Rukia had been waiting in the hallway outside of the interrogation room for quite a while now. She didn't mind having to wait for so long. She only wished that it hadn't been so eerily quiet in that hallway. It was hard trying to keep her mind at ease. Thousands of thoughts were rushing in and out and back into her head.

She had done everything she could to keep from replaying last night's event in her head. It was not easy though.

No matter how many times she tried distracting herself, that man's eyes continued to creep into her mind. It was terrifying knowing that, at any moment, Aizen could come back for her. Her common sense told her that it was irrational to think that he'd come back so soon after his attempt last night failed. But Rukia's mind had a habit of making the irrational appear a little more rational.

Why was he back? He had already taken the Hogyoku from her.

She shook her head vigorously. That didn't matter! She could figure that out later. What did matter was that she needed to get stronger. If she had been stronger, she could have been able to do more to help her trainees and make them feel safer. She needed to get stronger so that when Aizen returned, she would be able to protect those she cared about.

Rukia scowled as her eyes came upon her injured arm. The pain had gradually gotten worse throughout the day. But that was good, she reminded herself. It was good that she could feel and move her arm, no matter how much it hurt. Last night, poor Isane had been so worried about Rukia possibly having nerve damage. Luckily, that didn't seem to be the case.

Rukia was in the middle of reminding herself that she needed to go see Isane before the end of the day when her arm began pulsating in an almost unbearable pain. She winced. She must have overexerted her injured arm today during the training session with her trainees.

Her brows furrowed. I have to be stronger! she repeated to herself.

Aizen's piercing eyes snuck back into her mind, and suddenly, Rukia couldn't breathe. Her body slowly began to tremble as she realized something. Was it even possible to get strong enough to survive another battle against him? Was it even possible to defeat that man?

Rukia forced herself to take deep breaths.

Even if she continued to train and continued to get stronger, was it possible to somehow catch up to that monster?

The sound of a doorknob turning snapped her back to reality. She forced her mind to slow down and tried to calm herself down. Rukia smiled as Maeko stepped out of the room.

"How did it go, Maeko? It wasn't too bad, I hope," Rukia said after she had put on her classic calm and collected mask.

The girl smiled and nodded. "It was fine, Kuchiki-dono. They even took the time to clear me after I gave them my statement. I'm getting my zanpakuto back." A sigh of relief. "I'm so happy!"

"I'm so glad to hear it." Rukia looked up to the two investigators that had taken Maeko's statement. "I take it she is good to go?"

"Yes," the woman said. "However, we have a few more questions for you, Kuchiki."

Rukia blinked. "More questions?" She had already been questioned extensively in the early, early morning.

"Unfortunately, yes." A pause. Rukia could tell the investigator was holding something back. "It's very important that we be thorough."

A sign. "I understand. However, I had promised Maeko that I would walk her back to the 13th Division. She shouldn't be walking around alone right now."

"Agreed," stated the woman. "I'll arrange for an officer to escort her back."

Rukia turned to Maeko. "Is that alright with you?"

The girl nodded. "Of course! You're needed here, Kuchiki-dono."


"Huh? You want to know about Haru Ito?" Rukia asked.

"Yes," the female investigator simply stated.

Rukia frowned. She was starting to get a bad feeling. "I'm sorry for asking, but why?"

"I'm sorry, Kuchiki, but I'm afraid I can't answer that."

Rukia's frown deepened. "No, that's alright. I'm sorry for asking. That was rude of me. I know you're just trying to be thorough in your investigation. I'm just shocked that his name would come up." She shook her head. "What do you want to know about him?"

"Let's start with how you know him."

"Well, Haru is a trainee in my division. I have been overseeing his transition into Division 13 and I've also overseen some of his training. He's respectful to his superiors and incredibly gifted in hand-to-hand combat as well as fighting with a zanpakuto. And even though he is talented, he continues to work hard. I host extra training sessions with the Tenth Division, and Haru has shown up to every single one. He does what is asked of him, without question. He's kind to everyone. He follows all the rules. He often helps his classmates with training. He's the perfect trainee."

"I see," said the woman as she wrote in her notes. "Has he ever done or said anything that seemed odd to you?"

Rukia thought long and hard. Finally, she said, "No, nothing."

The woman nodded. She turned to her partner and asked him to bring her a file. When he did, the woman opened it. She turned the file over and pushed it over to Rukia. "Can you tell me what this is?"

Rukia looked over the page. "This is Haru's interview, from the Evaluations. I may not be much help with this. I didn't participate in the interviews."

"That's alright. Can you tell me what this means? Why is this section crossed out?"

Rukia looked over the section the female investigator was pointing at. "Well this section right here is where any concerns the interviews have over one of Haru's answers would be filled out. It seems like one officer was concerned about an answer Haru gave. But, you see the two signatures at the bottom? Those are from the other two interviewers that did Haru's interview. That's why Captain Ukitake has the interviews done with three officers. The other two disagreed with the concern, which is why it's crossed out and why there are two signatures."

"I see," the woman said as she continued to write. "Are you able to recognize those two signatures?"

Rukia squinted. "The first one is Shunske Ota. He's the fifth seat of Division 13. And the second is-" Rukia had almost gasped.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "You don't recognize it? That's alright. We can ask Captain Ukitake."

Rukia shook her head. "No, I do recognize it. This signature belongs to Ikue Hasegawa."

Rukia did not miss the investigators' reactions.

"So, let me see if I understand you correctly. During Haru Ito's interview, he gave an answer to a question that one officer thought was concerning for one reason or another. The other two conducting the interview did not agree and so they crossed out the red flag and had to leave their signatures?"

"Yes," Rukia said with furrowed brows.

She was quite confused at the moment. Now that she was thinking about it, the fact that Shunske would throw out a red flag didn't make sense. If anyone were to suspect the possibility of a trainee not being ready to enter the 13th Division, Shunske would probably be the first to agree. Shunske's devotion and concern for Captain Ukitake was similar to that of a doting mother. If there were any concern about the members of Division 13 - even the slightest bit of concern - Shunske would never ignore it. That's one of the many reasons Shunske had instantly agreed to take on the secret task of watching Ikue after Captain Ukitake had suspected her of working for Aizen.

Rukia tried to calm herself down as the pit in her stomach deepened. There was also the fact that Ikue had also signed off on removing the red flag. Rukia didn't know what to think of it.

"Kuchiki, do you know what the officer's concern was about?" the female investigator said, interrupting Rukia's train of thought.

Rukia slid the file closer to her and squinted as she tried to focus on the words that had been scribbled out. "From what I'm able to see, the concern was over his answer to the question asking why Haru had decided to join the Gotei 13. I think the officer believed Haru's loyalty to his hometown in Rukongai may outweigh his loyalty to the Gotei 13."

"What do you think, Kuchiki?"

Rukia looked up. "What?"

"Do you think the officer's concern was legitimate?"

Rukia's brows furrowed as she thought back to her interactions with Haru. "I don't think so. Not in the way that could pose a danger to the Gotei 13. And I don't think loyalty is the right term to use in this case. You see, Haru grew up in the same town as I did. That place… I don't think Haru - or anyone for that matter - would ever consider that place 'home.' But this is all just my opinion. I wasn't in the room while Haru was being interviewed. And some of the information on this file is no longer legible."

The woman nodded. "Thank you, Kuchiki," she said as she continued to write. She picked up another file, and quickly skimmed through it before saying, "I just have one for question and then you're free to go."

Rukia nodded.

"Where was Haru Ito on the night of Aizen's return? He wasn't in the trainee's quarters, correct?"

A nod. "That's right." And then suddenly, Rukia realized something.

"I'm sorry. I know you already mentioned this when you were questioned the first time. I would appreciate it if you walked me through his whereabouts one last time."

Rukia almost hadn't heard the woman over her racing mind. "Haru… Haru was the one who came to my office after Rangiku and Renji had been summoned by the hell butterflies and after Ikue Hasegawa had left my office."

"Hasegawa was in your office that night as well?" the woman interrupted.

Rukia blinked. "Yes, she was. She had stopped by to… reminisce about the past." Rukia had forgotten she had left that minor detail out during her original questioning. She still thought it best to keep their interaction on that night to herself. She knew it was wrong to hide things from the investigators, however, she couldn't risk her and Kaien's relationship being discovered.

"I see. You hadn't mentioned that before," the woman stated.

"I'm sorry. I must have forgotten."

"No, that's alright. It's not uncommon to forget events after an incident like that. Please, continue."

"Haru had started pounding on my door and yelling. When he came in, it was obvious that something was wrong. He told me that Aizen was here and that two trainees - Aiko Takeda and Ran Nakamura - were in trouble. He wanted to take me to where he had seen Aizen, but I told him that that was too dangerous." Rukia was scared to say the next part. "I ordered him to run and sound the alarm."

The woman suddenly paused. "You ordered him to sound the alarm?" she repeated. "You ordered Haru Ito to sound the alarm before Aizen had started attacking you and Lieutenants Abarai and Matsumoto?" Rukia could see the gears turning in the investigator's head. "Kuchiki, how much time do you think passed from when you instructed Haru Ito to sound the alarm to when the alarm actually sounded."

Rukia's mind was spinning. This didn't make any sense.

"Well, I'm not quite sure. I was the first to arrive along with Renji and Rangiku. Captain Ukitake, Kiyone, and Sentaro showed up after. That battle had gone on for so long before Captains Hitsugaya and Kuchiki also showed up. Even then, some time passed before the alarms had finally started to sound."

"I see," the investigator stated simply before shutting her notes. She turned to her partner and whispered something in his ear. Rukia's stomach started to churn when she saw the man suddenly get up and leave.

Rukia turned to the woman. "Wait! What's going on? Where is he going?"

The woman started gathering her notes and her files. "To make an arrest. We have our first legitimate suspect. Good work, Kuchiki. We couldn't have done it without you."

Rukia shot up from her chair. "What are you saying? Are you arresting Haru?"

"Yes."

She vigorously shook her head. "There must be a misunderstanding! There's no way Haru was involved in this!"

"The way it looks right now, I disagree."

"But he eventually did sound the alarm! It took him a while, I will admit. But, nevertheless, he still did! There must be an explanation. He's just a trainee! He must have been scared out of his mind and froze."

The woman sighed. She rummaged through some of her other files. She pulled one file out and opened it. She handed it to Rukia. "I'm afraid that isn't the case, Kuchiki. It was not Haru Ito who had pulled the alarm. It was another one of your trainees, Meako Yoshida."

Rukia didn't believe the woman until she read the incident report in her hands. She didn't know what hurt her more: the fact that Haru hadn't sounded the alarm, or the fact that poor Meako had had to be that brave on the night Aizen showed up. Rukia started tearing up as she thought about the tiny girl who had to ignore the fact that she had just barely escaped death so that she could lead her peers to safety. Rukia's heart ached when she thought about how the poor girl had to not only worry about her own safety, but also the safety of all of the trainees. Rukia's heart swelled with pride and anguish when she thought about the fact that Meako had even been collected enough to lead her fellow trainees to an area that was not only far away from the battle zone but also had an alarm that she would be able to set off.

Rukia flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up, Kuchiki. It could have been anyone."

"Yes, you're right. But Haru was my trainee. I should have noticed something!"

The woman frowned. "At least your other trainee knew what to do. That was because of you. You trained her well. Don't forget that."

The woman turned and made her way to the door. "That's all for now, Kuchiki. I'm sorry to say, though, that you may be hearing from us again."

A nod. Rukia walked out of the interrogation room, out of the First Division's barracks, and made her way to her office.

As she walked, she tried her best to keep her composure. But her trembling body and teary eyes betrayed her.

She gasped as she let out a sob that she had tried so hard to suppress.

Meako, Rukia's trainee, had possibly saved Rukia's life and the lives of everyone who had fought valiantly against Aizen. And Haru, Rukia's trainee, had possibly conspired with Aizen, the man who put all of their lives in danger.

Haru was a traitor. Possibly. She would find out soon enough.

Rukia's eyes widened. What would happen to Haru if he was found guilty?

Images flooded her mind. Images of the Senzaikyu, where she was held prisoner. Images of Sokyoku Hill, where she was to be executed. Images of the guard, the captains, the lieutenants who all waited to witness her almost-execution.

Was that going to happen to Haru?

Rukia vigorously shook her head. If she continued to obsess over the uncertain, she was going to go mad.

But still… All the emotions that came with her uncertainty remained.

"Huh? Rukia?"

At the sound of her name, Rukia turned her head. When she saw Shunske, she immediately threw her mask on and smiled at him. "Oh, hello, Shunske!"

However, this time, he had finally caught a glimpse of what she was trying to hide.

"Is something wrong, Rukia?" he asked.

Rukia fought to keep her mask on, but it wasn't easy. She continued to smile. "What do you mean? Nothing's wrong."

A frown. "Don't lie, Rukia."

She blinked. Had he finally been able to see through her, she wondered.

Haru panicked. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be rude!"

As Shunske continued rambling, the black haired girl thought back to when she was being interrogated not that long ago. Her concern about Shunske signing off on removing a red flag resurfaced.

"It's alright, Shunkse. You weren't being rude at all. I appreciate your concern."

The young man sighed in relief.

"There's actually something I'd like to ask you," Rukia said.

Shunske blinked before cracking a huge smile. It was rare that his friend ever came to him when she needed something. Needless to say, he was ecstatic. It was a step forward in their friendship, he thought.

"Of course! Why don't we talk in my office? I can make us some tea to help ease your mind a little."

"Ok," she agreed.


"So, what did you want to talk about, Rukia?" the eager young man asked as he poured her a cup of tea.

A sigh. "I'm assuming you know about Haru Ito."

Haru frowned. "Yes. I was here when some investigators from the First Division showed up looking for Captain Ukitake. They told him that they were there to arrest Haru Ito. I was so shocked to learn that one of our trainees was responsible for what happened." Haru gripped the fabric of his pants. "I still can't believe it."

Rukia almost hesitated to ask her next question when she saw how hurt Shunske was. But she needed an answer. She needed to get all doubts about her friend's loyalty out of her mind.

"Shunske, I'm sorry to bring this up. But you were one of the three officers that interviewed Haru, right?"

The brown haired shinigami's eyes widened. "I-I had forgotten."

Rukia's brows furrowed when she saw how upset Shunske had gotten. He must be beating himself up right now.

"Can you tell me why you and Ikue signed off on removing the red flag the third interviewing officer had raised on one of Haru's answers?"

Again, Shunske was shocked. Rukia's heart clenched when she saw tears beginning to fall from his brown eyes. Haru put his shaky hands on his head as he realized what he had done.

"I-Ikue had come up to me after the interviews. She pulled out Haru Ito's file. She felt bad for him because the sixth seat had given him a red flag. She said that since the sixth seat was a noble, he didn't like that Haru wanted to help those in Rukongai once he became a shinigami. Ikue said that she didn't want the opinion of such a snobbish man to hold back a kind and hardworking trainee. A-And I agreed with her. That's why I signed it." He gasped. "What have I done?" he exclaimed before breaking down.

Rukia felt tears pooling in her own eyes, threatening to spill. She put a hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed it. "You can't blame yourself for this, Shunske. I spent countless hours training Haru, and I never suspected a thing. This isn't your fault."

"Rukia, don't waste your kind words on me!" he sobbed. "If I hadn't signed to have his red flag removed, Captain Ukitake would have kept a closer eye on Haru Ito. Maybe we would have caught him before the attack. If I hadn't done that" - he turned to look at Rukia's injured arm - "maybe you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"Shunske!" she scolded. "I was injured because of Aizen. He fired that kido spell that caused this injury, not you!" she said sternly. "My injury is not your fault! Aizen's attack is not your fault! None of this is your fault!"

"But-"

"But nothing! As your friend, I am telling you that none of this was your fault!"

Shunske took a moment to calm down. He wiped his tears with the sleeve of his shihakusho and took a sip of his tea.

"Thank you," he whispered.

She offered him a smile. "For what? I haven't done anything."

He laughed meekly. "You've done plenty. Please, accept my thanks, Rukia. At least this once."

She also laughed. Rukia hadn't realized before how alike they were. "Alright, alright. You're welcome."

With that Rukia stood up. "Sorry to leave so soon, but I need to go see Isane. If I wait any longer, she'll kill me."

Shunske also stood up. "Let me walk you there. It's not a good idea for you to be walking around by yourself."

She nodded. Rukia hated that Shunske felt the need to protect her. She hated when anyone went out of their way for her. But she knew she couldn't argue with him on this.

"Thank you."