Author's Notes:
Aaand after about two months of a break/delay, we're back about time. . .

"It is time, Kuchiki-sama."

Byakuya nodded quietly, and dismissed his servant with a wave of the hand. It was early morning, and he was sitting by a desk in the personal quarters of his mansion. Late during the last evening, he had ordered his servants to wake him early, so that everything today would go as it was planned to – which, as it turned out, had been entirely unnecessary. He had taken much of his paperwork with him, so that he would be able to take his mind off what was to come, and give him enough distraction to hopefully eventually fall asleep.

Ultimately, nothing of this worked out as it was planned. Throughout the entire night, Byakuya had been unable to focus on his work for even a second, let alone falling asleep. The thought of this day, the thought of what he would be doing kept him up, sent him into a turmoil that made sleeping impossible. The closer the actual moment came, the more unbearable the thought became: He would be sending Rukia into her death. He would be breaking the promise that he gave to his late wife Hisana on her death bed, the promise to find her sister, and protect her at all cost.

Years ago, when she was a young girl that had just arrived in Soul Society out in the rugonkai, Hisana was with her baby sister, who was just an infant at this point. Hisana had tried to take care of both herself and her sister as well as she could, but in the end, she was forced to make a choice: Leave Rukia behind, and hope that somebody would take care for her, so that she could survive, or let them both die. It had been a heart-wrenching choice, but hard as it had been for her, Hisana had ultimately decided to leave her sister behind; praying to whatever deity might listen that someone would find Rukia, and take care of her in her stead. Hisana did well- not only surviving, prospering in her own modest way. But no matter how many years passed, Hisana never forgot about the sister that she had to abandon, and even started to search for her once she managed to make a decent living on her own. Of course, she never succeeded in her search, and thus passed on the task to Byakuya when she could not continue her search, under the one condition that should he find her, he would never tell her that his late wife had been her sister. Unable to refuse Hisana's last wish, he made the promise.

And yet, he could not let this break his resolve now.

Back when Byakuya had married Hisana, he had done so against all of the traditions that existed among the noble clans. Hisana was a commoner – even considering marrying her was more than a little controversial among the members of the Kuchiki clan; going through with it had been scandalous. But even so, disregarding the will of his own parents, Byakuya went through with it. Against all traditions, against all laws among the noble clans, the marriage took place.

For a short time, Byakuya experienced joy like he had never before felt in his life... and would never experience again. Only a few months after his marriage with Hisana took place, his mother fell ill – an illness which she quickly succumbed to. Not even a year after that, his father was killed in action and buried right next to his wife, leaving Byakuya with just Hisana by his side. Sick with guilt over never having been able to do anything to make up with his parents for the breaking the law, Byakuya had vowed on their graves that he would never again break the law, a vow that since that day (only a few years before Hisana had died, too) so many decades ago, he had not broken.

But now, the vow to his parents stood against the promise to Hisana. Letting Rukia die would break his promise to Hisana, but uphold the vow to his parents, while helping her would keep the promise, but break the vow. To Byakuya, the choice was clear- helping Rukia would be an act of treason, spitting on the memory of his parents, on the honour of his clan. Against that, breaking his promise to Hisana was a negligible act... after all, the law was the law, and the law was everything.

And yet... despite how obvious it all was, despite the fact that Byakuya had already made up his mind weeks ago, his doubts kept nagging on him. Whenever he let his thoughts wander in the past days, in every silent moment, he remembered the image of Hisana, deathly pale, weak and sick, lying on a bed, quietly asking him to find the sister that she never managed to find again, find her and protect her. At times, his memory of Hisana seamlessly turned into an image of Rukia, giving him the feeling that he was letting his wife die once again.

But whenever that memory came, Byakuya told himself that he had done all that he could. He had found Rukia and adopted her as his sister. He had never told her why he had adopted her, leaving her in the belief that it was all just because she just so happened to resemble his late wife. To a certain extent, Rukia was never actually too mistaken in this belief. She resembled Hisana to such an extent that when Byakuya had first seen her, for a faint moment he believed against all logic that somehow Hisana was standing in front of him. But of course, this had been nothing more than wishful thinking on his part. While Rukia did look a lot like Hisana, in terms of personality she was easily very different – and occasionally, quite irritating at that.

And yet, despite this, Byakuya had always done his best to protect Rukia, to look after her as Hisana had wanted it, even going as far as to make sure that she wouldn't go on her first mission as shinigami in the world of the living until she was absolutely ready for it. Had he known what would happen on this mission, he never would have allowed her to go...

Now however, there was no more use in thinking about what was and what could have been. By now, Byakuya's promise to Hisana was as fulfilled as it could be, so that one thing that he had left, the one thing that he had to do at all costs was to uphold the law. Today at sunset Rukia would be executed, as per the Central Forty-Six' judgment. The only thing Byakuya could do about it was to make sure that everything would take place as it was intended to, no matter what happened – which he was quite determined to do.

Going by what Byakuya had heard from reports and other captains, things within the seireitei had gotten more chaotic with each passing hour over the last few days. Ryoka got captured, only to be freed a short while later, Zaraki Kenpachi betrayed the Gotei and sided with the ryoka... and rumors. Many rumors had arisen among all of the thirteen squad's shinigami, be they seated or un-seated officers. The Central Forty-Six made a mistake in their judgment and are unwilling to accept it now, some said. Not even the captains supported the execution of Kuchiki Rukia, others said. Some even spoke about certain people planning to rebel or defect once the time for the execution came... obviously though, no one ever knew just who these people where, and from where the rumors originated. The only that was for certain was one fact: The unrest which originally had been caused by the ryoka was still active, if not worse than ever, despite them have not been sighted for a while.

To Byakuya, none of these rumors mattered. He was determined to personally strike down every single person that would dare to directly interfere with the execution, no matter who they were. Rukia would die, even if Byakuya had to do it himself, despite the head captain's orders. And then, right after Rukia's death, he would commit seppuku... there would be no point in waiting any longer after that. He would atone, in the most final way possible. And then, there would be no more pain, no more doubt, no more suffering. In a way, that seemed… appealing.

The law was the one last thing that he had, the last thing that he could stand for – and he would do it, until the very end. After all, the law was the law, and the law was everything.

Byakuya stood up and left his quarters. Today would be a busy day.

oOo

Ukitake Jushiro officially got out of bed. Ten o'clock was a bit late for a captain- but chronic tuberculosis made for a very good excuse to be late, even at an important date like this. He'd say excuse, because today, his disease was not really acting up- he had been making preparations since nine, only pretending to still be in bed. Given what they had to do, every single little edge had to be considered. He had prepared maps, checked the terrain again- all of it familiar to him, but he had to look at them in a new light for today- for escape routes, for advantageous positions; he had scoured his library for extra powerful kido spells, he had done all he could.

He really hated the situation he had been put in- this scheme was anything but thought-through. It was a haphazard, desperate plan that forced him to rely on people he didn't know he could trust- Isshin was a good person, he was sure of that, but he somehow doubted he had what it took to be a scheming mastermind. And not only that, he suspected Isshin was just the official face for the criminals who had come here, the very same they had been hunting for days. Something deep inside him felt a mild revulsion at the thought of siding with them, but there was no choice. If only he had acted sooner, he might have saved Rukia by himself- but he too had been plagued by indecision, and this haphazard scheme was all he had left.

And at ten sharp, Shunsui walked in, seeming as unprepared and casual as ever. Normally, it might have irritated Jushiro- but Shunsui was, he knew, much more than his casual appearance led on to, and all things considered, preparations might be useless. After all, this was the day when they had to confront their teacher and master- who had yet to be beaten in combat by either one of them. It was doubtful if he had ever seen defeat in the last thousand years.

"Ready, Jushiro?" Shunsui said, tipping his hat.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Jushiro stood up, and grabbed his sword, fastening its sheath to his belt.

"You still think the old man can be reasoned with?"

"We have to at least try." He said wearily. "If we can't even try to talk to our sensei, then we might as well give up."

"You always were the better person." Shunsui said, looking ponderous.

"And you, will you help? You don't really have to."

Shunsui shook his head. "Don't be silly. I'm not letting you do this alone." He looked thoughtful, so strangely sober. "And besides… this doesn't sit right with me either. Something is really wrong, and nobody sees it. It's a real hassle, but someone's got to do something- or we might as well give up." Mirroring Jushiro's words, he let out a grin.

"Good." He nodded.

"So where will everyone be? This whole thing will be for nothing if there'll be half a dozen captains waiting to stop the execution."

Jushiro nodded eagerly. "I thought about that. Zaraki Kenpachi's considered to have gone rogue, and Tosen jumped at the chance to purge him- he never saw eye to eye with him."

"Poor lad always thought the Gotei was so just." Shunsui mumbled. "And Komamura's with him?"

"Of course. It is just like them to team up in a situation like this."

"Then let's hope Zaraki doesn't kill them both. And the others?"

"There's us, delaying sensei- that's three more."

"And Aizen's dead, and Isshin's on our side. That's eight- but that leaves Retsu, Mayuri, Gin, Byakuya-kun and Soifon-san."

"Senpai has been very busy with her work these last few days- she's still investigating. If she's coming, she will be late."

"And Mayuri?"

"Locked up in his lab, analyzing data. For once, I am grateful for his disregard of Gotei authority."

"Leaving Soifon. You think Shiba could take her?"

"I doubt it." Jushiro shook his head. "But I asked Isshin, and he let on that she'd be busy. An old acquaintance coming to see her."

"Oh dear." Shunsui mumbled. "Oh, and what about Gin?"

"Hasn't been seen since yesterday. He hasn't answered the summons- wherever he is, it doesn't look like his coming."

"That leaves Kuchiki."

"Good thing it's not just Isshin, then. However it goes, somebody will be able to escape with Rukia. I'd rather do it myself, but…" He shrugged.

"I know. It's only right that we're the ones to confront sensei." Putting a hand at his zanpakutou, Shunsui said, sounding cheerful despite the circumstances,

"Shall we, then? I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Yes." Jushiro said, resolute. "Genryusai-sensei won't reach the execution in time."

oOo

Quietly, Momo sat in the corner of her cell. Her mind was completely empty, just like it had been in the past few days (days? It seemed like it already was like that for ages, like it had always been like this...). It was all just too much too handle. Her idol Aizen Sosuke was dead, her childhood friend Hitsugaya Toushiro was apparently responsible for it- and Hitsugaya insisted that he was innocent. Normally, the conclusion would be obvious to her, but by now, she had reached a point where there was no more reasoning for her.

She knew that neither Aizen nor Hitsugaya would ever lie to her, and even though one of them had to be lying now, she simply didn't want to accept it – she just couldn't comprehend it. Constantly, she silently wished to herself that this all turned out to be nothing more than just a horrible, horrible nightmare, and that she would wake up to see that everything was fine. After all, there was no way something this terrible could happen, right?

But the awakening never came.

The nightmare continued, day after day after day. By now, it had probably already been several days since she had escaped the Squad Five cells to confront Hitsugaya, only to be captured by Ichimaru Gin and taken to Squad Three cells. There was no way to know for sure; Momo had already lost her grasp of time a while ago, and it simply wasn't important enough for her to ask one of the guards.

It was not like the guards were all that helpful to begin with, though. They brought Momo food and something to drink every now and then, but that was about it – but for all that she cared, they could have just left her alone entirely. She only ever touched the things that they brought her when the hunger and thirst became too unbearable, and otherwise ignored it entirely.

In a way, it was funny, she thought to herself once when she had to eat again. Right now, she wouldn't care even if she died, and yet, there was something in her that prevented her from just letting herself starve. Even now, there was one thought left that was more than enough to keep her going just this slight bit: Aizen's murderer was out there. Hitsugaya insisting that he was innocent could only mean that the real culprit had somehow faked the letter, in order to frame Hitsugaya... yes, that had to be it. Whoever they were, they were out there. She only had to find them... find them and make them pay.

Of course, there was still the problem of her being locked away... but they had to leave her out sooner or later, and then she would be free to continue her search. Until then, she-

"Well, well, if it ain't lil' Momo-chan."

Slowly, Momo raised her head and looked around. Standing in front of her cell was Ichimaru Gin, who was staring down at her with that evil, disturbing grin of his... what did this bastard want from her?

"Oh, if looks could kill, ya'd probably be murderin' me right now, wouldn't ya?" He said, sounding gleeful in a suppressed kind of way; the Ichimaru Gin variant of glee, the kind that sent chills down the spines of everyone else.

Momo looked away again. Maybe if she'd just ignore him, this bastard would just go away and leave her in peace...

"Oh, how cold of ya… lookin' away without even saying a word." Gin chuckled maliciously. "Your actions just pierce my heart like an icicle, Momo-chan."

Momo remained silent. Just ignore him, just ignore him...

"Well, in any case... I gotta show you something." Reluctantly, Momo turned around once more – to see Gin take out a key, and use it to open the door to her cell. "Now get up and follow me, Hinamori-chan."

oOo

Yamamoto Shigekuni Genryuusai walked the long path towards the hill, the site of executions, his vice-captain Sasakibe Choujiro by his side. They were taking their time- there was no hurry, and though he would never admit it to anyone, a thousand years of leadership had taken its toll on his knees; a slower walk was much more to his liking. He had the chance now to enjoy the beauty of the trees around him- as urbanized as the Gotei Thirteen was, the hill was finely decorated by nature- the birds chirping, bees buzzing, flowers blooming, and at the end of his path, a righteous execution; justice being served. Truly, he thought to himself, this was a good day.

But there was a part of him, a small part which had been getting louder every day since this ugly business had started, that questioned whether it was such a good day after all. The part of him that reminded him that Kuchiki Rukia deserved a fine or a demotion at most, the part that told him his masters in the chambers of the Forty-Six were not as righteous as their propaganda machine would have them all believe, the part that reminded him of a young, fiery Yamamoto whose sense of justice had led him to do reckless, bold and heroic things. A Yamamoto that, his inner voice would claim, should not stand for this.

It was an annoying, heretical little voice, and he squashed it every time. Even so, he was almost pleased to see his prized students, Ukitake Jushiro and Kyoraku Shunsui, barring their way. Keeping his face the same mask of dignified indifference as ever, he deliberately raised an eyebrow, while Sasakibe just quietly stopped a bit behind him, knowing better than to disturb a meeting between captains.

"Sensei." Ukitake said, skipping any sort of conventional greeting.

"Nice day, isn't it, Yama-jii?" Shunsui added, trying just a bit too hard to sound casual for Yamamoto's tastes.

"Is there something amiss?" For a short moment he hoped they brought news of the site of execution being dramatically destroyed- but again, he quashed that notion. Such thoughts were inappropriate.

"Oh, we were just out walking…" Shunsui said, his tone suspiciously innocent.

"Sensei, we must speak to you." Ukitake said, a great deal more urgently than Shunsui, and Yamamoto was glad he wasn't going to play games. Jushiro had always been the sensible one.

"After the execution." Yamamoto said gruffly, in the kind of tone he had refined in his centuries as leader to mean 'shut up and follow'.

"See, this really can't wait." Shunsui said, sounding… apologetic?

"Well, what?" Yamamoto said, firmly putting the tip of his cane into the ground. Even now, as an old man, he bore the fiery impatience within him. "I warn you, pups…"

"Sensei, can't you see you are being used?"

Yamamoto frowned, and when he frowned, legend told that people died from sheer fright. Before he could launch into a staunch lecture, Shunsui cut in,

"Yama-jii, this execution isn't right, and you know it. All those years ago, when you founded this… this enormous place, I remember an old man who wanted to save, to change the world. Would he have bowed to the law, just because it was the law, even when it's clearly making the wrong decision?"

"How dare you speak to the soutaichou like-" Sasakibe spoke up (having so far only silently observed the conversation), but Yamamoto silenced him with a gesture of his hand. While Ukitake just seemed to be trying to make him angry, Yamamoto still wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Sensei," Ukitake continued, "we are all being played. There is something bigger at work here that we fail to see, I am sure of it- we need to rethink this-"

"Silence!" Yamamoto bellowed. He had heard enough. There was fire in him now, the heat of his temper rising. "You have the nerve to challenge the absolute authority of those who came before us, the wisest of the Soul Society? I am ashamed to have taught such rebellious fools- now move aside, the both of you!"

Sighing, Shunsui and Ukitake drew their swords, and for a moment, Yamamoto was baffled. They dared? And more importantly- what did they hope to achieve? "See, Yama-jii, I told Jushiro it would come to this. I really don't want to do this, but if it stands between letting our system, the one we're sworn to uphold, make our sensei do this- or stand by and do nothing, then swords it will have to be."

Without a word, Sasakibe drew his own zanpakutou, waiting for Yamamoto's order to attack.

"Please, sensei," Jushiro urged, "don't let Kuchiki Rukia be executed."

"You shameless little brats!" Yamamoto snorted, slamming his cane into the ground. It dissolved, revealing beneath it is mighty zanpakutou, the Ryujin Jakka. "The law is the law, and if we decide when it can and cannot be applied, then we might as well have no law! Sasakibe, go on ahead to Sokyoku hill. I will teach these two brats a lesson myself."

For a moment, Sasakibe just stared at Yamamoto in surprise, as if he had not expected to receive such an order. Then, slowly, he wordlessly put away his sword without taking his eyes of Ukitake and Shunsui, and slipped into a shunpo, dashing right past the two captains. Within only a few seconds, he was gone entirely from their sight, leaving the two alone with their old teacher.

"If the law is wrong and nobody takes a stand, then the law is only an instrument of abuse." Ukitake said gently. He sighed inwardly- he knew his sensei would never be swayed by words, but at least this way, their plan had a chance of working. Captain attendance would be low. With this, somebody of Isshin's caliber could maybe, just maybe do it… if they lived long enough.

oOo

Once more, Aizen let his gaze wander across the room. The floor was covered with corpses, the air filled with the stench of decay... and by now, he was just getting bored of it. In a way, it was funny; The sight of the brutally murdered Central Forty-Six was something that Aizen had been wanting to see for so many years now – decades, if not centuries. And yet, now that he had spent several days in a room where the only sight was just this... it just kind of lost its charm.

But even so, Aizen could not help but to quietly chuckle to himself at this thought. The fact that boredom was his biggest problem that he was facing right now only showed how well his plan was working. The entire Gotei believed him to be dead, the execution of Kuchiki Rukia would take place just as he had manipulated the Central Forty-Six into doing it, Gin was drawing all suspicion of being the mastermind behind it all towards himself, Tosen was above suspicion, and the Central Forty-Six were dead. In short, absolutely nothing had gone wrong with his plan... though as much as he hated to admit it, some uncertain factors remained.

While the visit that he had paid to the ryoka had cleared up some confusion that Aizen had felt in regards to them, he still was not entirely sure what to think of them. The two that he had encountered were without a doubt strong, he had been able to sense that much, but they were far from being strong enough to being a genuine threat to the captains in general in their present state. Even now, he was not even sure if he had been serious about his own offer to let the two join him – with their strength, they definitely would be useful, but not overly so, given that he already had far more and far stronger henchmen to do his bidding. The only genuine advantage that he could see in letting them join him would be that it would go against Urahara's plans, which in itself would be satisfactory enough.

Not to mention that they were so young... so naïve in their trust in Urahara, without even realizing it. Aizen just couldn't comprehend why Urahara would send them to do his bidding; the Urahara Kisuke that he knew did not make such desperate moves – he would have rather gone in himself than send somebody whom he could not rely on. So what did he seek to gain from using these children? Why send them, when their trust in Urahara was so easily questioned, and they made such simple targets for Aizen to manipulate into joining him?

But then again, Aizen thought, no matter what it was, it would not matter. Urahara had been banished to the world of the living for many years now – something like that could change a man. And of course, it changed nothing about the fact that neither Urahara nor his lackeys were in any position to pose a threat to Aizen... the only ones who could do that believed him to be dead, and were blissfully unaware of what was awaiting them. Of course, that would change by the end of the day, but that was all well within Aizen's plans.

Aizen grinned. Oh, it would be a joy to finally be able to act out in the open... after about one hundred years of planning, scheming, manipulating and preparing, the moment would finally be there to reveal himself and strike. The hardest part of it all had been without a doubt keeping up the image of the good, Gotei-loyal shinigami, and eventually captain, for all this time. There had been many times when the actions that the Gotei had taken had made it rather tempting to strike then and there, to finally end the masquerade.

But he had endured. Each time he had endured, until now, where the perfect moment was finally there; the moment where he made his first real move towards the creation of a new, a better order for the entire Soul Society. One that had no need for people such as the Central Forty-Six.

Yes... in comparison to waiting all these years, waiting a few more hours until the actual moment of the execution was nothing.

In order to preserve his strength for the big moment, Aizen had canceled all illusions that he had casted on the parliament's guards – though obviously not without having the "Central Forty-Six" announce that today, there'd be no meeting, so that the services of the guards would be unnecessary. Minor as it was, keeping the illusion of a perfectly normal Central Forty-Six had been draining his strength to an extent, and while there would probably no threat involved for him once the moment came, it was better to be on the safe side.

Of course, this meant that anybody who was to enter the room now would see the reality, instead of a fake and fully alive Central Forty-Six, though Aizen was hardly worried about that. Any intruder would die – by now, killing a few more guards meant nothing.

But when then somebody did arrive, it was no guard who walked into the chamber strewn with decaying corpses.

No, instead it was Gin, and following him… Aizen smiled. He hadn't ordered Gin to bring Hinamori Momo here, but she was a loose end- Gin, the only person he would ever consider his second, knew him well enough to know that he would want loose ends tied up. She needed to die.

Not that he bore her any ill will. She had been a decent pet in her time as his vice-captain- she was a bit dull, a bit naïve and easily led, but that was no great sin. If anything, this would be a mercy; her staying alive after realizing her great idol was a lie might be a fate worse than death. Yes, he would afford her that mercy, as a token of… gratitude.

It was nonsense, of course, but it was nonsense that was amusing enough to entertain in his mind.

He saw her as the two walked in, Gin stepping aside, standing back so as to enjoy the spectacle to come, and he saw the look of absolute shock on her face. Pure horror, but only for a moment, because as she looked around, and then she saw him. And immediately, she lit up as if there weren't forty-six partially dismembered corpses in a state of progressing decay around her. She walked towards him, relief, surprise and disbelief written in equal parts in her face.

"Aizen… taicho…" she mumbled, as if she wasn't ready to believe her eyes just yet. "Is that really you?"

For a moment he was tempted to answer with a flat 'no', just to see the look on her face. He really had to commend himself- his manipulation was good enough that the feeble little girl would ignore even a shocking scene like this, or think that she would find comfort over such a disturbing scene in him.

"Yes." He said, standing up, walking towards her, mentally slipping into the old facade of the good, gentle captain once more. "I am alive. I am sorry, Hinamori-kun."

And it struck him that, deep down, some small part of him really was sorry, in a small and insignificant way. The regret was easily dismissed, but it was there still- it really was like having to get rid of a bothersome, but faithful pet; perhaps not the most pleasant thing in the world, but still a clear necessity.

"But…" she mumbled, "I saw you die. You were dead- there was so much blood, oh my god-"

She was rambling now, and he was not in the mood for hysterics.

"I had my reasons. Do you believe me when I say that, Hinamori-kun?" He said, fighting against the desire to let out an annoyed sigh. It would probably for the best to get done with this as soon as possible. Entertaining as it was to toy around with Momo like this, it also presented a certain annoyance.

"Of course." She said weakly, nodding. "You would never do this to me if you didn't have to."

If only she knew.

"Of course not." He said, putting on his best voice of false reassurance along with a kind smile. He might as well keep her ignorant- the charade was amusing, in a sense, and there was the mercy too.

"But-" she said, looking around, looking at the corpses, looking as if she didn't know what to believe, "Ichimaru-taicho told me that… you killed them."

He blinked. Of course Gin would do that. He had to really be enjoying this, breaking a young girl whose entire world had fallen apart- although it was hard to tell; he wore the same callous smile he always wore.

"Did you, Aizen-taicho?" Momo said, her voice pleading, pleading for him to say it was a lie. "I- I am so sorry to even ask, but-"

"Yes, I did." Aizen said firmly, letting the mask, but not the smile fall at last.

"…why?"

"Do you still believe me when I said I had a reason?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed. Desperate, the poor thing- so desperate to find at least one bit of sense, one bit of comfort in this nightmare she was in. But he hadn't expected her to dare accuse him... she was stronger, perhaps, by some very thin margin, than he expected.

"I did." He said, slowly drawing his sword. "These ignorant people, these clueless sages and judges, these people representing the Soul King- who is meant to be god to us!- sit there and pass judgment, not knowing a thing about the world." He slowly raised his sword. "No, they did know- and that only made their crime more severe." He looked her in the eye. "Do you remember the Rukongai, Hinamori-kun? How bad it was? How people would get raped, murdered, enslaved, tyrannized, treated like cattle at best by whatever warlord or bandit chieftain was around, left to the mercies of the hollows? Do you remember that, and do you remember just how much better the seireitei was in comparison, when you finally gained the privilege to enter it?"

"…I do." She said, her voice barely audible. On some level, she was probably realizing what he was going to do. He wanted to just end it then and there, but somehow he couldn't stop himself from talking more.

"These corrupt parasites have lorded over us with blind, selfish ignorance, made our lives worse when they could have made them better. That is why I killed them. There will be changes to this wretched place, and when it is done, it will be I who stands at the top!"

He realized that he had let his smooth surface break, that he had raised his voice- and lowered his sword. Well, no matter – losing his composure in front of a person that he was about to kill was no great mistake.

"So you see, that's why I need to do this." He said, casually gesturing with his sword. "It's for the best- through me, Soul Society will finally become a kinder place, the kind of afterlife that it always should have been."

"Take me with you."

Aizen blinked.

"I- what?" He said, genuinely surprised. He supposed he shouldn't be- but the idea had simply never occurred to him.

"Take me with you." She said resolutely. "I can see now that you had your reasons- and you need me."

It was so bizarre, so delusional and egocentric that he almost laughed. With self-control that had been honed for centuries, he said,

"I am betraying everything you were ever taught to obey. I am about to kill you, and this- this is your idea?"

"I knew you wouldn't do this without a reason- and I was right. You did it because it was justice. I didn't see it before, because I never thought something like… this would be just, but I am beginning to understand."

"You understand nothing." Aizen said, wondering why he was even debating this.

"Then take me with you, so I can. Please, let me help you!"

There was this pathetically begging tone in her voice, and it both intrigued and disgusted him that she wasn't pleading for her life- she was pleading for him.

"And if it means having to kill your friends?"

"I'll do anything you need me to. Anything!"

Her voice almost went into a shriek, loud, annoying, and so naïve. Believing that the world could just so easily be separated into black and white, that he would even let her join him. It would be so easy... he would just have to stab her, kill her, and be done with this entire unnecessary conversation, and be rid of her without much trouble.

But despite this, despite the fact that for him it would be the most simple thing in the world, Aizen found to his own amazement that he could not do it: For whatever reason, he, who had betrayed his friends, deceived everybody around him, and killed so many people, could at that moment not bring himself to kill this one girl, who in her own naivety still placed her faith in him.

For a moment, Aizen considered simply refusing to let her come with, leave her behind right here- but then and there, something clicked. Some sick twist of fate in his mind, some miraculous whim, whatever it could be called-

"Come if you can keep up. And do not slow us down."

Later, Aizen was never able to explain why he said those words. He would rationalize that he meant to kill her later, only wanting to enjoy seeing her world break first. He would think that the absolute shock on Gin's face, finally seeing him drop that smile, was amusing enough. He would think that she'd just continue to be his pet, a pet he'd get rid of the instant he got bored.

But whatever the reason, Hinamori Momo did not die that day.

oOo

Renji took a deep breath. Once more, he couldn't exactly help but think that talking about committing acts of treason was easier than actually performing them. It had been one thing to boast in front of Rukia that he'd take on every captain, to tell Kurosaki and the other ryoka that he'd help their plan no matter the cost... but standing here on the path to Sokyoku hill, waiting for the person that he was supposed to hold up, he could not help but to feel that he was getting into things which were more than just a bit over his head.

With the method that the purple-haired woman had provided him with, obtaining his Bankai had been surprisingly easy. Though Zabimaru had not been too happy about Renji forcing his last step towards Bankai like this, the spirit eventually still went along with it all, and only a few hours of intense fighting later, he had his Bankai.

It was only then that the purple-haired woman had finally explained their plan to rescue Rukia to him, which to Renji's surprise turned out to be much simpler than he had thought: Create a bunch of diversions to make sure that almost no captain could attend the execution, fight some of them if necessary, and then have Kurosaki and his friends go in to rescue Rukia. Being a trained vice-captain who now also had Bankai, Renji's task in this all meanwhile was to be part of the entire "diversion" aspect; he was to prevent the vice-captain of Squad One, Sasakibe Choujiro from reaching the place of the execution.

Knowing that he himself didn't have to take care of a captain himself had only been a relief to Renji; while he did have his Bankai now, underestimating his enemy had already lost him his fight against that Quincy and that girl – thinking that he could defeat a captain with a Bankai that he got less than a day ago would probably only result in him getting his ass handed to him. In comparison to that, dealing with another vice-captain was a good deal more reasonable.

But even so, Renji was not exactly eager to face Sasakibe. After all, the vice-captain of Squad One held the reputation of being the strongest of all vice-captains, with some people (particularly those that enjoyed spreading rumors) claiming that he was as strong as some captains, and even possessed Bankai himself. For his own sake, Renji could only hope that the rumors were just that, since in any other case, he had lost before he had even provoked the man to a battle – which also was something that he had yet to figure out how to actually do it.

And just as if to undermine his general insecurity, Renji was now starting to sense just the person approaching him that he was waiting for: Sasakibe Choujiro. Before Renji could think of anything, the vice-captain of Squad One came closer, and soon got into sight.

Hesitantly, Renji took a stance. Even for Rukia, even for this cause he had sworn himself to, knowing full well that it was treason- and the Gotei didn't much like that sort of thing- he felt… odd about facing a fellow shinigami, somebody who should be an ally. Renji had never been much of a thinker, just a good soldier- loyalty was beaten into his very bones, and breaking one loyalty for the sake of another made him feel uneasy, however justified it was.

Still, there was no point in hesitating now. No, if he hesitated, it could all be for nothing. He had to do his part, or Rukia might die- and that was not a thought he could bear. Not drawing his sword just yet, he waited for Sasakibe to come closer.

And though it seemed at a snail's pace, as things always seemed to happen when he was tense with preparation for battle, closer he came.

"Sasakibe-fukutaicho." He said, taking a deep breath. "We need to have a word."

Sasakibe gave him a look of disdain. "Son, I am hundreds of years old. I can sense killing intent, especially from a young man who isn't even two hundred yet."

"I guess there's no point in hiding it." Reni grunted.

"Have you too thrown in with the traitors?" Sasakibe said, sounding cold. "You turned your back on this establishment, with its most hallowed, sacrosanct charge of keeping the balance between the worlds?"

"Excuses would be pointless." Renji said, drawing his sword. Quietly, without saying the command, he let it slip into shikai- he could feel Zabimaru now, almost like it was one with him.

Sasakibe gave him a curious look. "So they would. You do this for your childhood friend- even though you know her life is petty compared to the greater picture. You are a disappointment."

"Y'know, normally I'd let a jeer like that get to me." Renji said somberly. "But I can't fuck up today, I really can't. I gotta take you down here and now- sorry about that."

"Your will be done." Sasakibe said, drawing his sword. The contempt was apparent in his face and in his tone; he was ready to fight. Drawing his sword, he commanded, "Pierce, Gonryumaru!"

The blade changed, elongated slightly, and its guard extended to cover his hand- but other than that, Renji could see nothing different. With a sinking feeling, Renji realized he knew nothing about the powers of its shikai.

No holding back, though. Letting out a fierce battle cry, Renji charged forward, slamming the whole weight of his sword down, bearing down on the first division's vice-captain. The man simply took the hit, catching it with his blade, smoothly redirecting the momentum of Renji's attack. Renji knew what would come next- a quick counterattack, while he was still off balance. Letting the segments of his sword separate, he quickly pulled his head back and to the side, feeling the whiff of air as Gonryumaru just barely missed his neck.

"Seriously." Sasakibe said, rapidly lashing out, his smaller, lighter sword working faster than Renji's possibly could, Renji barely keeping up. "If you fight like this, you have no hope of defeating me, traitor."

Finally catching the man's blade against his own, Renji pushed back.

"Yeah," he grunted, hopping back, "I kinda figured. You're too old, too fast- you really are sharp. Usually, I'd delay this for a bit, see if I could actually take you, but I don't have the time."

"Quite right." Sasakibe said, readying his sword. "You are out of time-"

"No, that's you." Renji said, and let his reiatsu rise exponentially, growing up gradually as it blazed at full strength. "And I really gotta make short work of you- they're gonna need help up on that hill."

"You think I will be easy prey? Treason has made you delusional, boy."

"Sorry about this." Renji said, and there was a faint glow about his sword.

"What are you- no, it can't be!" Sasakibe said, just now starting to realize what was going on, looking baffled.

"BAN KAI!" Renji cried, and his blade changed, grew, extended more and more. There was an explosion of light and smoke, and as it cleared, Sasakibe was able to see it- an enormous snake, made of bamboo, its body made up of segments, the end of its tail being held by Renji.

"You truly managed to achieve it..." Sasakibe said, sounding incredulous.

"Hohio Zabimaru." Renji said. "This is my Bankai. I'll try not to kill you."

"I see..." Sasakibe noted, his surprise having died down, giving Renji a cold look that he did not like at all. "If this is what you are truly capable of, then I will have no choice but to face you on an even ground, even if I don't like making use of this now. BAN-"

Before he could get any further, Renji raised his hand, then brought it down hard. He could feel the Bankai reacting, the sword crying out for battle with him, the immense power- it was something special. The head of the bamboo snake did rise, and with a roar, it descended on Sasakibe, interrupting the man as he was trying to activate his own Bankai. To his credit, the man still managed to dodge, hop backwards- but Renji was prepared, and with a twist of the hand, he made the snake's head lurch forward, sending him flying.

"Sorry!" He shouted. "But I really can't waste time on you."

And then he let it charge, let the power run through each segment, culminating as it ejected from Hihio Zabimaru's mouth in the form of raw, red reiatsu, spraying over Sasakibe and most of everything in the close vicinity.

"HIKOTSU TAIHO!" He bellowed. Then, after the attack had ended, he took a few seconds to breathe. Was Sasakibe still alive? He tried sensing him- he seemed alive at the moment, although from the looks of it, probably not feeling too well. Letting his Bankai disperse, Renji turned around, relief over having managed to knock Sasakibe out before he could use his Bankai flowing through him. He had to hurry.

oOo

"Foolish brats!" Yamamoto bellowed, swinging his sword down. A massive wave of fire followed in its wake, burning with the intensity of a supernova.

"Watch out, Jushiro!" Shunsui cried.

As fast as he could, Jushiro whirled around and jumped to the side, dodging Yamamoto's attack.

Jushiro let out a sigh of relief. Their master was every bit as furious in battle as they remembered, every bit as impossible to defeat- he was a titan, an unstoppable mass of reiatsu whose martial prowess had been honed to perfection for over a thousand years.

But even so, Jushiro could not help but to feel that he and Shunsui were doing well. Sure, they had obviously not managed to land a single hit on their sensei, and likewise, he had not managed to injure any of them thus far, either – but that was just within their plan. Jushiro and Shunsui had known all along that they would be unable to defeat their sensei, so that the entire strategy that they had planned out basically revolved around them evading all attacks thrown at them, while occasionally doing some attacks on their own, so that Yamamoto would not realize that they were just stalling him for time.

So far, this strategy seemed to work out nicely: Yamamoto, enraged in a way that only a disappointed teacher could be, attacked them relentlessly, the execution that he should be attending seemingly entirely off his mind. Jushiro and Shunsui, helping each other out as best as they could, meanwhile just dodged whatever they could, and blocked whatever they couldn't dodge. Of course it was a simple strategy, but that hardly mattered: As long as it fulfilled its purpose, and kept the head captain where he was, it would do just fine.

Yamamoto held up, his reiatsu still blazing. "I know I raised fool apprentices, but I did not raise incompetents." He said gruffly. "You aren't so much as trying to harm me- not that you could. There is more to this, isn't there?"

"Maybe there is." Shunsui said, nodding with a smile, "but if there were, would you let this slide to find out what it is before you punished us?"

"Never on my life!" Yamamoto cried. "I shall teach the both of you a lesson you won't soon forget, and then I shall watch Kuchiki Rukia die- I swear it."

To himself, although he would not admit it, Yamamoto felt somewhat pleased that there was now a legitimate excuse not to go. Traitors took precedence, after all, and even without him, things would still go as they were planned. Sasakibe would make it to the Hill in time, and Kuchiki Byakuya, Shiba Isshin as well as Soifon would be there, anyway. The absence of the head captain would of course be an unexpected hindrance, but it would only be a slight one; Yamamoto had no doubt that Kuchiki Byakuya would, in spite of his personal conflicts, fulfill his duty to completion.

oOo

Rukia walked her last walk in life as if it were her first. It was such a strange irony that life was never more clear, more apparent, than when you were closest to death. She had thought on this before, but as she marched away from the prison, over the bridge to Sokyoku Hill, surrounded by four guards, collared and chained, she saw everything like never before. She could see every single detail of the bridge. She saw the clouds and the sun, and it was like she had never seen them before, like the clouds and sun of a month ago were some alien, unreal experience. This was life; this was reality in a way that only Death could make you see it. Beyond the bridge, she had a wonderful view of the entire sunlit seireitei and it was… the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

But even seeing it, seeing all of her surroundings, she felt no regret. She felt content, calm- this was the day she died, and nothing would change it. It would be right. It would be just. It would be an end to all pains she felt in her heart. She would cease to exist, and… it was almost a liberating thought.

But karma wouldn't allow her as much peace, it seemed. Ripped from her contemplation, she realized that her way was barred by Ichimaru Gin- that Ichimaru Gin, the exceptionally creepy captain, who she had always felt uneasy around (along with, presumably, most of everyone else). What- what was he doing here?

It seemed this was not arranged, because her guards seemed as surprised. One of them spoke up,

"Ichimaru-taicho, what is the meaning of this?"

Ignoring him, Gin stepped forward.

"Well howdy, Rukia-chan." He said lazily, his accent sounding even more exaggerated. "Ain't it just such a nice day out?"

"Ichimaru-taicho!" The guard repeated. Gin looked at him, and let out a small pulse of reiatsu. Intimidated, the guard backed down.

"What do you want?" Rukia mumbled.

"Ain't it obvious? I came here to rescue you." He said, looming over her, coming in close. "Just say the word, and I'll cut them chains- let you go free. How about that?"

"I- I- what?" Rukia felt her legs beginning to shake, emotion overwhelming her. Freedom- how beautiful that sounded! But it took not a microsecond to realize that this was Ichimaru Gin, and he was in no way trustworthy to her, that he was… evil, if there ever had been evil.

"Sure." Gin said, and his smile had never seemed wider. And for a moment, just a moment, she saw him open his eyes, and it was like staring into an abyss.

"Taicho!" One of the guards exclaimed, in too much disbelief to let himself be intimidated. "This- this is-"

"Just a joke!" Gin exclaimed cheerfully, laughing . It sounded false, like the warped mirror image of a real laugh.

Rukia collapsed to her knees. She- she wanted to live; she knew it now. She wanted to live, had always wanted to live. And so had Gin, and he had decided to take that peace from her, that commitment to Death, to shatter her resolve- and why? Probably just because it pleased him. It was all she could do not to cry.

"Well, I'll see y'all at the execution scene, Rukia-chan." Gin said, turning around and giving her a casual wave. "Bye now- have a great death."

As her guards stared after Gin, trying to recover from the shock that he gave them, Rukia just blankly stared at the ground. Of course there was no rescue... she had been foolish to even consider letting her hopes get up. Renji, Ichigo, Uryu, Tatsuki and Orihime – they all could not, not rescue her, not if it was the one thing that she deserved. She had long since accepted her fate, and so should they.

...At least, so she kept telling herself. It was a strange thing, she thought – all this time since she had heard the sentence, she had come to terms with the prospect of facing death, had ultimately accepted and embraced it... and yet, all it took was the prospect of immediate rescue, even from someone like Ichimaru Gin, and she started wishing for freedom. Was her resolve to accept her punishment really weak? Did she really want to live, be rescued by Ichigo or Renji?

"Get up, prisoner. We have already wasted enough time." One of the guards suddenly spoke.

Silently, Rukia followed the order. Whether or not her resolve to accept her punishment did not matter now – she was walking into her death, and there was no rescue in sight. It had been wrong to even think about getting her hopes up. All it had accomplished was that she had started to question her resolve, which should not have not have happened... not now.

As she and her guards stepped off the bridge, and onto Sokyoku Hill, she raised her head to look at the sky, where the sun was slowly getting closer to the horizon in the west.

It wouldn't be long now.

oOo

Darkness surrounded him. It was if the entire world had just vanished, and only his consciousness remained: He could not see, could not hear, he could not even smell. The only one of his senses that remained to him was that of touch... which was not exactly much. As far as he was concerned, it was as if he was in a void, where he could not fight, let alone find out where his opponent was.

Kenpachi let out an annoyed grunt (or at least he thought that he did, since he obviously could not hear anything). When he had found himself confronted by the captains Tosen Kaname and Komamura Sajin, he had not exactly expected that the fight that he'd get would begin with a cheap trick like Tosen had just pulled it.

As a matter of fact, this entire "act like a traitor to provoke some fights" thing in general had turned out to be nowhere near as much fun Kenpachi had originally imagined: After he had freed the two ryoka, it had taken several hours before him, Yachiru, Ikkaku and Yumichika even came across some shinigami send to stop them. But even then, instead of being found by a captain, or at least a vice-captain, the guys that had found them were just some low-ranking members from one of the Squads that Kenpachi didn't ever bother with, letting Ikkaku and Yumichika take care of them instead, so that he could go around searching for some captains instead.

This had been yesterday – and today, after endless hours of running across the seireitei, he had been found by not only one, but two captains. Granted, Tosen Kaname and Komamura Sajin weren't exactly the pinnacle of strength in the Gotei, but still- a captain was captain. But instead of getting right to the action, the two idiots actually had the nerve to give him some long-winded, boring speech on treason, motivation and justice, during which Kenpachi nearly feel asleep (unlike Yachiru, who did in fact fall asleep in the corner from where she was watching the confrontation). But then, finally, after a speech that seemingly lasted forever, Tosen drew his Zanpakutou to fight – only for him to go straight for his Bankai, which brought Kenpachi to where he was right now: Trapped in what seemed to be a big void full of nothingness.

Still, his senses weren't all gone. He could still feel pain- like just now, when Tosen's sword was cutting into his body. In just the tiniest instance, he reacted instinctively, moving the exact moment he felt the sword, twisting out of the way, the sword cutting into him- but not deep, not harming anything vital. This was irritating more than anything else- he could dodge all day, but it would do him no good if that self-righteous punk just kept cutting him…

He dodged, dodged and dodged again, each time receiving a cut, blood drawn from his hip, torso, arms- and it was really pretty fucking pointless. He tried lashing out, hitting back, but in this complete dark, this soundless void, it was pointless. No, he had to do something else entirely…

Tosen did, for lack of a better word, look through the lightless space of his Bankai, sensing Zaraki Kenpachi. The beast- because that was really all he was; he deserved not to be thought of as a man- had shown himself surprisingly adept at avoiding injury. It would be a slow, tedious process at this rate, but he could only stand up for so long. Eventually he would land a solid hit, and then it would be all over- today was a great day, and killing this monster of a man would be like icing on the cake. It would be… justice. There was a happy, tingling feeling inside him as he thought about it, readying his sword again.

Kenpachi readied himself. Tosen wasn't taking any breaks- the next attack would come any second now. Smiling his insane smile, Kenpachi dropped his guard.

Surprised, Tosen saw him drop his guard. Had he given up? Well, no matter- he wasn't stopping to contemplate it. His heart singing with righteousness, he aimed for the monster's chest, stabbing his sword upward-

And then Kenpachi's hand lashed out, grabbing him by the wrist as the sword cut through his flesh. A moment of shock came upon Tosen- had he figured out the secret? Was he just desperately gambling? Putting all his strength behind it, he tugged, desperately trying to get free.

"Ya know what?" Kenpachi said, and finally his voice could be heard, "I think I'm startin' to get this."

Komamura Sajin watched as his friend's Bankai began to dissolve, breaking down in its foundations. The sphere of absolute darkness went away, popped like a balloon- and as it receded, he could see Tosen standing on one knee, blood gushing plentifully from a gaping wound, stretching from shoulder to hip. Kenpachi stood over him, bloodied but victorious, a shark's grin on his face.

"Next." He said, pointing his sword at Komamura.

Komamura felt a fury rising in his chest; anger of a kind he so rarely felt. This traitor had not only abandoned the Gotei Thirteen, the place a captain was sworn to protect, but he had defeated, harmed his best friend, Kaname Tosen. And he was feeling happy. Growling, he raised his zanpakutou.

"BAN KAI!" He bellowed. "Kokujo Tengen Myou!"

As a gigantic shape formed behind him, a titanic warrior in a samurai's armour, towering over all the buildings around him, Kenpachi laughed maniacally. Well, if he wanted a fight so badly, Komamura would give it to him. He would squash him like a bug, for justice. He raised his sword, and with him did his Bankai, and with speed and enormous force did he bring it down. Kenpachi would die this day.

oOo

Slowly, the sun started to set, dyeing Sokyoku Hill and the entire Seireitei in a dark, vibrant orange. Less than an hour from now, it would be dark, and the execution would be done with – or at least, that was the plan. As things currently stood, more than just a few complications had come up, with the most important being, as Byakuya noticed to his dismay, captain attendance. In theory, every single one of the thirteen captains, as well as some of the vice-captains, were to attend this event at the peak of Sokyoku Hill, seeing as an execution was always a matter of great importance.

Reality seemed to not be too inclined to follow said plans, though. Out of thirteen captains, right now only three were on Sokyoku Hill, waiting for the subject of the execution to arrive: Byakuya himself, Shiba Isshin, captain of Tenth Division, and Soifon, captain of Second Division.

Of course, Byakuya had never actually expected that all captains would actually attend the execution. That Aizen, being dead, could not attend was obvious. That this madman Kurotsuchi would not attend was to be expected, just as that lunatic Zaraki Kenpachi not showing up was to be expected; neither were respectful of the law. But that out of the four senior captains not a single one, not even the head captain himself had showed up puzzled Byakuya to no end. It was under the head captain's authority that this execution was carried, so what in the world could be important enough to prevent him and his vice-captain from showing up?

Meanwhile, as far as vice-captain attendance was concerned, things somehow managed to be even worse. Byakuya's own vice-captain, Abarai Renji, had gone missing just a day ago after being released from his treatment by Squad Four, with nobody having the slightest clue why or where he would have gone. Shiba Isshin's vice-captain was back at her Squad's barracks, on account of her captain putting her in charge of his paperwork – or so he claimed. Soifon's vice-captain, meanwhile, was still recovering from injuries that he received in an encounter with the ryoka (despite the fact that the medics of Squad Four had already stated that he should be back at full health by now).

In short, it was a disaster. Out of at least fifteen people that were supposed to be here, only three were – and two of them didn't even seem to be able to concentrate on the events at hand. With Shiba Isshin, this was of course to be expected, but from Soifon, Byakuya had expected a great deal more professionalism. And yet, here this woman was, looking around frantically, giving off more the impression of an impatient child, rather than a captain.

"You seem troubled, Soifon-taichou. Is something the matter?" Byakuya asked, after watching her act like this for several minutes.

At once, the captain of Squad Two ceased her odd behaviour, and fixated Byakuya with her usual cold look. "I do not have the time to be here. Right now, the omnitsukido are out there, searching for a dangerous criminal. Instead of wasting my time with formalities like this, I should be with them, organizing their efforts!"

Byakuya resisted the urge to sigh. Of course, the one thing that would actually be able to distract Soifon would be her work, even at a time like this... "If said criminal has managed to evade your grasp until now, then I am fairly certain that he will be able to continue doing so until this all is over with. Your subordinates will simply have to act on their own in the meantime."

Soifon glared at him. "You-"

Before Soifon could however retort with anything, she was interrupted by Isshin, who, after having so far remained entirely silent, suddenly spoke up. "Ah... there she is."

Both Byakuya and Soifon turned around towards the Senzaikyu. And sure enough, there she was: A guard to her left and right, dressed in white ceremonial robes, and a somber expression on her face, she slowly walked towards them, right into her own death: Hisan-

Byakuya shook his head. No, this wasn't Hisana. It never was, never had been. This was Rukia, her foolish younger sister, who had broken the law, and would now receive her just punishment for her crime. Hisana was dead and gone, Byakuya's promise to her was fulfilled, and soon enough, him and her sister would follow Hisana into death's embrace. All would end as it needed to, no matter what it would take.

So he kept telling himself.

But even now, his heart didn't listen.

oOo

Akuro Isha looked around, feeling uneasy. She was tenth seat in division six, making her the highest ranking of the forty shinigami- pulled from divisions six and ten both- posted to guard the foot of the hill. And effectively, that put her in charge, a feeling she didn't like very much- if something went wrong, it would be on her head. It was hard enough to make a career when you were blond and pretty; nobody took you seriously. Still, it shouldn't be too dangerous- this was mostly for show, since there was no way she or anybody under her command would be able to take on the kind of ryoka that could beat a fukutaichou. Still, appearances had to be kept up, and protocol had to be followed.

Feeling uneasy, she looked around. All forty men and women stood at attention, ready to fight at any time- morale was at least not a problem. With just a little bit of luck, this would all go smoothly, they'd stand guard till the execution was done, then return.

Luck, however, was not on her side. The second in command, a short man from second who boasted a thirteenth seat, walked up to her.

"You feel that?" He said, looking into the distance.

"Feel what?" Akuro said, trying to sense- and there it was. Several very large reiatsu sources, approaching fast. They were out of sight at the moment, but she doubted she had more than a minute or so.

"Get me a hell butterfly to Kuchiki-taicho!" She snapped at the man. "Now!"

She put her hand on her zanpakutou. Maybe she was wrong- she prayed she was- but this was most likely not anybody on their side, which could only mean… the ryoka. She swallowed. Damn.

Ichigo led the charge, dashing forward. All five of them were flashing forward- except Orihime, who was riding on Uryu's back- at a pace as fast as they could go without exhausting themselves. They were doing well so far; nobody was paying any attention to the forest at the foot of the hill, and they hadn't been spotted yet. The path that led up the hill was coming closer; he could almost see it now, and-

Well, shit. Barring their way were what looked like dozens of soldiers, standing ready at the foot of the hill, looking right at them. Ichigo stopped, sliding to a halt.

"Well, so much for getting there unnoticed…" he mumbled.

"I guess it's no surprise they posted guards." Tatsuki said.

"You lot, what are you waiting for?" Yoruichi- now looking distinctly less feline, on account of being in human form, wearing pants and a yellow jumper of some kind- cried, sounding uncharacteristically urgent. "Break through them, now- we can't wait even for a minute!"

Ichigo nodded to Tatsuki. "Let's go, then." He said, drawing his zanpakutou. The shinigami guards all drew theirs, but there was hesitation among their ranks; none of them charged.

"You go first, then I'll cut through." Tatsuki said.

"Got it." Ichigo raised his blade, and let his reiatsu rise. "Getsuga… Tensho!" He roared, and the moon's arc of pure spiritual energy launched forward, cutting into the center of the shinigami force. Quickly in its wake, before they could react, Tatsuki dashed forward, her short blade out, cutting left and right. It all took less than four seconds, and in an instance, Tatsuki was through, looking at Ichigo… and as the dust cleared, the shinigami they had just hit.

Her stomach churned. A dozen or so lay dead or dying, limbs severed- one was even cut in half. The cries and moans of the wounded filled the air. Blood was flowing freely over the ground- blood, and entrails, arms and legs; it was a gory, messy soup of horror. And she had helped. She looked Ichigo in the face, and it mirrored her own- a dawning realization of horror, that they had done this, and-

"Listen very closely." Uryu said, calmly shooting down a shinigami who still had the presence of mind to move forward. The entire group seemed frozen, stunned with terror- it was as if a bombshell had hit them, and it might as well have. "We're not really interested in you people. You saw what we just did, and if we have to, we will kill all of you. But right now, all we want is to move forward. Who is in charge?"

Ichigo felt shocked- Uryu was acting as if nothing had happened, as if they hadn't just- hadn't just-

"I… am.." Said one shinigami, lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood. Her arm had been taken clean off, and she looked barely conscious.

"Then order your men to move."

"…I can't do that." She mumbled, trying to sit up.

"Then die." Uryu said coldly, stringing his bow. He let the arrow fly, and there was a sickening sound as it connected.

"No!" Orihime cried, rushing forward. She too had been in shock, but now she moved forward. "You can't!"

"She's not dead." Uryu said calmly. "I chose not to." He looked up. "But she will be soon if she isn't treated- and the same, I suspect, is true for many of your comrades. What will it be? Will you die like honourable fools, or will you live to serve another day?"

There was not much of a reply, but the remaining shinigami sheathed their swords, and began picking up their comrades- the ones still alive, at least. It was victory- but Ichigo, Tatsuki or Orihime didn't cheer.

"We need to keep moving." Yoruichi said.

"I just… killed people" Ichigo said flatly, looking at his hands. "Holy shit…" he trailed off into a mumble. Tatsuki remained quiet, feeling as if she was not herself, never would be herself again.

"Ichigo." Uryu said. "What are you holding in your hand?"

"Lay off."

"I said: what are you holding in your hand?" There was steel in his voice.

"A zanpakutou, all right? What the fuck's that got to do with anything?"

"It's a weapon, Kurosaki. It's long, heavy, and it has a sharp edge. It was not designed to cut bread, or wheat, or sushi. It was designed to harm. What did you think would happen?"

"But I didn't think-"

"You didn't think you'd kill people. You've been fighting people on your own level, and nobody died until now. That was luck. But this, Kurosaki, Arisawa-" He gestured at the carnage- "is what happens when you use a weapon."

"How can you be so cold?" Tatsuki said. "We-"

"We're here for a purpose." Uryu said sharply. "I suggest you remember what that is. If you have moral conflicts, save them for later."

"Rukia…" Ichigo mumbled.

"Exactly that. And to save her, you may have to kill again, and again. Are you prepared to move on, or will you back out now?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"We'll move on." Tatsuki said determinedly, although looking a bit pale.

"Yeah." Ichigo said, still looking shaken. "Yeah- Rukia. Gotta save her. Not much time." He sheathed his sword, looking not quite… there, but he walked forward- through the blood, up the hill. His sandals were dyed red.

"Get moving, then!" Yoruichi said. "I'll go on ahead, since there is something I need to take care of to make things easier for you, but this doesn't mean you should slow down. Rukia needs us – this could be any minute now."

Ichigo nodded quietly, and faster than any of them would have managed to, Yoruichi jumped off, towards the peak of the hill. Quickly, the four of them followed her, leaving the grim scene behind them, moving towards the site of execution.

oOo

"So what now? Do we wait until the soutaichou arrives before we start? I mean, he is the boss and all..." Isshin questioned, making several gestures towards Rukia, who now was kneeling down on a white blanket spread across a simple wooden stage, her eyes closed.

"We will carry out the execution as it was planned to. Should the soutaichou not be here by the time that the set date arrives, I will personally perform the deed in his place, acting as the head of the Kuchiki clan." Byakuya replied, barely concealing the annoyance in his tone, and forcing himself to not look at Rukia who so willingly seemed to have accepted her fate... "Of course, someone such as you would have no idea about the obligations and duties of a clan head."

Isshin only responded with a quiet chuckle, much to Byakuya's relief. At this current time, he had better things to do than to talk to this fool of a nobleman, who even now did not seem to understand the importance of this situation. The sun got closer and closer to the horizon – it would only be a few more minutes until sunset now. The plan had to be followed for both his own sake and that of the law, captain attendance be damned. This just had to end.

As Byakuya however silently watched the horizon, things seemingly didn't want to be that simple.

"Hey, isn't that a hell butterfly?" Isshin interrupted the silence once more. His annoyance again growing stronger, Byakuya unwillingly turned around, and sure enough- a hell butterfly was flying towards them, coming seemingly from somewhere at the bottom of the hill.

Flying past both Isshin and Soifon, who just looked after it, the messenger flew right towards Byakuya landing on the hand he held out for it. For just a moment, Byakuya got his hopes up – perhaps this was the message from the head captain, telling them to stop the execution, explaining that Hi- Rukia had been pardoned, and would not die today?

But of course, he had no such luck.

"Kuchiki-taichou, this is Akuro Isha from the group stationed at the foot of the hill! We are being approached by several strong reiatsus, which none of us can recognize! If they turn out to be the ryoka, we will do everything we can to stop them, though I am uncertain in our ability to do so."

"What does it say?" Soifon asked, giving Byakuya a skeptical look. "Is it a message from the soutaichou?"

For a moment, Byakuya just started at his now empty hand, ignoring Soifon's question altogether.

Then he started laughing, a short and joyless laugh.

"...It seems like the ryoka have come out to receive their just punishment, too, Soifon-taichou. This was a message from the members of my Squad that were stationed at the foot of the hill. They sensed several reiatsus, which they believe to be the ryoka... which, should this be true, means that Kurosaki Ichigo, the substitute shinigami responsible for this all will come to be punished, too."

"Yeah, that sounds like us alright... though, I am not exactly sure about this entire "coming here to be punished" thing, you know?"

Byakuya whirled around, his eyes growing wide at the sound of the unexpected voice that he just heard – a voice that he had last heard one hundred years ago, a voice that he hoped to never here again... and yet, here she was, having some managed to sneak up to them without any of them noticing- "Yoruichi?!"

"Yes, I suppose I am." The purple-haired woman said, bearing this loathsome cocky grin on her face that one hundred years ago had driven him angrier than anything else. "Hello, Byakuya, Isshin. Haven't seen you guys in a while – and of course you, Soifon."

The captain of Squad Two meanwhile just stared blankly at the woman. Then, almost like Byakuya before her, she started to laugh – but unlike him, her laughter was full of pure sadistic joy. "So you've finally shown yourself, Shihoin Yoruichi..." Soifon grinned maliciously. "I'll kill you!"

Instantly, she charged at Yoruichi, almost too fast for even Byakuya to see – but before she could reach her, the former captain simply jumped of the hill's cliff. Without a second of hesitation, Soifon followed her, leaving Byakuya and Isshin alone with their guards and Rukia.

While Byakuya was still looking after the two, Isshin had already turned down around again – only for him to once again speak up. "So, I suppose these are the other ryoka?"

Byakuya turned around and looked into the direction that Isshin had pointed into, and sure enough: Four figures were charging up the hill, having seemingly just gotten into sight.

This time, Byakuya did not hesitate.

"Everyone, stand aside." He said, and there was just a hint of something more than cold indifference in his voice. "I will deal with them personally."

Ichigo, Tatsuki, Uryu and Orihime stopped abruptly. Before them stood, aside from a few ceremonial guards- who looked lost on what to do- only Shiba Isshin and Kuchiki Byakuya. Behind Byakuya's back, Isshin gave them a thumbs up.

Ichigo stepped up.

"Well guys, are you ready to walk to what is probably almost certain death?"

"Any day." Tatsuki said, making a fist.

"We'll do it together." Orihime said. "And we'll come out alive, and so will Rukia-chan."

"Or we'll die trying." Uryu agreed. "We've come this far."

"Then let's go."

The four of them stepped forward, facing now the menacing, if slightly unstable force that was Kuchiki Byakuya.

Author's Notes:
Next up: The climax of the Soul Society arc (or as I'm calling it in this fic, Gotei 13 arc).

Now, there's something that I think should be clarified: The reason why Ichigo and the others don't just run past the guards is because they overestimate their strength, thinking that running would be pointless. Hence the attack.

Other than that: The character Akuro Isha is a reference to another series - though I am fairly certain that no one will get the reference. (Hint: Google "Akuro".)