Rukia's heart sank when she peeked into the meeting room. She stood in the hallway with her captain, Kiyone, and Sentaro. Captain Ukitake had called all of the seated officers of the 13th Division into a meeting. It was easy for her to see that the emotions in the room varied greatly. There were those who were frightened, those who were angry, those in between, and those who didn't know how to feel.

It was the morning after Aizen's attack. Rukia, Kiyone, Sentaro, and Captain Ukitake had gotten practically no sleep at all. After they had miraculously managed to make Aizen and his fellow traitors retreat, their work was far from over. There was no time to waste. Captain Ukitake had immediately started an investigation.

There was so much they didn't know. How had Aizen, Gin, and Tosen snuck into the Soul Society? Why had they come back for Rukia? What did they want her for? These were just a few of the countless unanswered questions they had.

Captain Ukitake and the 13th Division were not the only ones who had questions. Investigators from the First Division had soon shown up to take over the investigation. Captain Ukitake and everyone else who had been involved in last night's incident had been pulled into a meeting with Captain-Commander Yamamoto. Among those people were Rukia, Kiyone, Sentaro, Rangiku, Renji, and Captains Hitsugaya and Kuchiki.

The first half of the meeting consisted of briefing the Captain-Commander on everything that had happened that night. As they all gave their statements, investigators frequently came in and out of the meeting room with more and more information that only the Captain-Commander was allowed to see.

Rukia swallowed the knot that had formed in her throat. The other half of the meeting consisted of Captain Ukitake being bombarded with questions. How had Aizen, Gin, and Tosen snuck through the gate that Division 13 had been in charge of guarding that night? How had they managed to hide, undetected, in the area that Division 13 had been in charge of patrolling?

What was even more alarming was the Hell Butterflies that had brought messages to Rangiku and Renji moments before Aizen had made his move. Both had delivered the exact same message. Renji and Rangiku had been told to meet their captains in their respective offices. However, both of them had arrived to find that their captains were not in their offices. When Byakuya and Toshiro had been asked about this, both had stated that they never sent for their lieutenants that night. Everyone in the room had been baffled. That is, until the Captain-Commander had received another report. After reading the report, the Captain-Commander had asked Captain Ukitake another question. Why had the two Hell Butterflies - the ones that sent messages to Rangiku and Renji on the night of the attack - originated from Division 13? Not from the Sixth Division. Not from the Tenth Division. Someone from Division 13 had sent the two Hell Butterflies to isolate Rukia, Aizen's target.

If it hadn't been obvious before, it certainly was then. Captain Ukitake had a traitor within his division.

With that dreaded realization, the Captain-Commander had issued an order that all members of Division 13 were to turn in their zanpakutos until they were cleared by the First Division's investigators. That order included Rukia, Kiyone, Sentaro, and unfortunately, Captain Ukitake himself.

Rukia had been so angry. She had to literally bite her tongue so that she wouldn't lose her temper and give the Captain-Commander a piece of her mind. She understood why she had to turn her zanpakuto in. She even understood why Kiyone and Sentaro had to turn theirs in. And she understood that it wasn't the time to stop and take loyalty into consideration. They were dealing with Aizen afterall. But to even think that Captain Ukitake would betray the Soul Society, his subordinates, his friends, was just infuriating.

Rukia's shock did not end there. Rangiku and Renji had also been ordered to turn in their zanpakutos until they were cleared by the investigation.

From there, all the individuals present were separated and questioned.

Rukia sighed. By the time they were allowed to leave the First Division, the sun was already beginning to rise. After hours of being interrogated, they still couldn't rest. They were the leaders of the 13th Division. They now had to figure out what to tell their subordinates.

The anxious girl felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see her ever smiling captain.

"It's alright, Rukia. Everything is going to be alright," he said soothingly.

She nodded. Her eyes couldn't help but wander to his waist, where his zanpakuto was still missing.

"Yamamoto took my zanpakuto to simply show how serious this matter is to him, not because he actually suspects me of betraying the Soul Society. He wanted to get his point across that everyone is a suspect and everyone will be investigated with the same rigor. I will most likely have my zanpakuto back before the end of the day," her captain explained.

Again, she nodded.

Ukitake's brows furrowed. Even Kiyone and Sentaro, who were always so high spirited, looked defeated.

Captain Ukitake took a deep breath. "Don't look so down, you three. We knew this was coming. Although, I guess we didn't think he'd strike so soon. But don't take yesterday as a loss. We did fail in capturing Aizen, but we managed to survive that battle with no deaths and only a few injuries. That's a win if you ask me."

Ukitake's three subordinates smiled. They knew their captain made a valid point. And they knew they couldn't afford to let their emotions run wild. There was no time for that.

"Ok, you three," Ukitake continued. "Let's go in there and try to ease the minds of our subordinates."

When the four of them walked in, the room momentarily went silent. Then, just as fast as the officers had quieted down, they erupted into a chorus of questions and concerns.

Rukia sighed. She should have known this meeting was not going to go as smoothly as she had hoped.

The four of them made their way to the front of the room and sat down at their respective seats. Ukitake sat in the middle with Sentaro and Kiyone to his right and Rukia to his left. Rukia eyed the empty seat next to her and noted how strange it was that Shunske was not already there. He was always early to division meetings.

Captain Ukitake remained calm and quiet as he let his subordinates continue chaotically voicing their thoughts. Rukia tried her best to keep her mask from wavering as she watched the other seated officers shouting.

"Good morning," came a wary voice.

Rukia turned to find Shunske taking his seat. "Morning," she said as happily as she could. She wouldn't lie. She had done a terrible job of hiding how anxious she was at the moment.

"How are you doing, Rukia? I-I'm sorry about… You know. I can't even begin to imagine how scary that must have been."

She shook her head. "There's no need to be sorry. I'm just fine."

"I shouldn't be surprised." A sigh. "You're incredible, Rukia."

Rukia suddenly noticed Shunske's trembling hands.

"I don't know how you do it. I was patrolling the gates when everything went down. The moment I felt Aizen's spiritual pressure, I froze," he admitted shamefully. Her friend was silent for a moment. "When I felt your spiritual pressure near Aizen, I was so worried. But I still couldn't bring myself to move." Shunske suddenly turned to look at Rukia. Specifically, he was looking at her left arm that was completely wrapped in bandages and in a sling. "I'm so sorry, Rukia! If I had been brave enough to move and help you all fight against Aizen, maybe you wouldn't have gotten injured. I should have been there. I should have done something."

Rukia looked at her friend in shock. Her injuries were not his fault! The only person to blame for her injuries was Aizen! But before Rukia could say anything to try to make her friend feel better, a loud bang caught her attention. She turned to see that Sentaro, who was fuming, had slammed the table.

"QUIET!" he roared.

Finally, the room settled down. All 15 of the seated officers took their seats.

"Thank you, Sentaro," Ukitake said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Good morning everyone. Let's get this meeting started."

One officer suddenly stood up. "Sir! Please, excuse my interruption, but why did officers from the First Division practically burst into my home last night and tell me that I must turn in my zanpakuto?"

Officers throughout the room began to stir. The officer that had spoken was not the only one who was bothered by this.

"Everyone, please calm down! As for your question, it will have to wait. Forgive me, but I must brief all of you as fast as possible on the events that took place last night and what will be happening as a result. It is a lot of information and the rest of our subordinates anxiously await to hear from us."

The officer bowed. "I understand, Captain Ukitake. Forgive me," he said as he took his seat.

Ukitake nodded. "As you all know, last night, we were attacked by Sosuke Aizen, Kaname Tosen, and Gin Ichimaru. Their objective for attacking the 13th Division specifically is currently unknown."

Rukia turned to look at her captain. She wondered why he had chosen not to tell at least the seated officers of the 13th Division that Aizen had, in fact, come for Rukia. She was relieved though.

Another officer suddenly stood up. Rukia gulped. It was Ikue.

"Captain Ukitake, if I may," she said. "I feel like Aizen's plan is obvious, is it not?"

Again, the room began to stir.

Ikue fixed her glare onto Rukia, who did not allow her mask to waiver.

"It's Rukia Kuchiki!" she exclaimed as she pointed at the black haired girl. "Aizen's first attack on the Seireitei was to obtain the Hogyoku from her. Now, he has attacked us again. Specifically, he attacked the 13th Division. It only makes sense that he is after her this time as well! Which is why, once again, I ask that you relieve her from her position as the Fourth Seat of our division. She is a danger to us all! She cannot be trusted to serve or protect you and its members if-"

Now, it was Ukitake who was slamming the table. The whole room was shocked by the sudden act of rage.

"I have had enough of this, Hasegawa!" he shouted. "How dare you make such an accusation against Rukia, who is not only your comrade, but your superior as well! How dare you say that she is a danger to this division! If it hadn't been for Rukia, we would have lost the lives of all of our trainees last night! Rukia could have escaped that battle, unharmed, if she had not thrown herself in front of Aizen's attack that would have left the trainees' barracks in ashes!"

As the enraged captain went on, Rukia's mind went back to the night of the attack.

Ukitake, Kiyone, and Sentaro had finally shown up to the battle. They had arrived to find Rangiku fighting off Gin, Renji bleeding and trying to keep up with Tosen, and Rukia on the floor before Aizen.

Ukitake had immediately flash-stepped to Rukia, picked her up, and got her away from that man. Rukia was gripping her chest and writhing in pain. Despite how worried he was, Ukitake knew he couldn't stop to ask Rukia what was wrong. He handed her off to Kiyone and Sentaro and told them to keep her safe before turning to face Aizen.

The battles continued. Eventually, Kiyone told Sentaro to go help Renji, who was barely able to keep up against Tosen.

Everything was going well, considering the circumstances. That is, until Ukitake began to have a coughing fit right in the middle of his battle with Aizen.

"They allow such a sickly man to remain a captain?" Aizen had laughed.

"I may be sick," Ukitake had said through his coughs. "But I can still face you, Aizen!"

Ukitake continued to battle Aizen. Rukia had tried to convince Kiyone to go help their captain.

"I want to, Rukia. Believe me, I do. B-But I have my orders! All we can do is believe in Captain Ukitake."

Captain Ukitake had done a tremendous job fighting off Aizen, even with his ongoing coughing fit. Then, suddenly, the fit became even more severe. The captain had doubled over and started hacking up blood.

Aizen had looked down at his opponent with a smirk.

"Life is full of lessons, Jushiro. It's time that you learned one."

Aizen turned to look right at the barracks that housed the young trainees. He put his arm up and began to gather fiery red reishi at his palm. The kido spell grew bigger and bigger.

Ukitake looked up in horror and realized what Aizen was intending to do. The white haired man shot up to his feet, but immediately collapsed back onto the ground due to his coughing fit.

Rukia, equally as horrified as her captain, fought to free herself from Kiyone's hold, fought against the pain she was in, and flash-stepped with everything she had to the entrance of the trainees' barracks. She could see all of the trainees - all of her trainees - gathered at the windows. They had been watching the battle.

Rukia spun around and jumped up high into the air. She unsheathed her zanpakuto and unleashed her shikai. Right when she did, Aizen had released his attack, and the giant fireball hurtled towards Rukia and the trainees.

Rukia couldn't believe how fast her heart was beating or how much her body was shaking. She fought her overwhelming emotions and called out her attack.

"Next dance! Hakuren!"

The avalanche of snow shot forward towards the ball of fire. Her attack collided head on with Aizen's, but it was barely slowing down the blazing attack. Rukia gritted her teeth as she fought to steady her hands. She poured more of her power into the attack. The avalanche coming from the tip of her sword grew bigger, but Aizen's attack was still coming towards her at an alarming rate.

The image of the terrified trainees flashed into her mind.

I can't fail! I cannot fail!

Rukia poured even more reishi into her attack. She could see that her Hakuren was finally starting to slow down the fireball. But was she too late? The attack was just a few meters in front of her. There was no way she'd be able to put out all of the flames before it hit her and the trainees. It was hard enough keeping her attack at this level of intensity.

Rukia scowled. If she couldn't put it out, she would just have to redirect Aizen's attack. She shut her eyes tight and continued to pour everything she could into her Hakuren. Her trembling arms gradually moved to the right so that she could change the course of the fireball.

Her eyes slightly opened when she began to feel the heat from the attack. It was so close.

As a last-ditch effort, as she continued to redirect the fireball to the right with her Hakuren, she called out for her First Dance, and encased herself in a ginormous pillar of ice. As she expected, Aizen's attack immediately broke through her pillar of ice. She had cried out in pain as the fiery kido spell brushed past her, burning the skin of her left arm. Her weak and exhausted body began to fall from the sky until she landed with a loud thump onto the ground. She was breathless and in so much pain, but nevertheless, Rukia got up. She turned around to look at the trainees' barracks. Rukia could have cried. She had succeeded. Aizen's attack had skimmed the roof of the barracks and landed just behind them.

She looked down at herself. Her left arm was burnt. But it wasn't as bad as it could have been. She sighed in relief. If it hadn't occurred to her to throw up her Tsukishiro, she probably would have lost her arm. Rukia shuddered at the thought.

Despite the great deal of pain she was in, Rukia made herself move. She ran inside of the trainee's barracks. She frantically looked around at all of the panicked trainees until she found the one she was looking for.

"Maeko!" she called.

The poor green haired girl was shaking. Despite this, the meek girl put on a brave face before her superior.

"I'm placing you in charge! Lead everyone as far away from here as possible! I don't care where you go, just make sure it's far away and that you all stay together!"

"Y-Yes, Ma'am!"

Rukia turned to the rest of the trainees. "Everyone, please stay calm and follow Meako! She will be leading the evacuation!"

Rukia forced her aching legs to move. She couldn't stop now. Her captain and her friends needed her help. When she got outside, she was so relieved to see that her brother and Captain Hitsugaya had shown up. She would have cried if she had had the energy to do so. Once she had seen that those two were now there, her body froze and collapsed to the ground.

Rukia finally snapped herself back into reality and looked up to find the entire room looking at her and her injured arm. She had almost let her anxiety peek through her Kuchiki facade. Having so many eyes on her was… Well, she didn't like it, that was for sure.

"...If there is anyone I should be relieving of their duties," Ukitake continued, "it is you, Hasegawa, and all the rest of my seated officers who were nowhere to be found last night!"

The officers gasped. Rukia didn't miss how Shunske flinched at their captain's words.

After that last outburst, Ukitake started coughing. He plopped down onto his chair and continued coughing. Kiyone and Sentaro fumbled to pour him a glass of water.

Once Ukitake had drunk some water and began to settle down, he sighed. "Now, if I may, I will continue the meeting. As of right now, it cannot be determined if Rukia is, once again, Aizen's target. There may be another reason he chose to attack the 13th Division." Ukitake's glare intensified. "I believe - no, I am certain - Aizen started his attack here because someone in our division has been cooperating with him."

Once again, the room erupted in gasps and whispers.

"Quiet down!" Kiyone and Sentaro shouted.

"That is why everyone, including myself, had been ordered to turn in their zanpakutos to the investigators. I expect all of you to give your full cooperation to the First Division so that this matter may be resolved as soon as possible."