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.

13. It was Staged

Pre-Note

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I do own this plot.

Reminder: Mature-rating. Mystery-themed. Light sexual content. Crucial to remain attentive to detail. This is for Rukia and her relationships.

There are Images for this Chapter.

---

It was Staged

20 Years Ago

Years, the word echoed in her ear.

It took her years...years to finally come back home. To finally remember the memories she harboured when she was a human, a human being living in the real world.

A time when the human world itself was almost like the Rukongai, it was imaginable but, she grew up in a poor community that was now a small town with so many memories that she had forgotten and left behind.

She was so ashamed. Ashamed of the fact that she had left her one last blood relative behind and never remembered enough to come back for him, Jushirmai.

To think that the house she had left behind, old, dark and scrubby. The one with an unwelcoming presence with cold walls and memories she didn't want to remember was the same house she was inside now, only, fuller and radiant.

Warmth surrounded her. It was cozy. The walls were now painted, portraits were hung up on the wall, a shrine to her sister was set up, a couch resided near the door. It was so different yet so similar as the design was practically the same.

It had taken her so long...so long to come back to this to the point where it was just unfathomable.

Jushirmai watched her as she walked around, still adjusting to the stuff around her.

He couldn't believe it. He really couldn't. It felt so painful to watch but he felt so relieved at the same time that she had remembered. That she was alive for all that mattered.

He had given up hope of finding her a long time ago. The only thing he held onto were her words, the same words she had said to him on the day she died.

Hey, she had cooed.

I always come back, don't I?

He had then said, yes, but—, she had interrupted him.

I'll be back, I promise. I just need to go get Sister Hisana and I'll be back. Now go inside.

That was when they were kids.

Now they were adults who had a gap in between them more further than Jushirmai wanted.

They were so far apart as of now and Jushirmai wondered if they'd ever be able to fill that gap again. Not when, there was so much left to say. The past few days, it had been difficult to open up without being emotional, especially for Rukia who felt terribly upset and guilty in spite of Jushirmai's reassurance but, it was harder him.

It was harder because he remembered her and Hisana. He remembered them and continued to live knowing that fact that they were somewhere living their lives without remembering him.

Rukia clenched her fist as she sat down in the familiar living room. Nothing had changed except, the living room had colour and it was perhaps the most wonderful thing Rukia ever saw. If it wasn't the fact that it took her so long to come back here, to remember, perhaps she would've felt more differently.

Jushirmai, who stood right in front of her, had grown, taller than her—the same purple eyes, fringes of hair like Hisana's covering his face, jet black hair, medium-length like Byakuya's was real. He was her brother. Her younger brother. The one that she had left behind along with her sister who had died with her when their lives were taken by a hollow centuries ago.

While her memory was only slowly coming back, that day...that day was still the most vivid thing in her memory. She remembered every thing down to the position of the flower pot that fell onto the floor on that windy day as she left the stairs of her home for the very last time before her death. Her death with Hisana.

How could she forget her blood? It angered her to the point where she could die. She spent almost thirty years now living in a home that was lifeless. A cold older brother who never cared enough to look her in the eye when her only living relative (well, the only living relative she chose to acknowledge) was alive and searched for her, missed her, remembered her.

It was such a shame. If only she had remembered sooner, they've would've been reunited sooner. It would've never come to this.

Now what was she? She was a hollow ghost living as a soul reaper. Unhappily living in the noble home she despised, all while playing the role of the Kuchiki princess, Kuchiki Rukia, the adopted noble girl who was privileged and spoiled.

She had lost herself in these past thirty years, it had gotten to the point where she had become confident that the old her could never return but after meeting Jushirmai for the first time in years, she felt a little ounce of hope resurface to bring her back. She would come back. She would. But first, she would have to restore her relationship with Jushirmai. It was her first priority. That, and keeping her younger brother away from her oldest one.

Kuchiki Byakuya could not know that her younger brother, Oswald (AN: This is not an error in spelling. I meant to write 'Oswald' here) Jushirmai existed.

---

"Uh, so question, what the fuck are we gonna do when Rukia comes back?" Raiden asked, growing impatient as days passed.

"Aren't we going to wait until Rukia-san returns?" Yūshirō asked.

"Yeah, yeah I know but she's taking forever."

"It's only been five days, Raiden." Yoruichi said as she picked up some boxes. "Physically her body may be fine but mentally, it isn't."

"It's not like seeing Jushirmai is anything new for her based on what I'm hearing. He's her fucking younger brother, she's been seeing him for more than 20 years, I think she can last a few months without him while we deal with this."

"It's been 17 months...Arigawa-san since she last saw him, let Kuchiki-san take her time. After all, they've been separated for much longer than that." Urahara said.

"Oh for fucks sake, listen Jushirmai sounds great n'all but it's not like she couldn't visit him within these 17 months. She was training to become a better soul-fucking-reaper. It's not like there was anything holding her back here. It's her own fault for not going. Now, she's wasting our time."

"But it's not like we're not doing anything right now." Yūshirō replied. "The other Jushirmai has been quiet for awhile now, if he really wanted to stir trouble wouldn't he be bothering soul reapers?"

"That's because she's not here." Raiden bent down to tell him.

"Arigawa." Yoruichi said in a stern tone.

"What?" Raiden responded in the same tone, gritting his teeth.

"You can drop the act now, she isn't here." Yoruichi said. "We know you missed her."

"Maybe you should tell her." Her little brother proceeded to say.

"Why should I?" Raiden asked, his voice lowered. "It's not like the same woman I missed is the same one you all call 'Kuchiki-san' anyways."

"Rukia-san is still in there!" The child's voice suddenly got high-pitched towards the end. Almost as if he was losing in an argument but assumed that saying the same thing louder would make him the superior one. "She's still there! I've spoken to her before! The real one!"

"You mean when she wears that lab coat her younger brother got her? Yeah, but she's never spoken to me lookin' like fucking that. All I see is a shadow. That Rukia isn't the same one I used to know, maybe if she spoke to me the way she's been speaking to you, my choice woulda been different."

"For the past two years, she's been helping the Soul Society like that. But strangely, what was sealed in the hōgyokū for her never came out during any of those interactions. Not even once, just pain." Yoruichi reminisced thinking of all the times the soul reaper Rukia had disappeared and resurfaced as another one to aid the others, even when they didn't know.

"It's still in there." Raiden said. "It has to be or else, all of this would be pointless."

"No, you're right Arigawa-san, it's still in there. It's just gonna be a tad bit difficult to get it out, considering how long it's been stuck there." Urahara said.

"We'll yank it out if we have too, Sensei Okasake won't be joining us." Yoruichi said.

"Sensei Okasake isn't coming?!" Her younger brother immediately asked.

"Rukia doesn't want him here." Raiden said. "She's ashamed."

"But, Rukia-san has no reason to be ashamed she is—"

"She's ashamed, Yūshirō. Might as well let her be since that's all we've been fucking doin'. I actually don't blame her for this one though, she deserves to be ashamed. She's the one who left...she's the one who's wrong."

---

Jushirmai had always been an innovator.

Her memory, which was slowly piecing together the more she spent time with him, remembered it vaguely that one of Jushirmai's many talents while growing up was creating.

He had aspirations of being something like a scientist. He always had inventions he made and hoped to become one when he was alive. Hisana, her older sister, who was always so gentle and giving aspired to be a healer. She wanted to help people when they were ill.

She had remembered that, Hisana wanting to study herbs and other medicine to help others. It was kind of ironic that the reason for her death in the Soul Society was an illness. All she had wanted to do when she was alive was heal illnesses and in the end, an illness was what took her life. It was a shame.

Rukia couldn't say much about herself. She didn't remember going to school or having any friends. Luckily, Jushirmai, who remembered everything, filled the gap for her and told her what she was.

According to him, she was the one working to support them. Without parents, she worked at a scripture store with a woman who exploited her because she was aware that she needed the money to support her family. She had dropped out of school to support both of their education in hopes of them growing older and being able to take care of the family.

She had high hopes for them and often sacrificed herself for their happiness which they both disapproved of. When Jushirmai first told her this she laughed, she didn't think it was possible that this scenario could be real but as years passed, her memory became stronger and she began to remember everything.

Every detail, every word, every problem almost as if she had never forgotten them. Everything Jushirmai had told her was true. That was who she was...before she came to the Soul Society.

She was happy to know that Jushirmai was still his innovative self—burying his love for what would be known as science in order to pursue something in the medical field.

Jushirmai became a doctor for Hisana.

After their death, Jushirmai explained to her that he had abandoned his dream of being one and decided to fulfill Hisana's one.

It seemed that even though he couldn't pursue his wish, he was happily doing it as a hobby in their house. She later found out that his inventions have been helping the Soul Society as the Head Captain was aware of his existence in the human world, leading her to ask one specific question: why was he here in the World of the Living instead of the Soul Society?

The Human World had changed. It was no longer the rural community Rukia remembered growing up in. It had become more urban. Jushirmai's life in the living world would've had to end centuries ago so why was he here?

Jushirmai explained to her that he had died only a few years after she and Hisana had died.

Their house had been put on fire and Jushirmai who was living with another family ran in to save it but only killed himself. He was brought to the Soul Society where he lived in the 79th District of the Rukongai, but he was special.

He was special because he remembered his human life and couldn't tear himself away from it. After coming to the Soul Society, he had searched for his sisters, unaware that they were not only separated but were living a very different life. Once he got older and had lost hope, he had concluded that he needed to come back and find his house in the Human World.

It was his only lasting memory which carried the presence of his sisters and him when they were alive and happy, he refused to let it go so easily. Especially since he couldn't find her and Hisana in the Soul Society.

Then Urahara Kisuke appeared.

Urahara Kisuke who had been banned from the Soul Society had secretly returned to help a few people from the Rukongai return to the World of the Living.

Jushirmai had heard about this plan and had joined them. Urahara had only realized after that one extra person had come on and threatened to take him back to the Rukongai but after hearing his story, decided to let him stay. From there, he worked to have their house rebuilt and eventually became a doctor after staying.

Upon finding out, Rukia had gone to Urahara to thank him for letting her younger brother stay. If he had not, she would've never met him. She also learned that the reason Urahara had let Jushirmai stay was not because of his story but because he resembled her and it felt wrong to send him back to the Rukongai.

With all this new yet old information, Rukia didn't know what to do. She was so overwhelmed but in a good and bad way. Finally remembering her human life was a blessing yet a curse. She had to do everything her power to protect it and by that, she meant that she couldn't let anyone know.

After she had finally settled in, she told Jushirmai about her life in the Rukongai. She left out the few parts that she only wanted to keep to herself but besides that, she told him everything. It took a while for him to process as there was so much to understand and believe but once he found out every thing, he helped her turn back.

Return back to her old self. It felt refreshing to be back in her old body but now she was left with something to do. She had to tell the only person she could at that time, Captain Ukitake.

---

Jūshiro stared out the window in his office. He did not believe that Rukia was a traitor but he knew there was still a lot she had left unsaid.

For a fact, even though he knew one part of her story, that did not make him a reliable source for the rest of her story. All Rukia had ever told him was that she had a younger brother, living in the World of the Living but he had never met him, he just believed her words.

He assumed she was telling the truth but now he questioned whether she was. Although he did not want to place more doubt on her, he wondered if instead of making monthly visits to her younger brother, was she making visits to this Jushirmai instead.

The Research and Development Institute who were aware of the assassins' existence and frequently worked with the other members of the Research and Development Institute, had noted that Jushirmai's sheatsu had frequently been detected within the Seireitei and...within the World of the Living too.

There had been reported traces of his sheatsu near Kurosaki Ichigo's home in Karakura Town and in another location however, the Research and Development Institute still could not decipher where it was.

Reports claimed that there was a barrier shielding off a town beside Karakura Town which is why they could not get a clear view of where exactly Jushirmai's sheatsu had been spotted regardless, it still proved that there was a high chance that Rukia had been in contact with him before.

The only question was why and if she had relations with him before, why did she act so surprise to see him when he unveiled himself to soul reapers?

Jūshiro knew he was a few steps ahead of the other members of the Gotei 13.

He knew who the assassins were, had relations with them, and was aware of the kind of trouble Okasake Jushirmai was capable of causing but he couldn't explain that to the Gotei 13.

He couldn't explain who the assassins were and the truth of the soul reaper kind. It would go against the law that both the assassins and soul reapers had created together in addition to what was known as the Common Kuchiki Law which the 27th Head, Kuchiki Ginrei created decades ago to protect Kuchiki Byakuya. They would just have to stay oblivious until the Head Captain was ready but the question was, whether he'd ever be ready.

The assassins had always been kept away from soul reapers. After the division, both the Head Captain and the Sensei Okasakes had agreed that they were to live separate lives. Though in Jūshiro's perspective, it was a bit unfair as the assassins were aware who soul reapers were but soul reapers, on the other hand remained clueless.

In one way, the division had only proved the assassins further superiority as soul reapers continued to be the laughing stock as they knew nothing of those superior to them. Jūshiro knew that once the superiority of the assassins was revealed to soul reapers, things would never be the same.

Soul reapers would never be able to understand the superiority of the assassins as soul reapers had always been the superior kind in their view. They were the sole protectors of the Soul Society in that narrative.

Once the assassins entered the picture, Jūshiro wasn't sure that any of them would be able to look back happily as a soul reaper. He feared it would not only hurt their pride but perhaps ruin the image of soul reapers. There was a lot at stake when it came to revealing the truth about the assassins. There was a reason that soul reapers could not know of them but Jūshiro still felt that it was wrong leaving them in the dark.

Upon Jushirmai's entrance in the Seireitei, Jūshiro had decided to contact the other side of the Soul Society, the assassins, to make them aware that he was back but he had thought otherwise.

The assassins were not oblivious people. They were aware that Okasake Jushirmai was back. Informing them would be a foolish move on his part and would probably come off as a offensive to them and that was the last thing Jūshiro wanted to do, especially during a time like this. Their lack of effort to stop him was natural, it was expected as it involved soul reapers. If it had been any other scenario, they would've been in the Seireitei faster than Yoruichi however, Jushirmai was targeting soul reapers, their enemy in a sense, they had no reason to interfere.

Not to mention, Jushirmai's interest in Rukia did not concern them either. In a way, it made Jūshiro feel relieved as if Rukia's relation to Jushirmai was serious, they would have stepped in no matter who's territory they were in. As they had not interfered or contacted the Head Captain, he knew for sure that her relationship with Jushirmai was not serious and however she knew him was on her own accord.

Rukia's relationship to Jushirmai was something else, something that not even the assassins needed to or could interfere with, but what?

---

Ichigo looked up with wide eyes, "Byakuya? Tōshirō?"

He was on the ground, still trying to shield himself from Uryū's arrow when the two Captains had arrived. Their presence had been so strong and yet had been left unnoticeable by the human gang. Even though Ichigo didn't wonder why, Uryū did.

Their presence had seemed more stronger than usual, Ichigo had almost mistakened it for the ryoka, but it wasn't. There was something going on here and Uryū didn't know whether it was good or bad.

"You seem surprised Kurosaki. This is the first time I've disobeyed orders like this so bear with me but unlike the rest of the Gotei 13 with the exception of Captain Unohana and Captain Ukitake, I don't believe that Kuchiki would commit treason like this. I would like answers and she is the only one who can give them to me." Tōshirō explained while staring down at the human gang.

Ichigo stared at them, blinking absentmindedly to process the information before his eyebrows sunk and he smiled, a quick change suddenly occurring in his eyes. "Then what are we waiting for, let's go."

"Kurosaki-kun!" A voice quickly screeched. "Your injuries haven't healed yet. You should wait."

"We need to go." Ichigo said. His tone was gentle and he had hoped that she wouldn't be too offended by his response, changing his expression a little he approached her. "Don't worry, Inoue I'll be fine. Your healing powers really are magic to me, I feel better already."

"O-Oh really?" She started to blush. "If that's true, Kurosaki-kun then let's—"

"Get going." Tōshirō finished for her. Ichigo turned to his direction.

"Let's go."

"When I left and I didn't see you follow me, I got a little worried there, Byakuya. You're doing the right thing, even if it doesn't seem like it yet." Ichigo said with a smirk, feeling a bit more superior than Byakuya for the first time in awhile.

They had been traveling for what felt like hours now. Their interaction had been short and simple, from the time he had told the gang to get a move on, everyone had moved quickly. There was nothing else left to say, they had one goal as of now and that, was to reach the border. It hadn't come to his mind to start a conversation with Byakuya who had shown up beside Captain Hitsugaya a few hours ago until now.

Byakuya did not respond. He continued to fly beside Ichigo without another word. His reasoning for being here was the same as Captain Hitsugaya. He wanted answers that no one from the Gotei 13 could provide so naturally, he had to go out and get them. And although he'd never admit it, although answers were his clear motive for joining Kurosaki Ichigo, he was concerned about Rukia's decision.

While he knew she was aware of the consequences she'd face if she left, he still did not understand why she hadn't stayed in the Kuchiki Manor. By all means, she was protected as a noble. Whatever the issue may be, he had ensured her safety beforehand but her relationship with Okasake Jushirmai seemed to be more than that. More than he could know at least.

He was not an open person, he understood why that may have acted as a barrier between them but given how comfortable she had seemed in the past few months he had assumed that if a situation like this was ever to occur, she would have no reason to seek refuge elsewhere but she had proven him wrong, leading him to believe that this was more serious than he had thought.

Although he had been careful not to overstep the boundary his grandfather had left, he knew that he could not go on being stuck in oblivion. He needed to know who exactly the Okasakes were.

"The least you could do is answer me, Byakuya."

"I do not believe there is anything else left to be said."

"You still didn't find anything on the Okasakes, huh?"

"That should not be a concern to you."

"But it is. I have every right to know everything about the Okasakes, I don't care whether they're nobles or servants. They're people who have to do with Rukia and that Jushirmai guy. If you know anything you gotta tell me. Out of the Gotei 13, you're the only one I can put trust into finding this out."

"I do not need you to put trust into me nor do I encourage you to do so. I must stay within my boundaries. I cannot say anything at this time."

"Boundaries? What boundaries?" Ichigo asked.

"I believe Kuchiki is referring to the former Captain Kuchiki, Kuchiki Ginrei." Tōshirō explained as he flew beside Byakuya.

"Oh, your grandfather, right?"

"Based on the little information we have been given, we have discovered that the former Captain Kuchiki was close friends with the Okasakes and most likely had a position within the assassins realm on the other side of the Soul Society although it is not clear as to what it is. It seems that the former Kuchiki was very involved in the assassin society however he did not leave any of this information to this Kuchiki here leading him to believe that perhaps he should not be involved."

"I got it, you don't want to say what you're not suppose to say because of your grandfather and you don't want to know what you're not suppose to know because of your grandfather. Makes sense but, aren't you already overstepping his boundary by coming here?" Ichigo asked.

While he was grateful that Byakuya had finally decided to own up to his older brother role and come find Rukia, he didn't want him to disobey his grandfather. Ichigo could tell that his grandfather meant a lot to him and in this case, Ichigo knew he would bring Rukia back to him and he was sure Byakuya already knew that as well so coming here meant he had another motive. But what?

"I am not sure where that boundary is."

"Well, if you're going to overstep it now, might as well go all the way."

"I would only like to know the facts. The details I can stay oblivious too."

"But if you're going to know the facts, you might as well know the details too." Ichigo said.

"I am immune to temptation. I came here fully aware of what I would be exposed to. I would simply like the answers to the questions I have and I will leave." Byakuya said.

He wasn't used to talking this much, it was exhausting having to explain his every thought out loud but if he refused to speak, Kurosaki Ichigo would never let him rest.

"You didn't come here for Rukia, did you?" Ichigo asked and Byakuya did not respond. "You came here for your grandfather."

"He came here for both of them." Tōshirō intervened.

"He hasn't said a thing about her." Ichigo pointed out. Ichigo knew that Byakuya did have a heart and that his actions often spoke louder than his words but it had come to the point where Ichigo just needed to hear him say it to know.

He couldn't handle Byakuya's indirectness. It meant he had to think and analyze his actions and Ichigo tried to be direct with every thing. He needed to know what Byakuya's motive was for disobeying an order.

Was it Rukia or something else?

"It would not make sense to come for one when I could come for two." Byakuya said.

"Oh I get it! A two for two deal!" Orihime said in the background.

"No, Inoue-san, I believe it's a 'kill two birds with one stone' kind of situation." Uryū intervened while he pushed his glasses up.

"Rukia doesn't deserve to be searched for just because something with your grandfather came up, Byakuya."

"Kurosaki Ichigo, you did not know my grandfather. Perhaps if you did, you would understand the reason for my urgency."

"What? Would he do this to Rukia too if he were alive and still the Head? Would he only come here only if he had a purpose of his own?"

Byakuya took awhile to respond. Ichigo's head was still faced in his direction even though they were flying in the air. There was a long pause before he voiced his answer in a low tone, eyes still focused dead ahead.

"I do not know."

Ichigo didn't believe him. "You must know, you just don't want to admit that even he wouldn't throw his own family under the bus."

"As I said before, you did not know my grandfather therefore you cannot be certain of his actions."

"You knew him, so tell me what he would do. Would he treat Rukia the way you're treating her now?"

"I do not know." Byakuya responded quicker this time. "I am unsure how he would treat her as she is not related to the Kuchiki clan by blood. I believe he would treat her the same way he treated my wife."

"...he knew Hisana?"

Byakuya didn't respond.

"Wait a minute, when did he pass away? Didn't you find Rukia a year after Hisana passed?"

"The former Captain Kuchiki passed away 50 years ago prior to Kuchiki's adoption to my knowledge." Tōshirō explained, immediately rushing Ichigo into silence.

All he could do was stare. Byakuya had not looked in his direction once. He had lost his grandfather and his wife around the same time...two people who had meant a lot to him, probably more than his own life.

If that had ever happened to Ichigo, he'd probably go insane but Byakuya was more calmer than him. He wasn't rash, but he expressed his loneliness in another way, by keeping silent.

In one way, Ichigo could not blame Byakuya for being so reserved. He always tried to understand Byakuya but he never could fully grasp why he acted the way he did. But, he had lost everything, even when it seemed like he had everything.

To lose his wife and then his grandfather...Ichigo couldn't even imagine the pain Byakuya had felt. For the first time, he felt like he actually understood Kuchiki Byakuya for the first time and probably the last. He had gone through probably more than Ichigo knew but he didn't want to tell so naturally, Ichigo decided to stop talking to him for now. Sometimes, it was better to keep closed wounds shut.

"I'll find Rukia." Ichigo said after awhile. He was trying to be comforting but he wasn't sure if it was working or not. "I mean it. You find out what you need to find out, Rukia's my top priority right now so, you should stick to yours."

For the first time ever since they had started moving, Byakuya gave him a glance. It was only for a second before he moved his eyes back ahead.

"Kurosaki-kun! I think I see it!" Orihime said.

"Inoue-san is right, I can sense the water from here." Uryū said.

"Already? Are you sure about this, Ganju? Didn't Kukaku say it would take awhile to get there?"

"Whadaya mean?"

"WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO KUKAKU?"

"Although it is strange for her to be wrong, she did lead us in the wrong direction. Whomever gave you that kick sent you in the right direction, Kurosaki." Uryū said and Ichigo paused because he was right. Orihime must've healed him in the exact same area he was left in which was further east than the gang had been heading.

Kukaku had lied to them.

"Are you tryna say my Nee-chan would lie to you?"

"That's not what we are trying to say, it is what we know. Kukaku-san lead us the wrong way. If we had gone the way she had told us before Kurosaki was attacked, I don't know where we'd end up." Uryū said.

"But why would Kukaku lie to us?" Ichigo questioned in a serious tone. "She can't be siding with the enemy. Ganju, didn't you say the Shibas got out of that organization a while back? What's the deal?"

"I don't know. I don't think it's got to do with the assassins though, Nee-chan is also close with Yoruichi-san. Since she's gone, Nee-chan must be helping her out but I don't know for sure." Ganju said.

"According to our reports, all noble clans are involved in the assassin society. A majority of their family members are most likely assassins themselves as it seems that the assassins hold a prestige equivalent to that of royals. They're viewed as royals and treated like one so I'm not as shocked to know that all noble clans have ties with them. Their influence also seems to be greater over there than it is here." Tōshirō explained. "If Shiba decided to join forces with them, I would not be surprised but if the Shiba clan has fully given up their membership then what you're saying might be true. Yoruichi-san also disappeared on such short notice, it is likely that Kuchiki's and her sudden disappearance are related."

"That means that Yoruichi knows everything." Ichigo said.

"Are you even surprised anymore?" Uryū asked.

"It's not that, I'm just surprised that she didn't contact me yet."

"This isn't like the first time, Kurosaki Ichigo. This time it's different, very different and I have no doubt in my mind that Yoruichi-san is not a part of this assassin society herself." Tōshirō said.

"If that's the case, then who the hell can we trust?" Ganju asked.

"No one." Uryū said. "They gave us the mystery, now it's our turn to solve it. Something tells me that we won't be hearing from Yoruichi-san for awhile."

"Well that's just great. We don't know anything and no one we know is even gonna bother to help us." Ichigo said.

"I wonder what we'll find there...do you think we can swim in the ocean?" Orihime said to herself, not expecting the rest of the gang to hear her words.

"Inoue-san..."

"I don't think we can swim in there. It'd be cold." Sado said.

"You should go home, Inoue. It is probably best for you to stay there instead of here." Tōshirō said, immediately making Orihime feel hurt.

She had been trying to prove her worthiness to fight alongside Ichigo for the longest time. She had convinced herself up until now from Hueco Mundo that she had achieved part of that worthiness but Tōshirō's words suddenly made her think otherwise. She didn't know what she had said wrong to have him say that to her but it didn't feel good to have him tell her that. She wanted to be here. For Ichigo. She wanted to fight alongside him and prove to everyone that although she wasn't a shinigami, quincy, or even an assassin that she was useful as a human being.

She was here to heal, but she also wanted to protect. She was hoping that she'd be able to show that she was also capable of fighting but it seemed that Captain Hitsugaya had thought otherwise. She didn't know what she had said wrong to hear his harsh words. She didn't want to blame him either given the fact that they were currently in a very difficult position and yet, she couldn't understand the reason for his wish for her to leave.

Home was also lonely. She'd spend all her time anxious, with her mind here, with her mind on Ichigo. She'd be worried all along. She had to stay here, no matter how many times people tried to push her back to go home. She belonged here. And she'd prove that to Ichigo and everyone else that she was worthy.

"I would like to stay here." Orihime said in a quiet voice. It was barely above a whisper. She hadn't expected her response to come out so quietly but it did.

"It's too dangerous." Tōshirō said.

"I'll be fine." Orihime responded quietly.

"We're going to need Inoue-san's healing powers. There is no doubt that these assassins and whomever else we're facing here are stronger than us. One of them was already strong enough to knock Kurosaki down after three kicks. With these battles, there will be injuries. Inoue-san is the only one who can heal us completely." Uryū said which made Orihime smile.

"What's the deal, Ishida? You didn't have to remind everyone." Ichigo said.

"I was trying to make a point, Kurosaki if you didn't notice." Uryū said.

"Yeah, I know that but seriously,"

"You just can't admit you lost, wimp." Ganju said. "You probably didn't even hurt the guy."

"Like you could've done better."

"Well I wouldn't let him get away without giving him some kind of injury. How the hell are you the substitute shinigami again?"

"Why you—"

"It's more bigger than I imagined." Tōshirō said as he looked down at the water.

The ocean was huge and from his perspective, very deep. The waves itself were strong and aggressive. This wasn't a place he knew he wanted to fall in. He wasn't too fond of how powerfully the waves moved, they were too vicious and the ocean itself was too dark. Falling into this seemed like it'd be black hole that he'd never escape from. It was dangerous.

A thick dark blue fog engulfed them the further they went into the ocean, it became so thick that the gang couldn't see any place they had left behind. They were completely within assassin territory and Ichigo, well Ichigo didn't know exactly how to feel about it. He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel a little nauseous flying above the ocean.

It was deep and the water wasn't as calm as he imagined it to be. The last thing he wanted to do was fall or have Orihime and Chad drop into there. He knew for sure that they wouldn't be able to survive that, making him extra conscious about his surroundings. Although the assassins had no reason to target them, Ichigo knew that they may pay attention to his weaknesses.

The gang moved swiftly into the fog, trying not to look down at all costs. Their goal was to get to the barrier. Although, they were unsure on how to break it, they would have to give it their all if they truly wanted the answers they sought.

---

"It doesn't make sense to me. I don't understand how a group like the assassins could do unnoticed under our radar. What makes them so different from us, soul reapers?" Nanao questioned as she walked back and forth. She wouldn't be able to rest. She needed to know.

"The assassins are different 'cause they got sheatsu, we got reiatsu. Sheatsu is a physical energy born inside of you. If you don't have it, you can't be an assassin. You gotta be a chosen one." Captain Kyorakū explained.

"Still. If they were so capable of managing the Soul Society then why were soul reapers even created?"

"From my understanding, the assassins were always capable individuals. But Yama-jii," Captain Kyōraku sighed. "having always to fight with Sensei Okasake Hiroshima didn't make things end well. Having three head commanders was difficult because for that to work, the majority always had to win when it came to making decisions and since the Sensei Okasakes were twins, they were always on each other's side and Yama-jii's method of ruling never came to light. In one way, Yama-jii's creation of soul reapers benefitted the thousands who weren't able to get into the assassin society because they didn't have sheatsu but on the other hand, with the assassins around, we wouldn't need any soul reaper to begin with."

"So what are we?"

"We're Yama-jii's creation, I guess. After he created us, I guess...even knowing that we wouldn't be as strong as the assassins, we'd be a majority and that would benefit him the most."

Nanao scoffed. "We're basically just the tools he used to become a head commander."

"Maybe, but I wouldn't go too hard on Yama-jii. He may have his faults but he's proud of who we are. He never tried to hide us from the assassins even though us, soul reaper never knew about them. Even though they look down on us, they still know we exist. Yama-jii takes pride in us and that's why he can be a bit harsh sometimes but I wouldn't go around making him a bad guy. There are two parties at fault here, Nanao-chan. To blame one would be a little unfair wouldn't it?"

"While I do see your point, I can't help but feel inferior now. Soul reapers have always been conditioned to thinking they are the superior kind, finding out that there is a whole other kind that exists right across from us on the other end is infuriating."

"Infuriating, but true. They're like royals over there. The Rukongai kids who get trained there for sure know just what kind of prestige they hold. The noble clans are also a part of the assassin society. It just makes there seem more glamorous than our old Seireitei here but Yama-jii isn't into glamour I guess."

"Since the Okasakes are nobles, their manor must be here on our side of the Soul Society..."

"It's right beside the Kuchiki Manor. It's just that they seem far apart because of the land the clans own. The way I remember it, the noble clans weren't willing to shift their manors and their locations because of Yama-jii so they all came to an agreement about the placement of nobles."

Nanao sighed. No matter how she looked at it, it still didn't feel real. Perhaps she would have to see it for herself to be real because for a fact, she didn't see how these assassins could possibly be their superiors and in fact be, the first creation before soul reapers.

She turned around to look outside, trying to spot the other Court of Pure Souls which was further away than she imagined. Was this really it for their kind? Soul reapers now viewed the assassins as the enemy but, if what Captain Kyōraku and the rest of their history books said were true then, if anyone was the enemy it was soul reapers not the assassins. It was a bit hard to imagine it but it was a fact.

"Nanao-chan, I'm going to step out for a bit if you don't mind."

"Where are you going?" Nanao asked, she hadn't noticed the black butterfly slip into the room.

"It seems that Captain Kuchiki and Captain Hitsugaya have betrayed Yama-jii. They're most likely with Kurosaki Ichigo by now."

"What?" Nanao said in shock. "But Captain Hitsugaya...? Captain Kuchiki...? They wouldn't - "

"Coming from Captain Hitsugaya, I kind of expected it. He didn't look too good when he saw that Kusaka guy come back again, not to mention finding out that he doesn't own the strongest ice-type zanpakutō in the Soul Society. He's probably out there tryna find some answers. But Captain Kuchiki...well, I can't say much for him." Captain Kyōraku said while scratching his sugasasa hat. "Well, we might as well leave them. Lieutenant Kuchiki running away is enough of our problems. I'm gonna go calm Yama-jii down before he orders their execution or something."

Nanao nodded her head, having nothing else to say, now aware that Captain Hitsugaya and Captain Kuchiki had joined Kurosaki Ichigo.

Everyone wanted answers, but Lieutenant Kuchiki...she wasn't sure if Lieutenant Kuchiki would give all the ones they needed. They needed the Head Captain to own up to the truth too but, what if Lieutenant Kuchiki owning up to her own truth was the same as the Head Captain owning up to his? She couldn't be too sure about how exactly the Head Captain and Lieutenant Kuchiki were related in their stories but for some reason she felt that there was a reason the Head Captain had been so quick to turn on Lieutenant Kuchiki.

She knew something the Head Captain didn't want revealed.

Nanao didn't want to rush the Research and Development in finding any traces of Lieutenant Kuchiki's reiatsu but she wanted to get to her first before anyone else, even if it seemed impossible. Nanao exited the room, walking down the hall as quickly as she could, not noticing the small soul reaper in front of her who was panicking himself.

"L-Lieutenant Ise!" Hanatarō yelled out as she appeared in front of him.

"Oh," she stepped backwards. "7th seat, Yamada, what aren't you in your barracks?"

"C-Captain Unohana sent me here to make sure that e-everyone stayed within their barracks. I'm a-afraid you can't leave Lieutenant Ise." Hanatarō informed.

"I see. But, it will just be a minute. I need to talk to the Research and Development Head -"

"I-I'm sorry Lieutenant Ise but Captain Unohana said that I-I can't let anyone out of here. It's for your safety."

"I understand but if we don't figure out who the ryoka really is and find Lieutenant Kuchiki, we might all be endangered, do you understand?"

"R-Rukia-san is a good person. W-Why would we be endangered by her? She h-hasn't done anything wrong."

"We don't know that for sure, 7th seat Yamada. Given our position right now and her actions, I believe it is safe to assume that Lieutenant Kuchiki has relations with the ryoka which makes her a potential candidate as one. You must understand why my visit to the 12th Division barracks is necessary. I need to know if she has been found." Nanao tried to persuade Hanatarō. She couldn't stay bottled up in her barracks forever. She needed to know, it was urgent.

"R-Rukia-san is innocent, I swear!"

"Do you know anything, Yamada Hanatarō?" Nanao inquired.

"N-No sorry! I didn't mean to make it seem like I knew anything!" Suddenly, Hanatarō started speaking faster. "I just meant to say that Kuchiki-san is a very noble and kind lady, she would never betray us in the way you're saying! There's no way! She probably had her reasoning so we shouldn't assume that she's siding with the ryoka when she was hurt by him! I don't know why I'm talking so much but Kuchiki-san is innocent! I'm sure of it!"

Nanao had an idea. While Hanatarō's behavior wasn't unusual, he was acting how he usually did when someone talked to him for too long, but she wanted to be cautious. She wanted to make sure that no one surrounding her was a close ally of Lieutenant Kuchiki.

She wasn't sure who she could trust. "So, come with me. If you believe that she is innocent then that will be proven once we watch the surveillance footage."

"S-Surveillance footage?! Why would we need to look at those for?" Hanatarō asked in bewilderment.

"Before Kurosaki Ichigo, Captain Hitsugaya, and Captain Kuchiki had arrived at the scene, Lieutenant Kuchiki had already been talking with the ryoka. If we can find the surveillance footage, we will watch it together and you tell me whether you think she is still innocent. I have no doubt in my mind that they were talking about how to act when Kurosaki Ichigo and the Captains arrived."

Nanao had a theory. One that she hadn't bothered to voice but had discussed with herself on several occasions. Lieutenant Kuchiki had claimed not to know a Shiegeari Jushirmai when she had heard the name in addition to when she had seen him face to face until he had forced her to reveal his last name. However, reports had shown that this was not the first time the ryoka's sheatsu had been around Lieutenant Kuchiki's presence. It has been around her multiple times, in the World of the Living and in the Soul Society, leading Nanao to believe one thing that she had not yet voiced.

Their interaction was staged.

---

"Kurosaki."

"Whadaya want, Ishida?"

"This may sound random but I was wondering if Kuchiki-san ever talked to you about her past in the Rukongai? Did she ever talk about her experiences there?"

"Not as much. I knew she was tough, hella poor too. She and Renji had to resort to stealing a bunch of things to get by on their own and the adults, the adults didn't really do anything, didn't really give a crap about them. They were on their own. She didn't like talking about the Rukongai, she said it brought back too many dark memories so I left it alone."

"She never mentioned anything about a child prodigy? A boy even? Something to link her to the ryoka?"

"Nope. The first time I heard the name, 'Okasake' was that night when she revealed it on her own." Ichigo said.

"Why do you think she didn't tell you?"

"I don't know, really. She could've told me anything, she knew that, I always told her I had her back just like she had mine. I thought we could tell each other anything, but about this? Jushirmai? Never heard anything about it."

Ichigo didn't sound happy. He was trying to sound like he wasn't bothered by it but he was. What could he possibly be? Why did Rukia have to hide this from him? It just didn't make sense to him. They'd always been an open book. That's how their friendship worked. He didn't understand why this was such a big deal. He didn't understand what made this part of her life so difficult for her to not leave him with even a quarter of information so he wouldn't be so dumbfounded.

"On that night (AN: First Encounter), Kuchiki-san sounded completely lost herself. She continued to deny that she knew him but..."

"But what, Ishida? Tell me."

"...It just doesn't make sense to me how she would forget his face like that if he had done something wrong to her." Uryū said.

"It's just his face, why does that matter? It just proves that Rukia's relation to the ryoka isn't as serious as everyone is taking it, what's the big deal?"

"No, Kurosaki, that's where you're wrong. Kuchiki-san's involvement with the ryoka is must bigger than you are anticipating. I believe it's the most critical piece of this whole story. With that mind, I don't think she could so easily forget his face or even his voice. It doesn't matter what disguise he put on, she would've been able to sense it - no doubt. There's something odd about how the way things turned out, don't you think?"

"Almost like it was staged..." Sado spoke for the first time in awhile.

"Are you suggesting that Kuchiki had this planned from before? That her interaction with the ryoka was not as genuine as it seemed?" Tōshirō asked while flying beside Byakuya.

"I can't be for sure, but it is a possibility. Something about the way they interacted isn't right. Kuchiki-san continued to deny everything until we were in danger. If Jushirmai hadn't had us confined like that, maybe she would've never admitted to knowing him."

"That would make sense as to why after that, she had begin to act strange. She had willingly put herself in that position of exposing herself to having relations with the ryoka in front of us when she had intended on hiding it from us." Tōshirō said, immediately connecting the dots from Uryū's words.

"And, before she had collapsed they seemed to be communicating mentally. All of their actions allude to the same thing..." Uryū said.

"Their interaction was staged, no doubt. They wanted to appear like that. There's no way Kuchiki would've suddenly had her memory restored like that upon the ryoka revealing his face." Tōshirō said in a serious tone, eyebrows furrowing and mind beginning to question the truth about Lieutenant Kuchiki Rukia.

"You're wrong, Ishida." Ichigo said in a serious tone. "Rukia would never do that. She wouldn't side with the enemy like that, you know this."

"I hate to say this to you Kurosaki, but your friendship with Kuchiki is compromising your judgement. You admitted before that she had never discussed anything like this with you which makes you just as clueless as we are. The fact that you don't know anything proves that she is capable of pulling anything without you second-guessing it. You have to be careful, Kurosaki." Tōshirō warned. "I'll admit to you, one thing. Before this, I had assumed that Kuchiki was innocent and up until now I do believe she is innocent however, facts cannot be denied and the fact that she staged that interaction cannot be denied given the evidence."

"No offense, but I say your evidence is crap. Yeah, there might've been a few things off but the entire Gotei 13 are after her just because she refused to talk about one guy, I won't believe it until she says it to me herself."

"Kurosaki, we never said Kuchiki was the enemy here we're saying—"

"Whatever." Ichigo cut Tōshirō off short.

He didn't want to hear it. Everyone around him kept saying that she was the wrong one, that she was the enemy. But she wasn't and Ichigo knew deep down in his heart that they were accusing her blindly without understanding a thing. He may be clueless, but he understood Rukia's heart.

That interaction wasn't staged. It couldn't be.

---

"Ah," She breathed heavily. It was purposeful of course. It sounded like a yelp of pleasure as she braced her head back and arched her body up.

She felt good, really good. It seemed as if she was going to be treated tonight and she couldn't wait for him to come home. Although she wasn't sure how intense the pleasure would be this time, it all depended on her (AN: Italicized 'her' refers to Rukia, non-italicized refers to the character's point of view).

She knew she was playing a dangerous game when it came to her Commander but, it was one she was willing to play for awhile. Being the mistress, the one who comforted him late at night was her only purpose in life and it was delicious.

Sometimes she tended to forget that she was privileged, privileged because of one part of her - she looked like her. She had went to great lengths to undergo this transformation, she had cut her long hair to match hers and had even managed to smuggle human contact lenses to change her eye colour. The only reason she was being treated so well was because she looked like her and if she ever stopped, even for a moment, her Commander would have her killed or even more painful, ask her to leave his side.

Unlike Naohira, she was happy that their Commander had helped her escape the Gotei 13 because at the end of the day, she would be treated. When he came home, she would have her portion of the cake.

She was happy that her Head Commander had helped Rukia escape.

---

"It seems like we're approaching the barrier." Tōshirō announced.

"Strange, we haven't interacted with any assassins yet." Uryū said in response.

"We should get closer. Once we're there, I'm sure they'll interfere." Tōshirō said and with that, the gang increased their speed.

Flying towards the large thin piece of ice that had an electrifying blue barrier surrounding it. It was huge. A thin sheet of ice but long in weight and height. The closer the gang got, the more it glimmered. Something about how the way it looked told Ichigo that it wasn't going to be easy to break. Not even a Getsuga Tensho would be enough to make it suffer a crack. Fortunately, he had Byakuya and Tōshirō with him to help. With their bankais combined, he was sure they'd be able to do something.

If Rukia was really behind this barrier, he'd do whatever he could to break it. Even if Kukaku left them without instructions, he'd find a way. There would always be a way.

"It's so big." Orihime said as her eyes marveled at the large piece of ice.

"And surprisingly thin. That barrier around it must be strong." Uryū said as the gang came close to the large piece of ice. "We're going to have difficulty breaking it down."

"Man, this is hurting my neck." Ganju said. "I've never seen something so tall before."

"You mean you've never been here?!" Ichigo asked.

"Of course not, you dimwitt."

"Then why the hell did Kukaku send you with us?" Ichigo asked.

"I thought we already acknowledged the fact that Kukaku-san had intentionally tricked us to help Yoruichi-san, it's not that difficult to follow, Kurosaki." Uryū said.

"Yeah, but you don't actually believe that do you?"

"Here you go again,"

"I find it hard to believe because I actually trust these people, Ishida. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not willing to accept the fact that we've been lied to unless there's a good reason." Ichigo argued.

"They wouldn't do something like this without reason, Kurosaki. I told you, I do think Kuchiki is innocent although her actions have suggested otherwise. You have to get yourself together or we'll all sink to the ground." Tōshirō said.

"Right. This isn't the time for us to go back and forth with you about Kuchiki-san, Kukaku-san, or even Yoruichi-san. Whether you choose to believe it or not is your choice but as far as I'm concerned, you won't understand a thing if you continue to believe what you know." Uryū warned. "They've given us the clues, now it's our turn to solve them or at least, piece them together. We have to break this barrier. Whether Kuchiki-san is here or not will be determined once we get in there, so instead of defending them blindly, break this with your zanpakutō."

Ichigo scoffed. "I got it, you can quit nagging me, Ishida."

"I'm not sure using your zanpakutō once will have an effect on it." Tōshirō examined. "A barrier like this cannot easily be broken."

"There are no assassins present either." Byakuya said, speaking for the first time in a while.

"I'm guessing the barrier is enough to keep us out." Ganju said. "The assassins are pretty simple people. If the barrier is strong, they won't station extra assassins to protect it. It'd be a waste of time."

"Funny, I expected them to be the kind who were extra pre-cautious." Tōshirō said.

"Well, I guess I'll give it a shot. Not having assassins to worry about should be a good thing. The last thing we need is more people interfering." Ichigo said.

Taking a few steps back, Ichigo squeezed the tilt of Zangetsu as he looked up at the ice barrier. He was going to put his all into this. Concentrating his reiatsu, he closed his eyes, aiming to gather all his strength and put it into Getsuga Tensho. Raising his zanpakutō, his reiatsu came seeping out of his body, it gave the rest of them chills as Ichigo released the most reiatsu he could've possibly released in his current mindset. I'll do this once.

"Getsuga..." Ichigo began to say, channeling all his energy into this one strike. "Tensho!".

The black strike emitted enormous power, so much that if they were on the ground, it probably would've shook as Ichigo released it. It aimed directly at the middle of the ice barrier, clashing with the ice and emitting a thick fog along with mini crystals of ice which hit their faces lightly, almost like rain. With the amount of mini crystals descending from the spot that Ichigo had hit, the gang were momentarily convinced that Ichigo's hit had a significant effect on the barrier, perhaps leaving a crack that was bigger than they had initially assumed it would. They all looked up at the spot, eyes glaring at the one spot that Ichigo had hit, waiting for the fog to dissipate.

"Did I get it?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know." Uryū said.

"You've might've cracked it a bit, but I'm not sure it broke the whole thing."

"Guess I'll do it again." Ichigo muttered to himself. Before the fog could clear out and the gang could see how much of an impact Ichigo's previous Getsuga Tensho had given the barrier, Ichigo jumped up in the air to fire a next one in the same spot. "Getsuga Tensho!"

"It did not have an effect." Byakuya said.

"How can you tell?" Uryū asked, still trying to see through the fog.

"I see it too. Kurosaki's zanpakutō didn't crack it." Tōshirō said.

The fog began to quickly fade out, revealing what Tōshirō and Byakuya had saw. Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho did not have an effect. The mini crystals of ice had fooled them momentarily, but it was nothing. The ice continued to glimmer without even a chip off.

"What the hell?" Ichigo asked. He was sure he had left a crack, the amount of power he had released from his body should've been more than enough to make some damage, but it didn't. There was nothing.

"This is gonna take awhile." Ganju said. "This is an assassin-type barrier, it won't break that easily. It's zanpakutō repellent."

"You've gotta be kidding me. Does that mean not even bankai will work?"

"Nope."

"Great, now what are we gonna do?"

"If this barrier is soul reaper-repellent then what about the quincy?" Tōshirō said.

"I'm not exactly sure that my quincy powers would be capable of breaking a barrier like this. The quincies who are associated with the assassins seem to have sheatsu too, which enhances their ability and thus makes their attacks more powerful."

"So basically, you can't do it." Ichigo said.

"it's most likely that it wouldn't have a very strong effect." Uryū corrected.

"Well, we better think of a solution fast. It seems like a storm is coming." Tōshirō said.

"A storm?" Ichigo asked before he looked up at the sky. Tōshirō was right.

He hadn't noticed it at all. Just like before when he had interacted with one of Jushirmai's allies, the sky had grown darker and thunder had begin to make loud noises, indicating a heavy storm. It was moving in pretty quickly, it was the fastest transition Ichigo had ever seen in his life.

"Kurosaki-kun, look!" Orihime said, gaining his attention. She was looking down at the sea and that's when Ichigo noticed how violent the sea had gotten. It was darker now and much more louder. The wind was also starting to pick up, Orihime hair's was flying all over the place and Ichigo's cape was flying in all directions at once.

"We need to get inside the mountain as soon as possible!" Tōshirō said loudly, trying to make his voice louder than the thunder and sea. "I'm afraid that if we can't get in before the storm starts we'll be in trouble!"

"In trouble, how?!" Ichigo asked over the wind.

"You don't get it, Kurosaki. Before we left, Kukaku-san informed us that being caught in a storm here is deadly remember."

"This area had been sealed from shinigami-use due to this sole purpose." Byakuya informed.

"I'm not turning back now." Ichigo said, staring up at the barrier. It was getting louder, the waves below him, the thunder in the sky, it was making it harder for Ichigo to think. He needed to break this barrier but if it was zanpakutō-repellent...he had only one option left, one that hadn't come to his mind until..

"Kurosaki." Uryū said in a low tone.

"I got it, Ishida." Ichigo said, furrowing his eyebrows as he stared at the ice barrier. Orihime stared at them, confused.

"If this barrier is soul reaper-repellent and in our case, quincy-repellent, there's only one other option we got left." Ichigo informed the clueless group.

"You're talking about hollowifying again, aren't you Kurosaki?" Tōshirō asked.

"Yeah." Ichigo said firmly.

"No!" Orihime immediately shrieked in worry. Her grey eyes already becoming clouded with tears. "Kurosaki-kun, you can't."

Uryū turned to her side. "Inoue-san, it's the only chance Kurosaki's got at breaking this barrier".

Orihime didn't want to hear it. "No! Kurosaki-kun, you can't! You can't..." She whispered the last part, biting her bottom lip. If he got out of control again...and turned into a beast, Orihime didn't think she would be able to handle it.

"Don't worry, Inoue. I'll be fine." Ichigo said in order to calm her worries but she only grew more defensive. It was the first time Ichigo had seen her like this, she looked more upset than angry but still, it was new.

"You won't." She responded in fear. It was the first time any of them had seen her like this, they did not know where it was coming from but Orihime was saying it. "...You won't be able to control yourself."

"Inoue-san, Kurosaki will be fine. I'm not even sure he can summon his hollow-self anyways."

"That's right..." Ichigo was reminded. "Ever since I got my powers back, I haven't felt a single connection with my hollow self, it's almost like he completely disappeared." Ichigo stared at the palm of his hand. "Who knows...if he's gone."

"Still, Kurosaki. You have to try. If your hollow ability can somehow break this barrier then, we can find Kuchiki-san." Uryū said. "And if, the hollow inside your conscious is suppose to represent your purest desires and fulfill them for you, it will resurface when you need it the most. That moment is now."

"You're right." Ichigo said. He had to do this for Rukia. He couldn't risk missing this opportunity to get an explanation, he had too.

Orihime opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it. She couldn't find the words to stop him once he leaped in the air. He was determined, and he would stop at nothing to break this barrier for her...

"Careful Kurosaki, while you're up there." Tōshirō advised.

"I got it." Ichigo said, closing his eyes to enter his inner world and bring him back.

---

Closing his eyes, Ichigo took a deep breath—trying to erase all the distractions, the noise from the wind, thunder, and the sea.

He wanted to reach out to him, it was a part of himself after all. It couldn't be hidden no matter how hard Ichigo tried to erase him. He was there...inside of him, he knew it. He just needed to summon him, exhibit some kind of control over him. He knew it would come out if he taunted him, he just need to find him.

But he couldn't. When he closed his eyes, all he saw was darkness. Immersing himself back into his inner world with Zangetsu was more difficult than he remembered.

He felt like he was only thinking of the image of his hollow self rather than actually reaching out to him. Although it's been awhile, Ichigo never forgot the face of his hollow self. It was horrifying, yes because his hollow self was completely the opposite of who Ichigo was entirely.

His hollow self was a manifestation of the dark side of his soul, the dark side which harboured desires that he himself wasn't even aware about but feared them. His pale skin, the yellow of his eyes, his black sclera and that maniac laughter, the one that sent chills down Ichigo's spine each time, Ichigo could never forget.

Ichigo often wondered what kind of desires he unconsciously yearned for.

Ones that were so vile that it could manifest into his hollow self. He already knew that his hollow self was unstoppable, desired one thing and one thing only, to kill but he often wondered that if there was something else in there, it wanted more than anything, that it would...physically and mentally rip Ichigo a part to attain it.

All of these were just thoughts, but none of them were getting him to his inner world. As minutes passed, Ichigo realized that he was getting nowhere. He was thinking of nothing but his hollow self and in return, he got nothing. He was a part of him, he couldn't just disappear.

Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? He continued to repeat himself, making it sound like a mantra. But the more he said it, the more it seemed like he was saying the wrong words but what else was he suppose to say?

The world around him was still as dark as ever. It seemed that if he wanted to see colour again, he could easily escape by opening his lids again to see the ice barrier right in front of him but it turns out he was wrong.

He couldn't open his lids. It's not that they refused to move, but even opening them he felt like he was still surrounded by the same darkness, it almost felt like he never opened them but he did. Upon discovering this, his questioning immediately changed. It was no longer 'where are you', it was 'where am I?'. Where was he? And what happened to the rest.

"The answer's easy, Ichigo. You're in your inner world." A voice suddenly said, a familiar one, the one he had been looking for all along.

Shiro Ichigo.

---

"What's happening?" Tōshirō asked with widen eyes. It seemed that as soon as Ichigo had immersed him in his inner world, it had become more violent outside. It was now raining, hard. It was chaos. Thunder, rain, wind, waves all alike came viciously at them at once, it was hard to maintain their stance in the air.

"Ichigo, what the hell are you doing up there?!" Ganju yelled up. "Hurry up!" He yelled even though he was aware that Ichigo would most likely be unable to hear him.

Orihime struggled to hold her grasp on the two twins that had been carrying her. She gasped as her cape almost her left her body, it was starting to get very cold and the orange-haired human had nothing to shield her from it. In seconds, all of their hairs were drenched as if they had taken a bath, all except Byakuya at least.

"Kuchiki, do you mind sharing?" Tōshirō asked, looking up at the Captain mildly irritated by the fact that he had so quickly acted to shield himself from the rain and hadn't provided shelter for anyone else but himself.

It was Senbonzakura. As soon as the rain had fallen, the zanpakutō had quickly acted to protect its master - forming a shield of cherry blossoms in the form of a circle, acting as an umbrella above Byakuya's head.

Orihime began to cough. She didn't think the cold would get to her so quickly.

"Inoue-san, are you alright?" Uryū asked in concern.

"I-I'm," she continued to cough continuously. "f-fine, K-Kurosaki-kun."

"Inoue-san, it was Ishida who asked, not Ichigo." Sado explained the mistake.

She tried to apologize but her coughs continued to get in her way, much to the irritation of Byakuya who had grown to detest coughing.

To silence her, he had no choice but to shelter them, reminding himself once again why he never mingled with humans. With Byakuya's rather silent command, Senbonzakura expanded the circle, giving shelter to the rest of the gang, hiding Ichigo who was still in the air, lost in his inner world.

"Here." Uryū said, while removing his cape - handing it to Sado to cover Orihime with.

"This is exactly why I told you she shouldn't have come along. It is only going to get colder and humans are vulnerable against the cold, she could get gravely ill if she continues to be here. The World of the Living is much more suited for her." Tōshirō said.

He did not mean to come off harsh but, for the sake of her wellbeing, it was best that she stayed in Karakura Town where she was safe even though he knew, she wanted to be by Ichigo's side.

Orihime couldn't find the strength to reply, still feeling very unwell after the sudden change in weather.

"What the hell is going on down there?" Ganju said, looking down at the sea which was now churning.

"It looks like a whirlpool." Sado commented.

"That's no whirlpool, Sado. That's - "

"The ryoka's lines of ice!" Tōshirō said with widened eyes. "Get back!" He ordered as the vines emerged from the ocean at lightning speed.

Using their zanpakutō, Byakuya and Tōshirō immediately turned to cut the lines as Sado protected Ganju and Orihime.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura." Byakuya ordered, causing millions of cherry blossoms to fly in the air and cut the lines instantly however, it seemed that it wasn't enough.

Joined by Uryū, who was firing multiple arrows to push the lines back into the ocean and Tōshirō, the three worked to push the lines back however, it only seemed to enhance its strength.

"The more we cut, the more show up." Tōshirō said.

"Well, we don't seem to have many options. How are we suppose to suppress them without cutting them?" Uryū asked. "If we don't cut them, we'll end up just like those shinigami who came in contact with them in the first place."

"Then perhaps we should distract it." Tōshirō suggested.

"You mean, just let it chase us?" Uryū asked.

"We don't have much time. Kurosaki is still trying to come in contact with his hollow self! If he doesn't break that barrier, we're all screwed. We might as well buy some time for him up there." Tōshirō said. "Kuchiki, what do you say? You go right and I go left?" Tōshirō asked the Captain but his mind seemed to be somewhere else.

He was listening to something. He was listening to Senbonzakura.

Master, we must freeze those lines in order to stop them.

"Freeze them?" He replied in his head.

Yes. It would buy Kurosaki Ichigo more time if we were to freeze its movements however, I'm afraid it is not something Captain Hitsugaya is capable of doing given his zanpakutō.

"He has an ice-based zanpakutō." He answered.

Yes, master. That is true however, these lines were summoned by the first ice-based zanpakutō prototype. They are most likely stronger than Captain Hitsugaya's zanpakutō.

"And us?"

That is quite different, Master. It's hard to tell you in words but we are capable of freezing it but you must use Rukia-sama's zanpakutō.

"I do not have Sode No Shirayuki."

We do.

Byakuya was unsure of what his zanpakutō was saying. Although the message was quite clear he was unsure of how he would be able to attain Sode No Shirayuki when it was not his zanpakutō to begin with. He looked down at the hilt of Senbonzakura, unsure of how he would summon Sode No Shirayuki's capabilities to join forces with his. Rukia was not here.

"How do we summon her?"

Sode No Shirayuki is bound to Rukia-sama.

"That does not help."

It does.

"Sode No Shirayuki is bounded to Rukia's soul. She can only be used by Rukia and Rukia is not here."

If you think carefully Master, you will figure out how to call upon her just wait.

Byakuya was growing impatient. Surely his zanpakutō could tell, he did not know how to summon the zanpakutō of another when it was not his wield.

"Kuchiki, watch out!" He heard Tōshirō yell, snapping him out of his daze but unfortunately it had been too late.

He had become too lost in his thoughts causing a vine to tighten its grip on his leg and with tremendous force, yanked him into the ocean, deep into the dark waters. Several lines grabbed onto him, dragging him even further into the deep ocean.

This had not been Byakuya's plan. He was now completely soaked and even worse, in the water.

Once he was dragged underwater, Byakuya immediately used Senbonzakura which had returned to its sword form to cut the lines that had dragged him down but was met with multiple more grabbing onto him.

Although he'd never admit it out loud, Byakuya did not know to swim, neither did he know how to hold his breath for a long period of time. Not to mention, it was rather suffocating to be underwater but it seemed that Byakuya could not escape as the lines only continued to multiple.

He grunted, trying to get a proper grip of his zanpakutō which was beginning to fall out of his hands.

Don't struggle against it, Master. You must let it do what it wishes.

For the first time, Byakuya was rather confused about what exactly his zanpakutō was trying to tell him. He detected no malice in his words and he hardly doubted that it was corrupted yet again by the one known as Muramasa (AN: all the filler arcs that were a part the anime are a part of this story) who was now dead.

It seemed that Senbonzakura was trying to guide him as he should but Byakuya, who could usually tell where Senbonzakura was going with his thoughts, was unsure about this. He did not struggle when more lines grabbed onto his body, leaving him situated deep in the middle of the ocean, struggling to properly breathe underwater. He would not be able to last long underwater, his vision was already blurry.

Master, you must endure it.

Senbonzakura's voice began to disappear, leaving Byakuya with no thoughts in mind except the fact that he couldn't hold his breath any longer. He laid there, floating, eyes that were slowly losing all colour stare up at the light which was the surface that he was moving further and further away from.

He waited for Senbonzakura's voice but he did not return again, leaving Byakuya alone in the water.

---

"What just happened?" Tōshirō asked in disbelief. He had not processed the fact that Byakuya had been so easily taken down into the water.

"I...I don't know." Uryū responded honestly. They both looked at the exact same spot in which Byakuya had fallen. "It looks like they've taken him deep down."

"Ishida, Inoue-san!" Sado suddenly yelled. A line had grabbed onto Orihime's ankle, pulling her down - towards the sea below them.

"Inoue-san!" Uryū yelled, immediately heading down to get her.

"Ishida-kun!" She yelled back as she struggled to push away the lines. Three went around her throat, seven on her waist, twenty on her ankles, Orihime could feel her strength quickly decreasing. Firing several arrows, Uryū cut each of the strongest lines that were pulling her down while trying to avoid the lines that were attacking him.

"Ishida-kun!" She yelled again, they were pulling her down so fast she couldn't keep her eyes open in fear of getting dizzy. She tried her best to kick and move her body to set herself free but the lines continued to get tighter, taking her breath away before she could even be dragged into the ocean.

"I-Ishida-kun!" She called again but it seemed as if he was moving further and further away from her. Panicking and struggling to breathe, she called out the only name that could save her, her last shining ray of hope.

"Kurosaki-kun!" She screamed as loud as she possibly could however, no one came.

Kurosaki-kun! She yelled inside her head, hoping that somehow, somewhere, he'd hear her voice and come to her.

---

This was it. Byakuya could not hold his breath any longer underwater. Laying there peacefully, hand which had lost its grip on the hilt of his zanpakutō that was now moving deeper into the ocean, all Byakuya could do was looking up at the light which was surface as he moved further down.

The meaning of this wasn't to kill him. This was not what Senbonzakura had intended, he thought but he had no will to move.

He wanted to stay there for awhile, although he could not breathe it was comforting to stay still for awhile. All he could hear were the waves moving, none of the chaos that was occurring above the water had become known to him. He was too comfortable with the silence but it allowed him to think for a reason to reach out into the light.

Senbonzakura's voice had disappeared and Byakuya did not bother calling out to him. It was peaceful.

His vision was blurry, nothing looked clear anymore, not even the light above. Not even the light that seemed to be moving closer to him, the further he moved down. It was floating towards him, reaching out to him...almost like a hand.

The hand-like light seemed to be getting closer, it was now within his grasp, he did not want to touch it at first but with his blurry vision and system shutting down, it was almost like it was there to save him. Kuchiki Byakuya did not want to be saved. If this was his end, he'd die an honourable one. He did not need saving, neither would he accept it if it came and yet, the hand remained - reminding him of something when he was younger.

Even with his blurry vision, Byakuya could see the fair hand completely. It was reaching out to him from a light that Byakuya assumed he was suppose to reach out and touch.

Staring at the hand, he was reminded of another. Looking at the hand reminded him of Hisana's hand when she had died. With that thought in mind, he felt more tempted to reach out to it as the hand reached out to him. Slowly, he moved his hand up, reaching out to touch the fingers of the hand that looked much like Hisana's.

Their hands met.

He held onto it firmly just as the hand did to his and suddenly, his eyes that were slowly shutting, awakened and with that, a pure white light accompanied by cherry blossoms emitted from where their hands touched, moving upwards to the surface and out to the rest.

With his eyes fully open and his vision slowly coming back, he looked up to see medium-length black which belonged to the hand he was holding. The hair passed the face of the woman who was holding it, the woman he could not see. It seemed like the woman was bent forward, hiding herself behind her hair.

Byakuya tried to identify the woman's face but he could not, at least that was until the strands of hair floated away from her face, revealing the hand he was holding.

Rukia.

---

Kurosaki-kun!

She hollered his name one last time in her head. Hoping that somehow he would hear her scream for him even if she hadn't screamed for him out loud. She had hope that her voice would reach out to him, she really did.

Kurosaki-kun...

Suddenly, before Orihime's body was about to hit the water it was suddenly brought up by a sparkling ice cylinder which emerged from the ocean. With that, a few more rose up accompanied by pink cherry blossoms which did not only create cylinders of ice but cut the lines and then froze them. It was an interesting display, one that Uryū had not expect.

"Are you okay, Inoue-san?" Uryū asked.

"I'm fine." She said, responding negatively to the cold ice that was touching her exposed waist. Uryū flash-stepped to her and helped her up while Captain Hitsugaya stared at the cylinders of ice, engrossed by the amount of them and where they came from.

"This is Kuchiki's doing." Tōshirō said. "He must've escaped."

"It seems so but, Captain Kuchiki's zanpakutō is not an ice-type zanpakutō, how'd he create ice?" Uryū asked, taking note of the fact that the action resembled that of Sode No Shirayuki, Kuchiki-san's zanpakutō.

"You're right...this looks more like the other Kuchiki's doing." Tōshirō said. "Zanpakutōs cannot combine with another zanpakutō. It is completely impossible. While two actions can be summoned separately to attack, they cannot merge together. However, this...it seems like a joint attack. Almost as if Kuchiki's zanpakutō combined with the other Kuchiki's zanpakutō..."

"But that would be impossible right? Zanpakutōs are connected to a soul reaper's soul. They know you better than anyone else and Kuchiki-san and Captain Kuchiki well..."

"It would be impossible for them to join. Even if they are family."

"I see. They're also not blood-related either." Uryū said. "So, for Captain Kuchiki to make this attack on his own would be strange, wouldn't it?"

"It would indeed. Which means, the other Kuchiki must be somewhere around here." Tōshirō said.

"Kuchiki-san is here?" Orihime immediately asked before looking up at Ichigo who was still lost in his inner world.

"It seems so." Tōshirō said before Byakuya gracefully flash-stepped and appeared in front of them.

"Kuchiki." Tōshirō said in shock, not because he was fine but because not single part of his body was wet.

"How did he manage to stay dry...?" Uryū asked, perplexed.

"It's almost like he was never in the water." Sado commented.

"Kuchiki, how-" Tōshirō was about to ask Byakuya how he was not wet if he was underwater however, he decided against it in the moment, choosing to focus on other matters. "I think the other Kuchiki is here. This seems like the act of her zanpakutō, Sode No Shirayuki, don't you agree?"

"Her reiatsu is not here." Byakuya said.

"I know but whatever you did when you were down there...when it came up, it seems that Sode No Shirayuki's powers fused with yours in the moment but that is impossible as you know, leading me to believe that Kuchiki must've summoned her zanpakutō around the same time you did to make it seem that way."

"I do not believe she is foolish enough to interfere, aware that she will be caught." Byakuya said.

"So then how..." Tōshirō was about to question him but decided against it once again.

Something was up. If Kuchiki didn't interfere like this Kuchiki claimed, then something was going on with Byakuya's zanpakutō or perhaps, maybe all of the Captains' zanpakutōs were being affected this way if this somehow had something to do with the ryoka.

"What are we gonna do now? Ichigo's still up there." Ganju said.

"And the weather conditions are only getting worse." Uryū noted.

"We will have to do it without him." Tōshirō said. "If we try combini-ugh" Before Tōshirō could finish his sentence, he was whisked away by the wind, struggling to maintain his ground.

"It's...too...strong." He grunted as he tried to take a step forward.

Orihime screamed again, moving with the wind to an even further location than Tōshirō. Her orange hair masked her face as she flew back.

"Inoue-san!" Sado and Uryū said in unison as they struggled to maintain their ground. Neither one of them were able to move without surrendering their control to the wind so they had to remain put.

Byakuya couldn't move either. Although he remained still in his spot, if he moved, he knew for sure the wind would push him away.

With all the pressure in the air, it was too loud to hear the crack but once the gang looked up and saw a rain of heavy crystals falling down with them as they were suddenly yanked downwards, plunging into the violent ocean below them they realized one thing altogether, the barrier had cracked.

---

End Note

Images For This Chapter

(1) What the area itself looks like (minus the ground which is supposed to be purely ocean).

(2) The ice shield that Ichigo and the rest were attempting to break.

Byakuya's Scene

I hope some of you were able to understand the purpose of Byakuya's scene. When Senbonzakura told him to abandon his will and not fight, it was like putting an end to all the anger and guilt Byakuya felt in relation to Hisana's death. Calming him down and telling him to stop made him pause for a moment to think, the more he laid there in the water thinking, he was analyzing what was the meaning, his meaning for life besides his honour as the Head of the Kuchiki clan. Without Hisana and none of his closest relatives alive, he was alone and being alone in the ocean was suppose to reinforce the fact that he was alone. Having that hand appeared for him to touch also meant something in relation to Byakuya and Rukia's sibling relationship. Now sure, he had not let her in. Her hand coming from the surface of the water was suppose to indicate him letting her in his space of loneliness and pulling him out of it. With that, he found the meaning to live because he was not exactly alone if her hand was there by his side, it gave him a purpose to protect.

byaruki / tumblr.