DISCLAIMER: None of the characters in this fic is mine they belong to Kubo Tite (or in the American way: Tite Kubo). The only thing that's mine is the storyline. Hope you enjoy! Comments and complaints welcomed :-)

Author's Note: Another unplanned fic... well sort of. Again, the ideas for this story came through in bits and pieces. It was simply stuff I was toying around with. This is basically my opinion on what should happen, in other words, an Alternate Reality from what Kubo-sensei would probably write. Also, there is one other Bleach Fic I've written called "And So..." and it's sort of a small prequel to this. Note, however, that it is not necessary to read it before reading this fic. Oh and I apologize for the random characters that might showed up. The language of software I used to write this isn't compatible with In another words, if there are errors, please let me know in your reviews so I may correct them.

Timeline: Right after the end of Chapter 174.

i

Fear...
by: SpaceRanger

i

Abarai Renji could literally feel his own conscious slowly slipping away once again in the few seconds it took the Captain of the 5th, Aizen Sousuke to slice through him. And so... he did the only thing that he felt was the most important in his list of priorities of what one does when they are on the verge of death cause by someone else...

...DAMN... I ...IT... He cursed.

And once more his consciousness was swept away into darkness.

Long before she even met Renji and even afterwards she dreamt. She dreamt every day of being dropped in darkness, falling further and further away to where she was alone, always... always, alone...

Receiving the Zanpakutou erased that dream with a simple sentence

"Rukia, fight with your Zanpakutou without fear."

Fear... something she has tried time and time again to rid herself of when they gave her the Zanpakutou she had given to Ichigo which was destroyed by Byakuya. And she did for a while... until the House of Kuchiki took her in. Despite the fact that the dream never returned, fear, once more, became her greatest enemy.

Fear of the others treating her more then she was.

Fear of disappointing Nii-sama by not being seated.

Fear of Ichimaru Gin and the feeling he gave her as if he was a snake waiting to strike.

Fear of being a burden to Vice-Captain Shiba Kaien and Captain Ukitate Jyuushiro

Fear of never measuring up to Kaien's wife, her idol.

Fear of bringing shame to the Kuchiki name she was proud to uphold.

And now... fear of this man, Aizen, and... his spiritual pressure.

Being surrounded by Sakkisei made her spiritual energy weaker then it once was to the point that even she couldn't sense her own power. It took all her energy not to be crushed by the spiritual pressure of Kuchiki Byakuya, one of the strongest Captains in the Gotei 13, both times he released it. Strangely enough, it was fear the brought her the strength to plead for Byakuya to not kill Ganju, to stand when Ichigo came flying to them, to abandon her surprise and look at him when he began to talk to her, to tell him how much of an idiot he was coming after her, and to tell him to run when Byakuya was about to unleash his attack. So when the Captain of the 6th finally left she couldn't stop herself from collapsing, with the weight of the spiritual power gone and the energy that her body ate up that finally exhausted.

Once more she struggled against a strong spiritual pressure and she could barely breathe as he walked towards her, in a casual manner while striking Renji and Ichigo with ease as if they were the mere ants and garbage as he called them. The spirit pressure dropped on her even more heavily with every step he took.

...Ichigo...

..Renji...!

..My body...

...Won't move...!

"Come." He said as he reached forward for her.

"Get up." His hand was now on the collar around her neck.

"Kuchiki Rukia." She couldn't even struggle as he lifted her so that she would be standing on her feet. "You have something that I can't have Rukia. Something you don't deserve." All of the rescue party's hard work vanished in a single blow. For nothing could be done as his Zanpakutou sliced trough her in what she assumed was the same way it did to the Vice-Captain of the 5th division, Hinamori Momo.

She was falling again...

Falling further and further away to where she was alone, always... always, alone...

This time though, she didn't struggle, she couldn't

Fear filled her every being as she realized that she couldn't move... couldn't scream as she continue to plummet into the darkness. So she didn't, sadness filed her as she finally accepted that this was how she--

"Whaaaaaaaaaaat now?" A voice... a voice that was familiar to her yet she couldn't place it at all broke through her thoughts.

"What's with that shitty face again?" She couldn't help yelping in fright as the face of one Shiba Kaien suddenly appeared in front of her, upside down like it did long ago.

"AH!"

"Even now you go "Ah!" when you see me? I'm so hurt!"

"Kaien-dono?" She struggled to say. He grinned and mock saluted at her as he did when they first met.

"Been a while eh Rukia?" She struggled to reply but she couldn't find the energy to say anything any more.

But you--

"Died Rukia?" He smirked at her before lying back and relaxing as if they weren't still falling. "Yes, I can hear you but don't worry about that now, and yes I am dead, I've just been living in your mind ever since."

How are you here? Captain Ukitate said that the hollow that took your body told him that you and it could never be separated again.

"If you had not killed me when you did then yes but it's something I cannot explain to you just yet. I don't have enough time for that." He looked at her and then shifted so that only his right side was facing her as he looked back up into the darkness, crossing his arms behind his head in a lazy manner.

"Rukia, understand that even now that Aizen is bringing down the soul society. The soul society that a lot of us gave our lives to protect."

... Yes... I know. The muscle underneath his right eye began to twitch.

" 'Yes', 'I know'? " Kaien grabbed her head and brought it up to his face, skewing her hair like he did long again. "What the hell is your problem! Your Vice-Captain just told you some important information! You should be asking me questions to learn more about what I know!"

I know but there's nothing I can do... Ichigo and Renji fought with all they had and they couldn't even come close. How can I, an unseated Shinigami even--

"Ichigo and Renji swore to save you Rukia. The blood they've shed was sacrificed for you." Rukia was surprised, but her body still wouldn't budge. "As for being unseated..." The former Vice Captain scoffed and as if an after thought, patted her on the head (ruffling her hair even more) before letting go so that he could dropped that arm to his side and used the other to scratch the back of his head a bit.

"Believe me when I say that THAT was a fucking lame ass test designed to make sure that you failed. In fact, you weren't even test on but 40 percent of the test. The other 60 percent is the one major requirement for being a part of the 13th Division of the Gotei 13: you had to know the name of your Zanpakutou. You also had to be able to fight with it at an average level." With a sigh he crossed both arms across his chest before he continued to speak.

"For our division, in order to be a true Shinigami, you must know your sword. It is your best friend, your family, and your life partner until it deems you unworthy. Despite my objections, Captain Ukitate insisted on you not taking that portion of the test and it was only while I've been here that I realized why."

Kaien-dono...

"You asked before, Rukia. 'Why? No one should be bleeding because of me. Am I really worthy of having someone bleed in order to rescue me?' " He nodded. "In the entire scheme of things, you're not important at all. But that's not important, it never was. The only thing that is important, is the fact that they think you are... Because when they decided to save you, they swore to do so on their souls."

That's because they're idiots. He smirked.

"That's what everyone else thinks too... but I agree with those two. You're a good woman Rukia, and by extension, you are worthy of being saved." She could say nothing to that.

"Rukia... do you want to end this darkness?"

Aizen dropped the limp form in his hand when he was sure that the light in her eyes that revealed her as being alive had been extinguished, his face revealing the pleased look in his eyes of how smoothly things were going.

"Tousen... finish the ants at your feet." He said as people began to show up. "Gin and I will deal with the rest of these garbage." He reached for his weapon as the others took in the sight around them.

Gin's grin grew even wider as he and Tousen pulled out their Zanpakutou when their fellow Shinigami stared at them, shocked at the sight before them, as if they were rookie soldiers with their first kill.

"You'll have to deal with me first." To the surprise of everyone the limp form of Kuchiki Rukia stood up once more, her upper body slumped and her face hidden in the shadows of her hair. The wound given to her by Aizen continued to dripped blood onto her white outfit and onto the ground.

"Yada, yada. You're as troublesome as the rest of them. I've told you..." As soon as he finished his speech she said,

"Captain Aizen... " She laughed softly and many were startled when dual voices that came from her after her laugh. "Iie... Sousuke-chan. Killing an ant like me isn't something that you should do. I am no ant you see. I... am a bird." To glimmer of light began to shine from Ichigo. The light left the boy's prone body and suddenly both boys were standing with no wound to speak of, and fully awake.

"Wha--What's going on?" Renji demanded. The light flew around them and with a speed the rivaled Yuroichi's it slammed into Rukia's body. Instead of doing what it did with the to boys it lit her whole being into a bright white light and she suddenly exploded, blinding them all and stunning them so that it was they who couldn't move. When they could finally see and move again, Aizen, Gin, and Tousen were standing with broken swords and in a similar white outfit as Rukia's. Rukia on the other hand, was in full Shinigami gear. The sword in her hand, however, was nothing more then a handle... yet... they could all sense that there was more to it then that.

"Burn... Soukyoku." The blade that was meant to kill her took form in her hand in the shape of its released form.

"Killing you would be too merciful for what you have done here. I will take the lives that you've ruined and give their pain to you in two folds. This, Sousuke-chan, is a true illusion but you will bleed from it before Soukyoku kills you."

Within seconds Aizen, Gin, and Tousen existed as nothing more then dust.

Watching her now, Kuichiki Byakuya was proud, proud that although the cage bird was dead, it had been reborn, reborn on her will as a Phoenix. He also had a sad look in his eyes that only she could sense. Rukia turned towards him and smiled in a way that reminded him so much of Hisana. Without warning, her Shinigami gear vanished and she was once more in the white kimono as she pitched forward to fall to her knees with Ichigo being the only one fast enough to catch her before the rest of the body followed to her knees to the ground.

Later that night found Byakuya walking back to Division 6's headquarters to get his paperwork done. It was a long walk to get from the 4th division headquarters to his office and on the way he was followed twice.

"Well, Byakuya... Think it was Hisana?" Byakuya shook his head as he answered,

"No, Senpai... Rukia." Ukitate could only smile as he walked away. They knew each other well enough that they didn't have to speak any more to understand each other.

"She'll choose Earth." Renji said as he fell in step with his Captain soon afterwards.

"I know."

"Gonna let her?"

"Yes."

"Will she be back?" There was no hesitation in his voice as Byakuya answered.

A pair of footsteps walked around the graves that had dug for lost family members, finally stopping at one tombstone particular tombstone.

"It is to be expected..."

"We're here" The gruff voice of Ichigo said, breaking the silence in this gloomy area.

It was painful... so very painful to even move even a slightest bit, even to speak. If it weren't for Ichigo's firm hold on her or the blindfold over her eyes, she would not have been able prevent herself from crying out at the burning pain that would trigger all the sensitive nerves in her new body. She knew she would have to eventually force herself to deal with it soon enough or she would never have control over her body again. Still, it had felt nice that Ichigo and Renji had glowered and threatened anyone who tried force her into the training so quickly, both yelling that she would start when she felt she was ready for it.

To himself, Byakuya thought, For she has inherited his will... the will of--

"Shiba Kaien huh?" Ichigo muttered, as quietly as he could so he wouldn't aggravate her ears. She could hear Ichigo squatting down and could almost picture his brown eyes squinted at the words craved in the tombstone so that he could figure out what had been curved there in the darkness. The memories of what her Vice Captain had done for her surfaced briefly and the words he had given her when she called forth the name of her sword featured prominently in her mind.

"Soukyoku, that is the reason why I'm still here. It was able to shatter me into ashes and repair me to what you see now." She couldn't say anything to that. The brief silence was interrupted as he began to speak once more.

"Now that you have your sword, it's time for you to return to your world. Aizen is about to destroy Soul Society." Without any word of ceremony he kicked her. As she spiraled away and back to her body she heard him yell her name.

"Rukia!" He yelled after her "Be a proud Shinigami. I expect you to protect them in my place and always, fight with Soukyoku together and without fear."

The two stayed there for quite some time before their time ran out and Ichigo had to take her back before the 4th Division would go into an uproar over their missing patient. As the human continued to run, she closed her eyes and return to the ghost within her, ready to release his bonds to her.

Kaien-dono, you told me once that as long as I'm in your division, you'd stand by me even if you die. You've kept that promise, but I want to release you from it now. However, you don't have to worry about me anymore... Soukyoku and I will always fight together and I will hold my head forward and fight as you had and I will continue to do so. You would be proud that I chose to stand in your place. He smiled as his body began to glow brightly before vanishing from within her mind.

And so... the Phoenix inherited the will of The One Who Loved the Shinigami.

i