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.

23. Fruits are the Evil Eye

Pre-Note

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

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

There are no Images for this Chapter

Note: Bleach episode 251 (the 2nd episode which explains the backstory of Kuchiki Koga) is used in this chapter. I do not own the dialogue from that script.

---

Fruits are the Evil Eye

He managed to lift her, given her petite size, liquifying organs, and light weight back onto the stretcher immediately. He had been careful given that her body was in the process of deteriorating, leaving her skeletal frame alone. There was nothing that changed in the slightest in her and yet somehow that sai blade had come dashing out and into the heir's heart which evidently affected him.

He wanted to question the light—what connection did that illuminating yellow light have to the heart? It was clearly poisonous to him, enough for him to reluctantly hold his winces of strong pain and bark at her for what she had done though she wasn't even alive. He wanted someone to return soon so he could ask—not that they could completely know unless it was grandfather.

Given that she was no more than a corpse, he couldn't help but wonder how her body regained that energy to do so—it was a positive sign to say the least that she could but—he still questioned it. Occasionally, his mind proposed the idea that the light had done it solely on its own will though, in accepting that, numerous questions followed after that he could find no answer to so he stopped.

He'd wait until she came back and could answer them personally if his grandfather didn't show up.

---

"It might've been the light on its own." Uryū proposed to the group. "If she's dead, there's no other way I can think of how she could temporarily regain 'life' in some parts of her body again. I was watching her—that sai blade of hers slipped out of her pocket."

"The quincy actually makes a point." Mayuri, surprisingly, agreed. "It could've been drawn to it rather than Lieutenant Kuchiki doing anything to it."

"It must be a special one." Captain Ukitake commented. "A part of the assassin attire like the one Kuchiki and her younger version wear as you saw is sai blades."

"The younger Lieutenant Kuchiki wears the same fit with short sleeves and sai blades lined up on her back." Isane said right after. "So?"

"That sai blade didn't come from behind her, it came from her pocket." Uryū, who had observed what exactly occurred, detailed. "If it had come from her back, we still would've been able to see it despite her doctor's coat."

"That is why I think that one was set aside." Captain Ukitake said. "Given what it can do to the heart."

"Maybe whatever that is is the backup plan if we can't find a way to purify the heart." Kensei said. "Whatever the hell that light was clearly agitated him."

"I agree. That must be it though," Tōshirō narrowed his eyes, "I don't see why that would be much of a problem. So much that both Kuchiki and Kuchiki didn't even want to speak of it a few weeks ago when she brought it up. There must be something wrong with it, it's a single blade with a purifying light though Kuchiki and Kuchiki deem it as a problem."

"Probably isn't that simple." Captain Kyōraku said.

"If that light can purify him or whatever, is it possible that's the same light, reiatsu, sheatsu or whatever-it-is that makes up that barrier in Hell that they have?" They turned to Ichigo who was kneeling near her stretcher.

"You might be onto something, surprisingly, Kurosaki." Ichigo didn't miss the chance to make a face at Uryū for his comment. "It's definitely a possibility though didn't the former Captain Kuchiki say that the person who made the barrier is dead?"

"Then it's sheatsu." Sui-Feng concluded. "Whomever it is must've bounded its sheatsu presence to life being the barrier so that it could exist despite them dying."

"Well, that's pretty sick." Captain Hirako complimented.

"Captain!" His tiny Lieutenant chastised behind him.

"Whaaat? It's pretty cool if my sheatsu can somehow stay alive so that my presence doesn't ever leave." He said. "I mean, I thought this thing was only limited to transferring between person to person but if it can stay alive as a barrier or somethin' that's pretty cool if you ask me."

"Not that it'd be much help now that they're no longer here but," Captain Ukitake lowered his head, "it would be nice if we knew who produced the barrier. Whomever they were, they were clearly a huge threat."

Ichigo met the green eyes of the Captain from afar. "You don't think he did anything to them, do you?"

"It's possible. I don't believe Okasake would spare them knowing that they have something that can affect him this strongly though, at the same time, I'm not sure if he'd even be able to touch them." Tōshirō answered.

Momo bit her lip before speaking, "I still think the barrier has something to do with Lieutenant Kuchiki."

Rangiku looked down to her. "Why, Momo?"

"Well, the heir also said for her to come back and heal him. How would she know how to heal him if she didn't know a lot about that pure light?"

Tōshirō looked to her. "She's knowledgeable about a lot of things, Hinamori. I don't think it matters whether she produced it or not, she'll know."

Captain Hirako stretched his arms in a tired way though he wasn't. "A shame we can't revive whomever was able to have some pure light like that, certainly would've been helpful."

"There's something about that light that neither Rukia or Byakuya's grandfather want to talk about—enough to not wanna use it if that's the backup." Ichigo said in the background. "Something tells me it's dangerous in a way, maybe to her—who knows."

"Two intelligent comments in a day, I'm not impressed but surprised, Kurosaki." Uryū said. "Kuchiki-san's position truly turned you into a genius."

"A shame we can't cheers to it." Captain Hirako said.

"Yeah," Rangiku pouted. "Invisible glasses anyone?"

"Guess we're cheering now." Kensei grumbled.

Rangiku shot her right hand in the air. "To Ichigo's sudden intelligence."

A few members of the Gotei 13 repeated her words—to Ichigo's sudden intelligence!

"Yay! Ichi is no longer stupid anymore!" Yachiru cheered.

("HEY!" Ichigo yelled in the background).

---

He continued to mumble curses as he crouched down in 302, the chiffon light of the fake moon still hitting his back as he groaned in pain.

"Fucking Rukia," he spat as he winced, spitting out blood right after. "Fucking…" he spat some more, "Rukia…" a breath came out as he struggled, "you think this is funny, huh? You're conscious, aren't you? You were conscious unless.."

His groan was even louder now, the pure yellow light was still glowing from his heart—burning him intensely, to make matters worse the sai blade remained. Despite his strength, he knew the blade would never come out until she came to remove it.

Where is she?

A pool of blood grew beneath him, it kept on stretching until it was at all corners of the room. He felt the flesh on his face start to burn up—it was the light, it was trying to purify his body, he saw the smoke come out of his flesh as it charred it.

He needed to get this sai blade out without her but he couldn't even touch it without wanting to scream. He could feel his legs ignite as well, it felt like someone had needled a thread into and out of his body and were yanking it out of him, so much that his skin was starting to tear off.

Throughout his life, he had never endured more scathing pain.

What was fire to his skin felt like long, clawed nails digging into his skin—busting so many holes, blood spurred out of all of them before destructively ripping his flesh. They just sunk in deep and continued to rake his skin, pulling every piece of flesh off, leaving blood to just trickle out.

He needed her to come back now.

He couldn't die, this wouldn't kill him but to endure all this until she came back and removed it was grudgingly torture.

---

20 days

They were about to approach their 20th day of her being dead. Frankly, he could not move anymore—his eyes were just locked at her face. That little action of hers inspired so much hope only to spank it down a few hours later.

Her nails were falling apart, even when carrying her he could tell the difference. Nothing about her appearance was promising, though still, he would not waver once. She had to come back—no matter what her appearance told him.

She would return from the dead.

---

Pulling open her quotebook again, he was surprised when he arrived at a few pages filled with spider lilies, bunnies, and then some odd, abstract-like looking drawings. They were interesting, he was presuming there was some kind of connection between them as the more he progressed, the more descriptive and bigger they got.

He found that the abstract drawings took over the entire pages. They were coloured in, it was evident whatever crayon she used was pressed hard onto the pages to colour it in. The texture emphasized it alone.

He couldn't make out what exactly he was seeing. All of the pages he admired consisted of reds, blacks, and hints of yellow and orange. They were very detailed—he had no idea she was such a tremendous artist. From the precise colouring to the shapes involved, he reminded himself to ask what these were of. They were evidently telling a story of some kind, he just couldn't follow it.

Fascination engulfed his eyes as he slowly, with the tip of his pointy finger switched from page to page. He wasn't paying attention to the number anymore so he had no idea whether he was overstepping his boundary, not that he could pull away from such artistry. These were amazing.

There was some sort of, gothic horror theme attached to them. He saw an orange liquifying, a decomposing neck with a half charred necklace ringed around it, very red eyes belonging to a face that had a bunch of squiggly black lines dug into it, a chiffon slip with stains of blood on it, the main protagonist of this story seemed to be a woman.

The images grew more graphic as he progressed, there was now a woman faced down on a grand flight of stairs with her hair smudged into it and spiders looming over her—eating it. And then there was a woman with short black hair, styled much like Rukia's, only showing her chest and up. The black blouse she was wearing looked a lot like the standard female assassin uniform, a clawed hand was choking the woman's neck and she was drawn to lean back with again, an orange inside her mouth.

---

"These are concerning." Tōshirō observed, on the left side of the younger Byakuya as he skipped through pages and pages of her art.

"I've never seen Nee-san draw anything like that." Kon commented, leaning over Ichigo's shoulder to see them though his perspective was from upside down.

"Why would she draw herself being choked or her fear attacking her?" Rangiku asked beside him, the drawings were neat but incredibly disturbing.

"There's a lot of symbolism attached to these." Uryū commented. "There are some things here that probably mean something that we're yet to understand."

"She keeps using an orange in some of these, look—in almost all of them, she choking on them or spitting them out, or even just having them there on the side." Rangiku noted.

Lieutenant Kira appeared behind Captain Hitsugaya to see it for himself. "For someone who's scared of spiders, she sure does draw a lot of them. Even if they're after her in some way, that's still pretty creepy."

His Captain came beside him to look at them too before he looked to Ichigo, who was near the knee of the younger Byakuya seated next to her stretcher. "Ichigo, what do you know about these?"

"What do oranges mean?" Rangiku asked.

"She uses a lot of those flowers too." Orihime acknowledged before clarifying. "Spider lilies."

Lieutenant Kira, who was looking at her, voiced questions directed to everybody. "Yeah, why would she draw spider lilies and spiders if she's supposed to have some fear of them? Particularly spiders?"

"There's that yellow light again…" Tōshirō observed, more to himself than everybody—though they could hear. "That colour of light, it's the same light that came out of that sai blade that she injured him with."

"Why does it look like it's chasing her here?" Rangiku asked. "—look, it's like she's running away from it but then here, on the side, it looks like it's coming into her."

Captain Ukitake's silence only asserted his concern and discomfort with all this. His Lieutenant was clearly very troubled, these images—though started out simple as he had observed while standing here—grew graphic. She was drawing herself and her fears very specifically, he didn't know what to think with these images that she had drawn.

"Rukia likes spider lilies." Ichigo informed the group. "But, she doesn't like to admit it for some reason. She doesn't like the name either—she calls it something else, chrysantelleum lilies. I know and she knows that it's not a word but she just uses it as a substitute I guess. Anyways, I'm not gonna lie, she's a bit weird about it. She says she doesn't like them anymore and can't stand being next to them but then she admires them at some point and accepts them. Before she left, I gave her some as a gift and she was happy about it, really happy about it. She told me it brought her back on track."

"Chrysantelleum lilies.." Tōshirō re-said out loud as if he was familiarizing the word on his tongue, "I believe she has mentioned it before."

He then turned to the Interioreum World Byakuya standing on the other side of the stretcher, "Kuchiki! Didn't Oswald mention before that Okasake's good entity picked those flowers on some date of hers? (AN: She Never Turned: Interference)

Byakuya just returned his stare.

"When we were following her to her human home, I'm sure Oswald mentioned that name before." He informed the group.

Ichigo turned to the Interioreum World Byakuya. "Byakuya, did she ever mention this to you?"

He was surprised he got an answer. "There is a field located near the noble homes. It contains those flowers, it is a spot we pass often."

"She has mentioned to me before," he closed his eyes, "that she does not like them."

"Okay but why pretend?" Captain Hirako asked. "What's the point of pretendin' she doesn't like them when she does? All she's gotta do is tell people the other name she calls them 'cause she doesn't like the first one."

"I don't know." Ichigo responded honestly, "she tries to say she doesn't but then, if what Tōshirō and Byakuya heard was true, she still goes out of her way to pick them too."

"She drew herself really prettily here." Rangiku admired. "It's her younger self, the one who's here now. Though," she tilted her head, "she's wearing the long-sleeved version of her uniform and there's a bunch of silver-white clips attached on her hair like some...headband?"

"Look familiar, Byakuya?" Ichigo asked, figuring that they may be some noble hairpiece.

The 6th Division's Captain's eyes loomed over the image before his younger self passed it. "It could be an Okasake heirloom."

"They look like individual clips and—" Orihime gasped, "that one! That one right there looks like a spider lily!"

The image, despite appearing so sweet with the younger her sitting on some ledge with the pretty accessory, had a dark undertone to it. She was eating an orange that was quite literally melting with the juice of it drooling down her mouth. From a distance, a figure could be seen sitting down with his back to her. The setting took place at some manor, it was probably the Okasake Manor.

There were so many little details to unpack, they didn't have the time.

"She has that clip." Byakuya suddenly said, drawing their attentions to him.

"What?" Ichigo asked.

"Though she did not wear it." Ichigo really needed him to elaborate here but he probably wasn't going to get an explanation until later.

What did Byakuya mean 'she did not wear it'? Was there a place where she had too or something? He figured he'd have to ask again later.

"Even the charming Sensei Okasake is here." Captain Kyōraku acknowledged as a very explicit image appeared with a very young Okasake Gureta, her bright and relatively distinct turquoise eyes caught their attention immediately with her high ponytail and series of black loops on both sides of her face. She was lying down—she was pregnant and...blood was dripping beneath her stomach.

What was this?

---

The younger Byakuya did not know what to think of these images as he went through them. The one particularly in front of him disturbed him a lot—why would she draw something like this? The woman laying down looked a lot like the picture of Okasake Gureta he saw in that book and then there was that black-haired woman near the side, staring—eating an orange again—in a different direction.

In immediate discomfort, he turned the page—some of these were way too explicit. Why would she draw the former Sensei in such a manner?

The next one was even worse—but not in the sense of explicit—it was just...creepy. Very creepy.

She had drawn the younger her laying down with no eyes. They were completely black and as for the rest of her face, it was filled with scratches and cuts. So much that her neck was even half chopped off, it was grody. An uncomfortable amount of blood leaked out of her mouth with it open and behind her on the side laid the older version.

She had drawn her current self beside her with the same scratches and marks. Her neck was about to fall off too, accompanied with a bunch of grey stains—much like the ones that had appeared on her when she died. What was this? Why would she draw herself being chopped off in such a manner?

He turned it again—what first became fascination was now horror. How could she draw herself like this? What type of interest did she have to draw herself so precisely with all these horrible things happening to her? These could not be her drawings—she was not like that. The comical bunnies she drew were more her than any of these explicitly gruesome drawings.

This could not be her work.

It did not matter if it was drawn into her book, this could not be her—right?

He didn't have a moment to second guess it as he suddenly heard the sound he had been waiting for over two weeks.

Beep.

His eyes shot wide, he instinctively slammed the book shut and turned to her before his stare dashed to the monitor. His adrenaline was pumping as the straight line on the monitor began to curve again and go up and down. Suddenly 'beep' was the most loveliest sound in the whole world, his shoulders rose a bit as he waited for it.

She was back.

Her heart was beating again.

She was back.

The drawings that had kindled so much concern were no longer his main focus as he watched her skin regain its colour again. The grey squirmed away, restoring so much light in him—her body was fixing everything, she was back to life—she made it, she came back.

So stunned by her arrival, he couldn't bother to call anyone even if they were near. They'd come to realize it themselves and they did. Eventually, they were back to crowding the stretcher again as probably the most comforting gesture occurred once again; her lids opened.

It was slow, unlike all the other times she had woken up. It had been too long, he assumed. She blinked slowly, her eyes were evidently drowsy—trying to make sense of everything.

She was here.

---

She didn't know why her throat felt so dry. She could barely find the will to speak given how bruised it felt. It took her so long to adjust to her surroundings—her vision was so blurry at first when she opened her eyes.

Her body felt like it had laid in a dormant state for ages. She felt so disconnected from it, she had to force herself to move her head to the left where everyone waited for her—eyes looming over her in relief.

The sight was odd—not the fact that they were relieved to see her awake but—certainly they were used to it by now, right? She had fallen so many times prior and given their absences then, she figured they had become used to it rather quickly though this image indicated something different.

Carefully looking at all of them, her eyes then fell to the body closest to her—sitting on the chair. She didn't know why his stare bore into her as if he was trying to make a hole. He hadn't been like this in the past few days either, what was so wrong?

She swallowed and with difficulty, tried to speak, "..wh...what?"

She didn't understand the sudden overwhelming wash of concern.

"What?" She voiced again, it was still coming out croaky.

Curious eyes bore into his but she wasn't getting an answer. "...Is...Is som..something...wrong?"

"Do not speak." He commanded.

And she refused, "what…happened?"

Yoruichi smirked. "Welcome back."

She nodded her head lightly in response. "What's wrong? It's…" she resumed her stare to Byakuya in front of her, "it's only been 12 minutes….what's with the..?"

She wasn't expecting him to lean forward as he did. "You believe you were dead for 12 minutes?"

Rukia attempted to raise her right brow to assert her confusion.

"It has been 20 days."

Rukia's eyes perked up in shock. 20 days? How could she be dead for 20 days? That wasn't possible. He had to be kidding but then again, did Byakuya even kid with anyone? This was his early teenage version who surprisingly smiled and had a range of expressions but to joke around about that?

Had she really been gone that long?

The Captain appearing near the end of the stretcher with crossed arms just confirmed it.

She really died for...20 days? But why?

"Are you being serious?" It was too unbelievable. What reason could she have had to be gone that long unless something had gone wrong?

"Yes." He responded before her eyes gazed at the people surrounding her—it made sense now as to why they were even here.

She looked up at Jushirmai near her, "what happened?"

"Long story." "

She propped herself up with her elbows, "did he get the heart?"

"No, you don't have to worry about that." He said to her though she was doubtful.

She cocked a brow, "you better not be lying."

"I'm not." He said with disbelief.

She lowered back down. "How could I be gone for 20 days though? Something must've happened."

Her eyes met the Captain ahead of her. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

She threw him a ridiculous look, "'nothing', please tell me. Does it have to do with the heart?"

"Just be grateful that this did not happen anywhere else or you would've been buried alive."

The Gotei 13 looked to each other with a flustered aura at the mention.

"Captain…" she called in a reprimanding tone.

"They would have buried you alive." He stated.

"Grandfather." The younger Byakuya called from beside her.

"Isn't that what you're here for?" She asked.

"Indeed. Though, you would already be buried."

The younger Byakuya sighed in annoyance. "What do we do with her?"

"Keep her in bed." Ginrei advised. "I will inform the older you to keep her even if she does die with the cause unrelated to this."

"Don't do that…" Rukia said to him before turning to the younger Byakuya, "Byakuya don't—"

"Would you rather him bury you dead and have you wake up alive under there?" He questioned her.

"You're installing too much hope." She chastised before looking to the younger Byakuya again, "don't. Your grandfather thinks I'm invincible or something. Now who's gonna tell me what happened?"

"You cannot die." Ginrei said to her. "You are aware of that."

"Telling him to keep me in a bed for ten years isn't exactly a great thing, is it Captain?"

"How long would you keep her?" Byakuya asked him.

"It does not matter. 10 years, 100 years, 1000, she will come back." He assured him.

Rukia looked to him with eyes varying from warmth to absurdity. "Too much hope."

"You are immune to it."

"Though what are her limitations?" Byakuya questioned him though unfortunately the demon cat to his left just had to answer.

"She has none. Aren't I right, Ginrei-dono?" She said with a wide smile and arms crossed.

He grunted in response.

She looked to both of them in disbelief. "T-That is not true!"

"It is." He asserted.

"Well, well, well you really are eccentric, Kuchiki-san! I knew you'd make it all along!" Kisuke said.

"Fanfuckingtastic is what this whole fucking thing is." Raiden said.

"Byakuya." She called with a soft tone. "Listen, it still depends on—"

"Chance." He finished for her. "I'm aware. Though, it seems more certain than something faulty."

"Eh, Rukia always pulls through." Renji said.

"I knew you'd come back!" Kla said. "You can come back from everything! Certainly by now you should know that because of someone," she jerked her head to the left and dragged the word, "here."

Byakuya took note of the direction the entity was referring to, it was towards his grandfather. So did something happen as to why he was so sure of her return?

"Can we tell me what happened?" She asked, trying to get back on track. Laying down, she looked with pleading eyes for an explanation. Was it the heart? It had to be the heart, what else could it be?

"I'm…" she took a deep breath, "really worried about the heart."

"It's not the heart." Jushirmai ensured though Rukia still couldn't trust it. "Eat a bit then we talk. Look, Ururu, Ririn, and Kurōdo already have it prepared."

"The barrier is okay." The younger her squeaked at the end of the stretcher, near the Captain. "Don't worry, it's okay."

That felt really reassuring but there was still that doubt in the corners of her mind. She looked at Ururu and the kind Bounts who had prepared something for her.

Eyes glossed in gratitude, she smiled. "Thank you...for this."

"Eat up, Kuchiki-san!" Ririn said.

"You can worry about the heart later!" Kurōdo followed.

She sat up though the question still remained. She felt restless, how could she have died for that long? She had gone through the same symptoms, the only abnormal thing about her falling had been the pills Jushirmai gave her. They didn't reduce the pain. Something had really gone wrong.

Picking up the spoon, she still couldn't find the appetite to dip it into the bowl.

Approaching her with crossed arms, the Captain spoke, "you do know that when Hirosuke gave you this task and I said you were the most formidable individual to receive it, I did not mean you would turn into a broken record."

She shot him a look of worry. "You can't expect me to not be worried."

The younger her surprisingly came forward to stand beside him. "Older me, you really don't have to worry. The barrier is okay, nothing happened with a heart."

Did they make up? She didn't expect her younger self to give in that quickly but then the obvious surprise coming from the younger Byakuya beside her told her they didn't.

"Very well…" she said in defeat.

The heart was okay...the heart was...

---

"It's a relief she woke up." Captain Unohana said.

"I hope the younger Captain Kuchiki questions her about those pictures." Isane said beside her.

Captain Ukitake looked at Rukia with kind eyes. "It would be best to let her rest now. Though those drawings bring me concern as well, her mind is too preoccupied with the heart. Byakuya-kun will ask when he feels she is ready to make an explanation."

Ichigo stared at her with eyes engulfed with warmth and relief. Those pictures did bother him too but he would rather focus on the fact that she was up and alright. It was weird—he felt like he'd seen those drawings before or even the start of it. The colours she used flashed some familiarity.

He didn't want to think the same thing happened all over again—as in Byakuya's grandfather erased his memory again because this felt very much like a memory. He wasn't struggling to remember it, he remembered it quite clearly—he'd seen her immersed in her quotebook numerous times. It could've been one of those times when he'd seen her colouring in something though at the same time, did she really draw those drawings?

He sort of second-guessed it a lot, even if they were so precise with obvious hidden clues. He did remember seeing some abstract drawings with her (AN: Rid Emotions) though he was convinced it had something to do with Ukitake. Also, they were on separate pieces of paper unlike the ones here drawn into her quotebook.

Though he was itching for an explanation, it could wait. He just needed to see her okay again for good. Anything about those drawings, she'd eventually explain.

And that's when the stretcher slowly started to disappear, he turned his left to see several other Gotei 13 members disappear from their view.

Was it happening again?

"I-Ichigo!" Kon called before he leaped off of Rukia's stretcher and went back onto his shoulders.

"I think we're being taken somewhere again." Orihime said as she watched the red-rocked dimension disappear.

"This is odd." Tōshirō observed as he watched the dimension dismantle.

"Yeah, is this how it happened to you all too?" Rangiku asked beside him.

"It's weird that he can do this from out there." Captain Ukitake said with his neck craning left to right. "How he has access to this dimension is one thing but if he is able to take us back into time then...what is the extent of his abilities?"

"Hard to say. The fact that he can do this alone concerns me too however, he's also doing it for us to learn about Kuchiki-san." Uryū said in response before the human gang accompanied by the Captains of the 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 13th and the Lieutenants of the 5th and 10th, were brought back to a different time.

---

They were standing on some dried beige ground; they were in the Rukongai—the evident famine on display immediately in an open area where a single dying tree stood behind them. The hot ground beneath them had barefoot children either moving sluggishly or running on it from afar.

He knew they had to be in the past now.

The Rukongai didn't look like this now. There was ice and a lot of it too with a bunch of snow. It looked like they were here on just a normal day—the skies were dark and cloudy indicating rain.

Uryū turned to his left and spotted a girl—a very familiar one—in a channel of water, doing something. "Look."

They all turned their heads to see a younger Rukia who was wearing a pink kimono that was ripped towards the end. Her back was to them as she bent down into the water to do something.

###

She couldn't believe that Renji, Raiden and the others had found a job again. It was a good thing! That meant that they could at least buy some spices for the fish they planned on grilling for their dinner...again.

With her feet sunk into the shallow parts of the river, she looked down to catch a few. There was a lot surprisingly, it made her wonder whether to catch some now or wait until Renji and the others came back. Whatever job they found would probably end in the evening, it was still afternoon and it was gonna rain soon—she had nothing to leave it in and nothing to do until they came back.

Sighing, she stepped out of the river and wiped the sweat off her forehead; it was hot. She didn't really have anywhere to go or anything to do, though the thought of visiting the nice fields ahead of her filled with random flowers was bound to keep her occupied until they came back; so she went.

She ran to the fields and was met with moss green grass and a random arrangement of flowers. In awe of their beauty, she gasped and began to pick—though she didn't know what she'd do with it—she picked and picked and picked until her arms were filled with long stems of random flowers.

###

Ichigo didn't know what it was but part of what he was seeing felt familiar, very familiar though he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Her legs were dirty and her kimono was filled with all kinds of stains at the bottom—most likely mud. In a way, the image was shattering, this was the life Renji had told him about before. The life in which they lived struggling, stealing, no food in their stomach, it was gut-wrenching. Her kimono was even falling apart with tears on the side, he didn't even want to know how it got like that.

It wasn't an easy image to see. The only thing that made up for it was how content she seemed to be in spite of it. Her innocence made up for the harsh reality of her day-to-day life. He wondered where it all exactly began to look up.

He was then reminded of Byakuya's grandfather and the Okasake twins which would come later.

Was that your silver lining, Rukia?

The image was something he felt like he'd remember for a long time. She was very pale and it was evident she hadn't eaten in awhile, it made him count his blessings that instance. How lucky he had been to grow up in a home with food and parents.

He then heard a growl and moments later, the little girl who was crouched down—humming and picking—stood up as a pack of grey wolves with suspiciously glowing blue eyes surrounded the front of her, forming a 180.

And that's when it hit.

The reason why this felt was so familiar was because she told him this. This was how she met…

Kuchiki Ginrei.

###

Rukia didn't know what to do. She didn't know how she hadn't noticed them sneaking up on her, she was so far out, even if she screamed, nobody would hear her (not that they'd help either).

She gulped, she couldn't believe she was going to die being wolf meat.

By now, the flowers were on the ground and her heart was pounding so hard against her chest. It was even darker out now, thunder could be heard groaning in the skies—what a fitting way to die.

She took one step, slowly, back.

There was no way she could out run them but she could at least try, right? Though nobody would know or care, with the exception of her friends who would find her as bones, at least she could say she tried.

They were slowly approaching her, her feet were starting to tremble, contemplating everything.

Run! Run!

Did she do it now? How fast could she sprint? A bunch of questions filled her head but she couldn't give an answer to any one of them except her feet.

Move!

Releasing a piercing scream—though it'd probably be helpless—she turned around and dashed. Her bare feet were being pricked by all sorts of things buried in the grass but she couldn't care about the pain now. She didn't even bother to turn back, she didn't want to know how close they were—she could hear it.

She was barely out running them.

Her tiny feet never moved so fast, one moved in front of the other in lightning speed—what was she even fighting for? Life. What life? She had none. And though the negative thoughts invaded her brain as she grew wary of the fact that she was barely—just barely—out running them with their snouts so close to her bare feet, she leaped into the air.

There was a very tall tree in front of her, it was old and had a bunch of branches on it—she took it as her chance. She didn't know exactly when she gained such a canis feature but she was able to leap a considerable amount and barely hung onto the branch.

"Erghh…" she pulled herself up as the wolves cluttered at the bottom of her to try and catch her dangling feet. Eventually, she managed to pull her whole body up and over and sat near the bark of the tree, panting.

She barely managed to make it. Her chest moved up and down as she tried to get air though unfortunately she couldn't steady her wildly beating heart as the wolves were starting to jump up and reach the branch.

She looked down at them in horror. "H-Huh?"

These couldn't be normal. Their eyes were glowing blue, they were incredibly aggressive too.

She shot up and began to jump from branch to branch. They were so quick, they were all back onto the branches and chasing her. She jumped from branch to branch, through the line of trees ahead. Again, she found herself in a similar position—they were too fast and she was barely making it to avoid their bites.

Her legs had probably been scratched a terrible amount of times given how much she felt her skin graze against the bark of trees she passed by.

They were determined. No matter how many branches she jumped from, they were right behind her. It made the question come back yet again—what was she even fighting for?

Even if the question persisted in her brain, she still continued to fight—her legs would not stop at the speed she was at now and grudgingly she did not want to give in either.

She could do this.

Though in coming to that decision, it made matters worse when one of them caught onto the back of her kimono and she instinctively screamed before she jumped off the branch and headed towards the direction of the shed.

The one wolf holding onto her was determined, it held onto her kimono even when she leaped onto the ground. Though she was still running, she fought with her might to push it off.

"L-Let….!" She screamed determinedly. With her might, she pushed the snout of the wolf and the rest of its body off. "GO!"

The wolf went flying back though in setting herself free, it only angered the pack which followed with it. They were suddenly even faster than usual, fury evidently spewing from their eyes and actions.

Looking back while she ran, she figured there was no way she could fight off all of them as they leaped to her.

This was it.

Once their bodies all hovered over her she was through. Releasing one last scream, her last chance of hope, she watched in horror as one of them leaped, the highest it had on the ground, she really was going to die as wolf meat.

Suddenly, she fell back and the wolf leaping towards her landed on top of her though it was quick to scurry off after a very loud sound was heard, parts of a neon blue light sparked on the ground. That was the last thing she remembered seeing before she fell to the ground.

A whimpering sound was heard and as she sat up, the remainder of the wolves were dashing away—leaving her propped up with her two elbows on the ground and her ripped kimono uncomfortably rolled up. Though the blue light had long dissipated, she wondered where it had come from.

She stood up and pulled her kimono down before looking around. There was no one in sight, she turned even further—towards the direction she was going in before—and saw a tall, elder figure with his back to her.

She mentally gasped, it was a soul reaper. A Captain-leveled one too. The white haori read number 6. She felt bad, a soul reaper had to interfere and not just any soul reaper, a Captain-leveled one too!

Immediately, remembering the formalities she was taught at the adoption center she bowed. "Thank you."

She did it again. "I'm sorry….you had to intervene—" she did it again. "Thank you."

When he didn't respond, Rukia took one last bow and muttered 'thank you' and turned to her left to leave.

"What is your name?" She stopped immediately.

"Huh?" She slightly turned and bowed again. "Ru...kia. My name's Rukia."

He said nothing after, Rukia took it as her cue to leave again though, she didn't miss the chance to thank him again.

"Thank you." She bowed one last time and jogged away.

###

The scenery began to change yet again and soon they found themselves back into the same spot they entered the Rukongai in, only different.

The river was still beside them and the ground was still beige and it was still cloudy but the people they were seeing were different.

From far, Ichigo spotted Rukia—still young as she was before but different. She donned a new kimono that was purple with some dark green and light purple flower designs on it with a short, black knitted over piece that was buttoned at the very top with the rest of it being parted like an upside down 'V'. She looked exactly the way the younger Rukia who had entered the future looked. She was carrying something heavy.

Walking up to them, she set some of the crates down before some young boy with spiky midnight blue hair—much like Hisagi's—came running to her. "Is this it?"

She looked to him and quietly nodded.

The spiky haired boy sneered at her before taking the top box as she rolled up her sleeves and pulled up her kimono a bit to enter the river again.

###

She didn't think she'd get so lucky to get some leftover crates filled with some corn, potatoes, and celery from her employer but she did. They were going to have a nice meal tonight if she could catch a lot of fish.

She positioned her hands into the water and caught one by one and threw them behind her—without aiming—and had them perfectly enter the painted silver bucket behind her on land.

Peacefully humming to herself, she dipped her hands into the cool water over and over again feeling extra happy for the first time in awhile.

###

Kuchiki Koga went through the 78th District of the Rukongai, thinking of how he could slaughter whatever fell in his sight. It didn't matter who or what, whether it was children or adults or the elderly, he could let himself touch them with his blade and let the blood settle on it as he did it more and more.

He wanted to salivate this thirst of his, the screams and pleading which followed would only reiterate his superiority. One life here, one life there, it didn't matter. The sole purpose which followed was that they knew; they were powerless against him.

It was this satisfaction that he craved so intimately that he could not sever from. Though, his mind was here today for another purpose. One that belonged to his father-in-law, someone who, no matter what he did, couldn't satisfy him. There were always those keen eyes looking down at him, he didn't find his achievements worthy or even him for that matter.

It was exhausting...it was insulting. He had worked so hard and had exceeded the expectations of his own honour of being a part of one of the great noble clans and yet...nothing.

It didn't settle with him the way he was so quick to conclude that he had not been set up and chose to reprimand him instead of listening to him. He wasn't worth anything, it made him conclude that through his eyes, he would always be dust.

Nothing more, nothing less.

That is why he had to find something. Some weak link which belonged to his father-in-law that he could use to his advantage and he found one.

Every Sunday evening, he left to the Rukongai. On one particular journey he had followed him, the discovery was too good to be true. It seemed that his father-in-law had befriended a commoner child that he came to visit once a week.

Knowing that, he was here to kill her himself and bring his father-in-law the body.

Why should he have all the fun?

The moment he spotted her only enhanced the pleasure of it all. She was a weak commoner, there was no strength to her bones, it was clear that she was a nobody.

She was in the river with some spiky-haired child near the land going through something. Pulling out his sword, he approached them.

The spiky-haired kid was quick to yell and move back. Horror filled his eyes as he looked up at him and trembled.

He felt an urge to kill him too but didn't. He just smirked and walked past him, raising his sword to slash the back of the young child in the river.

"So you're the child that Ginrei-dono likes to visit every weekend." He snickered though oddly she didn't turn around. "It's a shame he won't be able to visit you much longer."

Standing inside the water, he raised his sword to slash her back though he still felt odd by her reaction.

He arched his brow and smirked, "what? Can't speak?"

The child ignored him, she just continued to pick fish up from the river and throw it behind—even over him—and into the bucket.

He wondered if she was deaf given her lackluster reaction though, in spite of it, he pulled his sword down in speed to slash her though hastily, in defense it seemed, some white ball of light began to form at her back and bursted out. Instinctively, he flash-stepped back onto the land nesting into the water as the white light created a rectangular barrier at her back.

He tightened his grip on the hilt of his zanpakutō.

"Oh, what is this? A barrier?" He asked, trying to sound unimpressed though his eyes told it all, he was in disbelief at how tall and broad it was. It protected the entire stream and herself included. "Did Ginrei-dono teach you this? Keh."

Bringing his zanpakutō up again, he slashed the barrier though it didn't break. "Remove—" one slash, "this," another; "—barrier," another, "—this," another, "instant!"

His slashes were fruitless. It wasn't breaking, he attempted kido but it didn't work again. The blue flames of Sokatsui just dispersed upon touching it while the girl calmly picked up fish and threw it behind her—through the barrier—and inside the now overflowing bucket.

Who was this girl?

He turned to the spiky haired boy behind him who remained quiet and addressed him in aggravation. It seemed like Ginrei had prepared her for this.

How typical.

"Tell her to get rid of that barrier." The boy didn't respond. "Now."

With trembling eyes, the boy looked to the young girl's back. "G-Get rid of it! T-Take i-it dow-wn!"

She didn't. It infuriated him, enough to point his blade towards it and call his zanpakutō. "Whisper, Muramasa!"

The manifested spirit of his sword came out and attempted to cut through the barrier though just like his master, it was fruitless.

"It appears that I cannot break it, Koga-sama." He stated calmly before his master aggressively shoved him to the side.

"—Move!" He grumbled. "I'll do it then!"

He illuminated himself with his powerful reiatsu, it shook the entire ground though the girl remained unfazed with her back to him. Blasting it immensely, he charged against it—"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A burst was heard that shook the ground though the white barrier remained. He stepped back, disbelief drawn all over his face. His initial question came back in an instant.

Who was this girl?

###

(AN: Takes place during 8:25 of episode 251, I skipped through some dialogue/mixed between dub/sub)

"The truth is that you hate me! You and the others are jealous of my power!" He screamed at him.

Ginrei stepped forward. "Koga."

"No matter how much I succeed, you look down on me as if my achievements aren't great, as if my power is unworthy of praise, as if I'm nothing! You even go as far as to belittle me through peasants!"

He was expecting something to spark in the elder's eyes at the mention though as usual, there was nothing.

"Oh yes," he half-heartedly laughed, "I know all about your little excursions to the Rukongai for some peasant girl! You even taught her to enact a barrier to go against me and my power! You're just like the others! You want me to fail! So much that you set me up for failure because you don't want me to succeed! You're jealous just like them!"

"I did not teach her anything about a barrier."

"That's a lie! You did it intentionally! You must've known that I would go after her and prepared her for that interaction! You wanted me to feel small, to belittle me through some peasant girl that I was inferior and my power wasn't as great as it seemed!

He pointed his sword up. "Whisper, Muramasa!"

The manifested spirit unveiled itself and moved towards Ginrei immediately though the confident smirk of the noble was quick to shrink as his spirit went through the body of the elder.

He stepped back, a bit intimidated, as the elder enacted a barrier of his own—illuminating green—to prevent his manifested spirit from touching him.

"Ginrei-dono! You bastard! Don't shield your heart! Remove that barrier!" And when he didn't give in, Koga had no choice but to retreat. "Whatever. I'll wait to kill you last! I have plans, there are plenty others I need to kill like your peasant girl!"

Cutting off his hair pieces, he turned around enraged and walked away.

He was going to do it again. He would demolish that barrier and kill her in the most ruthless way possible and then, he would deliver her as a gift to Ginrei. He would skin her and disembowel her, just for him to see.

###

Evening was approaching. By now he had slaughtered enough soul reapers to move onto the 78th District to kill her and whomever stood in his way. He didn't care about the innocent, it was exhausting having to protect when no one cared to respect his power.

Slaughtering them was the only option. It made them quiver in fear and bow to him—begging him as the tool in control of their lives, powerful enough to squash them into nothing.

The excitement and satisfaction only coursed through his veins when he saw her again—in the river—her feet in the water as she bent down a bit to catch fishes and throw it back behind her again, much like before.

This time, he didn't hesitate. He walked up to her, making loud splashes with the water to indicate his return and stood close to her left though she didn't look up. Instead, her eyes remained fixated on the water in front of her, he grinned in satisfaction.

He couldn't wait.

"Are you deaf?" He asked as the girl got a hold of another fish and threw it back.

She finally straightened her back and looked up to him. "No."

"So you do talk, interesting." He said. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

She shrugged before looking down at the water again, "selective speaking."

He tightened his grip on his zanpakutō, "so you're saying that I'm not worthy of hearing you speak?"

She looked up at him again, big violet eyes looking at him as if he had said the most ridiculous thing in the world. He expected her to say something though her gaze moved to his zanpakutō in his hand.

She suddenly raised her right hand, "give."

He didn't move. She raised her brows once and put them back before repeating it, "give. Gimme your zanpakutō."

Again, he didn't move. "C'mon I won't steal it. Give."

And when he didn't say anything, she touched the sword herself and held onto the hilt with the tip of the sword facing down.

He didn't know why but he just let her take it, nothing was processing anymore, he just let her have it.

Her next question caught him off guard, "have you ever tried catching fish before?"

She then answered herself. "Of course you haven't. You're a noble but, I'm encouraging you to give it a try. It's not as easy as it looks."

She was looking up at him, gesturing for him to give it a try. And although many things were telling him to go against it and kill her, he found himself dipping his two hands into the water, attempting to catch one.

Seconds later and he found himself unsuccessful.

"It is," he cleared his throat, "a bit difficult."

She giggled. "Having power is kinda like catching fish in a river."

While holding onto the sword in her one hand by bracing it near her armpit, she quickly dug her hand into the water.

"If someone is skilled and practices hard, naturally they gain some sort of power. So much that their skill allows them to attain it—" she brought up a fish with her one hand, "instantly. Through hard work, they're able to master power so well that they manage to gain a huge chunk of it like yours. But power isn't always that simple."

She stared at the large fish in her right hand. "Right now I have control of whether this fish moves and slips out of my hand or stays with me. Now of course it seems easy, but just like power, if you aren't careful and ensure that you're holding dominance, it can overtake you. If you become too overconfident about your skill, just like I'm confident about my skill to take this fish, it might overtake you and just like that—" she let the fish slip out of her hand and back into the water "—you can lose control and your power goes swimming away without you. That's why it's important to be careful when you have access to great power."

"I think that's one of the things Captain Kuchiki was trying to teach you all along." The girl was staring up at him. "It wasn't about doubting your capabilities, it was about you becoming too overconfident in your power. Enough for it to lose control and inevitably consume you into this...whatever you've become. You have a lot of power and that's great n'all but it's consumed so much of you that now you're even going against your initial wants and losing your heart in the process. You've become selfish 'cause you're overconfident in your abilities, so much that you think all of it is yours and don't even acknowledge your zanpakutō for its contribution to your power either. I don't know a lot about you but I don't think the Captain was ever trying to go against you. He just wanted you to learn how to control your power, you don't think he really believed that you were lying about being set up, do ya?"

He said nothing. He just glared at the young girl who seemed so bright and sure of herself—advising him with some speech of hers.

"Well," she looked ahead. "At least I don't. He may have come off harsh though I think he just wanted you to realize it for yourself. He did his best to guide you, it was just hard to realize it since you were too overconfident."

"Here." She then said, handing him back his zanpakutō which he quietly accepted as she resumed her fish hunting, catching them with ease.

His gaze wouldn't move from her, he watched the back of her head as she caught more and threw it back behind her. Even now, standing next to her paired along with the fact that she enacted no barrier this time and had willingly let him enter her space made him wonder again, who was she?

"That barrier," he began, eyeing the back of her head though she remained in her position. "Did...He teach you how to do that?"

Her head shot up. "Who? Captain Kuchiki? No, it's just…" her eyes moved to the right, "something I learned how to do by myself. I don't think the Captain even knows I can do that."

"I see." He put his sword back into his sheath and turned around, exiting the river.

"Aren't you gonna kill me?" He heard her yell once he was at a considerable distance away—he paused.

"No."

He then proceeded to walk away.

###

"Now, hold up. If Rukia convinced him that your grandfather had good intentions then how the hell did he end up gettin' all sealed up?" Ichigo asked Byakuya beside him.

Byakuya just stared at him before Tōshirō intervened between them "—I think that's our answer."

###

"What are you thinking, Koga?" The manifested spirit asked his master who walked ahead of him in silence. "Tell me, I'm your zanpakutō."

He didn't answer for a while, the spirit figured he was too lost in thought before he abruptly stopped in front of him.

He asked a question the spirit wasn't expecting. "Do you think that Rukongai girl was right?"

The spirit gazed at the back of his master, he now understood—his mind was troubled by her explanation.

"Was I—" he paused before looking down at his sword, "too confident in my abilities. Is that why Ginrei-dono didn't support me?"

"There's a chance that might be the case. You have great achievements, Koga-sama. Anyone would be impressed by your skill and knowledge, there's a chance it exceeds his as well. Perhaps there is some truth to it." Muramasa said honestly before looking behind him. "That little girl seems like someone he speaks too quite often. If she knows about this, there is a chance that we were just misreading his actions."

"But wait—" he shook his head, "no, then why didn't he believe me? How does reprimanding me and not believing me teach me anything? They were going to have my powers taken!"

"That little girl seems very confident in what she said. When we last met him, he had advised us that our rash actions were what cost us our last chance to be deemed innocent. Maybe...you should speak to him."

"No, I won't speak to him!" He yelled angrily before looking to his right hand. But….

"If all of that is true then I've already lost my chance. They'll have me executed and my power sealed up!"

"Forgive me, Koga-sama but wouldn't it be better for you to know whether that little girl was telling the truth and we were just misguided?" He inquired.

"No.." he shook his head, yes, "No….", he shook his head more, yes "No…", and more, yes "No…", and more, yes, "No.."

The spirit didn't know what was happening to his master but all of sudden, he began to shake his head continuously muttering 'no' as if he was trying to argue with himself, as if he was trying to resist it.

He didn't know what was happening to him. His mind said 'yes' through a voice that no longer felt like his, he didn't have any control. It just kept saying 'yes, yes, yes, yes' like some mantra with no end to it. The voice got deeper with each 'yes', it's like the own voice in his head had developed a personality because it was snickering now, there was laughter that he wasn't conceiving which followed with it.

S-Someone….who's in my head?

The fact that he could still voice a question in his thoughts with the word 'yes' repeating itself over and over again was frightening. His head was starting to hurt, who was this? What was this? Why did his mind continue to say 'yes' when he wasn't thinking of it?

"No…" he said defiantly though a yes always followed with it. Yes, it was like the voice was laughing now. Yes, he now recognized it—it was the same laughter that had come from those men who had set him up, the ones who he killed. "No.."

You were not set up. It was your overconfidence which brought all this about.

It was Ginrei's voice, it was the same words he had told him in the cell. Laughter accompanied it with a string of the word 'yes' in which he continued to reply 'no' too. His zanpakutō spirit attempted to put his hand on his shoulder but he shoved him away. "NO!"

"No!" He held onto his head. "—NO! NO! NO!"

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes—something wrong? Say yes.

"Koga-sama!" The spirit called after him though his master was too immersed into his mind.

"W-What are you?" He watched his master bend his back while pressing his palms to his head. "Get out! GET OUT OF MY MIND!"

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

"No! No! No!"

It was your overconfidence which brought all this about.

Yes, yes, yes, yes!

No, no, no, no, no or maybe, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

How about, no, no, no, no, no or yes, yes, yes, yes, yes?

No?

Yes.

No? Maybe yes.

Yes or no? Maybe yes and no? How about yes, yes, yes, and no, no?—it was your overconfidence which brought all this about.

Yesssss or maybe no? Or actually how about no then yes then maybe no and then maybe yes again—it was your overconfidence which brought all this about—yes or no? How about yes or yes? Or no or no?—you bear the name of our clan—yes and yes and yes orrrrrrr maybe no, no, no.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes or maybe no, no, no, no, n—it was your overconfidence which brought all this about.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

So which one will it be?

"No!" He screamed with his knees buried into the ground. "No! No! No!"

Yes?

"No!"

So yes?

"No! No! No!"

I think I heard a yes.

"No! No! No! No! No!"

What was that?

"NO!"

And with that final scream, he felt his reiatsu blast out of him.

###

They couldn't believe it.

Hidden behind some apple tree, a boy with two pigtails tied with string watched Kuchiki Koga collapse on his knees, screaming 'no' in response to him saying 'yes' over and over again into some walky-talky device.

He laughed and smiled with so much glee in his eyes as he repeated it over and over again.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" He kept saying into the walky talky device. There was so much pleasure in his iris eyes, it was Okasake Jushirmai—he was in his child form and disputing his unwelcoming presence, illuminated with purple.

He went as far to giggle as the noble struggled on the ground to grasp control of his conscience.

"He's trying to confuse him." Captain Ukitake observed. "He's using his negative aura to invade his mind and make him choose."

"Between what?" Ichigo asked him before the Captain's eyes met his.

"Darkness and light. Kuchiki Koga was over consumed by power which aided the darkness, Kuchiki restored some light in him and made him doubt his selfish mindset for a second, enough for him to consider speaking to Ginrei-dono again though, in knowing that, he did exactly this to erase whatever she managed to kindle again." Captain Ukitake explained.

"So, wait. I don't think this Lieutenant Kuchiki has met the Okasake twins yet. I think she only knows Captain Kuchiki as of now so—" Tōshirō cut his Lieutenant off.

"He probably knew she was here from before but didn't speak to her. The first time they met face to face was probably exactly the way Kuchiki described it in present time. She met him formally once she met the Okasake twins."

"That means this guy still had a chance of redemption, he didn't have to be sealed up at all." Ichigo said.

"It is quite unfortunate," Captain Ukitake said as the noble on the ground released a piercing scream in the background, yelling 'AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH'. "It seems that the darkness won all over again. Enough for him to resume his normal thinking and hatred towards Ginrei-dono."

A heavy cloud of sorrow hung over them as they watched the noble knelt on the ground slowly regain some control and stood up. His zanpakutō quickly questioned him though he merely shoved him away again and tightened his hold on the hilt of his sword.

It was very clear that he was far gone by then. Whatever last chance he had that Rukia had given birth to was no longer there. With that, the younger boy behind the tree just chuckled and ran carelessly away with the walky talky in his hand.

("Father!" He called in the background.)

And went off to join some distant elder figure heading towards the 78th District.

The scenery changed once again. And now, they were in a field of grass and high-sprouting weeds. There was a large, sprouting tree and a dead log lying on the ground—both of dark wood. Underneath the tree stood the former Captain Kuchiki looking down at the younger girl who was Rukia.

###

"W-Wait," she stepped back, completely appalled. "He got sealed up?!"

She looked up at the Captain in disbelief. He actually got sealed, it was sort of sad—she thought she might've gotten through to him at least. It seemed like he understood what she said, enough for him to not kill her. She couldn't believe that he was actually...sealed up.

"It is unfortunate." The Captain said to her though she still couldn't digest it—then, why didn't he kill her if what she said had no effect? Hadn't that been the reason he came to the 78th District? To kill her?

"He…" she couldn't believe it, "didn't come speak to you?"

It sounded too hard to believe, she really thought she did something. Enough for him to at least go and talk to him and sort things out so he could understand his intentions.

She rushed to explain further. "I mean, he came here—the day before. I was in the river and...he came and I tried to get through to him a bit. It seemed like he understood I mean, he came to kill me but instead he just left me and when I asked, he said he wouldn't do it. After that, I thought it would at least change something but...I guess I was wrong."

She kicked the stone in front of her, a bit disappointed.

"He did not." The Captain informed her, it only bothered her more.

"But—" she didn't know what she was trying to argue anymore, she just couldn't believe it happened, "what happened?"

Her head up with curious eyes, she wanted to know how exactly he ended up getting sealed up.

The grey eyes of the Captain stared down at her with approval, "I will if you accept," his right hand brought out an orange, "this."

She frowned. "Captain, I work now. You don't have to keep bringing me fruit. I feel bad. Now...may I know what happened?"

"Only if you," his eyes gestured at the orange in his right hand.

She slouched her shoulders, "Captain, please, just tell me."

"No."

Sighing in defeat, she went on her tiptoes and took the fruit from his right hand. "Now, can you tell me?"

She started to peel the fruit as they walked forward through the field. He relayed the story of how yesterday his son-in-law appeared in front of him and the Head Captain. He attempted to fight both of them but after his zanpakutō stopped responding to him, they sealed him up there.

She couldn't believe that all of that had ensued and here she thought she actually got through to him. It felt so weird. Why didn't he kill her then? Or at least, attempt too?

"That's…" she couldn't find the words to say, "really sad. When he left from here the other day, he seemed to be contemplating a lot. It made me wonder if I really did get through to him a bit, enough for him to spare me."

"He said you enacted a barrier." He mentioned dispassionately.

The mention made her eyes perk up at him—"huh? Oh well, yeah. But that didn't happen the other day, he came to visit me before. He tried to kill me but I put up a barrier behind me so that he couldn't get close to me. Surprisingly, he couldn't break it."

"You established a barrier." He re-asked through a statement to ensure that was a correct event in the story.

She nodded her head. "Uh-huh!"

A moment of silence went by. "Why?"

The Captain didn't speak, he just stared at her. Rukia was convinced he wouldn't speak if she didn't open her mouth to say something again so she did, but he beat her to it with a question.

"Who taught you how to do it?"

"Nobody." She responded honestly before throwing a piece of the orange into her mouth. "I learnt it by myself—here, look."

She re-did what she did that day and created a barrier behind her that protected her. It was broad, tall, and white. She figured it was made from her reiatsu.

"One day, I got in a bit of trouble down at the market. There were people chasing me with pitchforks n'stuff because long story short," she raised her shoulders, knowing that he'd probably cast her a disappointed look again, "I stole again but anyways, just about when one of them was going to hit me, I guess using my reiatsu? I was able to create a barrier like this which protected me. It was strange to me too but somehow I was able to do it."

Another moment went by with his piercing stare boring through her own. She didn't want to tell him she had stolen stuff again, it had been a few weeks ago before she got some job lifting things like her friends did but any other story sounded unbelievable.

"You did it yourself?"

Like an obedient pet, she just nodded her head. "Yeah, I guess it just came to me. It was weird. Is it a soul reaper technique or something?"

"No."

"Really?" She was sort of confused. "Oh...so then what was that? Isn't this reiatsu?" She then put out both palms and had the white aura glow from her.

"It is." He merely stated. "Though a barrier is not something that is naturally conceived as a defense without training."

She didn't know what to say to that so she just shrugged. "I don't know how it happened but it just did."

He then turned to continue walking so she followed.

"What did you steal?" He calmly inquired as they disappeared into the field with the sinking sun indicating sundown.

("Corn!" she responded as they disappeared into the hill side)

("I can give you corn.")

("I don't want your corn." She giggled. "I have my own now. I work remember! That was from a few weeks ago, Captain—I swear.")

###

"Kuchiki is a very strange child. It's been obvious from the start that nothing is normal about her. She created that barrier without having any knowledge on how to do so, she also has enough reiatsu right now to enter the Shin'Ō Academy, she could've become a shinigami early if she could wield that much at a young age." Tōshirō explained.

"It seems that she only gets stranger." Rangiku responded.

Tōshirō agreed. "I agree. She doesn't have sheatsu but she can sense it pretty well even without it, though she was given knowledge on the many things having to do with the Soul Society, it seems that she has a high intelligence on her own. She was given the moonstone and became its guardian but she had no instructions on how to work with it—there are none. She created that County of Reincarnate Souls through inevitably her own self and the moonstone. It's obvious that Kuchiki is much more than we're taking her for. She may have all this knowledge given to her but on her own, she's very strange. So much that she can revive herself from death purely through her willpower alone. No kind can resist death and yet oddly, Kuchiki can grow back her arms and bring herself back to life."

Rangiku looked down to him. "So what do you think she is, Captain?"

"That's just it, Matsumoto. She just seems like a rare being, nothing more, nothing less."

"She does have a lot of strange features though, I don't think she's anything else but a regular soul." Captain Ukitake agreed. "She's just...different."

"So basically, Nee-san's still a soul but a cooler soul, Ichigo?" Kon asked on his shoulder.

He shrugged. "I guess, I mean—none of this is normal for a soul but Rukia can do it. Maybe that's why the Okasake clan were so drawn to her, enough to let her know these types of things."

"Nee-san is so kind and wonderful and pretty and sweet and strong and angelic and unique!" Kon said with sparkling eyes. "No wonder everyone likes her!"

Captain Ukitake chuckled. "She has a kind heart. It's easy too."

Ichigo's hardened expression softened at the thought of it, he found himself slightly smiling too.

She was weird.

But that was just...Rukia.

The area suddenly changed back into the red-rocked dimension and with that, the group found themselves in front of the very two people they watched depart into sunset.

---

Approaching her with an orange in his right hand, Rukia looked up from her seated position on the cabinet beside Ichigo's stretcher.

"I didn't know we had fruit." Rukia said, looking at it strangely before peeling.

When he didn't answer, she looked up to see him staring at the orange in his hand before his lowered eyes diverted to Ichigo to his left—specifically his hair.

Moments of silence went by filled with blinks before he took the peeled orange out of her hand and gave her his grapefruit.

"You will eat the grapefruit." He said as Rukia shook her head in defeat. "They are high in nutrients and good for your heart."

"And what are oranges good for?"

"I will not respond until you meet Hirosuke." She merely frowned at the mention again and put a piece of the grapefruit into her mouth. Instantaneously she made a face at how bitter it was.

Managing to swallow amidst the bitter taste, she tried to plead with him, "give me back the orange. It's too bitter."

He didn't respond.

"I commemorate your anniversary with oranges every year." She said as a way to persuade him.

Naturally he didn't budge. "I am aware."

"It has no meaning though." She argued. "Oranges are good. I'm sure you know all the facts considering you gave them to me so much."

He moved to stand beside her. "I will not tell you until you meet Hirosuke."

"What do you think our conversations are like when you're not around?"

"Kindness perpetuates your soul."

"That doesn't mean that he's gonna forgive me nor will meeting him after this long will be okay." She argued. "Meeting me after all these years when I could've just gone to him when he was nearby was wrong. In spite of everything, it's like I easily threw away everything he gave to me as if it meant nothing."

"That is not true. You had your reason."

Rukia looked to the side of his face. "Is that reason enough?"

There was a long pause before he answered, "I do not know."

"I didn't have to stop speaking to him."

"He understands how your mind works."

She fell silent for a few seconds before voicing her next question with a low, raggedy tone. "But does he understand it to the extent that you do?"

Again, a long pause followed before he answered.

"I am not sure."

She looked away. Following his gaze, she stared straight ahead—unsure of what to say.

She stopped eating the grapefruit too. Instead she just lazily tossed it from her right hand to her left hand, lost in thought.

What did I do?

"You are thinking this way now however, what will occur when she takes over?" He quietly questioned after the long pause.

Rukia hadn't even thought about that. All she knew was the following:

1. She was connected to the Soul King heart.

2. Her connection was strong enough for her to revive a ball of light.

3. She had aided the darkness.

4. She had a heart that did and a heart that didn't. Besides Jushirmai, the Soul King heart was struggling 'cause of her.

5. Two minds existed. One which was dominant, one which was not.

6. She didn't know which one was likely to take over.

7. She could no longer rely on herself when she didn't know which one would take over.

She wished Ichigo was here. She wanted to know...though she had felt it before and had her moments when she was quick to give in, what it felt like….to completely lose control.

How does one come back from that? She had only been near the border, never completely over it.

She lowered her head and mumbled. "I apologize in advance."

"I am deserving of it." He surprisingly said, her head shot up and looked to him. "He does not."

I know I'm probably saying this now 'cause I'm like this but...you don't either. I hope you know that I really don't mean for you to deserve it either.

This wasn't an easy thing to look back on, with returning to the past came with a lot of sensitive moments. She was glad….really glad that he was here to help her.

The day she lost him was the worst day of her life.

Setting aside the half-eaten grapefruit, she was surprised to see the younger version of her, who had been avoiding this area tremendously, coming to approach them with another strawberry milk can in her hand.

"Older me!" She called, jogging a little. "I want you to try this, it's so good!"

Rukia looked down at her younger self from the cabinet shelf she was sitting on.

"I already did, when you weren't here." Rukia informed her though she took the can anyway. "It is."

Rukia was surprised when the younger her addressed the Captain who she had been steadily avoiding. "Why are you looking at the can like that, Captain?"

By now, she had seated herself crisscrossed in the air so that she was a bit at their height but still lower than the Captain.

"Oh. I did not think you would converse with me."

The younger her leaned back. "Why?"

His sharp grey eyes looked down to her. "You have been giving me the evil eye."

A smile broke out on the younger her's face as she nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah, that's true.", before standing up in the air and encircling her arms around his shoulders in a hug that he did not reciprocate. "Sorryyyyyy."

She continued. "I just didn't want your grandson to get mad again. I thought it would be best if we didn't speak to each other for a little while, that's all. I didn't mean to give you the evil eye."

Her cheeks were against the right side of his shoulders with a little stain of pink on them.

"Where did you go?"

"Huh?"

His eyes slightly looked to her at the side before meeting the curious eyes of her child self.

"From before, where did you go? Before I left you went missing for a week and according to Byakuya, you were gone for two weeks in total. Where'd you go?"

"Ohhhhh, well—actually," she swallowed a bit, "I was with that lady. The lady from the Rukongai."

"What?" Rukia asked immediately.

Her younger self nodded in response. "It was weird. I didn't know she speaks now! She found me here and brought me to her home which turns out, was in the human world all along. She lives in some remote area in the human world in this really small storage type of house—it only has one room. I stayed there with her n'read books n'stuff, I was okay."

The younger her didn't know why both the older her and the Captain were staring at her like that but she wanted to know why. The lady from the Rukongai, though strange, didn't hurt her. Why'd they look so worried?

"Is something wrong?" She inquired. Their silence was weird, they had shot a glance to each other and then back to her.

"You…" the older her started, "were with that woman?"

She didn't know what was wrong with the older her. Her eyes expended an unidentified emotion, she couldn't pinpoint whether it was worry, fear, or disbelief. All she knew was that it wasn't good. Had something gone wrong?

She nodded her again—slower this time—while holding both of their gazes. The straw coming from the hole in the can barely brushed the surface of her lips.

"Why?" She asked, "did she do something in our future? Is she an enemy now or something?"

Her stare moved from the Captain to her older self, unable to identify what was going on. The more they didn't speak, the more nervous it made her feel.

"Tell me," she urged. "Did she do something?"

The older her was starting to look a bit distressed or maybe confused? Or even surprised? She really couldn't tell. Slowly, she watched her older self lean back a bit and push her bang to the side as if she was trying to process it all.

The Captain's hardened stare told her that he was thinking about it too. She didn't get it.

"What did you do there?" The older her suddenly rushed to ask as if she'd miss the opportunity again. She could finally see it now, it was worry.

"I just read n'stuff." She answered honestly. "There wasn't really anywhere to go I mean, the human world is on some heat warning and the place where she lives is very remote."

When the older her didn't voice a response, she continued. "We didn't really speak about anything. I did ask a few questions but she didn't answer me. Ah, also! She cooked for me. A lot. At first it was just rice and then it was a multitude of things."

And there came the surprise in her older self's eyes. "C-Cooked? Wait a minute, she cooked for you?"

By now the older her was leaning forward again, "yeah. I was surprised too. She made a bunch of meals for me that I felt bad for not eating since she put so much effort into them. After that, I just read and sleep. It's way too hot over there, I got so used to shielding my reiatsu while I was in here that I didn't use it while I was over there. I was boiling. Older me, you might need to visit Jushirmai again and tell him to cool it down. Apparently, the lady told me that cooling stations were being placed everywhere and that the human world government was doing their best to fund more conditioners for everybody. She said that the Research and Development Bureau on our side were working on creating some giant conditioner shield or something for the World of the Living—again, I have no idea how she knows that."

The older her looked to the ground for a bit, again, contemplating. She really wanted to know what had gone wrong.

"Did she do something bad to us? Tell me, I need to know." She was the only one who was truly being kept in the dark.

Why?

"It seems that the human world is in a dire condition." The Captain suddenly said before turning to the right. "Will it be the consort or Hirosuke?"

He was addressing the older her who merely looked up, were they trying to change the subject? "The consort."

"That is insulting to Hirosuke." He commented.

"It is not." She said before standing up on the cabinet. "I'm visiting Hell Palace to reduce the heat. Besides, Byakuya told me that he had 'requested' my presence after I woke up."

"Wait—" she called to her older self but she merely smiled down at her.

With her left hand, she created a portal against the wall beside her before looking around. "Where's Roger?"

Her body was already half through as she scanned the area. The younger Rukia didn't know why she was doing this so suddenly—she wanted answers.

"Wait! Tell me." She stood up from her crisscrossed position in the air before looking to the Captain. "Captain, please."

Though he was staring at her, he was addressing the older her. "He is not here. Here—" he was gesturing to the older her to take his hand so he could transfer some of his. She complied and held it long enough for her body to illuminate mint green before she bid her farewell.

The older her was about to turn into the circle yet again but the Captain stopped her—"bring me back a strand of the consort's hair."

The older her made a grimace, "why?"

"You said you wanted to know her identity."

"That's true…" she mumbled before her eyes met hers.

"I'll be back soon." She was staring down at her with a reassuring smile though it wasn't enough.

She needed to know.

Why?

---

"So, orange symbolizes Kuchiki then, no?" Tōshirō asked. "If that's what she uses to commemorate his memory then…"

"But why would she draw it melting then? The orange I mean, in her drawings. In almost all of them they're there, I saw one of them drawn like an evil eye." Rangiku said beside him.

"Those drawings show a very disturbing side to this story." Captain Ukitake said. "Everything appears quite gruesome. She would never draw Ginrei-dono in that light nor herself."

"I don't think she'd draw them either." Ichigo said. "Rukia likes bunnies. I've seen the things she regularly draws, there's no way it could've been her. But…"

"But what, Kurosaki-kun?"

He looked down. "It doesn't make a whole lot of sense but I'm sure I've seen some pages with red like this and her colouring in things in her book but—there's just no way it could be her."

"So what are you tryna say, Ichigo? She drew them or not?" Captain Hirako asked him.

"I…" suddenly he fell quiet. "Why would she draw herself dying or being attacked by spiders? Everything in her drawings are literally the opposite of what she'd draw regularly. Those drawings aren't even in her art style. Not to mention, she'd never think of the Okasake sister or Byakuya's grandfather in the light those pictures were projecting. It can't be her."

Orihime stepped forward to him. "Though no one else uses that book, Kurosaki-kun."

"Didn't you say that she doesn't let anybody touch it?" Uryū asked to clarify. "The younger Captain Kuchiki is the first one."

"Look, I got that but, Rukia? C'mon, why would she draw herself like that? And the Okasake sister? The same person who used to guard the moonstone? She drew her pregnant and bleeding, why would she draw her like that? And then, if oranges are supposed to symbolize Byakuya's grandfather then that means she drew him as some villain or something or even, a token of bad luck." Ichigo tried to reason. "They're close friends—she was practically his granddaughter even before she was adopted so why would Rukia draw him in that light? We just saw how they met and even now, they're still close like that. It can't be her."

It was amazing to say but Ichigo's explanation actually persuaded a majority of them. It couldn't be her—she could never draw any of those things. Even the Gotei 13 members who weren't as familiar with her couldn't draw that conclusion.

Despite it all, the Lieutenant Kuchiki they had come to know was nothing like that. And even now, with her in front of them with suspicion branded all over her, they still couldn't arrive at that conclusion. She couldn't think of these people as negatively. Enough to draw them in such a gruesome way in her journal.

It was a shame that explanation wasn't enough to strongly convince Captain Sui-Feng who stepped out to address Ichigo.

"Your friendship is compromising your judgement. All of you are falling into her act. She is more cunning and manipulative than I took her for." She glared at him with stoic eyes. "She hid her entire identity. She is a member of the Okasake clan, she is related to the assassins and she is the guardian of the moonstone. The Okasake clan has tasked her with being their vessel, she knows more about the Soul King than anyone else and yet for some reason, she came all the way here into our grounds with a new identity and for what? There is an intention and all of you are being blind to it. She isn't normal—she could very well be an associate of the Okasake heir. She's a great liar."

Ōmaeda attempted to touch his Captain's shoulder, "—now, wait, Captain—"

"She is the enemy. My initial assumption was correct. She is associated with the assassins and clearly has a relationship with the Okasake heir. She visits him so often, she's just as strange as him—or even more so. She made a pact with him to leave the Seireitei. She's not normal—nothing about her is and here you all are, foolishly falling into her trap."

"Rukia wouldn't do that." Ichigo argued. "After all of this, you can still say she's the enemy? When she's been savin' is the entire time? Sacrificing herself for the Soul King heart? The Soul Society?"

"She aided the darkness. She was probably on his side and disappeared because of it. She fears meeting her own grandfather. It is obvious that she was working against it and then suddenly decided to change her mind."

Captain Ukitake disagreed. "That isn't a valid conclusion, Captain Sui-Feng. My Lieutenant is the only reason we have hope for the Soul King heart, you said it yourself. Nothing we've seen so far indicates anything close to that."

"I think it's off too." Rangiku said.

"Me too!" Momo said right after.

Captain Hirako drew an exhausted expression. "I guess me three."

"I'm not denying that Kuchiki is a strange being. There are a lot of things off about her character however, I don't believe she's our enemy." Tōshirō said to her.

Lieutenant Kira stepped forward. "Look, I don't think anything about this is normal. I'm not sure if she's our enemy or our ally. She's pretty strange and honestly, I can't see myself understanding her until we get a better explanation but I don't think going that far is right."

"Me neither." Isane agreed.

"Well I for one am enjoying this. It seems I have found a new Lieutenant." Mayuri said, voice tingling with excitement. "She's very strange, a good strange—I shall run some experiments and—"

"I'm not switching Lieutenants, Captain Kurotsuchi." Captain Ukitake said.

"Oh, please. You can have Nemu, she's useless to me."

"I'm not switching."

"I-I don't think Lieutenant Kuchiki is the bad guy here too, C-Captain." Ōmaeda said. "Even if she is….sort of strange."

"Well, I do." Lieutenant Hisagi said. "There's way too many things off about her here. Too much."

"Yeah, she's something." Kensei said right after.

"Exactly." Sui-Feng agreed. "There are too many things wrong with her for me to sympathize or support her. It doesn't matter whether she's connected to the Soul King heart, she lied and hid her identity knowing that if we were to find out she belonged to another kind, we'd have her executed or imprisoned. She could've come to steal something or came to be among us so that the Okasake heir had a reason to approach us and try to kill us. She's not on our side!"

Ichigo grew agitated. "Rukia wouldn't do that."

Kon jumped up and started waddling his fists. "Nee-san would never do such a thing! How dare you talk about my Nee-san like that?! She's been protecting us all along! All while being hunted by some creepy guy who doesn't even wanna leave her alone! She's been through so much! How dare you insult her?!"

"That doesn't matter. She's the enemy as well. She gave that heart darkness on her own accord, we should be punishing her for being so careless, not praising her or feeling sorry for her."

"You don't even know what happened to her yet!" Ichigo angrily accused. "If things were that simple, why'd Unohana have to diagnose her with a psychological condition in relation to her past then? Huh? She was struggling so much before she left, even the quincy guy mentioned how hard it was for her to leave, she's scared to meet her own grandfather because of the past and don't you think Byakuya's grandfather would be against her if she was anything evil?"

"It could've been an act. And besides, the mere fact that she does share a family relationship with both of them is enough to say that they'd protect her regardless." Captain Sui-Feng said.

And though Ichigo didn't have any defense to that, he still wanted to argue because she wasn't the bad guy here. She was in a lot of pain—she felt that pain. Even Byakuya's grandfather had said that she has struggled a lot in her past. And if those drawings were in any way hers, it only confirmed that there was a lot going on inside of her.

He opened his mouth to speak though Byakuya's opened eyes and voice cut him off—"Explain Shihōin Yoruichi's and Urahara Kisuke's presence then."

"Byakuya-kun is right, even if you believe that Ginrei-dono or her other friends would support her, if she was our enemy, there is still Yoruichi-san and Urahara-san to make sense of." Captain Ukitake said to her.

"Right and besides, she's been through too much shit for you to go and accuse her like that. She's struggling so much, you saw how much reiatsu came flying out of her body! She's not the enemy here! She's the victim!" Ichigo yelled.

"So much of a victim that she lied about her entire identity and makes regular visits to the Okasake heir doing who knows what—"

"For us! For you!" Ichigo argued in frustration.

"Captain Sui-Feng," Captain Ukitake called in a disapproving tone, "do not disrespect my Lieutenant like that. She has been sacrificing herself, she doesn't like the Okasake heir, she fears him."

"Kuchiki isn't like that." Tōshirō said. "Her frequent visits to the Okasake heir are so that nothing happens to the Soul Society."

"And besides, even when she came back, the former Captain Kuchiki asked her if she was alright and she didn't even know how to respond." Rangiku mentioned.

Ichigo's eyes were furious. "How can you see all that and still wanna accuse her?"

"You all are defending her because she's something to you. To me, she's nothing more but a mere Lieutenant or—enemy, I should say. Her only redeemable quality is the fact that she's connected to the Soul King heart and managed to force in light, otherwise she has nothing to convince me that she's any good." Sui-Feng said with distaste.

"All for this! All for this world, your world, my world from collapsing!" Ichigo angrily said.

"It's as I said before, she means something to you that's why it's hard for you to get past the sentimental pieces. But I'm telling you as an outsider that this is far from normal. She's too comfortable with the Okasake heir to even consider him an enemy. She might even still be protecting him!" She accused in response. "As for Captain Kuchiki, I understand that she's your sister that is why this may be uncomfortable to hear but I can't ignore the facts. She's a member of the Okasake clan. A traitor."

"Rukia isn't a traitor!" Ichigo yelled in response. "You can look at how she lived with that heart and still think that?"

"How did she live?" Sui-Feng voiced. "'Cause to me she lived perfectly fine. She had nobles by her side. It's obvious that she didn't struggle as much as she told you."

"Don't say that!"

"Captain Sui-Feng you're going way too far." Captain Ukitake warmed.

"Let's all settle down." Captain Unohana said, trying to bring some order to the chaos.

Though Sui-Feng continued. "She is the enemy. None of us knew she was a member of the Okasake clan or the vessel or had any relationship with any heir. You all admit to that and yet still you continue to defend her when it's obvious she's very strange. She might even be lying to them now—she can't be trusted. The fact that she managed to hide under another identity and enter our grounds without being able to provide a reason is enough to convince me. She's probably lying to them t—"

Captain Unohana smiled with her eyes slit. "That is quite enough."

They all became silent before she continued. "Standing here and making accusations without any reason will lead us nowhere. It's best we do what we have been doing and that's being patient."

Sui-Feng stared at her with hardened grey eyes.

"Yeah, Captain—let's not go all crazy yet." Ōmaeda said behind her before she shot him a glance of irritation and he moved back.

"Geez, you still kinda-sorta have relations with the assassins anyways, so why are you so into screaming about Lieutenant Kuchiki?" Captain Hirako questioned her.

The scenery started to change.

She casually turned back around with her arms loosely crossed. "That's different. It's a requirement of every 2nd Division Captain."

"But we didn't know that." Captain Hirako argued. "So what makes you any different from Lieutenant Kuchiki?"

"I thought that was obvious. I didn't hide the fact that I'm a member of the Okasake clan, I didn't hide my age, I didn't hide the fact that I'm the Okasake vessel, I don't visit men deemed to be the enemy and ask them to help me, I don't draw anything as explicit as the things we saw in her quotebook, and I don't hide the fact that I can come back from the dead from just anybody. I can't even look at her with respect, she contaminated the Soul King heart and now wants pity because she's suffering to keep the only speck she managed to revive in the past two years."

"The fucking guy creeps her out—what part of that don't you get?" Ichigo spat.

Captain Ukitake spoke right after. "Standing here and making such vile assumptions isn't the answer to your frustration, Captain Sui-Feng."

Captain Hirako was about to respond though the voice of Uryū stopped him.

"Guess we're back in the Seireitei." Uryū said, his neck craning up along with the other Gotei 13 members who stopped paying attention to the argument once the area started to change again.

---

They were in the Seireitei. Rukia was there, except different. Donning her doctor's coat, standard assassin uniform, long black gloves, and current hair with the snake, Roger around her neck, she walked down the corridor near the 5th Division barracks.

It was a cloudy day, windy too. A few soul reapers walked past her out in the open but they couldn't see her; she was using sheatsu.

Ichigo was surprised she walked around in the Seireitei with that form since there were assassin-soul reaper types which existed in the Soul Society. But then again, he didn't know from what time he was seeing this from so he waited for any indication of what time it was.

Surprisingly, Captain Sui-Feng appeared from far behind her. He didn't think she could see her or maybe she could…

Sui-Feng behind him gasped.

###

"How long will he be patient? Isn't it irresponsible to not marry him? Once you do, this will all be over. Isn't it selfish of you to stay here like this?"

She didn't answer, she didn't even stop. It only prompted Sui-Feng to talk further.

"That man is the Soul Society's biggest threat and you, having the knowledge you do and the key to this all….you can't possibly have me believe that you're that selfish! If this is your responsibility, you have to give yourself up! If you go to him now, you can save us."

She continued walking.

"It is your responsibility. The Soul Society can avoid ever being hit if you do this!"

She clenched her fist. "Why risk it? Why risk having him injure our world? I don't understand your mindset at all. You could just marry him and end everything. He's an enemy of the Soul Society and yet you're still here, allowing him to prepare for this when you could just hand yourself over and save us."

She grew frustrated with her constant silence.

"It doesn't make sense as to why you would do this! You should be with him to get this over with now! It is your duty."

Sui-Feng couldn't take it anymore.

"If you don't…" she took a deep breath, "I'll expose you to everyone. I'll tell them exactly who you are—I'll tell them of your relation to the Okasake clan, I'll tell them about you and the Okasake heir, I'll tell them about the Soul King heart. I'll reveal you as a traitor to the Head Captain!"

She finally stopped in her tracks, though she never turned.

"I'll tell it to them all! The Head Captain included! You do not belong here, you are...you are…"

She stopped. "I know now that this can't be a temporary arrangement. It's been 50 years and you're still here! The threat still exists, if you refuse to go to him, I'll reveal your identity."

"I just can't make sense of your decision. You can't expect me to watch you stay here day-to-day without some sort of explanation! Even if it goes against the Common Kuchiki Law….it's your own fault it happened this way if it does!"

"You should've seen this coming. You should've accepted this as a potential scenario and prepared yourself for it. You're wise, in no way have I ever expected you to do something like this but it's taking too long. I will reveal your identity, this is less of a threat and more of something definite. So hand over the documents and let me send you back."

"I will reveal you to be the traitor you are." She put her hand out, waiting for her back to turn to her though she didn't for a while. Wind suddenly gusted past them, it was the soul collector again though neither of them minded it. Their hairs flanged from right to left as she waited for a response.

###

Sui-Feng had to be joking. Rukia couldn't believe she would say things like that, though she knew she was very unaware of the situation, to think that something as simple as marriage could solve that was...ridiculous.

She was obviously letting the fear get to her head. Though she understood her concern, it was odd to see her so venomously approach her and threaten her with her identity.

She sighed, muttering under her breath—"you think marriage can solve this?"—before turning around.

She let her expression emanate the ridiculity of the statement. What Sui-Feng knew was too simple. It wasn't enough for her to be saying any of this.

"If you think marriage can solve this then clearly you're in no position to order me around." She criticized coldly. "My reasoning is personal, I have no reason to share it with anyone who thinks the way you do about this matter. But if it's so important to you, enough for you to think that I'm running away from my fate then here."

She pulled out her quotebook and turned a few pages. Pulling out a bright yellow paper, she tossed it onto the ground in front of the Captain. She gestured for her to take it.

"Here. There it is—you want to reveal me to the Head Captain and everyone else? Everything you want to reveal is there, I wish you luck, Captain Sui-Feng...you're gonna need it." She casually closed her book and shoved into her pocket.

Captain Sui-Feng looked at the document near her feet.

"You are a fool." Rukia quietly said before turning around—she then mumbled to herself, "a terrible fool."

###

Sui-Feng didn't hesitate to rush through the doors of the 1st Division barracks, though she did hesitate on taking the document thrown to her.

The conversation had been short though it easily made her become doubtful and she hated it. She hated it because she wanted to know her reasoning, she was one of the very few who actually knew who she was and here she was trying to hide it from her. She couldn't stand this any longer.

It hit her when she called her a fool. In that mere few seconds, Sui-Feng had felt small—it made her second-guess everything. Though, if she had her reasoning—why couldn't she know? She had over fifty years to tell her something but she didn't.

It led Sui-Feng to believe that maybe just maybe this wasn't anything having to do with the assassins. Maybe she was just here...running away and though that wouldn't make sense either, she wasn't doing anything to prove her wrong either.

Approaching Lieutenant Chōjirō with the thick yellow paper folded in her hands, she remained stoic. "I need to speak with the Head Captain. It's an emergency."

"What kind?" He questioned.

"This isn't something I can just discuss with anybody." She pleaded, tightly holding onto the paper.

His lilac eyes loomed over the folded paper in her hands. "Is that it?"

"I must speak with the Head Captain first."

His eyes shot up from the paper. "He is busy."

"This is important. Really important—he must know!" Sui-Feng said. The longer it took to get through him, the more she was contemplated on whether she should tell the Head Captain or wait.

"What is it?" He calmly questioned though Sui-Feng couldn't take it—her mind was still somewhat reluctant to bring it up. Without thinking, she pushed past him and opened the broad doors to the Head Captain's office.

"Captain Sui-Feng." He harshly addressed with his back turned to her.

She was on the ground, leaning over the paper that fell on her hand. What was wrong with her?

"I apologize, Head Captain but I have something to tell you. This is something you should know." She wasn't looking at him, her eyes bore into the folded paper. Was she doing the right thing? Did she maybe—I wish you luck, Captain Sui-Feng. You're gonna need it.—have a plan of some sort? Was it true that marriage couldn't solve anything?

"Speak." He ordered.

"I…"

You are a fool. A terrible fool.

"Well you see…"

You think marriage can solve this?

"I have terrible news…"

"We have a…"

If you think marriage can solve this then clearly you're in no position to order me around.

"W-Well…"

I wish you luck, Captain Sui-Feng—you're gonna need it.

You think marriage can solve this?

You're in no position to order me around.

She stood up with her right fist clenching the yellow paper in her hand.

I wish you luck, Captain Sui-Feng—you're gonna need it.

She looked up.

If you think marriage can solve this then clearly you're in no position to order me around.

She ran out. She couldn't do it—even if she forced herself to, the words couldn't come out. There had to be a reason, she just wanted to know what. How could she leave her out of the loop like this?

She didn't pay Lieutenant Chōjirō a glance and just went all the way down until she was outside again. Though her eyes were looking down, trying to erase the feeling of humility, she sensed two presences waiting in front of her.

It was Yoruichi-sama and...her.

She sat down and braced herself near the door. She didn't look at them, her eyes still staring into the void that was concrete. The thick paper was loosely resting on her knees that were slightly pulled up to her chest.

"Sui-Feng," Yoruichi's tone was deploring and rightfully so, "what's wrong with you?"

She couldn't answer.

"What were you trying to do with that paper?" She asked her. "Telling everybody would just start a bigger problem."

Silently, she brought the paper up in her hands to the woman now standing next to her. She took it and put it back into her book—at least, that's what Sui-Feng could see from the corner of her eyes.

"I…" she finally spoke, "apologize."

"You're forgiven." She said beside her, her head perked up in surprise.

Meeting those violet eyes, she didn't see any hidden malice in her words. She really had forgiven her for almost...exposing her identity.

"Thank you." She bowed her head in shame. "I just...wanted to know."

"That's why you did this?" Yoruichi asked. "Sui-Feng...c'mon…"

She attempted to explain herself though, she wasn't sure if it'd do any good. "It just didn't feel right to not know. This is such an important matter and as the 2nd Division's Captain with ties to the assassins, I felt as if I was deserving to know. Especially given the fact that I'm one of the few people here who know who you actually are."

"I apologize for causing you so much trouble." She bowed her head again.

###

Rukia couldn't say much of anything as Sui-Feng looked down to the ground in regret. She had a feeling that she wouldn't follow through with it, though, that didn't mean she could be trusted.

Anyhow she let that information slip and it was quite literally over. She'd have to formulate a plan quick enough to get out of here—she was glad she had her younger brother in the living world to seek refuge if she ever did.

She couldn't tell Sui-Feng this. Her reason was entirely personal and in one way, she was doing her best to force more light into the heart while being here. Though she understood her frustration with the secrecy, especially since she wasn't any normal Gotei 13 member, she just couldn't trust her.

Sui-Feng's clan had their connection to the 2nd Division on the other side through the Shihōin clan. She even had a distant relative who served as the Secretary of State of the 4th Division over there and more importantly, the 2nd Division's assassins were occasionally looked over by Capital-based assassins so she knew why she felt like she deserved to know what was going on but…

She really couldn't tell her—it was hard trusting people.

Though, she'd let it slide.

"It's alright." Rukia said to her.

"If...you could maybe trust me one day...I'd like that a lot." She quietly confessed which in truth surprised Rukia a lot. A confession like that from Sui-Feng out of all people, who was thoroughly devoted to Yoruichi, sort of touched her a bit. She had never had many conversations with Sui-Feng, even when she was young.

Just a few and even then, Rukia had been convinced she was just following protocol though the way she addressed her now made her wonder.

"Don't let that happen again." Yoruichi warned.

###

The time was different now.

White cherry blossoms surrounded the short Captain with her new hair as she walked quietly near a pond. The last thing she expected to see were those familiar violet eyes staring at her with the snake, Roger around her neck. The image itself made her eyes perk up in surprise—she never visited her. Especially dressed like this with her doctor's coat and assassin uniform.

"U-Uh…" she fell silent at her sudden appearance.

A smile curved on her lips before she extended her hand to give her something. It was a white paper.

"Here." She gestured for her to take it.

"What is this?" Sui-Feng managed to voice.

"This…" she took in a breath, "is all you need to know. I wrote down a few pointers for you to understand the severity of the situation. Now, it isn't everything but at least you'll have a clue of what's happening when it does."

She was dumbstruck at her words.

She was...really giving her this?

"You've earned it." Rukia said with a smile before turning around.

"Wait!" Sui-Feng called after her. "Kuchiki-san...are you really..?"

It was in her hands but she couldn't believe it.

"Hm?" She turned around. "Of course, you've earned it, don't worry. I just thought I'd give it to you now since it's going to be awhile.."

Sui-Feng raised her brows and stepped forward. "Are you leaving? Already?"

She shook her head. "No. I just mean that I'm not going to be in this form for awhile. I'll be hanging up this doctor's coat for a little while so….in doing that, I won't really be discussing anything related to this or even acknowledging it."

She put her hands near her lap. "I see. Well, that's good to hear." She then began to question her eagerly, "though is it happening soon? Is that why you're avoiding walking around like that?"

"I don't know." She responded with a grin. "But when it does, it does. Until then, I'd like a few months of peace."

"I understand." And she turned around again to leave but Sui-Feng wouldn't leave her just yet. "Thank you for this. Again…"

Rukia just nodded her head and walked away into a white portal.

The last time she'd go through a white portal for a while.

###

And with that, they were brought back to the same spot they were in near Rukia's stretchers. Accusatory eyes stared at the short Captain as she looked away, the shameless face of being exposed as her expression—the face she refused to bring to light.

She had been caught.

"You knew this whole time and you were screamin' about her being traitor." Captain Hirako said to her.

"Yeah, why the hell did you say all that shit when you knew?" Ichigo asked her.

Kensei with crossed arms turned to her. "What does that got to do with being a noble? You have no orders for that, you could've said something from the start but didn't. You're her ally."

"You have deceived us." Captain Komamura said to her. "Under oath of soul reapers, you have aided someone who was not our kind and protected them."

Ichigo was about to pop a vein. Stop saying she's the enemy for fuck's sake.

"Yama-jii's on that boat too if we're saying anything under oath." Captain Kyōraku, surprisingly said, in defense.

"You have family members who are a part of the assassin organization." Captain Komamura mentioned. "You must've known this too."

"I swear to you all, I didn't." He responded. "Yama-jii has assassin-soul reaper types working with the Seireitei. He's just as much as accountable if you're going after Captain Sui-Feng over there."

"Why did you hide this?" Tōshirō inquired. "From the beginning, when we got here you should have informed us of all this instead of having us wait to find out. What did she tell you on that paper?"

Sui-Feng refused to speak.

"Yeah, what's the deal, Captain Sui-Feng? How come you didn't say anything?" Rangiku asked, just as surprised with her secrecy. Up until now, she was convinced Sui-Feng was completely against Lieutenant Kuchiki but after seeing how she acted around her, she guessed she thought wrong.

"Captain…?" Ōmaeda called, taking a step back.

Unohana just stared at her from the corner of her right eye, waiting for her response.

"How could you have known all this time?" Lieutenant Hinamori asked in a quiet voice, waiting.

"I…" her voice was faint, "have nothing to say."

"You have nothing to say?!" Ichigo asked. "You just spent a whole five minutes bad-mouthing her and degrading her and now that you've been caught, you have nothing to say? Why did you say those things about her if you knew all this?"

"The things you said were very rude and vulgar." Captain Ukitake condemned. "If you were her ally, why did you say those things? More importantly, why didn't you tell any of us when we got here about this?"

"If you were loyal to her Captain Sui-Feng, you shouldn't have said those things." Captain Unohana said.

"Yeah, why were you fighting to make her the enemy?" Ichigo asked her though Sui-Feng didn't have an answer for any single one of those questions.

It was her loyalty.

---

Locked in her room, the covetous Naohira went through the pictures of all the women her commander had once had an obsession with. Even after all these years of aiding him, she couldn't find a connection between all of them. There would be some obvious consistencies and then it would all vanish into random traits here and there.

Despite being loyal to him for all these years, she still didn't understand what forged these obsessions inside of him. At one point she convinced herself they were just arbitrary but then, she saw small consistencies between a few and thought otherwise.

But this one...This one was so different it infuriated her to no ends.

He went out of his way to introduce himself and become so attached to her life.

He met this woman as a human. When she was no more but a simple child in the living world. He came to her with his child form, the same form he donned to enter the Okasake home way before she even existed.

And then, she came and he waited for her. He tried to convince his own father to force her to marry him once they met and though she steadily refused, he still tried to have his father talk her into it.

Naohira seemed to be nothing more than a shadow to her commander. He didn't pay any attention to it even though her loyalty had been with him ever since the beginning.

She had met him...three weeks before he became the Okasake heir.

Flashback

"You're it!"

The young Naohira with hair still as long and tied with a thick iris ribbon at the back, dashed past a few kids in the ceaseless, dim stormy days in the Rukongai. Joy splattered all over her face as she avoided the kid and ran off.

Mud gushed all over her legs though she didn't mind it, even if it stained the entirety of her kimono because Naohira had what many others didn't have in the Rukongai.

A steady place to stay—an almost home. She lived with the Head Mistress of a large house who took a bunch of girls in and cared for them. She had so many sisters she barely remembered all their names and they had wonderful things—food, kimonos, and occasionally presents. Though she lived in such a dim, rather poor district, the life she lived in that house was fun and brought so much life to it.

Last night she ate a whole bowl of soup and bread, she got to eat lots of meat and even had some fuzzy drink that the Head Mistress said was imported from the human world. And then the other night, she had been given two nice kimonos to wear and even another ribbon for her hair.

In short, her life was quite perfect in the sense that she had a lot of things that the people in this district never had. Due to that, she could never grow envious of others because she was the person to be envied.

The wind brushed her skin and flushed it as she ran. She was faster than a lot of kids, it was due to all her practice—she wanted to become an assassin. She wanted to learn their tricks of deceit and be able to fight the way they did with their hands. She had seen a few fights before in her district, she liked them a lot.

There was a very elegant charm to the way they fought unlike the brash soul reapers. Unlike them, all assassins had come into harmony with elements and used it in their fighting style. It was quite unique to see how they embedded the usage of them in their fighting, that's why she couldn't wait till she got older.

Once she came of age, the Head Mistress promised her that she could be free and that she could choose whichever path her life took her too. But that wasn't going to be for a while, she was only entering pre-teen age, she was nothing close to a woman.

Scurrying past some old men, she realized that the game of tag had quickly been canceled as rain droplets began to soak the ground. From a calm dribble, it grew hard and soon, as she ran her way back to the Head Mistress's large house, she was soaking wet.

Entering the dark-wooded house, she was surprised to see some of her sisters huddled up in groups of three. It seemed like she had entered during some important announcement because they were all staring anxiously as her Head Mistress—a large woman in size, with gold cuffs on her wrists for bracelets, salt and pepper hair tied back in a bun, with circular gold earrings as big as the oval of the spoon—had her right hand to her waist as some man argued with her.

She stayed quiet near the opened doors as they spoke, she didn't know which group of three to join in. For some reason the presence in the room was chilling enough for everyone to look unwelcoming.

The hooded ashen eyes of her Head Mistress glanced at her from the corner of her left eye for a few seconds before resuming her attention to the man.

"She's too young. She's not of age." The Head Mistress argued, she had a very stiff presence when she wanted too.

"What is age?" The man with a mustache asked, "it's just a number. She'll learn it soon eventually. What's the harm in sharing a room?"

Her Head Mistress just stared, unconvinced. "She's too young. That boy," she pointed her left hand to the room to the left, "looks like her sibling. It's wrong."

He brought two of his hands up while he brushed off her concern, "my, my, where is she? Let me see the young girl."

He, without effort, scanned through all of them before his eyes fell on her and then a bright cry was heard, "ah, it's only the same coloured eyes. What's the big deal? Don't you know how many people have black hair?"

"It doesn't matter, it's too similar."

"Why, their faces look nothing alike? Just have her wear one of those human contacts if it really bugs you that much. Otherwise, she's fine—young and chaste." The man looked like a sleaze, dark painted eyebrows and mustache with a hat wearing a sluggish expression. He didn't look like he cared much for anything though, what were they talking about? What did this conversation have to do with her?

"No." Her Head Mistress remained defiant. "She's too young."

Suddenly he took off his hat in frustration, the cool expression leaving him to replace one with disapproval. "He threatens your house. He's a promising boy, his talent with the brush, his knowledge, his skill, surely if you cause him this much problems, he will come back to you."

"If he's so promising, then why is he here?"

"He's a young boy, he has to learn at some point. He's just sharpening his skills before he gets busy, nothing more, nothing less. You'll see, he's too promising to have you discard him like this."

What was happening? Some boy wanted to meet her? He was threatening her Head Mistress with her house? This house? The very house she had opened to many girls on the street and took them in as her own? She stepped forward.

"W-Wait!" She didn't know what she was doing for this boy but, "I can...share a room."

She watched the man's eyebrows raise before cheerfully clapping his hands. "Well then it's settled then. Go into that room!"

"Naohira, stop." She ordered before turning to the man who seemed to dislike her Head Mistress a lot (all of a sudden). "That boy looks like her brother. For them to share a room would be...would be...filthy! Indecent! Improper!"

Wait. All they had to do was share a room? What was the big deal then?

"I can share a room." She said, if he looked like her brother then what was the big deal? Siblings could share the same room, it was okay, it was normal. What was so wrong about this then? "I can, it's okay Head Mistress."

She watched the expression of her Head Mistress fall and stare at her as if she felt sorry for her. It really wasn't a big deal, what was so wrong?

###

Entering the room, she saw a boy with black hair—wavy towards the end—and iris eyes, just like hers. She bowed her head politely and moved to her futon on the far right.

"I'm Naohira by the way." She introduced, noticing that the boy was staring at her intensely like a guard; he hadn't moved from his position in the room.

"What's yours?"

"I don't have one." He harshly responded.

"Oh…" She answered before sitting down on her futon. "So, why did you want to share a room with me? Head Mistress was being sort of dramatic about all this though, I don't really see the problem."

"You're stupid." He suddenly insulted, Naohira was taken aback and looked up to him. "I guess I was mistaken."

"I'm sorry?"

"Is your fighting any good?" He questioned, towering her.

He looked so stiff and angry.

"Uh...well...I want to be an assassin. I haven't taken any classes yet." Naohira responded before looking down at her feet. "The Head Mistress will let me take classes as soon as I come of age."

"You're stupid. Your looks are deceiving, you come off smart but you're actually dumb. Do you think that woman took you in because she's the nicest one around or?" The question made her look to him immediately.

Of course. She took us all in and loved us and cared for us.

"Stupid." He scoffed. "You're leaving here when you come of age but it's not to become an assassin. It's to become a whore."

She shot him a disapproving look, "how dare you? The Head Mistress promised me my freedom. She just wants to keep me here so that I'm safe and well-fed! When I get older, she'll let me leave just like she let all the other older girls leave!"

"Yes," he smirked. "They leave but do you know where they leave? They scurry off into different directions because they've been sold, not because they're going onto some different path of yours, that woman sells them to men. You're going to be one of them soon."

"You're lying!" She yelled. "Head Mistress would never do that."

"So tell me why they never come back?" He asked and the question alone glued her mouth shut. "If this place is such a great place, how come they never come back to see their lovely Head Mistress who fed them and took them in and loved them with all the love in the world?"

She couldn't answer.

"You're stupid, more stupid than I thought." He criticized before stomping on her right hand.

"—OW!" She yelled in pain. "If you want to become an assassin, you at least have to be able to manage that."

He turned around. "What a disappointment."

###

Sitting outside of the house, she bit her apple—leaning back on the wood of the deck. He was beside her—he had been for the past two weeks. She didn't know why he chose to seek refuge here, apparently he was preparing for something, something big that was supposed to happen soon. Though it had been helpful, at least for her.

In the past two weeks, he had taught her a bit about fighting. She enjoyed it a lot despite his criticism, it made her even more excited for the day she would be set free—she still didn't believe his story about the Head Mistress. The woman was too kind to be the type of person the boy was making her out to be.

Oddly, she found herself a bit happy to be with him. She was always surrounded by girls so to have this boy suddenly take interest in her was sort of...exciting in a way? It felt very new to her and she liked it. She wondered why the boy had even taken interest in her. He still didn't explain that part, he was too invested in this 'plan of his' that he was going to partly explain to her now.

"He's going to take me in." He assured and by 'he' he meant the Head Commander of the Soul Society, Head Commander Okasake, which was still unbelievable to her. He had to be joking but the expression on his face indicated otherwise. "And when he does, we'll finally have our chance."

We?

Did he mean, her and him?

As in together?

The word brought warmth to her cheeks.

"Nonsense, why do you think he'll choose you? How do you even know he's looking for an heir?" She asked with her eyes to the pavilion.

"Because I'm the one who told him to go searching for an heir." He responded.

"What?"

"He'll come and choose me. I'll get adopted and enter the house as the soon-to-be heir. From there, I'll be promised quite literally everything, including the main control being this...the Soul Society."

"But how?"

He didn't answer any of her questions, he just kept going.

"He'll probably send that man—his god nephew—Kuchiki Sojun to inspect me, not that it's gonna matter. He'll choose me and once I enter there, I'll be with my new fixation—the Soul King spirit."

She gasped. "S-Soul King spirit? You think you can get to the Soul King spirit?"

"I'll be promised it."

"But...I'm still confused," her eyes searched his face for answers, "why do all of that? Maybe being a noble might be interesting but what's the point? Isn't that a lot of responsibility? To run this entire place? You can just become an assassin like me!"

"I want it." He sternly said. "I want the Soul King spirit."

"But why?"

"You're really stupid." He insulted yet again. "I want it 'cause it exists. It's there—I want it so I'll have it. Something stands in my way, I'll do what I have been doing ever since this society existed."

Her eyes widened for a few seconds, "w-wait, what do you mean by all that? Explain!"

The boy finally looked down to her, iris eyes boring into her own, "win."

###

Win had been his answer then.

Till this day, Naohira didn't know his true name. He had adopted every other name but his own in relation to whichever person he was fixated on at the time. Jushirmai was the longest name he had kept but that was solely due to the fact that she was still alive and very clearly, much more than any of his obsessions.

She didn't know why he chose to name himself after her younger brother, she barely knew much about how they met in the human world because right after he met her, she disappeared into the shadows. He didn't tell her much, he left her on the side to figure things out and slowly, it seemed that from someone he saw as a companion turned into someone he could barely look at for five minutes without disgust.

She didn't know how it came to this. How it came to a point where he was so...disgusted by her? What did she lack? All these women couldn't compare to the love and loyalty she had given him, so why?

Why couldn't it be her?

Here fear here.

"As Nödt." She acknowledged, her stare was lost in the antique handle of the dresser in front of her. The book with pictures was in her hand. This heavy feeling was eating her—it had to be the arrival of As Nödt's presence signalling it.

He was behind her, levitating. She had been so invested in her memory that she hadn't felt him sneak into her room.

If he was here, he'd scold her.

"Something wrong, Naohira?" He snickered—the quincy was far from interested, he just couldn't help but want to feed on that aura she was so strongly emitting.

"Just tell me." She ordered before moving her face slightly to the right. "What is it?"

"Where is the commander?" He asked, moving forward to peer at what she was reading though she closed the book harshly and stood up.

"He's locked up." Naohira informed. "He won't be joining us for a while."

As Nödt laughed. "Did the heart break him?"

"Quite the contrary," she responded before opening the top drawer and shoving the book into it, "he's resting. What do you want to tell him? Tell me."

Yes, he was resting. The heart burning had really affected him though, it wasn't his fault. It was that pure light—that small ball of light that woman had sneaked in. With that, the aura coming from the citrine-started fire started a war inside of there. They were both bound—especially him—to be gravely affected.

As Nödt was making a remark as if he was that weak.

He tilted his head to the rest. "Resting? Does that mean we can finally be freed from our shackles?"

"Yes. Now what is it?"

She pressed her nail into her thumb. Did he know? He could probably read her off easily, it was his technique—fear. Perhaps he had seen what she was looking at without him trying, perhaps he already knew what she was feeling right now.

She wanted him to stop.

"I'm afraid I've already gotten started." She quietly gasped, did he mean her or—

She turned around, "you were under orders not to—"

"It wasn't one of them, it was a soul reaper. I've found them—they're stuck in the Interioreum World."

So it wasn't her, that was a relief.

She stepped forward, surprised and curious, consuming her expression at once. "What?"

She had heard of it before. It was some technique the soul reapers had created a long time ago to try to rival the world that sheatsu gifted the assassins. They wanted to create something similar as a war technique for spying. How they got stuck in there was the most concerning question though, didn't that mean they could see what was happening now?

That, of course, depended on where they were. If they were stuck in the Seireitei, the most they were seeing were the assassins stationed there but what if they were placed in the Capital?

As Nödt cut off her thought process.

"I've met the Kuchiki heir—well now Captain and Head—too." He locked eyes with the woman and began to circle around her, voice low and scratchy. She had no idea why he was coming so close to her, it was unsettling. She didn't like his presence—it was too strong and kindled things in her, things she didn't want to see or admit too. "I told him all about fear, Naohira. He was quite frightened—true fear. It was entertaining to watch."

He saw her pupils get smaller, he had lost her again….to her own fears. It was so easy, he wanted to laugh. Just like that, a few steps into her personal space and he had her far gone like that. He felt his fingers tingle in excitement as he flew around her slowly.

"He was strong at first—resilient, he had quite a strong hold on his emotions." He complimented in her ears, his mask adorned with spikes lightly grazed her left cheek, "he reminded me a lot of you, Naohira. He was good, anyone else would've lost their minds, their souls to the amount of fear they would feel all at once but he was left unfazed."

His breathing was warm next to her. Normally she would move if anyone came this close to her neck but she stayed put. She was thinking...his aura had summoned something within her.

"But then…" he whispered, "but then it all came to him. True fear and that's when he lost everything, I didn't engage in battle, I warned him. It was a preparation for when it's time, I didn't break the rules."

She probably couldn't even hear him, she stared into the floor in silence.

"So what do we do next…" he asked with a grin, so close to her face that he could feel her breath on his mask. Her iris eyes slowly moved to the left where he was waiting, "...acting Head Commander?"

---

She was in the fields near the noble homes.

Contrary to the place where everyone thought she was going, she finally mustered the courage.

She was here.

She found herself trekking down the familiar beige path alongside a very special field. Actually—she passed by this field almost every day as it led to the noble homes. It was a large field, it contained so many memories—some so bitter, some so sweet—they were even attached to a person who she once knew whose presence still leaked around the area. In short, it was a very personal space of hers.

Though she didn't think about it often, sometimes her heart would drop as she passed by the round bushes now camouflaged with needle ice at its roots which served as a mark for her—it was a place where something happened, three days before July 23rd. She walked past it calmly as the field began to show to her right, peppered with a bunch of a chrysantlleum lilies.

It was a chrysantlleum lily field.

The red lilies were all laced with sprinkles of frost, the field was huge and was perhaps the largest space in the Soul Society where these flowers existed.

She calmly walked past it, nearing the tree which stood closer to the walking path than it did to the field. She could feel his presence as she walked past it, it was only for a few moments but specks of his existence still prevailed here.

It never left.

She headed straight down the pale almost-beige, almost-blonde path and into the noble homes.

She strode along the path that passed by the Kuchiki entrance, she didn't stop once.

That didn't mean she was ready. Her chest sunk, there was nothing there—she just felt empty, how could she do this? The question only made her breath quicken. Her heart hammered aggressively against her chest as if it was fighting with all its might to burst out of its hold.

Tall grey wall ran like a perimeter around each noble home. She was still walking past the long one which shielded the Kuchiki Manor. With every step, it was like her condition got worse.

There were too many things to consider—her voice, the way she entered in, how she formed an explanation. She had to carefully conduct herself, enough not to come off too insensitive. She was returning to him after more than fifty years and even though he understood her well and had, in one way, watched her depart, it was still not enough.

Here she was.

These were the broad, extremely tall concrete doors which led into the manor. There were two assassin guards blocking it.

What would their reactions be once they saw her 'come back from the dead'?

She'd waltz in there, right in front of them and act completely normal as if it was back to being more than 50 years ago. Yes, that's what she'd do.

She approached the entrance, the guards didn't take notice of her until she was a few feet away. From calm, cool eyes ready for questioning, they bulged open—taken aback by what they were seeing. It was hard to formulate words she could tell, one of them stepped back, she understood the commotion—she was….dead.

"H-Him—" she knew what they were about to say but stopped. Taking advantage of their rather stunned selves, she slowly walked past them with the same apathetic expression she wore while passing them regularly. There was so much dead in her eyes that it suddenly felt real as she entered the pavilion.

The gardens were still the same.

It was a shame she couldn't admire them now as the manor stood just a few feet away from her. Circular yellow lights embedded into the ceiling gave the outside light. There was nobody out as expected, she figured it was better that way—no maids could see her and identify her. Enough to cause a commotion.

She headed for his study.

Parting open the shōji doors, she entered the room. And several strides later, she opened a next that was located on the side of the room.

It was the shōji which led to his study.

She froze. Her right leg barely loomed over the entrance of the room as she met familiar brown shelves filled with books and saw the familiar table with cushions still prepared on the ground for seating. To the far right, she still saw the table that she'd occasionally sit on and go through photo books with.

Seeing it after more than fifty years kindled a very strong feeling.

Rukia forced herself to crane left to see him, he was kneeling on the ground—his back to her—working through papers. Of course he heard her, of course he could sense her presence from far away. Slipping in, she subconsciously battered down the Captain's sheatsu presence within her.

With her back still braced near the shōji, she closed the doors.

This was it.

This was really it.

Her heart was really bouncing now. She swallowed many times, her legs were wobbling—even though she was taking each step slowly—enough so that she was still a few metres away from him. It felt so strong—the emotion she felt—this was fear, this was what it was like to feel scared.

Every part of her was quivering now—even her lips. She couldn't even stand straight, her legs were nervously weak and filled with just as many jitters as hers.

He was still wearing his assassin attire. The number one on his sleeveless black haori was just below the end of his grey mane, much like Captain Kuchiki's but not quite. Both of her hands were at her lap now, she clasped onto them for dear life, so unsure of what to say.

Yeah, she was terrified.

Yeah, she was really scared, her eyes so wide and expressive were telling it all now as they bore into his back, what would he do? What could she say? Was it insensitive to show up here wearing his gloves?

Her chest was too lost now in the hurt, it wasn't showing her any mercy now. It heaved as she closed her eyes one last time to liberate some confidence into her to call his name.

Opening them, her heart filled with jitters continued to beat as she opened her quivering mouth to speak.

"Sensei…"

He stopped.

---

End Note

So the oranges in It Can't Be: Can It? = this.

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