A/N: And next up we have a two-person Chapter, because whenever one of these characters does something, the other is always involved.

And to tell you the truth, they're probably two of my favourite charactors.

Chapter Eight- Kyoraku Shunsi, Ukitake Juushiro

Aizen POV

They were two of the oldest Captains in the Soul Society, and also two of the most powerful. They both hid behind masks of laziness and dehabilitating sickness. Many people were fooled by them, thinking them to be the two weakest Captains. They were wrong. Kyoraku and Ukitake far surpassed the other Captains in age, strength and intelligence.

They were my two greatest mentors; they both taught me more than enough about being a good person, a good Captain. Unfortunatly, none of their lessons stuck, but you have to give them credit for trying.

I'll admit, when I discovered they planned on halting Rukia Kuchiki's execution I was worried. It was not because of the substitute Kurosaki Ichigo that I created the backup plan, but because of them. While I knew the Substitute had no chance on his own, the minute Kyoraku and Ukitake decided to help, then he would succeed.

I believed Kuchiki Byakuya would kill Kurosaki after a long, hard battle and be out of commission for anything else, which would leave me free to go grab the Hogyoku. Then I heard Ukitake and Kyoraku were becoming involved, and I will admit that I became more than slightly worried.

But not that worried, because I believed that they would fight Yamamoto, and while the three most powerful Shinigami were fighting each other I would just have to sneak in with Gin and Tosen (though I am loathe to call it 'sneaking') kill anyone left, and then waltz out of the Seiritei with no one the wiser.

It didn't work that way, Kurosaki turned out to be a vaizard and he was able to defeat Byakuya- leaving them both battle-able . . . kind of. Hitsugaya figured out my plan far faster than I thought he would, and stalled me long enough for Unohana to get there. Unohana alerted the other Shinigami, and they were all there to stop me.

Not that they succeeded.

Not that they even came close.

In the end, my plans worked out perfectly, I got to ascend into the heavens with an audience. And I knew it looked impressive- no Shinigami has ever gained control over the menos before, let alone made them rescue said Shinigami as a comrade. I was the first. And I was also the last.

Ukitake has always surprised me with his compassion, and I'll admit I felt a shred of guilt when he asked me why I did it. However, that shred only lasted for a second. While Ukitake and others like him might be shining gems of kindness, they were gems in a heap of trash. Most Shinigami were corrupt, and it took me only a few milliseconds to remember that.

Kyoraku, as usual, looked unfazed. He was an easy going man, and he often gave second chances. The look of disgust and loathing in his eyes though, was enough to tell me I was going to get no second chance here. When I had crossed the line between Shinigami and godhood, I had also crossed a moral line. There was no turning back.

Although, I may have had a shred of doubt in me when I saw the two mentors I respected most looking at me like I was a monster.

Just a shred, though, nothing more.