"The noise ceased. The spiritual energies vanished as well... two of them," Ruki stands in her cell, speaking to herself slowly. "I don't know... who has died. With the diffused reflection of the killing-intent stone, traces of spiritual energy is washing away."

"Why..." Rukia looks down, "Blood shouldn't be shed for my sake... Am I really someone worth saving to the extent of spilling blood...?"

She faces the cell door, her shadow is spread out wide behind her small form, "Please tell me... Sir Kaien.*"

~*~*~

Kurosaki Ichigo lies unconcious on the battle ground. A black cat stands near his head, bending down to say, "I am sorry, Ichigo... I'm a bit late."

"You've been taken down grandly..." Yoruichi-san continues. "However, with Zaraki Kenpachi as an opponent, there was no other way. Simply trading blows with him is a great distinguishment."

Energy begins to emenate from the feline, "Do not worry." Within the burst of energy, a strange shadowy shape emerges from his arched body, "I will not allow you to die."

~*~*~

On the long bridge leading to the entrance of the White Tower, a nervous Shinigami guard looks out over the balcony, "...Whew... The spiritual pressure finally stopped, huh. Anyhow, it must have been a fierce battle. Buildings on the eastern half of Senzaikyuu collapsed - I hope it doesn't affect the other prisons..."

"Hahaha!" a voice erupts from behind the first guard, "What's wrong with you? You're shaking!! It couldn't be that the spiritual pressure of the distant battle got you rattled!! How pathetic!!" Ironically, the taunting guard is also a sweating ball of nerves.

"W...what!" the first guard yells back, "You're trembling too!! You're the one who's pathetic!"

"What!? I..." the second guard is cut off when two drops of white liquid splatter on his forehead from above, "What's this? Bird shit... I guesh?" His last words are choked out as he passes out, falling flat on his face.

"H... hey, what happened to you!?" the first guard rushes to his companion and spots a figure on the rooftop ducking out of sight, "AH! Over there!!! You won't escape, you tricky bastard!"

Behind the angry guard, Ganju springs down from the roof. The guard barely has time to spin around before Ganju charges up to him and slams his elbow into his face, "ACK!!" The guard goes rolling away, head over heels.

Hanatarou weakly slips down the side of the building by use of a rope, admonishing Ganju along the way, "You overdid it, Ganju-san... that's so mean..."

"Shut up!" Ganju yells up at him irritably, "You're the same! What about that drug?"

"You mean this?" Hanatarou makes it to the ground and holds up a small container, "This is a type of anesthetic called 'Shinten'. If someone has low spiritual power, just a drop on their skin is enough to dim their conciousness and make them feint."

Ganju flinches back, his arm held up wearily, "Th... that's a scary thing you're carrying there."

"Really?" Hanatarou asks innocently, "But it doesn't work on strong people."

It doesn't take them long to make it across the bridge. Standing in front of the White Tower, Ganju crosses his arms and says, "Well... this is the final door. The entrance is shutter-style, so how shall we get it open..."

Hanatarou searches through his pockets, "...It's alright..."

Ganju looks down at him, "Huh?"

Hanataro holds up a large, flat key tied to a rope, "Last night, I went and borrowed a spare one from the prison key storage room in the underground waterways."

"H... hey, hey," Ganju looks down at him in surprise, "Are you sure doing that kind of stuff is okay?"

"Of course it's not okay... but... I thought about it last night," Hanatarou looks down shyly, "Even though Ichigo-san fought and recieved wounds all over... the only thing I do all the time is flee from place to place... I think that's pretty uncool..."

"I want to save Rukia..." Hanatarou says. "So I decided that I would try to do as much as I am capable of doing for her... no matter if I get punished for it afterward..." he smiles up at Ganju in embarassment, "Even then, the only thing I can do at best is go steal a key... I'm pretty useless..."

"No..." Ganju looks away, seeming to have a slightly higher regard for the droopy-eyed Shinigami, "That should be plenty enough."

Hanatarou inserts the key and Ganju leans down to get a good look under the door that's sliding up, "Geez, all of these guys desperately want to save her... This Rukia person must be a real cutie-pie, hey."

"No... it... it's not like that..." Hanatarou replies weakly.

"Aw, quit blushing," Ganju teases as he peers inside the prison with a smile, "Let's go take a peek at her. Hey Rukia-cha~~___" He halts mid-sentance when he sees who is inside.

Rukia stands; a small, thin figure in the center of the prison. She looks over at them.

Ganju's eyes widen in recognition.

"...Who are you...?" Rukia asks him, "A friend of... Ichigo...?"

A dark memory of the Shinigami Rukia. Her eyes are pale and demonic; blood is splattered on her cheek.

"It's me, Rukia-san!!" Hanatarou pops out from behind Ganju. "Thank goodness! You're unharmed!!"

"You're... Hanatarou!" Rukia exclaims in surprise, "Why are you here..."

"We'll talk later!" Hanatarou runs up, seizes her hand and tugs her towards the entrance, "C'mon! Ganju-san! Hurry..." he looks up, filled with nervous energy, "Let's escape..."

Ganju doesn't reply.

"Ah... huh...? Ganju-san...?"

Ganju continues to stand there in numb shock.

"Wh...what's happened!? Ganju-san!!" Hanatarou begins to panic in earnest, "He~y!!"

Rukia looks over and notices the white spiral on Ganju's dark pants, "The design on those clothes... it's the whirling current of the fallen heavens..." She looks up at him, "Are you... a member of the Shiba family...?"

"...eh...?" Hanatarou glances back at Rukia in confusion, "Wh... what... you know each other...?"

A black-clad figure treads across a field.

"Yeah..." Ganju speaks up, "I know her."

A young boy stands in the field, watching the Shinigami move closer.

"I can't forget that face..." Ganju says.

Hanatarou looks up at him in confusion.

The young boy who has his mouth gaping open in fear and horror is actually Ganju.

"That person is..."

The approching Shinigami is Rukia. Her expression is dead, emotionless. In her right hand, she carries her bloodied blade. In her left hand, she drags along the body of another Shinigami behind her.

"The Shinigami who killed my brother."**

Hanatarou is winded by this revelation, "Wh... what are you talking about, Ganju-san? Rukia-san couldn't possibly..."

"My brother's wounds were sword wounds..." Ganju explained. "The nape of his neck was torn open... and he was stabbed once in the chest." He looks up angrily and screams, "If you say he got wounded in a battle against a Hollow, then why did he die of sword wounds!? Plus, she told me at that time!! She said, 'I killed him'!!!"

"It's all right, Hanatarou," Rukia steps forward, "He is correct."

"Ru... Rukia-san?"

"A member of the Shiba clan..." she says, "Surely your elder brother..."

The sharp expression on Rukia's face is lifeless, intimidating, and unfamiliar as she says, "I killed Shiba Kaien."

Ganju's temper erupts as he slams past Hanatarou, lunges forward and grabs the front of Rukia's robe.

"Do as you wish," she tells him calmly, face to face, "If it is you... I will give no complaints even if you were to kill me."

Hanatarou latches onto Ganju's free arm, beseeching the enraged man, "P... please stop, Ganju-san! You didn't come here to do such a thing! You came here to save her! Isn't that the decision we were entrusted with!?"***

Bright spiritual energy erupts around all three of them.

There's a rumbling sound in the background that catches them off-guard. "Wh... what the...!?" Ganju hollers, looking back towards the entrance, "Something... something is coming...!!"

Hanatarou catches sight of the man walking towards the prison. His face crumbles into abject fear and he screams, "Uwa... AAHH...That's...!"

6th Captain Kuchiki Byakuya has arrived.


*Rukia says "Kaien-dono", in which the "-dono" is a special honorific tag.
**Oh. My. God. o_0 With the exception of frogdance, I don't think any of us saw that one coming...
***He's referring to something Ganju told him a while back - about how Ichigo entrusted them with his decision/determination to save Rukia, since he can't go do it himself.

Notes
-Wow, these past two chapters have been mind-boggling... geez... Next chapter is going to be 51 pages (usually it's about 19 pages), so whatever is going to happen next will be a big deal. Next chapter, I'm hoping to see the true identity of Yoruichi, Rukia's flashback, and Byakuya vs. Anybody (or even Byakuya vs. Everybody) - but maybe I'm asking for too much. ^_^;

-Hanatarou is so CUTE. XD

-This revelation about Rukia puts a new spin on things, as well as bring up the heated contemporary debate about the Death Penalty. Now that we know she is guilty of a heinous crime - is it right for her to be executed? I think, when it comes down to it, Ichigo will pop in and say he doesn't give a shit - he's here to repay his debt to Rukia, not debate over morality. Either way, I think it won't stop him from going to her rescure whether she likes it or not. So now it's a question of which side Ganju will take.

-I really want to know what happened on the night Kaien was killed! *prays to Kubo* Gi~ve me~ fla~shba~ck!!!

-Is Kaien the man that caused the 13th Captain (?) to warn Rukia not to interfere with battles of pride? Is he the one who Byakuya said was like Ichigo? They probably don't look alike or else Ganju would've said something. What's this Kaien guy like anyhow? He seemed well-loved and, according to Ganju, he held no hate for Shinigami even to his dying breath. Other than that... there's not much known about him.

-So it seems that Rukia has a supremely dark side - which shocks me and turns most of my assumptions upside down (or at least sideways). How strong is she? Is she deadlier than Ichigo on a bad day? Will we ever see "Ichigo vs. Rukia" in the future? My god, that would so rock!

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