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.

19. Contrite Apologies

Pre-Note

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

---

Contrite Apologies

She hadn't changed a bit. Her mauve-purple hair was still the same, tied in a lower ponytail with her bangs parted on both sides of her face. Her blush-red eyes were staring at him in anger though, he still took the opportunity to admire them in full. Dressed in the standard assassin uniform with the skirt and her sleeveless haori, she really did look the same. Just the way he had left her.

Though, then and now were different. He hadn't seen her in over fifty years, it was insane to think it had been that long. Wildfire had always been a great friend...a good friend...a very close friend.

He had her number.

He could've texted her, called her, any time he wanted too.

He knew she was a sucker for letters so maybe one of those too.

He could've done anything to stay in contact with her regardless of Rukia's situation but...he didn't and now he was here, standing in front of her—she probably had assumed he was dead by now until she knew. Renji didn't even want to know how she found out, he knew he would end up meeting her eventually—Rukia too—but, he just...didn't think it'd happen so soon.

How'd things get so wrong?

She continued to toss the blade in her hand, he assumed she was waiting for him to speak though, what could he say? He had no excuse for not trying and if he was being honest, slowly, as the dreams of becoming a successful soul reaper caught him, he had forgotten about her.

"Wild…" he cleared his throat. "...fire."

She released a half-hearted laugh, purely out of disbelief. "'Wildfire'"

He didn't respond, the obvious response of mocking how he had said her name told him to shut up and let her speak. He waited. "That's all you have to say? 'Wildfire'. Wow, not surprised by that reaction but wow Renji...Wow."

"I can't believe I ever cried over you." She exclaimed. "To think...my friend, my dear friend, probably one of the first guys I met in the Rukongai and actually liked to befriend, ran away to become a soul reaper and didn't even think to say anything to anybody, wow."

He tightened his jaw. "Wow, Renji...just wow. You know what's funny? Assassin-soul reaper types exist but no...no, instead of applying to be one if that's what you wanted, you ran...yes, you didn't tell anybody, you just went and walked away just like that. It's even funnier that Sensei Okasake knew where you were, I'm actually sort of glad he didn't tell me. What a joke."

"Wild—"

"And ya know? Pretending to disappear...becoming the Lieutenant of the 6th Division is sort of funny innit? Where did this sudden dream of yours appear, huh? 'Cause you see, I remember you loving swords n'stuff, isn't that why you trained to be an assassin with a zanpakutō? There's a thing like that ya know, on the other side. You were happy, hell yeah, you were happy over there, not even you could deny that but, you know who probably wasn't happy? Rukia. Yeah, she wasn't happy so much that she faked her death, got adopted into Captain Kuchiki's clan, became a soul reaper, and now she's a Lieutenant. Wow! Abarai Renji, Lieutenant of the 6th Division, Kuchiki Rukia, Lieutenant of the 13th Division….what a power couple!"

"It isn't like t—"

She put her right hand out, signaling him to stop. "Oh please, Renji. Shut the fuck up, everybody knows that you've had the biggest crush on her ever since we were kids. Everybody mcfucking knows, please shut the fuck up and let me speak."

He stayed quiet. "I'm not mad about that, Renji. I was rooting for you too but what the fuck is this? Disappeared one day and never came back, just like that….just like that. Did you ever think about your friends over here? Ya know, the ones who give a fuck about you and were wondering where you were?"

He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. "No, of course you didn't. Why? 'Cause the love of your life ran away so naturally like a dog you had to follow. Wow, Renji...wow. What was the point of disappearing? What was the point of making people believe that you were dead? Her, too?"

"Believe it or not, I'm more disappointed in you than I am with her. You just disappeared, you could've said something, you could've called or texted, done anything to let us know you were okay but instead you ran to the soul reaper and didn't care. I'm sure you forgot us, I can't wait until fucking Raiden finds out I hope he beats your ass."

That's when it hit Renji, Wildfire didn't know that Raiden knew where Rukia and Renji had been all along. He hadn't said anything to her either.

Fuck.

She turned around and by instinct, he reached out to grab her hand—pulling her close to him—she jerked her hand away. They stood there in the neon blue light, the hair behind her now rested on the right side of her shoulder, she looked at him furiously. Tears came out both of her eyes but her expression was still the same. He didn't have an excuse for what he did. He just did it.

"Don't." She wasn't done yet. "Touch." Her head slightly lowered. "Me."

He gulped, recognizing that her warning him to step back was serious. She was more than angry, Renji figured she might never forgive him though he shamefully wanted her too.

"Both of you left, had us thinking you were dead so you could become soul reapers. Well then, stay here. The only reason both of you are so involved is 'cause the Okasake heir still got business with her. Once she's done, we never see each other again, got it?"

Renji said nothing, he just stared at her. Guilt overwhelmed him, with the tears still falling from her eyes, he cursed himself for doing this to a friend. She was a really good friend. Why didn't he text her? Call her? Say anything to her?

She turned around again, attempting to leave though—for the life of him—he didn't want to let her go just yet, even though he couldn't say anything. Holding onto her again, he pulled her closer—he had no idea what the fuck he was doing he just didn't want her to go. She pushed him off aggressively.

"What part of 'don't touch me' do you not fucking get, Abarai?" She spat.

"I—"

She cut him off. "You have nothing to say." And it was true.

"You wanted to become a shinigami? Cool. Live life, be happy. You're here. I'm mad because I wasted so much time worrying about a friend who disappeared on me."

"I'm still your friend." He was surprised she didn't cut him off this time.

She scoffed. "If you were, you wouldn't have forgotten about me, Abarai. I know you, once Rukia's involved, everybody suddenly fades away. Though, I will admit, it hurt. When I found out, I was a fucking mess because you both were my friends. We were friends in the Rukongai and we built ourselves up but nah, it didn't matter to either. I'm glad I know, I'm really glad I know now. Thanks for your friendship, Renji—sorry to say it was a waste."

This time he didn't stop her as she walked away though, he wanted too.

What had he done?

---

Wildfire sat on some random table in the 6th Division's dining hall, deep in thought. Her feet were sprawled out as she leaned back on the chair. The tears which had continued to fall even after walking away had long disappeared. The range of emotions she had felt ever since discovering the truth had now become something else.

She didn't know what to feel. Perhaps she felt neutral.

Seeing Renji again changed her anger into something different. Was the anger still there? Maybe. But she felt a calmer type of fury. Though, was it as easy to move on? Although she hadn't heard the surname 'Abarai' in years and although she had slowly come to accept him as dead a few decades back, it still hurt when she found out. After seeing him, it was like the level of hostility vanished and she was recovering quickly.

Had she really cared?

Thinking back to her tears, she wondered why they had fallen out. Was it because she was in the moment, mixing her grief with the feelings she felt towards Rukia? Or, did it really matter to her? She didn't know.

All she knew now was that the animosity she had felt upon discovering was now calm. After seeing him...after more than fifty years, walking away had closed a chapter.

A few footsteps were heard.

She had noticed the presence which entered the room and was behind her though, she didn't mind it. It was Haru, his hand appeared beside her with hennessy.

Staring at some random place on the wall, she reached out with her left hand to grab it.

---

"I'm sorry." Rukia stood in front of him, though his eyes were closed and arms crossed. Sitting on the chair, next to his body, he did not acknowledge her for a whole five minutes but she stayed regardless. Captain Kuchiki had informed her of what had happened and now all she wanted to do was apologize though clearly someone wasn't ready for that. "Byakuya, I know you can hear me. I said I'm sorry. You can open up your eyes now. It's been three days."

Still nothing.

Great, Rukia thought. She never imagined herself having to apologize to the Kuchiki heir.

"Listen, next time," She stressed the words 'next time' for him to specifically hear. "I will let you know where I'm going before I leave, okay?"

Nothing.

She sighed. "Look, I didn't know that you'd come running. If I had known that of course I would've told you that I would be okay but again, I didn't know. How can you be mad at me when I didn't know?"

Wow, he really was a pain. "Byakuya, if I had known that you would come out running, wouldn't I have told you that I would be okay beforehand so you wouldn't worry?"

He finally spoke. "That seems to be your only excuse for your behavior."

"W-Well, I didn't know! Please tell me how I was supposed to know that a) the cleaner was going to come on since it comes on randomly, b) in that situation I would be out on a walk while it was happening, c) you would even notice I was missing, d) you'd come running out to find me?" He couldn't seriously be upset with her because she didn't tell him the cleaner couldn't affect her as if she knew the cleaner was going to come on at the time.

She closed her eyes, letting out a breath. "I'm not saying I'm ungrateful. The fact that you went out to find me was pretty nice of you and I thank you for having that much concern over me bu—"

He cut her off immediately. "I was not concerned. It was because of grandfather I went out looking for you."

"Regardless." She said, his eyes opened. "You risked your life for me, even when you didn't have any idea how to work with sheatsu and protect yourself. That in itself means a whole lot so I'm thanking you but also apologizing 'cause you had to put yourself in that situation."

A moment of silence went by. "Can you forgive me now?"

He didn't say anything, Rukia mentally noted to never put herself in the position to apologize to the Kuchiki heir again but then she remembered. Her older self would have to do so eventually when the older version of him woke up.

Great.

She moved closer to him. "I said I was sorry, can you say something? Surely, if I was Yoruichi-san you wouldn't be this quiet."

His eyes sparked wide along with the Interioreum World Byakuya at the mention of Yoruichi. "How did y—"

"What does Yoruichi-san gotta do with anything?" Ichigo asked the Byakuya in front of him though he made no comment.

Captain Ukitake covered his mouth to hide his chuckle though Byakuya could still hear him.

"Guess she knows more about you than we thought, Captain Kuchiki." Captain Kyōraku said to Byakuya though again, his eyes were fixated on the younger Rukia.

Rukia spoke after he halted himself from speaking. "So forgive me then. And I promise I won't mention that again."

Byakuya blinked, speechless.

Leaning in with her arms behind her back she spoke. "Considering your silence and that expression on your face, I'll assume I've been forgiven so I'll never mention that whole situation again."

"Wha—" Byakuya stopped himself. How dare she?

"I'm lost." Ichigo said to Captain Ukitake.

Now smiling, he brushed it off. "Ah, it's just something of Byakuya-kun's past."

The Interioreum World Byakuya concluded he was erasing everyone's memory of this. Though, he did have his questions as to how she could possibly know about...that.

---

"How much do you know?" He asked as she sat on the chair in front of him, drinking some human beverage.

She giggled. "Only a little. It's only 'cause I saw you."

"How?" He immediately questioned. This woman knew so much and yet she had the nerve to enter his clan as a stranger?

"Well, I did visit the Seireitei. Besides, I hung around the Okasake manor, it's not like your house is that far away." She said before drinking again.

"Y-Yeah but—"

"Did you ever win?" She asked while drinking from the straw. Her cheeks got a bit chubbier as she slurped.

He got silent for a few seconds. "Of course! You just...weren't there when I did."

Rukia nodded her head. "Well that's sort of sad, probably would've been nice to see you win."

He uncrossed his arms. "So, how many noble events have you attended? Given your posture, it seems that you have been trained to attend them."

"Umm..." Rukia looked up trying to count though, a number couldn't come to mind. "Not sure. After I took my first annual heir photo, I sort of just...started to attend whichever one Sensei Okasake was attending."

"Was that not strange to you?" He curiously asked.

"Well, of course it was! I didn't even want to be in that photo—the first one I'm talking about—the one at the annual noble heir gathering. Captain and Sensei Okasake came to find me in the Rukongai. Can you imagine? Of course as soon as they came, they started drawing attention to me 'cause you know...everybody knows who they are. The last thing I needed was that type of attention. The Rukongai isn't a nice place, Byakuya. Unfortunately, they rush to assume everything, especially when girls are involved. When they came, I just quietly went. Next thing I knew I was back in an assassin uniform and ready to snap a picture beside nobles." She explained.

"She's right about that." Rangiku said. "For some reason, everything's a big deal when a girl gets somewhere in life. I understand why she didn't want to cause a commotion."

"Though, if she was well-acquainted with the Okasakes, she might as well could've stayed with them. They would've offered her a room to stay." Tōshirō said beside her.

"Something tells me she didn't wanna do that." Ichigo muttered as he looked at them.

"That is still odd. If you were attending noble events, I do not see the point in living in the Rukongai. As an unofficial member of the clan, you must've had a room." Byakuya said. The Gotei 13 felt relieved that someone was there to help answer their questions.

"I didn't want to be adopted. Didn't we go through this?" Rukia asked. "Besides, staying in the Okasake manor meant I'd see Jūshirmai more often. The last thing I wanted was that."

Byakuya paused. He realized he had not questioned her yet about her relationship with the Okasake heir. "Given that he is the enemy, explain your relationship with this heir."

"Well, there isn't much to talk about. He's a creep." Rukia casually said.

"How so?"

"When I met Sensei Okasake, naturally I ended up meeting his nephew, Jushirmai. Once he laid eyes on me, he started saying things like 'you've come to me' or 'I knew you'd come eventually' as if he knew me or something long before that. That in itself made me feel pretty weird, he was acting like he had known me from time though I've never met him. After we met, he never really left me alone. He would come to the Rukongai, he'd appear wherever I was even when he wasn't talking to me. It made me feel really uncomfortable. It made the Rukongai feel even more unsafe, I felt as if someone was always watching me, it wasn't a great feeling." Rukia explained.

"So he's had an obsession with her ever since she was young." Uryū stated.

"Maybe this is why she always looked so distant." Lieutenant Hinamori said to particularly nobody. She couldn't imagine what it must've been like being watched. The younger Rukia seemed to be really uncomfortable and she was justified in her behavior. Perhaps it must've been the reason why Rukia always acted as if she was unsafe.

"How dare he make Nee-san comfortable?" Kon questioned. "She probably felt so weird having some random guy stare at her and follow her all the time!"

Byakuya listened as she continued. "Once I started hanging around the Okasake manor and the Seireitei more, he stopped coming to the Rukongai. While I spent time there, I inevitably ended up spending time with him too though, that was during daytime. I felt safe during the day, I was also surrounded by people who made me feel safe so it wasn't all that bad. Even though I've never been particularly terrified of him, he still made me feel weird. There was also something about him, besides that, which made me feel odd. He had...some sort of split personality. During the day, when I spent time with him he was a completely different person. He was very...absent-minded, clumsy, and sort of clingy. He was annoying but he also appeared harmless. Because of that, I didn't really feel bothered at the time to hang out with him minus the fact that he was a bit annoying and clingy. Though, at night...something would always change. It's like he would switch and suddenly his personality would become very dark. He'd become the opposite of everything he was during the day. I wasn't frightened but it didn't exactly make me feel safe either. Since he stopped coming to the Rukongai, I felt safer sleeping there than I did at the manor. Also, the Rukongai was still the place where I belonged, staying at the manor just didn't feel right to me."

"Weird, huh." Rangiku commented.

"Think he's still like that?" Lieutenant Hisagi asked, referring to the split personality part.

"It's hard to say. We've only ever seen him at night." Tōshirō said.

"Which means, there's a possibility he does become like that." Ichigo said, his tone was serious. This guy was literally a creep. From stalking her, he had a split personality where he had her thinking he was one guy and then changed into a next. The fact that he had been around her for so long pissed him off. It meant that he had been there while he specifically had known her.

"Well, aside from being a creep, what does this guy have? I mean, I get he's an assassin but he doesn't sound all big n'bad when she speaks of him like that. I mean, can you imagine seeing him like that? The daytime him, I mean. Imagine how fucking ridiculous that would look." Captain Hirako said.

"This Kuchiki-san doesn't seem to fear him though, the older one does." Uryū observed. "I mean, she just thinks of him as a creep though the older one seems to fear him because she's aware he can do something more."

"But what could that be, Ishida-kun?" Orihime questioned.

Uryū turned to her. "I'm not so sure, Inoue-san but if the older one is worried about him then maybe something changed that is yet to happen in her future. Right now she's just convinced he's a creep."

"That is still dangerous." He commented. "Would the Rukongai not be an easier place for him to approach you?"

"It was at first, but he stopped coming for a while. Though, after that period of time ended, he'd make random visits. It wasn't everyday like before, he'd also always come at night." Rukia responded.

"When he started to make visits you should've returned to the Okasake manor. You said that you had people who made you feel safe while being in the Seireitei, why would you willingly put yourself in a position to be approached?" He did not understand why she didn't stay in the manor regardless. She was more protected there than she was in the Rukongai. With his grandfather coming to mind, before she could open her mouth to speak, he asked another question. "What did grandfather do during this time?"

Rukia's eyes sparked at the mention of the Captain. "Captain Kuchiki was against me staying in the Rukongai too. He tried to convince me to stay in the Okasake manor though, I managed to convince him to let me stay in the Rukongai."

Byakuya was confused. "Why would you attempt to argue with grandfather when you were unsafe?"

"I already answered this, didn't I? I was more safe in the Rukongai than I was at the manor." Byakuya looked at her, puzzled. She made no sense at all.

"But how would you be safer in the Rukongai when he could so easily approach you there? Even if he lived in the manor, you still had Sensei Okasake and grandfather who were nearby?"

Rukia looked down, a sorrow expression on her face. "You won't understand…"

Byakuya said nothing, allowing her to continue. "But Captain Kuchiki did, that's how I managed to stay in the Rukongai. It's hard to explain but, if I stayed in the manor, I would be putting certain people's lives at risk. It was better if I stayed in the Rukongai. Jushirmai didn't like me interacting with certain people."

Ichigo clenched his fist. In conclusion, he was practically controlling her life.

"He must've threatened her." Captain Ukitake said. "He must've told her that he would get rid of the people she spoke with so she stayed in the Rukongai to protect them."

"That implies that he was capable enough at the time to do that." Lieutenant Kira said.

"...did he threaten you?" Byakuya asked. His voice showing off the most concern he had ever shown to her..

She didn't speak for a while. Her eyes bore into her skirt before she shook her head. "No...he didn't."

Byakuya leaned back. "You're lying."

She looked up immediately. "I'm not….I just…I just knew he didn't like some of the people I interacted with so naturally I just stepped aside to avoid those types of interactions. I know I said I wasn't frightened and I wasn't, believe me but he was much more capable than he showed. His night time personality felt very real to me, that person that showed up at night wasn't someone anyone should take lightly. Unfortunately, the people around me realized it before I did. When they started to realize it, he started changing his personality during the day. I don't know how or why but suddenly, he would switch on and off. Though, regardless of that, I didn't fear him until…"

She stopped herself. Her eyes bore into her skirt, she held the straw to her lips though her drink was empty. When she didn't speak for a while, Byakuya tried lowering his head to catch her eyes. "...did he...do something to you?"

She didn't respond, he blinked several times, trying not to think of what he felt like she was implying.

"Please don't fucking tell me." Ichigo said.

Captain Ukitake inhaled a breath as he waited for her to speak though, he wished that her silence wasn't implying something like that.

The Interioreum World Byakuya stared at the younger Rukia, awaiting her answer. His reiatsu was not hiding what he felt anymore. He did not wish for that to be the case.

"Not...Not really." She spoke quietly. "Um...since he came to randomly visit me in the Rukongai, I hung out with him a bit at night in compliance with what I told you earlier. I didn't want him to go after anyone I cared for so I would go out from time to time. On...one particular night he led me to a cave…"

Orihime covered her mouth. She silently pleaded that what they were all thinking didn't happen. Momo bit her bottom lip with her hands intertwined.

Ichigo closed his eyes. Please...fucking no.

"...we didn't do what you think happened but...what happened that night terrified me beyond words...it was the first time I was actually scared of him. I had felt disgusted before, uncomfortable before, but never fear. After that, a lot of things changed." She quietly said, still looking down.

Some members of the Gotei 13 breathed a sigh of relief though, clearly whatever happened traumatized her enough.

The younger Byakuya stared at her. He didn't know what to say though, he figured they should change the topic. Clearing his throat, he stood up from the chair. "Perhaps…"

She looked up.

"...we should take a walk with our zanpakutō spirits."

"Huh?" Rukia asked.

"Would it not be nice to see their skills?"

Ichigo smiled at his proposal.

---

"So it did happen within her time." Uryū said. "Though, she didn't sound that afraid before, I was convinced it hadn't happened yet."

"Kuchiki-san has been through so much." Orihime said while looking down.

"This might just be the beginning." Captain Ukitake added.

"Though what Captain Kuchiki asked is sort of true. I mean, it's not like he could hurt anyone if Sensei Okasake was there, right? It's like she's implying that he was somehow above them or something like that." Lieutenant Hisagi said.

"She said he might go after those she cared for, but wouldn't he have had them protected for her?" Lieutenant Kira asked, following Shuhei's comment.

"Clearly the situation was much more complicated than that." Captain Ukitake responded. "I wonder who else he would go after."

"Renji, one, that quincy, two—who else?" Ichigo said, turning into the somewhat circle the Gotei 13 had formed behind him. "Ah—she also had three other friends in the Rukongai."

"She could've had assassin friends." Uryū mentioned. "Based on our research, kids training in the Rukongai also spent time training in the Seireitei. Perhaps she knew some."

"What are the chances of the Okasake twins and the former Captain Kuchiki falling in that line?" Lieutenant Kira asked.

Captain Kyōraku turned to him. "Believe it or not, Lieutenant Kira, I don't think anyone and I mean, anyone regardless of how powerful they were would try to go after ol'Ginrei. His presence is terrifying enough."

"I agree. I don't think Kuchiki or the Okasake twins would fall in that line. It was most likely her assassin friends." Tōshirō said, turning to face Lieutenant Kira also.

"Though, Captain?" Rangiku called, Toshirō looked up to her. "I don't remember seeing any pictures of her with assassins in her room. Remember? When Renji showed us that secret area where she had a bunch of photos n'stuff (AN: Scattering Stars Like Dust). I could've sworn she didn't keep anything there."

"Well, she also didn't keep that photo of her and this Kuchiki when they were younger there either." Tōshirō said.

"When she took out those photos from her quotebook earlier, I saw more than what she had in there." Orihime said.

"Probably didn't frame them as a safety precaution." Captain Kyōraku said.

Byakuya spoke for the first time in a long time. His eyes were closed as he spoke. "There were more behind the photos in the frame."

Everyone looked at him, surprised. Tōshirō questioned him right after. "What do you mean?"

"There was more than one photo attached at the back of whichever photo was displayed." He responded.

"Oh…" Tōshirō said. "Well, who did you see?"

"I'm guessing you were checking it that night I came in to tell you about Rukia (AN: The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins)." Ichigo said. "Was it the quincy?"

He nodded his head once.

"Though, Ichigo. If he was threatening her with the lives of people she cared for, doesn't that mean he also threatened her with us at some point?" Kon asked on his shoulder.

Tōshirō spoke to him. "Kuchiki already confirmed to Kuchiki and I that the interaction was staged though, she wasn't aware he'd go as far as he did. Though he had helped her escape, he also came to us. Perhaps that is why she believes she is responsible for our condition."

"What are the chances he might threaten her with us for his birthright?" Uryū suddenly asked. "We know we're in the Interioreum World though as of now, Kuchiki-san and the others still believe our condition is the fault of Okasake Jushirmai."

"Fuck." Ichigo cursed.

"I don't think Lieutenant Kuchiki is ready to give in just yet." Captain Kyōraku said. "Think she's got faith in us waking up on our own accord. That's why we're still down here, resting. If she was ready to give in, he'd probably have his birthright by now."

"Captain Kurotsuchi, there's gotta be a way we can let them know we're in here. Yeah, she's been patient but how long are we gonna stay like this?" Ikkaku asked.

"I already told you, there isn't a way." Captain Kurotsuchi responded in annoyance. The last thing he wanted to talk about was the Interioreum World.

"There is no reason to be bothered, Captain Kurotsuchi. Madarame was simply asking a question given how dire our situation has become." Captain Unohana said with a small smile.

"Unohana is right, besides, the device that activates the Interioreum World is located beneath the 12th Division's barracks, so the real question is how did someone manage to get all the way down there and break the glass?" Captain Kyōraku questioned the Captain who immediately became infuriated upon it being mentioned.

"Are you suggesting I had something to do with this?" He sneered. The 8th Division Captain was truly trying to get on his nerves.

"Not at all, just a question." He waved off.

"Though it's a pretty damn good one." Ichigo said before turning to the Captain. "Something ain't right."

The Gotei 13 looked to him.

"Oh please, now I'm the suspect?" He was unimpressed. The 13th Division's Lieutenant was on a whole lying streak and they were offering her pity and getting angry at him. It was truly that whole family that were working against him at this point. "If I wanted to do something to you all, why would I be in here with you? Didn't the former Captain Kuchiki already indirectly inform us that the ryoka had left the Seireitei in peace as of now?"

"Yes but, this whole Interioreum World thing still doesn't make sense to me, the more that I think about it." Uryū said.

"What are you thinking, Ishida-kun?" Orihime questioned.

"Yes, please explain to me why I'm suddenly the suspect."

"Well, even from before. The assassins took over the Seireitei because the Gotei 13 went missing. The remaining soul reapers there aren't stuck here like we are. If the generator broke beneath it, doesn't that mean we all should be stuck here? Why is it that we're the only ones who've been affected?" Uryū explained, the Gotei 13 looked at each other in shock.

"The fuck is going on then?" Ikkaku asked.

"Oh please don't tell me someone put us here deliberately." Yumichika said behind him.

"We can't know for sure though." Captain Ukitake said. "The Interioreum World has always been a tricky concept to deal with. Perhaps the generator wasn't entirely broken."

"Or, someone must've done something to it prior to only affect a certain amount of people." Captain Kyōraku said prior. "The whole purpose of the Interioreum World was to create something that existed like sheatsu for spying. It isn't exactly something we know a lot of. The generator could've been tampered with."

"You realize you're implying that someone came into my laboratory under my division and changed a few wires, right?"

"It is a possibility." Captain Unohana said.

"Besides, you let an assassin sneak into your laboratory to ask you to revive Captain Kuchiki Ginrei." Captain Sui-Feng said. "The chances are highly likely."

Captain Kurotsuchi could not believe what was happening. "If that was ever possible, the only person at fault here would be Nemu."

Rangiku suddenly remembered. "Where is Lieutenant Kurotsuchi, by the way, Captain?"

"Given the disruptions, I wasn't able to fix her in time. She is still stuck there." He impassively responded.

"There's still Lieutenant Ise to worry about." Lieutenant Hinamori reminded. "And Lieutenant Chōjirō."

"The Head Captain is still missing too." Uryū acknowledged. "It's still odd that some of us fell in the human world and some of us woke up here."

"I don't get it." Lieutenant Hisagi said.

"We're being fucked with a lot but nobody got answers." Captain Kensei said beside him.

"We gotta figure out a way to let them know we're in here." Ichigo said, now turning back to the stretchers. "There's gotta be some way to do it. You said you guys barely knew much about it anyways, maybe there is a way."

"Ichigo-san makes a good point." Captain Ukitake agreed.

"I don't really feel anything." Yachiru said though, her voice wasn't near Kenpachi, it was on Yoruichi's stretcher. "It feels like nothing though I'm touching something. Pretty weird, huh Ken-chan?"

"Probably sounds really dumb but have we tried touching one person all together?" Captain Hirako asked.

They stayed silent for a few seconds before Rangiku stepped forward. "Well, yeah. Maybe we could give it a try?"

Lieutenant Hisagi scanned their surroundings. "We'll have to touch someone here though, we don't got a lot of options."

"I've noticed." Tōshirō said now staring at who remained from the group. "Kuchiki and Kuchiki went out, Kuchiki left elsewhere, Kuchiki also went out, Abarai is nowhere to be found, Arigawa is gone, we've only got Shihōin, Urahara, and Oswald as of now."

Ichigo stared down at Tōshirō, raising his left brow. "Can't you find another way to address Rukia, Byakuya, and Byakuya's grandfather, Tōshirō? It's kinda confusing."

He leaned back. "W-Well I—"

"Geez, I agree. Gave me a headache tryna figure out who you were talkin' about." Captain Hirako said beside him.

"Very well. I suppose I can make some alterations." Tōshirō said before repeating what he said just a moment ago. "Ok, Kuchiki and Okasake went out, Okasake left elsewhere,...Oka—no, wait—Kuchiki also went out? Abarai is nowhere to be found, Arigawa is gone, we've only got Shihōin, Urahara, and Okasake as of now—wait, that isn't his name. It's Oswald. Alright, one more time. Kuchiki and Oswald—no, wait, it's Okasake, right?"

The Gotei 13 stared at him with a range of faces. Most of them expressed confusion.

"Tell me exactly how he's confusing himself?" Lieutenant Hisagi muttered to Lieutenant Kira.

"I've got no idea." He responded.

The Captain snapped. "What was that, Hisagi?"

Shuhei's eyes popped wide. "U-Uh n-nothing, Captain!"

"You should not call my Lieutenant 'Okasake', Shiro-chan." Captain Ukitake politely scolded. "She is a member of the Kuchiki clan legally. In spite of her membership with them, she has gone by the Kuchiki surname ever since becoming a soul reaper. She has also never associated herself with the Okasake last name, it would not be right to call her Okasake without her permission."

Tōshirō looked up, surprised at what Captain Ukitake had said to him. His cheeks were stained with red as he turned to the Captain behind Captain Ukitake. Although his eyes were closed and he seemed as if he had not minded it, he apologized. "Sorry, Kuchiki. I was just trying to differentiate between them since everyone was throwing a fit."

"Geez, Tōshirō. All I said was that calling them Kuchiki made everything a bit confusing when you're referring to them all at once. There's five of them now." Ichigo said.

Tōshirō brought them back on track. "That aside, have we decided who we're all going to touch? Urahara, Oswald, or the younger Shihōin?"

"I'd go with Urahara on this one." Captain Kensei said. "Makes the most sense."

"Agreed." Captain Hirako said right after.

"In no way will you ever see me touch Urahara Kisuke." Captain Sui-Feng quickly said. "Let us touch, Yoruichi-sama. She is aware of this dimension too."

Ōmaeda spoke after. "Yoruichi-san isn't awake right now, Captain."

"So?" She questioned, he was startled by her tone. "Never in my life will you ever see me touch Urahara Kisuke."

Captain Kurotsuchi raised his right hand. "I second that."

"We're touching one guy and it probably won't even work." Captain Hirako tried to convince them though they didn't budge.

"How about Yoruichi-san's brother?" Orihime asked.

"Think he's too young to act on the feeling." Captain Kyōraku said right after.

"That leaves Dr. Oswald." Uryū said before looking to Ichigo.

"I mean, Jushirmai is the one keeping us alive right now. Though he doesn't understand it, Rukia told me he works with the Head Captain and Urahara. He should be able to figure out or know where the hell we're at if we can reach him." Ichigo informed the rest.

"So then Oswald, then?" Tōshirō asked while looking around for confirmation. Everyone seemed okay with it except one, though Tōshirō could understand why. "Let's do it then."

Everyone moved at the same time, heading towards the doctor though, Tōshirō stayed. "Kuchiki, will you not…"

The question died at his throat the moment the Captain opened his eyes. He turned around and walked away to his body. Paying him one last glance, he turned around to join the rest.

---

"Has anyone seen Rukia's fucking phone?" Raiden asked out loud, going through whatever bags he could find.

"You mean that rectangular device she was holding earlier?" Kurōdo asked with his bunny ears up. "I think she put it somewhere over there!"

He was gesturing to the cabinet near Captain Ukitake's body. Raiden walked over and spotted the silver coloured device on it and picked it up. "Glad she fucking left it. I have no idea what the fuck Renji is tryna say."

Ginrei appeared in between the stretcher, standing near his grandson's body. "What is it?"

With his eyes on the phone he spoke, "Renji sent me a message a while ago but it makes no fucking sense. It sounds like a bunch of gibberish I have no fucking idea what he's trying to say. All the words are distorted too, it's either my phone's acting up or Renji can't fucking write."

Pulling out his own phone which was red, he held the two phones side to side. After Rukia's phone turned on, he realized she had a password and her messages were blocked from previewing. "Oh that's just mcfucking great. She's one of those people. What is the point of having the message notification show up if it doesn't fucking tell you what the message is of?"

"Ah—okay, he sent her the same message too. Okay….what the mother fuck did he just copy n'paste that shit? Dis-fucking-respectful, knowing Renji he probably sent her the original message first. An idiot, though it still doesn't make any sense. What the fuck is he trying to say?" Raiden was confused. It was quite literally gibberish. "I'm gonna try texting him from here, my phone's a mess."

"That is a communication device." The younger Byakuya said, directed at the quincy for the first time.

He looked up. "Oh yeah, it's great until it mother fucking decides to act up. Or maybe Renji doesn't know how to write which is funny considering we both trained together. It doesn't help that the signal down here is mother fucking crap. The older you probably got one too."

The younger Byakuya looked to his grandfather though, he didn't know whether the older version of him had one either.

"Perchance, do we have one too?" He asked his older body.

"Oh that's just motherfucking disrespectful." Raiden cursed to himself as he looked through Rukia's phone.

"Another copied message." Ginrei said.

"Worse, how in the mother fuck is she callin' me 'rooster head' as a contact name? I gave her my new number when I was still mad as fuck with her. Clearly, she didn't get the memo 'cause now she went and made me more mad." He grumbled as he went to edit it on his own.

Looking to him, the younger Byakuya became...curious. "You are mad at her as well. Did she lie to you too?"

"Huh?" He glanced at him before looking down. "Nah, I'm pissed at her for another reason. I cleared all that air out a few days ago before you even got here. Still haven't forgiven her but well, fucking hell that's friendship."

It made him more curious. "You...are still interacting with her though?"

He shrugged it off while going through her photos. "Well, fucking yeah. It's Rukia, I mean—I don't think anybody can last that long without talkin' to her—even me. As pissed as I am, I mean it's been a whole what? 52 fucking years since I've spoken to her? So yeah, obviously I'm gonna talk to her n'what not. When I saw her the first time in her room, I was honestly fucking speechless at first. 'Cause ya know, yeah I'm pissed but she's still my fucking friend."

"What do you mean?" He wasn't following at all.

"Oh, yeahhhhhh. You wouldn't fucking know of all that right? Well, long story short. After hearing what went on, I came to help her escape but that Okasake creep just had to make her faint and then I found out she had some fucking disorder? Some morbid memories shit? So I was like, well that's fucking great. She was asleep for a whole week? Going through some psychological shit so I cut her some slack. Then, when she woke up, after you left—the present version that is—I came into the room to give her my number so that when she was fine, she could let me know how the fuck she wanted me to get her outta there." Raiden casually explained, still scrolling through her phone.

"So you were the one who helped her escape?" He questioned after.

Another episode of Raiden's fast rambling would ensue.

"Sorta. Listen, it was a whole fucking jamboree that night because Renji disappeared, he's your Lieutenant by the way—how fucking weird is that—anyways, the present you was ya know out n'about with the whole situation. Rukia tried to escape earlier though apparently you're really good at spotting movements so it was hard for her to leave under your watch. After the ice started to act up and you had to leave, I suppose she found her own way out now that some maid was watching her. To distract everyone, I snuck into the 12th Division and put some nuclear bomb to serve as a distraction and met up with her at some hill near the noble homes and how fucking long did she take? She was literally staring there for a whole fifteen minutes, talkin' about how sad she was and what not. And then to make things worse, she had me convinced that her ol'Oky was helping her escape. Now of course, I was like 'what the fuck do you mean' 'cause like why would he help her but then...but motherfucking then, when she left to visit her brother, Jushirmai, Urahara told me that it had all been a set up. Like what a fucking waste, I didn't need to come to soul reaper territory yet again to save her. Please, the first time was annoying enough." He scoffed.

Byakuya was about to question him more about the situation though, the quincy's last words stole his attention. "...what first time?"

"Oh fucking hell, don't get me started on that shit. Soul reapers are so fucking dumb n'useless. I had to go to the fucking soul reaper, the creepy ass 12th Division Captain, and ask him to revive your grandfather after the stupidest shit went down. I'm telling you, if it wasn't Rukia who was involved, I would've died on the floor laughing. They're so fucking over-dramatic I swear."

"So the assassin who had come to visit Captain Kurotsuchi was Secretary of State Arigawa." Captain Ukitake reiterated before turning to Captain Kurotsuchi.

"I didn't know that it was the quincy. He was dressed in a different attire." Mayuri said, even more annoyed than before. He now was aware that the quincy had been the one to switch the bomb. It meant that he had snuck in there twice without any member of his division noticing. Nemu is so useless, he thought.

"How he found out is one thing but that means they both were there to save Rukia." Ichigo said while staring at the quincy.

Byakuya opened his mouth to speak though, the quincy looking up at him made him pause.

"It was fucking crazy, I swear. I've never met a group of more annoying people. The fact that I had to sneak in when everybody was ya know up and ready to kill anyone who looked like a 'ryoka' made it ten times worse. Like I'm a fucking quincy and an assassin, I was literally setting myself up to be taken into custody—not that they could fucking do much, I belong to the assassin side anyway. Can't trial me or execute me or any type of shit without Sensei Okasake's permission. Anyways, first of all, that Captain had such a fucking tude. He kept talking about how he was busy when we literally were in a fucking crisis, besides, we had no idea it'd even fucking work, like he could've at least spared 5 minutes to see if the shit even worked. Once your grandfather came back, we left him there in peace. I swear, after meeting him, Urahara is way better."

Mayuri groaned at his comment. He did not like the quincy either. He wished he had realized that he was a quincy then, he would've brought him in for some...experiments. Though, at the time, he hadn't given it much thought as he was dressed differently and he was very much convinced that it wouldn't work.

"I am lost. What did she do?" Byakuya asked. If the quincy had to revive grandfather, he figured it had been quite serious.

"Ohhhhhh, it wasn't a big deal but soul reapers are so fucking over-dramatic. They act like the human fucking died like, he was motherfucking fine and he ended up saving their ass with the whole Aizen shit y'all had going on. It was fucking ridiculous I tell you. Basically, they tried to execute her 'cause she….wait, what the fuck was it again? Hold on...Oh yeah! 'Cause she fucking transferred her lil' soul reaper abilities to a human when they were in danger or something. What a fucking joke! Assassins transfer sheatsu all the fucking time! It isn't a big deal. To humans to hollows to anybody. Literally by the touch of the fucking hand so I don't see what the whole big deal was anyways. Besides, it was so fucking dramatic with the whole sword in the heart thing like...okay? The fact that I had to come find her to find out that shit? Yeah, a-nnoy-ing." Raiden said, not noticing that the younger Byakuya's expression had changed.

"W-Wait, she was supposed to be executed?" Byakuya asked, letting the information sink in. He glanced at his grandfather before looking at the quincy.

"Yeah, yeah." He shrugged off. "It was so pointless. Literally, that orange guy all the way down there was the one who saved her from that shit."

Byakuya said nothing for a while. He now understood why she had been nursing him although he had been just some odd-looking human to him. It appears that he was a substitute soul reaper now due to her actions and had assisted the Gotei 13 in another personal matter. Though, he was aware that a person was to be sentenced to a death penalty if they transferred their powers to a human, he wondered where the older him fell in all of this. He was not one for breaking the law. His grandfather had raised him to respect the law and uphold it no matter what. Though, his own sister was being executed—surely he did not stand by and watch her end up in that state? That implied that the human had been the one to try and save her.

"To make it all fucking worse, since he was a human, ya know and they didn't want her to be fucking saved since ya know, they're all two-faced pieces of shit, they started to fucking fight him n'try to stop him n'all from helping. He literally had to fucking save her just when she was about to executed like holyyyyyyyy. The Gotei 13 are so fucking annoying. The law was so dumb, how could anyone uphold that? The fact that she forgave them over that shit? The Head Captain included, pissed me off so much, my chest still heats up when I think of it. But do you wanna know which one was the worst one? The one that pissed me off so much that I didn't even want to fucking speak to her? That useless brother-in-law of hers—oh my mother fuck. That one….that one fucking killed me. Her stupid brother-in-law was tryna kill her too? I was so fucking speechless when I saw it happen, he literally wanted her to die like...how could you want her to die, you asshole. And then when the orange guy literally saved her mother fucking ass and let me remind you, he showed up at the fucking execution too, he fought him. Legit, he fought him. Like wow….motherfucking wow. What a disgrace."

By then, the younger Byakuya had his eyes open, wide. Digesting the information with difficulty as he looked to his grandfather who closed his eyes.

"He does not mean you." Ginrei said, Byakuya immediately glanced at him. "Raiden."

Raiden looked up, his eyes went from the younger Kuchiki to the Captain. "Huh? Oh….yeah. I was talkin' about some next guy."

"Are you lying?" Byakuya questioned immediately. What other brother-in-law did she have? Unless it had anything to do with her younger brother who he did not know quite well. Perhaps he was married?

He figured he would have to ask her later, not that he was interested—he just needed the confirmation. If he was married, then perhaps it had been her brother-in-law from his side—though that implied that her brother-in-law on his side was a soul reaper. He had questions about his involvement in this matter too if that was the case. What did he do when it happened? The only positive note from the quincy's tale was that he referred to the person as her brother-in-law, he was her brother. If it had been him, he would've referred to him that way, no?

"Now hold the fuck up, I ain't Rukia, relax. Don't gotta second guess everything I say." He said, eyes resuming back to the phone. "Renji still ain't answering shit."

"This message literally makes no sense." He continued to grumble, trying to read it again.

Looking away, he couldn't bother with the quincy's endless grumbling over some friend of his. Even though he was his Lieutenant. "Uh, grandfather?"

His eyes met his. "Rukia..." he started to say.

Byakuya had been wanting to ask why he ever let her stay in the Rukongai.

"I talked to her about the Okasake heir. Why did you let her stay in the Rukongai? Was it not safer for her to stay in the Okasake manor?" He questioned, his grandfather moved closer to him.

"Yes." He responded, leaving Byakuya quite confused.

"...If you knew that it was dangerous for her to stay, why did you let her remain the Rukongai?" Nobody was following anymore. Didn't that mean they put her at risk?

"She convinced me to let her stay in the Rukongai. It appears that thing had not been her only reason." Then why had she not mentioned it? And what other reason could she possibly have had to stay?

The Gotei 13 were just as perplexed as well. What other reasoning could there have been for her to stay there? So much that she managed to convince the former 6th Division Captain to let her remain there in spite of her being acquainted with him and the Okasake twins.

"But grandfather? What reason could she have possibly had to stay there? The district she grew up in lacks proper necessities, given her relationship with you and the Okasakes, to have her there when she could so easily stay with them or even...us, did not make sense. I find it difficult to believe that you would just leave her there."

"Although we let her stay there, that does not mean she was there all the time. She spent most of her time in the Seireitei, following our wishes, we were able to see her quite frequently. Eventually, as she grew older, she was able to move into the barracks on the other side." Now that made sense. Having to sleep there was still odd if she spent so much time elsewhere but...at least she was safe.

"How did the Okasake heir handle all this? If she was still visiting the Seireitei, did he…"

"My dear is not an easy person to intimidate. After the incident, she still did not feel frightened enough to fear being alone. Regardless, we did not let her be alone with him very often."

"So they had compromised." Tōshirō said out loud. "She wanted to stay in the Rukongai however, Okasake and Kuchiki wanted her to be safe. It was a joint decision."

"Wonder what happened when she moved to the other side then 'cause according to this Captain, she left the Rukongai eventually." Rangiku said beside him.

"Well, knowing Hiro-sensei and Ginrei, they probably did their best to ensure that she was out of harm's way." Captain Ukitake said. "Moving to the Capital benefitted her greatly."

"Well...it is quite fortunate she moved. How did you manage to convince her?" He knew his initial observation had been right. They were very stubborn people.

His response surprised him. "She came to the decision herself."

"What?" He wouldn't have expected it. "She agreed to move to the Capital but she wouldn't move into the Okasake manor when you both had asked?"

"It is as I said, she is very stubborn."

"He's right." Ichigo said before grumbling. "Geez, remember when I tried to save her and she got mad when I came to save her?"

Kon turned to him. "Nee-san is just very independent and selfless, don't you dare try to insult her!"

"I was just bringing up an example, idiot." Ichigo said.

"I've always admired that from Kuchiki-san." Orihime said, Ichigo looked to her. "She's very strong and independent!"

"Enough to fight off Byakuya's grandfather and the whole Head Commander of the Soul Society to not let her move into their place when they were tryna protect her. Geez, Rukia—I thought it was only me." He hadn't meant anything against Orihime's comment because that was just Rukia. Though, the fact that she did this to other people too convinced him that, just like his impression of her when they had first met, she was a weirdo.

"Well, she did end up movin' eventually, Ichigo. Cut her some slack." Captain Hirako said. "I mean, I sorta get it. Probably didn't wanna feel like she was freeloadin' at anyone's place ya know?"

"She freeloads at my place." Ichigo said, not following.

"Yeah but like, you're nobody special, Ichigo. I mean, imagine having two elder figures from not one but two prestigious noble clans want to take care of you and offer you a place to stay? Even for an unofficial member of the Okasake clan, it's still a lot to take in. Especially comin' from the Rukongai."

"Knowing how stubborn my Lieutenant can be, I agree. I understand why it might've been easier to move into the Capital than stay at either one of their manors." Captain Ukitake said.

"That all sounds luxurious so now my question is why did she come here then?" Rangiku asked. "She moved into the Capital and she was favoured by the Head Commander and Captain Kuchiki so, what would be her reason to end up here? Even if she wanted to be a soul reaper, shouldn't she have stayed there?"

Rangiku just couldn't find any plausible reason why she'd leave. She had nothing against the Lieutenant, in fact she loved having her around. She was tiny and adorable and kind. Although they didn't speak much at first, after Aizen's defeat, they spoke a lot more often—especially when she came to the soul reaper women association meetings—but they could've done all that regardless if she stayed there.

Surely the Head Commander would not have minded her becoming one. Although Rangiku didn't know her as personally, to hide her age, identity, and get adopted formally into one of the two clans that favoured her all to become a soul reaper didn't make sense.

"We still have more we need to hear in order to make sense of it all. Be patient." Captain Unohana said behind her.

"Could they have gone against her or something?" Ōmaeda questioned. "Ya know...for wanting to become a soul reaper?"

Lieutenant Hinamori looked up at him. "You think that's why she hid her identity?"

"Hiro-jii isn't that harsh, he doesn't mind us at all. Since she's his granddaughter, he wouldn't be bothered if she wanted to be a soul reaper." Captain Kyōraku responded.

"I agree. Hiro-sensei isn't like that though, I can't say much for Shima-sensei. Even so, Ginrei was there as well. She wouldn't need to hide her identity to become one nor would she have to break ties with Hiro-sensei to do so. There is still a lot to uncover and make sense of."

With Captain Ukitake's words, they resumed their attention to the loud and uncaring quincy. "Eh, Rukia's just naturally fucking stubborn. Has been ever since I met her, it's just her thing. To be honest, I did try to convince her to stay at the manor but like…..I mean, once she kept saying no over and over again, I said fuck it as long as you're happy."

"Given that you lived with her, were you not aware when she would leave to meet the Okasake heir?" Byakuya inquired.

"I'm a heavy sleeper n'Renji started working at night during those days so neither one of us ever saw her leave. I only caught her when she came back. Though I wouldn't fucking worry if I were you. In spite of what happened, she never got intimidated by him again. She was back to normal like nothin' happened." Raiden said, eyes still going through her phone.

"I see." He looked to the ground.

Sensing his aura, Raiden looked up with unbothered eyes. "Hey, take it easy. She was fine, it's Rukia he can't fucking touch her. Whatever happened that night wasn't that either."

"She holds his birthright. In addition, it appears that he has an obsession with her." He muttered to himself before meeting the eyes of the quincy. "Has he made it clear whether he will take her as his wife or kill her to take his birthright?"

"Situation's much more complicated than that. Everyone's out here talkin' about love n'stuff but believe it or not, I still don't see it like that. Their relationship is pretty complicated if you ask me. The birthright shit is the main reason he's after her in relation to the Okasakes but him being after her like a creep is some next level shit to me." And right he was. He always believed that there was something more to it all.

But nobody could know but them.

"This is what I've been trying to tell you, Ishida." Maybe the quincy wasn't that bad after all, he thought. Ichigo figured he had misjudged him. "I don't want to think she has that kind of relationship with him 'cause he's a creep n'he's been controlling her life for a while now but yeah, I know it isn't love like that. Since he was around when this whole thing was going down, the fact that he thinks that it isn't that too just confirms it to me."

"He has been after her ever since he met her in the Rukongai. He began to stalk her and made her uncomfortable throughout her life, simply based on some infatuation." Byakuya retold the story the younger version had explained to him much earlier. "She got involved with his family and they gave her the key to his birthright. It seems as if that has only motivated him more."

"That is how it appears to the younger version however, we now know that the first time he met her was not in the Rukongai." Immediately Raiden and the younger Byakuya glanced at him in addition to the Gotei 13 surrounding him.

"What the hell?" Ichigo asked.

Uryū turned to Ichigo. "...perhaps had it been when she was a human, Kurosaki?"

"Oh no." Orihime said in a soft whisper.

"Yikes, that means he's been followin' her for her entire life, guy's obsessed." Captain Hirako commented after.

"What the fuck you blabbin' about, Captain?" Raiden asked, Rukia hadn't mentioned anything like that. Then again, he hadn't really had the opportunity to sit down and chat with her about it. He sort of regretted not asking sooner.

"While the younger version is not aware of this, it seems that my dear, having now remembered her human life, informed me that she met that thing when she was a human. He had approached her then and was waiting until she came to the Soul Society." Raiden was about to lose his mind.

The younger Byakuya was silent, unsure of what to say.

Ichigo turned to the Interioreum World Byakuya. "This guy's a fucking creep."

Ginrei's eyes narrowed at the younger Byakuya. "Do not tell the younger version that he has been around her since then. It will traumatize her. More importantly, I do not wish for her to remember her human life. It is not needed."

"Well fucking hell, he's been after her since then? Man o'man Rukia's got the worst fucking luck. She met the Okasake clan by chance then and outta all fuckin' clans it had to be his. No wonder he was pissed as shit when Sensei Okasake wanted to adopt her. He had that whole plan to marry her from time then." Raiden cussed in frustration.

"Once she passed over, he must've started looking for her." Captain Ukitake said. "It was the curse of her own luck that she ended up meeting the very clan he was a part of. That must've been the first time he saw her since she came, which explains why my Lieutenant said he started saying things like 'you've come' although she didn't understand it at the time."

Raiden was about to open his mouth again to speak however, after three days of being absent, the woman of the hour had arrived through the portal besides Ginrei with Roger.

"How long has it been?" She asked him.

"Three days." He informed her.

"Only?" He couldn't be serious. "I thought…" she sighed. "...thought it was longer. That means I didn't buy us much time."

"What she talking about?" Lieutenant Hisagi asked though no one answered.

"Ya know, Rukia." Raiden began to say. "You could've asked the fucking guy for your arm back if you were stayin' at his place. You reek of his sheatsu."

"What?" Some of the Gotei 13 members asked.

"I was right." Orihime said beside Uryū. "Kuchiki-san did go...to see him."

Ichigo closed his eyes.

"B-But...why would Nee-san go visit him?" Kon asked.

Fortunately, the younger Byakuya, somehow being their representative, appeared near his grandfather to ask. "What? Why did you go to the Okasake heir?"

The Interioreum World Byakuya eyed her too.

She swallowed. "I had no choice. We need time."

"That thing recalled his efforts because he was expecting a visit from my dear. As long as she visits him enough, he will not attack the Seireitei."

"You are sacrificing yourself again." The younger Byakuya reworded.

"It's not that big of a deal, don't worry. We need all the time we can get until the Gotei 13 heals. Visiting him is harmless, I have questions too."

"Still. It is dangerous, he might put you in a position to give him his birthright. I thought he made you uncomfortable."

Rukia didn't answer this time, she just ate. "Do not do that again. It is not worth it."

She glanced at him. "It is. No one gets hurt if I go."

Byakuya blinked in disbelief. She was still the same as her younger self.

"She's doing it for fucking us." Ichigo clenched his fist. "We gotta wake the fuck up from this nightmare."

---

"You may tend to my body." A voice said next to her. She looked down at him, trying to process what he had said.

"You may tend to my body."

She figured he had realized how dazed she was given that he repeated his words. "...all of a sudden?"

He looked away from her. "I am only aware of how to manage the tubes. I do not know much about the monitor."

Rukia nodded her head before following him to his body which was now located at the far left. Approaching his body, she suddenly came to a stop when he popped right in front of her.

"What's wrong?" She frowned. She at least wanted to be next to his body. After he found out the truth, she would probably never be next to him again.

Standing tall, his arms were to his chest with his eyes closed. "I did win."

Rukia had no idea what was going on. Win what? Running through her thoughts, she had no idea what he was referring too. "What are you talking about?"

His eyes shot open. "Do not lie. I know you are aware."

She blinked several times in response. "...Aware about what, Byakuya?"

What did winning something have to do with anything? "Did I not just say not to lie? Are you sure this is not a condition?"

"..." She had no idea what he was talking about. "But...I'm not lying? I really don't…"

"Do not deny it. The younger you already informed me. I did win." She was lost. Completely and utterly lost. Crouching down a bit with her only hand on her knees, she spoke.

"No, seriously. What are you talking about?" He seemed really irritated with her but she really had no clue. He slightly turned to his left to glance at someone, she followed his gaze to a stretcher further away. Kisuke was there, sitting next to Yoruichi who was yet to wake up from her injuries. What could either of them possibly have to do with him winning something? It didn't make sense. It seemed like he was staring at Yoruichi more than he was staring than Kisuke but she still didn't get it. What could Yoruichi have to do with him and win—

"Ohhhhhh." Now she remembered. She only knew about this because there were times when he had flash-stepped in front of her, given that he could not see her. It had only been a few times, she had forgotten about it—she really had no reason to remember it either. At the time, he was just there as a person, she didn't really bother with it as if she would've known he would become her brother later on in life.

"Well," she stood up properly now with a small smile on her face. "Of course you did! You're Nii-sama."

"Huh?" He was surprised by her reaction, he was expecting her to say something different. A few seconds went by before he spoke. "...right."

He wasn't looking at her. "Why? Of course you won, I probably just wasn't paying attention."

He cleared his throat. "Exactly."

Walking past her, he addressed her again. "Perhaps I do not mind you after all. The younger you is the nuisance."

Rukia furrowed her brows, turning to look at the back of him. "Um...by the way...do you mind telling me how you found out about that? I definitely didn't write that down…."

His eyes were still closed when he faced her. "It seems the younger you has adopted a behaviour similar to that of the feline. Although it is unclear which one is worse."

Walking to Byakuya's body, she sat down on the chair next to the monitor. "Don't go grouping me with Yoruichi-san."

Her words triggered an outburst. "Do not complain!"

"I understand you may never forgive me but to class me in the same category as Yoruichi-san is a tad bit...insulting." She couldn't deny how much she enjoyed teasing him. Maybe she did deserve to be in that class, the younger Byakuya was entertaining.

Regaining his composure, he spoke. "I am glad you are aware that you will never be forgiven."

She sighed. "It is what it is."

Slouching her shoulders, she turned to his body. "To expect forgiveness after all of this would be wrong though, I really hope...really, really hope you don't doubt my sincerity."

"You don't seem bothered." He observed.

She met his eyes again. "I saw this coming. I'm not going to lie to you, Byakuya. Me and the older you haven't had the best relationship in the past fifty years in fact, we barely had anything. Though...in the past two and half years, things changed a lot between us—in ways that I wouldn't have thought possible. That's why leaving felt so wrong...that's why hiding this all felt so wrong. The reason why I tried to convince Captain to even tell you was because it felt wrong. He didn't budge until now."

He walked closer to her. "Still. That cannot be your only reason. You've fought with grandfather before and I'm quite sure you have gone against his wishes before, you could've told me."

"I actually never go against your grandfather's wishes, Byakuya. I'll admit to resisting but I always manage to convince him in the end. I'm assuming you're referring to the whole Rukongai situation." Byakuya took note of how her voice changed. There was a lot of agony attached to it, he didn't know why.

"Besides, if it had been the other way around...I don't think even you could go against him. He is your grandfather."

The younger Byakuya was now sitting on the chair in front of her which was facing the body. "Still, the quincy informed me that prior to all this you were diagnosed with a psychological condition and I had been by your side. Why had you not shared anything then? If grandfather was who you were worried about, I am quite positive that the older me would not have mentioned it."

She shook her head. "You...won't understand but you're right, I did have a chance to say something but I didn't. Knowing the older you, he would agree that I knew the consequences of my actions and this is the result of it. Whatever happens now is on my hand."

"Do you not regret it?" He inquired, she was not looking at him—her eyes were on the ground.

"I...made a promise to myself..." She let out a breath shortly after. "...that I wouldn't tell you a thing without...Captain Kuchiki's blessing."

He stared at her for a while. The Interioreum World Byakuya had his eyes lowered, waiting for her to continue. He did not understand why she kept what she did. The younger him was right in questioning her actions. That night in the manor had been her last chance to confess to him before running.

She didn't.

And now they were here.

"I'm sorry…" she softly whispered afterwards. "...there isn't anything left to say but I'm sorry."

Turning to his body, she apologized again. "I'm sorry, Nii-sama...I'm really sorry."

Assuming she wanted to be alone with him, he quietly got up from his chair—noticing the younger her from afar—to join her in the meanwhile. It was clear that there was a lot unresolved between them, perhaps leaving her there for a while would aid her with her feelings.

"Nii-sama…" she addressed for the first time in a while. She peered at his face, eyes still closed, his chest lightly moving up and down. It had been several days since she had last been this close to him. "...won't you wake up?"

What she had kept from him aside, it had been too long since she last saw him awake. Has it been over a month? Probably. The last time had been the same night she left the Seireitei. Now that they were here, time seemed to pass by quickly.

She let silence engulf them. She wasn't sure what to say. Unlike with Ichigo where she had lots to relieve from her mind, seeing Byakuya made her mind go blank. What was there to say? Could she go off talking about Captain Kuchiki or was that too insensitive? Should she try to explain how she met the Okasake clan? Should she try to justify her behavior? Rukia didn't know.

"I'm sorry. I...couldn't tell you."

She couldn't look at him, instead she fixed her eyes on the collar of his new haori. "I have nothing to justify my actions except one. And that's…" she didn't know why she felt so nervous mentioning his name. Her heart was beating so wildly, it was as if it was forbidden to mention it. "...the Captain."

The Interioreum World eyed her. "That is not an excuse."

"To be honest with you Nii-sama, I don't really have much to say. When you wake up, he will meet you for the first time in a while. Nothing will make much sense however…" she breathed. "...eventually things will make sense. You will know...that I know him, have known him from the Rukongai,...you will know that I met the Okasake clan and am...an unofficial associate of them...you will know that I…"

Was she going to tell him about her younger brother? She paused. Biting her bottom lip, her mind ran through a lot of things. No...how could she tell him that? To make matters worse, she still had to find a way to mention Hisana which was the last topic she wanted to get into. From her human memory to waking up in the Rukongai….to remembering Jushirmai to seeing him in the last 20 years...that was a whole lot to digest.

She mentally shook her head.

"So you will not tell me about your discovery." It wasn't a question, just a statement he made out loud—figuring that she was deciding not to mention it.

"—uh, never mind, Nii-sama." She only confirmed it. "The bottom line is that, you will know a lot of things that happened in the past, before you adopted me that is. It's quite a lot, it makes sense as to why the younger you is sort of appalled by how much I managed to hide. I just...hope you know that...my intention with you wasn't—" She stopped. Her eyes fell on the photo from the annual noble heir gathering, the first photo she ever took with the Okasake clan.

It was tucked underneath the pillow. It made her realize that the younger Byakuya must've known that she was—or rather had been—next to him before, she picked up the photo.

Looking at it now, the incredulity of it all sunk in. "I had been beside you before…" she was talking more to herself now. "Weird, huh?" Seconds went by as she gazed at the photo as if she had never seen it before in her life. "Isn't it...isn't it sort of funny how life turns out, Nii-sama?"

"You should have told me." He responded, he wasn't looking at her.

"Who would've thought, certainly I would've never, I wasn't paying much attention that day either. I was too nervous, I mean, I was from the Rukongai and here I was standing among young noble heirs and their families, ready to take a photo with a clan who technically weren't even mine. The fact that Captain and Sensei came to find me all the way in the Rukongai to have me take this is still bizarre to me. The odds of it being the Kuchiki clan...the same clan I'd end up in, legally that is, who I had to stand beside and their heir, that heir being you is just...insane...completely insane."

"And it happened again and again, that same noble heir photo, in the same position...I was there...I was right there and then...over a century later, here I am...with the same person I was standing with to my right...and I'm his sister." She would've never thought that this could be a thing.

"I had sort of...long forgotten about this if I'm being honest. Again, I didn't really pay attention—even upon meeting you, none of this came to mind. Even earlier, when the younger you mentioned Yoruichi-san, my mind drew a blank. I was so lost because the truth is, I never really did pay attention. That's why this is just so...mind blowing when I think of it. I haven't looked at this photo in years."

"I only kept it 'cause it was my first. It's an odd memory, actually it's completely strange. Right beside me was my future brother of all things, who would've thought a single photo could be this creepy?"

"Actually," in distaste, she fixed her expression. "Wouldn't this be a bit too weird to show you? The photos you have from this day were cut to show the Shiba clan to the Kuchiki clan, maybe showing you this is too weird."

Abruptly, she turned the photo down. "Besides, what good would showing you this do? You'll already know everything by then. Telling you that I had been beside you a few times for these photos would just be disturbing. Though, if you are to find out one day...I know I'm to blame for many things but please, redirect your blame to the Captain. I really didn't want to take that photo that day. Out of all places, he showed up in the middle of a crowded area to find me along with Sensei. Instead of meeting me near the fields where we'd usually meet, he and Sensei came there of all places. Of course they both knew exactly what they were doing, I had to quietly follow them to avoid any type of...talk happening."

"I did erase their memories in the end." A gravelly voice said next to her.

"How many memories do you think you erased that day?" She questioned. "There were still people who remembered that."

"If we had approached you separately, you would not have agreed."

"You're right, I wouldn't have." She turned to look at Byakuya. "And then I wouldn't have taken that photo that day."

"Eventually you would have had too."

"Not if I managed to convince you." She reasoned, he opened his eyes to look down at her.

He was oddly very easy to convince.

Attempting to change the subject. "How is Byakuya?"

"Better than before. He's breathing on his own now, his injuries from before have healed as well. It's only a matter of time…" Her gaze was warm, all she wanted at this point was for him and the others to wake up soon.

"Have you decided on how we will proceed?"

"Ah," she met his grey eyes again. Ever since coming back, she had become too lost in other things to inform him. "...Actually, I have something to tell you...and everyone else. Staying with Jushirmai for the past few days made me realize something."

"What is it?"

"Tomorrow...when everyone is awake, I'll share. From there, I'll tell you." Her head turned back to Byakuya's before a hand met her shoulder.

"...Were you alright?"

A moment of silence took over them.

She didn't move. Instead, she remained focused on Byakuya.

He was waiting for her answer patiently though, truth be told she didn't know what to say. Her feelings were in such a cluttered mess she didn't know what was going on inside of her anymore. It didn't help that she was afraid to sleep, she had experienced more memories while staying with Jushirmai. It was making guilt resurface, sadness resurface, loss resurface...it was too much.

Inhaling to exhale, she slowly looked up—eyes expressing uncertainty. "...I don't know."

Byakuya, the younger one, now watching from afar, realized that she was going through much more than he had realized.

---

Flashback

(AN: Morbid Memories, this scene takes place during the night where Rukia had woken up and Byakuya kept on checking on her. It was not written in the chapter. This was a moment which happened in between all of his checkups which were mentioned in the chapter.)

He knew she was uneasy.

The recurring movements of her in the other room did not go unnoticed. He did not intend on sleeping either, she was too restless. Although he understood that she had been stuck in her room for days, following Unohana's advice, she was not to leave. It was better if she rested.

Though, she was very stubborn. He caught her numerous times trying to leave, her excuses got weaker each time—he presumed she was frustrated though he made no commentary. He did not know where she planned on going either. It was night, there was nowhere she needed to be.

Going through the images of students at the academy, he paused as he heard it again.

She was moving. Her feet were headed to the shōji, he knew it before she could reach. By now, he was already out and near the door, waiting to hear what her excuse would be this time. Parting the doors, she jumped back—startled at his appearance.

"What is it?" He voiced, she looked down.

"...I...wanted.." he waited for her to continue but instead she looked up at him with a remorseful gaze.

"Rest." He turned around, she didn't say anything.

He was about to take a step forward but the whispered sound of an apology came out. "I'm sorry...Nii-sama."

Moments of silence went by. His back was to her but he knew she was looking down. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"I'm sorry…" she whispered again. He did not like apologizing when no one was at fault. She was restless because she had been stuck lying down for days, her condition was not her fault—he did not see the need to apologize.

"I—" He stopped her. He did not need to hear it again.

"Rukia."

Again, nothing but silence. Only the sound of wind filled the moment before she slightly bowed her head and closed the shōji.

She was not at fault for her condition, he did not see her reasoning. He was awake.

###

Closing the door following his harsh calling of her name, she scolded herself.

You fool...why would you even try?

She realized that perhaps her apologizing had reminded him of something in relation to her sister. Though, that had not been her intention. She felt the need to say it at least once before she left.

He'll probably never know anyways if you can disappear. You'll be back...you'll be fine. Captain Kuchiki will eventually show himself and all you'll have to do is fake a smile and introduce yourself all over again.

Right.

He would never know all of this, how could he? It didn't matter what he did, he would never find the documents which could prove her past. Her younger brother was safely hidden away, she kept no memories of her past prior to her adoption with anyone but herself, the Common Kuchiki Law prevented him from being involved with the assassins and the Okasake clan, she had nothing to worry about.

Perhaps the only difficulty she would face is pretending she didn't know her supposed grandfather when he would return. She would introduce herself and distance herself so that their relationship could grow naturally—at least to him. That would be the only thing she would have to lie about once this was over.

He didn't need to know about her past.

It was best kept hidden.

###

With that memory coming to mind on the night she had woken up from her condition, Byakuya realized that her sudden apology had not been for her constant movements or disturbances when he was trying to sleep, her weak excuses to leave or even for her position at the time in relation to not being able to speak because of the ryoka, it had been for this.

The sudden need to apologize was for this.

She felt guilty.

---

"We're both dead."

He was never looking at her again.

"I already am dead." He responded, she immediately looked up at him, unimpressed.

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" She questioned.

"Actually, we are both dead." He re-stated. "To the assassins you are dead. Therefore, we are both dead."

"Does he mean that as a joke or did she…" Tōshirō didn't finish his sentence.

"Fake her death?" Uryū asked behind him. He hummed in response to Uryū finishing his sentence.

"Well in spite of his tone, ol'Ginrei is probably just makin' a joke to lighten the mood." Captain Kyōraku dismissed.

"Ha, ha." She nonchalantly reacted. "I meant it in a figurative way."

"So that means...he meant that literally, right?" Tōshirō looked to Byakuya.

"Why does the Kuchiki family all speak with that same tone?" Lieutenant Hisagi grumbled to Lieutenant Kira.

"I didn't even know the guy was joking." Ikkaku said behind him.

"Byakuya, mind telling us what the hell is going on?" Ichigo asked, this whole family seemed to have a secret thing for humor, which was odd given the fact that absolutely none of them spoke with any emotion in their tone.

Rukia was an exception.

She was adopted.

His eyes closed, he addressed the Gotei 13 who had unfortunately decided to appear next to him once they spotted Rukia. "It appears there is a possibility she faked her death."

"You can't be serious." Ichigo began to say.

The Gotei 13 were about to input their own reactions however, Tōshirō opening his mouth to speak suddenly sent everyone packing.

"Well, it seems that Kuchiki was trying to say that both her and Kuchiki were dead in a figurative way for not telling Kuchiki about all of this and whatever else they are still hiding from him so, Kuchiki intended on making the joke that he was quite literally dead because he came back to life which Kuchiki gave a very mundane response too so Kuchiki tried to change the joke into saying they were both dead, implying that him and Kuchiki were known to be dead to others or had literally died so then Kuchiki informed him that she meant it figuratively which means that what this Kuchiki said might be true. Kuchiki might also be dead to the assassins."

By the time Tōshirō finished his explanation, everyone was gone—with the exception of the very 3 people he had been talking about.

---

The day before

"This is your room." He said as he guided her into it. It was a plain room, nothing special. There wasn't even a proper window, just a futon and another shōji ahead, she assumed it led to the bathroom.

"You are not permitted to leave unless you are willing to fulfill my orders." He warned as she walked to the futon.

"I won't." She responded, she was too tired. She hadn't slept in a while. "Though…"

Her back to him, with her eyes lowered she continued. "Don't touch me...Don't come in here while I'm asleep."

He grimaced, she could feel his eyes glaring into the back of her head with a sly grin. "In exchange, that pet of yours, Roger will stay in another room. He will not be alone with you."

Moving to kneel down onto the bed, she stopped herself once she spotted an odd woman near the other shōji ahead of her. She looked like a shadow, her entire body was dark—she didn't even have much of a face. Her hair was grey and put into a bun, one that elderly women in the Rukongai would often wear.

Rukia concluded that she must be old though, given her lack of facial features, she couldn't really know.

Before she could ask, that venomous voice spoke behind her to answer. "That is your servant. If you need something, tell her. She doesn't have a name, call her whatever you please."

She wanted to protest, she saw no need in having one but before she could, he was gone. It was just her and that elderly woman now.

"Um…." Rukia didn't know how to address her. "I'm okay. I just want to sleep for now...if you don't mind."

The elderly woman said nothing, she just moved to the corner and stood there. It was in that moment she realized that the woman was not there to aid her, she was there to watch her.

Great….

With great difficulty, she tried her best to avoid the figure in the corner of her room and laid down. Given how tired she was, she presumed she'd fall asleep rather quickly and she wouldn't have to feel whatever eyes that woman had stare at her.

###

She was standing in a field...a field of beautiful red flowers...flowers she had come to like but couldn't know its true name.

Someone named them chrystanelleum lilies for her so that's what she called them.

She could see him—coming towards her, his jet black hair was tied in two pigtails with a red string. He was wearing one of his noble garments, a kariginu.

He looked so happy to see her, she wished she could feel the same however, the boy right now was just the surface. He had another face—a scarier one. He would visit her at night—that was the real one. This boy coming at her now was just a fake.

The memory suddenly changed.

There he was. That's the real one. The traditional pigtails were gone, his hair was long and wavy and out. His iris eyes were somehow darker, the garment he wore was layered with dark purple, as he approached her. That innocent boy was gone...this was his true face.

This was the face of her stalker. This was the face of someone capable of mass murder.

Her back was against the wall and he was close to her, although they were close in height, he was still tall enough to tower over her.

He smirked.

For the life of her she could not move, she wondered why for a few moments that she didn't push him back. He was there, he was way too close to her, and yet...nothing. She was just staring, why was she so quiet? Why couldn't she move?

And then she realized…

With her hand flying to his heart, he stopped leaning in.

They shared the same heart.

He knew.

Her eyes shot open, faced with darkness, it took her awhile to adapt and remember where she was. Moments went by, her beating heart was finally starting to calm down, she recognized she was in a bed.

She was at his manor.

She wasn't safe.

Sitting up, she tried to search for some light around her but she found nothing. All she saw was darkness, the fact that she had to stay here for a few days to buy time was bothersome. Perhaps she would dream more of memories in relation to him than anything else.

Her hand reached around the futon, trying to find something before a light came on in the corner. It was a lantern, the hand holding it belonged to the elderly figure. She said nothing.

Rukia cleared her throat. "Thank you…"

Pushing off the covers, she smoothed the bottom half of her skirt out after standing. Looking to the small window, she realized it was still night. How long had it been?

She turned to the old lady again. "Um...How long has it been?"

No answer. She tried again. "May you tell me how long it has been since I fell asleep? It's still night…"

She doesn't answer anything nor does she have a face...what is she? Did Jushirmai create her?

Opening the modern style door in the corner, she figured it led to the corridor and she was correct. The fancy designs of the hall indicated that perfectly, she turned to the shadowy figure in the room.

"I'm...going to head out for a bit. I'll be back." Again, the figure gave no response. She just shut off the lantern and stood there. Feeling odd, Rukia walked out into the light—finding herself admiring the beautiful hall. It was nothing like the plain dark rooms she saw him in or slept in.

It looked more like a palace. It was stunning.

As she walked down the hall, she remembered her promise. She said she would stay in her room but, there was no way she could fall asleep again. Reason number one was dreaming him, reason number two was that lady….she was weird. Her body felt stiff as well, it reminded her of when she had woken up after seven days in the Kuchiki manor. She needed to move around for a bit, walking around in her room wasn't an option.

Looking at the gold and aquamarine patterns which ran along the wall, she barely noticed the presence of a person walking past her until they stopped. Her head turned to the left to see her. The same woman who was, uncomfortably, acting like her for Jūshirmai.

Due to the bright light, she could finally see her in a place that wasn't dark. Her eyes were a light lilac colour, her black hair was cut and styled to look like hers too.

Rukia took a step forward. "Hey…"

She just stared at her. Her face was blank, lips pressed into a straight line.

"Are you alright?" Rukia asked, the woman started to scan her—looking from her head to her toes. Rukia was about to ask her another question however, the woman suddenly started to...smile. It was like a wave of glee took over her as she rushed to her and grabbed her only hand.

"Let's go!" She ordered excitedly.

Taken back, she spoke. "W-What? Where?"

She didn't know why the woman was suddenly consumed with delight but at least, she wasn't like that elderly woman in her room.

"To bathe, silly!" She giggled as she led Rukia into a nearby room. Upon entering, she found herself in another pretty room. The entire bedroom's palette consisted of gorgeous earth tones. Before Rukia could comment, she was dragged through another interconnected shōji which led to a counter connected to a small living room. The woman pulled her past all that to enter a modern door—she was in the bathing room.

The woman immediately dipped herself in the steaming bathing water with nice pink petals floating in it.

"Um…" Rukia didn't know how to refuse. The thought of a warm bath was nice but...she wasn't in a normal place for that. He had eyes everywhere, this was his home. She couldn't put herself in such a vulnerable spot even if the bath sounded nice. "...sorry I..can't."

The woman looked to her with a smile. "Then sit."

With that, Rukia found herself sitting at the side of the large tub. She wanted to ask...she wanted to know more of who she was beyond the character Jushirmai had her playing. "What's your name?"

"My name's Rukia, you know this, silly."

Rukia shook her head. "No." Her tone was harsh. "That isn't your name, I'm asking about you. I want to know more about you, what's your name?"

All she did was smile. "If...you don't have one, I can name you." She offered.

"No, I don't want that. I like my name now, Rukia is my name and it's also yours. Doesn't that mean we should be friends?" Rukia immediately frowned.

Through her eyes, she could see that the woman was too far gone in the act.

"No…" her voice was softer now. "...no, that's not your name. I'd like to give you a name if you don't have one."

"Nope!" She said as she began to wash herself.

"The reason why you're here is because he has an obsession." Rukia answered, her hand dipped into the warm water.

"So why don't you just end it?"

"Are you aware?"

The woman waited. "I'm not the first person he's had an obsession with. He had obsessions with many others before me."

"I know." She suddenly said before breaking out into a smile. "I've played them."

Her eyes widened. Removing her hand from the water, she addressed her in frustration. "Why? Why would you do that to yourself?"

"Though…" she gazed at her in awe. "...among all the roles I've played for him in the centuries he and I have existed, he's never had an obsession with any of them in the way he has an obsession with you. Are you aware?"

Rukia grimaced at how she perfectly mocked her tone. "Of course you are...you have the files given to you by that man. You know the basis of his other obsessions...all he used to do was show them himself and have them follow him around as a child. He never introduced himself to any. You were the first and you know that. Don't you think that makes you more than an obsession?"

"No." She responded. "He's insane. What's his reasoning? What is the connection between all of us? Surely you know given that...you have adjusted yourself to play them. Who even are you?"

She smiled again. "I'm you, silly!"

"No…." Rukia shook her head. "...you're not. You mentioned that you've been around him for a long time. It means that you were around for his earlier obsessions we have on files. Where did you come from? Why would you aid him?"

"Fun."

"That can't be your only reason."

The woman's face was back to being blank. It was the same expression she had shown her in the hall before. Slouching in defeat, Rukia turned around.

Moments later, she felt a strong tug on her hair, she winced. Forcefully, she was spun around, she saw the angry face of the woman. Her nails suddenly grew black and long as she pushed her back and began to choke her against the door.

Illuminated with purple sheatsu, she realized that Jushirmai had given her a fragment of his. The woman was too strong for her, she was using Sensei-leveled sheatsu at the rank of number one. This was the time she needed Roger, she needed him here. Kido wouldn't work on her either—she was an assassin, that barely worked without sheatsu.

She didn't say anything to her, she just glared.

Why did she switch so easily…? Is there a chance she's like him too? Does she have a split…

Rukia couldn't continue her thoughts as her vision started to blur. Everything around her was starting to look different, this woman was strong...too strong. Even with her only arm, she couldn't loosen her grip.

Then she realized….

This woman was supposed to be her—she was acting like her.

She seemed to take her roles seriously if she was like this 24/7. That meant she knew a lot about her, enough to follow her mannerism and know as many intimate facts that she had ever shared out loud.

If there was one weakness that everybody knew which troubled her to no ends, it would be that.

"S-Sp….i...i-i...d-e-r-r." She managed to choke out. A few seconds went by before the woman's blank eyes were coated with fear, she jumped back and quickly threw herself back into the water.

Rukia coughed onto the ground, trying to get air as the woman sat in the tub and didn't move. Her eyes were looking into the water, she was silent.

What are you?

###

Rukia left a while ago. By now it had been at least two hours.

She wandered around the large manor with many floors, admiring the allure of it all. It was so beautiful, it was like every aspect was meant to follow the seven stones. There were areas that reminded her of citrine, areas that reminded her of lapis lazuli, areas that reminded her of diamond, and so on. It reminded her of the Capital—the barracks were all designed to reflect that of certain stones except this, this was more intricately crafted.

Although the palette all fell along the lines of blues and silvers to represent aquamarine, the other stones were represented here as well. It made her wonder how long Jushirmai had lived here, how long had Sensei Okasake given him such a beautiful place to live in.

The woman she had encountered a while back had left her mind temporarily. It was too late—she couldn't convince her. That woman was too far gone and it seemed that she had been working for him for a long time though, the thought of her pretending to be all those women still bugged her. Why would she sacrifice herself so much to live the life of others for him? Was the pleasure he gave her worth all that? It certainly was not.

Finding her way back, she searched for the same hall she had been walking through earlier. She didn't want to return to her room but Jushirmai was yet to encounter her, perhaps it would be better if she just returned there and tried to fall asleep.

Noticing the same aquamarine design which had caught her attention earlier, she was about to turn in but she stopped.

The woman was walking out. She was injured. It had to be him.

Her head was lowered as she walked out of some room, Rukia approached her. This wasn't right.

Holding onto her arms, she glared. There were bruises that hadn't been there before.

"Did he do this to you?" She didn't answer.

Though she didn't know where she was going, she held onto her and dragged her into the nearest room. The woman quietly sat on the bed, the same blank expression on her face. Rukia made note to not let her defenses down before she choked her again though, by the looks of it, she wouldn't do that again.

On one knee, she brought the bruises to light and started performing kido. He probably saw them—this was his manor, he had eyes everywhere. He must've seen that she choked her and went to punish her for nothing. Her bruises were so bad. Rukia felt the need to apologize although it wasn't her fault.

I'm sorry, she thought. How could he do this to you?

The words never left her mouth.

She worked through all the fresh bruises until the red, black and blue, marks disappeared from her pale skin. She was quiet...surprisingly.

Rukia was convinced she would stay like that given what occurred although she proved her wrong. After the last bruise was healed, she jumped up and spoke. "Now that I'm healed, I can do that all over again!"

"W-What?" Rukia questioned immediately, holding onto her hand. "Why would you do that?"

What is wrong with her?

"I asked him to do it for fun!" She was so cheerful, it hurt. Before running out of the room, she thanked her again.

Who could save her?

###

Back into her room, she lied down. The elderly woman in the corner was no longer on her mind, it was the woman who was playing her. She didn't understand her at all, what was her true face? She seemed to have an on and off button. The woman who had choked her felt very real but then...she was also her at the same time. The mention of 'spider' had her jump back in seconds...it was so weird.

How did her mind work? What was her true personality beyond the fake ones she had adopted to play other women? Was she truly only driven by the pleasure she was given?

Turning to her side, she couldn't imagine what that woman had been through. Although she did enjoy it, what about her as a person? What was she like before meeting Jushirmai?

Unfortunately, she could not think for long as a body entered the covers and laid next to her.

"I presume you are thinking of Rukia." A husky voice spoke next to her, she closed her eyes.

"Didn't I ask you not to come here?"

"You broke your promise." She should've never left, she cursed herself. "Now I'll break mine."

She was about to speak but he cut her off. "Unless you want that pet of yours discarded. That is also a promise I could break."

"No…" she quietly said. Why did you leave?

"That woman you are trying to get through no longer exists." He was laying beside her, looking up at the ceiling. She didn't speak, she just let him continue. "She plays the roles she needs to play and for that very reason, she lives."

"What have you done to her?"

"Nothing. She came willingly."

"A lie." Rukia identified.

"Oh?" That tone…"She came because she was attracted. She wanted luxury so I gave her luxury. In return, she would act."

Although she didn't believe him, she inquired more. "Who was she before?"

"Nobody…." he paused. "That is exactly why I gave her something. She is now an actress."

"I don't believe you. Was she from the Rukongai? Why would she aid you?"

"She has no reason. Though if she were ever to have one, I'd imagine it's the soul reapers' destruction is what she'd choose as her answer."

"When are you gonna let that go?"

"You mean let them off?" He impassively laughed. "I thought you were a woman of justice, you've really lost yourself."

"I have not."

"If that were true," he whispered the rest of his words. "...you wouldn't be defending them."

"That's a lie!"

"It is?" He was so amused. "Your heart's beating really fast, Rukia. Have I done something to trigger that?"

She didn't realize she was so close to him, he could feel her heart. "Why don't you—"

She sat up immediately. "No!"

He put his hand on her back. "I'll give you your arm back."

"No….I will wait until it grows."

"Don't you think it's taking too long?" He sat up with her.

"I can wait. Don't touch me." She pushed his arm off yet again.

He moved in closer, clearly not getting the message. "I said no…."

"You also broke your promise." He reasoned as he leaned in.

"I said no, I will never—"

"Do not lie."

She stood up.

"You're in denial…" he started to smile.

"I am not."

"I can wait…"

"What?"

"Let's see, how long you can deny yourself for as long as I have this heart, I know what you feel."

###

She had slept in another room. It seemed like the entire corridor just consisted of bedrooms, there were so many to choose from. Surprisingly, neither the elderly woman or...him...had followed her though, he knew where she was. This was his manor.

Leaving the room, she had intended on exploring the manor more however, another shadowy figure of a man informed her that he was waiting for her again.

In room 302.

She was now here, waiting for him to speak. His back was to her as he looked out the window.

The silence was annoying. She wanted him to get this over with so she could explore the manor more but he seemed resilient to let her leave. It came to a point where she figured that perhaps he hadn't had anything to say. Walking closer to him, she eventually found herself beside him yet he didn't say a thing.

Peeking out of the window, she realized that this was the first time she actually looked out of any window in this manor. She had visited him here before, this is where they usually met to speak but never once had she looked out of the large window to see.

All she saw was ice, snow, and an ocean that was nearby. It made her wonder where exactly this manor was located in the Soul Society. It was as if it was situated on some random deserted piece of land with nothing close to it for hundreds of miles.

Looking up, she saw the full moon.

It was strange.

She didn't know how to describe it but it looked more like a hologram instead of the moon. Something about it looked so fake, she wondered why it appeared that way. Her confusion only worsened when some bird just….flew into it and out.

What had he done?

Moments went by, he wasn't going to answer—she assumed he wanted her to figure it out for herself. Nothing came to mind in relation to the moon until...the voice of her friend...speaking about Jushirmai prior to the Gotei 13 falling from the sky...came back.

He's made a fucking dimension on his own. (AN: Scattering Stars Like Dust)

Yeah, it's located on the darker side of the moon. (AN: Scattering Stars Like Dust)

Her eyes widened as she stepped back. The realization of it all sinking in at once. She couldn't believe that this could be the case but that moon...that fake moon indicated something that was hard to admit.

The reason that moon looked so fake…

The reason why that bird could just so easily fly through it…

It was because….She was on the moon...

And this...and this manor had been...this manor she had been visiting for years and years was on it too.

She had been here...

This dimension had been created long before and she had been visiting it without a clue…

Jushirmai finally turned to her with a smile.

"Welcome to the Soul King Palace, Rukia. Consider it an apology, you were too late."

---

"Hirosuke." The mention of him had Rukia staring up at the Captain again. She knew what he was intending however, she still wasn't ready.

Now standing at the end of Byakuya's stretcher with everyone else asleep, she figured he was waiting to mention it until they were together and alone.

"I'm not ready for that." She politely disregarded.

"You will have to visit him eventually." And that was true. No matter how much she wished to avoid any type of confrontation, she couldn't avoid it forever.

"I know…"

"You're avoiding it again." Rukia frowned.

"I can't help it." She admitted. "It's been so long, what will he do when he sees my face?"

She was now looking up at him, waiting. "It is Hirosuke. He has not seen you in over fifty years."

"I know but...it's not like the circumstance in which I left was normal. I didn't even say goodbye, I just let him see…"

Again she stopped herself, not wanting to remember.

"My point is, will he forgive? Will he even want to see me?" Perhaps her biggest fear was never being forgiven. The thought of looking into his eyes and finding nothing but hatred in them towards her scared her.

"You did nothing wrong."

"I could've gone, Captain. In the past fifty years or so...I shouldn't have removed myself completely, I could've spent time with him at least."

"He does not blame you."

Of course he doesn't, he's Sensei.

"Bu—"

He cut her off. "You blame yourself. That is different. I am well aware of how you think. Burdening yourself this way will not make it better."

After thinking over his words, she spoke. "Did he...ask?"

About me?

For some reason her heart fell when he answered. "No."

She looked down again. His hand was back on her shoulder again. "That does not mean he does not wish to see you."

Then what does it mean?

She figured maybe...just maybe he would ask the Captain about her but he didn't. It only enlarged her fears. Would he forgive her?

She bit her bottom lip. "I'm not ready, Captain. I-It's just not something I can do...today at least."

"I understand. However, do not delay it. Avoiding it will only make matters worse." She hummed in response, indicating that she agreed before looking at Byakuya on the stretcher.

She would do it soon...she hoped.

---

Rukia was now asleep. Cuddling the younger version of herself with Roger resting on top of them, she had been asleep for several hours now.

Ichigo couldn't think of the time they spent together the same. Every time he thought of their memories, he just thought of how somewhere, when he didn't fucking know, the guy was probably there watching them, and all Rukia could do was pretend he wasn't there. Or rather, she acted just the way she would if he wasn't there because it was normal for her, it was normal to have him staring at her and being around her.

It hurt to think she was doing that all along. He wished he knew...he really fucking wished he knew...

A shadow grew near. It was Byakuya.

"Who knows where he followed her, he could've been around us any time and we just didn't fucking know. It makes it even worse knowing that she probably saw him or could feel him but kept her mouth shut 'cause it was normal to her. She's literally been living like this all her life...and fucking now just for us….she's visiting him when it makes her uncomfortable."

Byakuya said nothing, he just walked closer to her head on the stretcher.

"I get it, she lied to you—I'm not sayin' it was right either but, c'mon Byakuya this is fucking insane. How could she...how could she live like that? It became so normal for her that she just…"

Saying it out loud made it worse.

"Even if she wasn't the one with his birthright, he would still be after her. What the hell is all of this?"

"Nee-san didn't want us to worry about her…"

"Kon, I get that—she's Rukia but this...this is too much. The fact that she fought off everyone and sacrificed herself for everybody when she was younger is too much."

He looked to Byakuya.

"She had a chance to stay in the Okasake manor...even your place long before she was adopted and she refused...she stayed in the Rukongai 'cause he threatened her with other people, the fact that she made up her mind to move to the Capital was the only thing that went right. I don't get what other reason she had to stay. Your grandfather says that she had another reason and that she managed to convince him. Now, I don't know a whole lot about your grandfather but I can tell he isn't an easy person to convince. What the hell could her second reason be?"

Byakuya still said nothing. He just continued to stare at her as she slept.

"C'mon Byakuya…" he understood why he was mad but...he needed someone to talk too. "...I get why you're mad at her, she lied to you—a lot—I'm not saying you shouldn't be angry. I mean, she knows your grandfather pretty well given how they act around each other. He even told the younger versions of you two that he raised her, that's a hella lot to digest I mean, she's coincidentally your sister now so your mind's probably still all over the place, especially since you didn't know this was all happenin' around you at the time. I'm guessing you didn't even know he was visiting someone in the Rukongai. Then...that noble heir photo, she had been beside you a couple times before, it's scary how things work out to say the least—not gonna lie, I was pretty creeped out when I saw it. The fact that she had been there, beside you, and then somehow end up as your sister sometime later is crazy. That's why I get it but—at the same time, there's still the reason we wanted to know the truth in the first place. We wanted to know to figure it all out and help her."

Ichigo stared up at him but he didn't respond. He knew Byakuya dealt with his emotions internally and would probably never confide to him about anything but realistically, this was too much to handle. In less than 48 hours, he had to digest a whole lot—it was crazy to think that his future sister had been there beside him or to see his own grandfather alive or even to know they had a relationship prior. To top it all off, he still had to process that his wife had been mistaken and that they also had a younger brother who was technically his brother-in-law.

With Tōshirō's voice coming to mind, he suddenly remembered when he had asked about Rukia's younger brother.

What he had wanted to say then was that Rukia didn't want to ruin his last memories with his wife. Staring at him now, he wondered if he should say it. They were already starting to learn the truth now and Byakuya now knew that her younger brother existed. With everything that was going on right now, he figured he should let him know sooner than later—who knows what else he was left to discover.

"About Rukia's younger brother…" he started. "...look, the reason she didn't tell you…"

Ichigo figured it was a subject he didn't want to get into but he just kept on going.

"...has nothing to do with this I'm sure. I asked her, whatever this is has nothing to do with that."

He didn't interrupt him, Ichigo assumed it meant he wanted him to continue. "When I found out she had a younger brother, I asked her why she didn't tell you. She said...she didn't want to ruin your last memories with your wife…."

Byakuya eyed him.

"...and I agreed I mean—when you told her that story, she was surprised. I'm guessing, she never expected to know that was the case...when you told her that in full honesty of the reasoning behind her adoption and how...that had been her last wish...she couldn't bring herself to tell you that when she woke up, she was pretty much at pre-teen age. I'm guessing she never expected you to mention that she was her sister so, the whole thing probably caught her off guard too. Tellin' you about her age and Jushirmai was something she just didn't want to do, she didn't want to ruin that. Now, I know it was wrong but I actually understood her reasoning for this one. She wanted to protect your memories, telling you otherwise would just fuck things up. I didn't know anything about her appearance until now though...I just figured she was a lot older then, had no idea she'd grow 2 inches and have different hair believe me. I never asked about how things got so messed up 'cause she didn't know either. According to her, she woke up alone, I figured that it bugged her a lot 'cause she didn't like talkin' about it."

A moment of silence took over. His eyes fell back onto her as she slept, most of her hair fell over her face given how free it was to move now. Ichigo didn't know what he was thinking. He figured he was mad but...it was a pretty basic analysis, especially when his reiatsu wasn't hiding anything at the time those things were revealed. Now, he just stared at her with the same impassive eyes, Ichigo couldn't read him though...he wanted to.

What did he make of all of this? There were a lot of things to make sense of, but what was the thing bothering him the most…?

"Listen, I get that Rukia and your grandfather being close is kinda weird, I me—"

"I do not care for their relationship." Finally, Ichigo thought. He was telling him something.

"You're mad that she didn't tell you." Ichigo took his silence as a 'yes'. "Look, I got no idea why she'd keep that from you either I mean—yeah, she probably couldn't explain the whole truth but she told me how they met, it was pretty normal if you ask me, minus the whole assassin thing."

Byakuya glanced at him again, he continued. "Long story short, he saved her from some wolves that were chasing her in the Rukongai. The reason why he was there is 'cause apparently there's some assassin-base in her district which holds meetings. Earlier when everyone was asleep, she told my body the story out loud. He saved her and after that, they just started talking."

Ichigo looked to her. "She could've told you that one, I've got no idea why she didn't say anything. Even if your grandfather had passed, it's still a big deal that he knew her given that she somehow ended up in his clan. Seeing that they're pretty close, his passing must've affected her a lot too….it's sort of strange."

"And then...there's the whole execution thing to worry about. He was revived to come save her and yet neither of us saw him...I don't get it at all either."

"It's a lot to take in, I'm sure. I'm not even sure what to tell you to do right now, it's probably hard." Ichigo looked up, feeling a light breeze next to him. The space was empty. "Bya—"

He was walking away. It just confirmed his feelings. Ichigo didn't bother calling after him.

---

"Say fucking what now?!" Raiden couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wanted to ask her if she hit her fucking head on the way through the portal but she was serious.

They all formed a circle near the rock he and Renji had been laying on a few days ago, she sounded pretty somber when she said she needed to speak with them but he would've never expected this.

"It sounds ridiculous I know but...it is. I would've never guessed that the Soul King Palace of all places could reside there but it seems that this dimension of his has been there for awhile. To be honest, whenever I went to visit him, we'd always meet in the same dark room. There was a window but I never really paid attention to the outside, I always thought I was in the Soul Society. Even when I took a look around, sure it looked really luxurious but...knowing how much Sensei Okasake loved him, I figured he would give him his all—I wouldn't have ever expected it either." Rukia said, she was quite disappointed in herself for not realizing sooner. Jushirmai had deliberately informed her of that because she was too slow.

Though in his words, it was an apology. As if he meant it.

"If the Soul King Palace is up there, I'm guessing that means that dimension was created by the help of his father, Sensei Okasake Hiroshima." Kisuke said, eyes lowered in deep thought.

"At first, I thought it was crazy but thinking about it now, makes sense. For the first time, I actually wandered around the place. It's everything I imagined the Soul King Palace to be like—it was clearly very ancient and had ties to all seven stones. To think that, early on, Sensei Okasake entrusted him with this dimension worries me." It still partly sounded unreal to her. She had been visiting the Soul King Palace all along and she didn't have a clue. It didn't even click in when she wandered the place in spite of how intricate the decor appeared to her.

"He has left us with great damage." Ginrei spoke. "It will be difficult to recover given all he has promised to that thing's hand."

"Didn't Sensei Okasake know about the Soul King Palace though?" Yūshirō asked in curiosity.

"It's hard to explain, Yūshirō-chan but...since the spirit was born from both of them, they had separate responsibilities in relation to the ownership of the Soul King. Our Sensei Okasake took control of the right arm and left arm of the spirit, including the legs. The other Sensei Okasake took control of the heart and the Soul King Palace. Now, usually they both were aware of what one did to the other however, after Jushirmai was adopted, they sort of just...stopped. That being said, I can see why our Sensei Okasake wouldn't know of what happened to the Soul King Palace." She explained.

"This is fucking crazy." Raiden said. "That means that on top of having whatever power he has which we still don't fucking understand or know about, he's an assassin, he has Sensei Okasake's fucking gemstone connected to his zanpakutō, and he's got the whole fucking Soul King Palace which he's been living in for centuries. To top it all off, he's got the whole fucking Soul King heart and birthright promise waiting for him in Hell. Great."

"Wait—but can't this Sensei Okasake stop him from absorbing the spirit?" Ririn asked.

Kisuke redirected the question to her. "Kuchiki-san…"

"This is what I meant about it being a bit difficult to explain. It's true that our Sensei Okasake has control of who the spirit absorbs too; however, that can be overruled by the heart—its power source. Again, that implies that the heart feels strongly enough for him to absorb it. Sensei Okasake can hold the spirit back to certain degrees, enough to maintain his ownership of his parts but given that the other Sensei Okasake took control of the heart, there's no doubt in mind that it will feel strongly enough to absorb into Jushirmai automatically, even if it's only half—it's a lot. The brain will have to fight off the heart's intention and that won't be easy believe me. Jushirmai has the upper hand, he was promised the heart." She responded.

"Lieutenant Kuchiki sure knows a lot about this." Lieutenant Hisagi commented.

"She's the guardian of his birthright. Hiro-sensei prepped her well." Captain Ukitake responded.

"This is pretty overwhelming." Uryū commented. "By the looks of it, if he's able to reach his birthright, the heart will probably absorb automatically into him and the other Sensei will only be able to maintain his parts."

"The Soul Society would be in his hands. The heart is the most crucial organ of the spirit." Captain Sui-Feng informed. "The only positive note is that Sensei Okasake would still maintain the rest. That would be our only hope."

"Think he still has it?" Captain Hirako asked. "Or did he seal it up with the heart and give the key to Lieutenant Kuchiki?"

"No clue." Tōshirō said. "It'd be nice if we could ask but…"

"We're still fucking stuck in here." Ichigo finished.

"Regardless. Even if he sealed the spirit with the heart, it will automatically come back to him—at least the parts which belong to him. Though, it would be more dangerous if the body was sealed altogether, if he were to get his hands on it, there may be a chance it'd absorb completely if the heart is strong enough to overrule the spirit's ownership." Captain Sui-Feng explained.

"Oh my! Does he know where it is?" Kurodō asked. "The Soul King spirit you're hiding from him."

Rukia nodded her head. "He knows it's in Hell but he doesn't know where. He can't find it though, it's sealed by a barrier."

"Did he ask you about anything?" Jushirmai asked, next to Yūshirō.

"No...He's not frustrated yet. He's been very patient, he's very confident that the Soul King spirit will absorb automatically into him given that Sensei Okasake took control of the heart and promised him it. And...he's right."

"What?" The group stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

"The soul emotions he's been collecting over the years are waiting to contaminate it. If it was ever to be released, he'd poison the heart with the soul emotions he stole, that in itself could potentially poison the body of the spirit and even I can't tell you how much damage it could inflict. It could potentially poison the host of the spirit itself or make them lose ownership of it. He has millions and millions of soul emotions collected, I felt them—it's...pretty terrifying." Rukia explained before turning to Kisuke. "That's what he meant about him being able to take the Soul King spirit completely. Even with Sensei Okasake's ownership, he plans on poisoning the heart and indirectly poisoning the rest of the body too. Given his connection with the heart, it should be easy once it absorbs."

And with that, the feeling of it all came back. Even the sounds of screams and tears were still in her ears. Reaching out to feel the heart had made her feel heavy—they were going against something that was consumed by every negative emotion there is.

"Soul emotions? What are those?" Rangiku asked in confusion.

"I don't know." Tōshirō responded. "Kuchiki also mentioned that she could feel them—the soul emotions that he's apparently collected. I wonder how she could do that."

"It doesn't help that it could potentially poison the rest of the body." Lieutenant Kira said in distress.

"Captain Kurotsuchi, got any ideas of what she's referring to?" Lieutenant Hisagi asked in front of him.

"I can't know for sure but based on the name, it seems that the Okasake heir was able to gather the reiatsu which forms after a soul experiences a heavy emotion." Captain Kurotsuchi responded.

"Does that mean…" Orihime started to say, feeling frightened. She held onto her heart. "...he plans on poisoning the heart with negative emotions?"

"I think you're right, Inoue-san." Uryū said. "But...how would he gather them?"

"Sorry to say that we still don't know enough about his power yet." Captain Kyōraku responded.

"What are the chances, he stole them from regular people?" Ichigo questioned the Captain.

"Sounds likely if he's able to gather just anyone's reiatsu." Captain Hirako said to him.

"In that case, do we still have a chance to purify it?" Jushirmai asked Rukia. "Worst case scenario, he's able to poison it. Is there any chance of redemption?"

Kisuke turned to him. "I'm guessing it all depends on the rest of the organs then—whether they can fight against it or not."

"Doesn't fucking help that he's the heir of the damn thing, man o'man poor fucking Sensei Okasake. Our man's gotta fight to keep his parts of the fucking spirit." Raiden said before Ginrei stepped in.

"He will use the Gotei 13 to his advantage." Ginrei said before turning to Rukia. "That may be his method to attain the heart."

"He's right, there's no doubt in my mind that he won't fucking use us against Rukia." Ichigo said. "She's done it before, she has been doing it all along."

"She has faith in us. I just hope that we are able to get out of here soon." Captain Ukitake said. "That may be the reason why he's so patient."

Rukia agreed. "I didn't want them involved but...it seems so. He's aware of the type of relationship I share with them. He'll use that to his advantage. I want to have a backup—we need a way to purify the heart. It's already too dark—the soul emotions will make it worse, much worse."

Uryū's eyes widened. "Is she implying that the heart is already—"

"Poisoned?" Captain Kyōraku finished for him. "Maybe, I mean. Not to hate on Shima-jii but he loved his son a bit too much, being the owner of it means that his heart and its heart was the same. Whatever negative emotions he felt along the lines of loneliness or despair probably consumed the heart indefinitely, maybe that's why it was sealed up and didn't go straight to Hiro-jii once he passed away."

"But why Hell?" Kensei asked. "Wouldn't that just aggravate the spirit more? If it's already got negative emotions within it, putting it in a place like Hell would only intensify it."

"I'm presuming that's what the barrier is for." Rose said right after.

Lieutenant Kira stepped towards him. "Still, Captain. Isn't that an odd choice?"

He turned to him. "I'm guessing there's a reason for it, Izuru."

"Maybe he can't enter Hell or something." Ichigo theorized.

Rukia turned to Kisuke. "There is one way I know of but...let's just say it isn't the way we should do it. Not only is it risky but," she stopped. "Let's just say I've ruled it out as a method temporarily."

"I wonder what that could be." Tōshirō said right after.

"And what would that be?" The younger Byakuya asked, he was standing beside the younger Rukia who stepped away.

"I won't say it because we won't use it." She responded with a remorseful smile. "I have hope that there's another way."

He immediately turned to his grandfather. "Grandfather—"

"My dear is right." Ginrei assured. "That method will not be used. There is a strong possibility that it might not even work."

Raiden turned to Rukia. "So what the fuck are we gonna do?"

"We need to find a way to counter the poison in the heart and the influx of soul emotions he'll attempt to push into it. In addition, we need to ensure that the remaining body parts can remain purified following the heart of its owner. He used the hearts he stole from soul reapers to add to his collection. The more uncertainty and bitterness that exists in the Seireitei, now that soul reapers are aware of the assassins, the more soul emotions he collects." Rukia said in response.

"It doesn't help that they can't avoid any of the emotions they're feeling right now against the Head Captain and the assassins." Roger said on her shoulder.

"I'm guessing that's what he's using to his advantage." Uryū said. "All this turmoil benefits him. Maybe that was the intention from the start."

"Doesn't that mean we indirectly helped him too?" Lieutenant Hisagi asked.

"Well, it couldn't be helped." Rangiku said. "It makes sense as to why he read off those souls in the first place."

"Matsumoto is right." Tōshirō said before turning to the group. "When he was able to read it off, we all felt angry but more importantly, we were reminded of the people we cared for and the emotions we might've felt during their passing."

"But how the hell does the guy take our reiatsu without us knowing?" Ōmaeda asked before turning to his Captain. "Captain, do you know?"

She remained silent for a while, her eyes closed. "I don't know."

"That silence tells me you do know." Captain Hirako said. "Geez, we already got enough liars goin' around. After screamin' about not being one of them, you went to say you knew of them and that Capital-based assassins visited the 2nd Division from time to time, then when sheatsu was brought up, you told us that you were given sheatsu by your grandfather. If you ask me, from the start you've been up and down with this whole assassin thing. You disregarded them as the enemy and then you said you have relations to them. I don't listen to you a lot but that's pretty damn suspicious to me."

The Gotei 13 all turned to Sui-Feng who refused to open her eyes. "I'm a soul reaper. I'm not an assassin—the only reason I have a relation to them is my clan and the 2nd Division."

"That doesn't explain shit." Kensei said.

"It does. I have rules to follow too." She explained. "I may be a soul reaper but following procedure, I'm not allowed to say anything in relation to them. I only spoke of what I knew because I am a soul reaper."

"So your excuse is that you're a noble?" Captain Hirako clarified.

She nodded her head once. "I have orders to follow. As a noble, I am obligated to keep what I know a secret. I let out information because we are in a situation."

"Is that supposed to mean that everyone over there knows how he does it and just lets him?" Uryū questioned.

Tōshirō turned to Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyōraku. "What about you two? You're both nobles as well."

"Shiro-chan, we've told you all we know." Captain Ukitake said with his arms up.

Captain Kyōraku spoke right after. "Believe us, we're just as confused as you are. We do have orders to keep the assassins a secret but that fish has already been let out the water."

"Would you know of Kuchiki?" Tōshirō questioned, pointing to the petite Lieutenant.

"I didn't know anything about my Lieutenant, I swear. It's as we said before, we're soul reapers. We don't have any connection to the assassin side besides the fact we know Hiro-sensei. But even so, we haven't seen him in awhile and I...well I never knew anything about my Lieutenant being an associate of him."

"I'm presuming it's the same with you then." Tōshirō said to Sui-Feng. She nodded her head once.

"Wait a minute." Lieutenant Kira said. "What about Captain Kuchiki? Doesn't that mean that you knew Captain about—"

Captain Ukitake politely cut him off. "Let's not talk about that for now, Kira."

Ichigo joined him. "Yeah…" he said before muttering. "...not a good time."

Lieutenant Kira stepped back.

"We still gotta know how he does it." Ichigo said to Sui-Feng. "You've gotta tell us something."

"Captainnnn…" Ōmaeda wailed as he attempted to put his hand on her shoulder.

"You disgust me." Captain Sui-Feng immediately said, he pulled his hand back immediately to apologize.

"S-Sorry, Captain!"

They waited but she never spoke.

"Forget it." Kensei said after a while. "We'll find out eventually. I mean we are with Lieutenant Kuchiki."

Captain Ukitake sighed. "That is reasonable. Let's not trouble her for now—she's already broken the rules."

"Very well." Tōshirō said before turning around.

"Is that all?" Captain Sui-Feng asked, no one responded. "Is that all you have to say to me?"

It only took a few seconds for the Lieutenants to all realize before they bowed. "Sorry, Captain!"

---

End Note

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