• • •

"Yachiru-!" I exclaimed, almost falling over as a pink blur tackled me. I was able to keep my balance, though, and returned her hug. "Yachiru! It is you!"

"Of course it's me, Jun-Kun!" The pink haired Fukutaicho of the Eleventh Division giggled, tightening her hold on me once more. "You've been gone for so long, though! You missed several meetings and sweet raids!"

I laughed, squeezing her even harder for a second before releasing her and kneeling down so that we were close to eye level. "I know, and I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd be gone that long. Some unexpected things came up; I'm sure you're aware of all of it by now…"

"Yep!" Yachiru nodded, beaming at me. "Jun-Kun helped the Ryoka break into the Seireitei, and Jun-Kun even took out many Shinigami along the way. Jun-Kun wanted to save Ruki-Ruki, right?"

"Yeah," I grinned. "Rukia's my best friend; I couldn't let her die, right?"

"Right!" The small girl energetically nodded. "And Jun-Kun knows Ichi, right?"

"Ichi?" I questioned, feeling my eyebrows scrunch up at the name. "Do you mean Ichigo? The guy with the bright orange hair?"

"Yeah!"

Laughing, I nodded my head. "Yep! Ichigo's helping save Rukia, too. Although, I'm sure you already knew that. Didn't Ichigo fight Kenpachi not too long ago?"

"Ichi made Ken-Chan so happy!" Yachiru grinned, her dark pink colored eyes shining in happiness. I had long noted that if Kenpachi was happy, then Yachiru was, too.

I grinned down at her, "I'll have to thank Kenpachi someday for not killing Ichigo."

"Ah! That reminds me! We felt your reiatsu during Ichi's fight! Ken-Chan wanted to go after Jun-Kun, and then Ichi got really strong and kept on fighting Ken-Chan. But Jun-Kun, you didn't tell me that you were that strong!"

"Ehehe," I sheepishly laughed, bringing up a hand to scratch the back of my head, trying not to mess my ponytail up in the process. "Well, it was kind of a secret. I mean, I can't do that all the time."

"But Jun-Kun has to fight Ken-Chan sometime! Ken-Chan would be so happy!"

"I'll think about it, okay Yachiru?" I hesitantly questioned, wondering if there was any way I could get out of this fight. I doubt Kenpachi realized that the burst of reiatsu belonged to me. He probably only felt an unfamiliar spike of reiatsu and wanted to fight whoever it belonged to.

And I really didn't want to go against Kenpachi.

"Ichi's fighting Byakushi, isn't he?" The small pink haired girl questioned, staring off deep into the dead forest.

Nodding, I could feel the smirk tugging at my lips. Both of them were still going at it; their reiatsu still felt so strong. "Yeah, that's Ichigo and Kuchiki-Taicho."

"What about Ruki-Ruki?"

"Hm?" I hummed, tearing my gaze away from the heart of the dead forest to meet Yachiru's questioning gaze. "We managed to save Rukia. Renji ran off with her, and Ichigo wanted me to follow after them, but I have no clue where he ran to."

"Then sit with me! We can wait until Ichi's fight is over!"

Yachiru tugged on my hand, jumping up and forcing me to jump with her. We landed on one of the larger branches of one of the dead trees that lined the forest.

"Ichigo's really giving Kuchiki-Taicho a run for his money," I sighed, closing my eyes as I felt the spiritual pressures continuing to clash against each other. "He's not giving Kuchiki a chance to relax."

The Eleventh Division Fukutaicho giggled, "Jun-Kun really likes Ichi!"

"Ichigo and I are friends!" I hurriedly exclaimed, feeling my face heat up. "And nothing more!"

"Sure, sure." Yachiru sang, grinning slyly up at me. "I know that Jun-Kun likes Ichi! Jun-Kun doesn't need to lie to me!"

"S-Stop it, Yachiru!" I whined, adverting my face away from her as I felt my face continue to heat up. Was it really that obvious if even Yachiru could figure something like that out? And Yachiru had never seen how I acted around Ichigo! She had to be jumping to conclusions…

"We're here…the top…"

"Are they on the other side of this dead forest?"

"I don't see anybody, though."

"I think I know…" The familiar voice paused, "No matter how strong the reiatsu becomes, the scent will stay the same. That is definitely Kurosaki-Kun."

"Weird," The first voice mumbled, the low tone also sounding familiar to my ears. "Kuchiki's reiatsu is absent. Did she get executed already?"

I grinned, leaning away from Yachiru to look down below us. No wonder those voices sounded so familiar… it was Chad, Ganju, Ishida, and Orihime! And, well…someone else that I didn't recognize, but that didn't matter. Everyone was safe and seemed unharmed. That was the important thing.

"Rukia's already been saved." I explained, grinning down at them once they gasped and turned towards the sound of my voice.

Orihime beamed, smiling up at us. "Jun-Chan! Yachiru-Chan!"

"If Kuchiki already got away…Why is Ichigo still fighting?" Chad asked, craning his head so he could stare at us.

However, Ishida answered his question. "It's not so simple. These people will try to go after Kuchiki-San again. In order to really help Kuchiki-San, all the threats must be eliminated. Their resolve to execute Kuchiki-San must be crushed. That's why Kurosaki is fighting! And probably putting his life on the line for it."

"You-You're all crazy, aren't you?!" The man I didn't know exclaimed, warily looking between all of us. "Who is Kuchiki Rukia to you people? Isn't she just a friend? Is it really necessary to go this far…just for a friend?"

"Of course it is!" I exclaimed, glaring down at the man and watching him cower back in fear. "Rukia means more to us than what you think. We'd easily put our lives on the line for her; I know that I would! She's more than a friend to me… Rukia's like a sister! She's the one of the only people left that I consider family!"

"…To Kurosaki-Kun, Kuchiki-San is a very important person." Orihime explained, turning to look at the man that accompanied them.

"Inoue-San…" Ishida murmured, turning to stare at the auburn haired woman beside him. However, her eyes shown in determination and didn't so any signs of weakness.

"Because Kuchiki-San is… the person who changed his world."

Burst of reiatsu could still be felt; it seemed as if Ichigo and Kuchiki-Taicho weren't going to be easing up anytime soon. It's not like I would expect them to, based on the words that had exchanged previously.

A huge blast of spiritual pressure rushed by us, creating a huge gust of wind that whipped through the dead trees. It caught all of us off guard, even sending Yachiru flying out of the tree we were sitting in. I managed to dig my nails into the trunk of the tree, holding onto it so I wouldn't fly off like she did. The pink haired Fukutaicho landed on her feet; although her feet didn't hit the ground, they landed on Ganju's head.

Laughing, Yachiru darted off.

Another flash and gust of wind blew through the trees once more, however we were more prepared for it than we had been before.

"What is this!? What's happening?!" Ganju questioned.

I threw my head back, laughing. "This is the reiatsu from Ichigo's and Kuchiki-Taicho's fight! Man, what I wouldn't give to be there, watching it."

"Maybe we should move away from here, Inoue-San." Ishida brought up, turning towards the auburn haired princess. Orihime was crouched down, her arms clutched across her chest to stop her trembling. "Even if we stay here, we can't really do anything…"

"Thank you, Ishida-Kun." Orihime breathed out. "But, I agree with Jun-Chan. I'm sorry, but I want to stay here as well."

Reiatsu continued to flare, lighting up the area and sending gusts of wind in our direction. If anything, they seemed to be occurring more frequently and they seemed to last longer, too.

"Come on, Ichigo. Win!" I whispered, closing my eyes and trying to visualize what could be going on in the fight. In my mind, I could hear metal clanging against metal; I only hoped that sound was actually occurring. Metal against metal is better than metal against flesh.

I could feel Ishida's gaze on me, probably trying to analyze me.

But that didn't stop my hand from curling into a fist, my eyes opening and shining in determination. "You better win, Ichigo."

• • •

The battle seemed to drag on and on.

It felt like time was moving way too slowly, especially with us all just standing at the edge of the dead forest. Nobody dared to move forward, especially with those blasts of reiatsu flaring every few seconds.

Another blast flashed through the area, this one seeming to flash both white and black; cherry blossoms being blown towards us in the wind.

"Aren't cherry blossoms out of season?" Ishida asked, moving his glasses up as he stared at the petals raining down.

Blinking, I held my hand out and waited until a petal landed on it. I slowly grinned, recognizing what it actually was. "No, these aren't real cherry blossom petals. They're small pieces of metal. It's from Kuchiki-Taicho's Zanpakuto."

"From his Zanpakuto?" Orihime questioned, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Yeah, from the rumors I've heard, Kuchiki-Taicho's Zanpakuto splits into thousands of small fragments. Each of these fragments looks like cherry blossom petals. Somehow, he's able to control them and use them in his fights. I've never witnessed this, but from what I've heard, it seems to be true." I grinned, rubbing my fingers across the surface of the petal, being sure not to cut myself on the sharp edges. "And if these wound up here instead of being used in the fight, then that must mean that Ichigo's winning."

"Really?!" Orihime breathed, visibly relaxing. "Thank goodness!"

Grinning, I closed my eyes and focused on the reiatsu that still lingered. "And everything seems quiet now; but Ichigo's reiatsu seems stronger than Kuchiki-Taicho's reiatsu. I think… I really think that Ichigo's won..!"

Orihime grabbed my hand, hurriedly tugging me closer towards the dead trees. "Let's go! Kurosaki-Kun might need our help!"

"I-Inoue-San! Kokawa-San!" Ishida blubbered, running after us as well. "It's not smart to rush in! We don't really know if Kurosaki's fight's over! Those blasts could start up again anytime!"

"Oh, have some faith, Ishida!" I chastised, rolling my eyes as I continued to lead Orihime forward. "I can feel it; Ichigo's won. You don't have to worry about anything."

I glanced behind me, seeing not only Ishida, but everyone else following me and Orihime as well. It made me kind of proud, knowing that we'd made it through this. Rukia was unharmed, we were pretty much all healed up, and Ichigo had just defeated one of the stronger Taicho's that the Soul Society could throw at him.

We had won, and they had lost.

In my giddiness, I only faintly recognized that I was literally dragging Orihime behind me. I was so excited; I was running faster than they could keep up with. Mumbling an apology, I slowed down a bit, sheepishly grinning at Orihime to get her to forgive me.

No words needed to be exchanged; Orihime knew I was just excited to see the outcome of the fight, to see Ichigo after his victory.

"I WON~!"

Laughing, I released Orihime's hand, watching as she scampered behind Ichigo as he wobbled. He'd probably lost a lot of blood judging from his injuries, and his reiatsu was probably stretched to its limit during that fight. I don't blame him for wobbling and falling.

Although it didn't stop me from laughing when he bonked heads with Orihime. I knew she had a really hard head, so Ichigo was probably in even more pain. It was evident when he sunk to the ground and held his head.

"S-S-Sorry, Kurosaki-Kun!" Orihime flustered out, wildly waving her arms all around her. "Are you okay?! My head is hard as a rock, I'm sorry! I was trying to catch you, but…"

The strawberry blinked, raising his head as he looked at her. "Inoue?" Then his cinnamon colored eyes traveled over to me, lighting up a bit more than usual. "Jun?!"

"I know you told me to chase after Renji and Rukia, but I ran into these guys instead." I laughed, ginning down at Ichigo. "Besides, you know I never listen to what you tell me to do."

"Don't I know it." The orange haired Substitute Shinigami scoffed, rolling his warm cinnamon eyes. "But I'm glad everyone's okay. Everyone's here… Chad, Ishida, Ganju…Wait, who's that?"

Blinking, I shrugged my shoulders as the strawberry turned to me. "Beats me. I never got his name either."

Both of us turned towards the other Shinigami, staring at him expectantly.

"Uh… I'm no one important. Just pretend I'm not here." The mustached man blankly replied, his face devoid of any emotion. Ichigo and I shared a look, then shrugged at the same time. If this man said to pretend he wasn't here, then we were going to pretend he wasn't there.

Ichigo let a sigh of relief fall from his parted lips as his eyes skimmed over all of us. "Everyone is unhurt… That's good."

"We're not 'unhurt' per se." Ishida drawled, his lips twitching up into a small smile. "But compared to you, our injuries are nothing worth mentioning."

"And Inoue, are you hurt?" Ichigo asked, looking over her quickly and not seeing any bandages on her anywhere.

Of course, the auburn haired woman spazzed. "Huh? Me? No, I'm completely fine! Even though I'm completely useless, Ishida-Kun and Shinigami-San over there protected me! And Zaraki-San carried me! So I was never put in any danger at all. But… But I was just so worried about Kurosaki-Kun…" And the waterworks emerged. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki-Kun… I wasn't able to help you. Thank you, Kurosaki-Kun…for staying alive. I'm so glad…that Kurosaki-Kun is okay…"

Ichigo's eyes softened, noticing the tears pooling in her brown eyes as her hands clenched onto the hakama pants she was wearing. He noticed how she adverted his gaze, wiping at her face. "…Thanks, Inoue…"

• • •

Orihime wasted no time in healing Ichigo's wounds; she was getting even better at controlling her Shun Shun Rikka. This time, Orihime was able to quickly heal most of his major wounds. But Ichigo wanted to quickly head out and try to find Renji and Rukia. Due to the fact that he was still slightly injured, his pride too high to allow Orihime to waste any more time trying to heal him, Ichigo had an arm slung over Ganju because he was the closest one to his height.

I also had noticed that his Shihakusho and Zanpakuto were different.

He must have reached Bankai. That was the only explanation.

As we were aimlessly walking around and searching for Renji and Rukia, a strange noise sounded in my ears causing me to stop. Bringing a hand up to my head, I lightly hit my ears to stop the distracting noise. However, I wasn't the only one to hear it.

"Taicho's, Fukutaicho's, and temporary Fukutaicho's of the Gotei Thirteen…and…the Ryoka, this is Kotetsu Isane, Fukutaicho of the Fourth Division, speaking."

Most of the others in our group paused as well.

"Can everyone hear me? An emergency situation has occurred. This emergency transmission is under the authority of Unohana Retsu, Taicho of the Fourth Division, and myself, Kotetsu Isane. Please listen carefully. Everything I am about to say…Is all true."

I waited, my eyes widening as Kotetsu-Fukutaicho's voice conveyed all the information that she knew.

Aizen-Taicho was actually alive; he was the Taicho that they had thought had been murdered by one of us.

Not only that, but Aizen-Taicho had taken down his Fukutaicho (Hinamori Momo), as well as slicing down the Tenth Division Taicho (Hitsugaya Toshiro). And Aizen wasn't alone. He had two followers: Ichimaru Gin (the Third Division Taicho) and Tousen Kaname (the Ninth Division Taicho).

Sure, it was a huge blow to lose three Taicho's, but that wasn't even the end of it. Aizen and the others had even killed all of the Central Forty-Six Government.

"What was that? Just now?" Ganju questioned, looking around for the sound of the voice.

"She said something about forty something and then something about hypnosis… What are those supposed to mean?" Ichigo questioned, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to understand what all of it meant.

Orihime blinked, tilting her head to the side as her hands rose to cup her ears. "How come I didn't hear anything?"

"That voice was from the Fourth Division, Kotetsu-Fukutaicho." I explained, my eyes still wide as I turned towards the auburn haired girl. Her cluelessness seemed to back up my thoughts… "You probably didn't come into contact with her, so her Kido didn't reach you."

Ichigo turned to look down at me, "But Taicho's killing Taicho's is their problem, right? Why'd she tell us that?"

"Think about it, Ichigo. Why would she tell us something like that?" I rolled my eyes for a second before closing them and sighing. I ran through all of the information once more, trying to analyze it and make sense of it.

"She told us because she thought we ought to know." Ishida explained, bringing a hand up to hold his chin as he also ran through the information. "We don't know much about the Soul Society, except for Kokawa-San, but this Fukutaicho might have known that Kokawa-San would be with us to help explain what's going on."

Biting my lip, I opened my eyes. "I think I know what's going on, but I don't like where my mind is telling me this is heading. I've gone over it again and again, but there only seems to be that one option…"

"What? What's going on, Jun?" Ichigo asked, his deep cinnamon gaze never once leaving mine. "What do you understand that we don't?"

"The Central Forty-Six pretty much rule over Soul Society. From what I've heard, they're the ones that decide what is wrong and what is right. They keep everything in order." I explained, trying to keep it simple for them; they didn't know anything about how the Soul Society operated. It's not like I knew that much about it, either, but I think I understood it better than they would. "And if Aizen murdered them… He would be able to control the orders that the government created. So, in all actuality, he could do anything he wanted with them out of the picture. And if that's right, then what is he after?"

Ichigo looked speechless, just staring down at me.

Shockingly, it was Ganju that got what I was hinting at. "…The execution?"

"That's right..!" Ishida gaped, his glasses glinting in my direction. "Since we got here, Kuchiki-San's execution date has been pushed forward again and again… You must have found that strange."

"Mhm," I nodded, feeling my eyebrows furrow. "Since that is odd and very out of character for the Central Forty-Six, we can probably assume that the Fifth Division Taicho, Aizen Sosuke, wants to kill Rukia."

Everyone gasped, finally clicking on to what I was thinking all along. Ichigo's eyes narrowed a bit before turning to gaze back up at Sokyoku Hill, where we could feel reiatsu resonating once again.

However, when we had left, there had been no one up there anymore.

"You feel it too, huh?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes towards Sokyoku Hill once more.

"Rukia..!"

• • •

Abarai Renji blinked, opening his eyes to frantically look around. His muscles froze when he recognized the lifeless scenery; Rukia and he were back atop Sokyoku Hill.

"Welcome, Abarai-Kun."

Gasping, the red head pineapple turned towards the sound of the familiar voice, feeling his eyes widen in disbelief. "Aizen-Taicho… It can't be… What in the hell is going on?"

"Put Kuchiki Rukia down and step away."