She was out of breath. Her aching legs begged her to take a break.

After miraculously defeating her hollow, Matsumoto had rushed to find Hinamori and Rukia. For some reason, she couldn't sense either of them. This had given her a bad feeling. She rushed back to the house only to meet up with her Captain halfway there.

"Matsumoto, I got a distress call from Hinamori. Haru, Kira, and I tried to get to her, but we ran into a group of hollows. When Hinamori called again, I left those two and went to find Hinamori. She was alone. Something happened; she won't speak and she looks terrified."

Matsumoto swallowed. "Rukia-chan wasn't with her?"

"I was hoping she met up with you."

She shook her head. "I tried looking for them after I took down my hollow, but I couldn't. I thought they might have gone back-"

She stopped talking. The feeling from before was back. It was stronger this time. A voice inside of her was screaming at her, telling her things she didn't want to think about.

"Captain, you don't think…"

He cursed under his breath. "I left Hinamori by herself. I'll go get her. You start looking for Rukia. I'll join you shortly."

Eventually, everyone was looking all over Karakura for Rukia. Each person was interrupted by hollow after hollow.

It was night time now. No one had spotted another hollow for a while. They split up again, hoping the hollows wouldn't return.

Toshiro tried getting Hinamori to talk. He knew she knew something. Maybe she saw where Rukia went. Or maybe she saw her...die. He didn't want to admit it, but maybe that was why she was so shaken up.

A little past midnight, Toshiro called off the search. Matsumoto yelled at him, telling him they must have missed her. Rukia wasn't dead.

They were at the house now, all sitting anxiously. Matsumoto, wide eyed, had her head between her hands and was telling herself not to cry. Tears would only betray her and what she believed. Rukia was alive, so there was no reason to cry. She'd walk through the front door any moment.

Her captain sat up. "We can't wait any longer. I'm calling the Soul Society and telling them that-"

Matsumoto got up. "She is not dead! Why are you going to call them when she's coming back any-"

Before she could finish, Toshiro walked out of the room. Infuriated, Matsumoto went after him.

"Captain, where are you going?" she shouted.

"I already told you."

She gritted her teeth. "And I told you! She's not-"

He turned quickly and looked at her with raging eyes. "Stop it, Matsumoto! We searched everywhere! Her spiritual pressure is gone! Stop making it harder than it has to be! We failed at protecting her. Rukia is dead."

If Matsumoto hadn't been blinded by rage and sorrow, she would have been able to see just how hurt he was. Toshiro hid it well, but it was still easy to see. He did everything he could to not break down like Matsumoto was.

His heart ached when his lieutenant finally collapsed onto the floor and started crying. She sobbed, "No, Rukia-chan can't be gone, Captain. It's not supposed to be like this!"

As she continued to cry her protests of the inevitable, Matsumoto tried again to sense Rukia's spiritual pressure. Maybe she hadn't been trying hard enough. Maybe Rukia was injured and hiding from hollows. Anything would be better than her being dead. But she still knew. Despite how much she didn't want to believe it, Matsumoto knew. Rukia wasn't weak so the chances of their team missing her presence was impossible. And if Rukia was injured she would have found a way back to them by now.

Even now, though, as she quit her search, Matsumoto told herself it wasn't true. She told herself this over and over as her heart broke.

If she looked helpless before, then there was no word possible of describing just how broken Matsumoto looked now. Toshiro felt tears wanting to form. Now that his cluelessly loyal lieutenant accepted it, everything started to feel real. He continued to fight his emotions.

"Shiro-chan," came a sweet voice. He turned to look at his childhood friend. "Maybe you should take her to her room. I'll call the Soul Society and tell them everything. Just...take care of her, and I'll take care of the rest."

Toshiro was shocked at just how mature his happy-go-lucky friend sounded. He was even more surprised at how she was able to put aside her hatred and personal issues aside when they truly needed her. She's back, he thought.

He went to pick Matsumoto up. She slapped his hands away. With a deeper frown, he tried again. This time, though, she let her fighting spirit die fully, and let him take her upstairs. Before he left the room, he turned to Hinamori. "Thank you," he said.

She didn't say anything. When he left, she turned to call the Soul Society and took care of everything.

Everything was white.

She felt odd. Rukia couldn't feel her body, but she knew she was floating. In air? Water? She had no idea what was happening.

There was a sudden flash, and a giant gold light burst. It was so far away, but big enough for her to see. Her body - did she even have a body? - started making its way to the glowing mass.

As she moved, she noticed how calm she felt. She couldn't exactly feel anything, but she had a sensation of peace. Real peace. It wasn't the peace you felt when you sat in a garden and listened to the bird chirp. It was true peace. It was nothing she had ever felt before.

Suddenly, for the first time since she woke up, she felt pain. She had bumped into an invisible wall, causing her to stop moving. She felt a sudden tug on her wrists and ankles, and she was pulled away from the bright light. As she got further away, the white around her started turning into a murky blue.

All of a sudden, her body started to form. She looked at her limbs as they appeared out of thin air. Once her body was back, a bright orb materialized in front of her. She went to touch it, but, before she could, it started vibrating and cracking. Light burst through the splits, and it floated to Rukia. It momentarily paused before disappearing.

The murky blue around her started turning a dark red. She suddenly felt like she was suffocating. She looked around for a way to escape but found none.

A hand plunged through what seemed to be the top of wherever she was. Without a second thought, she swam to it. She took the hand and let herself be pulled away from that place.

Through her half-closed eyes, she could see a white cape flapping in the air. Somehow, it captivated her. It was so bright, and everything about it made her feel calm. A similar cape was worn by the people she loved. Nothing bad could come from them. She wondered who it was that stood in front of her. Which one of them could it be?

The white cape suddenly started moving away from her, and Rukia began to panic. She made to get up, but found that she couldn't move. She tried over and over. The results stayed the same. Soon, the white of the cape blended into the bright glare of her surroundings.

Why are you leaving?

She lay there, her mind a mess. She noticed her vision becoming less blurry as time passed. She hadn't known her vision was blurred in the first place. She heard herself suddenly gasp, and, for the first time, fresh air filled her lungs. Soon after, she jerked her body into a sitting position and frantically looked around.

She was near the school's soccer field, inside of a crater.

"How did I get here?" she asked herself.

She got up and crawled out of the decently sized crater. Once she was out, she noticed something else. Her hand went to the center of her chest, right over her heart. Something felt different.

Ever since the day she fainted at Captain Hitsugaya's office, she had a heavy feeling in her chest. It wasn't like the emotional weight one felt when they were sad. It was physically there. She didn't mention it to anyone, thinking that it would only lead to more unnecessary precautions. It wasn't a big deal anyway. It was noticeable but bearable. It didn't hold her back after she got used to exercising with that strange feeling in her chest. When she did get used to it, she fooled herself into thinking it was just emotional after all.

But that feeling was gone now. Rukia felt like she could breathe again. She hadn't even known how hard breathing was because of that weight until now. She felt healthy.

"What the heck happened?" she asked aloud.

Rukia closed her eyes and focused on remembering the past few hours. She remembered leaving the house with Matsumoto and Lieutenant Hinamori. She remembered splitting up. That was when she was bombarded with broken images and strange feelings. Nothing made sense.

I have to go back to the house, see if anyone's there. If I'm right, I left in the late afternoon. It's night time now. Surely, they're looking for me. I wonder how they haven't found me yet. I'm right out in the open.

With that, she got up and flash-stepped home.

When the roof of her temporary home was visible, she sped up. She didn't know why the lights being on surprised her. Everyone must still be up, wondering where in the world she could be. She didn't stop at the front door. Instead, she simply opened the door and walked right in. She stopped dead in her tracks. Right after she had stepped in, a zanpakuto was centimeters away from her throat.

She looked up at with wide eyes to see Matsumoto, whose eyes were even wider.

"Rukia-chan…?" she whispered. Then, "C-Captain!"

Matsumoto sheathed her sword and hugged Rukia tightly.

"Rukia-chan, is it really you?"

Rukia furrowed her brows. What did she mean?

Pulling away, Rukia looked up at Matsumoto. "What are you talking about?"

For a second, the Lieutenant stayed quiet. She couldn't believe it. Rukia was standing right in front of her. Then, "Your spiritual pressure disappeared, so we thought that you…" Matsumoto didn't finish. "Captain!" she yelled again.

He was coming down the stairs now. "Matsumoto, I told you to stay in your room! What do you want?" he hissed. It was obvious he was in a terrible mood. When he reached the last step, he finally noticed the extra spiritual pressure in the house. He came to Matsumoto's side and stared at Rukia. He didn't say anything, nor did he really show what he was thinking.

He finally spoke. "Where the heck were you, Rukia?" he shouted. "What happened?"

Rukia wanted to say that she didn't know, but kept quiet. "I don't know," wasn't an answer you give Toshiro Hitsugaya when he is this angry.

"Captain, don't yell at her! Who cares about what happened? All that matters is that she's alive and back with us!" Matsumoto cut in.

"Well, considering we just gave a report stating that Rukia was dead, I think many people wish to know what happened!"

Nii-sama.

Right when Rukia remembered about her brother, and thought about how he would react, there was a knock at the door.

Something told Rukia to retreat to the kitchen, and she did. For some reason, she was scared.

Renji barged in, followed by Byakuya, who looked as he always did.

Renji rushed to Matsumoto. "What do you mean Rukia's dead?" he yelled. "I left believing that all of you would do everything to take care of her. Then I hear this! Rangiku, tell me it's just a mix up! She isn't dead! Who could possibly kill her? It's-It's just not possible. She always found a way to live…" His last words were in a whisper.

"Renji, if you would calm down-" Byakuya started.

"How am I supposed to calm down?" Renji growled.

"Renji, turn around," Rukia, coming from the kitchen, said.

With wide eyes, Renji turned and felt his heart waver. He rushed to her and held her tight, just as Matsumoto had. "I knew it," she heard him say.

Rukia let herself smile. "It certainly didn't look that way. Do you think I'm weak, idiot?"

Renji didn't care about the insult. He was grateful for being able to have his friend alive to say those mean words.

She heard him sniff, but when she saw his face, only slightly red eyes showed he was close to losing his composure.

Rukia turned to her brother. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Nii-sama."

"No. This just simply changes our orders. We are to take you back to the Soul Society," he said in his monotone voice.

Rukia's eyes flashed to Matsumoto and Captain Hitsugaya. "Take me back?" she repeated. "But the mission-"

"-has proven to be of a much higher risk. Whatever happened, Aizen could have almost gotten his hands on you. The Soul Society can not allow that. You and Lieutenant Hinamori will come back with us. You two will be questioned over the events of the past few hours once we are back. Get your things ready."

The way he ended his sentence, with an angry glance from his cold eyes and his almost disturbed tone, told her to not say another word. Her brother was upset. Very upset. Of course he was; she had failed him.

Rukia, looking down, away from her friends' eyes, went upstairs, to the room she shared for such a small time with Captain Hitsugaya. She had barely spent two months there and she was already being forced back to the Soul Society.

She was almost done packing when Matsumoto walked into the room.

"Rukia-chan, I'm so sorry-"

"About what?" Rukia was surprised at how calm she sounded.

"We couldn't protect you, and because of that, your brother is forcing you back home. If I wouldn't have made us split up today, maybe we could've come home together." A pause. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Rukia closed her bag with a sigh. "I don't know. When I woke up, I was in a crater at Ichigo's school. I tried remembering how I got there, but everything was a blurry mess. The last clear thing I remember is splitting up."

Matsumoto looked at Rukia with worried eyes. She was scared to probe Rukia any further. Matsumoto had no idea what Rukia was feeling or thinking. She couldn't tell if having to go back to the Soul Society was upsetting her, or if Rukia was mad at her for not being with her when she disappeared.

"So," Rukia said, breaking the awkward silence, "are you and Captain Hitsugaya going to stay here and continue the mission?"

Matsumoto nodded. "Captain Byakuya just told us that we were to stay here with Renji, Kira, and Haru. They're sending reinforcements. Finally. I still don't know everything, but your brother mentioned that there was an incident, and that's why our requests from earlier were ignored."

This caught Rukia's attention. "What kind of incident?"

"Captain Byakuya didn't explain a whole lot to me. He wanted to talk to Captain in private." She sighed. "I can't believe how messed up things are right now," she said mostly to herself.

It was true. They hadn't made much progress in their two months together in the World of the Living. For Rukia at least, her time there was centered around trying to figure out her boy troubles. She almost forgot that their original orders were to gather information on the new, evolving hollows. They'd fought plenty. But they were too busy trying not to die to gather information.

Rukia stood up and swung her bag over her shoulder. "I shouldn't keep my brother waiting. Be careful," she said.

Matsumoto smiled. "Of course! I'm gonna complete this mission as soon as possible so I can go back to Soul Society and drink in peace." Matsumoto broke out into crazy laughter. "I'll try to do some damage control, too," she said out of nowhere.

Rukia knew what Matsumoto meant. She was going to try to fix whatever it was that happened there in the World of the Living between Rukia, Captain Hitsugaya, and Kira. Thinking about it made Rukia's head hurt. How had she gotten so distracted on her mission. She was supposed to assist her superiors while they gathered information on the new hollows. She'd only made things more complicated.

"Don't look so sad, Rukia-chan! This is just another bump in the road. I'm sure everything will blow over, and we'll be together again in no time. You just sit and watch! Matsumoto will take care of everything!"

Rukia let herself smile. She failed her mission, but maybe it was for the best. Her head was clouded and staying in the World of the Living wasn't making anything better. Maybe, once she could rest in the Soul Society, she could think everything through and make a decision.

"Thank you, Matsumoto."

Matsumoto gave her a goofy grin and a cheesy thumbs up. "Like I said, leave it me!"