I posted this chapter with the last, be sure to go back and read Part 3. ^^

Chapter 3

Gin, where do you go off to when I'm not looking? Aika thought.

Her Lieutenant was, once again, not present in his office. He had been doing this a lot as of late. A bad habit he was getting from his friend and colleague, Matsumoto Rangiku. The dark woman was at the Tenth Division, trying to track him down. Unfortunately, Rangiku was no where to be seen, as well.

"Hey, handsome, I was wondering if you knew where our Lieutenants are hiding," Aika said, slipping into Toshiro's office. The white haired Captain looked up from his desk, shooting her an irritated look. He let the 'handsome' comment go only because of the fact they were alone.

"It's Matsumoto's day off," he told her. "She could be halfway across Sereitei for all I care."

"Well that doesn't help me," she said, sighing. "If it's her day off, Gin's not going to be with her. He knows she's the first person I'll check with."

"Well there's no use chasing him. Especially when he doesn't want to be found."

"I'll make him pay for it later. You want to go get something to eat?" she asked.

"I have work to do," he said.

"You can't honestly say that you're going to work through lunch time. Come on, let's go get something," she convinced him.

When he still didn't move, she walked across the room and grabbed his hand, coaxing him from his chair and leading him out of the office. She decided to take him to her to her favourite restaurant, which had been her top choice for over a century now. She had taken him there before, so she knew that he liked the food, as well.

Once they had been given a seat, they were handed menus. The waitress came and took their orders, and they waited for their meals in silence for the most part. Toshiro was the one to speak first, looking slightly awkward about asking anything.

"You told me that your clan serves the Kuchiki clan," he said. "That's means you know Kuchiki Rukia. How are you taking this?"

Rukia had been brought in last night and placed within the 6th Division jail. Her fate was yet to be decided. Reports claimed that the human boy, known as Kurosaki Ichigo, had tried to fight for her, but had lost his shinigami powers in the end. Everything seemed to be working out well, but a lot of people had mixed feelings about Rukia's punishment.

That morning, though, the Captains had been called to the Captains' meeting hall to hear Byakuya's report. What he had to say, or perhaps not say, had shaken Aika, and Toshiro had seen the look on her face. The man had made not a single plea for his adopted sibling's life. In fact, it had almost sounded as if he would prefer she be executed. The finer details were still being worked out, but it was for sure that, in the end, Rukia would not live.

"I don't know Rukia-san as well as I know Byakuya-san," she said. "When she was adopted, I was living in the Kawasuzu manor and quite busy with my Captain's duties. I have talked with her on a few occasions.

"The thing is... I should not say this, but the connection between Byakuya-san and Rukia-san is a bit more complicated than most people believe. Anyone who knew Hisana-sama, his late wife, would know this. Not even Rukia-san herself knows the true reason that she was adopted into the Kuchiki clan. All she knows is a lie," Aika whispered, looking quite troubled. "Regardless, I think she must have had a very good reason for transferring her powers to Kurosaki Ichigo. That, among other things, has led me to believe that her punishment isn't just. She won't even be given a trial to try and defend herself."

"The decision of her execution is being decided by Central 46 itself. Not even the Head-Captain can circumvent their orders. It doesn't matter what us Captains think. We have very little sway over what they decide," Toshiro pointed out, frowning.

"I know. I still hate feeling useless, though," she said a little bitterly.

"How about we spar after this?" he suggested. "You can let off a little steam." She nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like a plan."

They finished lunch quickly and went to find a suitable spot to train after retrieving their zanpakuto. However, they were intercepted by a Hell Butterfly from Soi-Fon. Aika listened as the message was relayed. Gin had been spotted, and he was well outside his jurisdiction. The short woman sighed as the insect fluttered away. When Toshiro cast a questioning look her way, she explained.

"What would he be doing all the way out there?" he murmured once she had finished. She shook her head.

"It's hard to say, I never know what he's thinking. Captain Soi-Fon told me that it was Esaki-san who spoke with him. If he was the victim of one of my Lieutenant's games, I have to say that I feel sorry for him," she replied.

Gin was constantly getting into trouble with his mind games and pranks that he played on other people, usually important ones, too. Aika had long ago mapped out this behaviour and learned how to avoid having him play with her, but he never really tried. A fact that she was glad for, since there would be serious consequences otherwise.

She was a bit confused, though. There were plenty of people within Sereitei that he could play his games with. It was unlike him to go this far out of his way for only one person. Especially all the way out to the higher districts of Rukongai. She decided that she would confront him as soon as she could find him. It was about time she stopped these pointless wanderings. Perhaps she would speak with Esaki, as well. It would give her an excuse to talk to the handsome man.

"Are you going to go get him? Or do you still want to spar?" Toshiro asked.

"We can still spar. He isn't back in Sereitei, yet. I can talk with him about this tomorrow," she replied.

Once they had found a spot, they stood across from each other, their swords drawn. Aika's was a wakizashi rather than a normal katana. Toshiro held his sword with both hands. He signalled for Aika to attack first. They would start without their releases, just to warm up, then use Shikai later on while making sure they didn't seriously hurt the other. Bankai was not a part of the equation this time.

This wouldn't be the first time they sparred. When Toshiro was being prepared to take over the 10th Division, Aika was chosen to help guide him by the Head-Captain. Back then, she had been drawn to him due to the unique circumstances regarding their zanpakuto spirits, which had both manifested for them at a very young age. Far younger than usual.

But even after she was relieved of her duties, they continued to train and spar. Trying to get in at least one or two matches a week. This had resulted in a close friendship between the two. It had been tentative, at first, since neither were accustomed to the willing companionship of another due to their pasts, but it had been built into a sturdy wall that hardly wavered.

After training for a few decades, they knew each other's style of battle quite well. They were quite evenly matched, and the days where Aika would win simply due to experience and power control were far behind them. Most of their matches ended in stalemates, or if one of them slipped up and the other got lucky. Still, it was always nice to practice.

They exchanged blows, never slicing clothing or drawing blood. A casual onlooker would have described it as a graceful dance between two skilled experts. Their strikes missed or were blocked more than they hit. Toshiro was the first to release his weapon. He leapt into the air, raising the sword above his head as he called its name.

"Reign over the frosted heavens, Hyourinmaru!"

A chain grew from the pommel of his zanpakuto, ending in a silver crescent blade. The air around them dropped several degrees as Toshiro called upon the water in the atmosphere. He froze it, forming an eastern dragon made completely of ice. He sent it hurtling towards Aika, but she was ready.

"Charge, Jinsoku Koshi!" she yelled, releasing her own weapon.

There seemed to be no change, until she swung the weapon. It expanded, separating into several different segments all connected with a wire. The entire length of the sword crackled with white electricity. It slammed into the ice dragon, easily destroying it. Toshiro landed on the ground and swung his sword.

"Guncho Tsurara!"

Several ice daggers were formed and flung at Aika. Rather than dodge them, she cried.

"Ten Kou Kaminari!"

Lightning rained from above, obliterating the daggers. Aika emerged from the residual ice shards and swung her sword at Toshiro, adjusting the attack so it just barely brushed him rather than leaving him with a deep cut. He leapt away, but was forced to move once more as she called yet another lightning bolt. He summoned another ice dragon and lunged to press the attack.

It was getting close to evening meal by the time they agreed that no one was the winner and sealed their weapons. They parted ways after that. Aika planned on having a nice meal and a hot shower once she returned to her manor, but first she wanted to pick up some paperwork that she wanted to do before bed.

"Ah, Cap'n Kawasuzu," came Gin's greeting when she entered the office. It looked like he had arrived not long before she had. "I've been lookin' fer ya. When I found out that you were sparrin' with Cap'n Hitsugaya, though, I decided ta wait in the office fer ya."

"You've been looking for me? Gin, I've been trying to find you all day. Captain Soi-Fon told me that you were in Rukongai speaking with Esaki-san. Why is that?" Aika immediately leapt into the interrogation of her second in command.

"I was jus' out in Rukon ta see if they had any dried persimmons," he told her. "Rangiku and I ate them all from my trees the other day. I couldn't find any, so I decided ta go back when I saw Esaki-kun and his team on a mission. I stopped ta watch them fer a while, then came back here."

Like usual, she couldn't tell if he was lying or not. His grinning face and squinting eyes never revealed anything to her. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. It was too late to be doing this now.

"You are neglecting your duties, Gin," she said. "This isn't the first time, either. It's become a bad habit, of late. I expect it to stop."

"O' course, Cap'n."

"Now, you said you've been looking for me? Why? What happened?" she asked, moving on to more pressing matters than her runaway Lieutenant.

"I saw some suspicious people in Rukon today," he told her.

She waited for him to continue. It took her a second to realize that he wasn't going to say anymore.

"That's it? They aren't in our jurisdiction. Captain Soi-Fon tells me you were spotted in the higher districts of East Rukon. We only look after those in the lower districts there and a few higher ones in the north. You should inform Captain Soi-Fon of this," she said, a little confused that he was bringing it up.

"I did see 'em in the lower districts, Cap'n. Ya look tired, though. I'll write ya a report and ya can read it tomorrow," he replied absently.

He was right. She was tired. And she didn't really want to look at reports of suspicious people at the moment. Chances were that they were just another one of the gangs that ran around the lower districts every once in a while. She would most likely have to send out a patrol in order to eliminate them the next day.

"Okay. I expect to see you in the office tomorrow morning, Gin. I don't want to have to run around looking for you again."

"A' right. G'night, Cap'n Kawasuzu."

"Good night, Gin."