---Jûshirô---
He watched as they all argued about what to do. This was rediculous! They had to decide weather or not to help her, but what was difficult was that she was an Arrancar. Jûshirô's heart sank with every word they spoke to Yamamoto-taichô. They were all begging him to destroy Akajihaku, but Jûshirô wanted to bring her back, give her that second chance she just didn't get.
He was about to speak up when they started to speak out against his feelings. He gasped and retracted from asking them to reconsider. He closed his mouth and dropped his head, resting his hands in his lap. He was uselessly intimidated by them all yelling at him. Of course, there was no representative for the 5th, 9th, and 13th Division as it stood. Jûshirô couldnt' support the 13th Division's decissions with all fo them dennying him a chance to speak up against them. He heard Tôshirô suddenly yell at Byakuya.
The little white-haired captain was scolding Byakuya for thinking so irrationally. "Think about it! If it was Hisana or Rukia or Renji, what would you honestly do?! Would you seriously leave them there to die?! Your best friend?! Your sister?! Your lover?! You'd leave them to die?!"
Jûshirô felt himself snap and he stood up and walked between the aisles of Captains. They all stopped talking and he went and knelt before Yamamoto. He couldn't take it anymore. He was going to defy them for the sake of someone precious. She was a kind person and he was willing to risk his position and his friendships to save her. "Yamamoto-sensei." He got a recognition. "I believe everyon deserves their second chance, will you let me take her place, as her adoptive father, for her crime? I beg of you. She was the closest I've come to a daughter. With the disease inside of me, I know I wouldn't be able to have a child, so she was the closest I've come to one. I want to protect her from these barbarians that call themselves Captains of the Gotei 13." He heard a murmur run around the room. "I love Akajihaku as my daughter and I will take her place on the exacution block."
He heard someone stand and he knew who that was. Byakuya came and stood just a few feet behind him.
"I know what I want, Byakuya." He turned around and gave that sad smile that often made his Division feel sorry for him, but this time, it was more than sincere, it was scared, afraid of death. "I want to protect my only daughter that I could ever love a chance at life."
Yamamoto cleared his throat. "Then it's settled? No one wishes for any different from Ukiatake Jûshirô?" There was silence.
Jûshirô heard the silence and looked up. They were staring at him and he didn't know what to think of it, but Yamamoto read his mind.
"Ukitake Jûshirô of the 13th Division, you are under arrest. Your execution date will be set in accordance with your crime of being an accessory to murder."
Jûshirô bowed his head and closed his eyes, praying this would be over soon. He clenched his fists as he stood. No one cared about her because she was Aizen's daughter, but she was still human in the end and she still deserved a second chance as both a human being and as his daughter instead of Aizen's. Before anyone could react, he stripped away his Captain's uniform and then set his zanpakutô beside that at Yamamoto's feet. He turned around and held his wrists out for them to be sealed together so he could be taken away. His face became cold and he followed the men who led him to the white tower where Rukia was once held. He didn't look back. They were heartless to him now, those he'd considered friends were heartless in the end, even Shusui.
---Nanao---
She paced back and forth before she ran into Shusui. She stumbled back and then stared at him. "Shushui?" He wasn't his usual happy self and his hat was set low. She dared to use the name she often spoke when she was alone in her room. "Shu-kun?"
He sighed gravely and turned his eyes to her. "Jûshirô's going to be executed."
She gasped and saw the sorrow in his eyes at the loss of his friend. She reached up and held him in her arms. "Then you should cry to relieve the pain. When a friend is sent to death row, it's best to cry and let your sorrows be heard by someone and anyone." She felt his arms encase her and she brought her lips close to his ear. "I'll let you cry if you promise that you won't be sad forever."
She felt tears stain her cloths and she slowly sank to the ground with him. The halls of their sleeping dorms filled with his soft sobs and her quiet "hush". She ran her thin fingers through his ponytail and she thought of something to say when he was finally quiet. She was about to say something when he leaned forward and kissed her full on. She was pinned to the wall and surprised by this sudden outburst and the she relaxed and she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss. She was happy he was finally able to understand why she was always looking after him and why she depended on him.
He broke away. "arigato, Nanao-chan." He nuzzled against her neck and then sat back to admire something about her face.
"What?" She was confused by the sudden gleam of love in his eyes. She thought he was looking at her chest, so she covered it, but then stopped when he removed her glasses. She gasped ever so lightly and he smiled at her, taking his hat off. "M-my eyes?"
"Yes. Beautiful Nanao-chan has beautiful eyes." He kissed her forehead. "And Nanao-chan helped Shu-kun feel better."
She flushed and turned away. "I didn't do anything, I just wanted--"
He kissed her cheek and ran off.
"oi!!" She touched her cheek and smiled a kind smile. "You're welcome, Shu-kun." She got up and dusted herself off and picked up her glasses and book. "I just hope there's something we can do for Jûshirô-sama." She touched her finger to her chin.
---Akajihaku---
She sat up when she heard the door open. She had just finished writing in the last page of the journal Hisagi had given her and she was no staring at his Arrancar self. His name was Tôkûrô of the Arrancar and he was more aware of how she felt. She stared him in the eye, her face as cold as possible.
He came and sat across the table from her and put a cup of tea in front of her. She didn't budge, but he sat down and sipped away at it before he set the cup down. He reached out and touched her hands, which were neatly folded on the journal and he smiled at her, a kind, soft smile.
"Do they wish for my company now?" she asked, quietly touching his hands with one of her own. They were still warm and she felt like she was still talking to Hisagi, despite the variations and the conditions that had changed. "I wish to speak with father now, is all." She slowly picked up the tea cup and noticed there was a strange color in the tea. "What have you put in here?!" she demanded. "Are you trying to drug me?!" She stood up, holding hte cup out so he could see. "Are you trying to kill me?! What do you want to gain from killing me, huh?!" She noticed the look in his eyes changed to evil and cold, Hisagi still had some control over his body. "Hisa--Tôkûrô-kun, I want to keep you sane! I stopped the Arrancar porcess because I love you! I know Hisagi's still in there! I'm dying in the end, so why kill me with poison?" She came down and touched his face. "As an Arrancar, Tôkûrô, I would be considered your mother, but in my heart, I want you to be my lover." He pushed her hand away and she felt something inside of her snap and she threw the cup and him smashed over the door and stopped him. "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" She was crying again. She recalled her last words in the book. "Tôkûrô, Hisagi, whomever you are! I'm dying because the Hallow hole in my gut is eating me from the inside out! I'm dying and I won't make it home." She collapsed, clutching herself. She was scared, cold, alone... she was clinging to the hope that Hisagi was still there, but to see his back facing her, her hope dwindled away to almost nothing. She leaned forward and her tears came like a flood. "I... I love you... Hi... Hisagi-k-kun." She whispered it so softly, she knew he wouldn't hear.
She was wrong.
Hisagi's hands were pulling her up and she felt her head hit his chest and his arms encase her. Her eyes widened and then she relaxed and closed her eyes, clinging to him, holding onto the closest thing she had to a lover. This was Hisagi, not Tôkûrô. This was her lover and not some stranger. "gomen," he whispered.
She closed her eyes and counted the days she had spent alone. Today marked the first of the fifth month since they'd found out about her father, Aizen. She had one week of life left and she was going to die soon, and the only ones who would miss her were Jûshirô and Hisagi.
