Unohana Taicho sighed as she finished healing another shinigami that had come from the World of the Living half-dead.

"Tired, Taicho?" asked Soi-Fong as she got up from her bed.

Unohana shook her head. "We are having a captains meeting in fifteen minutes. Yamamoto Sou-Taicho would like as many captains to attend. Will you be able to make it?"

Soi-Fong looked at her hands and scoffed. "Of course I will." She paused for a moment then looked at Yoruichi in the bed next to hers. "What happened? How many of us are down?"

Unohana made a frown. "Shihoin Yoruichi, Komomura Taicho, Zaraki Taicho, Abarai Renji and you were wounded down in battle. Only Komomura Taicho and Shihoin Yoruichi are still unconscious."

Soi-Fong clenched her hands. Kurotsuchi Hiaru and Genryuusai Hokaitsu. She remembered Hiaru very well for he used to stalk her. He was a weak nerd who could barely do a proper kido spell, but he was helpful. She stayed silent for a moment, thinking of a way she could find out what had happened to Hiaru. Suddenly, she remembered something. "What happened to Kuchiki Rukia?"

"She is still unconscious."

"When do you think she will wake up?"

"She was supposed to have awoken by now. Her injuries are all healed and wounds are bandaged." A pregnant pause. "I believe it is the drugs they used on her."

Soi-Fong suddenly felt a wave of memories.

Flashback

"Grumpy," said Hiaru, jumping around playfully. "Guess what?"

Soi-Fong grunted as she continued walking down a path leading to a forest.

"Just guess!" he said as he stepped in front of her. Grey eyes met golden.

Soi-Fong sighed. Whenever she saw his eyes, she'd think of the setting sun. His eyes were nothing like his cousin, Mayuri's. "You invented something new."

"Correcto!" Hiaru said as he moved away from her path. "Now guess what I invented."

Soi-Fong rolled her eyes. Hiaru could've invented anything, but she wouldn't admit that. "A new device?"

"Nope!" Hiaru was now skipping ahead of her. "A drug."

Soi-Fong showed no change of emotion. "What type?"

"It forces people to answer any question asked. It makes their world go 'whooo whoo whooo'" he said spinning around.

Soi-Fong looked at him for a while. "We already have that, you idiot."

"I know that, Grumpy," he said scowling at her. "This is different though. They die after two weeks! It is a painful death. First week, no one will notice. The person will be fine and healthy, but her or she might need more time sleeping. The second week, though." An evil smile. "Let's not get to that."

Soi-Fong widened her eyes. "You made an antidote for it?"

Hiaru chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Not yet."

Soi-Fong scoffed. "You better make one if you want it accepted. You know Sou-Taicho likes an antidote made for every poison."

"Hai, hai, Grumpy," he paused as they arrived at their destination. He sighed. "It's beautiful. I love this place."

Soi-Fong sat on a rock as Hiaru leaned against a tree. "It is." She paused and picked up a rock. She threw towards Hiaru's head. Let's see if the genius dodges.

"OWWW!" he yelled. "Grumpy, whatcha do that for?"

She inwardly smiled. Sure the guy was a stinkin' genius, but he was just so clueless.

End of Flashback

"Check her again, Unohana Taicho," Soi-Fong said, panicking. She could care less if another shinigami died, but if Rukia had information they could use, she couldn't die yet.

Unohana raised her eyebrow. "What's wrong, Soi-Fong Taicho?"

"The drug they used on her. The drug will kill her in two weeks."

Unohana's eyes widened.

Renji and Ichigo's swords clashed against each other. Neither of them were in shikai state. They had been at it for thirty minutes. To any other person, it was just training, but for the two boys, it was a trash talk showdown.

"Pineapple."

"Strawberry."

"Loser."

"Sucker."

"Weak."

"Pathetic."

They were both smirking though. They knew they could go on for hours and still be nakamas. Yes, that was their definition of friendship.

Ichigo received a kick in the gut from Renji and he gave his red-dead friend a punch in the jaw. They pulled back and landed five feet away from each other, both breathing hard.

"Ch. You've gotten stronger, Ugly."

"You have too, Berry."

They both just took deep breaths and enjoyed the scenery. They had gone to this mountain place in Rukongai where Renji and Rukia used to train. To say it was beautiful, did it injustice. The grass met Ichigo's knees and there was a nice breeze.

Renji sighed as he sat down. "I dunno why Soul Society can never have more than a month of peace."

"Ch. No kidding. Just wondering why Hokaitsu hates Yamamoto so much."

"I heard a rumor that Yamamoto Sou-Taicho and his bro never got along. Then Hokaitsu did something wrong, which was never revealed to anyone but the Genryuusai Family, and was exiled for life."

"Holy crap! He musta done one hell of a wrong thing to be exiled for life."

"Exactly, but what many shinigamis wonder is if Hokaitsu did something so wrong, why was he not executed?"

"Ch. Yamamoto most probably pulled some strings to prevent that from happening."

"Yeah. Now, why would they exile Hokaitsu with his zanpakto?"

Ichigo clenched his teeth. Now that was strange. Almost as if Hokaitsu had someone helping him. "Oh yeah and what's up with Hiaru's huge sword?"

"I have no idea when in hell he got that. The only person that would hang around with that geek was Soi-Fong Taicho. We'll have to ask her."

Ichigo nodded. "You wanna head back to check on Rukia?"

"Yeah, sure," said Renji as he lazily stood. "I'll shunpo you there."

"Sure," said Ichigo smirking. "Just don't start crying when you lose."

The wind blew stronger and the two boys were gone.

Rukia looked at her reflection in the ice crystal she made. She was wearing a sleeveless white battle dress which reached her knees, like before, but this time her back was exposed. Under the battle dress, she wore tight, white pants. Her obi was a violet color and went with her eyes perfectly. She smiled and looked at Shirayuki who was also smiling.

"You have entered Stage Two. In this stage, whichever move you learned in the last is strengthened."

Rukia couldn't help but feel disappointed. "So I won't learn a new dance?"

"No."

Rukia tilted her head in confusion.

Shirayuki sighed. "Do the first dance you learned but add 'daini' to the begining."

"Hai," Rukia said and turned her back towards Shirayuki. She unsheathed her long, transparent sword. "Daini, Shiroitsuki no Dansu." She made a large circle with the hilt of her sword like before and poked many holes inside of it. To her surprise, the circle split into many, forming a shield in front of her. "KOGEKI!" A bunch of icicles flew from them. She opened her mouth in awe as they came out non-stop.

Shirayuki smirked. "The more you poke them, the more icicles they give off."

Rukia nodded as the icicles stopped pouring out and the mini circles disappeared. "It won't ever look like how it did in the first stage?"

"No. Once you move on to the next stage, your attacks won't ever look the same as the last stage."

Rukia smiled. "That's fine with me."

"Try Kori No Noroi and add Daini, just like before."

"Hai." Rukia breathed in and out deeply. "Daini, Kori no Noroi!" All the snow and ice near her began spinning around her sword. She made another circle with the hilt of her sword. This time, a thick circle of ice appeared.

Shirayuki nodded at her and Rukia sent the ice disk straight at her zanpakto. Shirayuki dodged it on time and turned around to find a crater. If she would've moved a second too late, she'd be cut in a bloody half.

Rukia's eyes were wide.

"You see why you do not need to learn another dance for this stage?"

"Hai. Can I try Tsurara no Shinryaku now?"

"Iya. You need something to impale and I am not willing to offer myself. Just add 'Tsukisasu' before."

Rukia nodded. "I think it's time I go back to the real world."

"You have missed a lot, Rukia."

Rukia stared into her zanpakto's eyes. "I know. Arigato, Sode no Shirayuki. It is thanks to you that I have this power. Arigato."

Shirayuki smirked. "Do not thank me yet. You still have two more stages to go."

Yamamoto Sou-Taicho looked at the attendants of the captain's meeting. Everyone except for Komomura Taicho, who was still in bed, and Kisuke Uruhara and Shihoin Yoruichi, whom he had requested to attend, was there. He turned to look at Unohana Taicho. "How many shinigamis have returned from the World of the Living so far?"

Hirako Shinji walked two steps further from his position an looked at his Sou-Taicho. "Fifty shinigamis have returned since last night and all of them return all report the same thing. Hollows with more than one hole in their chest attacking towns, but not harming anyone. They just want to be known by us. A couple of 'em claim the hollow disappears into mid-air after toying with 'em."

"Are there any specific location where they are attacking?"

"Iya. They choose it at random. They have attacked places that humans call New York, America, Darvaz, Turkmenistan, Lvov, Urikane, and so many more. It's as if they are aiming to target every single place in the World of the Living."

Soi-Fong looked up. "Should I send my squad to the World of the Living?"

Yamamoto stayed quiet for a moment. What was his brother achieving from this? He was not harming any humans, so why would he send so many of his hollows to the World of the Living? "Do not send any more shinigamis."

"B-but," Soi-Fong began.

"A shinigami's job is to protect the humans. If humans are not being harmed than we will not meddle, understood?"

"Hai," said Soi-Fong, looking down again. Even Hitsugaya Toshiro looked uneasy. He did not like the idea of hollows running around the World of the Living.

Yamamoto closed his eyes. Was Hokaitsu's goal to lure as many shinigamis away from the Soul Society and then attack it? He needed a lead. Someone to interrogate.

"Yama-jii," began Kyoraku Shunsui. "Ain't it time you told 'em why we exiled Hokaitsu?"

Zaraki Kenpachi's left eye twitched. "There was a reason?"

Jushiro Ukitake nodded.

"Oh," said Shinji. "We always thought it was for the fun of it."

"You see, Yama-jii. We shoulda told 'em back then. What Genryuusai Hokaitsu did that earned him exile for life."

Yamamoto opened his eyes and hit the end of his cane against the marble floor. "The reason why Genryuusai Hokaitsu was exiled, was because of a very big crime to my clan only. It would not affect any of you like it would to my clan. For that reason, it was kept a secret."

Shinji gave him a toothy grin. "Now we wanna know why you exiled him even more."

Yamamoto sent him a bloody glare. The time will come soon. I can not keep the reason for long even if it brings memories that should not be remembered.

"Kurotsuchi Mayuri," Soi-Fong's voice echoed through the captain's room.

Mayuri looked at her, giving her a confused smile. "Hai,"

"Remember the drug that your cousin, Kurotsuchi Hiaru, invented?"

He tilted his head. "Which one? He invented three."

"The one that will kill a person in two weeks."

Byakuya's eyes widened. Rukia.

"Ahhh ahh. Yes, continue."

"Did he ever make an antidote for it?"

Mayuri stayed silent for a while. "No, he attempted to, but all of them ended up killing his test robots faster."

"Holy crap!" exclaimed Kenpachi.

The room went silent. Yamamoto understood what was going on. Kuchiki Rukia was a gone soul. They just needed information out of her as soon as possible.

Soi-Fong looked at her sou-taicho. "She is our only lead to what is going on."

Yamamoto nodded and turned to face Unohana. "Monitor her and as soon as she wakes up, bring her to me."

"Hai, Sou-Taicho."

Byakuya's heart was beating rapidly. He could not hear what the other taichos were speaking, but he knew they wouldn't care if Rukia died. They just needed her for information. Information that she might not even have. No antidote for it. The same words repeated his head, getting louder and louder by the minute.

"Not a single shinigami will leave the Soul Society. If Hokaitsu will come again, we must all be as powerful as possible. Kuchiki Rukia will be interrogated as soon as she wakes up for any information she might have on this matter, understood?"

"Hai, Taicho," everyone chimed except for Byakuya, who just bowed.

Everyone left the room except for Ukitake and Shunsui.

"Yama-jii, you gotta tell or else they won't know who's good and who's bad. If Hokaitsu poisons their minds, we might loose half of Soul Society to him."

Ukitake was just standing, thinking about his lieutenant. How could he let Rukia die when he had the power to help save her? How could he do that?

Yamamoto observed both of them. "The time will come soon, Kyoraku Taicho. You are dismissed. Jushiro Taicho, stay here for a while."

Shunsui looked at both of them and smirked. He would leave them to attend their business.

"Kurotsuchi Taicho," said Byakuya as soon as they went out of the captain's room. "I need to speak with you."

"What is this? The ice prince speaks! Do you have anything for me to experiment on?"

Byakuya grimaced on the inside but did not change his facial expressions. "I need you to find the antidote for the drug used on Rukia."

"I don't have an example of the drug; therefore I can not make the antidote." He continued walking.

Byakuya felt his hand clench and the vein on his dimple pump violently as Mayuri's figure disappeared. How could he save Rukia?

(A/N Thank you .330, karinHitsugaya, Hisana Kuchiki,Phantom Claire, TomoMee, Hollowinthedark, Shinigami116, and Kuchiki fukotai for your EPIC and AWESOME and FUNNY reviews. This chapter was fun to write. I'll be uploading one more this Friday and then won't update till my CSTs are done. What do think of Hiaru's character? I want to make a mean character that used to be nice, but really nice. Not like Aizen, who was hypocritically nice at the beginning. I want to make young Hiaru a likeable character and the present Hiaru a hateful one. What do you think of the predicament I put Rukia in? Review, please, review! Also, don't forget to read my sister's story, The Difference Between a Noble and a Shinigami. She and I love to read our reviews together!)