Epilogue-One Step

One step...

Into the Seireitei, through the Southern Gate...

The huge Shinigami guard of the Southern Gate cast a shadow over the small party of five captains and captive, led by the oldest Shinigami of the Court Guard. Thousands of spectators surrounded the platform, and indeed, all during their long trip, the crowds had been wildly cheering and throwing all manner of items, from flowers to rotten fruit, at the caravan. But at this all-important moment, they fell into complete silence.

"Who is it that wishes to pass?" the guard asked in a voice surely equal to his size.

"It is the Captain Commander of the Gotei Thirteen, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, and the Captains of Squads Five, Six, Eight and Eleven, with the traitor Aizen Sosuke in our custody!" Genryusai answered. Shinji, Byakuya, Shunsui and Kenpachi all seemed to stand up a little straighter. Sosuke, of course, could not, as he was bound very tightly still on the wooden platform. Shinji's heart began to beat just a little faster as the gates were pulled open, and the cheers from both First District South and the South End of the Seireitei flooded the air.

It took everything in Shinji not to weep at the sight. I'm home... The path crested over a hill, and so they could all see rather far into the Seireitei from their vantage point. Sokyoku Hill, the most prominent landmark in Soul Society, was clearly visible even from the South Gate. The glittering roof tiles of the houses of the Seireitei reflected the sun, thin in these very early winter days.

Then, it occurred to Shinji... Ji-san made a mistake! Squad Five has no captain. Why did he announce a captain of Squad Five if there is none?

Genryusai stepped forward first, pulling the platform forward, and then, Shinji and Byakuya passed through the gates. "What word of Ukitake Jushiro and Kurosaki Ichigo?" he asked his vice captain, who appeared beside Genryusai as he entered.

"They are both at Squad Four's Barracks, Sotaicho," Sasakibe answered.

"Recovering, we hope?" Shunsui called to Sasakibe.

Sasakibe managed to crack a smile. "Indeed, Kyoraku-taicho, I am glad to report they are both expected to fully recover," he told them.

"See, I told you, Shunsui!" Shinji said while turned toward his longtime friend.

"Yes indeed you did my friend, indeed you did!" Shunsui grinned.

"I am relieved as well, Sotaicho," Byakuya admitted.

"Yeah, now I can pound that Kurosaki fair and square!" Kenpachi laughed eagerly.

The entire platform and all the captains now entered the Seireitei's borders. Beside him were cheering citizens of the Seireitei, men, women, and children, with brightly colored ribbons and sashes waving about, showing their joy at Aizen's capture. But for all that, Shinji could not concentrate on them. Is Ji-san losing his mind? Has he been Captain Commander too long? Surely he wasn't still referring to Aizen, no, he couldn't have been!

He turned to face Shunsui, wishing that he'd be more audible, that the people in the crowd would shut up for just one second. "Kyoraku! What's going on with the old man? He was talking about a Squad Five captain? He wasn't talking about this sack of shit here, was he?" Shinji shouted while practically walking backwards and twisting his arm beacuse of it being attached so strongly to the post.

Shunsui leaned forward and grinned widely. "Merry Christmas, my friend!" he nearly laughed.

Shinji frowned slightly. "No, that's not what I was asking you about, I was asking about Yama-ji-" he began, but then broke off when he saw Shunsui simply start nodding. "He said-"

"There is a Squad Five captain, Hirako Shinji! And no, Yama-ji was not talking about Aizen Sosuke!" Shunsui told him.

Shinji's gray eyes widened, and his jaw even dropped. But all he could say was "J-Ju-Ju?" Shunsui's azure eyes met Shinji's and he laughed. Shinji abruptly turned around and shuddered while muttering, "Oh, Ju-Ju, what did you do, what did you do?"

Genryusai turned one beady umber eye to Shinji, who seemed to be losing his composure. "Hirako-taicho, concentrate on your task at hand!" he reprimanded Shinji.

"Oh, uh, yes, yes, Sotaicho!" Shinji stammered, making certain his power continued to flow uninterrupted through the post to the green strap binding Sosuke's right hand. Ju-Ju, I'm going to wring that skinny neck of yours when I see you next! What did you promise the old man to make him take us back? Whatever it was, you shouldn't have bargained for it. Now, I'm going to owe you forever and ever.

One Step...

Out of the Recovery Ward of Squad Four's Barracks...

Jushiro held the coughing spell inside his chest, determined not to distract anyone from letting him stand up from the bed. He'd been in ICU since his birthday, and now, it was Christmas Day. Rumor had it that Aizen was getting dragged through the streets of the Seireitei already, and the word was that they were going to be making a special stop before Squad Four's main building in order to present Aizen to him and to Ichigo. He had to be ready for their arrival.

One foot in front of the other...One foot in front of the other... After the two steps, Jushiro began to cough. A spot of blood emerged from this spell. Not so bad, not so bad, I've had worse bouts. Way worse. Ichigo propped him up on one side, while Yasochika held up the other. "We got you, Taicho," Ichigo told him.

"Great, let's keep going," Jushiro told them. All he was trying to do, at least right this second, was stand up long enough to dress in something more formal than the white robe of the infirm. Ichigo was already dressed in the black shihakusho of his rank, and he had his badge on his left arm as well. To Jushiro's relief, it appeared as though his vice-captain has made a full recovery. And even though no amount of dressing up would ever make Jushiro look like he was fully recovered, it was still important to put on a good impression that his recovery was imminent. So, while he wasn't wearing his own shihakusho, they placed his haori on his thin shoulders, this one new and clean without holes in the back or blood all over it.

Retsu stood in the doorway of Jushiro's room. "Jushiro-kun, they expect to be arriving here in about ten minutes. We'll watch from the side veranda, over the street, where you'll get a clear view of them. Whenever you're ready..."

"Retsu-sempai, I think we're ready. Aren't we, Ichigo?" Jushiro asked.

"I think we've been ready for a long time," Ichigo answered.

"Let's wheel you out, and when the parade passes by, you can stand against the railing," Yasochika suggested.

"Very well," Jushiro sighed. He hadn't really wanted to be wheeled out there, but he did need to conserve his strength as much as possible. So, with another resigned sigh, he sat down in the wheelchair.

The sun was getting a bit brighter. There were a number of the younger people on the veranda already, including Jushiro's newest Fourth Seat, Kuchiki Rukia, along with Abarai-fukutaicho. Hiyori had her cell phone up in front of her, lens facing the throngs of people across the street as well as the ones right below on the street level of Squad Fours barracks.

Toshiro eyed her. "You can't actually get a signal for that thing here, can you?" he asked her.

"I'm going to record this and upload it to Facebook," Hiyori told him.

"Yeah, lots of luck with that!" Ichigo snorted with derision as he led Jushiro to the railing where everyone was congregating.

"It's just Hueco Mundo you can't get a signal, Superbrain," Hiyori sighed. "How do you think Shinji was able to-er-I-mean..."

"Hack into the computers of the Gotei 13?" Ichigo asked.

"La da da, I didn't hear that!" Jushiro suddenly sang really loudly.

Hiyori was a bit flushed. Ichigo leaned down and then glared at Hiyori's phone. "Are you on Facebook? I didn't get to see the legendary 'Hueco Mundo' album," he mentioned.

"Oh, yeah! Here, let me get to Pickle Dick's wall..." she grinned as she waved her finger furiously over her screen. Toshiro and Ichigo were then both treated to Shinji's "Hueco Mundo" album.

"Look at it! Kyoka Suigetsu, completely destroyed!" Toshiro marvelled.

"Now that's what I call a great Christmas gift!" Ichigo said, pointing at the phone screen with the image of the green hilt of Sosuke's insidious zanpakuto without any of the blade, as it had been turned to ash.

"Next best thing to being there," Toshiro agreed. "Let me see that one of Aizen looking miserable again!"

They heard a bit of a gasp behind them as they peered with glee at Souske's downfall photos. Toshiro turned around and gaped. "Momo?"

"It's Aizen-taicho? How did you get those pictures?" Hinamori Momo asked in a small, sad voice.

"My friend took them and posted them on Facebook," Hiyori grumbled softly.

"Momo-chan? How are you feeling?" Jushiro asked, diverting her attention away from Hiyori and her cell phone.

"I-I almost didn't come out here. But, Ukitake-taicho, I-I had to! I have to see him!" Momo cried.

"Come here, you can be right here next to me, if you'd like," Jushiro offered her.

Momo stood next to Jushiro in his wheelchair. "Ukitake-taicho, it's going to be bad, isn't it?"

Jushiro simply looked up at her with sad hazel eyes. "Even with all the celebration around us, there is sadness as well. Aizen was a part of all our lives. This is not going to be easy for us to recover from, Momo-chan," he told her gently.

Toshiro glared at her. "It's going to be bad, and after the things he did to us, it should be!"

Momo was about to speak, Rukia was about to add something, and Hiyori was seething, but a loud boom cut all of them off. Ichigo leaned over the rail to Jushiro's left. "Hiyori! Start that camera, they're coming!"

On Ichigo's left, Rukia leaned forward as well. She squeezed Ichigo's hand when she saw the platform roll toward them. Sosuke was sitting up, with his hands bound to the platform floor, and it looked like he'd had his fair share of things thrown at him. Genryusai looked like he should have been gritting his teeth, but he was not. "There's Nii-sama!" Rukia gasped.

Renji noticed Rukia's hand on Ichigo's on the rail. He eyed Byakuya, and saw his out. "I'm going down there!" he told Rukia and used shunpo to arrive beside Byakuya.

At the same time, Kiyone and Sentaro arrived with shunpo behind Ichigo and Jushiro. "Taicho, the legal documents!" they announced in unison. Jushiro turned around and saw Kiyone with a scroll.

"They were messengered to Squad Thirteen barracks about a half hour ago," Sentaro told them.

"Let me see them!' Jushiro ordered them, and Kiyone handed him the scroll. Hastily, Jushiro unrolled it and scanned it with determined hazel eyes. "Ah, dammit," he muttered. "Ichigo! I need to consult with you!"

"Er, yes Taicho, what's up?" he asked, leaning down.

"They've already got Gin's list of charges against him..." Jushiro muttered.

"Damn it! What'll we do?" Ichigo asked in a low mutter like the captain's.

"I wanted to file some documents with the court but I haven't been able to get up enough strength," Jushiro sighed with a shake of his head.

Ichigo's mind raced. Hey, Kaien, what's the deal?

/If you want to help Ichimaru out, he's going to have to make sure he stays out of the Maggot's Nest!/ Ichigo's mind saw the Maggot's Nest detention area in Kaien's memories in a flash.

Okay, I got it...

"Taicho, read the charges. Gin's not stupid, he'll hear the charges and I have a feeling he'll lay low long enough for us to file the appeals," Ichigo told Jushiro in a hushed tone, lest Hiyori (or anyone else for that matter) hear them.

"Alright, that's about all we can do. I wish I knew where he was," Jushiro fretted.

"You know, maybe it's better that we don't know his exact whereabouts," Ichigo pointed out.

"I suppose. It's just that, I made an oath to myself to see his charges dropped if he got you here. He fulfilled his end of it. I must do what I can." Jushiro's mind wandered to what he had overheard when he was connecting with Shunsui when they were on the Great Soul Road. Especially if what Aizen said was true, if he was molesting Gin...

One Step-Before the Squad Four Barracks

Renji appeared beside Byakuya. "Taicho, was there anything you needed?" he asked.

"No, Abarai-san, aside from some crowd control, perhaps." His cool demeanor hid the turmoil within him.

"Good call, Taicho, I'm on it!" Renji agreed, stepping forward to keep the crowds from descending too close to the platform along with several other Shinigami on crowd control duty. Byakuya glanced yet again at Sosuke, thinking again with broiling resentment about the fact that he'd been a guest at his wedding to his precious Hisana...

That he'd been the one who sentenced Rukia to death by Sokyoku, and that he was supposed to accept this sentence by a fake Central 46...

That he'd violated his friend and schoolmate...

He was sure there were a thousand more sins that Aizen Sosuke had committed. And the worst part was that there was no means to execute him any longer-thanks to that irascible boy Kurosaki Ichigo destroying the Sokyoku. However, he couldn't stay angry at the boy too long, after all, he did save Rukia's life. His debt to Ichigo was heavy. He needed to repay it; a Kuchiki with a lingering debt loses more of his honor every day.

So when the platform stopped rolling, Byakuya looked up at the side veranda of Squad Four's barracks. Screaming and cheering filled the air. A vaguely familiar girl with blonde pigtails was practically falling over the rails holding what looked like one of those infernal cell phones in her hand. Beside her was Rukia, who was furiously waving at him. He allowed his head to incline in acknowlegement. His adopted sister was in the left arm of Kurosaki Ichigo, who was eyeing everyone in the party with interest. Beside him was Ukitake Jushiro-looking frail and now starting to stand. Ichigo reached over to prop him up under one arm until he could lean on the veranda rail. Beside him was Hinamori and Hitsugaya-taicho, both still dressed in the clothing of the sick bed.

Byakuya heard Hirako yelling up at Ukitake "You and I have to talk, Ju-Ju!" The captain of Squad Six merely shook his head very minutely and wondered how it was possible that such people could act with so little dignity.

"Jushiro-kun! Good to see you on your feet!" Shunsui called up to him as well.

"Wouldn't miss it, Shunsui!" he called down, but Byakuya could barely hear him.

"Byakuya! Awesome!" Kurosaki called down to him. "Looks like fun!"

Byakuya wouldn't answer. In his estimation, there was nothing fun about any of this. How can I pay my debt to him? The very thought makes me miserable. But I must do it, somehow. Abruptly, Genryusai's raised his arms and bellowed "Bakudo #77: Tentaikura!" The crowd slowly grew silent. Through the kido spell, Genryusai spoke: "Where is Ukitake Jushiro, Captain of the Thirteeth Squad?"

Jushiro leaned forward and called out, "I am here, Sotaicho!" In spite of themselves, cheers began to emerge from the spectators at his words.

When they quieted down, Genryusai continued. "Where is Kurosaki Ichigo, Vice-Captain of the Thirteenth Squad?"

Byakuya felt a jolt of shock course through him as Ichigo answered, "I'm right here, Sotaicho!"

"What? He's Vice-Captain of Squad Thirteen? When did this happen?" Byakuya couldn't help himself from stammering, though most of his words were drowned out by the wild cheering at his announcement. Rukia looked up at Ichigo with eyes that betrayed a great deal of her emotions towad him. Byakuya would have reeled had he not been still attached to the platform. I am looking at the future of the Kuchiki Clan, aren't I? Byakuya thought wildly, gritting his teeth

"I present to you Aizen Sosuke, Traitor to Soul Society, whom you have both aided in securing! As such, the honor is upon you for the Reading of the Charges against him. Have you recieved them?"

"Yes, Sotaicho we have!" Jushiro told him in as loud a voice as he could muster. "I will have my Vice Captain read them, as his voice is stronger than mine!" Again, shock coursed through Byakuya, but at least this time, Ichigo looked surely as shocked as he felt as he was handed a scroll.

Sosuke called up to Jushiro, "Again, you insult me! First by having someone who isn't a captain escort me through Soul Society, and now by having your underling perform the Reading of the Charges!"

One Step-into the Past

Jushiro glared back down at Aizen Sosuke as his words caused jeers of anger and hate over his words. He closed his eyes for one second, and the visions of the past appeared before them. A tiny baby in my arms, his sepia eyes looking up at me as I carried him away from his mother, who did not dare to glance at him for fear she'd lose her courage. There he is, that baby I'd helped deliver in secret, not far from this very spot, all those years ago. On that platform. Hated. Reviled...

No, I am unworthy of the honor of the Reading of the Charges against you, son of Samurakami Masashi...

"Taicho? Are you sure?" Ichigo asked Jushiro again, just to make sure.

Jushiro opened his eyes and painfully glanced at Ichigo. "Don't listen to him Ichigo, you have every right to that honor after all you have done in service to the Soul Society already! Read the charges!" he ordered.

Ichigo unrolled the scroll, and glanced up at the crowd before starting to read. "Addressing the former Captain of Squad Five, Aizen Sosuke, you are hereby charged, by unanimous vote of the six judges of the Central 46, of the following crimes against Soul Society..." Ichigo began to read...

One step-onto a throne

It had taken several days after he'd banished all the Shinigami from Hueco Mundo before he really had the nerve...

"Here we go," Grimmjow muttered to himself, uncharacteristically uncertain for a moment, before he walked to the throne that used to serve King Barrigan, and then Lord Aizen. He climbed up the dais, then, dared to sit upon the stone seat...

He grinned dumbly for a few seconds, then nervously sang "I...Am King...of the Forrrrrest!" like the Cowardly Lion. Tesla, his fracción, appeared puzzled. "That was probably after your time, The Wizard of Oz."

"Probably, King Grimmjow. You're actually very young to be sitting on the throne," Tesla commented.

"Yeah, not bad for an eighteen year old high school kid, is it?" Grimmjow laughed.

"King Grimmjow, are you certain that Lord Ulquiorra isn't coming back here? He would be the only real threat to your rule..." Tesla fretted.

"Nah, although...I really wish Orihime was here."

"King Grimmjow! No woman is worth you jeopardizing your position!" Tesla frowned.

"You don't have a very good history with her, don't think I've forgotten that either. Don't talk about that piece of crap you used to serve either, another misogynist creep!" Grimmjow growled.

"Er, King Grimmjow, please don't-" Tesla stammered.

"Sheesh, don't bug me!" Grimmjow ordered him. Tesla seemed subdued for the moment, then Grimmjow continued, "You never know what's coming around the corner, Tesla. Maybe she will end up back in Hueco Mundo one of these days..."

Hopefully, with Bat Boy out of the way... The thought made Grimmjow smile widely.

One step-into a Trap

Orihime unlocked the door to her apartment for the first time in months. "Orihime," Ulquiorra frowned, "I sense something-I don't know what it is. Let me go in first," he ordered her. With a deep worried frown, she stepped aside as Ulquiorra went ahead of her and stepped over the threshold.

And a beam of red light trapped Ulquiorra right inside! Orihime screamed, but Ulquiorra commanded her, "Run, Girl! Get away from this place, now!"

"It's too late for that, Arrancar!" A Shinigami appeared in Orihime's apartment. She vaguely recognized him.

"Aren't you from Squad Twelve?" she asked the youthful looking but slightly freakish Shinigami, with a few thorn-like horns protruding from his forehead and dressed in a white lab coat.

"I'm flattered that you'd remember me. I'm known as Akon, Third Seat of Squad Twelve. My captain, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, will be very pleased when he sees that I've captured a healthy specimen for his research purposes," he said with a nasty smile.

"No! Ukitake-taicho gave us a token, and Yamamoto-sotaicho has us under his protection-" Orihime began to argue. Akon simply grabbed her and Ulquiorra drew Murcéilago from his scabbard and growled.

However, Akon simply grinned even more broadly and held a lethal looking needle up to Orihime's neck. "My captain wanted to do extensive reseach on her too, Arrancar! Give me any trouble, and I'll simply take her back to Soul Society and we'll run the experiements we've been wanting to run since last August."

"And if I do cooperate with you, Trash?" Ulquiorra asked.

"I leave her unharmed. Of course, she won't remember you or anything else that happened here, because I'm going to wipe her memory of it so she can't go running to that meddling white-haired bastard or his Daddy Captain tattling on me," Akon warned Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra sheathed Murcéilago and said, "All the better, Trash."

Orihime began to sob terribly as the red light dissolved around Ulquiorra. "No, Ulquiorra-kun, you can't do this, please don't do this! Not for me, I'm not worth-"

"Girl!" Ulquiorra cut her off, "it is my fate! There is no way I'd ever allow it to become your fate, stop talking foolishness!" Akon bound Ulquiorra with the Winding Binding Chains before he had any sort of chance to move away from him or escape. Ulquiorra closed his eyes for a moment, unable to bear seeing the tears coming from Orihime's eyes. If he could have blocked out her choking sounds, he would have.

Akon took something that looked a lot like a Pez dispenser out of his pocket. "Don't cry, Human. This Hollow is doing this for you. He must love you very dearly to do something like this for you. He knew that a trap had been set in here before you even walked in here. That's how I knew if I threatened you, he'd come quietly. So quiet down, look at this, and forget all about this business. Your friends are all coming over in a minute. You're going to be all smiles for them, make them some lunch, tell them you were visiting a relative for some time in Australia and you're very sorry you didn't get to tell them you were leaving for so long..."

"N-No!" Orihime protested, but Akon already snapped the stick on, flashing in her silver eyes, and left her staring at nothing.

"Open!" Akon ordered as he held up his zanpakuto and turned it. The round Senakimon gate appeared, and the doors slid open. Hell butterfiles flitted over their heads. Ulquiorra turned one last time, looking into Orihime's vacant eyes with his malachite gaze...and then followed Akon, and then the gates shut behind him.

One Step-into the future

Ichigo finished reading the charges against Sosuke, then began reading the charges againt Ichimaru Gin. To keep up the façade of Gin being the enemy, Ichigo read them as loudly as he could. Maybe he might hear them and lay low. Sosuke had been defiant, of course, repeatedly protesting certain charges, answering for others with a smirk or a laugh. How did you manage to hide the fact that you were spying for Shinji all these years, Gin? How did you put up with this guy?

However, while Ichigo read the charges against Gin, Sosuke seemed a bit contrite. His mad sepia eyes looked at the bright noon sky above and he sighed audibly. Ichigo could hear Jushiro's seething beside him. This was the first time he'd heard Jushiro make any sort of response since the Reading of the Charges began.

Then, Ichigo read from the scroll, "Addressing the former Captain of Squad Nine, Tosen Kaname, deceased, had been charged, by unanimous vote of the six judges of the Central 46, of the following crimes against Soul Society..." People began to get a bit restless by this time, as no one was really all that interested in hearing that the charges brought against Tosen Kaname had been dropped simply because he's met his demise in Hueco Mundo. Ichigo had next to no contact with the guy anyway. Seemed like a strange guy to me, Ichigo thought of him, then completed the Reading, which prompted the crowds to start cheering with enthusiasm all over again.

After handing Jushiro the scroll, he dragged Rukia over to Hiyori, demanding, "Did you get that? That part where Nii-sama heard I'm Vice Captain of Squad Thirteen and his priceless expression?"

Rukia protested, "Ichigo! Try acting like you're a Vice-Captain of a squad instead of a little boy!" she yelled at him, wresting her hand from his.

"Aw, c'mon, Rukia! You gotta admit, that was awsome! Besides, I just realized something; I'm the Vice Captain, and you're the Fourth Seat, so you're supposed to be addressing me properly!" Ichigo realized.

"Ok, Ichigo-baka!" Rukia retorted, whacking him in the stomach for good measure.

"Hey! Wait a minute, Rukia! Seriously now, I have to talk to you about some things," Ichigo cried after Rukia took about five steps away, pushing people out of her way to get back into the building again. "Wait up, Rukia! It's about the Kuchikis. I-I think Aizen is planning trouble for you guys."

Rukia stopped. "Fine, let's go to the garden and we'll talk there..."

Once they got to Squad Four's garden, they both sat down and Rukia immdiately asked, "Why haven't you said anything until now?"

"Renji's been clinging to you like a dead vine, that's why! It's seriously annoying me! He finally left once Byakuya showed up with that lunatic, Aizen!"

"Alright, what's going on?" Rukia asked.

"During our final battle in the Fake Karakura Town, Aizen started talking babble. I only heard a tiny smidgen of it before I stabbed him, but he was taunting Ukitake about being stabbed by his own zanpakuto many years ago by someone who he claimed was his father," Ichigo began.

Rukia's violet-blue eyes widened. "Ichigo! That incident happened almost fifteen hundred years ago!"

"Did you hear about it?" Ichigo asked.

"We were not taught that Shinigami's name. All I know was that he was a traitor to Soul Society, and a captain of the Court Guard. Ichigo...he was the most recent person to be executed by the Sokyoku," Rukia shuddered.

"Kinda twisted, isn't it? He sentences you to the same death his father had suffered..." Ichigo concluded.

"Ichigo, there's no way that could be true! There's no way Aizen Sosuke could be that old! We'd know about it!" Rukia argued.

"How would you know?" Ichigo asked. Rukia frowned, suddenly uncertain. "You'd think a guy like him would have gone to the Shino Academy much sooner if he had been that old, but adults do attend the Academy.." Ichigo continued.

"Of course, all the time! Anybody with potential can attend, even old people, if they manifest the ability," Rukia agreed.

"So, he probably kept it quiet about his real age?" Ichigo asked rhetorically.

"Yes, but what does this have to do with the Kuchiki Clan?" Rukia asked.

"After I stabbed him, he really went off on this whole 'I'm the royal bastard of this captain dude' thing, and he said that his blood as just as good as the Kuchiki Clan's..." Ichigo fibbed. Actually, he was calling me Shiba, and said Shiba blood had been too thinned out. I don't want Rukia to know about that yet. The subject is still raw for her.

"Hmmm... Well, back in the old days of the Court Guard, only nobles were ever Shinigami. That's probably what he meant-" Rukia began to say, but Ichigo cut her off.

"Wait Rukia! I remember when I was fighting Byakuya on Sokyoku Hill. He said that the noble clans sometimes produce, if they are lucky, one captain every few generations. Who was the most recent captain before Byakuya? Oh no wait, it was Kuchiki Ginrei, Byakuya's grandfather..."

"Right. How did you know that?" Rukia asked.

Crap, I've got to be more careful with using Kaien's memories! "Um, the same way I know that my father had been captain of Squad Ten..." Ichigo answered. Rukia was about to stammer, but Ichigo cut her off, "Yeah, I know no one is supposed to talk about it. Well, cat's out of the bag! Anyway...So we know that sometimes, the talent doesn't even skip a generation. The Force runs strong in our families," Ichigo quipped.

"Is that Star Trek Wars?" Rukia asked, rolling her eyes.

"No Rukia, there's Star Trek and Star Wars. Two separate Space Operas." Ichigo instructed her like she was a two year old.

"Can we ever have a conversation that doesn't devolve into complete idiocy?" Rukia complained.

"Oh, you love it, Rukia!" Ichigo dissed her.

"Who in their right mind would love talking to a complete idiot?" Rukia raged.

"You!" Ichigo countered.

"Oh, so at least we both agree that you're a complete idiot," Rukia grinned.

"Wait, no! That's not what I meant!" Ichigo stammered, trapped by his own joke.

"Sure it is, Idiot! Heads up, I think your captain needs you, Idiot-fukutaicho," Renji quipped, making Ichigo scowl.

"Fine, but just remember, it's your family he's threatening," Ichigo warned her, all joking aside.

"I don't see the threat, really," Rukia retorted.

"You talking about Aizen? He's finished, Ichigo. Time to move on!" Renji sniffed.

Ichigo didn't answer. He went back to the side veranda, and saw Rose and Hiyori crowding Jushiro, weeping.

"Ohmigod, what happened?" Ichigo asked with dread. Anything that made Hiyori cry had to be tragic. But, to Ichigo's surprise, no one answered him.

Jushiro finally said, "Do you think you can tell the others?" but Ichigo didn't think the captain was speaking to him.

"Either us, or Shinji..." Hiyori told him.

"It should be Shinji," Rose corrected her.

"Maybe it should be you, Ukitake-taicho, since you made it happen!" Hiyori suggested, wiping her eyes.

"What's going on?" Ichigo finally demanded.

"You'll see!" Hiyori told him, then went back to ignoring him.

Ichigo decided that he wouldn't get pissed off just yet. Maybe the Visoreds had some kind of business that didn't involve him directly. And then, it occurred to him; all of them had been captains or vice-captains of the Court Guard at one time. Could Jushiro have just pulled some more strings on their behalf? Jeez this guy doesn't quit, does he? First he got me into the Court Guard, and now he's getting them back in too?

Soul Society will never be the same again, will it?

And this concludes Right Where I Belong. I hope you enjoyed it.

At one point I had a sequel in mind, however I cannot say when this may happen, if ever. In my profile, I elaborate on this a bit further.

Thanks so much for reading and all your great feedback and support!