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.

16. Birthright

Pre-Note

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

---

Birthright

Flashback

"Growing up in the Rukongai must've been pretty tough huh." Ichigo suddenly asked from his desk, lightly tapping his pencil on the table.

Rukia lifted her head from her pillow in the opened closet, unsure of what had brought on the subject. Ichigo's back was turned from her view, she thought he had been busy doing his homework but it seemed like his mind was elsewhere.

"What brought this up?" Rukia asked.

She sat up from her 'closet bed' and left her legs swinging. It had been awhile since Ichigo rescued her, surely he had witnessed the poorer sides of the Rukongai District—it wasn't anything new to him. Renji had also shared with him how they spent their early days in the Rukongai, they weren't pretty moments for sure. She wondered why he was thinking about them.

"Nothing, just a thought." Ichigo said.

"C'mon Ichigo, it's more than that." Rukia argued. He still wasn't looking at her, she knew something was wrong.

"It isn't." He said. "I just—I just thought of it out of the blue. Thinking about the Rukongai, got me thinking about how you and Renji grew up. It must've been hell, starving every day, stealing food, taking care of each other on your own. Can't imagine it."

"Well…it wasn't all bad." Rukia said and she was telling the truth—the real truth that is. While her early days in the Rukongai had been bitter, there were a lot of good things that made up for it.

"Really?" Ichigo turned to look at her.

"You're right about it being difficult at first. I remember stealing food with my friends and Renji 'cause we were so starving and we didn't have jobs to afford anything. The adults in our district loathed us and never cared to give us anything really. Nights were cold and shelter was sometimes difficult to find. I spent every day wondering if I'd ever move up from the point I was in. If I could ever live a day where I wouldn't have to worry about finding food, where I would sleep, if my kimono was well enough to last me for the next couple years. During these moments, it was so hard but it got better, eventually." Rukia explained while Ichigo listened carefully next to his desk.

In doing so, she realized that she never got to fully explain to Ichigo what life in the Rukongai was like for her. Sure, he had heard the bits and pieces from Renji but her side was never something she completely voiced. Talking about it now made her feel nostalgic in a way. While her past wasn't something she enjoyed discussing, especially when she had to leave out pieces for her own sake, she enjoyed explaining it to Ichigo.

"When did that change?" Ichigo asked, genuinely curious. His arms were crossed over the wheelie chair that was placed backwards with his legs spread out. He wasn't all that into his homework anyways.

"Think around, what the human world would call my 'pre-teen' age. Things started looking up from then. I didn't worry too much about food and stopped stealing. Renji and my friends had found an empty house to live in so we didn't really need to worry about shelter anymore. It was small with only one room and a bunch of different cracks but it was something that actually felt warm. I had blankets to keep me warm but most importantly, I was happy. It was the first time I had truly felt happy in the Rukongai. The people I surrounded myself with were all helpful and kind. It's because of them I was able to feel so at ease and happy."

She was smiling now. Her eyes were definitely glimmering as she thought of her friends. She knew she was doing it but it couldn't be help. She was revisiting a warmer side of her past—although it was a hidden part, it was a good part.

Ichigo slightly smiled. "Well, that's good to hear. The way Renji worded it made it seem like you guys were living in hell up until you became soul reapers."

"The first few years had been terrible. Before I met Renji and his friends, I was all alone which made things even more difficult. Adults refused to give me food even when I begged, stealing was the only method I could resort too. I was also lonely. When things started looking up, I thought it would only last for a little while but it lasted for a long time—it made me happy." Rukia said.

"Until…."

Rukia didn't respond, unsure of how to continue on. She didn't want to say the whole truth, how could she? It was buried along the many things she had chosen to keep locked inside of her heart. This was a different Rukia—the new Rukia that was supposed to live now, she wasn't going to go back. But still, lying was something she didn't find herself comfortable doing with Ichigo. It was harder to do it, especially with his eyes looking at her straight forward, waiting for a continuation—an honest one, that is.

"Until nothing." Rukia responded. "You already know the rest."

"There's something missing, I know it." Ichigo suddenly said, a response that caught Rukia off-guard. It was almost as if he was reading her mind.

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't there something more to this? Your sister, your brother, the one you told me about that lives here? Never explained that part to me." And that's when she remembered.

Something she had kept hidden in her heart, only letting out to Captain Ukitake who really was the only Gotei 13 member she could trust, had been something she told Ichigo a little awhile ago. She had told him a part of the truth and now he wanted answers. She knew Ichigo wasn't pushing her on purpose. It made sense as to why he wanted to know how she arrived to this point. The only problem was herself.

"Oh, that. Well, when I was adopted into the Kuchiki clan, I saw a picture of her—it was a memorial shrine dedicated to her, built after her passing. The first time I laid eyes on her, I just knew. I don't know what it was but just looking into her eyes made my memory resurface instantly. I remember staring at the portrait for a long time, trying to piece together all of these memories that suddenly came into my head. When it all finally came together, I remembered her completely and later, my brother came. His memory had been the last to come back but seeing Sister Hisana every day has helped with my memory. That's how, I returned here in the World of the Living and found him."

"Must've been shocking." Ichigo said. "I get why you didn't tell Byakuya but don't you think you should tell him now that you knew all along?"

"There's no point." Rukia said. "It doesn't change anything at all, really."

"Guess that's true. But don't you think you should let him know he's got a brother-in-law too?"

"No, it would be better if he didn't know. It'd make things too complicated and besides, my brother doesn't want to have any relationship with him anyways. He doesn't even like the fact that I associate myself with using the Kuchiki last name."

"Kinda don't blame him. I mean, you didn't live a happy life there….like to think I knocked some sense into him but still. Doesn't change anything." Ichigo said.

"I agree. It's best we live as if I didn't know the truth to begin with. He avoided my face for so long 'cause I resembled her so much, there's no need to cause further harm." Rukia explained. "One of his last memories with her is being told to find me, her 'baby' sister as she remembers it and adopt her into the clan. Telling him that she was mistaken and ruin that would be..."

"Wrong." Ichigo finished for her.

"Yeah, wrong." Rukia said. "I shouldn't ruin that for him."

Flashback end

---

Rukia sat on the ground, back braced against the red rock wall with her legs pulled to her chest. She hadn't eaten in a while; she couldn't find the appetite too.

She accepted the rice ball Jushirmai placed in her hand even though she wasn't sure she'd eat it.

"Not your fault, you know." Jushirmai immediately said. "Stop thinking like that."

"I'm not." She responded quickly.

"Regardless of your presence in the Gotei 13, they would've eventually become a target either way."

"I know but, even so, they weren't just targeted, look at them—they're unconscious now. They're not even breathing on their own anymore."

"They're alive." Jushirmai reassured. "You always told me that the Gotei 13 were much stronger than everyone took them for and I believe you. Wherever they are, even if their physical bodies are here with us, I'm sure they're fine. Burdening yourself with these type of things won't change anything either. We should talk about positive things."

"Positive things like...?"

"...the fact Kla didn't come with us."

"Please, don't remind me." Rukia stopped him. "I'm not ready for another one of her tantrums."

"Don't think she's coming now, she was a little upset about our detour." Jushirmai explained.

"Good." Rukia said. "We need a few more hours of peace, that's all. She'll have to come eventually, we need her sheatsu."

"Speaking of that Rukia," Renji suddenly appeared. "is it just me or that jackass' sheatsu has gotten stronger?" He meant Raiden.

"I don't know, I can't sense it, remember? He said that he was close to becoming Major." Rukia said, looking up at him.

"Major?!" Renji yelled.

"Ah, right. I never got to ask Renji but, what kind of sheatsu do you have?" Jushirmai asked out of curiosity.

"Same as Raiden." He muttered in jealously.

Rukia turned to him. "He's got 3rd rank, Secretary of State-leveled sheatsu—the colour red."

Jushirmai mouthed an 'O' as Renji crossed his arms, Raiden entered the scene having heard his name.

"Whaaat? Jealous, Renji?" He asked with a smirk. "Maybe instead of working so hard to become a dumbass Lieutenant for the soul reapers, which is something you already could do, you could've been training like me to become the real thing—the superior thing. But what did you do? You screwed yourself over and now I'm gonna be Major before you."

"Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that Renji outta all people has sheatsu?" Ichigo asked, watching the scene unfold with crossed arms.

"Nothing against Abarai, but I mean, at the very least they should've picked someone with the strength to uphold his title." Uryū said beside Ichigo in a similar position.

"Awhhh that's no fair, how come he gets the mighty-diety sheatsu?" Rangiku whined.

"Matsumoto, there is nothing wrong with having just reiatsu." Tōshirō said.

"Yeah but you gotta admit, Captain. This thing called sheatsu is only given to the chosen ones, right? And the power of it is supposed to be stronger than ours. Can't blame us for asking why it wasn't given to us too." Lieutenant Hisagi intervened.

"That doesn't matter. We are all soul reapers here and we should be proud of that." Captain Sui-Fēng said.

"Hate to be the bad guy here, but you've got sheatsu too." Captain Hirako mentioned.

"So? It isn't my own nor is it something I've materialized it into my body to be my own. It still exists as my grandfather's—it's not mine, nor do I have a reason to claim it as mine." Sui-Fēng said.

"You, Rukia." Raiden hollered at.

"What?"

"You said you can't sense sheatsu just now, right? So then how did you sense me when I sneaked into that lil' Kuchiki home of yours or how have you been detecting Jushirmai's—not you, Jushirmai, the other one—sheatsu all these years?"

"It's faint, Raiden. It's hard to identify at times however, when an enormous amount of sheatsu is being released at once, like Jushirmai's, it's easier to identify. Besides, it's not like I haven't been sensing your sheatsu for years." Rukia responded.

"Sounds to me like Lieutenant Kuchiki doesn't have sheatsu but she can sense it." Rangiku said.

"That's strange." Tōshirō commented.

"Especially since in order to sense this sheatsu when it's willingly hidden, you need to have it yourself in order to see it." Uryū said.

"Maybe, someone gave it to her." Lieutenant Hisagi said.

"You mean like how Captain's Sui-Fēng's elder transferred his to her?" Captain Kyōraku said.

"That is a possibility. Could it be Okasake Jushirmai's power? Or someone else?" Tōshirō wondered.

"Probably that Jushirmai guy." Lieutenant Omaeda said.

"Most likely." Sui-Feng unexpectedly agreed with her Lieutenant.

"I wonder what's going on in there." Raiden grumbled.

"It hasn't been easy, I'll admit. But familiar sheatsues are easier to identify as opposed to foreign ones. It's only with Roger's help am I able to use it and feel it." Rukia explained.

"Or maybe it's whomever that Roger guy is." Ichigo said. "Another person none of us know about."

"Kuchiki-san sure has a lot of relations with people related to the assassins. She has connections with the Okasake Clan who manage them and assassin members who work for them." Uryū said.

"Do you think…?" Orihime paused for a second. "Kuchiki-san could be one?"

"She doesn't have sheatsu." Tōshirō responded.

"Unlikely." Sui-Feng intervened. "She doesn't have the skill to be one. To be an assassin means to operate without a sword, you have to be trained in hand-to-hand combat rigorously. To master Judan isn't easy and to be an assassin on its own is already a difficult task."

"We shouldn't rule it out as a possibility." Captain Ukitake said.

"Yeah, you never know. Lieutenant Kuchiki's been filled of surprises lately. She may surprise even you, Captain Sui-Feng." Captain Kyōraku said.

"It can't be." Ichigo said. "If Rukia was an assassin, why'd she become a soul reaper in the first place? It doesn't make any sense."

"She could've been a hybrid." Captain Kyōraku said. "There are assassin-shinigami that exist within the Seireitei. Yama-jii doesn't talk much about it but he knows who they are. They aren't spies; they exist to help restore the balance in the Soul Society. From time to time, when there's an uneven number of individuals working on both sides, to restore the balance assassins train to become soul reapers to work on both sides to fix the imbalance. She could've been one of them."

"Still doesn't explain why she'd run or why the Head Captain would order an execution order against her if he knew who she was." Ichigo said.

"And if Okasake Jushirmai came to the Seireitei, solely to expose her identity as an assassin, why didn't he do that to the others?" Uryū chimed in. "Kuchiki-san definitely has a relationship with these assassins but not in the way we're thinking. If she doesn't have sheatsu, then she wouldn't have been able to join the organization in the first place. But Abarai does, and by the looks of it he may be an assassin himself. That would explain why the 6th Division were unable to find him when he went missing. His reiatsu disappeared because he was most likely using sheatsu which a majority of soul reapers can't sense."

"So, what's your point?" Ichigo asked.

"If Abarai is an assassin that means he would've been partly trained in the Rukongai since the assassins have training grounds within the Rukongai. Kuchiki-san and Abarai grew up together in the same district, right? Due to his relations with the assassins, it would've been easier for Kuchiki-san to also be associated with them despite not having sheatsu."

"Don't you think they would've prevented her from knowing that?" Ichigo questioned, not seeing where Uryū was going with this.

"Well, actually. If you live in the Rukongai, everyone is aware of the existence of the assassins." Captain Kyōraku informed. "If you don't become one, your memory gets erased. It happens to everyone who comes from the Rukongai and becomes a soul reaper."

"That being said, I still believe my earlier assumption was right." Uryū said.

"You still believe that they were in love?" Captain Kurotsuchi asked, not impressed with the quincy's conclusion.

"No." Uryū said. "At least, not Kuchiki-san was."

"You mean...unrequited love." Orihime said.

"It's a strong possibility. Okasake Jushirmai could've met Kuchiki-san through Renji, he may have wanted to marry her but Kuchiki-san refused. That would explain why she's familiar with assassin members and the Okasake clan." Uryū said,

"I'm still not buying it." Ichigo said.

Captain Hirako appeared beside Ichigo, putting his hand over his shoulder. "Ya never know, Ichigo. I mean, if he helped her escape and all, it could be true. The guy's probably lonely."

"Whatever it is," Ichigo stared at Rukia. "it isn't that."

It can't be.

---

"L-Lieutenant Ise?" Hanatarō called. "D-Do you think we can stop and take a break? I'm starving."

"No, we must find the others. Something tells me that they were transferred here as well." Nanao answered, a few steps ahead of him.

"B-But we've been walking for hours now and we still can't find their r-reiatsu."

While it was true that she was hungry as well, she was determined to find the members of the Gotei 13.

"That doesn't matter. They must be here." Nanao said.

She had never heard of this dimension before. It consisted of only dark red rocks, broad passage ways, and confusing pathways. There were areas that were darker than others and some that were lighter than others. Some places had random holes, varying in sizes, on the floors which lead to another floor of the dimension. She wasn't even entirely certain of where they were and was unable to contact the Soul Society. Not to mention, if they were attacked by chance, neither her or Hanatarō would have a chance to defend themselves.

Hanatarō reached into his pocket and pulled out some food, a part of his lunch, that he always had stuffed in case of emergencies. He pulled out a rice dumpling, stacked in three and walked up to Lieutenant Ise. Stretching his right arm out, he held the dango in front of her face—offering it to her.

Nanao looked at it before turning to Hanatarō. "No, thank you."

"Y-You should eat, Lieutenant Ise. You m-must stay healthy." Hanatarō said, refusing to move his hand. Nanao eyed the dango before glancing at him one last time.

"Thank you." She said before accepting it.

"I-I've got lots more food if y-you w-want, Lieutenant!" Hanataro said before revealing his entire lunch pack.

"You carry...all of that?" Nanao asked.

"Y-Yes, Lieutenant Ise, you want some? I got sweet rolls, sugar candies, rice crackers, rice balls -"

"That's nice, 7th Seat Yamada, but I'm f—" Nanao was cut off by a rumbling sound. It shook the entire area, making excess dust fall onto both of them.

"What was that?" She questioned, walking a bit further. She could've sworn she saw a shadow appear, even if it was just for a second. "Who's there?"

Nothing.

"M-Maybe it's C-Captain Kyōraku." Hanataro said, now hiding behind Lieutenant Ise.

"Captain Kyōraku?" She called. "If this is a joke, it's not funny."

Still, no response. Passing off the dango to Hanatarō, Lieutenant Ise reached for the hilt of her zanpakutō. "Wait here, I'm going to check it out."

"H-Huh?! B-But Lieutenant—"

"I'll be back, shortly."

Lieutenant Ise was not a swordswoman. That being said, her fighting technique was quite low and her engagement in battles would be short-lived if she ever decided to be a part of one. While she was an intelligent woman—able to calculate and interpret situations well, that would not be enough to sustain her in a battle. Especially a battle with the assassin-kind, a race that was superior to her own with a power she was not familiar with.

"P-Please be careful, Lieutenant Ise." Hanatarō warned, not liking the idea of her moving forward alone. Nanao had already left his side, moving forward slowly, following the turning pathway. Hanatarō couldn't see her anymore at all.

She carefully turned, following the curved pathway—ensuring that she didn't make any noise or sudden movements. It was slightly darker in this area, there wasn't much light—it was much more like a tunnel than the previous pathway she had been through.

She had no plans of drawing her sword even if she needed too, she'd rely on kido till the very end.

As she walked further down the curved tunnel, she was starting to think that her eyes had been playing tricks on her. However, the cause of that rumbling couldn't have been from the dimension unless it was falling apart. The shadow was real—there was someone there who purposely caused it.

The tunnel was starting to get brighter; it was coming to an end—leading onto a brighter path like the one she had just left. She released the hilt of her sword as the light approached before a figure rushed past her at a speed only a person like Shihōin Yoruichi could replicate. Shocked at the sudden movement, Nanao almost fell back, her side bangs were loose and glasses pushed off. She immediately turned around at the now blurry image—resorting to kido in panic.

Forming a circle with her two thumbs and point fingers, she spoke. "Hado #31, Shakkaho!"

A crimson red circle formed between her hands and fired itself in an intense speed. The power Nanao had immersed in it had been quick, she had not given it enough to give a destructive blow but it was still something. Bending down, she quickly searched for her glasses and put them on. The aftermaths of her blow caused a huge disruption in the dimension, the walls had rumbled and more excess dust had fallen down. The noise was loud, equivalent to the sound the nuclear bomb made when it was set off in the Seireitei not too long ago.

The tunnel was now dark. She couldn't see anything nor hear anything. Everything was silent now.

"Who are you?" Nanao voiced again. "Why have you brought me here?"

She was sure that there was something there. Even if she couldn't see it or hear it, it was a feeling.

She waited for a while—attempting to hear the intruder's breathing but once again, she couldn't hear a thing. She raised her hands up, ready to deliver another kido spell just in case before a black rug came rolling forward with a letter attached to it.

"What is this?" She asked the darkness before looking at it again. The seal on the letter told her it was from the 1st Division's barracks but given the anonymity surrounding the delivery, she didn't wish to open it. Suddenly, a pair of hell butterflies appeared, flying in circles on top of the letter. It seemed like this was their way of verifying the letter, Nanao bent forward and picked it up.

While she was still skeptic, she opened it up slowly with caution—preparing herself for any sudden attacks. It wasn't a letter—actually it was just two sentences, written in black ink for her and Hanatarō.

Do not search for the Gotei 13. Find Lieutenant Kuchiki Rukia.

It was signed by the Head Captain.

---

"Wildfire." Haru called, she was distracted. "Wildfire." He called again, trying to get her attention.

She had her face turned to the right, mind in a different world. She couldn't stop thinking about what the Head Captain had said. The Lieutenant who had relations with Okasake Jushirmai was Kuchiki...Rukia.

Rukia. That name had been forbidden in the Capital for so long. No one bothered to say it anymore, it was more cursed than the name Okasake Jushirmai. The fact that she had heard it again after so many years, didn't sit well with her. It just reopened a wound—a feeling she had felt decades ago.

That person was dead. She didn't have to think about them anymore in fact, the image of their face had left her mind years ago. She had told herself to forget, close her eyes and erase the memory to move forward. She didn't want to think of anymore tragedies, it'd just hold her down.

Still, she couldn't stop thinking about it. Every time her mind went back to the past, she'd scold herself and shake her head—not wanting to remember...not wanting to think about it.

"Wildfire." Haru called again as they approached the large doors leading into the 1st Division barracks. Haru knew why she was quiet. It was that name being mentioned again—the name belonging to a curse. He would admit, when the Head Captain had said it, he almost—following assassin procedure—threatened to arrest him following the forbidden name being used. Almost no one said it anymore—in the Rukongai and in the Capital. He couldn't lie, it shook him a bit too.

The name Rukia was not to be said, ever and yet today, after many decades of pretending it never existed, the Head Captain had ruined that all.

"Wildfire." He continued to call. He knew what she was thinking—that maybe, just maybe the person who had made that name a cursed one was still alive, living as Kuchiki Rukia—which did make sense given the relations between that person and former Captain Kuchiki Ginrei who served as their Minister and Sensei once upon a time. However, Haru thought it was too much of a stretch, she was being too ambitious, that person was dead.

"Major Ira." He called again, using her surname to catch her attention.

"What?" She asked, annoyed.

"Stop thinking about what you're thinking and focus."

"I'm not—" she paused for a second "thinking about what you think I'm thinking about. Can't I just be lost in my thoughts without you screaming something?"

"You're thinking about that name, stop. It won't do you good."

"I told you I wasn't—"

"That person is dead, Wildfire." Haru said sternly. He stopped in his tracks; Wildfire followed. She looked at him with wide eyes, exposing herself of the emotions she was feeling. "Stop thinking about it—it's over."

"Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence?" Wildfire responded quietly. "H-How...Why...is that Lieutenant's surname Kuchiki and then their first name...that?"

Haru didn't answer.

"I mean, Captain Kuchiki and her were so close. You don't think...?"

"No." Haru said.

"But then how..."

"They were close. She died before he did. Whomever knew of their relationship in the Kuchiki clan must've named one of their family members that name in honor of her. That is all." Haru said. Wildfire wasn't the type to crumble so easily however, he could see why she was so shaken up. That name being a forbidden one had been said without warning. Given how much it affected Wildfire in the past, he wasn't surprised that she reacted the way she did.

Remaining confident was the only way to convince her to stop thinking about it and focus on the task at hand.

"You can stop worrying now." He said before walking forward. Slightly turning to the right, he smirked. "It's not like you."

---

"You know, I wouldn't mind all this walking if we actually had a destination." Raiden said, for what was probably the fifth time ever since they began walking again—lugging behind the Gotei 13's bodies.

"Relax. Staying in one place isn't that fun either." Renji responded.

"That's because you don't do anything, Renji. You should at least start training so you can eventually catch up to me." He smirked.

"Oh yeah?!" Renji said. "The only reason you're even close to becoming Major is because—"

"You left and joined the soul reapers blah, blah, blah. I would've become stronger than you either way, given your record." Raiden said. "And besides, who's fault is that?"

"Are we sure those two aren't siblings?" Rangiku asked, walking behind them.

"They behave exactly the same." Uryū commented while pushing up his glasses.

"And sort of walk the same." Sado commented.

"And sort of talk the same, too." Orihime commented.

"I still don't see it." Shuhei said. Still not seeing the resemblance between the two.

"Red hair, same figure, same attitude, same resemblance, think Abarai-kun has found his long-lost twin." Rangiku said.

"Cut it out you two." Yoruichi said, exhausted that every time the pair opened their mouths—something was always brewing.

"Yoruichi-san is right, quit arguing." Rukia agreed. "It's annoying."

"You know now that I think about it, Lieutenant Kuchiki's always had a pretty deep and mature voice." Rangiku said. "More than mine."

"She was always an adult, Matsumoto. Voice determines nothing."

"You mean like how height determines nothing, Captain?" Rangiku asked.

"Exactly. They are not things to look for to determine whether you're older or not." He responded.

"Still, she looks very pretty." Momo complimented, staring at her from behind. Momo had always sensed something off from Rukia. At the academy, she had tried to reach out to her but never got a response. While she had always been a kind person to approach, she always looked lost in a different world. She wondered what lead up to this point—the point where she had to hide her own age.

"I agree." Orihime said.

"Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba are still back at the shop." Kisuke said. "I forgot, I asked them to come with us, if you don't mind, Kuchiki-san."

"Not at all." Rukia said, not minding the Bounts' presence. Especially Kurōdo when he was in that bunny plushie she favored so much.

"Who are these people again?" Raiden asked.

"They're Bounts. They helped us awhile back when the Bounts invaded the Seireitei." Renji informed.

"After the Bounts were defeated, I had them stay with me as employees." Kisuke explained.

"Dr. Oswald, if you could do the honors." Kisuke said.

"My pleasure." Jushirmai said with a smile before he pulled out a small white cabinet that looked more like a toy from his pocket. Walking a few metres ahead of everybody, he placed the toy cabinet onto the ground. Taking a few steps back, he waited as the cabinet enlarged—the white cabinet was huge as large as a small building in the human world.

"What the hell is that thing?" Ichigo asked while looking up.

"It seems to be a portal device." Tōshirō answered.

"My, my, my another senikamon device made by a soul?" Captain Kurotsuchi asked. "He might be very useful in the Research and Development Department."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Captain Kurotsuchi." Captain Kyōraku said.

"What?" Mayuri asked. "I give a compliment and there's a problem?"

"I would stay away from Dr. Oswald if I were you, Captain Kurotsuchi. Kuchiki-san prizes him with the utmost importance." Captain Ukitake warned.

"And besides, Rukia once told me he had no interest in being involved with the Soul Society, doubt he'd ever work for you." Ichigo chimed in.

The doors suddenly busted open with Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba running through to greet the group with another familiar plushie running behind them except, that plushie wasn't running towards the group in front of them, the plushie was running towards—"ICHIIIIGOOOOOOOOOO!"

Kon jumped into the air with tears at the corner of his eyes. "Kon?!"

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?! RIRIN, KURODO, AND NOBA HAVE BEEN IGNORING ME ALL DAY LONG!" Kon said.

The stuffed plushie had woken up in Urahara's shop with his last memory being the border he was at before they had fallen. Surrounded by Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba who had been left behind, Kon hadn't felt all too alone until he realized that, none of them were listening to him.

The stuffed animal tried to talk to them the entire day but he received no response, no physical contact, it was almost as if the world was moving on and he was the only one left behind. They did everything but talk to him all day. Not to mention, he had been separated from Ichigo and his friends and had no other way of contacting them.

"ICHIGO, YOU IDIOT! HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME BEHIND?!" Kon shook Ichigo back and forth, clutching onto the front of his soul reaper uniform.

"Stop crying, I didn't know." Ichigo said.

"YOU MEAN, YOU DIDN'T EVEN REMEMBER ME?!"

"Shut up, will you? When I woke up, I was on the ground in the World of the Living. How was I supposed to know you were still there?" Ichigo asked.

"We all got separated at different parts. Kurosaki, Captain Kuchiki, and Captain Hitsugaya woke up in the World of the Living, the rest of us woke up down here." Uryū informed.

"Wha—"

"I also forgot my memory for a little while." Ichigo said.

"Oh...WAIT A MINUTE!" The plushie that was momentarily calm suddenly expressed a face of distress. "NEE-SAN! WHERE IS NEE-SAN?! ICHIGO WE LEFT HER IN THE MOUNTAINS HOW COULD WE DO THAT TO HER?!"—"Kon," Ichigo tried to interrupt but the plushie kept going"—"NEE-SAN'S PROBABLY WAITING FOR US TO HELP HER NOW! HOW COULD YOU FALL SO EASILY?! WHAT IF SHE'S IN TROUBLE?! SHE COULD BE HURT! OR EVEN IN DANGER! OR WHAT IF THOSE EVIL ASSASSIN PEOPLE TOOK HER AWAY TO HURT HER ICHIGO—"KON!" Ichigo yelled again, finally silencing him.

"Rukia is right there." Ichigo said, gesturing Kon with his eyes to look in front of him. The plushie looked at Ichigo for a few seconds before slightly turning around. His paws were still clinging onto Ichigo's uniform but from the corner of his eyes, he could see. A slightly taller woman, hair longer and in a different style than the recently cut version he remembered, he could see the same violet eyes he remembered seeing not too long ago but...this couldn't be Rukia—right?

He jumped off of Ichigo and landed on the floor. He took one step forward, "Nee-san...?"

Rukia slightly turned her body by chance to talk down to Kurōdo, revealing her face. He was looking at someone who looked exactly like Rukia and yet...it wasn't exactly her either.

"Ichigo?" The plushie voiced. "What's wrong with Nee-san?" He turned around.

"Nothing." Ichigo answered. Rukia was still Rukia—he hated when they associated her as if she was a different person.

"And why...why can't she hear me? Or us?"

"Great, now we gotta explain this shit all over again." Kenpachi grumbled.

---

"Kuchiki-san." Yoruichi called, now walking beside her.

The pair were walking a bit further than the rest.

Rukia turned her attention to her, "Ginrei-dono..." Yoruichi started to say. "He said that he was leaving to work on a project, do you know what that is?"

"Actually, no. He didn't tell me. He said something about it having to do with time." Rukia reminded.

"Kisuke says he's working on manipulating the channels of time." Yoruichi said.

"What?" Rukia asked, genuinely surprised.

"I don't know what he plans on doing with it though. It seems like he's trying to re-enter the past."

"The past?" Rukia asked.

"I'm not sure if he's searching for something or trying to remember something." Yoruichi said. "It could be both or neither."

"What is there to look at?" Rukia asked. "The past...our past is so harmful."

"He might be trying to remember something that could help us with Okasake Jushirmai, although I doubt it."

"I doubt it, too. Still, I wonder what he went back for."

"Me too. Although, he should be here." Yoruichi said. "I have a slight suspicion that something is going to happen soon."

"Like what...?" Rukia asked, she was nervous but she didn't show it.

"A little while ago, I sensed an unknown sheatsu presence in here. They were only here for a few minutes, but it was definitely a person with sheatsu, although I couldn't identify the rank or the person. It could be his entourage or...the assassins themselves." Yoruichi informed.

"A sheatsu presence? In here?" Rukia asked. With the situation now in the Seireitei and Capital-based assassins operating there, she figured they would attempt to search for the Gotei 13. But out of all places, this plain—unknown to most—underground dimension was the last place she thought they'd come search.

The Gotei 13 didn't even know this place existed.

But then again, they were only here for a few minutes so then—what were they looking for?

"Kisuke tried to re-track the location but the presence just disappeared." Yoruichi said.

"I see." Rukia said. "We have to protect the Gotei 13's bodies until we figure out what Jushirmai did to them. I know this isn't much of a plan to keep moving forward but we're out of options, this is our only one. The last thing we need is another disruption however, I know...Jushirmai will find us soon. He might already know we're in here."

"He knows about this dimension, that much I know but what exactly he plans to do next is what we have to prepare ourselves for."

"He's already in control of the Soul Society. His ice has given him eyes everywhere, if we were to return to the Soul Society, we'd walk right into his trap. Soul reapers, the Rukongai District residents, the assassins, he can already see them all. With the Gotei 13 in this position and no other world, including the World of the Living being safe, we have no choice but to stay here and face whatever he prepares for us." Rukia said.

"I'd like to start training here—underground."

Rukia immediately glanced at her. She knew that they were wasting time. Even in their situation, they should prepare for the worst, even if it meant training while taking care of the Gotei 13. But Rukia couldn't lie—she was distracted. Ichigo's body was still missing and the guilt she felt towards the Gotei 13 never failed to distract her from the main issue being Okasake Jushirmai.

However, she'd have to learn how to put those feelings aside, at least temporarily. Not only did the others need to train, but she did most of all.

"I know just the place to begin."

---

"I must say Kuchiki-san, you look very good with your hair like that—why ever did you cut it?" Kurōdo commented.

"I agree." Noba said on the ground, they had stopped for Kisuke to gather supplies.

Yoruichi and Rukia had shortly regrouped with their members after making the decision to train. With everyone's approval, Kisuke had decided to return through Jushirmai's portal to get a few materials for training.

"I guess I wanted a little change." Rukia said with a smile before turning to face Ririn who was staring at the ground. She knew who Ririn was still thinking about—Ichigo. It would be on her mind until they found his body, just like her. She decided not to pry however, she didn't want to make things more difficult than they already were.

She had nothing to say that would make her feel any better.

"Kuchiki-san...?" Ririn asked quietly, noticing her stare.

Rukia was cut off guard. "Y-Yes?"

"Ichigo-san..do you think...he's alright?" Ririn wasn't looking at her, eyes still drilled to the ground. Rukia walked over to her and crouched down.

"Ichigo's fine. You have nothing to worry about." Rukia comforted. Were these the right words to say? Maybe not when she was worried herself. However, if there was one thing that Rukia knew very well was that Ichigo was too stubborn to go down so easily. He'd come back to them, alive.

"That idiot? He won't go down easily." Renji said, appearing in front of them.

"Yes, Ichigo-san is very strong!" Kurōdo said.

"Exactly." Noba said.

"He won't let something like them or those scary assassins take him down!" Kurōdo said.

"Hey, first off all," Raiden appeared and grabbed onto the bunny plushie, "there's nothing scary bout' us assassins except the fact that we can kick your ass." He said in a low voice.

"Y-Yes, assassin sir." Kurōdo said in a panic with his bunny ears standing straight up.

"Don't go around saying shit when you know nothing." Raiden said before Kurōdo responded in a rush. "Y-Yes, assassin-sir!"

Raiden dropped the plushie onto the ground and turned to Ririn. "They're lying to you. If Jushirmai's the cause of all this, your friend is most likely dead. He's got something Jushirmai wants and that's miss Rukia standing right in front of you. More importantly, he's inferior. Now I don't care what kind of visored-hollow-human you wanna call him, whatever he is—he may be strong in your eyes but this isn't some regular soul reaper matter. The other side is now involved, which means this is even bigger than any problem you ever solved with the guy, you got it?"

"Raiden, do you have to say things like that?" Rukia asked, visibly annoyed.

"Yes, I do." Raiden said. "How long do you wanna lie and pretend that you're not worried that the Gotei 13 is fucking dead? Huh? How long are you gonna hide yourself?"

"That doesn't mean you have to—"

"It does, Rukia. It fucking does. The bottom line is that as Jushirmai said, you can't run away from your fucking past. He's bringing all this up for a reason, the more you deny it, the more you're the bad guy. It's time to accept the fact that your orange friend is dead."

"Ichigo isn't dead, Raiden. You want him to be dead—for whatever reason, I don't know. They're alive somewhere so stop telling people, otherwise." Rukia said.

"Why are you lying to yourself? You act like you weren't mopping over your fucking brother-in-law a few hours ago! Tired of you living this bullshit denial, it needs to stop, Rukia. I said I'd follow you 'cause I wanna see this shit through. If you're gonna continue to deny yourself like this than what the fuck am I supposed to do? Agree with you? No, I ain't doing that."

"I'm not lying, Raiden. Ichigo is alive and when he comes back? I'll introduce you to him right in front of your face for you to see, I'm not kidding. More importantly, I never asked you to follow me. I have too many things going on in my head right now for you to come here and accuse me more. I get it, we're in this situation now and I understand what I have to do." Rukia said. "It isn't easy to return like everything's normal, like it was 52 years ago."

"And why not?" Raiden questioned.

"Okay, hold on—" Renji tried to cut in between but Raiden wouldn't let him have a say.

"You," Raiden pointed his finger at Renji. "You stay out of this, you have no say in this matter, Renji. No fucking say."

Kisuke appeared behind Renji, having returned shortly. "Maybe we should all just settle down—"

"Let him speak." Rukia said, raising her right hand up to signal Kisuke.

"The reason why you can't return to normal is because you're so fucking attached to your fucking life as a soul reaper as if it's just one big ol'party. Yeah—'Kuchiki Rukia will be sentenced to an execution'—that sure sounds like a whole party. Wow, they really love you over there—huh? Executions, high-end tea, arrogant Captains, wow, you must really enjoy that type of life. So much you had to befriend a human. This bullshit life you built for yourself is where you wanna be. Your mind ain't thinking about no one else." Raiden responded angrily.

"He sure has a grudge against Kuchiki." Tōshirō said, watching the scene unfold behind Rukia.

"Yeah, talk about not being able to let go of the past." Rangiku said.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" Ichigo asked. "He knows nothing about Rukia."

"HOW DARE HE TALK ABOUT NEE-SAN LIKE THAT? WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS?!" Kon yelled from Ichigo's shoulder.

"It seems that Secretary of State Arigawa and my Lieutenant had a falling out, more than 50 years ago." Captain Ukitake said.

"He sure is angry about it. Sort of makes you wonder, what happened." Captain Kyōraku said.

"He keeps referencing to Kuchiki-san's past—I wonder what she could've done to upset him." Uryū said.

"He gotta grudge on us and for what?" Captain Hirako said. "Not like soul reapers did anything to him."

"I'm afraid that's most of the assassins' behavior toward us." Captain Ukitake said. "However, Secretary of State Arigawa's hatred is a bit more motivated."

"He's a quincy, what is he talking about?" Captain Kurotsuchi said.

Uryū turned around to Mayuri. "HEY! What is that supposed to mean?"

"He's not just any quincy, Captain Kurotsuchi. He's an assassin-quincy." Captain Unohana said. "Surely, you're aware how powerful the assassins are, right?"

"If you're so irritated by me why don't you just stop talking to me?" Rukia asked, reaching a point of exhaustion.

"You know, you're right. It'd benefit me more than tryna get through your skull." Raiden said before turning around.

"We got training to do, so if you're gonna walk away, head north-east." Rukia said, watching Raiden head straight.

"Training?" Ichigo asked, confused.

"Well, guess we'll see." Captain Kyōraku said, starting to walk forward.

---

Flashback

The streets of the Rukongai were filled with people of all sorts today. Many were distracted which made it easier for Rukia to steal food from the store clerks. She figured she'd surprise her friends with a full meal tonight given how many extravagant things seemed to be available today.

Analyzing her options, Rukia stood on top of a roof, looking down on where to strike first. She needed to find a way in and out without anyone noticing what she took. Frankly, Rukia didn't know where to start. There were so many things going on and so many options to choose from, she didn't know which she wanted first.

A tray filled with rice balls suddenly made its way to the front of the table. She decided in that moment that would be her target. Jumping off the roof, she started walking before eventually crawling on the ground to go beneath the table. She was waiting for the seller to get distracted once again so that she could steal it and dash. Given the amount of people, she'd be able to disappear quickly.

Once a customer appeared and she saw the back of the clerk, she reached out her hand from beneath and slowly brought the tray of rice balls down into hands. As the seller turned around, she quickly crawled out from the table and began to run. She could hear the curses of the seller behind her and a member of the Rukongai police, who had been nearby, coming after her.

It was hard to get past many people although, with her height and the amount of children in the way, she was able to quickly slip past and move into a different area. She watched the policeman run past her, going after some other person with a pink kimono and a few others, who she assumed were the backup he called, following.

She waited a little while before moving back onto the same street, holding onto the tray tightly as she exited out to an open area with less people. Suddenly, a figure appeared—instinctively she moved back, assuming that it was the police who had found her but it turns out, it was just someone like her—a kid.

"I saw it first!" The red-haired boy argued, attempting to grab the tray out of Rukia's hand. Rukia didn't know what the boy was talking about. Maybe he had been around, but she sure would've noticed someone with bright red hair sneaking around so she was a bit skeptic. Regardless, she had still gotten it first however, she didn't mind sharing. In response to his constant attempts, she tripped him with her right foot, causing him to fall onto the ground.

"I did, but we can share." Rukia said. The boy grumbled with his face smushed onto the ground. She turned around and walked away.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! I saw it first! I saw it first!" He continued to yell before he stood up and ran after her. He grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him. "I saw it first, now give it back! I'm not sharing!"

"Would you relax? Isn't it better to share? Are you the only one starving out here?" Rukia asked, moving the tray to the right and away from his hands.

"Look who's talking, admit it—you were stealing it for yourself!"

"I stole it for me and my friends." Rukia said. "I'm willing to share so could you just buzz off?"

He mocked her tone, "friends", he scoffed. "What friends? You got no friends!"

"It might be hard for you to believe, but I do. And you'll see, when we meet them." Rukia said in a calm tone—It irritated him even more.

"I'm not waiting for your dumbass imaginary friends, I'm hungry and this tray is mine!" He said, attempting to grab the tray again but Rukia was strong enough to push him back.

"Two things. One, I got the tray first. If you had gotten the tray first then it would've been yours and it wouldn't be in my hands. Two, I'm offering to share this with you, why can't you just accept my offer?" Rukia asked.

"'Cause you didn't get the tray first!" He yelled. "Besides, even if you did get the tray first, I have no reason to share my findings with you!"

"And why not? Are you the only one starving here? There's people around you who need food too." Rukia said. "Why can't we just share this? There's so many in here, you'll never be able to finish it alone."

"I'll eat them for the rest of my life if I have too! Now give me the tray!" The boy attempted again to grab the tray but Rukia pushed him back again. He kept on trying to touch it but she pushed him off every single time.

"Would you just—give it to me?" He asked, clearly struggling.

"No, but we can share." Rukia said, before pushing him down to the ground. She smiled at him and continued to walk in the direction where she and her friends usually ate supper. Now sitting, the boy quietly said 'huh' before he watched her walk away again, this time having no immediate reaction.

###

"So," he began to say. "what's your story?" Before eating what would be his seventh rice ball in the last three minutes. Shortly after Rukia had walked away and settled down beside the lake Renji and her friends usually ate and slept by, the boy had come running behind her and eventually sat down beside her. They now sat side to side facing the lake, their legs swinging down—barely touching the water.

"Story?" Rukia asked, still on her first rice ball.

"Yeah, how the hell did you end up here?" He asked with his mouth full.

"Um, that….I don't know." Rukia answered.

"Born here?" He asked before stuffing another one in.

"No." Rukia answered. "I woke up here."

"You must've died in the Human World." He responded before throwing another one inside his mouth.

"Seems so. How about you?" Rukia asked before taking a bite.

"Born here, lost my mother to who knows what, grew up in some nasty orphanage before I left to live on my own." He answered.

"Do you remember her?" Rukia asked.

"Didn't even know her, gave birth to me, dropped me off and said 'see-ya-later!'" Rukia giggled at the way he said 'see ya later', waving his hand as if he was saying goodbye with a smile.

The boy looked at her momentarily, surprised that she had laughed. "Guess you don't remember your human life. As expected."

"It'd be nice if I did….at least I would've liked to know how I died or, how I lived." Rukia responded.

"Well, your luck must be pretty rotten to end up in this District. It's one of the worst—one of the poorest actually. Ain't nobody wanna give anyone a helping hand here. Adults hate us." He responded.

"I figured that much. I was on my own for a little while before meeting my friends." Rukia said. "Temporarily stayed at an orphanage for food but I left really soon, I was better off on my own."

"Same here! The orphanage I was at was crap. Overcrowded, the people who ran the goddamn thing didn't even care about the kids. The beds were disgusting, food became nastier by the hour, diseases everywhere—man, I'm glad I got out." The boy said. "Kinda makes me wonder what the hell I did to end up like this. An orphan, poor, and the enemy—fanfuckingtastic."

Rukia slightly widened her eyes at the usage of the curse word. It's not that she wasn't used to the swearing, it was just funny coming out of him. But her mind took note of the fact that he regarded himself as 'the enemy'—what enemy?

"What do you mean by enemy?" Rukia asked.

The boy looked hesitant. There was a different emotion in his eyes, it looked like he wanted to say it however, it seemed like he was judging whether she was the right candidate to hear what he was going to say next.

"Uh…"

"What is it?" She asked again before eating. Again, no response. "You can tell me, don't be afraid."

He stayed silent for a little while, staring her in the eyes—clearly still making his judgment—before finally speaking. "You can't tell anyone this or I'll kill you."

"What is it?"

"I'm…." He started. "a quincy." He whispered.

Rukia's eyes widened, "you're a quincy?"

"Yes, I am."

"But how…?"

"Guess I was born with it." He answered. "But don't go around tellin' people around here that you know a quincy. Especially with those shitigami running around here from time to time, the last thing I need is drama from them."

"Wait—so you're just gonna keep it a secret? Forever?" Rukia asked, kind of unsure where he was going with this.

"Kinda have too unless I wanna be exiled." He said. "Not that I mind it that much, know nothing about being one."

"But wait, what about the—"

"Assassins?" He finished her sentence. "Can't even go to them, I got no sheatsu."

"Do you know that for sure?" She asked, aware that while sheatsu was something you were born with, that didn't mean you could easily recognize it in your body.

"Well if I had it, wouldn't those assassin people already scout me for training? I mean, they got locations all around the Rukongai so if they saw it in me, I would've been training."

"Maybe they haven't found you yet or maybe…you should find them." She suggested.

"Find them? Nah, could never do that. Why am I gonna go embarrass myself?"

"Well, to be a quincy is pretty interesting—don't you think? I mean, especially since they're known to be extinct, isn't it interesting that someone like you exists? The assassins are a pretty big organization, maybe there are more people like you who work within the organization."

"Your point?"

"You should sought them out and see if you do have sheatsu. If you don't, I'm sure they'll still offer you protection. It's better than being executed for something you didn't even do." Rukia said.

The boy looked at her for a few seconds before smirking. "Ya know maybe I got you wrong after all."

She turned to look at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Just saying I like you, that's all." He extended his hand. "I'm Arigawa Raiden."

Rukia looked at his hand before shaking it. "I'm Rukia." And with that, the sounds of her friends running to join them came following her introduction.

Flashback end

---

"We should concentrate on our sheatsu release first." Yoruichi said.

"Agreed. One of Jushirmai's strengths right now is his sheatsu power. We need to strengthen our release of our sheatsu in order to challenge the after effects of it. Regardless of your sheatsu-level, you will be able to suppress that after effect of his release but you have to stabilize it—first." Rukia explained as the group gathered in a circle. "When you release, focus on the protective side of your power. Use it as a barrier without materializing it into one. If you can release and allow your sheatsu to protect, emit, and withstand, you'll have no issue with Jushirmai's sheatsu effects."

"Kuchiki certainly knows a lot about sheatsu, don't you think, Kurosaki?" Tōshirō asked.

"So what?" He responded.

"Yes, I agree. That explanation alone is enough to associate her with the assassins. She seems to have a great understanding of how sheatsu works in spite of not having any." Uryū analyzed.

"Do you have any idea what he's mixing it with?" Yoruichi asked.

"I tried testing out a sample that was left behind in the Seireitei but it's still unknown to me." Kisuke said.

"Well that's just great. Do we got anything?" Raiden asked.

"As of now, no, Arigawa-san. Although I appreciate your straightforwardness." Kisuke responded.

"I've put a protective barrier over the Gotei 13 bodies. I'm not sure how much they'll be able to withstand the effects of sheatsu, even though they're far away." Jushirmai said, appearing beside Renji. The Gotei 13 were placed at the far end of the space they were in—still in their beds with Ururu and Jinta watching over them.

"Do you think we can stay without being affected?" Ririn asked in her doll form.

"I think it'd be best if you, Kurōdo, and Noba joined Ururu and Jinta for now." Kisuke said.

"Ta-ta for now." Kurōdo said before jumping away with Noba and Ririn beside him.

"Wait, wait, wait isn't this entire thing is gonna starting breaking if we release too much at once?" Renji asked.

"Dimension's protected by an assassin-type barrier, dumbass. It won't break that easily." Raiden said.

"He's right, just make sure not to release anything by full force. Just focus on releasing it for the sake of showing." Yoruichi said.

"Nee-san," Jushirmai called, appearing behind Yoruichi."Got a friend here for you."

Around his shoulders was Roger. Wrapped around his shoulders in layers, eventually ending with a head, small eyes, and a long tongue.

"Sorry, I'm late." He spoke with a deep tone.

"About time." Renji said.

"It's fine, I would've just sat out." Rukia said before reaching out her right hand. The black serpent slithered down Jushirmai's right hand and onto Rukia's before wrapped Rukia's shoulder with its body. Jushirmai returned back to the barrier with the others before the remaining, Rukia, Renji, Raiden, Yoruichi, Yūshirō, and Kisuke formed a proper circle.

"Ready?" Rukia asked, everyone nodded their heads.

Everyone slowly concentrated their sheatsu together to have the colour outline their bodies. This process was a bit slower; it was awakening the immense energy that was born in each of them.

Roger who rested on Rukia's shoulders was outlined with 4th rank Secretary of State sheatsu—the colour white. The sheatsu outlined his figure before eventually catching onto Rukia's body. The white coloured sheatsu caught like fire, Roger had transitioned his own to hers and thus gave her the control to release it as her own. Once all of the members had their sheatsu colour outlining their figure. In a sudden burst, the sheatsu from their body rose to the top in a cylinder from their bodies. Once the cylinder was formed, their bodies glowed with the colour outlining them.

Renji and Raiden, born with 3rd rank, Secretary of State sheatsu were outlined with red, the cylinder that formed with them individually inside was red as well. Yoruichi, born with 2nd rank, Sensei-leveled sheatsu glowed a marvelous mint green shade with Kisuke beside her who was born with 3rd rank, Major-leveled sheatsu—another shade of red. Yūshirō, the younger Shihōin, glowed with lilac sheatsu—belonging to neither the first, second, or third official positions. Rukia, the only one who was using a shared sheatsu, glowed with the shade white, belonging to Roger.

The point of this process wasn't to release their sheatsu to demonstrate their strength. The release of their sheatsu was a training technique used to manipulate the purpose of their sheatsu release and make it stronger. It was like a ritual.

The ground shook immensely. There was dust from the rocks falling down and the walls were definitely crumbling however, it was the natural response to such an intense power in spite of how they were all carefully concentrating their power into one space.

"This power…it's so…intense." Rangiku commented as she looked at them. The effects of their concentrated release was destructive, even without being in the same world as them, the turbulent power was undeniable. She had felt the presence of sheatsu through Jushirmai not too long ago in the Soul Society, the strength of the release had been enough to make her cripple. She couldn't even imagine what it would feel like to experience the full release of sheatsu's power.

"That's the power of sheatsu. Even with such a concentrated amount in one area, it's still enough to rival that of a full release of reiatsu." Captain Suí-Fēng said. She was familiar with the strength of the energy in spite of having rarely used it in the past few decades.

"C-Captain?" Lieutenant Omaeda stuttered, body turned in a different direction.

"What?" She asked, already annoyed. "Y-You're glowing too!"

By her, he meant her physical body. The Gotei 13 turned to their bodies that, while were placed far away, still had a direct response to the release of sheatsu.

"Of course I am. This is a training technique that is used to strengthen the release of sheatsu by being able to manipulate it to do other tasks quickly. It's like a ritual for your power—that being said, when it occurs, it can trigger the sheatsu presence in those within a precise range of the it." Captain Suí-Fēng said.

"Captain Kyōraku…Captain Ukitake, you guys are glowing too." Ichigo said.

"Captain!" Lieutenant Kotetsu yelled, watching the body of her Captain glow with her own coloured sheatsu.

"Well, would you look at that—guess we got caught." Captain Kyōraku said with a grin.

"It's not like we could've hidden it for long. They were bound to find out eventually." Captain Ukitake said.

"You have the presence of sheatsu." Captain Kuchiki, who had stayed quiet for the remainder of the time, said. His words were directed to Captain Ukitake.

"I'm afraid so." Captain Ukitake said.

"My, my, my, looks like we have some traitors here." Captain Kurotsuchi said.

"What the hell is going on here?" Ichigo asked, turning to the Captains.

"If you all had sheatsu, why didn't you mention it before?" Uryū asked.

"Didn't I tell you people I was right?" Captain Hirako said. "Geez, imagine how easier this would've been if you all listened to me in the first place."

"What exactly is the meaning of this?" Kensei asked. All eyes were on the three Captains—waiting for a response.

"As you know, we are three of the oldest Captains of the Gotei 13." Captain Ukitake said.

"Besides Yama-jii, of course." Captain Kyōraku said quickly after.

"So?" Tōshirō asked.

"Well, it's like we told you. We lived in the Soul Society prior to the existence of soul reapers so of course, we knew about the assassins' existence. Naturally, once we found out we had sheatsu, we started training to be assassins ourselves until Yama-jii had a falling out with the Senseis and soul reapers were created." Captain Kyōraku said.

"We were trained partly as assassins before soul reapers were created by the Head Captain. Upon the division, Shunsui and I decided to stay with the Head Captain and were trained in the Shin'Ō academy by him." Captain Ukitake explained.

"It's all a misunderstanding. The truth is, we gave up our assassin membership decades ago. Although we all still have sheatsu, neither one of us has used it in years, not even in battle." Captain Unohana said.

"Then why did you hide it?" Tōshirō questioned.

"Yeah, what the fuck is all of this now?" Captain Zaraki asked.

"There really was no reason too." Yumichika said.

"Well, there was no reason to mention it either. We have always been soul reapers from the start, telling you we had sheatsu wouldn't benefit you in any way. More importantly, we stopped using it awhile ago." Captain Unohana said.

"Whatever the assassin organization have been doing, has nothing to do with us. We've been honest with you about that from the start." Captain Kyōraku said while raising his two hands.

"That still doesn't explain why you hid it. It is not matter of whether it's beneficial or not. The fact of the matter is that these assassins have existed for centuries and were born before us with an alleged higher power. Regardless of whether it was useful or not, we deserved to know that you had such power stored in you." Tōshirō explained.

"If you really do have this power, that means you'd be able to fight these assassins—right?" Rangiku asked.

"Our war isn't with the assassins, Lieutenant Matsumoto. The people a part of Okasake Jushirmai's entourage are not properly trained assassins. Jushirmai is the only assassin among them, the rest of them haven't been properly trained yet and it shows." Captain Kyōraku explained.

"Again, if you knew this information why didn't you tell us sooner?" Tōshirō questioned.

"Well, Jushirmai and his entourage aren't our problem right now, Captain Hitsugaya." He responded.

"Not our problem? How is it 'not our problem'? The whole reason this started in the first place is because Okasake Jushirmai, using an ice-based zanpakutō prototype, immersed the Soul Society with ice that cannot be melted. He caused all this chaos to meet Kuchiki or rather, help her escape. His entire entourage entered our grounds as ryoka as well and then disappeared out of nowhere. Kurosaki, Kuchiki, and I left to find Kuchiki after she left and got transferred into here, in the Interioreum World and now what? The Soul Society's ice is still our issue since it happened on our grounds and now, we're here waiting to be saved so we can deal with this issue started by those very people." Tōshirō said.

"I understand your concern, Captain Hitsugaya but this is a joint issue now. Okasake Jushirmai isn't our responsibility, it's their responsibility too. In our position, we've got no choice but to trust them with the handling of this and focus on this issue right now." Captain Kyōraku said.

"Yes, Shiro-chan." Captain Ukitake said with a nickname he often called Tōshirō. "We have an opportunity to learn something from this. This isn't just about Okasake Jushirmai's element-based zanpakutō or his entourage. A lot of this has to do with history—the Soul Society's history. And I have a feeling….that my Lieutenant can tell us the truth we deserve to know."

"You think Rukia knows something about this?" Ichigo asked.

"I do." Captain Ukitake said. "In our position, it'll work to our advantage if we learned more about the past and understand the capabilities of the assassins for the future."

"I didn't sign up for some learning adventure, I signed up for some fucking fighting." Kenpachi grumbled.

Captain Unohana turned to him. "In due time we will be able to fight, Captain Zaraki."

"Huh?"

"Once we learn the basics, of course. I can ensure you that fighting after this will be something not even you could handle, Captain Zaraki."

"Well then, bring it on!"

"We can't go crazy right now, I wanna know more about this sheatsu thing. We don't gotta chance if we can't make our reiatsu beat that thing. Of course, Ichigo, Kensei, and I will have a greater advantage." Captain Hirako said.

"Kurosaki," Uryū called. "This a smart move for you too. This way…we can figure out what Kuchiki-san has been hiding all along."

"I got that, Ishida but I wanna be in the same world, finding out—not here." Ichigo said.

"Besides, Nee-san would never lie to us on purpose. Isn't sneaking up on her wrong?" Kon asked.

"Are you forgetting that we can't get out of here until someone does it for us?" Captain Kurotsuchi asked.

"We have no choice." Lieutenant Hisagi said.

"Damn it." Ichigo cursed.

"I know this isn't your method of doing things but, we can't do much but watch anyways. We're already invading her privacy now." Uryū explained.

"Y-Yeah but, Ishida—" Ichigo was surprisingly cut off by Orihime.

"Kurosaki-kun, if we want to help her wouldn't it be easier to follow Kuchiki-san? It would help us too." She said quietly.

"Damn it." He cursed again, not liking the idea that he was unable to communicate with her or anybody outside of this dimension he was stuck in.

"Is there anything else your hiding?" Ikkaku asked.

"I can assure you, 3rd seat Madarame that we've got nothing else we're hiding." Captain Kyōraku said.

"Are you sure about that?" Tōshirō asked, becoming more suspicious of the Captains. First Kuchiki then Abarai then Sui-Feng, Kyōraku, Ukitake, and Unohana, he thought. He couldn't say he knew what was going on anymore.

"If you know something about Rukia, tell us." Ichigo said.

"Unfortunately, we do not know much about my Lieutenant. The only thing I was aware of was that she had a brother, living in the Human World." Captain Ukitake responded.

"But based on her previous condition, she has many terrible memories troubling her." Captain Unohana answered, referring to when she had diagnosed Rukia with a psychological condition having to do with her memories. Not wanting to discuss the topic any longer.

"And the ryoka's entourage? Do you know anything more about them?" Tōshirō questioned.

"Kusaka Sōjirō, Captain, he had the same zanpakutō as you." Rangiku said.

"I'm aware of that but...I just don't understand how he could come back again or if, he's always been alive, even when we all watched him die." He responded, remembering the day he had entered the Soul Society again, having been revived by the ōin.

"These people apart of his entourage just seem like puppets to me. They're fake assassins or at least, not properly trained ones. Seems like he gathered them up to form a posse before taking over the Seireitei." Captain Kyōraku said.

"This is your assumption? Do you know anything definite?" Captain Kurotsuchi asked, unimpressed.

"The rest, you gotta ask Lieutenant Kuchiki." Captain Hirako answered for him.

They turned to look at the Lieutenant once again.

"Ichigo...?" Kon called with a shaky tone.

"Yeah?"

"That thing on Nee-san's neck...doesn't it remind you of anything?"

"The Bounts?" Ichigo asked, memory flashing back to the butler-like bount with the doll named, Freida who took the form of a snake resting on his neck.

"Highly doubt our past interaction with the Bounts have anything to do with this. That snake seems to be something like Yoruichi-san is, it—wait, no—he must have the ability to change forms from person to snake."

"It also has the power of sheatsu." Chad commented.

"So, it's an assassin?" Tōshirō questioned.

"Most likely." Ikkaku answered.

"SNAKES, ASSASSINS, WEIRD ZANPAKUTOS, SHEATSU! I just want Nee-san to come home and be safe."

"And she will." Ichigo reassured.

We just gotta figure out how the hell to get outta here.

---

"Well that sure felt rejuvenating, don't ya think Renji?" Raiden asked, laying on a blanket with his hands behind his head. "I mean, I forgot how nice it felt to release sheatsu like that. Can you believe I haven't done that shit all these years? And Wildfire's been telling me to fucking do it from time but I never listened to her, thought she was just kidding but oh my mother fuck, that was great."

"Yeah, great." Renji answered, clearly distracted. With his arms crossed, his eyes lowered to look at his zanpakutō.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Raiden asked while sitting up. "It should've felt even more amazing to you given how long you've had yours in the box."

"It's not that, it was fine." Renji said, eyes still starting at the hilt of his zanpakutō. There was something wrong with it—he could no longer feel the presence of his zanpakutō within him as if they had severed when he released his sheatsu. It was not something that supposed to happen but it did. After the release, it was like he lost contact with it. He wondered if he summoned it would it even form into his shikai.

They had settled down shortly after doing several drills with the release of sheatsu. Now, with camp settled and the Gotei 13 bodies being nursed by them near, Renji had time to wonder what was happening to him or rather his zanpakutō.

"Hey, Rukia." He called, noticing that she had walked by.

"Huh?"

"By any chance, are you having any problems connecting with Sode No Shirayuki?" Renji asked.

"Ah, shit, it's about your 'zanpakuto'." Raiden mocked before lying back down, no longer interested.

She turned to him. "Um, actually, no—I haven't tried. Why?"

"I can't connect with Zabimaru. After we released our sheatsu, it's like they disappeared on me." Renji said. "Felt like we severed for a moment."

"Did you try to release your shikai?" Rukia inquired.

"No, kinda don't want too." Renji responded. If he did and Zabimaru didn't respond, he didn't know what he'd do.

Rukia reached behind her back, attempting to touch the hilt of her zanpakutō but stopped. "It's fine, Renji. They're probably fine."

"I hope so."

Raiden appeared behind Renji, reaching out to grab his zanpakutō. "Give it to me."

"Wha—give it back to me." Renji kept on trying to reach for his zanpakutō but Raiden wouldn't let him have it.

"How the hell do you summon these things again?" Raiden asked himself while shaking the zanpakutō back and forth. "Oh yeah, that's right. With some call word right?"

"Give it back." Renji said again.

"Uh, so what is it? Actually, what the hell is the name of it again? Zabimaru? Okay, 'come out, Zabimaru'—no, wait—'reveal, Zabimaru'—no, no this one is better—'open Zabimaru'"

"It's roar, you idiot." Renji said.

"Roar?! What the hell kinda summoning is that? 'Roar, Zabimaru', doesn't make any sense."

"It won't work with you, you're not me." Renji said, attempting to get it again.

"How do you know? Who knows? I might be able to work this thing myself, not that it'll be any useful." Raiden said. "Okay, roar Zabimaru."

The zanpakutō remained in its katana form.

"I told you, now give it back."

"Nah, nah let me try again. C'mon you old piece of crap, work. It's not like you're anything special." Raiden said to the zanpakutō. "Now, roar Zabimaru."

"I told you, it's not gonna work." Renji said, walking up to him.

"Why? 'Cause it's broken, Renji? Huhhhh, you broke your precious zanpakutō? Guess it wasn't strong enough to handle the sheatsu."

"No, you idiot. It's because you're not me, a zanpakutō can only be summoned by its wielder—how the fuck do you not know that?" Renji asked, grabbing his zanpakutō.

"'Cause unlike you, I don't pay attention to soul reapers and their techniques. I don't have too." Raiden said.

"It's like this, you hold Zabimaru like this and say 'roar' and then you say its name while throwing it forward." Renji demonstrated.

"That's boring." Raiden commented. "Anyways go on, do what you gotta do."

Rukia watched as Renji and Raiden bickered as per usual before a certain memory came back. She remembered (AN: First Encounter) when she had been attacked by Jushirmai and white sakura petals had appeared to protect her, leading her to believe that Byakuya had found her when he was nowhere to be found at that time. She wondered what had caused that, she couldn't think of any reason why they would appear out of nowhere and protect her. If her own zanpakutō could also release sakura petals in its shikai form, how could she not know that?

She was surprised that she had forgotten it. It had been quite a while since she last touched her zanpakutō. She wondered if her zanpakutō was like Renji's too, if she'd lose contact with it the more she diverted her attention from it. It's not that she wanted to separate herself from Sode No Shirayuki, she could never—her zanpakutō was special to her. She just didn't want to know whether the link she shared with her manifested soul was already starting to weaken.

"Our zanpakutō abilities in this world has been suppressed as well." Captain Kurotsuchi noted. "Nor shikai or bankai can be summoned nor can it physically harm anyone."

Tōshirō stared off in a distance, taking note of what the Lieutenant had said. Prior to this, Tōshirō had tried to come in contact with his own zanpakutō as well (AN: First Encounter) but just like Lieutenant Abarai, it seemed like he had lost connection with it. He didn't know what was going on—it didn't make sense as to why he nor Lieutenant Abarai and most likely, Lieutenant Kuchiki couldn't form a connection with their zanpakutō.

Ichigo thought about it too. He remembered when he tried so hard to come into contact with his hollow self, he was so focused on that to remember but he wondered, if Zangetsu was still there (AN: It was Staged).

Byakuya who had remained quiet for a long while took note of his Lieutenant's situation, remembering the encounter he had with his own zanpakutō at the border. He had lost contact with his own zanpakutō in spite of asking for it to return to answer his questions (AN: It was Staged). In the end, he was saved through an odd turn of events with Sode No Shirayuki's, Rukia's zanpakutō's abilities merging with his own. Senbonzakura never explained that to him nor did he return to explain how that had been possible.

"I'm gonna try it." Renji announced.

Rukia looked up. "Huh?"

"I'm gonna try to summon Zabimaru."

"Oh, yes—try it." She asked. She hoped it worked—that would mean Sode No Shirayuki was safe.

Renji positioned himself before calling on his zanpakutō. "Now, roar Zabimaru!"

They waited for the katana to turn to the snake-like sword it did when Renji summoned his shikai however, it didn't change at all.

"Keh—you probably broke it, Renji." Raiden said.

Renji looked down at the sword before trying again, not understanding why Zabimaru couldn't hear his call. "Now, roar, Zabimaru!"

Again, nothing.

"What the hell?" Renji asked, looking down at it.

Jushirmai appeared beside Rukia. "I don't think it's possible to lose your connection with Zabimaru, Renji."

"You think?"

"There must be a reason why they can't hear your call." Jushirmai said.

"You think it's been intercepted?" Roger asked, still resting on Rukia's shoulders.

"A possibility. I don't think it has anything to do with the summoning process, it may be 'cause there's an interception somewhere. Zabimaru can't hear you." Jushirmai explained.

"That may have been the same thing that happened to me." Tōshirō said out loud. "I tried to contact Hyōrinmaru shortly after it was revealed that Okasake Jushirmai was using the strongest ice-based zanpakutō in the Soul Society however, I had no luck in conversing with him."

"But what could that interception be?" Lieutenant Hisagi asked.

"There must be a weakness to zanpakutō-wielders, something to prevent their zanpakutō from hearing their calls." Uryū said.

"Renji, if you're zanpakutō is unable to hear you there are two things that may be responsible for that." Roger explained.

"Yeah, such as?" Renji asked, holding the katana on his right shoulder.

"Well, there is an interception. The interception may be the cause of two things since you haven't abused your spirit or are unable to mentally connect with your zanpakutō. The contact with your zanpakutō may intentionally be severed through an unknown power or your zanpakutō may not be there." Roger explained.

"What you mean by 'not there'? Where the hell could it—I mean they—go?" Renji asked.

"Are ya sure it's not broken, Roger? C'mon, have you seen these things? They're so weak." Raiden said.

"No, it most likely is just an interception of contact." He responded.

"Okay, but where the hell would they go? Not like they can just move on their own, right?" Renji asked.

"Well, there was a period of time when we got to see our zanpakutō manifestations, remember?" Rukia said.

"Yeah but like, how the hell would they be able to manifest into their form as well?"

"This zanpakutō shit is so complicated, who the fuck knew they had legs? Now you're telling me you've been with your zanpakutō manifested into what—you? Are they like twins or something?" Raiden asked.

"Not exactly, Raiden. Their attitude and appearance are based on their wielder's soul. In short, their appearance is a reflection of their wielder's personality so they don't necessarily look like the appearance of their wielder—at least not from the outside." Jushirmai explained.

"So, they can just walk out whenever?" Raiden asked before laughing. "This zanpakutō shit gets funnier by the hour—what the hell is the fucking point?"

"Hmm, don't worry too much about it Renji." Rukia said. "Zabimaru will be back."

"Can't believe the soul reapers' zanpakutō can walk on four legs and just disappear like that. What a piece of crap!"

"He acts like he is any better." Captain Kurotsuchi said, taking a strong dislike for the quincy.

"Here, lemme try it again." Raiden said before stealing the zanpakutō out of Renji's hand yet again. "Alright, you stupid thing. Listen up, you're gonna come out whether you like it or not. Now, roar Zabimaru!"

Again, nothing.

"Give it to me, they aren't going to work with you either." Renji said again before grabbing it.

"I wonder what could be causing the interception." Rukia said, resting her chin on her knuckles.

"Well, if it's hard to believe that the manifested form has left his inner world than it's most likely the cause of—" Jushirmai was suddenly joined by Rukia and Roger.

"Jushirmai." All three of them said.

"If we're lucky, it could be an unknown weakness to zanpakutō users in general." Roger said while staring at Renji and Raiden. "It would be interesting if we could figure out what causes a zanpakutō and soul reaper who wields it to disconnect other than the reasons we know of."

"A while ago, when the Seireitei was at war with the manifested versions of our zanpakutōs, Muramasa, the manifested version of Kuchiki Koga's zanpakutō, claimed that when his wielder called for him, he never heard him. You remember, don't you?" Rukia said turning to Roger.

The black cobra turned at the same time. "Yes. That was indeed strange. I mean, I would've thought the reason for the disconnection was because Kuchiki Koga never looked at his zanpakutō as being one with him. He disconnected them by himself—having thought of his abilities of being his own and his zanpakutō as just a tool to assist his powers."

"But what if it was something else?" Rukia asked.

"Every zanpakutō has a weakness unique to its abilities. If there's another universal weakness well, guess we'll find out soon, won't we, Nee-san?"

"Right. It may simply be the act of Jushirmai trying to cease the powers of soul reapers again or the manifested form of our zanpakutōs may have gone out or…we may have a weakness that even we're unaware of." Rukia said

"That is a possibility." Kisuke appeared. "Our zanpakutōs are undoubtedly unique to its wielder, but there is a possibility that there is another weakness that can be applied to all zanpakutōs besides the ones we're aware of. Zanpakutōs can be separated from their wielder due to mental instability or if they're being abused by their wielder however, Abarai-san has done neither to lose the type of connection."

It's the same with Hyōrinmaru. Tōshirō thought to himself. I haven't done neither to lose his connection.

"You're just not doing right." Raiden said, grabbing the zanpakutō again.

Renji turned to him. "I already told you, you can't—"

The ground suddenly began to shake. A rumbling sound filled the dimension as excess rocks began to fall from the ceiling. Their bodies shook with the ground as they looked up trying to figure out the cause.

"W-What t-t-t-t-the h-h-he-e-ell?" Renji asked, voice vibrating as if he was sitting on a massage chair.

"P-Prot-t-ect t-the G-Gotei 13!" Rukia said, turning to the bodies who were shaking so hard they could fall off the stretchers.

With her fast speed, Yoruichi fixed the bodies of the Gotei 13 before forming a protective barrier with Jushirmai to protect their bodies. The cart they were rested on still shook but the bodies wouldn't budge, thanks to the barrier. Ririn, Kurōdo, Noba, Jinta, and Ururu sought protection in it as well.

"D-Do y-y-you s-s-sense t-t-that?" Jushirmai asked, standing close to the barrier.

"H-He-e's h-h-e-re." Raiden answered before the group levitated into the air.

Rukia looked up, trying to sense Jushirmai's physical presence however, she found no luck.

"Let's move!" She ordered before the group passed through the next cave-like entrance into another area. They moved fast as the rocks started to fall harder. The more pieces that fell, the stronger the sheatsu presence was but his physical body wasn't here—it was elsewhere.

The red rocks surrounding them suddenly started turning blue the faster they moved away. The essence of Jushirmai's sheatsu left a similar feeling as it did in the Seireitei. The cold air it emitted, the oxygen-suppressing power, the only thing missing was his venomous ice.

"He's never going to stop chasing us." Renji said, looking behind at the rocks that were changing to dark blue.

"We have to move forward." Rukia responded, positive that he was trying to corner them somewhere—it would stop when they were where he wanted to be.

"Think she's right." Raiden said, ahead of them.

"If he's trying to corner us then," Yoruichi began to say.

"That's exactly what we'll do." Kisuke finished for her before dodging a falling rock.

The group ran faster, dodging rocks as they fell faster. The light to a next opening was coming closer, the red rocks easily caught their eye—the next opening would lead them to an area with a bigger width and another cave-like opening leading to the next.

"There!" Rukia yelled, pointing at the next opening.

"Hurry up, you idiots!" Raiden said, looking down at Ururu and Jinta who were pushing the cart at a rather slow pace.

"They're pushing as hard as they can!" Kurōdo said, comfortably sitting on the cart.

"This won't do." Noba said before transforming out of his plushie. Flash-stepping ahead of the cart, he opened up a black portal which would lead them to the next cave. The cart ran straight into it and with that, the Gotei 13 along with the Bounts, Ururu, Jinta, and Jushirmai disappeared.

More rocks began to descend from the ceiling, the group dodged as much as they could as the next entrance approached them. As the attack became more unbearable, Yoruichi came to a stop—turning around to push back as much rocks as she could.

Mint green sheatsu outlined her figure, eventually consuming her—her eyes glowed with a honey yellow as she channeled all her energy into her next move. In a quick move, she fired a kick in the air, sending the immense energy that was surrounding her towards the incoming rocks—pushing them back miles away. The energy was intense enough to break more rocks in the process however, it easily got swept away with the wind initiated by her sheatsu.

Quickly, she turned around and flash-stepped into the next entrance where the group were now residing—safe, and back into the red-lit area.

"Is everyone alright?" Yoruichi asked.

"For now." Raiden muttered, dusting himself off.

"Are you okay, Ririn, Kurōdo, Noba?" Rukia addressed them all individually.

"We're okay, Rukia-san. Are you?"

"Yeah." Rukia muttered before turning to the Gotei 13.

"The Gotei 13 didn't suffer any damages." Her brother, Jushirmai said. Rukia's eyes perked up—surprised he noticed.

She slightly smiled in response to him but her smile quickly faded as a strong gust of wind hit her.

His sheatsu was back. It was coming for her.

"Funny." Jushirmai's voice suddenly whispered in her ear. His familiar dark sheatsu circled around her like the wind. "They're the same people you asked me to free you from. Don't you think you're a bit too worried about their well-being, Rukia?"

She didn't respond.

"Rukia!" Renji called but it was faint to Rukia. She could only make out the first part of her name. The sounds around her had faded, just like the first time she had met Jushirmai near the Kuchiki manor in the Seireitei.

"The assassins await your arrival. Has the taking of the Gotei 13's life affected you as much to end your life's work here?"

"It wouldn't be like this if you didn't do this to them."

He laughed.

"What's so funny?" Rukia questioned. "If not for your interference, I would've been there."

"Whether you believe it or not, I am not responsible for their condition. However, whomever got their hands on them did you and I a favor."

"What are you—"

"Think, Rukia. You won't suffer any more distractions from that Kurosaki Ichigo, that imperious brother-in-law you have, that spawn from the Kuchiki family won't drag you back to your death bed nor will he find out about your relationship with that corpse, Ginrei. You won't have to answer questions about who you were prior to 50 years ago nor be forced to battle any one of them, you can return at ease without the Gotei 13 ever knowing your true position and what you left behind. Does that not sound glorious to you?" Jushirmai asked.

"Glorious...yes, but realistic? No. They won't be involved, but I won't leave knowing they're not safe and well." Rukia responded.

"They'll come looking for you, they'll distract us, why should you give them the opportunity to interfere?"

"It's not about that, they shouldn't suffer like this 'cause of you or me."

"But they will, Rukia. I intend on taking back what Sensei Okasake left for me years ago and when I succeed, Rukia...the Soul Society will work much differently. It will be a new era, a new start to the Soul Society. One, with the Gotei 13...completed erased."

Her eyes widened. "You intend on erasing the Gotei 13?"

"Enslaving them and the rest of the soul reapers, yes. There was never a need for a second government in the first place. You know very well that the Head Commander Okasakes were more than competent to handle this world but Genryūsai wanted the glory and power all for himself. Soul reapers will always be weak and Genryūsai will always live in denial."

"Funny." Rukia mocked. "Sensei Okasake spent years, decades, of his time trying to prepare you to be his rightful heir yet you ran away from it. You rejected his training—so much that you neglected him till his death. And now...now, you want to be the honourable son—taking the crown for yourself as if, you trained for it. Stealing his zanpakutō and his gem doesn't make you his son."

"Wielding his zanpakutō and becoming the protector of his gem makes me equivalent to it. Regardless of how many times you, Genryūsai, Sensei Okasake, and Ginrei tried to stop him, he always came back to me like the frail old man he was and assured me the position. A position, I will now reclaim."

"You need supporters—all you know how to do is incite fear. Fear will only bring you enemies and resistance. Power and fear are not enough, should you get that far. You can even continue to grow this dimension you've created and consume whatever you want but, it will never put you in the position to rule. You don't even...share blood."

"That's funny, coming from you. Did you forget, Rukia? Or has that Kuchiki home gotten to you as well? You are not of noble blood, you have no relation to anyone of higher power in the Soul Society. You share the same status you had when you were alive in the human world. We are Rukongai filth, when will you understand? You have no right...just like me." Jushirmai said.

"We are not the same." Rukia responded.

"Why? 'Cause you were adopted into the Kuchiki home, a family that had once befriended you before they disappeared and left you with that spawn?" He questioned. "Or, is it 'cause your so-called human friends give you some self-worth? Is that why you want them back so badly? To feel worthy? Do they give you self-worth, Rukia?"

"I asked you to let me out of there but you took the opportunity to begin your war against soul reapers and now, the people you know I didn't want involved in this mess, can't even breathe on their own. Thanks to you."

"I already told you, I had nothing to do with their condition. You were given help and yet you refuse to use it."

"You're lying. Who else would do this to them?" She questioned. "Why did you have to include them in the first place? Why declare war with them? I get it, you hate them however, the sole purpose of this entire thing was me to come back to kill you. Although, it seems that you had more ideas in mind."

"More ideas is right, Rukia. Don't you think we should take them down memory lane with us? Or are you too worried about Sojun's spawn and that human?" His voice was filled with disgust. "It would be beneficial for them to understand what the Soul Society's history truly looks like."

"No, I do not. You…..You created a dimension…that's what you were doing all along, weren't you? All this time, Captain Kuchiki and I were trying to figure it out and it turns out, this is what it is. You used Sensei Okasake's gem and created a whole new world that you've now used to consume the Soul Society, the World of the Living, and who knows where else. It makes me wonder, what in the world you're truly trying to do here? Take over the Soul Society? Impossible. It doesn't matter whether your dimension has consumed us or not, there is nothing that exists that will put you of all people in the position to rule. Create a war between the assassins and soul reapers? Never. The assassins would never try to kill soul reapers, even if you forced them too. Erase the soul reapers' existence? It's been too long for you to even think that the Soul Society could operate the way it does without their existence. The Soul Society's history isn't entirely pleasant but attempting to get rid of soul reapers? It's ridiculous."

"Even when you're upset with me, you still speak so calmly to me…..it soothes me."

They stopped talking for a few seconds.

Rukia couldn't hide her discomfort with the way his voice changed. She couldn't resist having a reaction, not after how long she's been hearing it sound like that. It made her skin crawl and he enjoyed every bit of it.

"Please stop doing that..." Rukia said in discomfort. "Just answer me."

"Chaos." He responded. "You know very well that my father did not like Genryūsai, you know very well of the crimes Genryūsai committed to rise to the top, you know very well that soul reapers don't stand a chance against the assassins..."

"So? War that you can watch? Is that the benefit of swallowing the Soul Society whole? So that you can watch the pain and suffering that will occur if the assassins and soul reapers head to war and have them potentially enslaved or erased from existence? Sensei Okasake would never."

"He wouldn't, Rukia but I would. Have you forgotten? Or has it been too long that the thought completely slipped your mind? I am the Soul King's only son (see 4)."

"You still can't become Head Commander, Jushirmai. Even if you are the heir to become one and even if you are the Soul King's son, whatever you're searching for won't help you, I can assure you."

He smiled while watching her from afar.

"But I found you...and that is all the help I need. The Soul Society has already been consumed, thanks to you. You owe that work to yourself, I applaud you. The World of the Living will start to burn very soon and with that, their souls will be transferred here into my world where I can do what I please and watch what I want."

"You intentionally used Sensei Okasake's gemstone to become the eyes of the Soul Society, got me out of there as a traitor so that you could initiate a war between soul reapers, one that the assassins would never approve of but would engage in if soul reapers striked first, which you knew they probably would and that night, you read off the souls that were troubling others so easily, how did you manage to connect the two?"

"I told you, you are all the help I need. Keep running and I'll find you again and again, Rukia. It's been that way since you were a child." Jushirmai responded, she couldn't help but wince at the thought. "As for the Gotei 13's condition, whether you believe me or not, I have nothing to do with it. I can't wait to see what they will do when they get out of that state. Will they run to kill the assassins, me, or you first?"

"It was you, give them back! Restore whatever you sucked out of them and this will end." Rukia ordered as Jushirmai's sheatsu began spinning faster. "They're not the bodies for your messages, stop using everyone around me to have me, Jushirmai. I'm not your puppet, nothing you do will make me allow myself to be controlled again. Let them go—let Ichigo go!"

Jushirmai's sheatsu circled around her one last time before charging into the air. His sheatsu left a line tracing to his placement in the air. As it began to fade, he came to light—staring down at Rukia and the rest of the group below.

Raiden followed the sheatsu's movement and looked up to spot the source. "Whadaya want now, bastard?"

He smirked, satisfied to see the look of her eyes staring up at him with frustration. The thought of providing her with more obstacles was exhilarating. It was only through her aid he was able to get this far. "Rukia wants Kurosaki Ichigo's body and the return of the Gotei 13, Secretary of State, Arigawa."

The sour relationship between the two was something he could use to his advantage. It is what he always did, to get what he wanted from her.

"You gotta be fucking kiddin' me," Raiden turned to Rukia. "are you out of your fucking mind? You get another one and one convo going and you're still talking about that orange head and the Gotei 13? Man o'man, I chose the wrong fucking side."

"It isn't too late to make a decision, Arigawa. I can ensure you, the quincy race will be protected and the soul reaper race will be eliminated."

Renji reached out and grabbed his shoulder. "What the fuck are you doing, you idiot?!"

"She's still worried about them, does that not bother you? Can't you see? How are we supposed to fight when miss Kuchiki over there can't deal with her fucking emotions?"

"It is not Lady Rukia's fault that she feels this way, Raiden. She feels at fault for their...situation." Roger spoke calmly on Rukia's shoulder.

"You have a brain, Arigawa, use it. She refused to let them go, Arigawa. She begged me to spare their lives, even when I have nothing to do with their current condition." Jushirmai spoke, eyes only connected to Raiden's.

"He's lying!" Rukia responded. "I asked you to return them to me, I didn't—"

"Do you believe her?" Jushirmai asked. "She's a liar. If she could choose, she'd live her life as a soul reaper and forget you. Even as a mortal if she could."

"You know that isn't true, Raiden. He's trying to manipulate you." Rukia said. Like always.

"Think about how easily she cut you off, you were innocent and yet she blamed you—ran off with ol'Renji over there to the soul reaper academy, without telling you." Jushirmai continued. "You were left to figure out everything on your own. They didn't contact you nor care about you...and now, they're trying to hold onto you...'cause they need your power."

"Snap out of it, you idiot!" Renji yelled.

"And Abarai is back to defending her, like he always did...over you." Jushirmai smirked. "I'll give you time to think about your position, in the meanwhile, I'll heed your request, Rukia." After all, that was the goal of his arrival.

"Which one?" Rukia asked.

"I'll return Kurosaki Ichigo." He said before a body was thrown with full force onto the ground. It was Ichigo, there was no one she knew with brighter hair.

"Ichigo!" Rukia called, attempting to leap to him before an arrow suddenly crossed her.

She stopped.

"Pick a side, Rukia." Raiden said, the cause behind the arrow. "It's the soul reapers or us, I'm not moving till you make your decision."

"Raiden, this isn't the time for this." Yoruichi said.

"Yoruichi-san is right. No matter your feelings, this isn't a move you should make." Kisuke advised.

Jushirmai chuckled. "What will you do, Rukia?" He asked before raising Ichigo's body from the floor and slamming it to the wall with mere movements from his hand. "Will you choose the substitute soul reaper, the mortal who saved your life once or the people who became your reason to live life in the first place?"

Rukia tried to reach out to him. "This is exactly what he wants, Raiden. He wants us against each other, he wants you to leave—this is what he does. He's using our pain to turn us against each other, why can't you see that? He's been doing this for years."

"Rukia-sama is right, Raiden. The anger you feel towards Lady Rukia and Renji is making you believe you made the wrong decision—it isn't. You know better than that, it's in our past." Roger said.

"Don't be an idiot." Renji said quietly behind him, his hand still resting on the left side of his shoulder.

"I can't fight knowing her fucking heart is elsewhere, Renji." Raiden muttered. "I'm sorry."

"Ichigo saved my life, if it wasn't for him, there would be no battle right now...I would've been dead, whatever happened afterwards would all depend on the rest of you." Rukia tried to reason. "This anger you feel towards Renji and I shouldn't be the reason you leave."

"And what if I do this to the rest of the Gotei 13, Rukia? Will your answer be the same? They saved your life?" Jushirmai questioned before moving his hand up, raising all the Gotei 13 members from their beds and slamming them against different areas of the walls around them. Some flew right, some flew left, leaving scars on their bodies as if they had been injured from a battle.

"Stop this." Rukia commanded.

"What's wrong? Does it hurt to see your comrades like this? Defenseless? Weak? Unable to stop me?" Jushirmai asked, slamming their bodies against the walls quicker.

"Their bodies won't last long if he continues to inflict more injuries." Jushirmai warned as blood began to splatter everywhere, raining down the more the other Jūshirmai slammed their bodies against everything in sight. "It'll be too much for them to handle. Their bodies are already operating at a low pace."

"Yoruichi-san." Kisuke called.

"I know." Yoruichi responded, immediately understanding what Kisuke was going to say. They don't stand a chance. Even as powerful as she was, Jushirmai's sheatsu was operating at a different level. She wasn't sure how close she could get to it from its source without feeling weak against it. She could flash-step her way through and collect all the bodies however, even so, he could just pick them up again with force and do the same thing. She needed a plan—a quick one.

"Noba!" She called.

"Yes?"

"If I collect the bodies, can you ensure that Jushirmai won't be able to touch them?" Yoruichi asked.

"I can try to transport their bodies but it won't be easy if I have to do it quickly each time." Noba informed.

"Renji." Yoruichi called to Renji who had his back faced to her—still looking at Raiden. "Protect Noba, we need to retrieve the Gotei 13 bodies first and foremost."

Renji didn't respond but Yoruichi was sure he heard what she said.

"Ririn, Kurōdo, Dr. Oswald, Ururu, re-create the barrier and stay behind it. Noba, after moving their bodies, transport Ririn, Kurōdo, Dr Oswald, Yūshirō, Jinta, and Ururu as well. There, you will all tend to their wounds until we return." Yoruichi ordered.

"Oh?" Jushirmai said, still moving the Gotei 13 bodies around the area with his hands. "Shihōin Yoruichi, will you take me on by yourself? Or will Urahara Kisuke join you?"

Yoruichi knew she didn't have that level of power to kill him but she might have enough to cut him. After all, she was better trained and knew her abilities more than anyone. If she could distract him enough for Noba to retrieve the bodies, that would be more than enough.

"Got a problem with that?" Yoruichi smirked before leaping up to be at the same level as him.

"No, although, there is someone more fitting to be in this position than me." He responded.

"Oh and who's that?"

I will let you both meet naturally," he spoke as he began to channel cold winds to form a ring around them, "so you can meet her for yourself and see what you've done."

Yoruichi's sheatsu bolted vertically, attempting to match the same energy Jushirmai had let out. The mint green colour outlined her figure, triggering the walls and ground far beneath them to shake from the immense power.

Jushirmai matched her energy willingly, he emitted a dark coloured sheatsu which formed a similarly shaped cylinder upwards as the winds forming the ring around them grew faster. Channeling all his energy into one, he charged at her first, initiating a fight that was only meant for those with strong hand-to-hand combat skills. Yoruichi dodged most of his attacks, though even she could admit, it was with great difficulty.

Yoruichi, who was arguably one of the most recognized fighters in the Seireitei, who had mastered the assassins' technique to the level of a Sensei, could admit that the style of fighting Jushirmai had learnt from his father was much more difficult. Although she could dodge, his movements were elegantly delivered and sharp. A millisecond later and she would be hit with immense pressure. The style of fighting Jushirmai had adopted was the kind where his body seemed to flow with the wind. Her attacks weren't as strong against him with movements as clean. He easily dodged her attacks and with speed, pushing her back with a cycle of kicks.

Yoruichi attempted to leap over him and deliver a kick however, he quickly flash-stepped away, causing Yoruichi to head downwards. With her sheatsu, she built a ground mid-way and bounced back, now charging towards him. He flipped backwards to avoid it and slid back to wait for her, an action she replicated before charging at him again.

Yoruichi was very skilled in shunpo, hakuda, and kido. She was one of the best combatants in the art, having mastered the fighting technique to its fullest extent, her skill was tremendous. The hand-to-hand combat style wasn't easy to master, although, Yoruichi, who had been the Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō, had done it efficiently as an assassin-soul reaper. The art of Judan was another style she had been training in but understood to a much lesser extent—solely 'cause she was a soul reaper.

As hakuda was the style of hand-to-hand combat soul reaper were required to learn, Judan was a required style of hand-to-hand combat that every assassin had to learn however, there were limitations to what each assassin could do. Judan was known to be a very complicated style, mixing various martial art styles into one. Based on the rank of your sheatsu, there was a unique criterion that each assassin had to pass in the style of multiple tests.

These tests were known to be very hard, even if you had a great amount of sheatsu, it was a test that many failed multiple times before achieving. Judan, being the most difficult fighting style to exist in the Soul Society, only had about four known individuals who had mastered the art completely. Even someone as skilled as Yoruichi could not reach that mark, it was very rare. As rare as it was for an individual to have 1st rank Sensei-level sheatsu.

This is how she knew she did not stand a chance against defeating him as of yet. Living in the Okasake home and being the adoptive son of Head Commander Okasake Hiroshima had given him access to an infinite amount of skill and prestigious training from the creators themselves.

Immediately, he crouched and parted his two hands in the air from a center point, and slowed her movements in the air. The technique made her muscles feel stiff instantaneously and although she was pushing her body to move forward, it moved slower. Her muscles felt like they had been tugged by something hard, causing her body to ache in a visible amount of pain—so much that she winced. Although, she was quickly relieved of her pain as he raised his hands up before putting back them down, using the pressure to leap into the air and do multiple front flips before kicking her in the face.

Her body was hit with monstrous force, so much that she felt that her life was about to end right there with her brain, head, and body all dispatched separately onto the ground. Though as she was about to fall, she was grabbed by her hair and yanked upwards, now flying upwards before being grabbed yet again, this time by a pulling force caused by the movements of Jushirmai's hands, and thrown towards the wall.

With her sheatsu, she tried to control the speed in which she was flying towards the wall to avoid heavy impact if she couldn't stop herself in time. Managing to reduce her speed, she regained footing in the air and attempted to turn around and charge back at him however, he appeared right in front of her and pulled her towards him without touching. He kicked her torso, breast, and chin in speed, multiple times, some hits which she managed to block with speed, although barely, before pushing her back with the movement of his hands and pulling her back towards him. Yoruichi, however, didn't allow him the chance to hit her and flipped over him.

Jushirmai pulled her down midway to his level, not allowing her to complete the flip. He kicked the back of her head to make her stand before creating an ice pole with his right hand. As she was about to turn around, he slammed the pole onto her right cheek, pushing her body with tremendous force to the right before grabbing her again with just the movement of his right hand to do the same action again—doing multiple flip kicks forward to push her back.

With his final kick, he sent her flying backwards but pulled her back again with force. Kicking her directly in her face, he then kicked her upwards, giving her the opportunity to flip backwards and create space between them.

He chuckled as she moved back, "Your knowledge of this technique won't last you long."

"How about we go for round 2?"

He smirked. "Gladly."

He charged towards her, leaving traces of his sheatsu behind him. The two bodies passed each other, the immense contact of the two energies resulted in extensive damage of the cave.

Rocks descended from the damaged ceiling, hitting some of the Gotei 13 members who were still swaying in the air, adding onto their injuries. At first, Yoruichi felt nothing—learning from her prior mistake, she utilized her sheatsu to act as a barrier to her muscles to avoid feeling any sharp pain if Jushirmai was to use the same technique again. Using her pocket knife, she had attempted to slice the side of his waist with it, having made close contact—enough to leave a scratch. He passed her body without doing much, he didn't even glance at her once—making her wonder what had happened.

It shouldn't have been that easy for her to touch him given his speed, sheatsu level, and quick reflexes.

As they met the other ends, Yoruichi stopped quickly—having felt a sudden pain upon parting. She looked down to spot her waist sliced with mini ice crystals stuck in the opening of the wounds.

It hurt her more than it should've.

That being said, she didn't turn around. Her waist had been hit by the same lines of ice Jushirmai had used to paralyze and weaken the bodies of the shinigami in the Seireitei. Of course, she wouldn't fall as easily, her 2nd rank Sensei sheatsu protected her from that, she was fortunate she realized she could use it to protect her the 2nd time round. If not, she could've suffered the same effects. It had acted as a barrier to minimize the effect of the attack however; there was still a lot of pain. It made her wonder what on earth the shinigami who had been hit were going through. The only upside was that the ice crystals could not take control of her tendons and render them useless just yet as they had done to the others.

She was sure her blade had touched the side of his waist but she wasn't sure how she did not feel anything in the moment when he had cut her so deeply with those lines. It made her realize that perhaps she didn't feel anything 'cause he had temporarily froze the effects of the attack until after she passed him. It explained why it had been so easy for her to touch him with her blade, she hadn't considered the coldness surrounding her since she had assumed it was just the cold air being emitted from his sheatsu. Reaching out to touch the wounds, she suddenly decided against it.

"Is there something wrong, Shihōin Yoruichi? I expected more from someone of your caliber but so far I am disappointed." Jushirmai said. "If you were more knowledgeable in this fighting technique, you would've at least been given a chance to cut me. Your rank is a privilege but you've poorly wasted your opportunity. For a woman who has trained in assassin techniques all her life, this is disappointing. The lesson you will learn today is that speed can only take you so far, years of training will not prepare you to fight given skill, the fact of the matter is that you chose to stay as a soul reaper and now, your choice will result in you losing your 2nd fight."

He turned around, watching her charge towards him with golden eyes glowing with fury. Her speed was her greatest skill. He could admit that she rivaled the speed of the Head Commanders however, she was not nearly as strong to fight them. While her speed benefited her to avoid his attacks, it was the only action she could do as a counter was nearly impossible. He flash-stepped before she could hit him, appearing right behind her.

"Too slow." Raising his left hand, the lines of ice grabbed her hair and slammed her down at the ground with immense pressure. It created a deep bowl in the ground beneath them and thus created the loudest sound their battle had produced thus far.

"Nee-san! Are you alright?! Nee-san?" Yūshirō attempted to run to his sister but was instantly stopped by Kisuke.

"Don't interrupt. She wouldn't want that type of interference." He said gently, eyes staring straight at the area where Yoruichi had been thrown.

"But—" Yūshirō tried to resist but Kisuke's hand was strong enough to hold him back.

"Have faith in her abilities. Your sister is very strong." And she was. Yoruichi may not have been a Judan expert however, her expertise in hakuda and shunpo would be enough to make her last. Kisuke knew that for sure. She was one of the very few soul reapers that stood a chance against him, without failing on spot.

Renji turned to Rukia and Raiden who were still arguing in the midst of the chaos above them. He didn't how long Yoruichi would last. It was surprising though, he hadn't expected her out of all people to be thrown down so easily, but then again, it was the Okasake heir.

"Can't we save this crap for later?" They ignored him.

"Abarai-san. Noba and you should retrieve the bodies. The Gotei 13 won't be able to handle that many injuries." Kisuke said, still holding Yūshirō back. "You can use your worm holes (see 1) to redirect any of the attacks from his zanpakutō. They're quick so you're going to have to move fast. They may either attack you first or try to regain possession of the bodies."

"I understand." Noba said before leaving his gigai and leaping into the air.

The higher he went, the stronger the pressure. The ongoing winds that Jūshirmai had triggered were strong, the icy fog blinded his vision although, he was able to see the lines of ice, thanks to their illuminating aquamarine crystals. He carefully flew past the circles of fast winds and went to retrieve the bodies of Captain Sui Feng and her Lieutenant which were still being slammed onto the same wall.

Opening a black portal, he took them away into a far corner in another interconnected cave and created a worm hole in the area where the lines of ice viciously attempting to capture the bodies. He did this several times as more lines aimed to attack him, having created multiple worm holes in a matter of seconds was already exhausting him, he could barely leap over without having to make one quickly to protect him. Lieutenant Abarai was supposed to be aiding him however, he was distracted elsewhere, though he didn't mention it.

He leaped to catch Lieutenant Hinamori and Lieutenant Matsumoto, barely managing to make enough worm holes to redirect the amount of lines trying to get a hold of him. It seemed that with seconds, the amount of lines coming at him multiplied—they were becoming quicker and visibly frustrated as if they had a mind of their own. The icy wind began to heed his vision, the pressure of the incoming wind was slowing him down. He could not create his worm holes as fast to dodge the attacks and before he knew it, he was surrounded by incoming lines and no back up.

"Oh, no! Noba is in trouble." Kurōdo yelled in fear.

"Lieutenant Abarai! Help him!" Ririn pleaded, grabbing onto his soul reaper uniform.

Renji turned and took notice that Noba was in danger. In a quick attempt, he pulled out his zanpakutō to summon Zabimaru. "Roar, Zabimaru!"

And then he remembered.

His zanpakutō wasn't responding to him anymore and his shikai couldn't come into effect without it.

"Shit," Do a hado….do something! Renji's flash-step wouldn't get him there in time. His hado abilities were weak and even so, his hado would never be able to rival the incoming ice. With his zanpakutō broken and no other available option, Renji only did what he could do in that time. "Noba, get outta there!"

Noba couldn't hear Renji with the constant hissing surrounding him, not that his advice could've helped. With quick slits to his skin, the lines moved away, leaving Noba with multiple wounds all gleaming with the same ice crystals, only this time, unlike Yoruichi: Noba could be affected. Within seconds, his body was paralyzed, he shook uncontrollably though, he couldn't feel much. He started to fall but Renji managed to flash-step and retrieve him before he could hit the ground.

"Noba, fuck, I didn't—my zanpakutō—" Renji didn't know what to say. Noba laid on the ground, shaking uncontrollably. His eyes were dilated and it was clear to Renji that he wouldn't be able to hear him. Kisuke knelt down and took a look at him. Kisuke, just like the others, still had no knowledge on how to counter the ice effects. He figured he would have to join hands with the 12th Division's Captain, Rukia's younger brother, and the Court of Assassin's Science Institute to figure it out. However, in their situation, they had no time for something like that.

Ririn rushed in her plushie form to retrieve Ichigo's lifeless body that had been thrown to the side at the beginning. His forehead was bleeding from the amount of hits he took from the wall as well as his nose and lips.

"Ichigo? Ichigo, please wake up, we need you." Ririn said, trying to shake him awake. "Ichigo, please, Okasake Jushirmai is here and he's beating Yoruichi-san, Noba is badly injured, Rukia-san and that rude quincy are too busy arguing, we have no way of stopping him without you. If you don't get up, the Gotei 13 will probably not have much life left."

Ichigo didn't respond. Ririn didn't know that Ichigo was there but just like them, he was helpless. She continued to shake him but gave up shortly, sighing in defeat. Instead, she dragged him by his arm to Dr. Oswald who was holding up a barrier to protect her and the rest.

Rukia and Raiden stood in front of the barrier, still arguing while more chaos ensued. Yoruichi and Jushirmai had resumed fighting above them, Renji and Kisuke hovered over a severely injured Noba while Yūshirō stared at his sister fighting above them and the Gotei 13 bodies still flew left to right, sustaining more injuries.

"So, what will it be, Rukia?" Raiden asked, not paying attention to anything else around. "The Gotei 13 or us...?"

"You're being ridiculous. Why do I have to choose?" Rukia asked. "Do you think the Gotei 13 should be erased from existence? That we should enslave them and treat them like how we were treated in the Rukongai?"

"If you've forgotten, Rukia, I'm a quincy. Those motherfuckers have never been nice to me or my kind. So yeah, I wouldn't mind if things ended up like that. The difference between us and them Rukia is that, we never did anything to deserve that kind of treatment. We were kids fighting for our fucking lives, treated like shit by adults and told we were never good enough to achieve anything. We didn't deserve that treatment. Soul reapers, on the other hand deserve that type of treatment. They carry themselves like some high-class motherfuckers with their zanpakutōs but the truth is, they ain't shit. They are nothing and yet they think, just 'cause Head Commander Yamamoto created them, they are."

"Do you think they would be that way if they knew they had superiors? The time that I spent with soul reapers taught me more than enough, Raiden. I can't defend the relationship soul reapers have had with the quincies however, I can defend what type of relationship they would've had if they knew. They respect their superiors. If they knew Sensei Okasake and the assassins existed as their superiors they would give you the same respect." Rukia argued.

"They only respect the superiors within their circle 'cause they belong in that circle. They are soul reapers' superiors, I doubt they would be as open with any other race. They think they're so fucking fantastic, well no, they're not. They walk around the Rukongai waiting for a chance to be admired for having something as shitty as reiatsu, they think they're the only purifiers of this world but they're not. In fact, if assassins didn't exist, their race would've never been created. Why? 'Cause they're just a bunch of copies."

"So what, Raiden? If soul reapers are tasked with similar things the assassins do, so what? The reason the Soul Society has created such a balance is 'cause we both do what we do. Assassins worked to purify souls and with the creation of soul reapers, the work was split in two. It gave the assassins the opportunity to focus on more serious matters other than hollows. The soul reapers' existence allowed the assassins to create a balanced society and allow it to work the way it does today. Imagine if we had to task numerous of assassins to purify souls? What of the other conflicts that exist in the Soul Society? What troubles would've been unlocked if we hadn't dealt with the evil that could've manifested into something worse? Soul reapers' existence allowed the assassin race to become more superior than they were when they first existed. Why can't you see that their existence is a good thing?" Rukia asked.

"It's hard to see when they consider themselves the big shot. When they treat everyone around them like fucking last week's supper and feel famous the moment they step into the Rukongai to show it all off." Raiden said. "We saw it happen, Rukia. Growing up, you saw what they were like. They would walk into our town and would shower themselves in glory. The gasps from the crowd, they absorbed it—they loved it. Even if they would go back to stacking papers in the fucking basement of their division office, they would still show it off. Meanwhile, we were the big deal. The assassins were the ones who were running programs to help the Rukongai, the assassins were the ones who trained and deserved the glimmering eyes—not that either one searched for that type of attention—from the crowd. The soul reapers are weaker, if they can't accept what they are then Jushirmai might as well get rid of them."

"You don't mean that. I refuse to believe even you would go that far." Rukia said in disbelief. She knew that Raiden had never liked soul reapers. Although, it had been mainly 'cause of what they had done to his kind. He had never mentioned any type of resentment like this.

Raiden walked closer to her. "Then you must really not know me at all, Rukia. Or actually, you must've forgotten me—huh? I mean, after you ran off with Renji, you got yourself adopted into the same clan you were supposed to be running from, then got yourself a nice orange friend who you almost died for. I really don't know what to say except you sure are something, aren't you? Let's not forget how you ran away without telling me and for fuck's sake, accused me of hiding the truth from you when all I ever did was fucking try for you. And now here we are, it's time for you to go back and re-visit the past but you can't even go down ol'memory lane with me 'cause you're too busy worrying about your Gotei 13 and your human boy."

"I'm not gonna let them die 'cause of this."

"Does it really matter? Does it really really really matter at all, Rukia? They never liked you, it was only 'cause of your orange guy they did. And don't even get me started on Captain Kuchiki's grandson." Raiden said, staring directly at Rukia who had not moved. "The truth is, that the Gotei 13 would've never changed if it wasn't for your spiky friend over there. They would've been the same pompous fuck and they pretty much, still are so, that's not saying much but it was much worse before he entered. If he hadn't saved your ass and been that likeable guy, they wouldn't like you. They're not your friends, Rukia. That spiky guy, maybe—but everybody else? What's going to happen when they find out who you really are, Rukia? Will they still be your bestest friends in the whole wide world? You're right about one thing—I would never join that motherfucker up there but I can't stand soul reapers. We came here to kill him, we came here to stop him, we came here to…." He then closed the gap between them and whispered. "fulfill the last wishes of the people we lost 'cause of him."

His last words hit Rukia hard and for a moment, she finally understood him. They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before Raiden spoke again but this time, with a lower voice. "This isn't going to get any easier, Rukia. The Soul Society...he's got eyes on all of us now, he knows we're here now too. So what the fuck are we doing, Rukia? He won't strike till we're stronger, we can't get stronger if we're too busy babysitting the fucking Gotei 13 and you...you, the very cause of all of this still can't get your head straight about this? We save them then what happens? We walk around here forever till they get better?"

"I said we'd trai—"

"Bullshit. You said, 'we'd train here', he's only gonna keep bugging us and the Gotei 13 to prove that you're fucking distracted. And I know you are, I can see it in your eyes right now...you're distracted 'cause you want to protect them but if you're willing to watch the entire Soul Society become nothing but dust then...you don't deserve to be the only source of control."

He was being honest; she knew it was the truth but it just hurt more having to hear it out loud rather than hearing it in her head. "Head Commander Okasake is all on his own now, why? 'Cause the only one who truly understands the way that mother fucker's mind works is you, you've been around him the longest, you've seen what he's done, you know that you're the only thing that is causing all of this fucking mess and yet? Here you are, fucking thinking about the Gotei 13 and that human friend of yours. Do you want everyone around you to be fucking dead?"

Her voice was calm. "Tell me how you want this to end then." She asked. "'Cause the truth is, I really don't get your motive anymore, Raiden. What do you want to happen? Okasake Jushirmai isn't after power, after the Soul Society, or dare I say, even soul reapers. He just wants attention but what do you want, Raiden? 'Cause it seems to me that you want this war more than anybody else. Okasake Jushirmai poses a threat—that has always been the reason for wanting him dead. We watched him grow up, watched as he grew to be the biggest threat there is to the Soul Society all 'cause he was Sensei Okasake's heir, and even if it's never been his goal, he thrived on our pain and our losses. Our goal had always been to kill him before it got that far, before his desire for our pain grew stronger and he ended up doing something big like this. Obviously, we didn't get there in time, that's why we're here. He wants to kill soul reapers, not out of hatred but for the pain of loss, he wants to get their attention, prove his own strength not out of hatred but for the pain of loss. Distancing myself from soul reapers won't do anything, Raiden. 'Cause just like that, I'll become his puppet again—listening to his every word, feeling threatened, feeling fear of having to go through the pain of loss. Protecting soul reapers is something we have to do; I can't run away in fear that things will get worse with our presence—he won't do anything unless we're stronger so you tell me, Raiden. What your goal of this entire thing is 'cause clearly we're not on the same page we used to be."

"My goal, Rukia? My goal is to kill that motherfucker. I don't give a fuck about you, I don't give a fuck about Renji, I especially don't give a fuck about soul reapers—I care about them. The souls that were killed by that psychotic fucker that caused people pain, the souls in the Rukongai who were killed just 'cause they didn't smile like some happy fucker while walking past him, the souls that mattered to us, Rukia. If soul reapers gotta be killed in the process, then so beat it. Not like they were any better than him, anyways."

Rukia argued otherwise. "Most soul reapers are good people—they are just like—"

"Don't you ever fucking dare to compare them to the mind of an assassin. Centuries ago, when soul reapers were bang bang pow, ready to kill off any quincy in sight, who were the people who saved my kind, Rukia? Who were the ones who said, 'Head Captain Yamamoto, fuck your shit, we ain't killing innocent people' and took us in? Was it soul reapers? Or was it the people with actual conscience? Not to mention, imagine how fucking glorious they felt, thinking they killed off an entire race of people just 'cause...just 'cause of what our arrows do. You can't win, Rukia—I'm sorry but you can't fucking win here. Soul reapers are just as shitty as that motherfucker up there. And the fact that this is coming from you is even more fucking disappointing."

"So, what do we do, kill them? An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth type of thing? The history behind quincies and soul reapers is brutal—soul reapers are at fault, I can admit that but, killing them off isn't an option and it will never be one. You said it yourself, you want to get revenge for the souls who were killed by him that caused people to suffer so, what do you think will happen if you kill off every single soul reaper? Will that make you any better, honestly, think Raiden, you can't let the darkness he incites in you win."

"I won't kill them, the quincies got better things to do than reignite some old flame but, if that mother fucker does it for us you won't see me complaining." Raiden said. "And that's the truth."

"What are you gonna do now then? I'm not leaving the Gotei 13 until I'm aware of what state they're in. I wanted us to train under here—become the type of strong he's waiting for but all you want to do is fight with me. I'm just asking you to trust me, Raiden. Trust that I will end this in the best way possible and prevent whatever I can, you have my word that once the Gotei 13 are safe, I won't speak of them again."

He stared into her eyes for a while, searching for any hint of dishonesty in them. The truth is that Raiden hated soul reapers probably more than anybody did. Their presence alone was enough to make him bitter however, their mass extinction was something he could never plan even though it was something he did not mind occurring. The last thing he wanted to do was take care of them in any way and he was resilient in taking any type of interest in their wellbeing. In his eyes, they'd never be good people but he had a choice. A choice to stay or to leave and regardless of his deeply rooted animosity towards them, his choice was to stay.

"You promise?" Raiden asked after a while of not speaking. She nodded her head, maintaining his gaze.

They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds afterwards, she wanted him to trust her. It was hard, she understood that. Their shared past had repeated itself over and over and over again while she laid in bed to be haunted by her memories. Trusting her wouldn't be an easy thing from now on but, they couldn't lose focus. They had to do this together, like the team they once were before everything fell apart.

Ririn, who had been trying to intervene for several minutes now, watched everything unfold. She didn't know what had happened in the past but she could tell it was very painful for both of them. It was very obvious that they had been friends once, really close friends, it made her wonder what could've possibly made them fall apart. Though of course, that wasn't the issue she should be focused on and maybe, it would be a story she'd never know. All she needed to do was diffuse the tension between them to focus on more important matters as of now.

They didn't have much time.

She stepped in between them. "This isn't the time for mushy gushy stuff! Ichigo-san won't wake up and Yoruichi-san won't be able to hold off that wacko any longer! Noba got hit with those ice snakes and the Gotei 13 are still flying around! How can you think of doing something like that at a time like this?!"

They both stepped away from each other, startled at her sudden appearance. "W-Wha?" They responded.

"Now imagine what I had to go through." Roger, who was still resting on Rukia's shoulder, said to the tiny plushie.

Rukia looked up, observing what had happened. "You're right, Yoruichi-san won't last long. Jushirmai is unfortunately better trained in Judan and multiple different martial arts to complicate things at most. He learned a great amount of techniques from his father, Head Commander Okasake. Even as skilled as Yoruichi-san is, her power can only keep her steady enough to block—she won't be able to counter any of his moves. The sheatsu he possesses is a great amount, at the level of a 1st rank Sensei. Combined with his father's zanpakutō abilities and his level of skill, we are at a strong disadvantage. We need to get those bodies down from there."

Fuck it, Raiden thought. "But how the fuck do we do that without gettin' our own asses in trouble? The moment we reach out to them, those snakes start biting." Raiden said, now looking up.

"Raiden." Roger called, clearly displeased. "My kind is fortunately not associated with the likes of him. I'm offended you would even think that way."

"Relax, Roger, didn't mean it against you or anything."

"Noba's portal would've been the best way. He would've quickly been able to quickly transport them to a safer place and avoid the attacks of the lines with his redirecting ability. It would've been much more effective than flash-stepping and putting them down to be brought back up again or going back and forth." Rukia said. "The movement of the ice is also an issue."

Renji came behind them. "I wasn't able to—get there in time. I forgot about Zabimaru and I froze."

"Well that's just fucking great, you idiot. Why didn't you just use your assassin shit? It's the same fucking thing as your Zabimaru." Raiden asked.

"I said I froze, didn't I? No matter what I did, it wouldn't have been quick enough." Renji said.

"What are we gonna do?" Ririn asked in panic.

"We need someone to distract the ice like Yoruichi is distracting Jushirmai." Rukia said. The lines were only surrounding their bodies 'cause they moved like a trained pet. It was obvious they were not being controlled by Jushirmai who was battling Yoruichi with simpler methods of battle. They were only following orders and surviving on their own strength, they were not operating at the full capacity they would have been at if, they had Jushirmai's command.

"I'll do it." Raiden, surprisingly, said while stepped forward. Rukia shot him a glance but it went unnoticed—he didn't want to look. "I ain't making any promises though. That ice is fucking crazy."

"I'll do it." Renji stepped forward, knowing how strongly Raiden despised soul reapers. Fighting for them would go against everything Raiden ever stood for. "It's not like you like the soul reapers anyways."

"Oh, sit the fuck down, Abarai, you've been benched. You got no Zabimaru and you fucked up your only job. Think it's my time to let my sheatsu shine." Raiden said, taking this opportunity to show off to Renji.

Rukia agreed, much to the dismay of Renji. "Raiden's right, Renji. It's been too long since you worked with sheatsu, with Zabimaru down as well, it would be better if Raiden went out there."

"Thank you, Rukia. Now can I get out there or do y'all have more bullshit to say?" Raiden said, stepping out further.

"While he distracts it, we'll get the bodies. It'll be hard to stop them from moving, but we'll have to utilize our sheatsu to fight it and move them down." Rukia advised before calling, "—Jushirmai!"

"A barrier." Jushirmai stated, understanding what she had wanted him to do automatically. "I'll try and create one to hold them down but it won't last very long. The effects will be temporary, there's only so much power I can try to manifest into it to prevent it from breaking down. Although the best part is, it'll heal them in the process."

"Wait, but what can we do?" Kurōdo asked. "Noba is dying!"

"I can help him." Jushirmai reassured. "Although I haven't found a way to counter the effects, I can keep him alive. Tell Urahara-san to bring him to me. Wherever the bodies are transferred, I'll be there."

"Are you ready, Raiden?" Rukia asked.

Standing in front of her, he teased the opening of his bow and arrow. "Of course I am, let's get going."

---

Raiden leaped into the air, preparing himself to face the vicious winds, even more so than the lines that were slowly starting to hiss around him.

Raiden, who served as the Secretary of State of the 12th Division, 3rd ranking officer of the Quincy Recruit for Specialized Quincies, and acting Secretary of State of the 1st Division, was an assassin-quincy hybrid with the elemental technique of thunder and lightning. He had joined the assassin organization seeking protection as a quincy, following Rukia's advice, and soon began training as an assassin-quincy hybrid without an element-given technique. Having trained for the shortest period of time for a quincy hybrid in the Rukongai, he discovered his element while completing his required community hours to complete his training—an element which granted him a gift of growing power as it was an element belonging to the Seavens.

Having trained for years to master the thunder and lightning technique, the quincy developed his own abilities and moves with time, carefully forming each one to benefit him in battle. Having an element-based power meant that there were no limitations on the amount of moves he could create however, the creation of them would depend heavily on his power to create them. As mastering abilities took years, many quincies would limit the amount of moves they chose to create for the sake of time, Raiden was one of them. Although he knew the possibilities of what he could create and name with his power alone were endless, he wasn't exactly the most patient quincy out there.

In a way, he had limited himself—focusing more on strengthening his sheatsu to become a Major as opposed to developing new techniques for battle. Though, with the situation they were in, Raiden knew he would have to try to develop more—even if the mastering period would have to be cut in quarters and would be slightly weaker given the lack of practice—what he brought to the table was only a little above the line of enough in their situation.

Reaching the center of the chaos, the location with the most space, Raiden observed his surroundings. Channels of wind brushed past him, going towards different locations, the infamous lines of ice moved with them, hissing loudly as the Gotei 13 bodies flew in different directions. The lines weren't touching the Gotei 13. They were merely moving around them, only leaving them unguarded for a quick 3 seconds before reappearing.

Raiden didn't want to do much. Despite his promise from Rukia, he still didn't want to overthink what he needed to do. He just needed to stop the lines, all at once—preventing them from moving for a few seconds, enough for Renji and Rukia to grab them and put them down. He didn't have time to worry about who or what could be electrocuted in the process, after all, he didn't care.

Raiden had divided his techniques under certain names. His most favourite being Spiders. He had thought of many techniques under this name—many which he was yet to fully master but were known just enough to be considered one of his official moves. The Spider he was about to use was one of his favourites—it was a move that he typically used to limit the range of his opponent and change the area to work to his advantage. It would flash four times, each electric charge lasting 5 seconds per flash however, Raiden could increase the amount of flashes and could electrocute his opponent on spot if they so happened to touch what he was about to create.

Raising his right hand, his red sheatsu began to glow—moving from his right hand to the rest of his body as he looked to the ceiling and called upon the lightning. His olive-green eyes transitioned into a glowing red, sparking with an electric charge as the sheatsu outlining his body did the same.

"Trap the spider." He commanded in a whisper. With the swift movement of his hand to the left, glowing white lightning began to emerge from nothingness—forming intricate designs from every direction, meant to replicate the many designs of spider lightning (see, 3).

The lightning surrounded the moving lines of ice in the unique pattern, temporarily stopping each line that touched any part of the lightning design to shock it. Although, it couldn't stop it, the movement of the lines had decreased immensely just by the display of his complex lightning designs. Moving his hand to the right, that's when the shock came and for five seconds, the lines of ice stayed in one place, enough time for Rukia and Renji to take down Lieutenant Matsumoto, Lieutenant Hinamori, Lieutenant Hisagi, and Captain Ukitake.

Renji and Rukia placed them near Jushirmai who was carefully constructing a barrier around them with the help of Kisuke as the rumbling sound of thunder echoed in the cave. Raiden summoned another flash and with that, the lightning designs were outlined with a bold red colour, temporarily preventing the movement of the ice. He did this several times as the Lieutenant pairing flash-stepped to retrieve the bodies.

"Is that all of them?" Jushirmai asked, eyes concentrating on the yellow barrier he was constructing around them.

Renji took a look at the bodies on the ground. "Yeah, I think." He answered before looking up at Raiden. He had indeed become stronger; he didn't doubt that Raiden would become a Major soon. Before, his Spider technique hadn't been as perfect. It wouldn't be able to cover as much as it was doing now nor would the flash be as strong however, now...it was incredible. Although, Renji noticed one thing and it wasn't any fault in his power but rather the enemy's lines. The lines seemed to be getting angrier, the more they were temporarily forced to stop. The hissing was noticeably getting louder and the amount of lines were increasing every second. Although he was able to temporarily prevent their movements, he wondered how the hell he was getting out of there.

"I think he's making them angry."

"What?" Rukia asked, bringing the body of Lieutenant Kira down.

"Raiden. He's stopping them enough but how the fuck is he gonna deal with all of that?"

"He's been training for years." Rukia said before laying Lieutenant Kira's body down. "I know you're worried, Renji but," she turned to face him. "he knows what he's doing. He'll be alright."

"You think?"

"I know." She reassured. "Now, let's move them out of here."

"The barrier is set; you should get out of here quickly" Jushirmai informed. "At least before Yoruichi-san goes down."

"Gotta say, Dr. Oswald. You created this pretty quickly." Kisuke said, admiring the yellow rectangular barrier surrounding the bodies. "How long do you think it'll last?"

"Not long. Even if you move them out of here to the bodies Noba moved, there's still a chance they could be dragged back here. I wouldn't depend on it."

"Then we better move fast." Rukia said as she put her right hand onto the barrier.

"What about Nee-san?" Yūshirō asked, eyes filled with worry.

"We'll come back for her; I promise." Rukia said before the group flash-stepped away with the bodies.

---

"I must say, Shihōin Yoruichi. You've gotten better at dodging since the last time we trained." Jushirmai said with smirk, having parted with her again.

Yoruichi had to laugh. During her time as Captain of the 2nd Division, Yoruichi had often liked teasing some of the male noble heirs, her most favourite being Kuchiki Byakuya. She did occasionally train some with minor techniques, the most noticeable being Kuchiki Byakuya's flash-step, however, nothing ever exceeded simple tricks. Okasake Jushirmai just so happened to be one of them—though, it was not by choice. She had become the trainer of Okasake Jushirmai 'cause of Rukia and in that short time, he managed to become her worst student yet.

"I can't say I remember training with you, Jushirmai. Maybe 'cause it was too hard of a workout or maybe, you didn't do anything worth remembering." Yoruichi said, trying to avoid her pounding heart and her heavy breathing. He was, by far, her worst student ever. Yoruichi knew he was purposely not trying 'cause it was her but even when he did, he lacked in many things. It was at that moment where Yoruichi became concerned for the future. Okasake Jushirmai was also the heir of the Okasake Clan. If one of the Head Commanders were to pass away, he would become Head Commander of the Soul Society, resulting in a self-destructive future to say the least.

"Maybe if you had left me with Rukia instead of intervening, Shihōin Yoruichi, you would've saw what you were expecting." Jushirmai said.

"I doubt it." She responded instantly.

"Oh?" He raised a brow. "Aren't you the one out of breath now, Shihōin Yoruichi? You can barely stand up; I've never seen your legs cripple that fast."

Yoruichi couldn't control her own breathing. She was exhausted—yes, but it was not something she was willing to admit although, her body refused to conceal it. Her body was numb from the defense play, she couldn't break free to hit him at least once. Although he never learnt anything from her, she had to say, his father prepared him well for the power aspect of becoming the Head Commander. His movements were so precise yet quick and he could transition from multiple styles at once and still be effective. He wasn't using power from his father's zanpakutō nor was he using an enormous amount of sheatsu and yet, she still couldn't hit him.

His speed was also an issue. He was incredibly fast when he delivered hits, it made them much more effective as she had to focus on blocking as opposed to fighting back. Although she was quick at blocking them, it was the only thing she could do.

He was too fast.

"The truth is that I never bothered to participate in your training 'cause it was no use to me. My father taught me everything I needed to know—there was nothing you could offer me that would aid me into being successful." He said as he slowly walked towards her, wrapping his left hand with black tape. "I took your training as a joke. You're a disgrace to your assassin name, Lady Shihōin—your training was useless, only something that Kuchiki heir could benefit from, not me. What I wanted from you was the ability to control this power, this sheatsu I had that grew every day, so that I could use it to its full effectiveness—but you failed me, I wonder how you earned such a reputation when you lack so much skill."

Her muscles felt very weak, even now as he was approaching her, she could not attack—she felt too stiff. Any more sudden movements from her body and she wouldn't be able to deny her pain.

"It's alright," he said in what was supposed to be a comforting tone though it was double-sided, "there's nothing wrong with admitting that you can't move, seeing that you chose to be a soul reaper, you should've foreseen this in your near future. Seeing you now only motivates me to take Rukia away for good. She shouldn't have to live among the weak, she should live with those who are worthy to be around her, who can take care of her, certainly soul reapers cannot provide her that."

The sweat trickling down her face was more obvious now, she maintained her eye contact with Jushirmai's dark eyes as he came to deliver the final blow—one touch.

"It's a pity I can't say it was nice meeting you again, Lady Shihōin. Just like the first time I ever trained with you, I was disappointed yet again that you didn't live up to your reputation. Surely, one of my lovely allies will take care of you the next time we meet and I won't have to be disappointed again." He said before he reached out with his left hand and touched the middle of her forehead with his pointy finger, causing her to fall back into the same bowl he created with her body at the start.

---

"This isn't good. Shihōin isn't going to be getting up any time soon." Tōshirō observed.

"Yoruichi-sama will be fine, Captain Hitsugaya." Captain Sui-Fēng responded in annoyance, unhappy that he seemed to be doubting her capabilities.

"Yoruichi-san is one of the Soul Society's most skilled fighters, Captain Hitsugaya. One of the very few to be as talented as she is in hakuda. She will be fine even if she's not victorious." Captain Ukitake said.

"Eh, does the 2nd Division do that, Captain Sui-Fēng? Train in Judan or whatever you wanna call it." Captain Hirako asked. "I know you said you guys have relations n'what not but do you guys teach that?"

"No. Hakuda is the main style of hand to hand combat we use. It is only Yoruichi-sama, I, and Urahara Kisuke who trained the most in Judan. The only other people I can think of would be members of Yoruichi-sama's and my family. The reason for that is that they are nobles and almost all nobles have one member of their family who is an assassin."

"Ukitake, Kyōraku, and Unohana, do you all know this technique well?" Tōshirō asked while staring at Okasake Jushirmai.

"We trained in it awhile back, Captain Hitsugaya but like I said, we don't really use it now." Captain Kyōraku said.

"We trained up to a certain level, Shiro-chan. We didn't manage to go that far but we have some knowledge on its technique." Captain Ukitake added.

"Judan is the hardest form of combating style to master in the Soul Society. The reason for its difficulty is a combination of many things. For starters, it is a hand-to-hand combat style, physical strength is important and that is why having sheatsu is more beneficial than having reiatsu. The movement of your body is just as critical. Judan requires you to embody a lot of elements such as wind and fire in your movements, you must surrender your body and become these elements in order to make clean attacks that are effective and suitable against other styles of fighting. Judan has always been the main fighting technique of the assassins. It has proven to be difficult for many and in some ways, can be considered too hard of a challenge to train a regular combatant. There is a reason our Head Captain worked hard in shaping the government we know today with training techniques such as hakuda. It is more than enough to become a powerful combatant. Yoruichi-san is a clear example of this." Captain Unohana informed.

"Still, there's gotta be something we can do." Ichigo said. "We can't just stand here and watch. They need our help!"

"Ichigo-san, there is nothing we can do to release ourselves from this dimension. We must wait patiently until they free us from it since there is no one available on the outside." Captain Ukitake responded before putting his right hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "I know you're worried about my Lieutenant and your friends but this will be good for you and for us. It is as we discussed earlier, this is our best shot at learning the truth. Even if it is in a more 'undercover' way. This will work in our favour. Slowly, we will find out the truth behind my Lieutenant's actions and understand more about Okasake Jushirmai's motive and powers."

Uryū agreed. "We now know that Kuchiki-san is using the sheatsu of another being, a cobra, who just so happened to be the Roger they were referring to earlier. We also know that Abarai-san, Yoruichi-san, Urahara-san, and Shihōin-san all have sheatsu in addition to the four Captains here. Not to mention, Abarai-san is also an assassin and has been for a pretty long while meaning, he's possibly the reason why Kuchiki-san and the ryoka have a connection to each other in the first place. Also, Kuchiki-san's relationship with Arigawa Raiden is also something we've gotten to know more about. Including, the quincies' relationship with the assassins. It's only a matter of time before more secrets come out. We're better off watching right now than we are fighting."

He knew they were stating the truth but it was hard to watch. Yoruichi still hadn't gotten up, it was obvious that Rukia and the others were going to be troubled by the ryoka moving forward, there were more important things to be worrying about but the Gotei 13 were unable to do nothing but watch. Not to mention, none of them had mentioned what was going on in the World of the Living.

It made him wonder what the hell was happening over there in his absence.

---

"The heat in the World of the Living is still rising, Haru. The temperature hasn't gone down for days." Wildfire informed as she observed the data being shown to her through the projector. "According to this, the temperature began to rise slowly around October 1st. They've been experiencing sudden rises and drops in temperature ever since then."

"Wonder why it wasn't reported." Haru said, appearing beside her with his arms crossed.

"They probably thought it was just some human issue. Doubt their monitors would've been able to sense Jushirmai's sheatsu. I haven't sensed it for years." Wildfire said as she scrolled through the data gathered by the 12th Division's Research and Development Department.

"The World of the Living are going through a much more difficult crisis than we are. It's important we find a way to reduce the heat for them first before handling our ice." Haru said.

She turned to her right. "What do you mean?"

"With the Gotei 13 gone and Okasake Jushirmai inactive, it's safe to say that the ice right now isn't our biggest problem. Okasake Jushirmai may have eyes around the Soul Society but he can't necessarily use it to his advantage now. Besides, we have troops who are willing to fight even if he shows up unexpectedly. We should focus on the human world. They may have the technology to keep themselves cool for now but there are certain parts of the world who don't. Not to mention, their technology won't be any use if their world is set on fire. As of now, we are in no position to accept souls into this world. Especially, at such a large amount. It would be best to handle the heat first." Haru said before pulling out his communication device. "I'll send my request to our Research and Development Institute. In the meanwhile, prepare the soul reapers. We'll head to the human world to evaluate the situation in person."

"You sure they'll listen to us? We barely got them to move and stay in their barracks without them threatening to kill us, as if they could." Wildfire said. "They're clearly in no mindset to compromise, let alone team up for some excursion to the World of the Living."

"You'll do just fine, Ira. I'm sure you can convince them to accompany us for some research. If they refuse, we can request some of our troops to give us a report on the situation." Haru said.

"Right." She said sarcastically before turning back to the computer projection. "I'd like to think it's possible to build something that can cool off the World of the Living temporarily. These numbers are moving up too quickly for us to find a definite solution as of now. It's not like we've got Head Commander Okasake's gemstone to make things any easier on our own. It's critical we reduce this type of activity now."

Haru observed the data with her as she sat down on the chair, now using the mouse to scroll. "Based on the report I read by the 11th Division's Secretary of State, it seems that Okasake Jushirmai used Head Commander Okasake's gemstone to replicate the other six gems. He reportedly gave them to the entourage he entered the Seireitei with who are now using them to enhance their abilities. That being said, while he may have the original gemstone, someone from his entourage must have the fake ice-based gemstone. Not sure how effective it will truly be but if we can find it, we may be able to do something."

She stopped scrolling, "entourage? I didn't even know he had allies."

"They seem to be like puppets to me. Tools he's using for the sake of having opponents the Gotei 13 can fight with." Haru said. "I don't believe they should be people we focus on. It seems like he merely recruited them for the sake of them. It has nothing to do with us."

"Then who the hell are we fighting? He could've been a bit more considerate. I didn't wait this long to have no one to fight but him."

"That's the thing, Ira. I think his intention was also for them to become our opponents instead."

"Back on his war crap. If he thinks Head Commander Okasake would send us out against the soul reapers, when he knows for a fact they will lose, just 'cause they found out about our existence then he's officially hit a new level of absurdity." Wildfire said. "If he wanted both of us involved, could've at least given us some competition."

"It's just a thought, Ira, nothing more. Who knows what he has prepares for us, truthfully the possibilities are endless. I just find it strange that he came into the Seireitei and introduced an entourage specifically tailored for the Gotei 13. It makes me wonder who our opponents will be."

"We're not fighting the Gotei 13, Haru." Wildfire said. "The last thing we need is another civil war going on. We know better than that now, something else will be in stored for us soon. I'm guessing it'll have something to do with the moon and...our past."

"The moon? Where did the moon come from?"

"Says it right here. According to this report, on the night Jushirmai first met Lieutenant Kuchiki, Jushirmai had been wearing a disguise before revealing his true form to some members of the Gotei 13. He was able to read off souls that were still attached to their heart and credited the moon for granting him the ability to do so." Wildfire said before Haru crouched a bit lower to read beside her. "During this interaction, she collapsed after Jushirmai did something to her. No further information was provided on how he was able to do so nor was there any connection established as of yet."

Haru lowered his head, trying to think. "I wonder what he wants with this Lieutenant Kuchiki. I figured he had no reason to be attached to that family anymore as all the members he had relations to have died however, he intentionally came to the Seireitei to meet her and take her away. All while, deliberately introducing himself to the Gotei 13."

"Wait a minute, we're in the Research and Development Department."

"So?"

"Sooooo, that means we have access to their entire database. Including, access to former, current, and exiled members of the Gotei 13. We should find out more about her while we're at it. She could have some use." Wildfire said before clicking a few times and typing the name 'Lieutenant Kuchiki Rukia' in the search bar. She was about to click 'Search' however, she was suddenly stopped by Haru who placed his hand over hers.

"What?"

"Are you sure you're not doing this 'cause you're suspicious?" Haru questioned. "That woman is a Kuchiki clan member. She is not—"

"I heard you the first time, you don't have to repeat. I just wanna know who this other Kuchiki woman is. She seems to have some relation to Jushirmai. It isn't 'cause of her, you can relax." Wildfire assured before looking back at the screen. "Can I click now?"

"You may proceed." He said while waiting for the screen to change.

"Haru." She called.

"What?"

"Let go of my hand so I can click." Wildfire said.

"Oh, sorry." He said before removing his hand, allowing her to click 'search'. Wildfire clicked the first article that showed up, a profile of the woman named Kuchiki Rukia.

"Alright, let's see. Kuchiki Rukia, adoptive sister of Kuchiki Byakuya, hey, isn't that Captain Kuchiki's grandson? Wild how things turn out, huh? Anyways, birthday, January 14th, current Lieutenant of the 13th Division, strange how no picture is coming up."

"Where did he adopt her from?"

"Uhhh, says here that she was a former resident of…the 78th District of the Rukongai?" Wildfire froze.

"Maybe we should stop this—" Haru immediately said, attempting to hold her hand again but she shrugged him off.

"No, hold up. According to this, she was a former resident of the 78th District of the Rukongai and was formally adopted into the Kuchiki clan about 52 years ago. Haru, look. She recently became promoted as a Lieutenant and is known to have the most beautiful zanpakutō in the Soul Society. It's name is…Sode No Shirayuki."

"Wildfire—"

"Hold on, there must be an image of her somewhere. Why is nothing showing up?"

"Wildfire."

"There are no gallery images of her either. All these other profiles show an image why doesn't hers?"

"Wildfire."

"It says here that her race is unknown….she's a soul reaper, why is it written as unknown?"

"Wildfire."

"Maybe they have something like we have, ya know, like how we've got the women's assassin association on our side. Ah, yes—here it is. She must be included on here somewhere."

"Wildfire."

"If I can just find more images, I'm sure I can find h—"

"Wildfire."

"Maybe she didn't attend meetings often but there must've been at least some image taken of her at least once. She is a high-ranking officer—"

"Wildfire."

"She even has an ice-type zanpakutō, don't you find that strange at all? Not to mention, she's a noble out of all things, there should be a picture of her somewhere, it's not like she's a nobody. Maybe it's in the Kuchiki family's log, they most definitely have pictures of their former and current family members. I should take a look, she should at least be listed alongside her br—"

"Major Ira." Haru called one last time.

"What?" She asked in annoyance. "Are you not bothered by this? Can't you see that this is just too much of a coincidence for it to be some random girl the Kuchiki family adopted into their clan?"

He grabbed both of her hands and rested them on her lap. He couldn't deny, the Kuchiki member they searched up did make him suspicious. He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask however, on the one hand, he didn't wish to know. The woman he had watched grown up alongside Okasake Jushirmai was dead. She was missing, presumed dead. Although that conclusion had never settled well with him either, it was considered definite and written on her death certificate. That being said, the minor similarities between that woman and this Lieutenant was probably what had drawn Okasake Jushirmai's attention to begin with. She wasn't the same person.

He spoke slowly, aiming to be more comforting but logical at the same time. "Ira, the woman you lost who was your friend is dead. Gone…her presence is no longer in this world. I understand that it is difficult for you to accept and perhaps you'll endure this type of denial till your death however, this isn't the time to be emotionally off guard. The Okasake heir most likely takes interest in her because of these small similarities, though nothing is enough to say that they are the same person. The sooner you come to acceptance of that, the faster we can move forward with ease."

She didn't say anything in response. She was still determined to see her face, she wouldn't rest until she verified that this Lieutenant Kuchiki and the woman she knew before were not the same person. Even with Haru's explanation, she couldn't help but be suspicious. There were too many things off about what she was reading.

"You're not…You're not understanding why I'm like this." Wildfire said, clearly frustrated. "It isn't the fact that she shares the same name as her, it's more than that. If she was just some regular soul reaper, why does every other high-ranking soul reaper have a picture attached to their profile. Look—it shows here, directly when I click her brother's profile, his image shows up and his info is right there on the side, but when I click hers, nothing shows up. And look here, if she's a soul reaper, why is her race listed as unknown? And even here, look—her brother is listed as a soul reaper but she's not. Not to mention, the fact that she was adopted a little over 50 years ago around the exact same time that the woman we know disappeared. She even has an ice-based zanpakutō, is that not strange to you in any way?"

Yes. "It's not." Haru lied. "You're getting frustrated for no reason. I can prove to you that you're getting too worked up about this. Look, according to this profile, the Lieutenant of the 13th Division is only 4'11''. The woman we know was around 5'1'' or 5'2''. She recently became the Lieutenant of the 13th Division, if we're talking about the exact same person, she should've been in a higher position by now. In fact, she would not be working with the Gotei 13 if she was the same person. More importantly, if you're assuming that the woman we knew ran away, what is her reasoning? And why, out of all places, would she run to the Gotei 13?" He asked before scrolling down further. "And here, she was sentenced to an execution about 2 years ago for breaking soul reaper law but that sentence was terminated. That would not be something she would get herself involved in if she didn't want to get caught by us, agreed?"

Wildfire didn't respond. "I get it, she was your friend and her death never made sense to you nor did you ever find the means to accept it. You fought for the Head Commander to re-open the investigation, year after year because you were not satisfied with the conclusion of her life. You went searching for Okasake Jushirmai to gain answers but he disappeared off our radar as well. To accept the death of someone you once cared for isn't easy, I understand…you've struggled a lot with this over the years however, it is fair to say that after 52 years and no leads leading to the possibility of her being alive, there isn't much of a chance, is there? After all, what reason would she have to disappear?"

"Then why didn't he die? Okasake Jushirmai, I mean. Why isn't he dead? He would've taken his own life by now, wouldn't he? Unless, he felt that she was alive somewhere." Wildfire questioned quietly.

"He won't do so until he gets his revenge. This is why he poses a dangerous threat—it is even more crucial that we pay attention to him now that we are facing him when he is without his anchor. The last sense of morality he had left is gone. Although it is not saying much, he has no leash to hold him back from doing what he pleases. What he desires is the soul reapers and us to engage in a civil war—one where we will remain the victors and the soul reaper race will be eliminated."

Looking back at the computer projection she sighed, still not wholly convinced. "Still, Haru…..you can't change my mind about this. It's just….too weird. What would he even want with her anyways? This Lieutenant Kuchiki clearly has nothing else to offer him. She knows nothing of the past, she's only a Kuchiki by name and even so, there are no remaining Kuchiki members who are aware of the relationship that the former Captain Kuchiki and former Lieutenant Kuchiki shared with us before they passed."

"What about…Abarai?" Haru asked, mentioning a surname she hadn't heard in a really long while.

"Renji?" She asked before sighing. "Man o'man, that brings memories back. Haven't heard about him or talked to him for years….Doubt he'd know who this Lieutenant is anyways."

"How can you be so sure?" He inquired.

"The minute she disappeared, he went running off somewhere too. Never saw him again after that, who knows what happened to him." Wildfire said, still staring at Lieutenant Kuchiki's profile.

"You both used to be very close, it is strange that he didn't leave any type of information with you given your relationship." Haru said.

"What relationship?"

Haru didn't answer.

"Don't tell me…you think I had a thing with Renji?" She laughed. "Never, we were just friends. It's not surprising he took off without telling me anything. Raiden, on the other hand, well that's a whole other story I'm not getting into." She said while turning back to the screen.

"You…and Secretary of State Arigawa are together?" Haru asked. It was a serious question.

"Were together, past tense." She said with a wink. "It happened a long time ago, back when we first completed our training as assassins. Lasted a pretty long while too but, we just…" She sighed. "weren't meant to be in that type of thing. Besides, I had more ambitions of becoming Major than I was to marriage or anything serious so naturally, we both parted ways. We're still good friends though, hung out with him a few days before Okasake Jushirmai returned to the Soul Society."

"I see." His response was stern.

"But anyways, back to the whole Renji thing. Even though he isn't a Kuchiki, you're right—he's the only one I can think of who's no longer a part of us who would know of such things. Though I doubt he's close with the current Kuchikis who now live there plus, the Common Kuchiki Law—remember? No other Kuchiki member after the former Lieutenant Kuchiki is allowed to know of the assassin's existence or the relationship shared with its predecessors. Again, Renji wouldn't break that law since the former Captain Kuchiki was so against any of his future family members, starting with his grandson, to know anything about it."

"I suppose you are right. Still, it would be interesting to see where he ended up." Haru said, standing up.

Wildfire opened up the search bar again and prepared to type. "Maybe I can search up his name here. Doubt anything would show up though, think this database only covers people within the Seireitei. He could very much be dead somewhere else."

He turned around, heading towards the door. "Do as you please. I will go recruit some of the soul reapers to enter the World of the Living. We don't have much time for this, we must stay focused."

"You're the one who mentioned it in the first place. Besides, Renji aside, I'm still not over this Lieutenant Kuchiki thing."

He stopped in his tracks. "I thought we already discussed this."

"You may be convinced that she's dead but this thing with their Lieutenant is just too weird."

She wasn't going to move on until she had some sort of evidence which proved that they weren't the same people. "I just need to see her face once." She muttered shortly after.

"This isn't the time to be emotionally unstable, Major Ira. If you knew you were going to be like this, you should've just asked Head Commander to remove you from this case."

She didn't face him, her eyes remained on the screen. "You just don't understand, Haru. You've never lost anybody to know how it feels…It's hard to accept death, you're right—but for someone who's been alive for centuries with no wife, any type of lover, or kids, you sure want to judge me a lot."

He did not respond to her, instead, he just flash-stepped away—leaving her to investigate Abarai Renji alone in the 12th Division barracks.

With his absence, Wildfire quickly typed up Renji's name, not expecting to find much information. The screen was loading slowly, probably because the server was frozen. She waited for a few seconds before knocking on the screen several times before it finally loaded.

A profile showed up, it was the first article titled Abarai Renji with a preview caption of a soul reaper—Lieutenant of the 6th Division.

She clicked on the article immediately.

---

"We must work quickly. Their injuries are severe." Jushirmai informed. Quickly working his way through each and every Gotei 13 member who were back to laying on stretchers.

"I'm going back to check on Arigawa-san and Yoruichi-san." Kisuke said after healing some bodies with kido. He turned to Yoruichi's brother, who had been glued beside him ever since transporting to a different area, "Yūshirō, stay here." He advised before flash-stepping away, leaving him beside the last body he had been healing.

Yūshirō stayed silent, still wondering about his sister.

"Dr Oswald, are you sure you can heal them in time?" Kurōdo asked, still hovered over Noba. "Noba hasn't said a word ever since being hit!"

"Well, I'm not called my town's best doctor for nothing." Jushirmai said. "Besides, I may not be associated with the Soul Society's medical forces on the assassin or soul reaper side of things however, I am familiar with how certain body types work and need to heal. Race types from soul reapers to hollows are also my specialty."

"Oh, well then why didn't you become a soul reaper?" Ririn asked quietly, sitting, with her plushie form, on top of Noba.

"He didn't want too." Yūshirō answered for him, eyes still glued to the ground. "He was happy with his life as a human."

Jushirmai slightly smiled before looking down at Lieutenant Matsumoto. "What he said." He responded as Rukia scurried past him, running to Captain Ukitake's side.

"This is ridiculous." She muttered to herself. "We should've gotten to them sooner." Rukia said, trying to heal minor injuries with kido. She regretted the time she spent arguing with Raiden immediately. She should've been paying closer attention to what was going on the moment Okasake Jushirmai moved away from her. None of this had been her intention.

"Me too." Renji muttered, attempting to heal some of Lieutenant Hisagi's wounds with kido however, it didn't do much to the wound. Again, his kido skills were not the greatest.

Rukia hovered over Byakuya's body who's forehead was bleeding immensely. Using kido, she did her best to heal the wound, cleaning the blood up in the process. She did the following with his bleeding arms and neck before flash-stepping to Ichigo's side. She had to move quickly—they were losing too much blood. It was bad enough that even their life force was low, she didn't know how much more damage their body could intake.

"I will set up a healing barrier using kido. You should return to Secretary of State Arigawa and Yoruichi-san." Jushirmai said.

"C'mon Renji."

---

"Shira!" Wildfire called, leaving the 12th Division barracks to find the Major walking by herself on the bridge. She flash-stepped to her location in obvious dismay over her recent findings.

"You're not gonna believe this. Renji is the Lieutenant of the 6th Division, he's a soul reaper now. He's working directly under Captain Kuchiki's grandson." Wildfire said, still unable to process what she had just read.

Shira didn't give much of a reaction to the news in comparison to Wildfire who was having a hard time processing it.

"Shira, are you not hearing this? Renji left our organization to become a soul reaper. He's never been listed as an assassin-soul reaper hybrid nor has he ever shown up as an assassin who's working for both sides. He left the Capital to join the soul reaper and now he's a Lieutenant. On top of that, the soul reaper that Okasake Jushirmai came for is named Kuchiki Rukia and she's a Lieutenant. She was adopted around the same time that woman disappeared."

Again, Shira didn't say anything in response. Instead, she began to walk again, leaving Wildfire behind her.

Wildfire still spoke regardless. "Renji is here and there's a woman with the exact same name as her here. That can't…that can't be a coincidence. I'm telling you, it's not a coincidence that they're both listed here."

Still no answer. "Can't you see? If Renji's alive and here, that means that she's still alive. That woman…that woman is here. She's alive and she's living under the name Kuchiki Rukia. Her race is written as unknown on her soul reaper profile, they don't even have a picture of her on there, she owns an ice-based zanpakutō, none of that can be a coincidence. She's her—that noble is her, that's why Okasake Jushirmai targeted here first."

She continued to walk, not caring much for anything that Wildfire had said. None of this information meant anything to them. In any case it was true, they would deal with the issue when it came to them. There was no need to go searching for someone who was presumed dead or a former assassin who ran away.

"What is it with you and Haru today? Don't you understand how important this is? That's the reason he showed up again, 'cause he found out that she was alive and came to find her. All these years he disappeared off our radar to find her and now he has. There's no other reason why he'd come searching for some Lieutenant just 'cause they share the same name. Also, the fact that she's the only Gotei 13 member without a photo attached to her profile says a lot. The Head Captain must've been trying to hide her." Wildfire continued to speak behind her from far. "She isn't dead, she was here this whole time. She ran away from us…She left us, willingly!"

She stopped in her tracks. Wildfire waited for her response.

The amount of emotions that Wildfire had gone through ever since hearing that name had put her in a vulnerable state. She never easily showed what she was feeling but the moment she did, she lost sight of what her purpose was. It was her biggest weakness in Shira's opinion. Once her emotions took control of her, everything about her became weak. It was not an image an assassin should carry and yet, here she was. "If you knew you were going to be this emotionally unstable, you shouldn't have come. Your emotions will get us all killed."

"Shira—"

"Also."

She waited for her to continue.

"The man we speak of is the Okasake heir. He is the son of the Soul King himself. The last thing I am interested in is his fling with some unknown soul reaper, even if she is a member of the Kuchiki clan—the Kuchiki clan has no connection with the assassin society anymore. That being said, we shouldn't care for their condition or who he came looking for. They are no help to us, the woman that once was is dead."

"Shira—"

"If you can't control your emotions, you shouldn't be here. If you cannot accept death then you should not have become an assassin. It is a disgrace—we are on the enemy's land and here you are talking about a woman who is dead, a man who abandoned you, and an unknown noble who I do not care for—nor who has any relevance to this matter now."

"But Shira—"

"Not another word." She warned. "Return to the Capital, Major Haru and I will lead the force without you."

---

"Shihōin Yoruichi is defeated and the Gotei 13's bodies are gone." Jushirmai observed as he walked towards Raiden.

"We finally have a chance to talk, Secretary of State Arigawa." He said before retracting his ice lines with a quick movement. Raiden's retracted his spider lightning and moved back.

"Got nothing to say to you."

"Oh, but you do. Rukia still hasn't moved on—she still intends on protecting the Gotei 13, even when the Soul Society's existence is on the line. Does that not sound selfish to you?"

"Listen, I ain't gonna defend her decision 'cause I think it's a crap move too but that doesn't mean I wanna join you and your revolutionary plan so you can fuck off with that."

"Why?" He asked sternly.

"You gotta be kidding me with that one. I'm not about to risk the lives of my kind just so you can take control of the Soul Society and fuck it over. We both know that your dad never thought you were decent enough to rule and that's a fact."

"A fact? If that is the fact then why am I the adoptive son of the Soul King?" Jūshirmai asked.

Captain Ukitake's eyes widened. "The Soul King?"

"Well, that's just great." Captain Kyōraku muttered.

"Who the hell is that?" Ichigo asked.

The human group turned around to face the Gotei 13.

"The Soul King…" Sui-Fēng began to say "…is the God of the Soul Society. His very life force is what sustains the existence of the Soul Society, he is our linchpin. If he does not exist, the Soul Society and other worlds including the World of the Living would cease to exist."

"What?!" Ichigo, Orihime, Uryū, and Sado all said at once.

"Wait a minute, what the hell? Who is this guy? If he's the 'life' of the Soul Society then where the hell do the Okasakes come in?" Ichigo questioned. "Weren't they the ones who created it?"

"I had always been told that the Soul King was sealed in a barrier that was constructed by us soul reapers however, now that I think about it, it wouldn't make sense that we would've been the ones to do so." Captain Ukitake said. "There would be no reason for Head Commander Okasake to hand over that responsibility to us, given his relationship with—"

"Yama-jii." Captain Kyōraku finished for him.

"I don't get it." Tōshirō said. "He is not related by blood to the Soul King, he claims to be the adoptive son of it but he is also the son of Okasake Hiroshima. What is the connection?"

"That's just the thing, Shiro-chan." Captain Ukitake said.

"Head Commander Okasake and the Soul King are the same person." Sui-Fēng finished for him.

"What?!" They all said in unison.

"The reason why they're viewed as separate entities is because the Soul King can be divided from his body as a force created by his sheatsu and reiatsu at the same time. It can be carried off to one person to the next as a responsibility to an heir. However, it cannot be transferred to just any soul to keep. As the Soul King cannot die, Head Commander Okasake did not separate the two for many years. I heard that once he divided it from his body, we had been the ones to seal the entity to ensure that he would not die however, it seems that once again, we've been lied too." Captain Ukitake explained.

"So, this force…or rather, the Okasake clan…they are the Soul King and the ryoka is their son who is—" Uryū was cut off.

"Expected to take on the position? Yeah." Captain Kyōraku said. "I didn't mention anything about the Soul King 'cause as Ukitake said, I thought we had that entity sealed however, I'm not too surprised that we've been lied too. The real issue was him succeeding his father to become Head Commander of the Soul Society—in that case, we'd have no power in overruling him and we'd most likely be executed given how much he doesn't like our kind."

"Have you ever seen the Soul King?" Lieutenant Hisagi asked.

"Of course not." Captain Kurotsuchi responded in annoyance. "He was sealed as a spirit. There's nothing to see."

"Given everything that's happening, wouldn't be surprised if that's what he's looking for if it's not with us. We just gotta make sense with Lieutenant Kuchiki in all of this." Captain Hirako said.

"If he becomes Head Commander of the Soul Society, does that mean he would embody the spirit of the Soul King as well?" Uryū questioned.

"That's sort of a tricky question." Captain Kyōraku responded.

"I thought the Soul King's spirit was sealed with us. In that case, it would make sense why he'd invade the Seireitei to get it however, instead, he went after my Lieutenant." Captain Ukitake said.

"Who we still don't know what he wants with." Lieutenant Matsumoto said.

"The Soul King's spirit can reject if he's not the heir written for it to belong too. Again, that is only if he isn't already written as one." Captain Kurotsuchi said.

"In that case, we are in trouble." Tōshirō said. "He's the Okasake heir, meant to be the Head Commander—that being said, if his adoptive father and uncle are the Head Commanders and the Soul King then it is clear to me that he will be the only one who can bring it back into his body."

"Dammit." Ichigo said.

"But why Nee-san? Why did he go after Nee-san?" Kon asked, question directed at Uryū.

"I'm not sure." Uryū responded. "He invaded the Seireitei to get to her but I don't see how she could aid him if his intention is to become the Head Commander of the Soul Society."

"Kuchiki-san's journal…I remember when I read that page of when she said that she'd wait for him in some flower field almost every day. I don't remember reading why or if she ever wrote about what their relationship was about but…that's all I know." Orihime said quietly.

"You can leave, Secretary of State Arigawa." Jushirmai said. "There is not a single benefit of choosing to protect the current Soul Society."

"There is one, the whole fucking thing won't collapse."

"It will collapse if I'm dead. What do you intend to do? Given the fact that I am the adoptive son of the Soul King, the Soul King spirit will belong to my body once I reclaim my birthright and you can help find that."

"So can Rukia but you don't see her ready to give you any type of leadership role, now do we?"

"Rukia has been poisoned. Poisoned by the minds of the Kuchiki family and the shinigami. Her mind has never created a single thought of her own in regards to me, it's been controlled by the opinions of others ever since that Kuchiki family entered her life. She has never been able to see things clearly and that is the sole reason for her resistance."

"Nah, that's the only thing you won't see me blaming soul reapers for, Jūshirmai. The only fucking reason she isn't gonna help you is 'cause you can't rule the Soul Society—it'll fall apart if you die and if you take control. So, in one way, we're still screwed."

"In that sense you are right, Arigawa. My death would result in the end of the Soul Society and any other world to exist given the fact that I am the heir of the Soul King's spirit however, my rule would not ruin the Soul Society…it would save it by getting rid of soul reapers."

"You think you could absorb the body of the Soul King that easily, Jūshirmai. You may be Sensei Okasake's heir but that doesn't make it as easy." Kisuke said, appearing behind Raiden.

"Oh?" Jushirmai said as Kisuke joined Raiden, styled in the same fit he's been wearing as a shop keeper for years. "Urahara Kisuke….you seem to be forgetting that the person with that type of information is here."

"Kuchiki-san won't be able to give you the Soul King's body. It won't absorb that easily now that it's been detached from its parent source for a while." Kisuke informed, now standing beside Raiden.

"If you think that is true, Urahara Kisuke then you are greatly mistaken. Let me tell you, you don't have nearly enough intelligence to figure out how I can I do that."

Tōshirō sighed, watching the back of Kisuke and Raiden from the ground. "I wonder how Kuchiki can help him regain his birthright. It still doesn't make sense."

"How she knows him is one thing but if she can help him regain his birth right and knows where that information is to allow him to succeed then—." Yumichika said.

"She must be one heck of a lady, am I right?" Captain Kyōraku finished for him, Yumichika nodded his head in response.

"That means that Kuchiki-san must've been the person entrusted with that information by the Okasake clan. Without it, he can't reclaim his birth right. As for the Soul King's spirit you speak of, I'm not sure if she has the information regarding how he can return it to his body since Urahara-san is doubting it but this does confirm that she had a close relationship with the Okasake clan, enough for them to entrust her with the key to his birthright." Uryū said.

"That would explain why he came for my Lieutenant instead of trying to find the sealed Soul King spirit." Captain Ukitake said with a sigh.

"Ukitake, you okay?" Captain Kyōraku asked before resting his right hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine, I'm just a bit startled by how she was able to build such a relationship while living in the Rukongai."

"Think we all are." Lieutenant Hisagi said.

"Hey, Byakuya." Ichigo called behind him. He lowered his voice so that the others couldn't hear him, "did you know anything about this?"

Byakuya didn't respond. A few seconds of silence went by until he spoke with his eyes closed. "No."

"Once we get out of here, we must meet with the current Head Commander Okasake. This is not a war we can fight without understanding the assassin's involvement with the Soul Society's history. From the element-based zanpakutōs to this, we must understand what we are up against. If he is the Okasake heir, that means he is just as formidable as them." Tōshirō said.

"What about your friend, Captain? Kusaka Sōjirō?" Lieutenant Matsumoto questioned.

"This isn't the time to be thinking about that. We'll figure it out when we meet again." He responded.

"That goes for all of those people we met that night. He re-created the seven element gems for them to pose as his entourage however, they aren't the ones we need to focus on as of now." Sui-Fēng said.

"We must figure out how my Lieutenant became such an important person to the Okasake clan." Captain Ukitake said.

"And…if there's a possibility that the Okasake heir can absorb the Soul King spirit." Uryū included. "If that's the case, then we're going to have to protect Kuchiki-san. We can't have her in any position to tell him where to find his written responsibility is or else—"

"We're in trouble." Ichigo finished.

---

End Note

1. One of Noba's bount ability for those who don't remember from the anime is the ability to create a black hole where attacks can be redirected elsewhere. It is called a 'worm hole' and for better understanding, you can read about it on the Bleach fandom page.

2. Roger is just like Yoruichi. An soul that can shapeshift so yes, he has a human-like form. Although it was never explained as to how Yoruichi can do that, I turned it into an individual kind that can exist and shapeshift from person to animal.

3. Spider lightning is a type of lightning. It's the kind that has a spider-like design when flashed.

4. The Soul King is included in this story however it works a bit differently here than it does in the manga

5. I changed my tumblr url to byaruki. Therefore, to access Images For This Chapter and TIM profiles, go to (byaruki).(.com) and then you will be able to find them.

Images For This chapter

1. Shira's hair/also suggest you take a look at Wildfire's hair from the last chapter

2. Spider lightning

— NR