at seeing Rukia's shocked and disbelieving expression. "Wait, does that mean you don't know about it yet?" Rukia shook her head slowly. "Hm, that makes two sheltered Kuchikis."

Apparently the discussion was done, because the two women had started talking about how much they hated their jobs, and how much they wished being back in Soul Society slaying hollows or doing division-related business. Rukia, however, was still too shocked to say anything. She was an unseated officer, for starters. When did this talk of promoting her a lieutenant start?

"Wait, wait, wait, are you guys being serious?"

"Of course, I would think you would side with me on this one, Sensei. Don't you hate high school?"

"No, the part where I'm being promoted to lieutenant."

Shirogane eyed her suspiciously. "Are you alright, Kuchiki-san? We finished that conversation almost five minutes ago."

"I was . . . caught by surprise, that's all. But I'm really interested to hear this."

Kaigan and Shirogane shared a look. "I think it's better if Kuchiki-taichou told you this. I have a feeling he has been keeping this from you for some reason."

"Maybe you should ask him about this when you come back," Kaigan offered.

Rukia was silent for a moment before she gave a weak nod. There were more important things to do and right now a lieutenant rank meant nothing if there was no division to lead.

She just hoped neither Kiyone nor Sentarou had caught wind of this new development.

The small woman stood up and sighed. "I have to go to work. I really do miss my dad; he never cared whether I was late or not." And with that she left, her destination the little flower shop she was in manager of, no doubt.

"You're not leaving, Kaigan?" Rukia asked, honestly curious and hoping for a conversation with her former pupil.

She shook her head. "I take my days off today, and even though I could cover for someone else's lesson I want to practice with my zanpakutou. He has been unusually restless these past few days."

"Why do you continue training? Don't you believe it's hopeless?" Rukia asked, barely able to keep her own distress and anxiousness from her tone.

Kaigan eyed her warily. "What would you do then? Stand around and do nothing?" At Rukia's lack of reply, she continued, "I believe that Kurosaki-san is far too stubborn to just give up. Too stubborn and stupid, since he got himself in this mess, though I shouldn't blame our problems on a human teenager. Don't you trust him, Kuchiki-sensei?"

She bristled slightly at her inquiry. "Of course I do! Why do you think I look for him all the time?" she replied hotly.

She looked unperturbed by her explosion. "For a second I doubted that, though it had more to do with the question we all have in the back of our minds: is Kurosaki Ichigo too late? I certainly hope not; I've been wasting too much time of my life to just lay it to waste."

"So you'd rather think that we have a chance?"

"There's really no evidence supporting whether Kurosaki will be useless or not, which gives me the rare ability to choose. I chose long ago to believe in him. I think you should too, since you've been the catalyst behind many amazing feats he has done."

She finished the last of her eggs and gulped down her orange juice. "Thanks for the pep talk, Kaigan. I don't know what came over me."

The teenage-looking shinigami waved a hand at her. "Well, we all experienced despair when he had to retreat from Fake Karakura Town and watched as each individual lost their soul. You're just experiencing it rather late than others, considering your unwavering faith for that substitute shinigami." Kaigan stood up and turned to leave but hastily added before departing, "Oh, that reminds me. Renji told me that he's going regardless of what you say."

"Nii-sama is letting him go?"

"No, I'm covering his share of the paperwork. Let's just hope Kuchiki-taichou hasn't noticed that I can perfectly forge Renji's signature."

She was curious as to what Renji had exchanged to get Kaigan to do his paperwork. Kaigan Arutemisu hated to work unless she was obligated to, so either she took pity on her redhead best friend, which was unlikely, or Renji took over her cooking duties, which was more likely but would only end up in a disaster.

Her voice snapped Rukia from her thoughts. "Good luck, sensei; I wish you a safe return." After her nod of thanks, Kaigan left the mess hall, going to the training room if what she said was true.

Seeing no need to stay there, Rukia got up and made her way to what she dubbed the Garganta Room. It was further underground, hidden from Aizen's almost-godly senses. Kurotsuchi had grudgingly agreed to work with Urahara in creating a system that hid their reiatsu perfectly for the small price of a special limiter. This wasn't a problem when wearing a gigai, which they did most of the time, but when they needed to train or go to Hueco Mundo this presented a problem. At any rate, the limiter could only be activated in the Garganta or Training Rooms and each of them had a different purpose.

Renji and Orihime were already there, getting their limiters on to their souls. She consumed her gikongan, prepared for the discomfort the limiters brought on her body. Having restrictions on your power wasn't pleasant, but it was a small price to pay in exchange for having a small part of their shinigami life back.

"Took you a while, Rukia. What were you doing? Gossiping?"

"Yeah, on how you forced Kaigan Arutemisu to do your paperwork. Tsk, tsk, I didn't think you would fall so low, Renji."

"WHAT? She told you that? It's not true, I swear. I just took over kitchen duty for her. Don't let her lie to you, you know how mean she is to me."

Rukia scrunched up her nose. She already knew she wasn't going to be hungry on Tuesday. "No, she didn't tell me that. I just enjoy how panicked you get whenever I catch you doing something Nii-sama wouldn't approve of."

He grunted. "As if you do things he likes all the time."

She was about to retort when the Garganta machine whirred to life. Rukia turned to see that Orihime had finally learned how to turn it on, which was great considering how Urahara was late, again. The thin line opened to a gaping hole, one that led them to another dimension.

Once Orihime was in line with them, they nodded to each other and jumped inside, the hole closing behind them.

Ichigo was extremely bored. Harribel had insisted that he didn't do anything too flashy that might garner Aizen's attention or their scorn, so hunting hollows and training with Zangetsu were out of the question. He could always perform jinzen, but that meant he would also confront his inner hollow and right now he wasn't prepared for that, if he ever would be.

You underestimate your hollow's desire to become stronger. Your goals coincide right now so if I were you I would take advantage of this.

Not right now, Old Man. I just need some time . . .

Time is short, Ichigo. You have two months to become a threat to Aizen and moping like this won't change anything.

I'm NOT moping. I'm just mourning the loss of my town, my friends, my life. Am I not allowed to do that?

There is a time and place for everything. I'm sure that the survivors would appreciate it if you mourned your losses once you took care of the threat.

He sighed, not wanting to admit how true his zanpakuto's words were. Right now he was useless, but unlike others he had the potential to bring down Aizen. Even though he was invulnerable to Kyoka Suigetsu's hypnotic powers, he still had the whole I'm-almost-a-god part to worry about. Plus, from what he had heard from other Harribel, he had a new roster of captains and lieutenants that were fiercely loyal to him, obedience reminiscent only to Ulquiorra's.

Nel at the time was off exploring the lands like she always did with her former Fracción. He enjoyed and was comforted by her company, but right now he needed extreme concentration and having the child Arrancar around would certainly not do that.

He placed his sword in a vertical line resting on his two knees and concentrated hard on getting to his inner world. Now after getting so much experience he wasn't surprised to see the familiar skyscrapers and the raining environment.

"Oi, King, why don't you make this rain stop? Sure, it's nice and all the first couple of minutes but after getting drenched for hours straights this doesn't end up looking pretty."

He also wasn't surprised to see his hollow come out of nowhere. "I can't control how I feel; I can only control how I act."

"You're doing a shitty job so far, if you ask me."

His scowl deepened. "No, I didn't ask you. I don't expect you to understand. Someone who only prides himself in destroying wouldn't know the pain of losing."

"Oh, how poetic. I'm sure you tell yourself that before you go to sleep just so that you can feel better. Listen, I'm not here because of that. I'm here to strike you a deal."

"Don't blame me if I don't like the sound of that."

"Heh, wouldn't expect any less from you. Anyway, after hearing all this doom talk I became excited. This Aizen wannabe became strong enough to pose a threat to the Soul King, so even I might think twice before attacking him. So, I thought we should cooperate with this."

"And how are we going to cooperate?"

"I lend you my power at the small price of allowing you to hear my voice just like Zangetsu does."

"There's more; spit it out."

He grumbled under his breath, something about him being too distrusting for his own good. "Well, I of course become stronger and bolder as time goes on, so expect a challenge from me once we're done with this mess."

He sneered. "How's that any different from what you normally make me go through?"

The hollow shrugged. "You asked, I answered." A wide, maniacal grin appeared on his face. "So, what do you say? You know how much power I have, King. You only got a taste of it against the battle against the Espada. All of that for the small initial price of hearing my thoughts whenever I want to be heard, and to be honest I don't think my voice is that annoyin'."

Ichigo refrained from rebuking that statement, because yes, his voice was not only vexing but also psychopathic. "What does Zangetsu have to say about this?"

"He asked you to come here and left us alone, didn't he? That's the closest you're ever going to get of a blessing from that guy. So, King, wanna live up to your name or not?"

"I'm going to regret this down the road."

Yup, I took your advice, Hekka, and I thank you because you gave me the perfect cover to bring the focus to the shinigami and reveal a little bit of what's going on.

Now that the Royal Guard made its appearance, I need to rethink how I'm going to write out this story. They probably won't appear until I get a better insight of their personalities, because so far they've been acting like lovable clowns.

As for the OC, I couldn't just have the captains, lieutenants, and some of the known seated officers survive because that would just make it overkill from Aizen's side, which has the entire Soul Society to back him up. They won't play a major role in the story but will serve to add a certain degree of realism to the story.