Rukia looked up at the door as it slid open. This time, it was exactly who she had expected. Twelve guards waited solemnly outside, as a thirteenth stepped inside.

"Rukia Kuchiki. Will you come quietly?"

She bowed her head.

"…Yes. I'm ready now," She whispered.

The walk to the execution block was solemn and silent. The throbbing in her chest was starting up again and thoughts of running or fighting sprouted in her head, all thoughts she banished to the depths of her head.

"Hey, Kuchiki-chan… how are you doin'?"

She looked up, surprised, and wary at the sight of the grinning face of Gin Ichimaru. The guards escorting her seemed as uncomfortable with the man's presence as she was.

"Captain Ichimaru?" Rukia gasped, a familiar and loathed feeling of tentacles wrapping around her starting up as she saw him.

"What, I'm not allowed to say hi to my favorite convict when I won't be seeing her ever again?" He pouted. "You're so cruel to me, Kuchiki-chan!"

"He's totally screwing with me." Rukia thought, her fury at the lackadaisical captain surprising her. "What do you want?" She snapped.

Gin pouted again. "Man, jail life has not been kind to you. And I was planning to give you some hope about your friends."

Rukia stilled. "What? Where are they?"

Gin's grin widened as the guards grew more uncomfortable. "I'm afraid no one knows that. They've been planning on hiding out until the execution so they could heal in time or something like that."

"And my execution being moved up was to stop that," Rukia stated, her mouth going dry.

"Yep." Gin explained. "Your brother was the one to come up with that idea actually."

Rukia scowled at that. She was aware that she deserved to die for her crimes, but did her brother have to spearhead the movement? "No matter." She thought. "I may actually have a chance to get everyone out of this."

"C-" She choked. "Could you help me get them a reduced sentence? Would you?"

"Sure!" Gin chirped, much to the guards' alarm. "Consider it a favor from one Rukon kid to another, right?"

"Captain Ichimaru?" one of the guards asked uneasily.

For a second, Rukia genuinely thought Ichigo and his friends might have a shot at surviving. The thought was a mere pipe dream when she first thought of it, considering the multiple captains they have attacked and beaten. But with a captain's goodwill-

"Just kidding!" Gin chuckled, patting Rukia on the head before strolling off with a laugh. "I can't believe you fell for that!"

Rukia promptly bluescreened as she just registered was happened, the guards around her either sighing in relief or giving her pitying glances.

"I was prepared to die for weeks...knowing I've doomed my friends..." Rukia thought, mind blank with shock. "I made peace with everything...and he gave me hope and shattered it in front of me...so easily."

Before she even fully recovered from her shock her mouth started moving on her own.

"GIIIIIINNNNN!" Rukia shrieked in utter rage and despair, furious tears streaming down her face. She'd have lunged for the man if the guards hadn't grabbed her. "YOU BASTARD! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

Aizen looked up. "Gin's mentally torturing someone again." He mused.

Masquerading as the central 46 has been quite the hassle, even if killing those unreasonable old fools was incredibly satisfying. And soon, he'd no longer need to waste time and effort playing this role, nor the facade of being the kind, rule-abiding captain.

His real attention, however, was Ichigo and his friends. They had all grown far stronger than predicted and Ichigo, in particular, was captain level and accepting his hollow powers already. A state he expected Ichigo to obtain in his fight with Byakuya. And if the training Yoruichi is giving him is what he thinks it is, then Byakuya might be completely overwhelmed by the resulting power gap. Ichigo might even kill Byakuya outright in the fight.

"And wouldn't that be glorious?" Aizen thought. After Kenpachi and Mayuri, the Ryoka is already being labeled wartime exemption level threats. Killing a captain that was actually well respected would only give the other captains more reason to attack, thus forcing more growth from his little pet project. Also, it would ensure Urahara's faction and the Soul Society won't join forces, giving him more wiggle room.

"Alas, it's merely a chance. A small chance at that." Aizen sighed, preparing himself for his soon to be escape of Soul Society.

"That way Kenny!"

Kenpachi grinned widely as he charged toward the execution palace, Orihime and Yachiru on his shoulders, and his squad members running behind him. Ichigo could only carry one other person with the Shihoin flying device Yoruichi gave him, and he needed the glasses guy for whatever plan they had. He didn't listen to the plan when Yoruichi explained it, he merely knew that he had to get Orihime to execution palace and do his own thing after that.

Orihime, on the other hand, was very nervous. She knew how much blood was likely to be shed if the plan everyone made didn't go as planned. The captain commander was simply too powerful for them all to handle. If they were forced to go up against him, they'd lose. Simple as that. Fortunately, Yoruichi explained that the old man wouldn't get involved as long as he thought the other captains could handle them. As long as they could get back to the Rukongai and then the entrance to Soul Society with Rukia, they were home free.

Easier said than done, however. Most of the captains were faster than everyone but Yoruichi and could catch up to them without much trouble. Soifon, in particular, was to be dealt with by Yoruichi herself. That captain was simply far more skilled in tracking and quick kills than the others were capable of dealing with. Fortunately, Yoruichi was very sure she could get Soifon chasing her without issue.

Ichigo, Uryuu, and Renji would fight Byakuya and Chad, and she would get Rukia out of there and back to the portal, fighting everyone else that impeded them. A simple plan, but the best they could make on short-

Orihime's thoughts came to a halt as a familiar face showed itself as they ran into a large courtyard.

"Well now," Kenpachi grinned as they were all faced with four intimidating figures. One of them was a helmeted, white-coated man whose height rivaled that of Kenpachi; the other captain was the dark-skinned man with a visor that had knocked Orihime and Uryuu out before. The other two had the armbands that marked them out as Vice Captains.

"Four on one, huh… maybe this'll even be a fair fight for once." He turned around. "Girl… go ahead with Yachiru and the others. There's no point you being in the way here."

Orihime quickly nodded and got off the man's back. "Santen Kesshun!"

A platform appeared that Orihime and Yachiru jumped on before flying off.

"Wheee!" Yachiru cheered as the barrier soared into the sky.

One of the Vice Captains, the one with scars cast a Kidō to bring the two down, only to merely bounce off the shield.

"Sorry," Orihime called down, flying as fast as she could to avoid getting hit with that sound attack again. "Can't stay!"

"Have you lost your mind entirely, Zaraki Kenpachi?" Tōsen growled as Ikkaku and Yumichika started their respective battles. "What madness is possessing you?!"

"What do you think?" Kenpachi smirked. "That Ichigo kid gave me a great fight! And he has been getting stronger as we speak! I needed to give him a little incentive to stick around."

The dark-skinned captain scoffed at the explanation. "I should have known. A demon-like yourself bringing chaos into our land for the sake of battle...yes, allying yourself with the Ryoka to further such destruction would be exactly the kind of thing you would do. You revel in blood and death with no concern of the consequences of your actions, and unlike the other Kenpachi's, even the rules of the Seireitei do not phase you." Tōsen's hand lowered to his Zanpakutō. "As someone who must follow the path of least bloodshed, I cannot allow an abomination such as yourself to exist any longer!"

Kenpachi growled at the long-winded monologue. "You seem to have a lot of trouble getting to the point," He readied his sword, before rushing the man down. "If you want to say you hate me, don't beat around the bush and just say it."

"I don't hate you, Kenpachi Zaraki," Tōsen stated, releasing his sword. "I just find you unforgivable!"

It took a while before Rukia stopped fighting against the guards and trying to rip Gin a new one. But eventually, the girl ran out of rage and energy and was led back to the Sōkyoku. A hollow and bleak look was in her eyes as she met the captains.

There were considerably less of them than she had been expecting; Yamamoto Genryuusai was in attendance with his lieutenant, as were Retsu Unohana, Soifon, Kyoraku Shunsui, Momo, oddly enough, and her brother.

"At least he cared enough to show up." Rukia thought. "I half expected him to not want to bother being in our presence." She suddenly stilled. That was...not something she'd think normally-

"Rukia Kuchiki," Yamamoto stated, his tone cutting through her thoughts. "It is time. Do you have any last words?"

"...Please, release the other ryoka," Rukia stated, shrugging off her sudden spiteful thoughts. "I know what they've done. But they..."

Soifon and Momo were about to vehemently reject this request. "We will take this into consideration," Yamamoto stated, surprising the other shinigami greatly.

"He's...He's not serious is he?" Momo rasped in outrage.

"No..." Unohana answered. "This is actually a last act of kindness."

"Kindness?" Isane asked in confusion.

"Her fate is unavoidable. That much is for certain." Unohana solemnly explained. "But whatever her intentions were, the death of Aizen and harm to Kenpachi and Mayuri weren't anything she wanted, let alone the deaths of those responsible. With the Head Captain's promise, she'll at least die with some peace of mind."

Momo felt a stab of guilt in her heart as she looked at her friend again. Now that she thought of it, Rukia never wanted anyone to die.

Yamamoto walked to the front of the Sōkyoku. "Release the Sōkyoku seal!"

Her escorts guided her into place before the scaffold. She felt the brief sensation of the ancient Kidō activating, lifting her arms into place and holding her feet still as the restraints attached to her neck were released. The spear caught fire as it rose into the air, morphing into the shape of a majestic bird.

"Behold." Yamamoto declared. "The spearhead of the Sōkyoku has taken it's true form, to render the ultimate punishment. When the prisoner's body has been pierced, the sentence will be carried out."

Rukia stared at her death in the face, before closing her eyes in acceptance. "I am not afraid. I have lived a good life. I was blessed by the friendship with Renji and the others, the adoption by a brother, the guidance of Kaien and Captain Ukitake, and by Ichigo's attempt to save me." She felt heat surround herself, and braced for the end. "I have no regrets. Thank you all. And farewell."

And everything went white.

...

...

Rukia's brow furrowed in confusion. "Am...am I dead yet?" Rukia thought, half tempted to open her eyes know what happened. She should have felt a burning or piercing pain by now, and nothing after that.

"Damn, Ishida." A very familiar voice made itself known, jerking her eyes open. "You've gotten some serious tricks from that glove." She gaped as she saw Ichigo and Uryuu, floating on seemingly thin air. That wasn't the most surprising thing, however. The true shocker was Uryuu, in some odd knight-like armor, absorbing the Sōkyoku into his body. The massive flaming bird spear was twisting visibly, screaming helpless defiance as it was becoming paler and changing into crystal-blue energy, condensing around Uryuu's form before being sucked in entirely.

"What in the world?" Rukia gaped. The insane sight was shocking enough to distract Rukia from the fact that Ichigo and Uryuu were here, directly intervening in her execution, right in front of the other captains. Then Uryuu opened his mouth.

"Of course," Uryuu replied, his tone a bit strained. "Unlike you shinigami, our ingenuity can solve any problem without brute force."

"Tch. Smartass."

"I-Ichigo?" Rukia rasped.

Ichigo and Uryuu turned their heads. "Hey, Rukia. How you been?"

"How have I been?" Rukia stared for a moment before incredulous rage took over. "How have I been? Have you lost your minds?! How could you go all this way to save me, let alone right in all the captain's vision?!"

"Technically, most of them aren't here," Ishida argued.

"Not the point!" Rukia shrieked, practically in the throes of hysterics. "The Head Captain alone could kill you all with ease! Leave me and run!"

"I've let the shinigami's incompetence lead to the death of my grandfather before," Ishida stated. "On my Quincy pride, I will not let that happen again."

The Sōkyoku screamed again, its flames intensifying as it surged around them.

"Give up already, will you?" Ishida growled.

A pulse of reishi came from Ishida, and a mixture of screeching metal and roaring flames briefly rang out before the Sōkyoku was completely absorbed.

It was at this Ichigo acted. With a simple jump, he leaped onto the stand and spun his sword by the cloth.

Rukia's eyes widened she knew immediately was Ichigo was trying to do. "Ichigo stop! You'll only kill all three of us!"

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Ichigo stated, before grabbing the hilt and plunging it into the stand. "Just shut up and watch."

A massive shockwave rocked the hill as the platform was split in twain, and Rukia screamed as she fell down, only to be picked up by Ichigo.

"I couldn't care less about what anyone says about this," Ichigo says as hoists the girl up. "That includes your brother, and even you yourself. I'm going to save you."

Rukia tears up. Part of her still wants to tell them to leave, to let her die, to get the selfless maniacs to save their lives in exchange for her own. But at this point, she simply couldn't. She knew they'd never stop trying to save her at this point. "You idiots. I'm not going to thank you."

Ichigo smiles. "I don't expect you to."

Ishida just smiles. Truth be told, Ichigo has said everything else he might have said. Now, with Rukia convinced of their victory, there's no more time or need for words. Now is the time for action. In mere moments, a massive amount of reishi forms at Uryuu's feet. With a simple kick, the three find themselves at the ground, a little far off from the dumbfounded shinigami glaring at them.

Ukitake clenched the Sōkyoku nullifying device in his hands in shock. He expected to have to get rid of the Sōkyoku for Ryoka to save Rukia, but clearly, he had dramatically underestimated them. Even now, he could feel the insane power radiating off of the Quincy as he turned to the others.

Even so, he knew that Yamamoto would not be stopped by this. He and Shunsui were going to have to hold him off for as long as they could. And very soon judging by the illusion falling from the old man's scabbard.

Yamamoto gave a cold glare in a seemingly random direction, stilling and nearly knocking out Renji and Chad, the two in the middle of dispatching the guards.

"Renji?!" Momo cried out in outrage. "What you doing?!"

"I'm doing what I should've done a month ago!" Renji roared out as Ichigo and Uryuu ran over to them.

"Arrogant children. Do you think you can beat us here?"

Uryuu stumbled as a massive pressure tried to force him to the ground. Ichigo and Rukia fared worse, the latter barely able to breathe. Most of the captains were standing against the pressure, however.

"All of you?" Ichigo stated, staggering a bit. "With just us? No way. Fortunately, we have back up."

A brown blur flickered by, like the swift, invisible wind. It took Omaedo a whole five seconds to register the sudden disappearance of his captain. "Captain?! What the hell-"

Boom!

Two arrows soared. One aimed at Yamamoto's chest, only to be immediately cut in half by the now unsealed Ryuujin Jakka. Even so, the second blast did the job it was meant to, blasting all of the lieutenants off their feet. And by the time the smoke cleared, the three ryoka and Rukia were gone.

Byakuya didn't even wait for orders, Shunpoing away to their direction with Momo right behind him.

Yamamoto would have followed, had Ukitake not gotten in his way.

"Captain Ukitake," Yamamoto growled. "What is the meaning of this?"

Ukitake swallowed hard. This was the point of no return. Without question. And yet, he wouldn't dare move. "Kiyone. Sentaro. Get moving."

Kiyone paled. "But captain-"

"Now."

The two seated members swallowed, before shunpoing away. Nanao looked between Shunsui and Ukitake, wondering what to do.

"Ukitake, you have not explained yourself," Yamamoto began. "Why are you standing against me?"

"I am doing what I was taught by you." Ukitake stated as calmly as he could in return. "I'm coming to the defense of one of my soldiers."

"Rukia Kuchiki has been sentenced by Central Forty-Six. For the crime of giving her powers to a human, she is to be put to death."

"Master Yamamoto..." Ukitake swallowed his remaining panic. "You once told me that captains must carry out the justice of our own. And I cannot accept my squad member's execution like this! She had no trial! She couldn't defend herself! Can you honestly say this is justified?"

"Such foolish talk!" Yamamoto growled. "The true justice of the world is not for you to decide."

"Well, what is the true justice of the world?" Ukitake rebutted. "What determines right and wrong?!"

"In my opinion," Shunsui added, suddenly standing by Ukitake as well. "Right is keeping the innocent safe at all costs. A lesson you taught us."

Yamamoto's reiatsu flared, a crushing wave of heat and pressure went out. Nanao nearly fell to her knees at the force. "You intend to stand against me as well, Kyoraku?"

"Being serious," Kyoraku answered. "I'm planning on stopping you two from fighting at all."

Yamamoto paused for a moment, before reining in his rage. "You act as if I desire this. I am fully aware of Ukitake's struggles and know what losing his last connection to Kaien is doing to him. But you must understand. The order of Soul Society itself depends on the laws being obeyed by all, from strongest to weakest. Our desires are irrelevant."

"You're the Head Captain! If anyone is relevant it's you." Ukitake growled. "This isn't what you taught us. This isn't right."

"Right or wrong, relevant or irrelevant..." The old one shook his head. "It seems that you've lost track of what it is we Soul Reapers are sworn to uphold. The government of the Central Forty Six, the rule of the Soul king… individuals do not matter in the face of that. I will give you one chance to recant this decision."

Ukitake did not move. Shunsui only turned to Nanao. "Hey Nanao, you should get out of the blast radius."

Nanao's eyes widened. "Captain, you're not going to-"

"Leave, infant."

Shunsui gave an annoyed pout at the disappeared lieutenant. "That was a bit much, don't you think?"

"You two have run my patience quite thin," Yamamoto growled. "The time for words has ended anyway."

There was a flash of flame, and Genryusai Yamamoto spoke the words that the two captains had been dreading.

"All things in this universe, turn to ash. Ryujin Jakka."

The two other captains quickly bolted off the hill as they released their own Shikai, hoping to get some distance from the flames now billowing from the sword.

"Rukia!" Orihime cried out.

Rukia couldn't help but tear up at seeing Orihime and Yachiru flying towards them. It seems that every friend she made in the human world had come to rescue her. "Orihime?" She asked as Ichigo, Uryuu, and Renji slowed down to meet the others. "Is that you?"

"Yes!" Orihime replied, floating back down. "It's me. Sorry, we took so long."

"Orihime, Chad," Ichigo stated, handing Rukia to Chad. "Byakuya's coming quickly. You guys need to get out of here now."

"Wait for what?" Rukia questioned. "What about you?!"

"I, Uryuu, and Renji are going to take him out," Ichigo explained.

Seeing that Rukia was about to loudly reject this plan, Chad spoke. "Rukia it's okay, they've trained for this for days on end."

"What training could you possibly do that would put you on even ground with my brother?!" Rukia shrieked.

"Bankai."

Rukia froze. "Bankai? Ichigo has barely been a Shinigami for two months. How could-Uryuu, look out!"

Byakuya came from above, petal-like blades surrounding him as they soared through the air, but Uryuu was faster yet, and fury was in his eyes. It was only a quick shunpo that saved the captain's life as a bolt of reishi pierced through the cloud of blade fragments.

"Do you really expect to flee that easily?" Byakuya stated, his calm tone underlined with rage.

"No. Not really." Ichigo growled, pulling out his sword as Orihime hurriedly floated herself, Rukia and Chad away. Or tried to.

"Raikoho!"

A bolt of lightning soared towards the shields it rose, just barely clipping the edge. Orihime and Rukia flinched as sparks grazed them, and then paled as Momo soared out of the Kidō, blade drawn.

"OH!" Orihime yelped as she tried to back up, but she didn't make the shield big enough.

"Sokatsui!" Momo added, not even stalling to take a breath. A brilliant flame burst from the tongs, only to be deflected by Chad's armored arm.

"Tch!" Momo scowled as she brought Tobiume to block Chad's punch. While she succeeded in blocking the punch from Chad's right arm, the reiatsu reinforcing it was enough to nearly push her off.

"Rukia! Chad!" Ichigo roared in concern before having to dodge a Raikoho of his own.

"Fools." Byakuya scoffed. "Why do you try so hard to save Rukia, even at her request not to?"

Ichigo scowled, deciding to answer that question with another question. "Why aren't you trying to save her? Hell, what possessed you to speed up the execution just to give me less time to prepare for this fight?"

Byakuya merely scoffed at this statement, his seemingly uncaring tone enraging the three that faced him. "Such a foolish question." His blade fragments charged with energy as they prepared to strike. "Even if I took the time to explain the situation, people like you, bound by sentimentality, would never understand. There is only one path before me. I will kill you all here. Then I will capture Rukia, and execute her myself."

"Howl, Zabimaru!"

Renji surged forward, extending his blade and swinging for Byakuya's head. Byakuya merely shunpoed away, stopping on a dime and blurring in a different direction to avoid another arrow from Uryuu.

"I can't handle all three of them at once." Byakuya realized to his frustration. He got the drop on them, but they had all grown in strength tremendously. The pathetic weaklings left on the floor when he came to acquire Rukia in the human world were no more.

The Quincy, in particular, was noticeably more powerful than him, if less skilled. Mayuri's research on Quincies seemed to say the form the boy was in was temporary, but the danger was still clear.

As infuriating as it was to be pushed so far so quickly, he knew what he had to do.

"Bankai. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

The blades split once more, before forming countless swords that rose out of the ground.

"Oh." Renji paused. "Well, crap. Didn't think you'd pull that out so fast."

"Neither did I," Byakuya admitted, a murderous expression on the nobleman's face. "You should feel honored to be graced with such a death scene." He waved his hands, and the thousands of razor blades formed a ball around them, except for a hole he jumped through and closed right after. "Gokei, Bakudo 81: Danku."

Byakuya didn't take chances even as the ball closed in on his quarry. To let them overwhelm him was to guarantee defeat. Through a combination of Shunpo and Kidō, the rapidly shrinking ball was surrounded by walls of Kidō. And not a moment too soon, as a burst of red reiatsu from inside the ball stopped its implosion. More than that, it was forcing the petals back somewhat, much to Byakuya's frustration as he forced the ball down again.

"Byakuya!" Renji called out from inside the ball. "You can't kill me with this sword anymore!"

"And how do you plan to stop my endless blades?" Byakuya stated. "You can't stall a Bankai with reiatsu alone."

"How do I plan to stop your sword?" Renji rebutted. "Well, what the saying the captains always had? It takes a Bankai to stop a Bankai!"

Byakuya stilled. "He couldn't have..." He thought.

"Long before I became your lieutenant," Renji boasted. "Long before I even became a member of the Gotei 13. Ever since you adopted Rukia! I've always wanted to surpass you! And I will surpass you! BANKAI!"

A massive explosion rocked the area, blowing away the walls and sword fragments. And when the dust settled...

"Hihio Zabimaru!" Renji stated triumphantly. When it faded, his shoulders were covered in red fur, and he wielded a bone, the end fragment of his Bankai, a giant segmented bone snake whose head had a top of a red fur sticking out. Ichigo and Uryuu were standing inside

Byakuya glared at the Bankai with surprise, irritation, and admittedly some impressment at the sight. "Impressive. When did you learn Bankai?"

Renji chuckled sardonically. "Unsurprising. You, who has no time for even the men in your own squad would never notice my growing power."

"Your pride's been blinding you for longer than you realize." Ichigo taunted.

"What an empty threat." Byakuya scoffed. "All your boasts and threats will change nothing. Neither Rukia's fate nor your own. I can see the power that the Quincy stole from the Sōkyoku fading." Indeed, the surge of reishi flowing from Ishida's shoulder was noticeably smaller now. "And a newly made Bankai couldn't make me fall to one knee."

"Want to bet on that?" Renji swung his sword, and Hihio Zabimaru roared as it lunged at Byakuya. Byakuya dodged easily, Shunpo-ing out of the way and towards Renji, who used Shunpo as well. Byakuya then sensed Hihio Zabimaru coming at him from the side, and Uryuu coming from the other. "A pincher technique. How simple." Byakuya made another Shunpo, expertly flashing into the air where none of them could-

PAIN.

A sudden, blinding agony wracked the nobleman's entire frame and he crashed to the ground, bleeding from a massive cut wound, stretching from hip to shoulder. The man's Bankai instantly sealed itself, his reiatsu now focusing all efforts to not bleed out and die.

"I said I planned to defeat you, Byakuya Kuchiki," Renji stated. "I did not say I would do so today."

Byakuya struggled to breathe as he tried to figure out what had just happened when a figure's shadow covered him. Looking up, he saw Ichigo, wielding a black Japanese long sword.

The realization of what happened immediately clicked in Byakuya's mind, only to be rejected. "No. Impossible. He couldn't have learned Bankai. He's too young. He wasn't even born a shinigami."

"Eyes up here jackass." Byakuya looked up to see Ichigo's angry black-eyed stare. The stare of a Hollow.

Byakuya's eyes narrowed into slits as he realized. "Hollow...powers... When did...you...use them?"

"When Renji went Bankai," Ichigo explained. "Between that and Uryuu's super mode-"

"Letz Stil."

"That, you couldn't have possibly sensed me in time."

"Mon…ster…" he choked out. That got a rise out of Ichigo, who scowled then buried his foot in Byakuya's gut. "Gah!"

"I won't deny it. My shinigami and hollow powers are the same. I may have even been born like this." Byakuya's eyes widened at that statement. "That probably isn't natural in any way, shape, or form. But…" The hollowfied shinigami growled deep in his throat. "At least I don't try to say I'm not."

"What are – gah!" Another foot to the stomach.

"You act as if this is how things must be. You say we wouldn't understand." Byakuya found himself unable to look away from Ichigo's piercing yellow gaze. "Well, you got that right. I can't even imagine what kind of monster would threaten to kill his sister so casually! All I can think is that makes you a bigger monster than I ever could be."

And with that, the three left.

"La Muerte," Chad growled as he blasted Hinamori off the shield for the nth time. It was incredibly frustrating to fight this girl on top of Orihime's shield. It was impossible to get distance on this thing, which meant every time she blasted herself up here, he would get at least a little shock. It was also hard to do much other than block her and have Orihime's Koten Zanshun chase her off.

So far the fight is more or less a stalemate, but Momo held the advantage. At least in reiatsu, being a lieutenant class shinigami and all. Not to mention Orihime running low on reiatsu due to using her shield and attack so much. The girl hadn't even been injured that much, Orihime's attack fairy merely slashing up his face and arms a bit.

"Momo." Rukia pleaded. "Listen to me. My friends didn't kill Aizen. They'd never kill someone unprovoked."

"Then who did?!" Momo raged as she soared up to the top of the shield again. "I won't stop until I find the bastard that killed him!"

Orihime tried to think of a way to calm Momo down but was coming up short. If Aizen truly meant as much to the girl as she thought she did, then no words she could think of could properly console her. Her love for Ichigo gave her insight into Momo's pain, but the problem is she couldn't possibly help her. And her sympathy had been making it hard to get a solid hit. "What should we do?" Orihime thought, trying to find a way to avoid a fight with her before an idea popped in her head. "Wait!"

"WHAT?!"

With a heavy heart, Orihime asked. "Would Aizen be proud of how you're acting?" She then resisted the urge to flinch at the pained expression that covers Momo's face. It felt really scummy trying to guilt-trip her through her dead lover, at least to the lieutenant's perspective, but she didn't want to fight her. Plus, she wasn't even entirely sure she could for much longer, if her dwindling reiatsu reserves were any indication.

Hinamori felt despair and agony sink into her heart as her opponent's word strike her. Part of her already knew her captain wouldn't approve of her raging and vengeful behavior, but how else could she handle him being gone?

"Well, what do you think I should do?!" Hinamori snapped, tears welling up in her face.

"Find out who really did this?" Rukia tried to suggest. "As Yoruichi said, he might not even be dead."

Hinamori's eyes narrowed as she grabbed onto the edge of the shield, a shield drifting down and slowly disappearing. "I saw his corpse! Ripped apart and with huge chunks bitten off! How could he not be dead?! I won't stop until you give me undeniable proof that Aizen couldn't have been killed by anyone else!"

The ryoka racked their brains as Orihime's shield finally gave out, the lot of them dropping on the floor. "Well," Chad started. "We are having trouble with fighting you, are we? Obviously, we couldn't take out Aizen."

"Yeah..." Momo admitted.

"Well," Chad continued. "The only other ryoka we have are Ichigo and Uryuu, and both were fighting other captains."

Momo suddenly remembered when she found Aizen's body, she was looking for him to help stop the two powerful beings. But if the two captain class ryoka were already fighting other battles, how would they have had time to kill Aizen without anyone noticing-wait.

"What about Yoruichi?!" Momo rebutted. "She was skulking around here too!"

Rukia's rebuttal was short and to the point. "Would you think the Squad 2 Captain would've taken bites out of Aizen? Let alone leave the body on the floor for everyone to see?"

Hinamori scowls as she tries to find another rebuttal and fails, unable to defy that logic. "Well, if he isn't dead where is he?!"

The ryoka look at each other in concern before turning back to Momo. "I..." Orihime trails off. "I don't know."

"Very close."

Everyone's heads whipped around in shock to see a wounded Tōsen walking toward them.

Aizen Sousuke and Gin Ichimaru looked down on a confused Hitsugaya with contempt and amusement as they stood in the realm of the central 46. His plan was the culmination of many decades of work, research, and conquest. And now he could finally shed the mask he had put on all these centuries.

"Captain Aizen..." Tōshirō breathed in shock. "Are you really here? Are you are alive?"

"I assure you, what you see now is quite real," Aizen smirked. "More real than anything you've seen from me in fact."

"And more real than anything you'll see in a few seconds." Gin thought with a chuckle as Tōshirō slowly unsheathed his blade, clearly catching on somewhat.

"You..." Tōshirō growled, his voice shaking in undefinable emotions. "What are you doing?!"

"We may have been...planning some restructuring of Soul Society," Aizen stated. "The central 46 have been irritatingly restrictive as of late, and I aim to change that."

It was at that point that Tōshirō registered the lack of central 46 in question. He growled, releasing his sword to the fullest on the spot. "Bankai. Daiguren Hyōrinmaru." He could already tell that the two captains were doing something nefarious, and he was the first to find out. "You better have a damn good reason to give Momo for faking your death, Aizen. Otherwise, I might strike you down right here rather than arrest you."

Aizen scoffed. "Tōshirō, one shouldn't make threats they cannot back...it merely makes you look weaker than you already are. Besides, you should be overjoyed those old fools are dead. After all, Kusaka has been avenged, hasn't he?"

An enraged roar tore from Tōshirō's mouth as he lunged toward Aizen and plunged his sword through his chest. "Don't speak his name!"

SHINK!

Tōshirō coughed up blood as blinding pain tore through his arm and chest. Using the last seconds he had of consciousness to turn around to just barely see what had struck him, the young captain's eyes widened as he saw another copy of Aizen casually walking away. "What..."

The door swung open once more, revealing two silhouettes. "I thought you might be here, Captain Aizen."

"Captain Unohana," he greeted warmly, with a benevolent smile in place.

"No… perhaps 'traitor' would be more appropriate a title for you than 'Captain' now."

"Thank you, Captain Unohana. I thought I felt your approach… was it easy to figure out?"

Retsu shrugged. "There is hardly an overabundance of places that go entirely unchecked by shinigami. Given that you faked your death, even going so far as to create a corpse doll to fool us, it would only be natural that you choose the safest place to hide afterward – here, where the entrance to all outsiders is forbidden."

He smirked. "An excellent deduction, Captain Unohana, but I have to correct you on two minor matters with your theory. Firstly, I was not 'hiding'. And secondly…" He focused, bringing the illusion of the dead body into existence in his hand as both Retsu's and Isane's eyes widened. "This isn't a corpse doll."

"When did he..." Isane gaped. "When did he get that?"

"He didn't." Retsu frowned. "An illusion? But no Kidō could-" Everything clicked as she looked at Aizen's Zanpakutō. "Kyouka Suigetsu. You were lying all this time, then?"

"You're faster than I thought you would be," Aizen noted. "But once you have perceived the ritual for the illusion once, there is nothing you can do to prevent my use of it another time anyway, so it matters not."

"But you gathered all of the lieutenants of soul society and showed it to us!" Isane roared in denial. "Kyouka Suigetsu was a water Zanpakutō that uses mist to reflect and confuse opponents into attacking each other! That's what everyone saw! And you couldn't have used it on us before the showing! So how could you have tricked all of us at the same time!?"

"Simple," Aizen stated, his benevolent smile turned smug. "The sword release is the hypnosis. All who see it fall under my command and do my bidding, whether they know or not."

Retsu's stomach dropped as she put 2 and 2 together.

"…to see it… then – "

"Yes." He smirked vindictively, beginning the mental incantations for Sentan Hakuja unseen. "From the beginning, Kaname Tōsen has always been my loyal subordinate."

The whirling white cloths formed around himself and Ichimaru. "She won't intervene." He thought. Her focus will be on Hitsugaya."

"Farewell, Captain Unohana… rest assured we won't be meeting again."

A few seconds back...

Ichigo, Uryuu, and Renji rushed through the Seireitei, looking for Rukia and the others. Uryuu's Letz Stil had reduced him to a normal soul at this point, so he was currently riding on Ichigo. "You sure that captain won't die where we left him?" Uyruu asked. "It will be a pain if the shinigami get more reason to want us dead."

"My father's a doctor." Ichigo rebutted. "I know how to kill and how not to kill better than most people."

"Byakuya might not look it, but he's a hardy one," Renji added. "A hit like that might bring him down, but he isn't out."

Ichigo suddenly perked up as he sensed Rukia. "Found her!"

Renji grinned at that. "Awesome! Where?"

"Around there...wait..." Ichigo started to point in the direction, only to trail off and pale as someone came into his sensing range. "Who the hell is...Shit!" He suddenly burst off in a panic.

"Wait!" Renji cried out, trying to keep up with Ichigo. "What are you feeling?!"

"Another captain!" Ichigo snapped, causing Renji to pale and speed up as well.

When they came to the scene, they saw Tōsen raise his arms and white cloth from out of nowhere and spin around Rukia, Orihime, Chad, and Momo. "Shit! Bankai!" Ichigo and Renji made a massive shunpo as they burst toward the Kidō, blades aimed at Tōsen's face.

Had they bothered to be more aware of his surroundings, they would have noticed the cloth parting for them.

Had they bothered to be more aware of his surroundings, they would have noticed their friend's eyes widening in panic as they came into sight.

Had they bothered to be more aware of his surroundings, they would have noticed Tōsen's small smirk.

A shock wave blew out as Tōsen dodged the attacks coming down on him. And when the smoke cleared...

"What?" Ichigo gaped as everyone found themselves back on the Sōkyoku hill. "What the hell's going on?!"

Rukia, Renji, and Momo, however, were far more alarmed by the two men standing at the top.

"Captain Aizen." Momo breathed in awe and relief, tears flooding her eyes. "You're alive!" She ran into Aizen's waiting arms, crying all the while.

Renji scowled, rushing towards Rukia's side. "What the hell is going on?!"

"I apologize for the surprise and deceit," Aizen stated, patting Momo's head kindly. "But I'm afraid I had to bring Rukia here."

"Wh-" Momo wiped her face with her sleeve. "Why?"

"This." Aizen proceeded to, much to everyone's shock, run his blade clean through Momo's chest. "Gin. Tōsen."

"Shinso."

"Suzumushi Nishiki: Benihikō."

Rukia barely had time to blink before Renji and Ichigo dove in front of them to block the captain's attacks. Renji held up Hihio Zabimaru against Shinso while Ichigo batted away Suzumushi's multiplying blades with pristine precision.

"Fascinating..." Aizen purred as he dropped the now unconscious Momo to the ground. Ichigo narrowed his eyes at him. He could tell this guy was the mastermind of this whole endeavor. "I got him!" He roared as he lunged for Aizen's smug face.

Aizen merely raised his hand and stopped the blade cold, with nothing but a trickle of blood running down his arm.

For a second, Everyone froze in shock (well, more shock), their mind struggling to comprehend what had just happened. Even if Ichigo didn't use a Getsuga Tenshou, to block a Bankai's attack with one's bare hands, let alone with so little effort was impossible. At least, it should be impossible.

"Impressive. But not enough." Before Ichigo could even process what happened next, Kyouka Suigetsu carved through his spine with almost embarrassing ease. Just like that, Ichigo found himself hitting the ground just like Momo.

The other ryoka were so caught off guard by their strongest dropped so easily they couldn't even defend themselves from Tōsen's second onslaught. Uryuu was knocked to the ground instantly, swords sticking out of his back and legs. Chad and Renji weren't much better off, though they did get their bearings straight fast enough to shield Orihime and Rukia from Benihiko.

"Koten Zanshun! I REJECT!" Orihime shrieked in a panic, her right hairpin transforming into a black boomerang before shooting off at Aizen. Aizen raised his free hand to cancel whatever attack or power she was about to use, partly intrigued by the Zanpakutō materialization like ability. But one instant away from him, his instincts suddenly went off. Some sensation was suddenly emitted from her that made her dangerous. Following his instincts, he had pulled back and dodged at the last moment, but it was still enough to cut at his face. Brief surprise colored Aizen's face before switching to genuine intrigue.

"How could you do that?!" Orihime cried out, appalled by the casual cutting down of her crush and Momo. Black tendrils were already snaking into her eyes. "What the hell did she do to you!?"

"Nothing." Aizen as he dodged the Koten Zanshun with relative ease. "It would simply be more trouble than worth to not do so. Momo has more loyal to me than Soul Society and would gladly join me if given the chance. However, she was far too weak and sentimental to join me and survive. I merely intend to dissuade her from loving me."

Going by Orihime's resulting spike in reiatsu and the speeding up of her fairy, this explanation did little to persuade her.

Seeing this, Tōsen quickly readied his Shikai. "Cry, Suzumushi!" Rukia and Orihime had just enough time to clasp their hands over her head before the sound wave hit. However, this gave Gin an opening to fire Shinso right at Orihime's stomach, sending her to the floor with everyone else.

"Interesting." Aizen thought, looking at the girl on the floor. "This girl's attack shouldn't have scratched me with her meager reiatsu. For her to do so tramples on every tenet of spiritual combat. Perhaps, Ichigo isn't the only ryoka of interest here." He shook his head, turning toward the terrified Rukia. "For later. I still have my prize to claim."

She tried to scramble backward away from Aizen, before being locked in place by a silent Kidō.

"Do you have any idea how long it took to bait Kisuke Urahara into making a move? I do have to admit, though... his creations are all works of art." Aizen removed a small glass vial from underneath his haori, inspecting it with a critical eye before turning back to her. "After all, creating a device that could permit a soul to become transcendent, breaking down the barriers between shinigami and hollow... it would be a travesty if I were to let such an item be destroyed."

"What are you talking about?" she whispered.

Aizen smirked slightly. "He didn't tell you, then... I suppose that's no surprise. Several hundred years ago, Kisuke Urahara created something that would permit a shinigami to exceed their natural limits. Normally," he continued, "one can only gain so much skill and power in certain abilities, and then no more, but by the process of hybridization, he discovered it was possible to create a being with exceptional power. It's the reason he was exiled, after all - or, at least, part of it." Aizen shrugged. "I did need a scapegoat when my initial experiments were discovered, after all. But eventually, he lost his patience, chose to seal the Hōgyoku away within a shinigami, and then send both to be destroyed by the only thing he felt that could do so."

"...the Sōkyoku... Urahara-san was just using me to have this thing destroyed?" Rukia thought, her thoughts quickly turning toward impotent fury. "That...That bastard! And I thought this was all my fault!"

"Such a terrible waste... it's just as well he left behind the method to retrieve it again." The glass vial shattered in his hand, spreading to form a greenish coating. Spires of similar color rose from the ground as Aizen grabbed the enraged, but seemingly helpless girl by her collar. However, Rukia found herself grabbing Aizen's arm just as he plunged it into her chest.

"Really?" Aizen stated incredulously. "You don't seriously think you can stop me?"

Rukia gritted her teeth. She was very aware that she had no way of stopping Aizen from ripping whatever Urahara put in her out of her. She was very aware that she was a dead woman. But she saw every one of her friends try so hard to rescue her, even defeating her brother if Ichigo, Uryuu, Renji's arrival was any indication. A feeling in her gut, burning in her chest since they all bust through the Seki-Seki barrier, told her not to go down without a fight. Of course, as Rukia tries to dredge up some shred of reiatsu to attack Aizen, she doesn't know that her impotent rage is no longer quite impotent.

Thanks to the oh-so-special artifact she has in her chest, Rukia's rage, and more importantly her desires and her willpower… are far more potent indeed.

The first sign that something was off to Aizen was Rukia's hand actually stopping him from pulling the Hōgyoku out. The second sign, and the last he needed, was black and white reiatsu leaking from the hole in her chest. "What..." Aizen paled as he started to see what was about to happen. "No." However, a second issue quickly made itself known before Aizen could act.

"Koten Zanshun! I REJECT!"

Aizen whipped around to see a familiar boomerang-like object shooting towards him. "Tch!" A last-second shunpo flickered him and Rukia away from the attack. An irritated glare gave him the sight of a black-eyed and much paler Orihime glaring at him, just as an equally irritated Tōsen tried to send her back into unconsciousness. "She has a hollow side?! Although it doesn't seem to have regeneration, otherwise she would've healed that wound easily." He thought, turning back to Rukia. "Was the Hōgyoku stifled at all in her?!" A sudden chill in his arm told him that this wasn't the time to question the fact.

Rukia on the other hand was actively aiming to beat his opponent now, rather than giving the best last act she could against the traitorous captain. Her internal temperature dropped massively as she snarled and tried to tear herself from Aizen's grasp with the Hōgyoku. And yet, Aizen was still stronger than her by several magnitudes, and with a firm yank, he retracted his hand, pulling out a small purplish sphere encased within the crystal as the hole in Rukia's chest slightly opened and, for a lack of a better word, stabilized.

"Gin, kill her," Aizen stated, shaking his slightly frostbitten hand.

"Righto." The silver-haired captain gave a mock salute before the blade flicked out once more. Only to be stopped by another barrier.

Incredulous eyes turned to Orihime, or rather Shun Shun Rikka, who was still bleeding out on the ground. "Damn...it." With that last curse, the pseudo-hollow hit the floor, finally falling into la-la land.

"To shrug off my Shikai so many times in such a state..." Tōsen stated in slight, but genuine awe. "It goes beyond merely being tough."

Aizen suddenly picked up on another captain level reiatsu rocketing toward them. At this point, his intrigue has started to overtake his irritation at the stubbornness of the ryoka. Clearly, Ichigo has not been the only one to defy expectations. For Rukia to channel the power of the Hōgyoku, even briefly, along with the weakest ryoka's seemingly logic-defying has given Aizen reason to let them live. "Perhaps Ichigo won't be the only one to ascend by the end of this. If they survive Soul Society's wrath, they can live to see another day."

"AAAAIIZZZEEENN!"

An infuriated roar bellows out as the newcomer crashes down and swings his sword at Aizen, creating a massive shockwave of epic proportions. Everyone other than Gin and Tōsen was blown by the force of the strike, Rukia wondering what the hell just happened and who showed up.

"It has been a long time since I have seen your face," Aizen stated pleasantly, casually holding the blade with one hand. "Captain Komamura."

"Aizen, Gin...Tōsen! What have you all done!?" The captain growled, yellow eyes narrowing at the scene before him. "You betrayed us all! Explain yourselves!"

Tōsen and merely stood back and watched, their looks as impassive and mischievous, respectively, as ever. Aizen on the other hand stated his intentions clearly. "I am on the path of a greater being." Komamura snarled at the odd statement. "What does that-" Komamura found himself caught off by a box of black energy converging around him. A few seconds later, the box dispersed as Komamura hit the ground in a bloodied heap.

"Hado 90 without an incantation." Gin whistled, visibly impressed. "You're quite something, you know that?"

"Hardly… it barely reached even a third of its intended power." Aizen scoffed, before looking in a seemingly random direction. "Besides, we have more guests."

Out of what looked like thin air, Soifon and Yoruichi appeared and held their Shikai and foot, respectively, to the traitor's neck. "Aizen," Soifon stated evenly, cold rage wrapping her voice like steel. "Surrender now and your execution shall be quick."

Gin began to move, only to raise his hands in mock submission as Rangiku drew her Zanpakutō on him.

"Damn… looks like we're all caught here," he commented blithely, turning towards his apparent leader. "Sorry about that, Captain."

"Gin… why would you do this?" Rangiku asked in confused frustration. Gin's smile looked a little forced this time as he looked at his captor. "Ah… nothing more than business."

"It is okay," Aizen replied as if the captain class assassins that had him point-blank weren't there. "After all, they have much more pressing matters to tend to."

"What does he-" Yoruichi thought before a very concerning rise in hollow reiatsu caught her senses. "Shit!" She cried, turning to Ichigo. "Ichigo, n-" She stopped in her tracks and paled, seeing that he wasn't the only one getting back up.

"Aizen..." Soifon gritted her teeth, seeing Ichigo and Rukia rise up with white masks forming on their faces, black and amber eyes, and most disconcertingly, a hole in Rukia's chest. "What have you done?!"

At this point, most of the other seated shinigami had shown up, all equally alarmed by the hollowfying pair in front of them. Ukitake in particular was greatly incensed and horrified at Rukia and the Kaien lookalike with masks forming on them. "Aizen," He scowled, giving the traitor the evenest glare he could manage. "To perform such actions on the ryoka...what madness are you planning?" Aizen scoffed at the accusation. "What you call madness," He declared with a dark grin, taking the Hōgyoku out of pocket and forcing will on it. "I call progress. To not see it as such is your shortsightedness."

"He's...mine..." Rukia snarled, ice snaking out from her feet as she lunged for Aizen's face. Aizen merely smirked, using shunpo to dodge the attack and get out of Soifon's and Yoruichi's grasp. Soifon jumped back in alarm as Yoruichi made an enraged kick at Aizen in vain. "GETSUGA TENSHO!" Zangetsu roared, unleashing a torrent of energy from his swinging sword at Aizen, who merely slashed through the blast with his own blade. All the while, Aizen kept the Hōgyoku out to absorb the hollow energy radiating off his attackers. Urahara's Hōgyoku had been sealed for decades, and the artifact retained only faint vestiges of what Aizen suspected would be its full power, but it was able to hollowfy Rukia despite the multiple forces draining both its and Rukia's reiatsu. This, combined with the unprecedented strength of the ryoka, gave reason to make more...experiments.

"But who to choose?" Aizen thought. He had to choose quickly, as Yamamoto would most likely lose what little patience he had soon. "Speaking of which, Yamamoto is obviously out. He would become far too powerful to fight. Yoruichi? It would certainly enrage Urahara, but not much else. Soifon?" His lips curled into a dark smile as he knocked away a swipe from Rukia, the power would most certainly hit the leader of the Onmitskidou the hardest. "And she couldn't let herself die after my betrayal anyway, what with us 3 captains gone, so she would have to deal with it and see the gains of hollow powers whether she wants it or not. Her loyalty is too great to let it drag her down." An even darker thought bubbled up after that, his gaze turning to the captain he just dropped. "And speaking of loyalty..." His mind was set.

He layered an illusion around the area to ensure Soifon wouldn't notice until it was too late. And then the Hōgyoku activated, drinking in the hollow reiatsu from Rukia and Ichigo before violet strands spiraled outwards from Aizen's left hand, lashing out at his intended targets. "What the-" Soifon yelped as tendrils of energy wrapped around her hand before screaming and dropping to the ground as they dug into her flesh. The other tendrils entered Komamura's body, to the other's horror.

"YOU BASTARD!" Yoruichi roared as she burst into shunkō, not taking the attack on her successor well. Aizen was forced to sidestep a second time, dodging a punch from Yoruichi, who took no time in resuming the assault with Rukia and Ichigo, attempting to pummel him with a barrage of shunpo-reinforced blows. Aizen was admittedly having some trouble with the three-pronged attack, if only because Yoruichi could track him through his illusions via following Rukia and Ichigo. Despite this, Aizen still able to block and avoid the onslaught of sword swings and enraged punches.

"Brats… get back." Yamamoto leveled his Zanpakutō, causing the air to ripple with a heatwave. "Reduce all creation to ash, Ryuujin Jakka."

"Aizen, I think we should go." Gin's smirk faltered at the sudden rise in heat as he turned to his childhood friend. "Sorry, Rangiku."

Right on cue, the sky above him rippled open, revealing a yawning void beyond as three shafts of light dropped down, and everyone looked on in shock and outrage.

"Negación." Ukitake. "The work of Hollows. This is the force that you would wield in the very halls of Soul Society? Unbelievable."

Aizen shrugged nonchalantly, unbothered by the Gillians massing overhead. "I was dissatisfied with the nature of things as they are. Isn't it right to seek change, if such a system exists where permanent damnation is possible for the briefest of mistakes, or if souls are left to suffer in misery through no fault of their own?" He then removed his glasses and slicked his hair back with a triumphant grin. "I will ascend to the level of a true god of death and take the throne at the top."

Two pained screams rang out, disrupting the argument. Ukitake and Kyouraku paled at seeing Soifon and Komamura frantically trying to tear the white goo gushing from their faces away to no avail. Near deranged howls came from Komamura as he roared at his friend rising into the sky. "T-t...Tōsen!" The beastly captain struggled to hold on to its sanity. "Why?!... W… Why have you…! You desired justice...for your friend...Where has your sense...of justice gone?!"

Tōsen appeared to stay silent as he rose into the sky for a bit before finally stating. "I have told you Komamura. The only thing these eyes see is the path with the least blood. To destroy and rearrange the Soul Society...That is the path of justice!"

And with that last statement, they were gone.