Kenshin awoke with a yawn and stretched his limbs. He couldn't recall the last time he slept so peacefully or woke up without feeling sore all over.

"I should skip my sparring matches more often," he said to himself. He gazed out his window. "It's too beautiful of a day to waste on training. I'll pay a visit to Rangiku or Gin or even Lisa," he added with a lazy smile.

'I wonder if Captain Unohana is free today…' he wondered. Then his memory clicked and he remembered the announcement about the emergency captain's meeting from yesterday. His brow furrowed a bit. He hoped she was alright.

'I need to get over there and see' he decided, picking up his weapon and heading for the door.

"Attention! This is Head Captain Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto with important…and sorrowful news," the voice of the Head Captain boomed. Kenshin moved away from the door and to the window to listen to the announcement.

"Last night the spiritual pressure of Captain Kensei Muguruma and Lieutenant Mashiro Kuna vanished. In an effort to discover the cause of this horrific occurrence, a special team consisting of three captains and three lieutenants was sent to investigate." There was a pregnant silence as Kenshin waited for the Head Captain to continue.

"Unfortunately…we have lost all trace of their spiritual pressure as well," Yamamoto continued. Kenshin's eyes widened when he realized what the news meant.

"It is with great sorrow that I pronounce Captains Rojuro Otoribashi, Shinji Hirako, Love Aikawa, Kensei Muguruma, and Lieutenants Lisa Yadomaru, Mashiro Kuna, Hiyori Sarugaki, and Hachigen Ushoda deceased."

Kenshin bolted out of the door and through the halls of his division. It couldn't be true. Lisa, a person who he was willing to admit was one of his best friends was dead?

'It can't be true! It just can't be!" he thought desperately. Lisa was a lieutenant; she couldn't be killed that easily.

He caught sight of Ikkaku and Yumichika as he ran out into the courtyard.

"Hey, there you are!" Ikkaku said with his usual battle-hungry grin. "You ready to get started or wh- "

Ikkaku stopped when Kenshin ran past the two of them with even sparing a glance and headed for the exit to the division.

"Hey, where ya going?" Ikkaku shouted.

"I wonder what has him going off in a rush…" Yumichika thought aloud.

"Whatever it is, it better be important enough for him to miss another training session," Ikkaku said in annoyance.

"Wait! Didn't Kenshin mention that one of his friends was the lieutenant of the Eighth Division?" Yumichika asked. Realization dawned on Ikkaku's face.

"I guess he didn't take the news too well."

Kenshin ran through the streets of the Seireitei. He ran by the Tenth Division barracks where he met up with Rangiku.

"You heard?" she asked knowingly, her eyes slightly red and puffy.

"I can't believe it. I have to see for myself!" he stated. He refused to accept what Yamamoto had said was the truth.

"Where are you going to go?"

"The Eighth Division," he said before taking off running again, Rangiku running close behind him.

The two ran to the Eighth Division as fast as there feet would carry them. They charged through the division courtyard and straight into the office building, not caring about what they were doing was wrong. Once they reached the door to the captain's office, Kenshin pounded on the door.

"Captain Kyoraku!" he shouted. The two waited until the door opened, revealing the flowery captain of the Eighth Division.

"What's this now?" he asked with a friendly smile. "And who, may ask, are you two?" he asked curiously.

"Is it true, Captain?" Kenshin asked. "Is Lisa… dead?" he uttered the last which tasted like vinegar as it left his mouth. Kyoraku's smile faded and he let out a sad sigh.

"Please come in," he said flatly and left the door open for them to enter.

"Please Captain!" Rangiku begged. "Lisa was our friend. We have to know the truth."

Kyoraku said nothing for a moment and looked at the worried faces of the two before him.

"Yes…Lisa is…gone," he said sadly.

His words cut like a knife through their hearts. Rangiku sunk to the floor, unable to hold her sobs back any longer. Kenshin wrapped his arms around her and buried his face into her shoulder, trying to hide his tears as best he could.

Kenshin had hoped that it was all a bad dream and that he would wake up any moment and Lisa would still be alive and well, ready to taunt him on his height the second she saw him. Despite their bickering, Kenshin cared very much for Lisa; almost as much as he cared for Rangiku. He wasn't prepared for this at all. He had never dealt with the loss of a friend before. He felt so helpless and as he cradled his sister in his arms, he knew she felt just as bad as he did, if not worse. Kenshin then felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Captain Kyoraku looking to him sympathetically.

"I'm sorry… truly I am. I never should have sent her out there," he said as he hung his head so that his hat obscured his face. Kenshin could tell he was doing his best to hide his tears as well.

"A token funeral will be held a couple of days from now," he said, his voice a little shaky. "You can attend if you like."

Kenshin nodded and gently picked his sister up off the floor.

"We're sorry for barging in, Captain," he said, bowing his head.

"Please, don't apologize; I understand," Shunsui said with a nod.

With that, Kenshin helped his sobbing sister out of the captain's office. On there way out of the division, Kenshin noticed a little girl that bore a rather striking resemblance to Lisa. She was clutching a large book to her chest and was crying. The fact that there were more people mourning Lisa's death only made Kenshin feel worse.

By the time they reached the entrance the division barracks, Rangiku had calmed down enough to the point where she could stand on her own.

"We should go see Gin," she said, her voice cracked. "I hope he's alright."

"Can you go by yourself?" Kenshin asked softly. "I…want to be alone."

Rangiku nodded and wrapped her arms tightly around him then planted a quick kiss on his cheek before leaving to find Gin.

Kenshin dragged his feet back to his division. The sun had disappeared behind a mass of rain clouds that expanded across the Seireitei. The quick approaching bad weather did not improve his mood; it seemed to complete this horrible day. By the time he made it back to his squad barracks, droplets of water had already begun to fall. Ikkaku and Yumichika were standing outside the doors to the main building.

"How ya feeling, kid?" Ikkaku asked first.

"I'm sure he's feeling terrible, Ikkaku," Yumichika chided. "Losing a friend is such an ugly thing to go through."

Kenshin ignored the both of them and walked into the building. To his chagrin they followed after him. At an intersection in the hallway, he ran into Kenpachi. The two stared at each other for a moment before Kenshin averted his gaze and moved past the giant.

"What's up with him?" Kenpachi asked curiously.

"He was friends with one of the lieutenants that was killed last night," Ikkaku informed.

"Huh… I was wondering what that meeting was about. Should've went to that thing; something that can take out four captains and four lieutenants is something I definitely would like to fight," Kenpachi said with a grin.

"You didn't go to the meeting?"

They all turned to see Kenshin had stopped walking, but kept his back to them.

"Nah, I didn't think it was too important," Kenpachi said with a bored tone. He didn't noticed Kenshin's hands ball into fists. "I just went back to sleep after the announcement was made."

Before anyone knew what was going on, Kenshin and ran towards Kenpachi grabbed him by his collar and slammed his fist into his captain's face. Ikkaku and Yumichika stood back in shock.

"You bastard," Kenshin growled. "Four captains and four lieutenants are dead and you don't even care!"

Kenpachi simply looked at him, unfazed.

"You could have gone out there with them!" he shouted. "You love fighting right? You could've gone out there and helped them! And then…" he said doing his best to keep his voice from cracking. "…and then my friend might still be alive!"

Ikkaku and Yumichika waited to see how there captain would react. For a while he just stared at Kenshin, who only glared back as he kept a firm hold on his captain's shihakushō. The next thing Kenshin knew, his captain's fist was driving into his stomach. The air was completely knocked out of him and before he could take a breath, the same fist that drove into his stomach slammed into his face and sent him to the ground.

"Captain!" Yumichika shouted in surprise.

Kenshin slowly pulled himself off the floor. He coughed up blood as he held his stomach in pain and threw a glare at his Captain.

"Listen kid, if you don't like the way I run my squad, you can leave," Kenpachi said coldly.

Ikkaku and Yumichika gasped and Kenshin stared at Kenpachi in shock. What surprised Kenshin the most was that he actually considered his Captain's words. He glared at Kenpachi, trying to hide the hurt in his face. Then, without another word, Kenshin ran down the hall and out of the division building.

"Captain, was that really a wise thing to say?" Yumichika asked curiously.

"What if he really leaves?" Ikkaku asked.

"You idiots, he won't leave," Kenpachi said confidently. "I said that to make the kid train harder."

"What?" the two of them asked, confused.

"That kid's been training for four years and he still ain't ready to fight me. He still hasn't learned his lesson either," Kenpachi grumbled. "Now, he'll definitely work harder."

"That does make sense…" Ikkaku mused.

"Are you sure this will work?" Yumichika asked, skeptically.

"Don't worry, he'll be back," Kenpachi stated with a dismissive wave before returning to his office.

"You think he'll really come back," Yumichika asked his friend.

"Can't say. Guess well just wait and see," Ikkaku said.

The rain poured down hard onto the Seireitei streets. With the exception of a lone figure, the streets were deserted; no one wanted to be out in the deluge.

Kenshin didn't care that he was soaked to the bone as he trudged through the streets. He was freezing and wouldn't mind the warmth of his bed, but he refused to go back. His Captain had really broken him this time. Suddenly, he felt everything he worked for, all the hope he had was all for nothing. He thought back to what Lisa had said about him being due for some good luck. He didn't want to doubt her words, but given what had happened, his doubts were easy to succumb to. There was only one person that could help get through this. As if by instinct, his feet led him into the direction of that one person.

He walked up to the entrance to the Fourth Division barracks. He didn't know if Captain Unohana was even awake, but he had to try.

Retsu Unohana never minded the rain; sometimes she even found it soothing. It was also what made her flowers bloom so she welcomed this shower. She decided to relax and sit on the balcony outside her private quarters, the overhang kept the rain away from her seated form. She had let her hair down and removed her uniform in favor of more comfortable clothing. She was quietly sipping tea as she peacefully stared off into the distance. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she noticed something odd. There was someone walking through the grounds of her division despite the rain. It didn't take her long to realize who it was and she quickly grabbed her umbrella and rushed out of her room and out onto the courtyard.

"Kenshin!" she called out as she ran across the courtyard through the rain.

"What happened?" she asked worriedly, placing a hand on his soaked shoulder.

"I…I didn't know where else to go," he said, his voice barely audible.

"Come," she ushered and gently led him out of the rain and into the building.

Once they were inside, Kenshin suddenly realized just how cold and wet he really was. He shuddered violently as he rubbed his hands along his arms, trying to warm himself up. Retsu noticed and quickly led him towards her room. On the way they encountered her Lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu.

"Captain Unohana, what's going on? Why is Kenshin here and what happened to him?" she asked once she noticed the boy's presence.

"Isane get some blankets and some fresh robes and bring them to my room, quickly," she ordered firmly yet gently. Isane nodded and hurried off to complete her task.

Once Kenshin was inside Retsu's room, she immediately began pushing him into her bathroom. As a medical expert, she knew that she had to get Kenshin out of his wet clothes quickly and get him warm. She ran the bathwater and Kenshin blushed when he realized what she was doing.

"Um… Captain I-"

"You have to get out the wet clothes, Kenshin" she interjected before he could protest."You'll catch a cold if you don't."

"B-But, I…" he stammered, nervously clutching at his wet shihakushō. A blush began to show on his face. Retsu realized what had him so embarrassed and left the room.

"I'll warm up some tea for you. Isane should be back with a change of clothes for you," she said before closing the door.

Even though he was alone, Kenshin still didn't feel any less embarrassed. He was standing in the middle of Captain Unohana's private bathroom and had been asked to remove his clothes and get into her bathtub! Still, he didn't want to be freezing cold any longer so he did as she said. He tossed his wet clothes into the nearby hamper and stepped into to the warm bath water.

The warm water was a welcome relief to Kenshin. He was no longer freezing and the heat of the water calmed his mind. The peace and quiet gave him time to think. He submerged himself completely underneath the water and thought back to how he wound up in this situation in the first place. Maybe he was out of line when he assaulted his Captain the way he did, but did the man have to be so callous? Even if he didn't know about how much Lisa's death meant to him, he still didn't have to act as though the death of several of his fellow captains meant absolutely nothing to him. He wondered if he should go back and apologize.

'Do I even want to go back?' he wondered.

His Captaindidn't seem to want him around and probably didn't realize or care that he was gone. The more Kenshin thought about it, the more he wondered if he really made the right choice when he joined Squad Eleven. He could have joined any other Squad he wanted, other than the Fourth Squad. The only reason he joined the Eleventh Division was because he felt a kinship with its Captain after he learned that he couldn't speak with his zanpakutō. He began thinking that maybe that reason alone wasn't grounds for joining Squad Eleven and perhaps he should have given his decision more thought when he was applying for one of the Squads.

"Kenshin?" he heard his name being called. He pulled himself up from under the water and saw Isane standing in the door way.

"I have your clothes," she said.

"Thanks. Leave them there I'll be done in a minute."

Isane nodded and set the clothes before leaving Kenshin to dry off and dress. He wrapped himself in the warm white robes Isane left for him and stepped out of the bathroom. Captain Unohana was pouring cups of tea for both of them. She gestured for Kenshin to sit beside her and handed him his tea. Isane came up behind him and draped a blanket over his shoulders to keep him warm.

"Thank you Isane," Unohana said sweetly. "You may go to bed now."

Isane nodded and left the two of them alone. For a few moments there was silence between the two of them as they sipped their tea. Unohana was the first to break the silence.

"Kenshin, please tell me what you were doing out there in such weather," she asked kindly.

"I… just wanted to go for a walk," he lied. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Captain Unohana staring at him with an impassive face. He should have realized that he couldn't lie to her; she knew him to well.

"I wanted to get away from the Eleventh Division," he admitted with a sigh.

"Why?" Unohana pressed.

"It's… it's nothing," he stated. "I don't want to burden you Captain Unohana. You've done so much for me and I'm not even a part of this squad! I shouldn't have come here. I should go."

Before he could stand up, Captain Unohana had stepped behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

"How many times have I told you, Kenshin?" she asked sweetly. "You can come to me for anything."

"But-," Kenshin tried to protest.

"Even though you are not a member of my squad, you are still very precious to me. I daresay, you've become much like a son to me, " she said as she hugged him a little tighter.

Her confession shook Kenshin to his core. The woman he had revered for so long had just told him that he was like a son to her. He had never had a mother, but whenever he was around Captain Unohana, it often felt like he did.

"Now please, tell me what is wrong," she asked once more. Kenshin turned his head and looked towards her. Those eyes and that smile…they got him every time.

"My friend is dead," he finally said.

"Lieutenant Yadomaru," Unohana stated knowingly. "Is that all?" she asked. Kenshin shook his head.

"Why didn't Captain Zaraki go to the meeting yesterday?" he asked, more to himself than to Unohana. "He could've have done something and maybe Lisa and the others would still be alive."

"You can't be sure of that, Kenshin," she said gently. "I do not doubt Captain Zaraki's strength, but I fear that there was little even he could do."

"I hit him," Kenshin continued. "I was so mad. He didn't think it was a big deal at all."

"It's alright, you were angry. I'm sure Captain Zaraki understands," she sad soothingly.

"No he doesn't. He said that if I didn't like they way he ran things then I should leave."

"Do you think you should leave?"

"I don't know… but for some reason, I feel like I don't belong there," Kenshin said solemnly. "Maybe I should leave."

"Well for now, you aren't going anywhere in this rain. I'll let you sleep in one of the spare rooms."

"I can stay?" Kenshin asked in shock.

"Of course," she said warmly. "You are always welcome here."

Kenshin smiled and leaned in Captain Unohana's embrace. His anger and sorrow was already forgotten and now he felt entirely content.

"Captain?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think… you could teach me Kido?"

"Why would you want to learn Kido?" she asked in surprise.

"So I can join this squad," Kenshin asked with a nervous tone. Unohana looked at him for a moment, her brow arched.

"Are you sure that is what you want?"

"I think it was a mistake to join the Eleventh Division. I don't seem to fit in there. I think I'd be happier here, being close to you," he said with a smile.

Unohana looked to him for a moment and smiled.

"I would be happy to teach you Kenshin, but first how about we try and resolve your problem with Captain Zaraki," she suggested. "Tomorrow we will both go see him and discuss this and if you are still sure about your decision, then I will teach all that I can so you may join my squad."

"Thank you, Captain Unohana."

After a moment of enjoying each other's company, Retsu brought Kenshin to a spare bedroom and bid him goodnight before returning to her private quarters. Kenshin fell asleep quickly, the days events having taken a toll on him.

When Kenshin awoke, instead of finding himself in his bedroom, he found himself in a place he hadn't seen in years. He instantly recognized the familiar fortress and quickly picked himself off the floor. He couldn't help but wonder why he wound up there; he hadn't attempted to contact his zanpakutō since his fourth year at the academy. He felt an all to familiar presence and turned to face the one he blamed for his lack of power.

"What do you want?" he asked his zanpakutō's spirit with disdain.

The spirit merely stared at him with those piercing red eyes before speaking.

"Pitiful…" he said with disgust.

"What?" Kenshin asked angrily.

"You choose to ignore my existence for years and now I find you even more lost than you were at the academy."

"Why would you care?" Kenshin snapped. "I wouldn't be this way if you would have lent me your power all those years ago."

"You are correct. You would have been weaker."

"Leave me alone!" Kenshin shouted and turned his back to the spirit. "The only time you speak to me is when you want to insult me."

The spirit only chuckled.

"You still continue to run away."

Kenshin looked back and glared at the spirit. He then marched up to it so there was only an inch of space between them and looked at it straight in the eye.

"I hate you. I don't ever want to speak to you again."

The spirit remained impassive as Kenshin walked away.

"If you keep running…soon you won't be able to," the spirit said solemnly, but Kenshin hadn't heard him and continued to walk away.