She'll be okay, Renji. She needs at least a few days' rest and she'll be good as new. Our squad will take care of her.

Thank you, Captain Unohana.

While you're here, you should pay a visit to your Captain. He's down the hall; he had to come in and treat his shoulder wound…

"Renji…?"

"No. Someone a lot better-looking than that piece of shit," a deep voice answered.

Miyako's eyes fluttered open. She was in a dimly lit greenish room. Her head was propped up on some pillows and she was under a sheer blanket. Her palms were bandaged, as well as parts of her right arm, and her left arm was in a sling. Her entire left shoulder had been patched and bandaged up. To her left sat a blurry figure with short, spiky dark hair. She blinked twice to adjust her vision. The 9th squad lieutenant sat on a stool next to her bed, chewing on a rice ball. He had a tattoo scrawled around his neck that resembled a black choker, another grey tattoo was striped across his face; from one cheek, across the bridge of his nose, to the other cheek. The numbers "69" had been tattooed on his left cheek. The tattoos meant something, but Miyako never asked what.

"Shuhei?"

"What's up? Heard you got into a little scuffle near Kusajishi."

Miyako grinned. "Yeah? What'd you expect?"

Shuhei sighed. "I wouldn't have expected you to lose, Miyako."

Miyako looked away. "In normal circumstances…I wouldn't have."

Shuhei raised an eyebrow.

"I held back," Miyako admitted.

"Because it's Maki," Shuhei said grimly.

She nodded.

"Captain Zaraki would kick you out of 11th squad if he heard you say that."

Miyako didn't reply.

"Listen, Miyako," Shuhei leaned forward and examined his rice ball. "I'm not going to tell you what to do or what not to do…but we've all been betrayed by someone we thought we could trust."

Miyako glanced at Shuhei. He was talking about his own Captain.

"You don't see me cursing Seireitei and taking my anger out on the residents, just because Tosen left," he said softly.

Miyako nodded. "I know."

"Seireitei needs us. There are bigger things out there than you, me, and the Bount. Aizen will eventually strike us, and Soul Society doesn't need this crap right now. If you see Maki again, you've got to be prepared to do what's necessary."

Miyako stared at her blanket. There was a long pause, and Shuhei took another bite of his rice ball. Miyako glanced at him.

"How could I live with myself if I killed Maki?"

Shuhei eyed her. "How could you live with yourself if you stood by and did nothing?"

Miyako slowly nodded. Shuhei, of course, was right. Maki had chosen the wrong path, and worse, he had decided to retaliate against Seireitei simply because of his own selfish goals. Everyone knew that the Bount had their own grudge against Soul Society, but Maki was simply along for the ride to push his own agenda.

"But hey, what do I know?" Shuhei nudged her. "Maybe Maki'll have a change of heart. You probably won't have to fight him at all…which should be a big disappointment for you, being in the 11th squad and all."

Miyako gave him a tiny smile. She knew he was just trying to make her feel better.

Shuhei stood up. "Speaking of which, Ikkaku is really pissed off that you didn't wake him up last night," he grinned. "He was mad that he didn't get to see any action."

"Ikkaku would steal all the fun for himself," Miyako retorted. "Why would I wake that asshat up?"

Shuhei chuckled and finished the rest of his rice ball. He got up and headed towards the door, waving.

"See ya."

"Hey, Shuhei?"

"Huh?"

"Have you seen my Captain?"

Shuhei shrugged. "Nah. I haven't seen his lieutenant, either. Ikkaku is still the one in charge. He's out there right now, making everyone run drills 'till they die. Apparently they're pretty hung over from last night."

Miyako grinned. "Thanks, Shuhei. See you later."

Shuhei glanced back over his shoulder and smiled. "Oh, yeah," he cocked his head at her, "nice rack."

Miyako looked down. Her shinigami robe was missing, and she hadn't realized it. The 4th squad had to remove her clothing in order to treat her wounds, and in its place was a plethora of bandages. Death Gods did not wear bras or underwear. Instead, they wore supportive wraps that almost imitated wide, white bandaging. The way they used their wrap depended on the Death God. Captain Zaraki, for instance, not only wrapped his bottom half up for support, but he wrapped it clear up to his midsection – his shinigami robe was always lazily flapping open for others to see, and he didn't care. Lieutenant Matsumoto had found no use for hers at all, obviously, because she let her breasts bounce freely throughout Seireitei (much to Captain Hitsugaya's dismay). Apart from her bandaged shoulder, arms, and palms, Miyako's wrap was neatly tied around her breasts and part of her torso, but she still had plenty of cleavage showing. She narrowed her eyes at Shuhei and gave him an obscene hand gesture.

As Shuhei left, Miyako heard him talking to someone out in the hall.

"Yeah, she's awake. Go ahead."

"Thank you."

Suddenly, Rukia appeared in the doorway. Miyako looked at her with surprise.

"Rukia? What are you doing here?"

"I had to check in with Captain Unohana so she could monitor my healing," Rukia gave Miyako a shy grin. "My brother was also here earlier, getting a shoulder wound patched up. I wanted to stop in and see how you were doing. I'm…I'm sorry to hear about your brother."

Miyako felt ashamed that she had treated Rukia with sarcasm before, at the expense of pissing Renji off. Even though she was from the 11th squad, she wasn't without her manners. She tried to apologize, but she couldn't think of what to say. Her thoughts kept traveling to what Renji had told her earlier, and she suddenly had a deep respect for Rukia. There was no telling what Rukia had gone through in the past five months.

"Rukia…thank you…"

"I told Ichigo and my brother your last name," Rukia bowed her head. "It was what led them to Kusajishi. You must think of me as a terrible person."

Miyako raised her eyebrows in surprise. Rukia was an incredibly humble person.

"Not at all," Miyako shook her head. "You were just doing your duty. My brother has betrayed Seireitei…it is only right that he is brought to justice." She sighed. "It was I who hesitated. I could have reported Maki's presence long ago."

Rukia looked at her with her blue doe eyes and smiled shyly again. She came in and sat on the stool that Shuhei had sat on.

"Rukia…" Miyako trailed off and tried to explain herself. "I…I'm sorry for the unusual way I acted last night. It was just an act to tease Renji."

Rukia smiled. "I know. I do that sort of stuff all the time around Ichigo."

"Really?"

"Yeah. In the real world, I do that around his friends. I put on such a ridiculous, sweet face around others…it drives Ichigo nuts."

Miyako smiled. "What's the real world like?"

"Everyone dresses differently. There are all sorts of different smells and tastes and sights…there are buildings that light up in all sorts of colors at night…there are roads that the humans drive large machines on…there are gardens and differently colored trees and grass, and everyone has a different temperament…even the food is different."

Miyako examined Rukia closely. She seemed to have grown attached to the human world.

"Do the humans ever fight?"

Rukia glanced at Miyako. "You mean, spar? Like in 11th squad?"

Miyako nodded anxiously.

Rukia chuckled. "No, they don't. The good-tempered humans almost never fight."

Miyako rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Sounds pretty dull to me."

Rukia smiled at her. "That's exactly what Renji said when he went there."

Renji. For some reason, his name struck a tiny nerve within Miyako. She felt giddy and impatient to run out of the 4th squad hospital and track him down. They had a score to settle. Or was it because he carried her back to Seireitei? Was it because he had sheer balls of steel for stepping up against Captain Kuchiki? Was it because he had a mysterious, unbreakable will to surpass his superior? Either way, she seemed to regard him in a new light, and she ached to fight him again, just for the experience.

"Um…have you seen Renji?" Miyako asked awkwardly.

Rukia shook her head. "He's with Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto doing some reconnaissance on the Bount. Because he had been out in Kusajishi last night, he was assigned to help them search for any additional clues." Her innocent, doe-eyed look suddenly turned mischievous. "Why do you ask?"

Miyako narrowed her eyes and was about to tell her not to get any funny ideas, when a loud voice could be heard from down the hall.

"Whaddya mean I'm going to disturb the other patients? Who the hell cares? I'm here to see Miyako Ichinose. Where's she at?"

There was a short scuffle, and a 4th squad resident flew backwards, landed, and rolled across Miyako's doorway.

"Owwwwowowow! Why do you 11th squad people always act like jerks?"

"What did you just say!?!?"

"In there! She's in there! Just leave me alone!"

Ikkaku appeared in the doorway, snorted at the 4th squad resident, and crossed his arms.

"Hey, Miyako," Ikkaku nodded his head at her. "It's nearly mid-afternoon. Why the hell are you still in bed?"

Rukia smiled at Miyako. "I guess I'll be heading back," she said in a low voice.

Miyako nodded at Rukia and Ikkaku moved aside so she could leave.

"You're pretty fuckin' popular today," Ikkaku sneered at Miyako. He walked into the room and took a seat. "So, what's the deal?"

"She's not allowed to leave until Captain Unohana gives her clearance," the 4th squad resident replied outside the door.

"HEY! SQUIRT! BEAT IT!" Ikkaku roared at him.

The 4th squad resident outside the doorway stumbled back up, rubbed his behind, and gave Ikkaku a nasty look before heading on his way.

"Heh. Not allowed to leave, eh? That sucks," Ikkaku grinned. "I'd be breakin' out of this place. You're completely surrounded by pussies in here. It's not good for morale."

"Trust me, if I could leave, I would," Miyako assured him.

Ikkaku shrugged. "Meh…you'll need that arm later," he pointed to her left shoulder. "Sounds like the Bount'll attack soon. What have you heard?"

"Ikkaku…about my injuries…well, I…"

"Shut up. I don't really care."

"But I at least need to explain why…"

"I said to drop it."

Miyako glanced at Ikkaku, but he was avoiding her gaze and staring at the wall. She had wanted to tell him who she had fought against and why she lost so easily, which was not acceptable in the 11th squad. She knew that excuses wouldn't work, and she was ready to face discipline for her actions, but she also wanted to warn him about Maki. However, Ikkaku's refusal to speak about the subject at all was his way of telling her that it wasn't her fault. It was a rare occurrence that Ikkaku forgave anyone for anything, but he was no fool. He understood the risks and the internal struggles involved when a fight became personal. He had a few himself.

Ikkaku sighed and glanced at her. "I know you fought with Maki. Your brother's become notorious throughout Seireitei lately. Nobody will forgive him for turning against Soul Society. Captain Kurotsuchi of 12th squad is incredibly pissed off at him and tried to have General Yamamato post an official notice about capturing Maki and keeping him alive for undisclosed purposes. The general didn't accept his proposal, obviously, but Maki's been marked for death nonetheless. He snuck into the files archive and screwed around with some of the data."

Miyako was surprised to hear about this news. "When did you learn of all this?"

"Just today. They won't give us that much information, but from what I've heard from the other lieutenants is that he's fooled quite a bit of people. The Captains even think he was responsible for that explosion a couple days back."

When the Bount had invaded Soul Society, nobody considered them a real threat since it was obvious they couldn't even get past the main gate into Seireitei. However, an explosion had occurred at the main tower, creating confusion, chaos, and paranoia. It was probably just the diversion the Bount needed in order to assemble the ragtag group of Kusajishi inhabitants without any disruption. The only one who could have infiltrated Seireitei, unnoticed and invisible, was Maki. He had used Nijigasumi and concealed his spirit power so he could alter the 12th squad's data to the Bount's advantage. That's why Miyako had been disturbed by a haunting presence, but nobody else had. She could feel him moving around Seireitei, but until she had faced him, she couldn't quite place his true locale.

"So, as far as I see it," Ikkaku continued, "is that if he managed to dupe a couple hundred Death Gods right under their noses, including ranking officers, then you're lucky to have stood up to him and lived. It simply means that next time you see him, you can give him some payback."

Miyako sighed and stared at her blanket. "I couldn't stop him, though. I wanted to so badly…but I just couldn't."

"Stop talking shit," Ikkaku curled his lip. "You're the only one who could fully counter his soul slayer's capability. You both have the same type of technique since you're brother and sister, right?"

Miyako nodded. Because they were of blood-relation, Miyako and Maki's soul slayers were similar in their abilities to utilize light. Maki relied heavily on manipulating the light, while Miyako's was the opposite. Hers did not manipulate the light, but rather created the light and used it against her opponent.

"Well, then, I'd say that's pretty damn impressive," Ikkaku snapped. "So stop dwelling on it already, would ya?"

Miyako gave him a weak smile in response. His gruff and blunt manner was really his way to console her.

"What was Maki doing in the Department of Research and Development?" Miyako asked. "That doesn't make sense. What sort of information does the Bount need?"

Ikkaku shrugged. "Hell if I know. The Captains are being pretty tight-lipped about everything. I don't give a shit, either. Only one thing matters – if they invade Seireitei, they'll get their asses kicked."

Miyako smiled and nodded. "Cut-and-dry as always, Ikkaku."

"So, I hope you got a little information out of your encounter last night, since you so willingly decided to leave me behind," Ikkaku pointed at her.

"They've formed a large group in Kusajishi," Miyako told him. "If they're going to attack, it'll probably be from the north. Ichigo Kurosaki was out there, trying to think of a way to stop them."

Ikkaku punched his fist into his palm. "I can't wait to run into that bastard. The Captain and I are going to have one hell of a time with that Ichigo." He glanced at Miyako. "You haven't seen the Captain, have you?"

Miyako shook her head. Ikkaku sighed.

"Probably out there huntin' them down," he said. "But by the time he's through with 'em, we won't have any left to deal with!"

He stood up and cocked his head at her chest.

"Get better, will ya? The boys miss having nice tits and ass running around the 11th court."

Miyako rolled her eyes. "Get out."