The Iced Moon Arc Bleach

by tending

Lieutenant Kuchiki has a secret. A variety of secrets that the Gotei 13 do not know until a figure of her past and present tips them off and then a story is told, a past. A past connected to the very creation of the Soul Society from the Soul King to zanpakutos. Soul reapers are not the utmost rulers after all.

7. Thank You

Pre-Note

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. This is for creative purposes. I do own this plot.

Note: Raiden's appearance is exactly like Bazz-B's but they are two different characters completely.

---

Thank you

Watching him now only made her heart drop in despair because this wasn't how it was suppose to be...it was never suppose to be like this at all.

Her throat felt dry—hoarse and rough like sand. She couldn't part her lips anymore to say anything else besides his name.

Even if she reached out to touch them with the palms of her hand, she knew she'd never feel her own touch. The absence of the candles Byakuya had lit for her were finally starting to execute the full effect of their absence.

Her eyes lowered down to scan the differences between the past and now.

And if she was being honest, there weren't many differences regarding his face at all.

His skin was ivory—clothed with a stark white cloak and a trench coat located right under it. His red hair was styled into a mohawk—leaving the bald sections of his hair to the sides. His figure was tall—broad and strong like Renji's, reminding her how they were so similar growing up only to grow apart.

"He's back." Raiden said seriously—and Rukia never thought a man besides her brother could retain such impassiveness in their tone until now.

"I know." She replied—concealing all emotion to hide the dejection in her tone. "My only question is, why?"

She admired her own ability.

He had been here.

She knew why he was here.

But his choice...

"I don't understand what he's doing here or...why he even believes I would still help him after all of this. It's not like we were ever on the same side to begin with, so why?"

He played into it.

"It's simple." He replied and she looked back up at him to see that he was still staring at her regardless of her moving eyes. "You made him a promise. A promise he thought you would keep."

She lowered her eyes once again knowing good and well what 'promise' he was referring to that she said she would keep. Though in truth, it had been less of a promise.

It was much more.

"He should by now that I'd never open the gateways to Hell for him or even help him acquire the power his predecessor left behind for him to uphold."

"He had faith in you." Raiden said. "You can't tell me you didn't lead him on."

"He knew I was against him! I was always against him...the only reason I ever talked to him in the first place was for his father and uncle, you know that. I never wanted to reciprocate his offer nor did I ever intend on helping him."

"He came back here for you to fulfill your promise to him and to the Okasake clan. Whether you choose to help him or destroy him, you know you have to come back, regardless."

"I know that, Raiden—trust me, I know. I've been trying to contemplate the very fact of coming back without anyone knowing for years now but I just can't bring myself to leave or feel ready yet to leave. I made a promise to the Okasake clan and I will fulfill their promises like I said before, but with the Gotei 13 now knowing of his existence...it's just chaotic if you ask me."

Rukia started to feel like her deal with the devil had been for this purpose all along.

"The Gotei 13 are useless in this fight. You know they are not capable of handling this kind of problem."

"I think you underestimate them, Raiden but even so, I won't get them involved." She said because the Gotei 13 couldn't get involved with this. Their involvement would unravel new things that they weren't suppose to know. To get them involved, also meant explaining some stories.

Some stories she wondered if the Head Captain would ever tell.

"So, what do you plan on doing?"

"I don't know..." Rukia replied honestly. "I know I have to leave now that he's back but...I just don't know how to really escape or do anything at all on my own."

Rukia cursed herself for being able to hold herself together.

She took a deep breath before saying her next words—choosing them wisely in an attempt to see whether he was truly mad or upset or if, he was just making a face.

"I need your help." She added quietly and he immediately scoffed as a response.

"Fuck, I won't help you at all." Raiden said almost immediately and she flinched at the sudden harshness of his reply.

"Why are you acting like this?" She questioned immediately as a scowl forged on his face at her question.

He hadn't meant to bring up the past at all—just get his answers and get the fuck out. But seeing her face all over again only inspired the same bitter deception he felt from her once again and before he knew it, the anger exploded.

Especially when she asked him for his help.

"Fuck, you know exactly why I'm acting like this, you" he pointed his index finger at her accusingly, "you accused me of something I never did and after more than fifty years of doing absolutely nothing you expect me to help you?"

"Raiden, you misund—"

"I didn't misunderstand shit. You fucking left believing I deceived you without even bothering to hear my side of the story. You ran away like a fucking coward and didn't even bother to tell me where you were going. You made Renji stop talking to me because he'd rather go with you instead of stay with me." He growled and she flinched once again in shock of his accusations.

"Raiden, look...the evidence I was given that day proved you guilty, what was I suppose to think, Raiden? What was I suppose to do? I couldn't even...I couldn't even look anyone in the eyes without feeling ashamed and yet...I didn't blame you when I needed someone to blame the most. I wanted to blame you but I didn't. I channeled all that hate towards me because I was the one at fault. I never believed you could do something like that..." She said and when he didn't respond, she continued.

"I wanted to leave, Raiden. I wanted to crawl my way out of that single pit I created for myself. It was never my intention to take Renji with me that day but I needed some place to run...some place to hide. And you know very well that our friends also died just days after that incident and by then, I had already made up my mind. I didn't tell Renji to do anything! He came by his own will, Raiden—I never intended on tearing you guys apart or us apart at all. It just happened..." She said.

And he stared at her with an unreadable gaze and a blank expression within his eyes as seconds flew by like minutes in the silence he provided before he opened his mouth to fix the air deprived of words.

"So that's your excuse?" He asked after awhile.

"Huh?"

"That's your cheap fucking idea of an excuse. You needed someone to blame so you blamed fucking me."

"No, I—"

"You fucking blamed me and tore us apart and you expect me to fucking help you?"

"You don't understand! I didn't mean for us to become this way."

"We were friends—family, we relied on each other for every fucking thing. We laughed, we worked, we lived, we ate, we did every fucking thing together as a family and it only took one thing—one thing to change your mind so easily on me and run away. If you needed someone to blame, you should've blamed them. If you wanted to blame me, you should've fucking talked to me before making your decision. But in the end, you didn't confide to me—you didn't do anything but run away."

"Don't you think I know that? That's why I'm trying to make amends! You have to help me leave this place! You said it yourself, I have to come back. So help me come back and things can change."

"Make amends? Don't feed me this shit, I have no reason to associate myself with you. I came here today because I wanted to figure out if you had a plan to deal with all of this. But based on what I've seen and what I've heard, you've been asleep for seven days straight and that to me, gives me an answer of 'I don't know what the fuck to do so I'm useless'."

"You can't win without me."

"I'm not a dumbfuck, I know that. I came here to figure out if you plan on ditching your life of nobility for two seconds to deal with this problem before the other noble clans try to get involved. And we can't have that happening because their representatives are already involved." Raiden said before crossing his muscular arms and narrowing his eyes down.

She turned her head in agreement before plunging herself into deep thought about the noble clans involvement and their representatives who were also involved.

She sat there as she studied the idea of how exactly everything would go down before—

"So tell me," Raiden said—arms crossed, eyes narrowed down to hers, curiosity showering his tone.

Rukia looked up and blinked.

"How's it been playing the fucking Kuchiki princess you said you wouldn't be?" He asked and she flinched.

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Keh, you know exactly what I mean." He grumbled and looked away. "But anyways, that's not the point. Since you don't have a plan, contact me when you got one or at least, when you fucking escape this place and let me know what's happening."

He carelessly threw a piece of paper towards her that slowly floated like a kite before landing on her blanket as she stared.

"And why I should I? After I leave, I become your s— "

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I'm aware of that. I'm willing to comply if you stop bringing up the past."

"I didn't bring up the past, Raiden that was your doing. All I wanted to do was apologize."

"I don't listen to shit apologies like yours. And besides, it sounded more like you were arguing with me than apologizing. You never change do you? Always fighting for what's right...but in this case, you're wrong."

"Raiden—"

"Don't fuck this up. I'm willing to follow you, so just appreciate it and forget it. Call me when you're ready."

"And if I'm not ready?"

"Then I'll fucking join your ol'Oky if you want me too."

"We have very little time—I'm soon to be interrogated and Ichigo's back as well...it's not going to be easy leaving and on top of that, I still need to talk to Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san."

"Do what you have to do, but they're expecting you to come back as fast as you can."

"I will..."

"Good." He turned around with his white cloak to leave. She bit her bottom lip as she contemplated on what to say next but then Renji came to mind, and then she was wondering if he even knew.

"Renji's out looking for you." She mentioned in a lower tone.

Raiden said nothing at all in response to her words and filled the air with silence to stop anyone from speaking another word as he digested what she had said in slight surprise that she would even notify him at all.

"I know."

She nodded her head despite the fact he couldn't see her face as he stood there for awhile—contemplating a few things as her eyes remained fixed on the thin rectangular-shaped paper with a number written on it to enter into her soul phone.

"Aren't you going to go after him?" She asked impassively—eyes still focused on the piece of paper.

"I'll see him when I see him."

"He'll search for you all night."

"Then let him..." Raiden said. "After all, I've been searching for him for fifty years..."

"Listen," she trailed off. "Please don't be mad at Renji, Raiden. Don't be angry at him for me."

We all were.

"Keh, I have no reason to be mad at him. He wanted to stay with you and I got that but what I'll never get is you. You're the reason why we aren't who we are today. And I'll never forgive you...for running away." He said with his back turned to her and she gasped and looked up to see his white clothed back..

The water in her eyes clouded her vision momentarily as she recalled a few memories she had seen in her dreams. The elder men, the children, the look in a certain someone's grey eyes, the number one sign etched on someone's haori, and the rope and dangling feet she had seen.

"Call me whenever you're ready" Raiden said before she slightly raised her head to respond and yet, no words left her mouth as he continued. "We'll be waiting."

And with that, he flash-stepped away.

---

"Nee-san!" Yelled the plushie, Kon before he leaped into the air with eyes glittering in mirth and tears before his small arms hugged her tightly in content.

"We were so worried about you!" He exclaimed as his grip tightened around her chest in his own perverted happiness at the touch.

"Nee-san's small but smooth chest smells so good!" He said out loud to himself as he buried his plushie's nose into her chest before she gripped his body and threw him against the wall.

"How the hell did you even get here, Kon?" Ichigo asked the plushie as it dragged its way back in its solid form to confront Ichigo.

"You! You left me back in the World of the Living and didn't even bother to bring me along when Nee-san was in trouble!"

"I didn't bring you along because you wouldn't be any help."

"Excuse me?! I'll have you know I have a lo—offfsh." Ichigo took his hand and slammed the plushie onto the ground before covering his mouth to interrupt his words and turning his attention back to Rukia.

"Are you feeling better, Kuchiki-san?" Orihime asked her.

She nodded her head. "Yes, I'm feeling much better—thank you, Inoue."

"Did you like my dresses? I see you've got a few on your chair." Uryū said with a grin before Rukia adverted her attention to the dresses stacked onto the chair—one of them black, one of them pale yellow, one of them blue, and one of them a pale red with flowers.

"A-Ah yes, thank you, Ishida. But you really didn't have to go through all that trouble."

"Of course we did! After you fainted, you didn't wake up for seven days straight, Kuchiki-san!" Orihime said.

"Inoue's right, Rukia—based on what Captain Unohana told us you've been going through a lot in your sleep." Ichigo said.

"Captain Unohana told you that?" Rukia asked in confusion before Uryū took his index finger and pressed the middle of his glasses.

"Captain Unohana said you were experiencing a series of dreams based on morbid memories—something traumatic or psychologically effective that occurred in your lifetime." Uryū explained.

"Oh...I..."

"We've all been so worried ever since she told us a few days ago—just like the Gotei 13." Orihime said.

"I can tell. They've given me so much flowers that I'm running out of space to put them all." Rukia said with a grin as she looked at the right to see the garden of flowers taking up the space in her extensive room.

"They've been worried about you." Ichigo said. "And so have we. They've delayed a lot of things until you're fully recovered—things like your interrogation."

"Nii-sama told me about their plans to interrogate me and Renji on the 16th. I just...I just can't believe they're actually doing it. Has the search for the ryoka really hit a dead end?" Rukia asked and the Karakura gang—mostly Ichigo—stared at her in surprise that she would even mention the ryoka as it seemed to cause her great pain to even look at his face.

Fortunately their surprise didn't unionize with their expressions or Rukia would've noticed that they were avoiding the topic.

But Rukia wasn't foolish, she understood they were trying to avoid mentioning his name but in the process of avoiding, she realized the more she refused to talk about the topic, the more guilty she would appear.

And even though, her body felt a bit shaky and her words weren't coming out clearly, she would force herself to act completely normal to get comfortable with the idea before the interrogation session. If, she was still here.

"Well...the Gotei 13 really don't have any leads, Kuchiki-san and that terrible reiatsu he emitted across the Seireitei is the only thing they have."

It's not reiatsu, it's sheatsu.

Admitting to her own raw honesty in her mind made it start to feel even more real. These seventeen months had really made her lose touch with her reality.

"The 12th Division were able to get their hands on the ryoka's reiatsu and they've been scanning it ever since." Uryū explained. "According to that scientist, his reiatsu contains a whole different set of molecules that are different from the ones founded in reiryoku."

"I see. Seems like without a proper lead or knowledge of who he is, the Gotei 13 are useless until Renji and I say something about the ryoka."

"It seems that way, but they're not entirely useless with the new information Lieutenant Ise and I discovered yesterday."

"What did you discover?" Rukia asked nervously.

"That the Okasake surname belongs to a noble clan—one of the four great noble clans. Captain Ukitake and Captain Kuchiki confirmed it this morning that the Okasake clan are indeed high-ranking nobles in the Soul Society and their specialty is the art of Judan."

"The art of Judan? What the hell is that?" Ichigo asked. "It sounds like something my Sensei used to say in my dojo class when I was a kid."

"That's because it is something related to dojo." Orihime said and everyone's attention turned towards her. "I remember Tatsuki-chan teaching me something about the 10 different ranks that are given in Japanese martial arts—Judan being number ten, is the highest rank offered."

"I didn't think the Soul Society would even refer to anyone based on their ranks in martial arts, after all, don't the shinigami here use hakuda, Rukia?" Ichigo asked.

"Well yes, of course. Basic fighting techniques like zankensoki (soul reaper fighting techniques), hakuda (hand-to-hand combat), and zanjutsu (soul reaper swordsmanship arts) are truly the only things we, soul reapers rely on. Individual practices such as martial arts are only really included in the art of hakuda so specifically focusing on martial arts, itself is a rarity."

"Captain Sui-Feng and Yoruichi-san excel in this art of hakuda—correct?"

"Yes, they do. It's a necessity for any Captain who's in charge of the Onmitsukido or the 2nd Division in general."

"Yoruichi-san is a noble, do you think she's ever met the Head of the Okasake clan, personally?" Uryū questioned.

"I wouldn't doubt it, Yoruichi-san knows everybody." Ichigo said.

"She's very popular." Chad intervened.

"If Yoruichi-san knows the Head of the Okasake clan, that means she'd also know the Okasake twins." Orihime said and Rukia's eyes blinked in surprise at the name.

"The Okasake twins...you...you know them?" Rukia said as she tried to make her voice come out steady without choking on her own words.

They knew much more than Rukia had originally anticipated by the Okasake clan—it wasn't that she underestimated them, but she assumed they'd spend their time focused on Mizuri Jushirmai instead of his background. But then again, the background of his family name was all they had for now...and they would make use of every speck of it.

"We did some research regarding his family's last name. Captain Kyōraku later joined us and told us that it was a good thing we were getting started without any leads to speed up the process until we did."

"Have you met them, Kuchiki-san?"

"Wha...m-me?"

"You are a noble." Chad said.

"And aren't nobles usually obliged to attend other events with other nobles?" Ichigo questioned.

"Well yes, they are but...I haven't met the Okasake clan, personally." Rukia said.

"Seems like nobody in the Seireitei really hasn't interacted with them at all." Uryū said.

"Don't they have an heir—you know kinda like Byakuya—who's a soul reaper or something?"

"No, I don't think their family is involved with soul reapers at all." Uryū said. "And besides, Kurosaki not all nobles are entitled to become a soul reaper."

"Wha—I know that, Ishida but if their family is associated with the art or dan of Judan than why wouldn't they be?"

"Maybe they didn't want to be involved."

"What do you think, Rukia?" Ichigo asked as he took note of the fact that she was spacing out.

She raised her head up to meet his. "Huh—me? I don't know. If you ask me, they're not really anyone to consider suspicious."

"What do you mean?"

"They've lived over a hundred time folds of your lifetime, Ichigo. They really have no reason to be held accountable for anything."

"I thought you never met them." Ichigo persisted.

"I haven't." Rukia denied. "But I've seen pictures of their family in the Noble Hall."

"Oh—so what do they look like?" Ichigo asked.

"Does their description really matter?" Rukia asked. "They're not related to the ryoka's doing anyways."

"And how would you know that?" Ichigo questioned.

"Because they have no reason to be involved with the ryoka's motive."

"And why's that?"

"Because their family is dysfunctional—platonic—kinda like me and Nii-sama, but different."

"And why are they so dysfunctional?"

"Kurosaki-kun..."

"Every family has problems, Ichigo—it's complicated."

"And why is it so complicated?"

"Because they're—Ichigo, why are you interrogating me?!" Rukia said as the realization finally sank in.

"I'm not interrogating you, I'm asking." He said.

"You're not asking, you're interrogating me!" Rukia said in disbelief.

"Maybe I am, Rukia but—you can't just expect me to stay like this. You keep beating around the bush and I'm tryna understand why you aren't telling us what we wanna hear. We're your friends, Rukia—you've got nothing to hide." Ichigo said and Rukia blinked at him as the intensity of his amber eyes grew.

"I'm not hiding anything, Ichigo—I have nothing to hide, I just have no reason to talk about it."

"No reason to talk about it? Who the fuck is Mizuri Jushirmai? You've been avoiding the mentioning of his name ever since we got here."

"I already told you, I don't know."

Ichigo's eyes scrunched and his facial expression went neutral as he stared into her eyes deeply looking for the traces of a lie. She reciprocated his stare and hid her emotions within her eyes—she knew what he was trying to see. And even if she was lying, she wouldn't let it show.

"Don't talk to Nee-san like that! She's obviously been through a lot and you interrogating her isn't helping her heal at all!" Kon said as he pointed an accusing finger towards Ichigo's face.

Ichigo blinked and looked down at the plushie before his eyes filled with regret looked to Rukia who still appeared angry with a little hurt hidden within her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Rukia...it's just that, we've known each other for a long time...and whether you admit it or not, I know there's something you're hiding from me and I just really wanna know." Ichigo said as he met her eyes. "I shouldn't have interrogated you, but I just can't help it—Renji's been avoiding me and now you...you're acting all distant and it just bothers me that you both aren't telling me the truth."

"You fool, Renji's been—"

"It's alright, you don't have to tell me." Ichigo said before a small grin formed on his lips and she blinked in surprise.

"Whenever you're ready to talk, I'll be here to listen—I'm just frustrated that's all." Ichigo admitted honestly and Rukia sighed in relief before looking down.

"Listen...I'm sorry that it seems like I'm lying to you all but..."

"No, no, no Kuchiki-san, it's alright! We trust you! It's just that...well.."

"Everyone's been kind of impatient—there's been no leads in the past seven days and Mizuri Jushirmai is basically unknown to everybody except you and Renji." Uryū continued.

"I know...I just hope you can forgi—"

"Don't worry about it, Rukia—as I said that night, I trust you—we trust you. And even though we're all frustrated and in need answers, we'll wait."

"You have no reason to worry, Kuchiki-san." Orihime said reassuringly before placing a hand on Rukia's lap with a smile.

Rukia nodded her head and grinned before she uttered two words in sheer relief. "Thank you." She simply said, earning a grin from all four of them—five, including Kon.

"Well now that that's covered, we can get you the hell out of here." Ichigo said before standing up.

"Huh?" She replied in perplexity as her human friends took a rise and looked down at her petite frame.

"C'mon, don't tell me you planned on staying here all day, Rukia. Aren't you getting tired of these four walls?" Ichigo questioned.

"Well, I guess." Rukia said as she looked around to view the four walls. "But, what will Nii-sama say?"

"Byakuya's out searching for Renji."

"Wait a minute—what?! Nii-sama went out to find...Renji?"

"Yeah. He left about an hour ago with his division based on orders from the Head Captain." Ichigo explained.

"But...he didn't say anything when he came in this morning."

"He probably didn't want you to worry about it, that's all. Anyways, you coming or what?" Ichigo asked but Rukia's mind was still on the thought of Byakuya and the 6th Division searching for Renji.

"Yeah, sure." She said with her eyes still looking miles and miles away. "But where?" She asked and she wasn't really paying attention.

"It's a surprise!" Orihime exclaimed excitingly with Chad and Uryū giving her a nod.

"Get up, midget."

"Yeah, Kuchiki-san—let's go." Orihime encouraged with a smile before Rukia nodded her head with a smile before standing up from her futon with a small strip of paper—that went completely unnoticed by the gang—clutched in her hand.

"Yeah...let's go." She said—clutching the paper tightly before it wrinkled itself and crumbled away.

---

The elder and wrinkled Head Captain sat with his knees bent and a cup of tea residing in his old right hand. His eyes squinted at the perception outside as his stark white haori lugged behind him in his seated position and sprawled like a paper fan.

He stared at the blinding white blanket that covered the Soul Society—thinking about none other than Okasake Jushirmai; a deeply troubled child he had come to unfortunately know.

His arrival was expected. His immoral and sinful intentions were very well known to happen in due time—there was no miscalculations present in the air. The man known as Okasake Jushirmai was a child produced within the depths of Hell—poisonous, calculated, and underestimated.

From a young boy, he had become a man of selfishness—arrogance and disrespect. The art of Judan his clan had carried as a specialty for years seemed to only make him feel almost invincible as one of the four great noble clans. The influence they retained in governmental institutions within the Soul Society seemed to only broadened his ego—knowing good and well that the Seireitei was not the only branch of government the Soul Society had.

His self-confidence had eaten him alive—allowing his own privy desires to fuel him and control him until he tarnished his own internal world with the likes of fire and ice. And now the same merciless creation that fed on those same selfish yearns wanted something more...something pleasurable to collect all of their countless sins.

Genryūsai had expected this. He had expected it a very long time ago that a creation like him spelled only devilry and would awaken once again to commit sins. He had waited patiently in the past couple decades for his arrival—only to be notified that his presence was still nonexistent within the Soul Society's barriers.

But with the news of his arrival came only two main things that the Head Captain had not expect. One, being his introduction and target being the Gotei 13 and two, being his action of exposing Kuchiki Rukia to the Gotei 13—an action he had not expected at all.

His affiliation with her was not something the elder man was remote to as she was very well known for prompting the flames of desire he retained within his tainted soul. However, it did raise some concern in the future of a predicted battle between Okasake Jushirmai and the Gotei 13.

Had it been fifty years ago, Genryūsai was very well convinced to completely remove the Gotei 13 from a possible interaction with Okasake Jushirmai, period. But Okasake Jushirmai had made a mistake—a statement and request that he wanted the Gotei 13 to fight. And even if he did have faith in his comrades, he was not fully convinced the Gotei 13 were ready to fight as of yet despite.

Kuchiki Rukia was also a very relevant concern—her affiliation with the ryoka was now publicly known to everybody within the Gotei 13 and the act of lying did not seem to be siding with her favors any longer as Central 46 had already ordered an interrogation date for her and Abarai Renji to justify the man's relation and name in the span of seven days.

Jushirmai had done this on purpose.

For the sake of allowing Kuchiki Rukia to escape.

And by all means, the Head Captain allowed it as an explanation was long overdue for time's sake.

Kuchiki Rukia needed to escape and he would serve as her enemy until...she ran away.

---

She cupped a mug of hot tea with her gloved hands as the snow—shaped like balls—were thrown back and forth in the sky accompanied with laughter, struggles, complaints, and stares.

All the Lieutenants of the Gotei 13 had gathered together to initiate a snowball fight—planned by Lieutenant Ise, herself—to lessen the worries and stress the new founding coldness had to offer. Tea and sweets like dango resided near the table she sat on as she watched her friends and subordinates laugh in response to the slashes of snow.

Lieutenant Hisagi had thrown snow at her and Izuru a couple of times to get them in the mood, but Izuru being Izuru didn't seem to be much in the mood for anything involving the snow whereas she still felt a bit too light-headed to join.

Ichigo and her human friends had assisted him in the process as well—earning four perfectly-rounded snowballs to slash Ichigo's face all at once by her miraculous aim. After that, the snowball attacks had subsided and she was left alone to stare at the group in peace with a midnight-blue cloak on.

Several shinigami had slipped and fell—prompting her to laugh to herself but feel incredibly guilty afterwards for doing so even though she was left alone to think and laugh by herself. Strangely, even though she sat alone, she didn't feel too lonely with the presence of her friends playing in the snow. In fact, she hadn't even thought about Raiden, Renji, or even the interrogation with their voices and bodies moving around.

She should be though.

She knew she had to devise a plan.

She didn't even know where to begin with or what to do. The interrogation was on the 16th and Renji still wasn't back yet with any news—leaving her hopeless with the lack of creativity in her mind. If she faked her abduction, her friends would come looking for her—if she committed treachery, her friends would come looking for her—if she ran away, her friends would come looking for her again.

Her options were very slim and each one resulted with her friends coming to look for her and she didn't want them to follow her because for once, she actually wanted to be alone.

Concealing her reiatsu was one thing, but if the Gotei 13 were to get involved with the battle between Okasake Jushirmai and the others, they would eventually find her...because she would be there—with those people—people the Head Captain didn't want the Gotei 13 to know.

It was a very complicated problem.

If she left, she knew they'd come in search for her because that was just the kind of people they were. But she couldn't fight alongside them when Jushirmai was back—it was a situation where all would be loss by one person's mistake...the mistake being hers for not leaving.

The only thing she could do in this moment of problematic decisions was to blame him. Blame Okasake Jushirmai for his mistake, which was really never a mistake to begin with, she assumed because his arrival in the Seireitei alone already said the one thing he didn't want to voice.

He wanted the Gotei 13 to fight.

Knowing him, he would've never associated himself with any soul reaper without a purpose. And that purpose wasn't her, that purpose was them—the Gotei 13.

Jushirmai was capable of many things and meeting her privately would've been one of the most easiest things among all since he knew where she resided—her exposure was just a major plus sign added to his intended goal. His intended goal being the Gotei 13 because he wanted them to fight. He wanted them to see the things they've remained oblivious too for centuries and unravel the light from the darkness of the Soul Society's history.

Unfortunately for him, she wasn't ready to let that happen.

Not yet, at least.

She wasn't even ready to confront her true self let alone, allow the Gotei 13 to see the truth behind the Soul Society's history—the selection of files the Kuchiki clan lost years ago to hiding.

She raised her head up to see that the group that were originally near her were moving further and further away. The voices were fading, but their bodies remained present but miniature as the slashes of snow whipped in the air along with fallen bodies.

She jumped off of the table and sunk into the packs of snow beneath her before slowly leaving with her tracks forming the way. She needed to talk to the Head Captain—find Renji and get answers because the more she thought about the idea of leaving, the more she realized it was hopeless to even try.

Sitting here, doing nothing was useless, she concluded—because sitting and having fun wasn't what she was suppose to be doing right now. She was suppose to be figuring out a way—a plan to get out of here without the interference of the Karakura gang.

She had to escape—leave before Renji was founded and the distractions were clear and cut in her way.

But she needed some reassurance and answers before she left. And without Kisuke or Yoruichi around, she wasn't too comfortable leaving without making it all sound real.

Her cloak slightly lugged behind her as she walked through the pure white snow bathed with a crack of sunlight that lit the area in a golden aura too beautiful for words to define. It was an isolated areas with trees covered with crystals of ice and white and yellow being the only colours you could see.

Rukia stared at the new founding scenery as she walked further and further away from the group playing with snow. Her feet left a trail behind her with every step she took that sunk into the 30 centimetres of ice and snow.

The ice hid itself—beneath and slippery—under the snow and caused her to slip many times, gladly it went unnoticed as she was now alone. Free to wander, stare, think, and figure out what in the world she was going to do in her current predicament.

From a pocket in her shihakushō, she pulled out the strip piece of paper with Raiden's number and name. Ever since it was given to her—or was thrown at her—by Raiden's hand, she hadn't paid it a second glance after it had landed on the sheets of her bed.

Whether she decided to call him or not, she didn't have a plan. And he by no means was entitled to help her, given the fact that he was still very angry and maybe even confused by the thought of her blaming him.

To dwell on the topic only made guilt resurface.

She still remembered it quite clearly—she had tried to forget to remember but it never seemed to fade no matter how hard she tried to rid herself of the memory. The cloudy skies, the pouring rain, the feeling of the ground, the way she had furiously yelled at him with anger and cries.

It had all been too much to bear. Too much...to keep inside. Accusing him was one thing, but seeing it in person only thickened her desire to pin the blame.

Raiden had been a distraction from those thoughts—a distraction from the self-hatred. And in the end, when the evidence was handed to her on a silver platter, Raiden's dishonesty was confirmed.

From far she could hear the sound of her name being called as she continued to walk past the wintry trees. But she couldn't bring herself to stop and turn around until the voice became clearer and she was finally able to acknowledge who was calling after her before she stopped.

"Ichigo..." She whispered to herself as she turned around to see the only blinding moving object (besides the sun) approaching her from far in quick and heavy pants. He was adorned with snowflakes covering a majority of his skin and looked very much concerned at the distance she put in between her and their friends.

"Oi, Rukia! What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked as he jogged up to confront her and she walked up closer to meet him.

"Nothing, really—why? Are you concerned?" She teased with a smirk.

Ichigo eyes sparked widely in the moment before his right hand touched the back of his neck and he closed his eyes nonchalantly away. "As if! Inoue wanted me to check up on you and see if you were okay."

"Oh really?" She said. "Well then, tell 'Inoue' I'm doing just fine. I just want to be alone for awhile that's all."

"Is that your way of telling me to leave?" He asked, allowing his hand to slid off the back of his neck and eyes reopen to meet hers.

"No," She replied. "It's my way of telling Inoue I'm fine." Rukia retorted with a smirk and her arms crossed as a red mark set atop his orange hair indicated his frustration.

"Why you condescending little—"

"What's wrong, Ichigo?" She asked in all seriousness as the smirk on her lips, faded. Her arms were still crossed but depicted a very different aura from the previous one that had surrounded them before.

"I should be asking you that." Ichigo said before speaking again. "You're worried about the interrogation session aren't you?"

She nodded her head timidly with the same serious expression plastered on her face. "I don't know...yes...maybe...I just don't feel mentally prepared for all this and the Gotei 13...well I just don't want to let them down." She admitted slowly and she was ready to talk and he was ready to listen.

"And why's that?" He asked. "I'm asking, not interrogating,"

"I don't know...It just bothers me that they're actually putting me up for interrogation just because I know the ryoka's last name."

"Well they are kinda desperate." Ichigo said. " After you fell unconscious, Chad, Ishida, Renji and I went searching for the ryoka—but we didn't have any luck finding him after he talked to you."

"That still doesn't mean they should interrogate me." Rukia said. "I know this may seem strange but the fact that he knows me means nothing now—I don't know him, I never did. It's as simple as that but I guess they don't believe me."

"It's just the frustration." Ichigo assured. "It's been kinda tough in the past couple of days with all the casualties and damages, everyone's just a bit over the edge. And Renji...well, Renji's a whole different story completely."

"He'll be back." Rukia said.

"You sure about that?"

"Of course. He'll be back, Ichigo...he wouldn't miss the interrogation."

"But he's been missing for a couple days now. We can't even sense his reiatsu anymore."

Because he's using sheatsu.

"He's visiting someone." She simply said—careful not to let anything slip and keep her words general and secluded.

"A friend." She added. "In the Rukongai."

Ichigo blinked at her as the words processed through his head. "A friend?" He asked. "Then why didn't he just say so?"

"It's Renji we're talking about here—who knows?" Rukia said. "He's fine, Ichigo—don't worry about it. I just wished Nii-samahad told me before he left because I would've let him know that he's just visiting a friend."

"Nothing we can do now, the 6th Division left hours ago and I don't think they're coming back without him."

Rukia sighed. "Seriously?"

"It seems so. But don't worry about it, when they find him, they'll find him. Nothing we can really do about it now though I know he's alright." Ichigo said. "I just wanna make sure that you're alright. Distancing yourself isn't really helping me out here, but I understand."

"It's nothing, Ichigo—really. I just have a lot on my mind, that's all."

"I figured. This psychological disorder thing Captain Unohana was referring too...did it happen in your sleep? Did you see anything in your dreams?" Ichigo asked and Rukia knew it was out of pure innocence and concern but she was torn between two lines.

Saying 'yes' meant that she was admitting she was troubled, but Ichigo already knew that without her having to disclose how she was feeling. And if she said 'no', she was shutting him out again—something he didn't seem to like or was rather uncomfortable with.

Either way, whether she replied with a 'yes' or a 'no, Ichigo already knew the answer. He just wanted to see if she would tell him the truth. And the truth was not something she was ready to confess. Her mind couldn't help but remember the early stages of their friendship when his mother's death was involved and her guilt regarding Kaien-dono's death was present.

She remembered how persistent she had been to conclude the fact that maybe his mother was killed by a hollow until he blamed himself and she completely and utterly understood the feeling of causing someone's death. A death being Kaien-dono's and now this...

But this wasn't something Ichigo could relate too. Or at least, she assumed he couldn't because this was something else, in her opinion. Something diverse from anything Ichigo could ever expect or see. And because of this, she could not tell the truth—even if he hadn't seen her morbid memories, she just wasn't ready to tell the truth. Almost if the lies that had carried her so innocently from a different world to a next still latched onto her lonely conscience and mind.

Ichigo stared at her, fully aware that she was contemplating whether to tell him the truth or not. But he already knew the answer—she had dreamt of her past, it was evident in every single expression her face had made during her sleep. He just wanted to hear if she would tell him the truth.

The truth, Rukia. The truth.

I'm not asking you for anything here, but the truth.

"Yes."

Her voice was quiet—but steady and a bit unsure. But Ichigo accepted her answer because it was the truth, and all he needed to do now was smile and make her forget. He turned around and looked away before Rukia called out his name.

"Ichigo!" She called behind him and from the corner of his eye he could see that she assumed he was hurt, but he wasn't.

He was smiling.

He turned his head to the side, just enough so she could see his face.

"C'mon, everybody's waiting for you, midget. You haven't even gotten into a snowball fight yet."

"What?" Her hurt expression turned into confusion but he turned around before he could see it. "But Ichigo, wait—"

Before she knew it, a splash of icy cold snow slashed against her face causing her to wipe it away quickly in shock just to see the most smuggest grin she'd ever seen on Ichigo's face.

"You better hurry up if you plan on hitting anyone with a snowbal—laarphhhh, Rukia! That one had ice in it!" Ichigo yelled as his expression turned from smug to beet red with the most startled reaction she'd ever seen in response to the snowball (with broken shards of ice) she had thrown onto his face.

Now it was her turn to grin. "And what of it, Ichigo? You can't take a little ice to the face?" She teased with her arms still crossed and her satisfaction blazing fully on her face.

"Are you out of your mind?! That could've cut my face!"

"Could've, but didn't." She pointed out with a grin. "It's not like it was glass or anything, Ichigo—don't be such a kid." And her smirk only encouraged him more.

"Why you little—slash!—don't you dare throw another—slash!—stop throwing the fucking—slash!—Rukia! Slash!" And as his hands wiped the cold snow off his beet-red face, the petite shinigami had already passed him and was on her way back to the group.

"You better hurry up, Ichigo! Wouldn't want anyone thinking you lost or anything!" She yelled with a smirk from far before disappearing and leaving an angered Ichigo to plot revenge.

---

"So Lieutenant Kuchiki's been kinda depressed, huh?" Rangiku asked beside Orihime as they walked side by side with tea in their hands and snowflakes tangled in their hair.

"Yeah, I guess so. She hasn't been acting like herself lately and I guess it all has to do with the ryoka." Orihime said before taking a sip of her tea.

"I wonder what their connection is, ever since she woke up she's been acting kinda different."

"Kuchiki-san wouldn't say. This morning Kurosaki-kun, Ishida-kun, Sado-kun, and I all went to visit her when her brother sent a message telling us she was awake. When Kurosaki-kun started questioning her, she got a bit upset."

"Upset?"

"He was trying to interrogate her or 'test her out' as he claimed."

"Oh...well what did you all talk about?"

"About the Okasake clan and their specialty but then Kurosaki-kun told her to get up and come join us to play."

"And what did she say?"

"Nothing really. She just explained the soul reaper techniques taught here and told us that the Okasake clan wouldn't be involved with whatever the ryoka was planning to do."

"And why's that?"

"Apparently their family is really dysfunctional. But she didn't say why or how she knew they were distant or platonic in any way."

"I see." Rangiku said in deep thought. "Kuchiki really is involved with Mizuri Jushirmai, but in what way? And how?"

"Only Kuchiki-san knows. But I don't think she's going to tell us anytime soon."

"I know. This ryoka seems to be something she wants to keep to herself and Renji's been hiding it as well."

"Do you think...Abarai-kun...and Kuchiki-san..."

"I'd find it a bit hard to believe, but I don't think it would have anything to do with the ryoka."

"That is true. But...Abarai-kun's been very secretive about this. And we all know he knows something too."

"That may be true but we really can't assume anything right now. Especially about their sex life."

"Rangiku-san!"

"Don't tell me you weren't thinking that as well?"

"N-No, of course not Rangiku-san! I was thinking about—"

"Soooooo how are you and Ichigo doing?"

"Huh? Well um, w-we're fine, Rangiku-san. Why do you ask?"

"Well, last time we talked about this you were saying you were in love with him—did anything new happen between the two of you since I last left?"

"Well no, not really. After Kurosaki-kun lost his powers, he really became distant with everyone around him but me, Sado-kun, and even Ishida-kun tried our very best to interact with him and protect him with all the power we had. But when Tsukishima re-wrote our past, all of our hard work kind of crumbled under the pressure before Kuchiki-san showed up and restored Kurosaki-kun's powers."

"And how did you feel? Upset?"

She lowered her head down slightly as guilt slowly began to enter her heart. "In the moment and time, y-yes I did but...seeing Kurosaki-kun return back to his old self and Kuchiki-san come and visit again really changed my mood. We all missed having her around in school and after she left, Kurosaki-kun wasn't really acting the same."

A smile blossomed out on her face.

"And besides, I'm glad Kurosaki-kun was able to return back to normal—or as normal as he can be as a substitute soul reaper and all."

"I'm glad to hear that and how's Rukia been about it all?"

"Well...Kuchiki-san has worked very hard to help restore Kurosaki-kun's powers, so when she came back, I knew she was very happy to see him again. But now this...this has me feeling something else." She said before lowering her head once again.

"What is it, Orihime?" Rangiku inquired.

"Kuchiki-san's been acting distant ever since she woke up this morning and ever since she revealed the ryoka's name, Kurosaki-kun's been acting different all over again and I...don't know what to do. Usually Kuchiki-san would be able to deal with these kind of things but Kurosaki-kun's been acting weird because of her and I...I just want to help, that's all—but I don't know how."

The disappearance of Mizuri Jushirmai was affecting everybody—and in most cases, it wasn't physically but mentally because of the challenge he offered on one single day. But Orihime knew that it wasn't just the disappearance of the ryoka that was truly challenging Ichigo's mind. It was the ill-state of Rukia that was affecting his aura—making him more cautious, different, aloof.

"I know this doesn't seem like the right thing to do right now but...I think you should let Ichigo be." Rangiku advised and Orihime turned to her and blinked in surprise.

"Huh?"

"He's obviously very worried about her but that doesn't mean he's worrying any less about you."

"Rangiku-san—"

"The best thing you can do right now is help Lieutenant Kuchiki recover along with the Gotei 13. She needs us all more than anything and that's what Ichigo expects from us as of right now."

"Ya think?"

"Of course! Ichigo's just a teenage boy, he doesn't know anything about who he wants or what he wants at this age. The most important thing that matters right now is Lieutenant Kuchiki—we have to help her because I think...I think she's afraid."

"Afraid?"

"When I asked her before if she had any relations to the ryoka, her answer was no and that was before she saw his face—the fake one he had been using all this time. But when he revealed his true face, she couldn't even look at him in his eyes and it only seemed to make her look even worse by hiding her entire face from his sight. It's just really weird to see her so frightened and secluded and it's just not right. Something's very wrong about her connection to the ryoka, but we have to figure out what exactly it is."

"And how are we going to do that, Rangiku-san?" Orihime asked in curiosity before a smile ghosted on her lips and she exclaimed with twinkling powder blue eyes.

"Naked bonding!" Rangiku suggested—her eyes were twinkling more than stars.

"W-What?!" Orihime said with her eyes widened in confusion and crimson gracing her slim cheeks.

"My Captain and I go to the most relaxing spa in the Seireitei all the time! It really helps us bond together when we're not working and they even let us bathe together!" Rangiku said in excitement and Orihime blinked as Rangiku continued to smile. "What do you think, Orihime? Maybe then we can find out what's the deal with this guy and Rukia!"

"But, Rangiku-san...isn't the Seireitei currently rebuilding and constructing all the buildings that were lost in the fight? Aren't they expecting us to help with the ryoka on the loose?"

"That may be true, Orihime but we don't have to do a thing. Until Rukia's interrogation on the 16th, we can't really do anything! And the division members can handle all that other stuff on their own. So what do you say?"

"But Kurosaki-kun wouldn't—"

"Listen, we all need to relax and Lieutenant Kuchiki needs it more than anything right now so we should all gather up and go to the spa!" Rangiku said in a more softer and reassuring tone to change her mind. "And as I said before, until the interrogation on the 16th we can't really do anything until her questioning with the Punishment Force so we might as well have some fun."

"Ichigo! You little—slash!"

"Didn't see that one coming, did you midg—slash!"

"Fool! I saw it coming but your hair colour was hurting my eyes!"

"Slash! What's my hair colour got to do with anything?!" He flash-stepped behind her and attempted to throw the snowball before—"Slash!

"Fuck! Why does your aim have to be so accurate, Rukia?!"

"I'm supposed to be a Kuchiki, idiot!"

"Byakuya's not even watching!"

"Fool! My aim has nothing to do with Nii-sama!"

Orihime glanced at the pair as they yelled at each other in the snow. Rangiku followed her stare and noticed that Ichigo and Rukia were having a snowball fight and were yelling at each other (like they always did) with their feet sunk deep into the snow.

"Go on, join them." Rangiku whispered.

"Wha—no Rangiku-san, I'm fine—really."

"You silly girl, go. Hisagi and I are coming too!"

"Wha...wait! Rangiku-san! Waitttttttt!" And before she knew it, she was being dragged along to the side where Ichigo and Rukia were playing with the snow.

"Inoue."

"Kuchiki-san! Are you feeling any better?"

She nodded her head with a smile.

"Then let's get throwing! In one...two..three!" Rangiku said before the snow was gathered into a ball and thrown at each other once again. And in between the laughter, the smiles, the curses, and the falls, Orihime felt more than content with the scene because the enviousness in her heart, was finally dissolved.

---

The 12th Division members gathered outside in their barrier-type laboratory coats as they examined the enormous blocks of ice glistening with a chilling and faint colour of blue.

Several methods had been brought to the table on how to rid the Seireitei of ice and in the frustration to rid themselves from the cold, Captain Kurotsuchi advised to try them all.

Their feet sunk deep in the flurry of snow and the cold air whisked against their skin prompting numbing but the Captain was determined to try all methods to get rid of the ice.

Given its connection, it could possibly unleash the same veins of ice and devour any soul reaper whole as the Seireitei had become the ryoka's territory as its presence was everywhere—even in the ice.

Unfortunately objects such as swords were useless against the shell of ice as just the simple action of putting the tip against it prompting freezing—a layer of scintillating ice that could freeze a zanpakutō whole or any type of object or kido for a fact.

Reasons why the group of scientists had hypothesized other theories like lasers from a distance or even a bomb that could blow up the ice—theories they were trying out now.

Captain Kurotsuchi watched as the hot red laser beam emitted itself from the machine and was pointed directly towards the largest piece of the ice within the Seireitei.

Akon had suggested they start off small but the Captain's eyes were bigger than he originally thought. Destroying the largest piece seemed much more favorable and gave him a piece of victory if...the methods worked.

The laser beam was hot—just like fire—or possibly, even worse: dangerous to the skin. Reasons why the entire division of scientists were all clustered into a barrier to protect their skin from the raging heat and avert their eyes to the block of ice that showed no improvement to melt from the heat.

"It seems like we'll just have to fire the bomb." Mayuri said as he stared up at the ice in displeasure at the scene.

"But Captain! Won't the Seireitei and the other shinigami recuperating be affected by the bomb as well? If it doesn't work we'll blow up a of the Seireitei making it worse!"

"What will the Head Captain say if we blow up this part of the Seireitei and it doesn't work?!"

"If he wanted us to blow it up then wouldn't he just use his own zanpakutō to do that?"

"Maybe he doesn't want to use it for such silly things."

"This isn't silly! We're in a life-threatening situation here, Miaki!"

"I know that! But using his own zanpakutō would make more sense, no?"

"My, my good help is so hard to find these days." Mayuri muttered to himself as he shook his head and turned around. "Stop your chattering and get back to work."

"But what if the bomb doesn't work, Captain?"

"It'll be insane if we destroy anymore buildings!"

"You clearly do not understand the level insanity I operate at."

"But—"

"Be quiet and fire the bomb." Mayuri said before the scientists nodded their heads and proceeded to take off the laser and fire the bomb with a canon to get rid of the ice.

This form of a bomb was not even worth a of the power the nuclear bombs in their barracks were capable of but it was the safest method to avoid killing millions who's lives were still at stake.

A minor test like this was far from the capabilities any other bomb could possibly contain, reasons why Mayuri was the least bit worried about the effects it would have on all the buildings within the area range.

A simple black sphere was loaded into the advanced structure known as a canon before redirecting the direction towards the enormous piece of ice.

The structure was positioned and the scientists refracted from the stance—moving inside the barrier where four keyboards were placed with a stance where they would activate the bomb against their intended target.

"Starting from twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen, sixteen, fifteen..." A scientist from the stands counted as Mayuri stood at the front with his golden eyes waiting for the ice to explode and crash.

I wonder if those simpletons from Zaraki's division have recovered yet to give out anymore information regarding the ryoka, Captain Kurotsuchi thought to himself as the hot red liquid within the advanced machine moved upwards to display its launch.

"...ten...nine...eight...seven..."

"Mayuri-sama!" Yelled Nemu from far away—running with her right hand touching her left with blood dripping vigorously from her left arm and down the sides of her left leg.

"Mayuri-sama!" She yelled breathlessly again before her body collapsed under the pressure and she yelled again.

"Mayuri..." She panted heavily as she kept her face flat on the floor.

Blood streamed from the top of her left arm and stained the majority of her left arm with an enormous pool of blood. Her legs were weak and scarred with something like cat scratches as she laid face flat on the floor before raising her head up.

"Don't..."

"...four...three..."

"No..." pant, pant, "Mayuri-sama—don't!" She choked out but he couldn't hear her over the counting of the scientists. "Mayuri-sama!"

"...two...one—"

"DON'T DO IT!" She screamed with her body shivering as she rose her right hand—trembling and shaking as her eyes widened in complete fear. He turned around at the sound of her voice but it was already too late to stop the eruption.

BOOM!

Her body jolted as the ground was momentarily yanked into the air in full force and speed.

The canon erupted—large and burning hot flames covered her vision as she watched the explosion erupt in the air. Her eyes widened as the fire grew wider and dangerous with reds and yellows along with sparks flying in the air.

The pressure of the force sent Nemu's body flying back before slamming against a body and falling back face front the ground.

Suddenly, a loud cracking noise followed it as well as the explosion grew larger and smothered the other towers and buildings with a haze of burning embers that left the insides blackened with a shell of ice.

"RETREAT!" Yelled a member of the 12th Division as the cracking and noises grew louder and the barrier acting like a shield for them was barely able to hold its stance at the pressure. Tumbling sounds were heard but no one could barely see in the haze of burning fire that took over their vision and continued to drown the Seireitei in a burning fog.

The scientists eyes widened as the shield broke and the explosion started to seep in, they all began to run and scatter themselves as the barrier broke piece by piece like glass.

Nemu watched as it boomed again with a silver-blue flame taking up the form and replacing the flames with a stormy blue flame. The fire changed colour—turned to a greyish stormy blue and exploded in a cylinder before smothering the rest of the Seireitei with its power.

BOOM!

Bodies slammed against the walls further away as the most enormous, gigantic, extensive cloud erupted in the air and consumed the fire or rather, converted it to the stormy cloud it was.

Nemu's throat went dry—the blood dripping out of her body wasn't her very own, it was someone's else containing poison—something stabbed into her very own. Her body felt weak—even if she was just some artificial creation with no ordinary organs or flesh, the blood was like embers against her skin—poisoning her, weakening her, and strangely muting her cries and screams.

The explosion was enormous and as the shield broke its final shard, her forest green eyes widened in fear as the humongous and powerful cloud headed straight towards Captain Kurotsuchi.

"Mayuri-sama!" Nemu shouted.

The cloud that erupted from a halo began to extend across the Seireitei, prompting screams from every corner and fearful shinigamito run with their tails in between their legs.

The pressure of the force was incredibly powerful—shinigami that were located miles away from the actual explosion had slammed and fell back onto objects, most of them were dashed into the air by the force only to fall back down on any object in their way.

Next thing she knew, her Captain was engulfed by the enormous force that knocked down everything and anything in its path.

The avalanche made his golden eyes widen in a sense of shock before he turned around to get away but visibly it was too late.

"Lieutenant Kurotsuchi!" Yelled a voice behind her, but she didn't turn around as she was unable to move and was still shocked by the event that just took place.

"Mayuri-sama..." She whispered with her eyes still wide as the explosion ran in great speed towards her body, but she could care less at the fact that her body was numb and she inevitably might face her death in the haze.

Towers fell, buildings collapsed, shinigami screamed, and all Nemu could see was a miasma of stormy blue waiting to swallow her whole just like Master Mayuri.

"Lieutenant Kurotsuchi! Move!" Yelled a voice that was soon recognizable as Lieutenant Ōmaeda running closer to the avalanche with the 2nd Division's members behind him.

Her vision was clouded and the presence of the explosion seemed to slowly engulf her as she prepared herself to feel the avalanche swallow her whole. In a still position with her body laying flat against the ground and her head looking up to see the entire thing head for her body, she only had one thing in mind before the avalanche came.

"Mayuri-sama..." She whispered as the haze came closer to her body. "Mayuri-sama—please..."

The force slammed against her body—"Lieutenant Kurotsuchi!"

---

"Alright! The date is all set! Tomorrow we can all go to the spa at three!" Rangiku said in excitement as she walked side by side with Orihime in her new cloak—a midnight blue one that was given to all Lieutenants—as the crescent moon hung high in the air.

"That's great news, Rangiku-san! Maybe I can finally get one of those facials that involve dirt or seaweed." Orihime said with her own aquamarine cloak that matched the clips in her hair.

"You mean a mud mask or a seaweed wrap!"

"Yes that! My friend, Tatsuki-chan and I were suppose to go together for my birthday, but I don't think we'll be back in time to go."

"Don't worry, Orihime—I promise you'll have all the fun the Seireitei's spa has to offer. We can even get our nails done and our hair done if we have time!"

"That's sounds great, Rangiku-san! But remember, this is all about Kuchiki-san, not us."

"I know, I know but as I said, Lieutenant Kuchiki needs to relax and that doesn't mean she isn't going to be doing it all with us! We'll drag both Nanao and Kuchiki wherever we go and they'll have no choice but to comply and do as we say."

"Right! We have to make sure we get Kuchiki-san to have fun and talk." Orihime said as she curled her right hand into a fist and slammed it against her left palm.

"Trust me, no woman of our age can resist the spa! Once Kuchiki gets all comfortable, we'll have a chat and we can even talk about Ichigo."

"K-Kurosaki-kun? Why...Why would we talk about him?"

"Well I think it's time you confess your feelings, Orihime."

"To Kurosaki-kun?"

"To Kuchiki. We don't really know where she stands between the two of you. She doesn't really express her personal emotions a lot so who knows? For all we know, she may have the hots for Renji, not Ichigo."

"But...what if Kuchiki-san does have feelings for Kurosaki-kun? Then what will I do? I don't want something like this to come between us."

"It won't. Stop being so afraid and say it! It's better you clear the air now than have her find out later on when you finally decide to confess your feelings for Ichigo."

"C-Confess my feelings to K-Kurosaki-kun? I-I..."

"Not now of course! He's still a bit hung up on saving the universe right now but later on—you have all the time in the world to think about it as of right now."

"I-I...well...I guess I have to do it eventually but Kuchiki-san—Rangiku-san? Is everything alright?" Orihime said as Rangiku's kind-hearted expression turned stone cold and her hand touched the hilt of Haineko. Her powder blue eyes wandered the area around them and Orihime watched her carefully as she watched.

"Rangiku-san...?"

"Something's wrong." Rangiku said.

"What is it...?" Orihime asked with her grey eyes still meeting the left side of the woman's face.

"I don't know..."

"Is something here?" She questioned curiously.

"I don't know but...something doesn't feel right." Rangiku replied.

"Do you think...the ryoka is back?"

"It's a possibility. Last time he came out of nowhere with his reiatsu and practically disappeared before he had the chance to kill Rukia and I off."

"His reiatsu is very powerful."

"I know. It isn't anything like my Captain's and that's what I don't understand."

"I don't feel any reiatsu in our area though."

"It's within the ice—the ice is his. Because of all the coverage he's done, the Seireitei is basically his territory and he considers it as his land. Anything can happen."

"It's the power of the ice and snow..." Orihime whispered as she looked around the area and the ice covering each and every object to exist in their path. She looked towards her left and searched the area and the existing walls for anything suspicious.

They saw nothing...heard nothing...but felt something—something that might not even be real. They stood with precaution with the chilling air leaving a crimson colour on their skin and the wind to caress their hair slowly and cheeks.

Crack.

Rangiku's eyes averted to the area where the sound of a crack was heard. If she didn't know any better, she would say it was the ice but the ice...what reason could it have to break? It was already confirmed that the 12th Division did not have any solution to their problem just yet, so why? Why would there be a crack?

Crack.

Again the sound was heard and the two women grew even more careful as the cracking continued and the sound of chipped ice fell like pebbles.

Crack.

Silence.

Crack.

"Be careful..." Rangiku whispered.

Crack.

Orihime nodded her head wordlessly as determination hid itself in her grey eyes. In the past seventeen months she had trained to protect Ichigo when he was powerless—learned her powers, tried to concentrate, built confidence and determination in her powers as her mood did affect the strength of her power.

Crack.

All along she had learned to have some faith in her abilities to protect. And now this...was her chance.

Crack.

And then suddenly, the cracking stopped.

"Huh?" Rangiku said before releasing her hand from the hilt of Haineko and straightening her posture once again.

"What happened? His presence was just..." Orihime straightened her posture as well.

"He's doing it again." Rangiku said and Orihime's eyes averted to her face. "When Rukia and I began searching for the ryoka, his reiatsu had appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared all over again. He's playing with us for sure."

"What are we gonna do?" Orihime whispered.

"I don't know. But something was cracking and strangely, it might be the ice."

Orihime gasped. "Maybe the ice is just temporary."

"I doubt it. Why would he cover the Seireitei with temporary ice?" Rangiku said. "There's something about it...but I don't know what."

"His reiatsu is still here...I can feel it but...it's just the ice, really. Maybe he was never here."

"He's trying to distract us from something."

"What...do you think it is?"

"I don't know." Rangiku said as her eyes wandered around the area once more. "But I think...I think we should go back."

"Maybe we can find Kurosaki-kun and the others and regroup." Orihime suggested.

"Ichigo's with Uryū and Chad, and my Captain is with Hisagi and Hinamori."

"I think the closest is Kurosaki-kun, Ishida-kun, and Sado-kun. We should go there and regroup with the others befor—"

BOOM!

The ground shook immediately and both of their eyes widened in fear as their bodies were thrown onto a wall at the force of the explosion. A sharp pain shot through both of their brains as the effects of explosion pounded in their heads like a basketball bouncing on the floor.

Orihime's body laid against the stone cold wall with ice as her head rested against it as well.

"R-Rangiku-san...?" She called as her eyes hazily opened as the wall behind her vibrated by the effects of what seemed like a fire explosion in the air. Her silver eyes looked upwards into the sky with a pain ringing around her neck—they widened in shock as a fire explosion covered the sky with intensity and heat.

She gasped at the eruption as the burning flares began to spread from the halo it jetted in with orange-red clouds mixed with black clouds of smoke in the sky. Orihime swallowed nervously as the eruption clouds headed towards her way even though they were miles and miles away.

Despite being further away, she could already smell the smoke that was beginning to choke her quickly as the black smoke spread hastily and her chest burned from the toxic chemicals entering her lungs.

Both of her arms twitched as the fire mirrored itself in her eyes—prompting fear and a quick reaction to get out.

She attempted to lift her hands put something cold suddenly slithered onto her wrist. She looked down to see a vein of ice emit itself from the ice mantling the walls and hold her down in the seating position she had been in.

Her eyes widened as she watched the vein curl around her wrist like a rope in many layers and curved its head to enter her skin.

She struggled to release its grip as the wall behind her suddenly jolted to her surprise, emitting hundreds...no thousands of lines, hissing like snakes and taking a grip of her entire body.

Orihime attempted to turn her neck to the right many times, but the veins of lines circled around her neck and clasped her entire body to the wall. She tried to kick the vicious creatures that slid from the floor to capture her legs, but it was fruitless as she was already in their grasp.

She slowly lift her head up as the hissing sound grew louder and all she could see in her vision was more lines—thicker and vicious like vipers—and they were fast, reckless and coming towards her from a stormy blue avalanche.

But this time there were millions—not thousands or hundreds, but millions coming towards her in speed from an avalanche of blue.

"H-Hinagiku...L-Lily...B-Baigon...T-Tsubaki.." She called weakly as she tried to lift her wrist from the veins. "Shiten Kōshun...I..."

The veins grew closer. "I...rej—"

"Inoue! Getsuga...Tensho!"

Kurosaki-kun!

The incoming veins of ice were then slashed away.

---

"An explosion..." Rukia said to herself as she touched a tree with one hand and watched the scene unfold with her midnight blue cloak correspondent to the colour of her eyes.

The fire that had exploded quickly began to turn into a darker shade—it was like a layer of skin was being added to it as the fumes turned into a stormy plum then blue shade—the same colour as Jushirmai's—sheatsu as it was being released like miasma.

The fumes dispersed like the wind and engulfed the Seireitei with its murk—prompting screams, terror, and the vicious release of lines from the ice covering the Seireitei in mere seconds. She watched the soul reapers scream in terror and the sound—resembling a knife—slice and enter their skins to devour them.

"Jushirmai..." She whispered quietly. "Leave them alone, Jushirmai...leave them alone..."

"This isn't it." This isn't what you promised.

"I thought you hated them too much to kill them. Terrorizing them and allowing them to know of their superiors isn't exactly what your uncle and father had in mind. I can tell by now that all you're trying to do is mock them because of their oblivion. But do you truly believe that something as ridiculous as that would stop them from hunting you down?"

"I didn't expect for you to get the Gotei 13 involved."

Why are you getting them involved?

"Talking to yourself isn't going to get you any answers, trust me." A deep voice said as she gasped and turned around to see him again.

"Raiden..." She whispered.

"What the fuck are you doing here? I gave you a distraction and now it's time to fucking escape."

"Wait, what? That explosion...that was you?"

"Of course. I replaced the bomb the 12th Division were using for the explosion with a nuclear one before they tested it out on the ice. With a little bit of my sternritter ability of heat, I was able to make the explosion intensify and expand to cover the Seireitei."

"But Jushirmai's sheatsu..."

"He took over a bit later. But we can worry about that later, let's just get you the fuck outta here."

"Wait, I can't leave yet. If I do, they'll think I'm a suspect in all of this—well at least more than they already do."

"Does it really matter? You need to leave now. You asked for my help, and I helped you now let's go."

"Raiden, you don't understand. I can't just leave them behind without a note or notice or something..."

"They'll come after you either fucking way. You need to leave. So let's get the fuck outta here."

"I know that, but you don't understand."

"What the fuck did they do to you?"

"Nothing, it's just...it feels wrong to leave them behind with them knowing. Bear with me for a second, please."

"Can I bear with you along the fucking way? We have to go."

"Then go! I don't recall you ever agreeing to help me in the first place, so you can go if you have to go! I'll come whenever I'm ready."

"And when will that be? When I'm fucking dead?!"

"It'd be much, much easier if you were actually dead!"

"Then why don't you fucking kill me once you come back?!"

"You're my best friend, why the hell would I ever do that?! Listen, I know you want to hate me for leaving but if you have no intention of cooperating with me then leave! Go! Get out of here! I never asked to see your face to begin with! So go!"

"I'm not leaving until you get the fuck outta here! We have to fucking go! Standing here and arguing is only gonna waste our chances of escaping so let's just get a move on and we can deal with our issues later, alright? I already told you regardless, I'm still gonna fight by your fucking side so just take that as my fucking loyalty and leave!"

She stared at him for a few seconds in restrained anger before turning around to look back down at the Seireitei from the hill she was standing atop of and the tree she stood under as well.

Her voice lowered down.

"Do they know I'm coming?"

"Not yet. I didn't say anything 'cause I didn't know when or how you were coming."

"I see...so it'll be a surprise."

"Yeah, yeah, surprise of the fucking year." Raiden said. "I even got my champagne ready."

"Are you being serious?"

"Man, you act like you don't fucking know me. Of course I do! After you finish your hugs and kisses and cries, we'll pop the bottle and drink."

"I don't think everybody's going to be that happy."

"And I don't think you understand how long you've been fucking gone."

"You're right...maybe I don't understand how they would feel after so many years of me being gone but what I do understand is your incapability of avoiding the word 'fucking' in every sentence that leaves your mouth."

"Noble as always." He scoffed. "I can't help it, it's my favorite word."

"Hmph, I know. Ever since we were kids your mouth's been filthier than dirt."

"Keh, your mouth isn't that easy either. I never expected you to even utter a curse word let alone say it in a sentence."

"I wasn't saying it, I was re-quoting it."

"Same fucking thing. You still said it, which means we haven't lost you yet."

"I was never lost."

"You wouldn't be here if you never fucking were."

"That's far from the point."

"It's pretty fucking relevant if you ask me."

"It's not. And if you expect them to accept me with wide open arms, then you're wrong. When they find out I'm a soul reaper they won't be too pleased."

In fact, they'd probably kill her.

"So what? This is what I meant about you being fucking lost. It's like you've forgotten who you are—they'll be pissed but you'll make them understand."

"How? Even living in the World of the Living sounds better than telling them I'm a soul reaper."

"I agree, but there's no hiding it now. You're literally wearing a fucking Lieutenant badge on your left arm."

"I know, I know." Rukia said before silence engulfed them shortly only to be awakened once again.

"His sheatsu…." Raiden said. "It's a different colour...a fucking abnormal one too. Whadaya think about it?"

"I don't know. It's strange..."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he found some way to dye his sheatsu to look stronger than everybody else."

"Raiden, no one can 'dye' their sheatsu or their reiatsu..."

"We're talking about your Ol'Oky—world class asshole and bastard, are you really surprise?"

"Well, no but to 'dye' his sheatsu? That, itself sounds ridiculous. He must've attained something else."

"Based on what I heard, it was you and Renji who found out his connection with his zanpakutō—stolen from a Captain, instead it's not a Captain, it's his fucking father."

"It's actually pretty funny if you ask me...not even I had realized at the time that the ryoka's zanpakutō was his. I was so stupid. I didn't even realize it was Jushirmai until after I saw him turn back into his old self." Rukia said as she spotted Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Hisagi brisk through the air from far. "And that's not even the worst part, he actually had the nerve to bring everything up like we were chatting over tea and I just...I just hate him for doing so little and so much at the same time."

"That's how he always been, just being in his presence is fucking irritating."

"His sheatsu is already spreading further to—"

"The noble houses."

"Right. I'm assuming they've already created a barrier to avoid it all."

"Keh, they created it fucking ages ago."

"I expected nothing less—they've always been one step ahead in everything and anything."

"Unlike the Gotei 13." He scoffed.

"Leave them alone. They were never suppose to be involved with this to begin with."

"Doesn't matter—their level of stupidity is hilarious."

"They're not stupid."

"All soul reapers are stupid."

"If you're insulting them, you're insulting me."

"You're not one of them."

"I am."

"Just because you have a fucking zanpakutō and Lieutenant's badge on your arm, doesn't mean you're fucking one of them."

"It does to me..."

"Well it doesn't to me."

"I've been a soul reaper for fifty years and even if it seems like nothing to you, it is something to me."

"That something you are referring to is just what you believe you belong to, not what you do belong to."

"Even so...I am one and I'm going to defend myself as one. The Gotei 13 aren't going to get involved, Raiden—I think the Head Captain has already confirmed countless of times that he has no intention of involving them into this matter, so take them out of your head completely and don't regard them as weak or useless because you haven't seen their power. Shikai, bankai, kido, hakuda it doesn't matter—they're not a group to be taken lightly of whether they are soul reapers or not."

"The same faith you have in them is the same fucking reason why Jushirmai is trying to humiliate them and their so-called abilities."

"So let him try. I already told you, the Head Captain said he wouldn't get them involved."

"But they know who he is. And if they are anything like the same persistent fuckers I encountered before, they'll search for you no matter what."

"I know that, but they won't get involved."

"How are you so sure?"

"I don't know. I just...I know they'll come looking for me but, until I tell the Head Captain 'yes' he won't do it without my permission."

"That is of course, if your fucking lies don't get too suspicious."

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone thinks you're a liar—they're treating you like a fucking suspect and putting you up for interrogation, they don't believe you. And the worst part is, you haven't done a fucking thing at all except say his last name like what kind of mindless fucks do that? Once you're gone and the Gotei 13 either interpret it as abduction, treason, or whatever, they'll grow even more suspicious and soon, the Head Captain will have no choice but to tell them the truth."

"I know he won't but, Renji will buy me time."

"Renji can't stay here for long. Once you leave, all the shit will be thrown on him—the interrogation will be given to him on the spot and if he refuses to say anything, the Head Captain's gonna have to be the bad guy and lock him up."

"But with what proof?"

"You, of course."

"Jushirmai mentioned both of your names and the shitless two-faced Gotei 13 automatically view both of you as suspects. For the Head Captain to not take action would seem fishy and automatically imply favoritism—which he doesn't do."

"This is all just seems so screwed up. The Gotei 13 want justice and the explosion you created isn't going to help anything at all."

"Well excuse me, I was trying to help you fucking escape this place while the whole Seireitei was in chaos. They'll never notice if you slip away now, so can we get the fucking move on before someone comes searching for you?"

"Wait—just a minute. I want to stay here for just a tad bit longer, Raiden - wait."

"Keh, all we've been doing is waiting. You'll be back ya know—it'll be a year or so but I think you can last twenty-four fucking months without the Seireitei. I know I can."

"It's not the Seireitei I'm staying for."

"Yeah, I know. It's the Gotei 13 for whatever fucking reason."

"You supposedly don't like them because they're your enemy and yet you get along with the Head Captain just fine."

"Well he's different."

"How so?"

"I don't fucking know. I just respect him...a bit...that's all."

"There must be a reason. He is a soul reaper."

"Well I don't have a fucking reason. I just do—can we go now? The portal isn't going to stay open for-fucking-ever."

"Just a second. I already told you that you can go without me. I'll come when I'm ready."

"You're leaving tonight—you have too. This is the only chance you've got and you're wasting your own time."

"I know that but, I didn't even get to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" He scoffed. "In my opinion they've already said their fucking goodbye to you and you're doing the fucking same. Soul reapers have always been selfish—even pigs show more mercy to people than they would do in a lifetime to anybody living outside the Seireitei or within. You'll see them eventually—you don't need to say goodbye."

"It is said the most painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said or never explained."

"Where'd you get that quote?"

"The World of the Living."

"Keh, you've been there, too?"

"There's a lot of places I've been too—specifically, the World of the Living being my favorite. It's just so interesting over there..." Her eyes lit up with a smile curving onto her lips in content as she reminisced. "There's so many things to do there—so many strange things like juice boxes, roller coasters, roller rinks, cars, beaches, and there's much, much more beyond that if you keep an open mind."

"What the fuck is a juice box?"

"It's actually pretty self-explanatory in the name—it's a small box with a tiny straw stuck onto it that you take off and punch it in a hole and drink juice from."

"...humans are fucking strange."

"They are, but it's a good thing. I like it that way because it doesn't make us any stranger when we meet them."

"We're dead, they're living. It'll always be a strange concept to deal with."

"If you met someone like Ichigo you'd understand what I mean."

"The substitute soul reaper?"

She nodded her head. "He didn't believe it when I first told him, but eventually overtime he began to understand and it helped me feel less abnormal when he was abnormal as a human too."

"If you feel abnormal as a soul reaper, I wonder how you'd fucking feel if the soul reaper knew that you're a—"

"Can we not talk about that?" She snapped. "It just makes my leaving worse to think that I'm leaving them to become a completely different person they didn't see."

"They didn't see it because they were too blind. If you make your fucking eyes blind to the world, darkness is the only thing you'll see until you open your fucking eyes and actually see the light."

"What light? I became introverted the moment I stepped foot into that academy."

"Doesn't matter. You can't hide your fucking capabilities with a single spell, no matter how strong the reiatsu or sheatsu holding it down is."

"I've been doing it for fifty years already...I can do it for another five decades more if I want too."

"Can't do it now, can you?"

"Well I don't necessarily have a choice now, do I?"

"Don't blame me, if Jushirmai hadn't decided to show up outta the fucking blue we wouldn't be here right now."

"You mean they didn't sense his sheatsu?!"

"If they had sensed it, I would've been here earlier—I'm still an SOS, ya know."

"I guessed you'd still be. I mean you loved it so much."

"I'm soon to be a Major."

"Oh really?" She laughed humorlessly. "And who's going to appoint you to that position if I don't steal it first from your grasp?"

He scoffed. "How could you?"

"There are ways."

"Well I say take your fucking ways and shove it up your little ass because you're delusional."

"Maybe I am...but so what?"

"So what?" He exclaimed. "So fucking what? I'm not doing this with you right now—I'm not."

"Then don't, Raiden. I know what you want to say, even without saying it I understand."

"I wasn't planning on saying anything." He muttered. "Just stop feeding me all this shit about your soul reaper life and what not. I don't care."

"But you were listening..."

"Only because you told me to bear with you fucking longer—so now are you ready to go?"

"No..."

No, she wasn't ready to leave and reverse the clock to relive another life again.

No, she wasn't ready to see all those familiar faces again look either younger or older, sickly or healthy, happy or angry, at her sudden arrival.

No, she wasn't ready to leave this all behind—a life she had once detested only to cherish in her later years in over fifty solid years.

No, she wasn't ready to go—to leave without a proper goodbye.

A goodbye gone unexplained was said to be the worst feeling a person could possibly feel as the oblivion to the unknown only deepened the heart's yearning for reason.

To leave the Seireitei had never been her concern to begin with but with the loss of her friends, it left her chest feeling as empty as it could be at the thought of not seeing them for months and months until the truth finally became a spark.

To leave them, meant leaving behind people she had entrusted her lives to at one point. People who had given her faith in a brighter future and inevitably gave her that future she had always wanted to quench.

People who had constructed a bond with her—some stronger, some weaker—but a bond was still a bond. And through those bonds, she was given a bond like no other—a bond that was not only connected by heart and soul, but a bond binded by life and death.

The bond with Ichigo...that connected to all of her friends.

Watching the Seireitei immerse in chaos and the soul reaper who appeared to resolve it only made her wonder...was she making the right choice by leaving? By lying to them? By deceiving them?

Leaving was one thing...but deception? Could she really act as a deceiver and challenge them against her own will?

Could the idea of deception throw them off so quickly that she'll be unable to pull it off?

No.

Of course not.

She would be able to play the role just perfectly. Whether they took it as abduction, eloping, or treachery—she'd be able to play the role.

"...I'm not." Rukia finally concluded. "But I'll go...you've been patient. And I know how hard it is for you to stay in one place for a long time."

"Finafuckingly, let's go." He said as he turned around from the hill and began to walk away from the tree and Rukia who still stood silently under it.

Rukia sighed and took a deep breath as she paid the Seireitei a final glance—spotting Ichigo from far with his orange hair and zanpakutō releasing a 'Getsuga Tensho' against veins of ice as Byakuya appeared with Senbonzakura's shikai scattering beautiful pink petals and a red-haired Renji standing behind him with a few members of the 6th Division as well.

I guess they finally found him, she thought as she watched an angry Ichigo charge against the millions veins of ice in rage.

You fool, she thought as she watched the way he slammed his sword down to release another Getsuga Tensho. Always charging into battle without a single thought in mind. You never change, do you Ichigo?

No, you don't—but I do.

She smiled as she thought about how unchanging he'd always been before her eyes soon wandered away to another powerful reiatsu being Byakuya's who calmly stood while manipulating the direction of Senbonzakura's shikai with his hands—face showing close to zero emotion, itself but she knew there was more to him than what he showed on his face.

Watching him suddenly charge into bankai told her he was severely challenged as the petals dashed in the air and suddenly showered him momentarily in a pink haze of sakura.

If there was one thing she now appreciated about their daily routines was their words of goodnight. 'Goodnight' being a simple goodbye until the morning—a routine never gone undone.

It was the one word they would always say to each other no matter what and the absence of not saying it from now on only troubled her to say it one last time before she left.

"Goodnight..." She whispered in the quietest of voices and the smallest of smiles before she averted her eyes to Renji who stood quietly behind with the rest.

I'll see you soon enough, Renji. Soon enough, she thought before she inhaled a deep breath at all the wonderful people she had come to know within the Seireitei because of soul reapers.

Nii-sama...Captain Ukitake...Kaien-dono...Captain Hitsugaya...Matsumoto...Hinamori...Kira...Hanatarō...Ichigo and there was so much more to that over the years she had spent hidden in this shell.

And although she knew it would be over a year until she'd probably ever see their face, it had to be done. After all, she'd been lying to them all along and it was time to own up to her mistakes—whether she was ready or not...whether it meant leaving people she had come to love or re-entering a realm where she met people she loved as well...it had to be done.

She made promises.

Promises she knew she should've kept.

Promises she knew she should've stayed for.

And even if it meant leaving, this wasn't goodbye. It was a reopening of the first chapter—it was reliving the past, relishing what it could've been like in the future if she had stayed.

When she looked at all their faces, she could see all the memories they had brought her. Ichigo, being a very significant one had shown her life she always wanted and mended two important relationships in her life that were worth saving at all costs.

She had learned to not feel like a burden, felt reassurance, developed friends...all these beautiful and memorial offerings to her life had been more special than anything she had ever come to know. And again, she was thankful because again, this wasn't goodbye.

They'd all meet again. Eventually.

She assured it in her heart that when they met, things would change because there was no other life beyond this. And as death was never a certain thing, she wasn't leaving them with burdening promises or anything remarkably close to tears and stains. She was leaving them on a happy note—a good one, despite her disappearance being strange.

There was no such thing as goodbyes being forever and she was assured of the fact that they would meet again. Because she intended on seeing them again...whether it would be in a moment of battle, or even a quick moment with tears filling her eyes, it would be worth it because she'd risk it all...

She'd risk it all, just to see them again.

Maybe then the loose threads she had created would finally be mended back into one.

And now as she stood here on top of this very hill, she felt no sadness or fear in leaving because she was assured of the fact that she'd see them again—leaving no despair to haunt her memories because this wasn't the end...yet.

"Are you fucking coming?!" Raiden yelled from afar prompting her to turn around only to notice how far away his entire figure was with his red hair being the only thing standing him out from the snow and his cloak.

"I'm coming!" She yelled before she turned around one last time to see her ill Captain enter the scene with Kiyone and Sentarō along with Captain Kyōraku and the 8th Division members behind.

Thank you.

Captain Ukitake.

Thank you.

Nii-sama.

Thank you.

Ichigo.

"Thank you."

Everyone.

---

End Note

Note: Rukia's acting oblivious on purpose.

Contact: byaruki (tumblr)