Disclaimer- I don't own Bleach...thanks for reminding me...-sigh-

Chapter 21

Points of View

The banging of wood against the tile of the floor drew the nine captains' attention to the front of the long boringly white meeting hall. It was late evening in the Soul Society and there had been no reason given for the late emergency meeting that had been called.

"I believe that you are all curious as to why you have been called here on such short notice," the old Head Captain Yamamoto began. He was hunched over his wooden staff, both hands resting on the knobby end in front of him as his hooded eyes looked over the two rows of captains before him. "As I'm sure you are aware there was an attack on Karakura Town earlier today. The report was that four Arrancar appeared in the skies above the city, three were merely distractions for the one female amongst them to try and get information from Kisuke Urahara, who was exiled a century ago, but has been helping us prepare for the upcoming war with Aizen. She failed in her mission and didn't get the information that Aizen had ordered her to retrieve."

"Then why the hell are we here," Captain Zaraki Kenpachi of the Eleventh division grumbled. He was a large man with spiky hair and a manic grin on his scarred face.

"The reason for you being here is simple, the woman is a former captain of the Gotei 13. Her identity was confirmed by Urahara as well as lieutenant Matsumoto who served under her before her disappearance a century ago," Yamamoto continued in his gravelly voice.

"You can't mean..." The white haired Captain Juushiro Ukitake of the Thirteenth division began, his eyes flickering to the stoic, silent captain of the Sixth division, Byakuya Kuchiki. "She's alive?"

"Who the hell are ya talkin' about?" Captain Zaraki asked gruffly.

Byakuya answered the question, his voice was cold, distant as he spoke. "The adopted daughter of the last head of the noble Himura clan, their only child. She became the captain of the Tenth division after the death of her father, Hiroshi Himura. Sayomi Himura is how she was known to the entirety of the Gotei 13, her real name is Sayomi Ichimaru."

"That is correct," Yamamoto confirmed. "Sayomi Himura who disappeared over a hundred years ago as well as eight others, has reappeared and it would seem that she is not an ally. It seems that she has taken sides with her brother and Aizen. The situation needs to be dealt with quickly. There were orders issued by Central 46 after the disappearances... execution orders for each person who vanished that night."

Even the stoic Kuchiki couldn't entirely hide his surprise at the statement, his eyes widened minutely for a brief second before he quickly returned himself to his usual cold demeanor. The reasons for the disappearances of the captains and lieutenants that had gone missing over a century ago were unknown to all that stood in the room. As far as they had known they were all dead, so it was a bit of a shock to hear that that wasn't the case and that there were orders to kill the nine ex-members of the Gotei 13.

"Is there any reason to indicate why the order to kill them was given?" Captain Ukitake asked.

"Yeah, my previous lieutenant was one of the ones who disappeared, I'm quite curious myself," captain Kyoraku asked lazily as he adjusted the straw hat on his head.

Captain Yamamoto didn't seem too pleased with the inquires from the two men, not that he hadn't expected someone to ask questions, he just didn't want to discuss the topic. Sighing, the elderly captain said something that would leave everyone completely speechless. "Due to the vile acts of Sosuke Aizen during his time as a member of the thirteen court guard squads, specifically his experiments with hollowfication, they are to be dealt with as hollows."

Captain Kyoraku stopped chewing on the piece of grass that was stuck between his lips as he stared at Yamamoto. "You can't be saying that they became hollows old man Yama."

"That is exactly what I'm saying, Shunsui, they have gained the unstable powers of hollows. They are similar to the Arrancar that Aizen has created, except they were originally Soul Reapers and not hollows."

"Do we know if the other eight are alive?" The short, but fierce captain Soi Fon asked, her arms folded over her chest and her face blank.

"No, there is no information about the other eight," Yamamoto answered.

"It doesn't seem fair, does it," Ukitake said with a sigh. "To kill them for something that they had no control over."

"They should not exist, they are to be dealt with as hollows as per the orders of the Central 46. If that is not enough, Himura will be dealt with as a traitor. It would be preferred that she is brought in alive for questioning, but the others, if they are alive, have separated from Soul Society and regardless of what they are, are to be dealt with as traitors and deserters," Yamamoto replied.

Captain Ukitake sighed in disappointment, Kyoraku frowned, but no one else questioned the orders. The room was silent, no one knew what to say. It was quite a shock to learn that someone they had all believed to be dead was very much alive and a traitor. Several sets of eyes glanced at the stony captain Kuchiki who looked unperturbed by any of the news.

"Knowing that Himura is helping Aizen, it would be best to station another captain and lieutenant aside from Hitsugaya and his lieutenant in Karakura. With that being said, I would-"

Captain Kuchiki cleared his throat. "I would like to volunteer myself and my lieutenant."

There were several gasps from the people who knew of the Kuchiki's relationship to Sayomi. Captain Yamamoto raised a heavy brow as he regarded the black haired noble thoughtfully.

"Fine, you may go. You'll leave immediately. This meeting is adjourned."

"We're really going to Karakura Town to look for that woman?" A slightly flustered Renji asked his unusually blank captain.

"Must I repeat myself, Renji?" Byakuya asked coldly, keeping his eyes focused on the path ahead of him as he led the way toward the Senkai gate they would be using to enter Karakura.

"Uh, no," Renji spluttered out, scratching at his head and sighing. It may have only been a matter of months since he had become the nobleman's lieutenant, but he knew when to leave the man alone. Now was one of those times.

It wasn't hard to see that Byakuya was in a foul mood, the little extra reiatsu that was seeping from the usually calm and collected man was enough to tell him that. So was the steely glint in eyes, it was too much like the look he had seen in his eyes during the ordeal with Rukia's execution. Renji didn't know much about the situation, but he knew they were to bring the woman that had surprised him with her lightening quick reflexes and cat like movements when he and his captain had retrieved Rukia from the living world, was to be captured and taken back to Soul Society to be dealt with as a traitor. He also knew the woman had been engaged to the Kuchiki a long time ago, and though it had been an arranged marriage, they had apparently been quite close.

He also knew that she had disappeared with several others over a hundred years before and had been considered dead. That was about it though. He had no idea why she was considered a traitor or what she had done to earn herself a death sentence from the Central 46 and the way captain Kuchiki was acting made him curious.

"Dammit! How long Urahara!?" A red faced Ichigo shouted.

He was sitting at Kisuke's round table, Uryu and Chad were there as well. The other two boys sat silently as Ichigo fumed at Kisuke.

Kisuke sighed, lifting his green and white hat from his head to scratch at the back of it. "Sayomi destroyed the only suitable location before she left. I've been rebuilding it since then, but-"

"But what?! How long will it take to get a doorway or whatever ready to go to Hueco Muendo? Orihime's being held prisoner, Sayomi's a traitor and-"

"Now, now," Kisuke cut in. "Sayomi had her reasons, it's not fair to judge her without knowing them."

"I don't care what her reasons were, she's helping them," Ichigo yelled. "She betrayed us."

"Do you have to yell," Uryu asked pointedly after wincing several times because of Ichigo's raised voice.

"Yes!" Ichigo shouted at the black haired Quincy, who sighed and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "You were friends with Sayomi, Ishida, don't-"

"You're wrong," Uryu cut in calmly. "I am still friends with Sayomi."

"But-"

"I don't know her reasons for doing what she did, but you didn't know her as well as I did. I find it hard to believe that she betrayed anyone, she's just not that type of person," Uryu continued.

"I can't believe you're saying that! She's helping the bad guys!" Ichigo cried in exasperation.

"Geez, you're loud. How 'bout turning the volume down a little, eh? "

Ichigo blinked in surprise as he looked over to the door that led into the little dining room. Standing in the doorway was Shinji, grinning at the four people in the room as he waved at them.

"Shinji? What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, confused by the blond's presence.

"I'm here to tell ya to trust Sayomi," he replied seriously.

"But-"

"Shuddup, Ichigo," Shinji groaned before the orange haired teen could go off on another rant. "You don't know her. You're not the only one to be really pissed off at her, but she's got the same goals as everyone here. She's just goin' about things a little differently is all."

"What do you mean the same goals as us? And weren't you in our class for a few days, so how do you know Sayomi?" Uryu asked.

"I was a Soul Reaper, but that was a long time ago. And I meant just what I said, her goals, are the same as ours, but she wanted to do things on her own, and in her own way."

"What does she plan on doing exactly?" Ichigo asked.

Kisuke and Shinji shared a quick glance, Shinji sighed and looked back to Ichigo. "She plans on killin' her big brother, you've met him, Gin Ichimaru."

"The fox face?" Ichigo inquired curiously.

"That'd be him," Shinji nodded. "And from what Kensei said, it's likely she's going to try to go after Aizen too."

"On her own?" Uryu asked.

Shinji nodded again, frowning this time. "Yeah, on her own."

"That idiot!" Ichigo snapped loudly, everyone's heads turned to face the teen again. He didn't look angry anymore, now he just looked upset and more worried. "Why didn't she just say so? Why didn't she ask for help?"

"Because she would have gotten it," Shinji answered.

'One more sigh and I'm gonna beat his ass,' Hiyori thought in annoyance as she cast a glance over to Kensei who was sitting on the couch.

He was glaring at everyone and everything that he could, he had been ever since his brief talk with Sayomi the week before. She had now been gone for two weeks and no one had seen her or any other Arrancar since the failed attack on Urahara. Kensei had been in a bad mood since then, but it was also obvious that he was getting worried, it was a change from the pissed off and angry jerk he had been during the first week. At least he wasn't blowing the training ground to bits anymore though.

'For an over sized ape, he sure can be moody,' Hiyori thought as she clenched her jaw when Kensei took a short breath.

There was a screech as Hiyori stood from the much used chair she was in before lifting it off the ground and hurling it at Kensei's head.

"What the hell!?!" Kensei yelled as he ducked and the chair crashed into the wall by the television. When he turned, he saw a very angry Hiyori with her fists clenched at her sides and her eyes narrowed.

"One more time Kensei, I dare ya to sigh one more damn time!" Hiyori shouted, thrusting a finger threateningly in his direction.

Everyone was blinking at the angry blond, no one had dared to talk to Kensei, even saying hello usually earned them a glare and a snappy reply. Even Kensei was caught a little off guard by the outburst even though such things weren't rare when it came to Hiyori.

"We're all pissed off Kensei, but if you sigh one more time I'm gonna kill you!" Hiyori snapped.

"Mind your own business, Hiyori," Kensei replied.

"No! I don't care what you think, but I'm happy that the stupid princess is gone. She wasn't good enough for you, she only cared about herself and no one else. She didn't care about you or any of us for that matter," Hiyori stated brazenly.

"Shut up, Hiyori," Kensei grunted.

"She betrayed us and she is doing what that jerk face Aizen is telling her to. She never planned on killing her stupid brother, she just used that as her excuse so that when she left we would think she was really the little princess she made herself out to be. The bitch is probably screwin' around with Aizen and havin-"

"Shut the hell up," Kensei shouted angrily. "You don't know a damn thing about Sayomi!"

"I know she left and that's all I need to know. She betrayed us, she betrayed you and she probably doesn't even give a damn how you feel."

"Be quiet, Hiyori," Shinji spoke up from where he sat against one of the walls. "You've always hated Sayomi, but there are a few of us who don't think she's betrayed us so keep your opinions to yourself."

"You say that even though Kensei, the one who knows her best, said she betrayed us?" Hiyori asked angrily.

"Yeah, I do. Kensei is hurt and upset, it's understandable, but what do you think now, Kensei?" Shinji asked.

Kensei grunted. "That you're a fool."

"Hm. Is that so," Shinji mused thoughtfully. "You know 'er the best, but you have the least amount of faith in her. How sad, she always wanted your approval, but you've never given it to her, have you?"

The way Kensei started was almost as if he had been slapped, he looked at Shinji with wide eyes, but said nothing.

"You were the first person to treat her as a normal Soul Reaper and not the daughter of one of the noble houses. She has always respected you for that and even you can't deny that she always worked her butt off to try and earn your approval. It usually led to you two fighting or arguin' because you bein' you would act as if she hadn't done anything special. She's special though ain't she, Kensei? Not only did she graduate the Academy in two years, she was a seated member upon entry into the Ninth division and after less than fifteen years, she was your lieutenant. It should have been sooner than that, she was always strong and quickly surpassed your previous lieutenant, but you wouldn't promote her. Why is that?" Shinji asked.

"She wasn't ready yet," he answered shortly.

"Ya sure it wasn't because you didn't want her gettin' hurt? Ever since you first met Sayomi you've felt something for her, but you never told her and you never praised her either."

"Why should I have praised her?" Kensei snapped. "She would have wanted to leave and find a division she could move up in quicker. I was always aware of how strong she was, she's stronger than me now for crying out loud." He growled angrily at having divulged his feelings, his hands fisting at his sides as he turned his head away.

"And you're the one who made that so, ya don't think she would forget that, do ya? Sayomi doesn't forget easily, but she does try and do whatever you ask her to. It used to piss the Kuchiki brat off, I gotta kick outta that," Shinji chuckled.

"What the hell are you getting at Shinji," Kensei grunted, none too pleased with the sentimental turn of events.

"Nothing really," the blond shrugged. "Just that she knew she wouldn't get your approval on what she was doin'. You always knew that was her goal, but you never stood by her, supported her decision."

"Because she was trying to do it on her own, she's gonna get herself killed."

"You never gave her any reason to think you would be anything but ticked off when she went to kill him. If she would have asked Kensei, would you have gone with her?"

His eyes narrowed at Shinji as if upset for insinuating that he would have betrayed them, but after a moment he sighed and relaxed. Turning away, he headed for the rooms. "Yeah, I would've."

"We all would have," Shinji mumbled.

There were several sighs and nods of agreement from the others in the warehouse. Hiyori just snorted and stomped off, she wasn't willing to admit it, but even she would have been more than happy to help.

Sayomi had her chin in the palm of her left hand, her elbow was propped up on the white desk she was sitting at as she played with a knob with her right hand. Her blue eyes were watching the screen with amusement and there was a smirk on her face as she pushed the knob up a notch and tapped a button on one of the keyboards.

"An' just what do you think you're doin'?"

Jumping in her seat at the sound of the voice behind her, Sayomi spun around to scowl at her brother. "Thanks for almost giving me a heart attack, Gin, I thought we were past the trying to kill each other thing?" She snapped snottily.

Chuckling as he walked fully into the surveillance room, Gin patted Sayomi on the head. Her face pulled into an annoyed glare as she growled and swatted the hand away from her, patting her hair down once the hand had been removed.

"I'll never get tired of that look, ya look like a kid again," Gin teased happily.

"Maybe I should've just killed you," Sayomi grumbled.

"So who should we play with today?" Gin mused as he took the empty seat besides Sayomi.

"We haven't played with Ulquiorra yet," Sayomi replied, spinning back around to face the monitors.

"Are ya sure you want to play with the emo kid, he can be a little creepy."

"So? I want to see if his face can move."

"Alright then," Gin said, "So how ya doin' lil sis?"

"Fine, why?" Sayomi asked, keeping her attention on the corridor that Ulquiorra would walk into once he left Orihime's room after having her dinner delivered.

"You seem sad and you haven't even been teasin' Grimmy very often, I think he's gettin' worried."

"I'm just distracted. I keep wondering how everyone else is doing, but then I remember I'm trying to forget, so it shouldn't matter."

At first Gin didn't reply, but the silence in the room was ripe with a forlorn sadness. "It gets easier," he finally said.

"I hope you're right," Sayomi sighed. "I don't really feel like playing anymore today, I'm going to bug Grimmjow, let him know I haven't forgotten him."

"Behave," Gin sang as she stood and walked from the room. His grin dropped into a frown as soon as she turned the corner.

"What's the matter Gin? You seem unhappy?" A smooth voice asked from the shadows behind him.

"Not at all," Gin replied with a large grin as he turned in his chair to face the brown haired man behind him.

"Good. She will be mine, I promise to take good care of her," Aizen said with a smile. "There's to be a meeting shortly, I expect to see you there."

"Of course," Gin answered. "Just what do you have planned for her," he sighed after Aizen had gone. "I guess that's a silly question since I already know."

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