Author's Note: Just a quick note before we start: Renji isn't dead. He's not the sixth squad vice-captain anymore. I mentioned in All In Your Head that he was a captain. Ninth Squad, because I don't think I ever said which division. No, he's very much alive. In fact I'm fairly certain I mentioned him in the first chapter (though I haven't shown him, I know). Okay, on with the story.

Inner Conflict ― IV

"…Okay. Enough. Lower your swords."

The younger Shinigami all stopped, confused looks on their faces. Ichigo was ready to hide his face. He was ashamed. Had he ever been this bad at fighting? How had he lived as long as he had?

"What's up Captain?"

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but…you all suck." A collective mutter went through the small group.

"Captain Kurosaki that wasn't very nice." Momo was standing behind Ichigo, giggling. He made a face.

"No…I guess it wasn't." He turned back to the new Shinigami, who were all watching him expectantly. "All right, all right. I didn't mean you suck―" well maybe I did… "I just meant you…need work. A lot of work. None of you are putting any heart into your swings, you don't have any discipline, any…real reason to fight, you know? You need to want to get stronger, to want to fight. You need…you need resolve. Get it?"

Momo listened to Ichigo's attempt to be nice. It was, she supposed, an interesting thing. She wasn't used to seeing Kurosaki Ichigo's kind side.

She smiled and turned to walk away. Interesting indeed.

She stopped, her eyes dodging upward to look at a tree. Another interesting thing was the fact that Hitsugaya Toushirou seemed to spending more time in her division then in his own.

Toushirou knew Momo had spotted him. He didn't care. He'd been following Momo ever since the attack a week earlier. He was still unsettled by that, still trying to figure out why the Arrancar had attacked without any reason. Other than causing hell and half destroying eight of the thirteen divisions, there was no real damage, no one hurt, no one dead, and no one missing. What was the point of any of it?

"I don't get it." He murmured, looking up at the clouds. There was a light wind, ruffling his hair. He sighed as he closed his eyes. "What are you planning…Aizen?"

He was speaking louder than he realized. Momo, who was standing beneath him, waiting for him to acknowledge her, gasped, her eyes widening. Toushirou jumped; he hadn't realized she was still hanging around.

"Hinamori―?"

"Shirou-chan." Her voice was low but commanding. "Please…please tell me what's going on. You've been acting so weird lately…Ichigo too, he's been acting strangely, all the captains have…Shirou-chan, I―"

Without warning, he was standing in front of her. His face was more serious then she had ever seen it before, but there was a spark of concern in his emerald green eyes.

"Just listen Hinamori. Please. I try not to do this often, but I'm worried about you. So please, just promise me something."

"I ― sure. Anything you want."

"Promise me that, no matter what happens…you'll always remember who you are."

Momo was confused. Something was definitely wrong. But she nodded. "Of course, Shirou-chan. How could I?"

"Just promise." He looked as if her promise was the only thing in the world that mattered. Momo's suspicions intensified. Why wouldn't anyone tell her what was going on?

"I…I promise, Shirou-chan."

Toushirou smiled. It was a tight smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Good."

And he was gone. Momo just stared. What the hell had that been all about?

Rukia stirred, her eyes fluttering open. Ugh, she groaned silently, what the hell? It's―

She looked at the clock on her bedside table, three-thirty in the morning. Why am I awake?

She rolled over, all thoughts focused on falling back asleep. She was tired, after all. It had been a long ― though fulfilling ― day.

Then she felt it again. The surge of spiritual pressure, the chill that ran up and down her spine. Someone was in her house. She bolted up, her eyes wide, alert yet weary. She grabbed her Zanpakatou sheath and started downstairs, ready to draw Shirayuki at any moment.

"Here kitty-kitty." She murmured, her eyes dodging left and right. Too bad the attack came from behind.

"Oof!"

She grunted as something hit her in the back of the head, pitching her forward. She pushed herself up on her hands and knees, rubbing the back of her head. She felt something sticky when she pulled her hand away. Blood.

"What―"

She didn't quite manage to turn around fully before the invisible assailant struck her again. Then everything went black.

"…Rukia-san? Rukia-san…"

All Rukia could do was groan. "Wha―"

Momo sighed. "Thank God. I was worried. Are you okay?"

"Ow." Rukia sat up, rubbing the back of her head. "Oh jeez, ow…damn it, what the hell happened?"

Momo shrugged. "I…I don't really know. I just…woke up and I was here. And you were here, and you were hurt…"

Rukia's eyes widened. She jumped up, violet eyes dodging back and forth. She was in the forest, that much she could gather. "Screw this. I'm hot hanging around."

She started to walk away. "Rukia-san, don't―"

Wham!

She'd walked into an invisible wall. "Ow." She muttered, stumbling back. She looked up. "Gah…what the hell?"

She looked back at Momo, who was staring guiltily at the ground. "Sorry Rukia-san. They…they made me."

Rukia looked forward again. "A Kido wall? Wait…who made you?"

"I believe she would be referring to us."

Rukia whirled around, her eyes wide. They narrowed at the two figures standing before her. "Ichimaru…and Aizen. What a surprise."

Hatred flared inside Rukia at the sight of the men. How the hell had they gotten into Soul Society undetected? And what were they doing here anyway?

"What's going on?" She demanded, her voice harsh. Momo stood silently beside her, her chocolate brown eyes locked on the ground. Rukia knew, from their last trip to Hueco Mundo, that the fifth squad vice-captain still could not bring herself to face her former captain, still could not look him in the eye without becoming what she had once been ― an admiring subordinate who could do only what she was told by the person admired the most. And that would be dangerous considering he was the enemy.

Rukia, on the other hand, had zero problems looking into the faces of the two men she despised most. The two men who had signed her death warrant, then tried to kill everyone who tried to protect her. Byakuya. Renji. Ichigo…

"Damn it. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Now, now." Ichimaru spoke in a condescending tone. "That's no way to speak to your elders, Rukia-san."

"I'm not much of a person for respect." Rukia scoffed. "I'll say it again ― what are you doing here?"

A small smile played over Aizen's lips. "I can understand why you would want to get right to the point. It's late, and our call was rather…unprecedented. I'll grant your wish. You want to know why we're here in front of you? The answer is simple ― we wish for you to join us."

"Are you all right, Vice-Captain?"

Momo jumped a mile and jerked her head up. She'd been sitting under a tree, her legs curled up to her chest, her arms around her legs, her forehead resting on her knees. Now she found herself looking into the concern-filled eyes of one of her subordinates. She tried to smile.

"Yup. Yeah. Just fine. Didn't sleep much last night. Tired. Don't worry about me."

Her seemingly endless chatter didn't put off the younger Shinigami. "Are you sure?"

"Yup, yup, no problem. Why don't you go find someone to train with? Your form could use some work, you should really practice."

The Shinigami blushed lightly and nodded. "O-Okay. I'll do that. Thank you, Vice-Captain."

He took off. Momo stared after him for a little while, then went back to her stupor.

"Us? Join you?" Rukia laughed. "Get real!"

Aizen kept a straight face. Momo knew, from his tone of voice, he was serious. "Rukia-san―"

"No, let me finish Momo-san." She glared right into Aizen's eyes. It was a glare that had made even the bravest men ― even Ichigo ― back down. "You tried to kill us. Both of us. Me, more than once. You destroyed her―" The enraged violet-eyed girl jerked a finger back at Momo, "in more ways then one, you tried to slaughter our friends, the people we care about, and obliterate our home. You drove the man I―" Momo blinked and shifted her eyes towards Rukia. What a time for a love confession. "You drove Ichigo insane―" So much for that.

"Funny, I thought that was you."

"And you made a lot of lives a general hell!" She pretended she hadn't heard the last part. "And you want us to join you?! I'd sooner bite my own tongue off!"

A beat of silence followed Rukia's rant. "I told you she'd be difficult." Ichimaru sighed, shaking his head.

"You're damn right I'm going to be difficult!" Rukia raged. Momo took a few steps back from the slightly crazed vice-captain. She could be scary when she was mad. "If you think I would ever even consider―"

"You misunderstood me, Rukia-san." Aizen cut Rukia off, still calm. "You see, I'm not asking you to join me. You don't have a choice."

That stopped Rukia cold. Momo finally brought herself to look up. Big mistake. The dark eyes she had once looked into, looked up at in admiration, were now boring into her own, wide eyes. Into her heart. Her body seized up. Why did it have to be like this…?

"Momo-san, focus on me." Momo looked over at Rukia in surprise. "Just me, Momo-san."

Momo nodded. She would gladly step back and let Rukia do all the talking. Because if there was one thing Kuchiki Rukia was good at, it was talking. Especially when it came to something like this. "What do you mean 'we don't have a choice'?" She demanded, giving Aizen her same, killer glare. "I don't know how you plan on making us."

"It's actually quite simple, Rukia-san." Aizen said, his voice cool, even. "If you give me what I want, I'll give both of you what you want."

"Really? 'Cause we want you dead."

"Perhaps. But you also want are the lives of Kurosaki Ichigo and Hitsugaya Toushirou spared."

"Momo?"

And again with being interrupted. Momo raised her head to look up into the amber eyes of her captain.

"Ichigo. What's up?"

"Back atcha." Ichigo sat down next to her, crossing his legs. "You all right? You've been pretty quiet today."

"I'm…fine. Don't worry about me, I'm all right."

"You sure?"

What a time for Rukia to rendered speechless. Momo needed her desperate chatter, her angry outbursts, her rants to hide behind.

"You know I could kill them, if I wanted to. You know I almost have. Perhaps next time I'll succeed, if I'm…motivated enough."

Rukia was now shaking beside Momo. Or maybe that was Momo shaking. Maybe it was both. Momo couldn't tell anymore.

"Y-Yeah. I'm sure. Don't worry about me, Ichigo."

Ichigo sighed as he stood up and left. "If you're sure…"

"Don't make your decision right away. I'll give you a couple of days to sleep on it, though I…am expecting a positive response. And be warned ― if you tell anyone else of what's happened tonight, we'll know ― and you'll all die."

"And if we still refuse?"

"Then everyone dies."

And with that, Ichimaru and Aizen were gone. Momo shook has she dropped the Kido barrier.

"What now?"

"What now?" She repeated the question to the sky. "What do we do now?"

"The only thing we're capable of, Momo-san." Momo looked up into the branches of the tree she was sitting in. Rukia was sitting far off the ground, leaning against the trunk of the tree, her eyes closed, her head back.

"And what's that, Rukia-san?"

"We protect them…protect the ones we love."

"I'm not a traitor." Momo said, her voice low, reproachful.

"Nor am I. But I won't…I won't be responsible for anymore pain, any death. Not again."

A single tear slipped down Rukia's face, unnoticed by her. Momo was surprised. She hadn't seen Rukia cry once since Ichigo's return. It just went to show how much pain she was in now.

"We've no choice now."

"Momo-san…I don't think we ever had one to begin with."

Author's Note: You're probably annoyed that this is a little late. Sorry. I had vacation...and I was still holding out for reviews. Anyways, if this will get me more reviews, I'll tell you something about the next chapter -- lots of IchiRuki and HitsuHina. So...review please? -- Sam