Kaien followed his captain in absolute silence through the dark city. He had never seen his captain like this before, using stealth and speed to avoid sentries as followed the most rapid path from the prison cell to the Sokyoku Hill and the long bridge to the sealed and guarded door of the Senzaikyu.

"Captain?" Kaien asked again as Ukitake seemed to discard all caution as he stepped forward onto the bridge. The guards could not have missed him. Even in the starlight the white captain's haori and his hair were bright in the surrounding darkness.

"There is no longer any time to delay. Rukia must be rescued tonight. I will deal with the guards and any others who may try to stop us. I ask only that you take Rukia to Captain Kyoraku; he has a place he can hide her. No matter what happens, she must be saved. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Kaien answered quickly. He didn't like this at all. He had a thousand arguments, but there was no time. They were nearly across the bridge. The two guards had already stepped forward to meet them. They showed no signs that they imagined Ukitake and his lieutenant a threat, but if Rukia was going to be rescued, they were going to have to be dealt with very soon.

Ukitake walked calmly up to the guards and nodded his head very slightly. "Good evening, gentlemen," he said softly.

Both men answered in unison, bowing politely. "Good evening, Captain."

"You have kept a good and faithful watch over my subordinate. For that I thank you." He reached out one hand to each man, a kind pat on the shoulder from the gentlest of captains, and it looked to Kaien like he simply flicked each man with his fore and middle fingers and both slammed back into the tower wall and slumped to the ground, unconscious.

He took one quick step forward as he drew Sogyo no Kotowari and swung the single blade into the prison door.

The door and much of the wall shattered.

"Fetch Rukai quickly. Her brother will be coming," he said, as he turned and walked past Kaien back across the bridge.

Kaien had to force himself to move. He had never felt such a shock in his life as he did at the moment he watched his captain, Ukitake Jushiro, knock two innocent men unconscious. He ran into the tower calling for Rukia.

The girl must have been sleeping near the door. She was sitting up slowly, looking toward Kaien with the muddled expression of one still half asleep. She looked so small and helpless blinking at him in confusion that Kaien pushed away all of his own concerns, scooping her up and running back toward the bridge as quickly as he could.

An immense reiatsu hit them as Kaien set foot on the bridge, and a moment later the Captain of the Sixth appeared.

He was on the far side of the bridge, glaring at Ukitake with unconcealed rage. "You, Captain, of all the-"

"Hado 90: Kurohitsugi!" Ukitake hit him before he finished speaking. Then even as the kido was encasing Byakuya in a cube of darkness he turned and shouted at Kaien, "Run!"

Kaien took off even as another kido exploded behind him.

Nemu awoke suddenly, trying to shake off the lingering darkness of a dream that was fading more quickly than even her mind could grasp it. She was left with only a deep and aching fear. She reached out a hand to the one who could banish the fear with his simple presence.

But he was gone and the bed was cold. "Shiro-chan?" She whispered.

"I'm here."

She rolled over quickly to see her husband sitting only a few feet away. He was sitting on the tatami, looking out over the division garden, as was his habit. He had an extra blanket pulled over his shoulders, and he looked terribly tired, but he still turned and smiled at her.

"Why are you not sleeping?" Nemu asked.

"I'm afraid we should have acted years ago. Sosuke-kun was always brilliant, and we have given him all the time he wanted to prepare. Whatever we do now, I'm afraid we may simply be playing into his hand."

Kyoraku Shunsui was not sleeping either, but for a very different reason. "Don't you think, Rangiku-chan, that you might have had enough?" He said as clearly as he could. The liter of sake he had already consumed was beginning to have a deleterious effect on his diction.

"Why?" She demanded, trying to glare back at him, but not really managing it because she was just too drunk.

Ichimaru Rangiku was a bit of a puzzle to Kyoraku. He liked her, of course. Everyone did; it was impossible not to like the kind, friendly lieutenant, who seemed to think it her life's mission to share her happiness with the world at large. Even people who looked down on her for uncouth manner-Kyoraku'd heard her called 'trashy' more than once-she wore her Rukongai upbringing with pride, refusing to cooperate with the expectations of Seiretei or the Gotei-but even so, Kyoraku had watched even the proudest of nobles somehow find themselves conversing with the woman as an equal and even a friend.

She was an absolutely adoring mother, keeping her children close whenever possible; even now the baby girl was sleeping in a little cradle Nanao had used for Aiko only inches from Rangiku's chair. She would do anything for her children, and that's why she was here. Toshiro needed her to be safe, and, for now, at least, that trumped her own need to be with Gin.

Because she very obviously needed to be with Gin. They were an odd couple: the girl who loved everyone and the boy who loved no one. Gin was not the first broken child to ever join the Gotei. There were a few districts of the Rukongai that excelled in producing them, perfect liars and thieves, who trusted no one and could never be trusted. They didn't usually last long in the Gotei; quite a few ended up in prison and the rest, well, the only way most shinigami their first years in the Gotei was by relying on each other; those who didn't work well with others died. But not Gin, because he was strong, and he was intelligent, and he was a survivor. He found himself a perfect mentor in Aizen-in retrospect, Kyoraku had to admit that alone should have made him suspicious of Aizen, taking in a child like that, but instead he had thought Aizen had seen Gin's potential and believed that with careful guidance he could reshape the boy into a real leader within the Gotei.

But, of course, that hadn't happened. Broken souls don't heal easily, and Aizen had had no intention of helping Gin, instead he had used him, turning him into an almost perfect servant.

Only maybe both he and Aizen had been wrong about Gin, and the simple, kind and currently very drunk girl from Rukongai had been right. Maybe Ichimaru Gin had a heart. Maybe he had spared Miyako's life that night and even now was trying to find a way to stop Aizen. Kyoraku doubted it, but Rangiku, even as she sat, drinking herself to oblivion, did not doubt for a second that her husband loved her and would never, ever betray her.

"Well, I was just thinking about Yuki-chan-"

"Have you ever nursed a baby?" Rangiku demanded, sitting up abruptly and spilling half her sake on the table.

"Nanao-chan never drank-"

"Don't even try to tell me about perfect Nanao! I could be perfect too if my husband would cook and clean and change diapers-I swear, Gin stole every move the stealth squad has just to get out of diaper duty! And crying babies! If you ever wondered what can bring true terror the a captain of the Gotei-"

There was a soft knock at the door. Both Rangiku and Kyoraku turned immediately and stared. It was nearly two in the morning. Who had the guts to knock on Lieutenant Ise's door at two?

Rangiku gasped, "Gin?" And jumped to her feet.

But Kyoraku beat her to the door. He set a hand on the hilt of his zanpakuto before he pulled open the door.

Kaien stood in the doorway, breathing heavily and holding a trembling and terrified girl in his arms. She was Kuchiki Rukia.

"What's going on?" Kyoraku demanded