Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Rukia growled in frustration as she marched from the officers meeting in front of the Head Captain. She had really thought this time would be different. And, maybe to some extent, it had, but the result was not one she liked.

They expected her to wait. Wait.

She scoffed as she slid open the doors of the thirteenth division with more force than necessary. Lower-ranking officers fled from the main office as the temperature continued to drop around the angry lieutenant. Frost climbed across the window screens.

She did not have time to wait. This matter was sensitive, and it demanded action. She thought after everything they had been through recently; the other officers would have understood that. After Aizen and now Yhwach, she understood the need to reassess and rebuild. She knew the other officers shared similar ideas as her: everyone wanted to rebuild Soul Society to be better than what it had been. Prior, the rules had been harsh and unforgiving. Now, they desired to rectify that.

Rukia was sure that you could respect tradition and observe them, but when they oppressed or harmed the governed, they needed to be challenged and rewrote. They could not stay locked in the past. They had to push forward and do better than before — all of them. Soul Society could not remain stagnant.

Her fingers curled around the edges of her desk as she tried to steady her breathing. Her knuckles turned white from the force. She was asked to wait.

Wait.

Anger crashed in her chest as she recalled her meeting.

"I want to take a team to Hueco Mundo," Rukia stated firmly, her chin tilted up in challenge. Head Captain Shunsui's brows raised curiously. This was not the first time Rukia requested this. The first time had been immediately following Aizen's defeat, but right before the war with Yhwach. The second time had been in the middle of the war with Yhwach.

At the time, Head Captain Yamato had told her no. They were not able to spare a team to go into Hueco Mundo. Aizen had left lasting damage, and with defected officers, they simply did not have the manpower to do it. He had agreed to revisit the request when they were on better footing. But then, Yhwach came for them all. And, when she had asked again, she had been scoffed at for requesting such a thing during a war. Head Captain Yamato was dead, and she had really thought making her request now to Head Captain Shunsui would work.

Some of the vacant officer positions had been filled. She was the thirteenth lieutenant now, and her own captain had made a miraculous recovery from his sacrifice in the previous war. There were still a few vacant officer positions to work out and plenty of rebuilding to do, but this could not wait any longer.

Rukia did not bother to glance at the other captains – namely her brother. She could feel the look of disapproval Byakuya and Renji were sending her way. Byakuya did not want her anywhere near Hueco Mundo ever again. She had almost died there had the Head of the Kuchiki Clan not come for her.

But this meant little to the younger Kuchiki. She was a shinigami. She did not fear her death, and she had proven countless times that she genuinely believed her job – nay her vow – as a shinigami meant that she was to be unbiased and protect all life even at the cost of her very existence. So, she would soldier on and fight for the right things even when no one else would.

"Ah, little Ru-chan! Is this request for a rescue operation for that little shinigami in your report back from the assault on Las Noches during the war with Aizen?" The Head Captain asked curiously, his eyes sparkling as he tipped his hat slightly at her proposal.

Rukia nodded her head once in affirmative. "Yes, Head Captain Kyroaku, it is."

"Hmm…" the man pondered as her fists clenched at her sides. "I am not certain we would be able to do that at this moment, little Ru-chan. Our most recent war has left us scrambling. Let us revisit this in a few months. In the meantime, if any officers are willing to volunteer, then we can begin putting together a tentative extraction team until we can dispatch them."

At that moment, Rukia shamed her family name, and she simply did not care. The temperature dropped considerably, causing her own captain to cough from the onslaught of the cold while many others shivered as their breath appeared in front of them.

"Ashido Kano may not have months until the next time we can deliberate. Soul Society owes him! All of you owe him." Rukia spat with venom as she stepped out of the officer line as fury danced in her eyes.

"He and his squad were trapped in Hueco Mundo for hundreds of years, and Soul Society did nothing. We left our own to die," she hissed as the clenched fists at her sides tightened. She could feel her nails drawing blood against the pale skin of her palms.

"You all should be ashamed of yourselves. You speak of wanting to better Soul Society, but yet, all of you would rather conveniently forget the past, so you don't feel guilty. Soul Society owes Ashido for failing him and his squad. And all of us in this room owe him for our win against Aizen, and by extension, Yhwach. He not only saved my life, but he saved our other teammates on that mission to Hueco Mundo," she hissed as her eyes met everyone else's with unrestrained anger. The temperature continued to plummet.

"We have deliberated long enough on sending a team to retrieve him. How can we sit here and say we want to right past wrongs and move our Soul Society forward when we refuse to take action when we have the opportunity to do so? How many other things will we push out and never correct? Is this the Society we are rebuilding?"

"Rukia, it will do you well to remember your place." Byakuya stepped forward, his glare piercing into his sister's, his voice seeping with cold fury. She had overstepped her place. She knew she should not have outbursts like this at her superiors and other lieutenants, but frankly, she did not give a damn about proprietary at this moment. She met his glare with a tilt of her chin and righteous fury dancing in her own eyes. She did not step back into formation behind her captain.

"I don't disagree with you, Ru-chan," the new head captain sighed as he inclined his head towards her, "but it remains – we will need a team of high-ranking officers to volunteer. If we can put together a good team fairly soon, then I am fine with us dispatching a team sooner rather than later, but until that time, we will have to wait."

It had taken everything in the tiny little shinigami's body not to throw something at the head captain. The meeting was immediately dismissed. She had twirled on her heel and marched off. She was fucking furious. The bastards, the lot of them.

Rukia's head snapped up, and she pushed herself away from her desk. Her soul phone to her ear a moment later.

"Ichigo – I'm calling in a favor."

Rukia found herself landing near the park in Karakura town. She steadied her breathing as she focused on Ichigo's spiritual pressure. Rukia found him leaning with his back against a tree and his hands shoved in both pockets.

"Yo." He nodded as he kicked off from the tree and fell into step beside her. "I already called the group. They're all making their way to Orihime's right now."

"Have you told them everything?" She asked curiously as the two took off in the direction of Orihime's apartment. He nodded.

"Yeah, they remember. I told the team about your most recent officers' meeting, and they're willing to help. Nel and Grimm, too."

Rukia paused at the mention of her co-lieutenant. "Is Nel sure about that? She could jeopardize her new position." Ichigo shrugged at her question.

Nel had been in Karakura town dispatching a hollow with Ichigo, which was why she had missed the most recent officers' meeting. As it turned out, during both wars, Nel had declared her loyalty to her friends, and Grimmjow had somehow followed after her, Ichigo, and Rukia. The thirteenth division was given the task of monitoring both arrancars – namely – being responsible for Grimmjow. It was something that Captain Kuchiki was still pissed about, considering Grimmjow was directly responsible for punching a hole through his sister.

But, Grimmjow and Nel had made it very clear they refused to report to any other division. It was similar to Ichigo and their friends. They refused to report to anyone else but Lieutenant Kuchiki and Captain Ukitake. In the end, Nel had become her co-lieutenant.

"Lieutenant!" Nel's cheerful voice called as Rukia was pulled into a bone-crushing hug by the other woman. Rukia choked before the taller woman released her. Ichigo walked further into the room, sinking onto the couch near Grimmjow.

"Ah! Kuchiki-san, I am so glad to see you. It has been a while," Orihime grinned as she hugged the smaller woman as well. Rukia patted her back.

"Thank you, Orihime."

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Kuchiki-san, though I wish the circumstances were better," Ishida nodded at her as Chad offered a hand raise in acknowledgment. She greeted both boys.

They heard a scoff from somewhere to the right of Ichigo and found Grimmjow with his legs propped up on the coffee table. "Can we get on with the mushy shit? I'm ready to kick some ass."

"Ichigo told you everything already?" Rukia curiously asked as she moved to sit on her knees beside Nel.

"Yeah, we're gonna go to Hueco Mundo and rescue your boyfriend. Kick a shit ton of ass while there."

Rukia frowned. "Grimmjow, he isn't my boyfriend. I promised him I would come back for him, though."

The Arrancar scoffed. "Same difference. Besides, I wanna see how strong he is if he's lasted in the Forest of Menos this long."

"Well, we fully support you, Kuchiki-san. I can't say I am thrilled to be going back to Hueco Mundo, but I am willing to assist you. Your friend saved us, and he deserves the same from us," Ishida replied as he politely sipped his tea next to Chad.

"Ichigo said the Head Captain said they would take volunteers from the other officers, and once they had a sufficient amount, they would finally dispatch a team?" Nel asked curiously. Rukia nodded.

"That could take too long, though; besides, by the time they have enough people, they might forget about it and deal with whatever is more pressing." The green-haired woman frowned before continuing.

"You want to form your own team and go in after him, don't you?" She asked her co-lieutenant. Rukia nodded.

"Yes and no. I am willing to try the officers one more time and receive the blessing from the head captain himself. If I put a good team together, then maybe they will go ahead and agree; however," Rukia paused, glancing around the room at her friends.

"If the head captain refuses my team and request, I am willing to break the rules and go in on my own."

Nel nodded. "Well, I am all in, Rukia."

"Are you sure? Nel, you just were made a lieutenant. You are risking your position and your newfound place in Soul Society. I cannot ask you to do this." The purple-eyed shinigami shook her head. Nel laughed.

"You didn't have to ask. You are my friend, and you want to rescue your friend. What more is there to know? Besides, how many times have you challenged the rules when it was the right thing?" Nel teased. "Soul Society needs to change. We all know that. And, maybe we are just the group of wayward souls to do it."

"I'm with Nel on that." Ichigo nodded. "Besides, somebody has to follow your ass into the fire. Soul King knows you are a shit-magnet."

Rukia reached over the coffee table to slap his leg. "I am not!"

"You are too! Everywhere you go, if something can happen, it does! It's probably why they're so hesitant to let you take a team into Hueco Mundo without plenty of officers."

"Hell, that's why I'm going. It's fun having you as a lieutenant. Means the best fights always finds you." Grimmjow added with a grin and a gleam in his eye. Rukia sighed.

"I am going too." Chad's voice was quiet but held conviction. He nodded at her before smiling softly.

"So, what's the plan?" Ichigo asked as he shifted forward, his elbows on his knees and mischief glinting in his eyes. Their friends turned their attentions to Rukia with resolve in their eyes. She grinned.

Rukia Kuchiki found herself marching through the Kuchiki family's personal senkaimon with her friends by her side. The group followed after Rukia as she took off for the first division. She sucked in a breath as her eyes hardened as they ran, wondering if the head captain would deny her now.

In the end, Rukia stood in the same room she had spoken out in that same morning. An emergency officer's meeting had been called. She held her chin high as she stood in front of her friends.

"Little Ru-chan, may I ask why you came to my division with your friends and refused drinks but wanted an audience with the officers?" The head captain grinned at her lazily, and she was sure he had already had drinks before their arrival.

"You said if we had a team, we could go sooner rather than later. I have a team."

"So, you do, little Ru-chan." The head captain acknowledged with a lazy grin.

"Rukia," it was her brother's emotionless voice that spoke this time, "Hueco Mundo is no place for you without a captain."

"Ni-sama, with all due respect," Rukia began, "this is merely a formality. We came here for the head captain's blessing, but should we fail to receive it, we will still enter Hueco Mundo to do what is right."

"Is that so, little Ru-chan? So, serious," he murmured as he spoke before her own brother, whose eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Very well. You have my blessing to take a team to Hueco Mundo on the condition you find a captain willing to lead the excursion."

"I will do it. Lieutenant Matsumoto will accompany us as well." Captain Hitsugaya spoke up with a nod.

"Hey, no fair! If all of them get to go, then I want to go!" Ikkaku Madarame spoke next. "Wherever that little lieutenant goes, there's always a good fight that follows." Rukia suppressed the urge to sigh as Grimmjow snorted behind her.

Captain Zaraki laughed at his lieutenant's words. "Here that Kuchiki? Your little sister is going to Hueco Mundo!" Captain Kuchiki only met the other captain's remark with a cold glare.

"Very well. Lieutenant Abarai and I will go as well. I request leading the operation." Captain Kuchiki's voice was as impassive as ever as he spoke.

The head captain laughed. "Now hold on, Byakuya! I am curious if lieutenant Kuchiki had a plan or planned on recklessly charging into Hueco Mundo. Let's give her a chance to speak."

Rukia nodded. "We felt separate extraction teams would work best. Urahara would only be able to send so many of us through his Garganta at once, anyways. This would allow us to cover more ground as well and utilize one group to focus on distracting hollows while a second, smaller team would be able to track down Ashido and reconnect with him."

"Hmm…a wise idea. However, I am assuming you were going to use Urahara's Garganta because you thought you would not receive our blessing?" The head captain's brow shifted up as he grinned knowingly at Rukia.

"We were preparing for the least desirable outcome, sir." She answered politely with a nod.

"Very well. Captain Kuchiki can lead one of the teams, and Captain Hitsugaya can take the other. I would go ahead and sort out the squads now. You will leave in three hours." The head captain nodded at Captain Kurotsuchi. "Prepare your Garganta. They will be using it."

"Rukia," her brother's cold voice called, "You will accompany me, Lieutenant Abarai, and Lieutenant Tu Odelschwanck. We will be the team that reconnects with this boy. Captain Hitsugaya will have the others."

"Sucks to suck Nel!" Grimmjow called to the green-haired lieutenant, who looked over at the man as languidly made his way toward her and Chad with a feral grin.

"What are you going on about now?" She asked with a sigh as Ichigo found himself a step behind Grimmjow.

"Your ass is getting stuck with the stuffy captain. You ain't gonna get to fight shit 'cuz his ass is gonna be clenched flipping his shit 'bout the midget. I'm gonna get to kick ass."

Nel's only response was to raise one brow at her counterpart as Ichigo whacked him upside his head, which caused Grimmjow to growl at him, which led to an argument. Nel and Chad while Uryuu and Orihime joined them. Orihime began to fret over her friends. It had been decided that Orihime would stay back with Captain Ukitake. Should something go wrong, she would be deployed with the fourth division's advanced team with its third seat, Hanataro, at its helm.

Lieutenant Ikkaku made his way towards the group with Yumichika by his side around the same time Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto made their way over. Ikkaku joined in whatever squabble Grimmjow and Ichigo were involved in while Yumichika weaved his way through the boys to converse with Rangiku while they waited.

Rukia sighed. She was thankful for her friends who had joined this mission, but she could not shake the feeling of unease in the pit of her stomach. What if something had happened to Ashido in the time while she was away? How could she stomach knowing she had left him? It had been a year since she was last there. He would have come back to Soul Society with her until he charged at the hollows allowing her group to escape to continue their pursuit to save Orihime. Granted, he had survived in there for hundreds of years, but still. The hollows had evolved under Aizen's influence. Ashido had even commented on it back then. Her fingers twitched to the hilt of Sode no Shirayuki. She needed comfort.

"You didn't abandon him, you know," a cold voice to her left cut through her inner musings. Rukia's head snapped to the voice to find herself staring at Captain Hitsugaya's body. She lifted her eyes to see him standing stoically with his arms crossed as he carefully watched his lieutenant. She was still not used to his adult body he had matured and grown into during the war with Yhwach. She used to be thankful that there was someone around her relative height, so she didn't always have to feel so damn tiny. Now, it seemed, she was one of the only one her size.

"Captain?" She asked softly. He nodded once before his teal eyes shifted over to her.

"You didn't abandon your friend. He made his choice to fend off those hollows while your team left for Las Noches. He knew what he was doing."

The corners of the ice princess' lips lifted slightly. "You sound like him. He once told me everyone chooses their own paths to follow."

Hitsugaya nodded. "He isn't wrong, Kuchiki. You had tried to get back to him and keep your promise to him even when Soul Society failed to do so for him and his squad all those years ago," the captain paused for a moment before continuing, "it might have taken you longer than you wanted due to the unfortunate circumstances lately, but you're going now, and that's what matters."

"I – I – ah – thank you, Captain Hitsugaya, that means a lot to me," Rukia allowed graciously with a bow to the captain. The captain only nodded as his eyes shifted back to his lieutenant.

"I never did get to thank you, by the way," he began once more, much to Rukia's surprise. "You and Ichigo stood up for me to the Gotei thirteen and the head captain, himself."

"Ah, you don't have to thank me for that, captain. It was the right thing to do. Besides, I know you went to protest the Central Forty-Six during my execution. I should be thanking you." Rukia waved a hand dismissively as she bowed her head.

"It was the right thing to do, Kuchiki." He replied finally, his controlled voice mirroring her words from a moment ago.

Rukia's brow furrowed before glancing at him once more. "Captain, if you are doing this because you feel like you owe me please, you do not have – "

"I'm not, Kuchiki." The man shifted on his feet before his teal eyes turned back to her momentarily before darting back to watching Rangiku giggle with Yumichika and Orihime.

"It's like what you said at the meeting earlier; we cannot continue to rebuild Soul Society to be better if we continue to push these things out. The right thing to do is address this. We failed your friend and his squad, and it seems to be a constant theme for us," a heavy sigh came from the captain, and Rukia glanced up to note him running a hand through his white hair before glancing back at her.

"We cannot pretend these transgressions didn't happen because it's more convenient than facing the truth of these matters and figuring out where we failed. Just because we were not alive back then doesn't make us any less responsible now. If we refuse to address the injustice and disallow it from continuing to happen, then we are no better than the ones that allowed it to happen in the first place."

"You take your vow as a shinigami seriously."

Rukia noted the corners of his lips twitch at her comment. "So, do you, Kuchiki," he stated. "Just keep doing the right things, and I will continue to have your back as I suspect our friends will, too." He finished with a nod towards the eclectic group of people assembled. He gave one last nod at her before joining the group, much to his lieutenant's apparent glee.

"Rukia, I trust you are ready?" An impassive voice to her left spoke.

"Ah, Nii-sama!" Rukia bowed respectively to her brother before readjusting the bag on her back. "I am, and I believe our friends are as well."

Captain Kuchiki's eyes glanced over to the group a few feet away from them that his own lieutenant had joined before his slate-colored eyes found her purple ones.

"Before we leave, Rukia," he began, "I understand you would like to save your friend, and I agree with you. It is time Soul Society righted their wrong to him, but you are my first priority. If something goes wrong, I will personally see you out of Hueco Mundo with or without your friend."

"I understand, Nii-sama. Thank you."

His gaze lingered on her eyes for a moment as she raised from her bow. Captain Kuchiki turned to face the extraction team.

"Captain Hitsugaya, I trust we are ready?" Captain Kuchiki spoke. The group assembled began to settle down some at his words. The white-haired captain nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"My team will go through Kurotsuchi's Garganta first, which should garner the attention of anything notable, which should allow your team the distraction to reconnect with Ashido. Once that has happened, both teams will converge and exit as one unit."

Captain Kuchiki nodded. Nel and Renji made their way to stand with him and Rukia as the others stepped up to the platform Kurotsuchi had waved them onto with Captain Hitsugaya.

"Everyone ready?" Various calls of affirmation were heard from the first squad before Captain Hitsugaya signaled to Kurotsuchi.

"He's okay. You'll see." Nel's voice was low next to her ear as she squeezed her arm in reassurance as they watched the first team disappear. The four stepped up for their own exit of Soul Society. As the girl stood with her stoic brother and her childhood best friend, Rukia was never happier that she and Nel became close friends. Nel was far more open of the two and seemed to know when the shorter shinigami was withdrawing into herself.

Rukia grinned up at her green-haired friend. "Of course, he is. He's a shinigami."

Captain Kuchiki gave his signal. Energy whipped around as the four jumped. Rukia's head snapped back towards Captain Kurotsuchi's gasp, but by then, she was already hurtling through the Garganta.

Rukia winced in pain as her head collided with a tree branch as her body fell through the dense foliage in the Forest of Menos. She twisted her body, trying to maneuver herself so she could catch her balance and do the least amount of damage to herself during her fall. Her small feet caught their footing on one of the branches. She allowed the momentum to propel herself as she shunpoed down a tight cluster of trees. She skidded to a stop on the ground below the tall trees of the forest. She glanced upwards, trying to decipher where the Garganta had been when she fell through. She frowned as the tops of the trees covered the sky a considerable distance from the ground.

She took note of her immediate surroundings, finding herself alone. She focused her abilities searching for her party's reiatsus. She sighed in relief when she felt her brother, Renji, and Nel together. Judging by the feel of their reiatsu, she was sure they were unharmed; they were, however, on the opposite side of the Forest of Menos from her. She frowned at that. Something must have gone wrong with the Garganta.

She focused on finding the second group. She was relieved to feel them together. By the feel of their spiritual pressures, Ichigo and Grimmjow were fighting side by side with Uryuu and Chad not far from them. Captain Hitsugaya and Rangiku were near them, with Ikkaku and Yumichika grouped together. It seemed the leading group had fanned out into smaller groups to distract more hollows. Ichigo was horrible at concealing his reiatsu, though he had improved some. She was also aware Grimmjow and Ikkaku would have no desire to hide their own as they would desire nothing more than to lure out the strongest, worst hollows they could find. Besides, the whole point of their squad wasn't to conceal their reiatsu anyways. They were to pose as the distraction allowing her enough time to transverse through the forest.

Thankfully, she had spent decades learning to conceal her own. Still, she needed to get moving. Even if she were not a flashing target for the hollows, some would still sense her, and if they were near enough, they would attack. She focused on finding one last reiatsu that she had not felt in a year. She gasped as she felt it.

She could sense him in his hideout concealed by his own spells. He had taken her there when they had met – when he had saved her.

Something was wrong. Ashido Kano was in trouble.

Rukia glanced back in the direction she could feel her own team. Her brother was trying to regroup with her before pushing forwards. Her duty lie in obeying orders; and yet, her friends were not alone. Ashido; however, was all alone without anyone to cover his back.

Rukia took off faster than she had ever shunpoed in her life. She heard a roar as a large hollow came bounding towards her. She didn't even stop.

She unsheathed her zanpakuto and with a call of "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" She flipped midair, landing on the top of the hollow with Shirayuki embedded into the hollow's mask up to Shirayuki's hilt. The being screamed as the cold tore through it from the inside out. Rukia jumped as quickly, yanking Sode no Shirayuki from the hollow's mask, landing on her feet and continuing at breakneck speeds in a shunpo as the hollow exploded into ice crystals behind her.

Ashido dodged the oncoming attack from the Menos Grande with hundreds of years of ease. He swiftly leaped behind the beast slicing forward before rolling out of the way of a well-aimed claw.

"Give up shinigami! You will die like your little friends," it taunted in a warped voice. Ashido's face made no expression of acknowledgment as he shifted forward once more, his zanpakuto clashing against the claws. He pushed the hollow back before leaping once more to avoid the round of cero fire.

The hollow growled in question as Ashido made quick work dispatching the Gillians. He threw on one of his hollow masks, absorbing the most recent blast from the hollow before leaping forwards with a well-placed slash. The hollow screamed in anger, lashing forwards while Ashido plunged his zanpakuto through its mask.

The man sheathed his sword as the forest was quiet around him for a moment. He felt an odd stinging in his chest, confusing him. He glanced down to find a slash on his chest, one he had not felt delivered during his fight. He had faced Gillians and three Menos Grande during this fight alone, the one he had just dispatched being the last of them. He grunted as he felt something entering his bloodstream. It burned.

Poison. The Menos Grande's claws had poisoned Ashido.

A tourniquet would not help now. The entry point of the poison was his chest. Had it been a limb, he could have easily tied it off until he got back to his cave and dealt with the offending limb with healing kido; but, not for a chest wound. The man glanced behind him before breaking out into a shunpo.

The burning in his bloodstream only increased as time passed as he pushed himself to go faster. He gritted his teeth as the pain seared through him. It would not be the first time he had been poisoned by a hollow, but it was the first time he had taken the poison straight to the chest.

Ashido stumbled as his head began spinning – whether it was from the pain of the poison itself, he wasn't sure. He grunted as his body scraped against the floor of the forest. He could feel the dirt beneath him smearing into his wounds. That was an annoying thought. It was always such a hassle keeping the wounds clean in the wilderness.

He pushed himself up on his arms before they collapsed under him. He grunted as pain shot through his chest as his wounds hit the ground once more. His limbs felt wrong. They felt heavy and sluggish.

He lifted his head, his vision dizzying as a headache overtook his senses. Damn. He wondered what kind of poison that hollow had because his body had not reacted this quickly to poison in the past from other hollows. He grunted again as he took in a deep breath ignoring the searing pain through his chest.

He pushed himself to his knees before stumbling to his feet. He felt his head swim as he began noticing the trees dancing around him. Well, fuck. He was not far from his cave; he knew that much Ashido just had to figure out which direction it was in, and hope to the Soul King, he could keep his footing steady.

He vaguely recalled getting drunk once with his friends before he wound up in Hueco Mundo with them. They had gone out for drinks to celebrate their promotions to seated officers back when they were fresh out of the academy. They had made it to the twelfth, eleventh, tenth, and seventh seats, respectively. They had encouraged him to take far more shots than the rest of them to celebrate his seventh seat status. The four of them had stumbled back to their barracks in their drunken state. Ashido felt a lot like that now.

Ashido trudged forward, catching himself on a tree to his right. He closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing and willing some clarity to come to him over the throbbing pain in his head. When he opened his gray eyes, he realized it had not helped the world from spinning around him. He gritted his teeth before pushing off the tree and plowing forward despite the protests from his body.

He had to make it to his cave as soon as possible. He would be dead at the hands of a hollow if he stayed out here. A shinigami could not keep their promise to their friends if they were killed. His best shot was making it to his cave and channel whatever energy was left in him into a healing kido.

He could have sighed in relief as his cave came into view as his disguise spell simmered around it. He stumbled against the rock face before slipping inside, using the cave's wall to support himself. Ashido collapsed on the furs he used for his bedding. He choked as pain seared through his heart as his brow broke out into a sweat. He felt clammy as he tried to regain his composure.

He needed to sit up so he could shrug out of the top half of his uniform and inspect the damage and begin his kido. He hissed as his fingers blindly clutched at his chest as the pain became unbearable. It felt like thousands of fire and ice zanpakuto were being plunged into him. Ashido tried to steady his breath as his teeth ground. His fingers blindly found their way to the furs beneath him and began trying to push himself into a sitting position. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as fatigue settled into his body. He was half-sitting now. He just had to pull the rest of his body against the cave wall. He grunted again as he used what little strength was remaining to push himself upwards.

His back hit the cave wall causing him to hiss in pain at the jarring sensation in his head. The poison was further along than he thought it would be by now. The heat coursing through his veins burned as his hair clung to his forehead as sweat bead at his brow.

It was a miracle he had not died in the hundreds of years he had lived in the Forest of Menos before now. Death was not something he feared. He was intimately familiar with the need for survival, with war, with fighting. He would have met his end far earlier in his life had he entered battles worried about dying; after all, that was when warriors made their mistakes when they feared their own death. But he didn't.

He had been driven to purpose to see out his vow he made to his lost friends – the very friends that did not have bodies to bury, but he made headstones for them anyways. He visited their graves frequently to pay his respects and to chat with them. If he could continue to slay the hollows in Hueco Mundo, he reasoned it would help deplete the numbers arriving in the human world. It was his vow as a shinigami, after all. He would give unbiased protection. His vow to his friends was similar. He would finish out what they came to do.

When the group ended up in Hueco Mundo, he had hoped that they would make it out. When his squad was wiped out and it just him and his best friend, he had hoped that Soul Society would send in a rescue team. Indeed, by then, they would have realized that their squad had not reported in. Even after his best friend's death and anger had swelled in his heart as he took out the very hollow that dared kill his best friend, he had still hoped a support squad would come.

But it never did. Ashido had carried his squad's deaths and his best friend with him as he lived out his time with their memories as a company. After some time, he had finally lost hope that someone would come for him. And, in the end, after a period of bitterness, that had been fine with him. He would continue to fulfill his promise to his friends and himself. He would protect the humans and honor his lost teammates' memories by soldiering on purifying as many hollows as he possibly could for the rest of his days.

Oh, but then that little shinigami had quite literally dropped into his life. For one brief moment, he had hope again. Hope that Soul Society had come for him, but as quickly as that hope rose in his chest, he had dashed it away. It had been hundreds of years since his squad was lost to Hueco Mundo. Nobody was coming for them. If a shinigami were dropping through the sky of Hueco Mundo, it would only mean they were most likely in trouble, so he had gone to her aide without hesitation.

When he had brought her back to the safety of his cave, he had been somewhat surprised to find she had the most startling purple eyes. They called to something deep in his soul. And he knew. Oh, he knew. She understood his pain. So, he had brought her to meet his friends.

Her presence had invoked hope in him once again. He had thought for sure she would die in the Forest of Menos without him. She was far too tiny and looked far too delicate to be in this place. So, he vowed to keep her safe until he could see her out of Hueco Mundo. Then, she had utterly blindsided him when she began to dance. She froze the Guardian of the Forest like she had rehearsed this very moment before. It had allowed him to exact the finishing blow, and then she had healed him with her kido.

He still remembered the feeling. It was ice cold but oddly refreshing. It reminded him of the times he and his best friend would sneak off from the academy and dive into the calm waters of the lake a few miles out. The water was ice cold but always refreshing after the momentary shock. And then, he had apologized because he realized something about the delicate-looking shinigami. She actively concealed her reiatsu even in battle. He had been wrong. She was strong enough to survive the Forest of Menos.

He had no idea why she concealed her reiatsu, and it was something he wanted to ask about, but then they felt her friends again. She asked him to come home with her – back to Soul Society. He had thought he would never leave this place and fulfill his vow to his squad, but then she had suggested that maybe he could continue to fulfill his vow on the other side as well. Ashido couldn't name why he had considered her offer. Perhaps it was the pools of purple glittering with resolve and something softer on the edges, or maybe something in her soul called out to his. After all, he was curious about the dancing shinigami who willingly entered Hueco Mundo and planned to storm Los Noches for her missing friend. For a moment, it made him wonder if they had been friends when his squad went missing, would she have come for him like she was for her lost friend? He found his answer in glittering pools of purple. Ashido felt hope bloom more fully in his chest than it ever had in the four hundred years he had been alive.

When she had reunited with her friends and introduced them to Ashido, he had witnessed firsthand how after the initial introductions, the boys in her party had begun arguing. They had forgotten she was there, in front of them it seemed and had been missing from them for a length of time alone in a most dangerous place, just like his own friends. They had been forgotten. And at that moment, he realized he would follow that little shinigami to whatever end and protect her. He would not forget her existence when she was away from him or standing right in front of him. Oh, but fate was cruel. The Menos Grande had attacked, and she had called for him. Her sweet voice was begging him to come with her.

But he had told her to find her friend. She did not belong in the hellscape that was Hueco Mundo. He would ensure she was able to leave. He had spent hundreds of years in this place, and he could spend hundreds more if it meant she left this forsaken place. But then she had said something that had surprised him.

She had screamed it while that kid – Ichigo – held her back from following after him as Ashido locked in battle with the hollow falling downwards. To survive because she would find a way back to him.

Maybe it was her words that lent him the strength to fight harder that day as he walked away from that fight that he was confident he would not have; otherwise. Or possibly, it was the hope that he might see her again.

That was the thing. Ashido did not expect her to come back for him: he was not worth the risk no matter how much he wished to see the purple eyes that haunted him one more time.

And for the first time in a long he felt hope, but not for himself. He hoped she had rescued her friend. He hoped she was safe. Ashido hoped she had continued to grow in her abilities as a shinigami, and he hoped she was happy. Most of all, he wished her friends were aware of her. He hoped someone had taken note of her and did not forget her presence so quickly as they had when he stood beside her to greet her friends.

There was a part of him that did hope he would see her again. But he didn't expect it. She had hollows to purify, humans to keep safe and face whatever had happened to Soul Society. But he still hoped, anyways. Maybe in their next lives, he would meet her again. He wondered what it would be like if they came across each other in their human lives or perhaps if they ended up finding each other as shinigami once again. Maybe he would meet her at the academy, and his best friend would be by his side once again. Perhaps, instead of the two of them, they would welcome the little shinigami into their mix, and they would transverse the academy as a trinity. Then, maybe they would enter into the same squad and pass to become seated officers. He was sure he and his best friend would have been friends with the girl. Maybe she would have gone to have drinks with them to celebrate their seated positions.

It was wishful thinking, and there was no guarantee that their souls would ever cross paths again, but there was still hope in his chest that he would see her also in another lifetime. Deep down, he knew it. She would fall into his life in their next life as humans or shinigami. And, he looked forward to it – to see her again.

Ashido let out a ragged breath as his dark gray eyes opened, the edges blurring as the inside of his cave spun before him. He choked down the urge to vomit. He did not have much time left before he fell unconscious. He had to act fast. He had to use whatever was left in him to use a healing kido on himself.

It was laughable, really; he was not exceptional at kido. He knew the basics, but getting trapped in Hueco Mundo had not allowed him to study or be mentored. He needed to get better at it. Many theories went into it. Thankfully, his necessary skills had got him by, and he had grown strong enough that his healing kido was sufficient to keep him alive and patch himself up when he got into scrapes. His other skills had been better developed in need to survive in this hellscape.

He grunted as his fingers curled around the edge of his uniform over his chest. He began trying to yank it off one shoulder so he would have a better go at his wounds. It would be best to heal it at the direct source of the attack.

Ashido's grip slipped from the top of his uniform. He bit back a hiss of pain as his hand slid across the open wounds on his chest. His tattered uniform felt sticky and warm from his own blood.

Sweat beaded at his brow as he tried to suck in a breath, trying to ignore the stabbing feeling in his chest as his lungs struggled to fill up with air. He had to focus. He would be unconscious soon. If he could only heal the poison before collapsing, then he should at the very least be able to wake up in a few days and recover the rest of his wounds.

An odd sensation tickled at the back of his clouded mind. He groggily opened his eyes once more, straining to keep from slumping over as the walls of his hideout danced around him. The tickling feeling - it was something familiar - something he would never forget. It was as faint as little bells tinkling as the snow and wind steadily picked up on a winter's day. He really was delirious. His mind must be trying to recall a more pleasant memory - the memories he had of that little snow-wielding shinigami.

But the pressure seemed to pick up at the base of his skull steadily. It was refreshing in a way. It provided some comfort as he bit back the urge to vomit as his head continued to swim, and he gasped for breath against the wounds on his person. He hadn't realized the slashes had been so deep originally—a smart trick of the poison from one of those Hollows he suspected. Ashido reckoned if this was how he would go out, he was comforted at least by a fond memory as he remembered the way her reiatsu felt mingling with his own as they worked their way through the Forest of Menos together.

The faint pressure seemed to increase. Ashido willed his hand to raise once more and pull his uniform from him. Ashido owed it to his friends and to that little shinigami to try again and try to survive. He still had plenty of Hollows left to fight. His weakened grip attempted to pull at his neckline.

"Baka! What did you do?" a voice thick with emotion scolded him as the wintry presence knelt in-between his legs. Ashido couldn't make out the rest of the words as he felt miles away from the voice. It sounded warped, as if he was inside a glass bowl. Cold hands then hurriedly yanked the top half of his uniform from his body. Ashido grunted from the pain of the jarring motion.

He heard a faint hiss from the little being tucked in front of him as they observed the damage trailing from the top of his shoulder to his lower hips. He wanted to open his eyes and assure them he was fine, but he feared he would vomit from the motion if he did.

Ashido gasped, his eyes popping open as he felt like he had been thrown into that freezing lake by the academy all those years ago once more. He could barely make out a murmured apology from the faraway voice, but the onslaught from the cool hands hovering closely over his skin did not relent. He sighed as the startling coolness of it began to fade. It was becoming pleasant and welcome contrast to the burning sensation coursing through his own body. He closed his eyes once more as he welcomed the cool feeling ghosting across his soul as it worked to raise his own reiatsu levels first. The coolness lessened the pounding in his skull. It offered a small relief from nausea that had once overtaken him with the slightest movement.

Time seemed to freeze around him as his pain began to ebb away slowly. The stabbing sensation in his lungs became more bearable. Nausea lessened as the pounding in his skull seemed to fade into an ache. His feverish body melted into the cold. It was around then he began to feel the hands above him move. One stayed near his chest as the other moved further down the slashes towards the dips in his left hip. He grimaced as he began to feel the skin slowly knit itself back together as the cold hands transversed down the planes of his torso. They were slow as they would still over an area before working their way further down the long slashes in his skin. It was not necessarily an unpleasant feeling, but it was an odd feeling to experience as your skin seemingly knitted itself back together.

The hands did not falter in their onslaught of healing kido. Ashido was trying to figure out if his delirium had gifted him with the presence he had not forgotten since their last meeting or if she was really here. He did not think he could be that lucky twice.

He slowly opened his eyes, deciding that if he was dying and this was a delirium-fueled dream, then he would at least drink in the company in his final moments in this existence.

He found himself coming face to face with the top of a head covered with silky-looking hair. He was mildly confused as to why his subconscious envisioned her black hair covered in twigs and sticks. Her head was bent over her work as she remained crouched in between his legs. Ashido could not fathom why his subconscious envisioned the little shinigami crouched over him, her face obscured by her mussed hair. Indeed, if he were dying, his subconscious would have pictured them meeting again in a different circumstance.

Ashido closed his eyes once more, willing the scene before him to change. Maybe his mind could picture her sitting next to him while he, his squad mates, and her toasted to each other. Or, perhaps the two could be standing under Soul Society's moon he and his best friend free from Hueco Mundo, waiting for him a few steps away as Ashido bid the little shinigami goodbye before joining his best friend in death.

Gray eyes opened once more to find the same scene before him. He moved his head - the dizziness milder in comparison to what it had been like before the vision of the little shinigami appeared - and tried to move his hand. His fingers twitched in response. Maybe if he touched her, he could change the vision to see her face one last time? Was it really too much for a dying man to ask of his subconscious to allow him to have the image of someone's face before greeting death?

Ashido focused on moving his arm, the sluggish feeling having been reduced to heaviness. His fingers clasped the delicate wrist attached to the glowing green fingers grazing softly over his lower hip. Purple eyes snapped upwards, widening as they swirled with emotion as the green light-emitting around pale hands stopped abruptly.

He was caught off guard when a moment later, arms were being wrapped around his neck tightly as her body flung itself forward. Ashido gasped from the pressure against his chest, his body sore.

"I told you to be careful not almost get yourself killed! Baka!" The voice was thick with emotion near his left ear as it chastised him. And Ashido thought that maybe his delirium had provided a better vision than he could have conjured even if he was being scolded as he died. His arms wrapped themselves weakly around the tiny figure. Even if this was a poison-infused dream, he had to admit even if the physical contact after several hundred years of being alone was foreign; it was one hell of a way to go out knowing he wasn't alone. The pressure against him moved back to its original position between his knees as the hands resumed their previous onslaught with that green energy.

Ashido wanted to say something. He felt confused about why she had moved or why his delirium would not just allow him to have this one dream of her hugging him until he left this existence. Purple eyes glanced back up to his softening with concern as they regarded him. Another moment passed, and Ashido felt even more confused at what he was seeing. The little shinigami's hair was shorter. The first time he had met her, it had brushed her shoulders. Now her hair was chopped into a cut near her ears. It somehow made her features look both sharper and softer depending on the expression in her eyes. The rebellious bang hung in the middle of her face as he remembered, but what concerned him was the dark hair that was matted at her temple as dark red stained her porcelain skin in a river on one side of her face.

Why was his poison-induced haze picturing Rukia with short hair and a wound on the side of her head? If he was dying, could she be sleeping somewhere safe right now, and the two's souls somehow crossed the same plane so his own soul could be comforted as it left this plane of existence? And since the time he last saw her, she had cut her hair, which he could appreciate suited her. Or, oh no - Ashido jerked up, his back straightening against the cave wall. He gritted his teeth at the sharp pain he felt in his chest at the sudden movement. Had she died in Las Noches, and that was why she had blood on her face? Could her soul have come to greet him into death? No, she couldn't have died, she couldn't have, she wasn't supposed to -

A cold hand pressed against his cheek as her brow furrowed, concern clouding her purple eyes. Ashido leaned into the cool touch feeling somewhat comforted that he could physically feel her even if they were both dead. Her other hand gently pushed against his chest as she eased his head back against the wall.

"Please relax. You're stable now, but I still have more healing to do," Rukia's voice was soft but firm, leaving no room for argument as it brushed the hair from his eyes that had clung to his forehead earlier from fever. "I have been able to get your reiatsu levels to regenerate, which has helped burn through the poison; what was left of that, I was able to counteract with kido. I'm still working on healing the areas affected by whatever slashed you. You still have a few organs and skin that need mending from that." She frowned at him, eyes pouring over his face, "then maybe I can heal those scrapes on your face."

Ashido wanted to snort at that but didn't have the energy to do so. Her head bowed once more as she continued to heal the deep wounds down his torso. After a moment of watching the top of her head, Ashido closed his eyes, allowing himself to enjoy the comfort of the cool, healing kido. If he was dying, then he supposed being comforted by her reiatsu surrounding him, and her healing kido was not a bad thing to envision as he succumbed to death. It was an incredible comfort for a man who had long ago made peace with knowing his death would be a lonely affair - and most likely a brutal one.

It was after some time that the pain in his chest was gone. He was able to breathe normally. A cool hand slipped up to his face healing the scrapes they found there. It was as the hand was withdrawing that clarity finally sank in.

Ashido's hand snapped up to grip the petite wrist, pulling away from him as he straightened against the wall, his eyes popping open to bore down into surprised ones.

"You're actually here," he breathed. Purple eyes met his with fire blazing in them as Rukia's chin lifted.

"I promised you I would."

"Rukia, it's dangerous here," he murmured, his fingers twitching around her wrist gently. As much as he wanted to see her again - the little shinigami with expressive eyes that quite literally crashed into his lonely world - he did not want to see her back in this hellscape. He knew she was capable, but it didn't change the fact that he hoped she had made it out of Las Noches and forgot about this place.

She held his gaze and lifted a brow. "I am aware. I brought back up," her eyes flicked downwards to his healed wounds as a frown set on her face before glancing back up, "although, maybe you should be heeding your own warning."

"Backup?" Ashido heard his own voice echo when he finally noticed it. There were a few spiritual pressures he faintly recognized from when he had helped her find her friends, and there were more he didn't know. They were fighting their way through the Forest of Menos to their location. How many people did she bring with her – the entire Seireitei?

She hummed in confirmation. "Yes, backup. They should arrive relatively soon. I didn't want to take the chance on you being left behind again." Ashido felt the weight of her words sink in, remembering the last time he saw her as the rocks had crashed around them. He chose to stay behind and fight off the hollows that attacked, so her group had a chance to go after their friend. He felt something constrict in his chest at the realization he was not alone anymore. After hundreds of years of living with the realization that he had most likely been pronounced dead or forgotten, it was foreign to think someone remembered him now. The tiny little shinigami he had misjudged initially had not forgotten him, and she had come back for him. A team from Soul Society for him - the group that should've been sent after his squad when they failed to report in after their assigned mission. The team that should've come when their captain realized something must have gone wrong.

"You brought an entire rescue squad?" He asked softly, feeling floored by her words.

"Yes. I'm just sorry it was so late. I had intended to come back after we dealt with Las Noches, but – "

Her head whipped to the side, her brows furrowing as she glanced at the entrance of his hideout. There had been a spike in spiritual pressure, and it felt dangerous and laced with something sweet as it advanced on them. It was still further out than the primary grouping, but it was coming for them. She recognized that spiritual pressure, Ashido was sure, because she had moved away from him, so she was sitting properly on her knees before him and not situated in between his legs to heal him any longer. She was tensed as she watched the hideout entrance as if she expected the owner of that energy to appear before them and scold her suddenly.

Ashido frowned then as he glanced back to the girl, "what if I decide to stay? Your team will be angry," he asked. Would she understand? Her eyes tore from the entrance to regard him again. He had expected irritation in her eyes, but the only thing he found was understanding. She pulled a bag from her back that he had not realized she was carrying.

"I know I don't fully understand, but I did consider it. I know last time I asked everything happened so fast, but this time you have time to think it over," Rukia began with a nod, "you've lived here for hundreds of years, and you'd be rejoining Soul Society - if that was your wish - I can't even imagine how hard that thought might be. I also understand you might feel you're better suited to stay here and fight hollows than in Soul Society or might want to take your time to decide, so I came prepared."

Her chin lifted as her eyes glinted with determination, "if you choose to stay, then I respect your decision; however, this won't be goodbye, Ashido. I will come back every year with supplies until either of us dies in case you ever change your mind and want to come back."

And for once, Ashido found himself speechless and not because he had a lack of company. He could feel her conviction. She was serious.

Finally, Ashido spoke, his voice thick, "I wouldn't want you to come back to this place just to check on me and bring supplies. This place is dangerous."

The woman rolled her eyes, "Too bad. Whatever you decide, I've decided that you won't face it alone. If you stay, I'll visit you each year for a few days at a time, and if you come back, then I won't leave your side. Whatever you choose, you won't have to face it alone this time."

Ashido did not know what to say as the weight of her words settled between them. It was an odd thing knowing that someone cared about him after all these years since the last people he had any connections to had died. He had already made up his mind that he would follow her back, but there was still the part of him that had wondered if she would accept it if he stayed. He had anticipated her to argue with him. He had not expected the little woman to accept whichever path he chose and to support him in it fully.

"Yo! Midget!" A voice called near the entrance of the hideout. The little shinigami before him shot up to her feet, her brow furrowing as her fingers twitched near her zanpakuto. Ashido sucked in a breath before clambering to his own feet. He flexed his hands, feeling far better than he had when she first arrived in his hideout. She had done incredible work with her kido. Aside from his reiatsu not feeling like it was a hundred percent back to par – though it was close, some stiffness in his muscles, and some exhaustion, he felt healed. A good rest would completely fix those minor issues. Had she not told him she was with the thirteenth division when they first met, he would have guessed she was with the fourth division with healing skills that outstanding. Ashido followed behind her, refusing to let her out of his sight now that she was here.

Ashido's eyes adjusted to the light as they exited from the protective kido barrier he had around the hideout, which kept it hidden from anyone he had not personally walked into his cave. It was then the full force of several high-level shinigami's reiatsu hit him. They were scattered near the entrance, with several of them performing protective spells, he was sure. They must have followed Rukia's energy signature through the Forest of Menos. When it disappeared and became untraceable under his barriers, they must have guessed this general area housed his hideout and began setting up a perimeter. Clever.

A boy – Ichigo, if Ashido remembered correctly from the first time he met Rukia's friends – turned around. His eyes lit up, sending a nod in their direction. Ashido stopped behind the little shinigami. He could feel the material of her uniform brush against his exposed chest. Glancing around once more, Ashido noted the spiritual pressures around them seemed to be grouped, leaving Rukia to be the odd one out. It reminded him of some of the first time he met her friends. They had ended up bickering with each other while she stood there quietly before them, and then those hollows showed up. Ashido glanced down to find the top of her head in his vision. Twigs still littered her hair. His eyes glanced back up to the boy making his way for them. Ashido decided to continue to keep his promise to himself he made that day. He wouldn't allow her to face whatever was coming alone. While he knew she was capable and had proven it before, something in his soul desired nothing more than to stay close to her. If something challenged her, he would be right behind her, ready to fight beside her or push her behind him.

"Yo! They're over here, guys. Set the perimeter up around this area until the others show up." The strawberry blonde called out loud to the air around him. The kid glanced back to the two taking in Ashido's form standing against her own and their states of disarray before his eyes trailed down to the little shinigami and raised one lone eyebrow at her. Rukia's brow furrowed at him as her arms crossed over her chest, confusion settling over her face.

"Damn, Lieutenant midget," a voice called with a low whistle as a man with blue hair suddenly appeared near Ichigo's right, "you really couldn't wait until we got home before undressing the guy?" A feral smirk appeared on the man's face as Rukia let out a squeak. Ashido's eyes narrowed at the man's spiritual pressure – was he a -?

"Baka! It's not like that!"

The man's feral grin widened even more, "yeah? Then what is it like?"

"Ashido had been hurt. I had to remove the top portion of his uniform to treat his wounds properly," the woman replied, her hands tightening into fists at her side as she lifted her chin at the blue-haired man.

The man snorted. His reply was cut off by someone else appearing – they had snow-white hair.

"Grimmjow, be useful and assist with the perimeter work," the man stated coldly, his eyes flickering from the blue-haired man to Ashido and Rukia. "What injuries did you sustain?"

"Deep slashes across his torso. Whatever had slashed him had also poisoned him." Rukia replied with a glance upwards to Ashido, who nodded once. "His lungs took most of the damage, but some of the other organs did too."

The man with white hair nodded once, and Ashido realized he was a captain as his white haori swayed as he stepped back in front of the two.

"We are just waiting on the second team to arrive fully. When they do, we will regroup and should leave shortly. I have the key needed to access the Garganta." The man's eyes flicked somewhere to his right before glancing back at Rukia and Ashido, "I'd suggest gathering anything you need now."

A moment later, the man disappeared in a shunpo to his right. The strawberry-haired man smirked at the two again. The smile was tugging at the corners of his lips at Rukia's utter confusion and annoyance at his pointed stare.

"Rukia, didn't you have a change of clothes in your bag," the man prompted finally. The woman in front of him turned on her foot, her nose bumping into Ashido's bare chest. A light blush broke out across her face as her eyes shifted up to meet his eyes.

"I did bring you a few things if you want them? There's a uniform and everything," she replied as she pulled her bag from her shoulders. Ashido nodded before her cheeks reddened once again.

"Ah, I should probably stay out here, but if you want, you can take this with you. If you have anything you want to bring home, you can just put it in the bag." She added, holding the bag in her hand.

"Thank you," he said once with a nod as he accepted the bag from her. He remembered the style as they were standard issues in the Gotei Thirteen. They were practical and built for survival. It would have suited him here had he chosen to stay. However, this one had something pinned to it that looked like an odd caricature of a bunny. Rukia seemed to notice his stare.

"Oh! That's Chappy the Bunny pin! He's even wearing hiking clothes. I put him on there in case you stayed; then you'd have something cute and fun with you," she exclaimed excitedly, her hands clapping together as she seemingly bounced on her feet as she beamed up at him. Ashido blinked. He was sure he had never seen this reaction of the girl before in their short interactions.

Ichigo groaned beside them, "the poor guy has been trapped in Hueco Mundo for hundreds of years, and you decided to bring him a survival pack with that infernal cartoon on his backpack?"

Rukia's brow immediately furrowed as her head whipped to the side, her eyes sparkling with fury. "Just because you have no taste doesn't mean Ashido doesn't! Besides, it's the survival-themed Chappy the Bunny, so he's even wearing little hiking clothes. It's perfect!"

"Yeah," Ichigo snorted, "if you're a little kid." He yelped as Rukia aimed a well-placed kick to his shin. The boy bent over in pain. She glowered at him before turning back to Ashido though any excitement from before had left her. Her wide eyes looked nervous now.

"Ah, you don't have to keep him if you don't like him," she stated quieter this time, her head bowed as she avoided his eyes.

"He's cute," Ashido stated as one corner of his mouth tugged upwards. Rukia's head snapped up, a blinding smile stretching across her face at his assessment. The man found that the joy radiating from the short woman suited her.

"Ah, I better go help Captain Hitsugaya. Ichigo is useless at kido, and Grimmjow is probably trying to fight with Ikkaku instead of helping. And Yumichika and Rangiku are probably cheering it on while Ichigo and Uryuu somehow get dragged into it with Chad trying to mediate the whole thing." She stated softly with a shy nod before disappearing to his right. Ashido made his way back inside his hideout, mildly curious about who the names she had rattled off. He could feel the different spiritual pressures, but aside from the three males had not seen anyone else yet. He assumed Captain Hitsugaya was the white-haired shinigami sporting a captain's haori, and he had heard both Ichigo and Grimmjow be addressed. That left him finding out who those other names belonged to.

Ashido unfastened the bag, it unrolling into a much bigger piece of cloth. The fabric was lined with pockets and various strings to clip and hold multiple items. He took the time to inspect the contents opening numerous pockets. He found two spare sets of shinigami uniforms, including shoes. He pulled the uniform from the roll with a furrowed brow, further examining it. The material felt sturdier than he remembered and seemed to be laced – no woven – with spiritual pressure. Was the fabric itself woven with a kido of sorts? Even the sandals felt sturdier than he recalled. Ashido paused. Was this new? How long had Soul Society infused kido into their threads to create their shinigami uniforms? And, he wondered, what was the benefit. He suspected there was one, but he was curious to find out how it assisted the shinigami wearing the uniform. Ashido thumbed over the sandals, then found himself wondering if they too were infused with spiritual pressure. That would be an odd thing to think about.

Shoes. Ashido had not worn shoes for many years. His original pair had lasted for a considerable amount of time with repairs he made to them with materials he found in the forest; however, they eventually wore away from the constant use in their harsh environment. Since then, he had been running through the Forest of Menos barefooted.

The man stripped from his tattered uniform and began pulling the new one on. It was an odd feeling as the material was not as worn in as the set he wore for years, but this felt softer, more breathable, yet sturdier. The fresh clothing was an odd change as he pulled on his fur cape with his hollow masks attached. Now stood a man of resolve and a heart filled with sorrow and hope. He looked every part the perfect shinigami, and yet, the fur cape draped across his broad shoulders with hollow skulls attached spoke differently. He had not risen through the ranks of his division to an officer position like most shinigami. No, he was going back to Soul Society as a man who had stayed in this hellscape, keeping his vow as a shinigami, friend, and comrade.

That was an odd feeling fluttering in his stomach. How much had Soul Society changed? How different would it be now? Would he be a relic of a forgotten time? Would so much have really changed within a few hundred years? Did he really want to find out? And his friends, could he really leave them here? They had died with nothing to bury, but he had made gravestones anyways. He had made an effort to remember them, and they would remain here. Could he really just leave them to stay in Hueco Mundo forever while he went back to Soul Society?

Gray eyes swept over his hideout once more before settling back on the pack. He bent over it again. There he found food – survival foods that were standard issue and something that looked like it was not a survival food – maybe something sweet if the wrapper was anything to go by, but was tucked in there anyways. He also noted survival tools, medical items, and other practical multifunctional items one would desire if they were trapped in the wilderness. He even found a blanket he was sure was woven with whatever extra additive his clothing had been intertwined with. He paused when he came across the very thing that did not belong in that pack aside from the sweet-looking treat.

Ashido pulled the object out of its protective wrappings as he inspected it. His own face was frozen in time, smiling up at him. One arm was slung around his best friend – Kiba – and he looked as he remembered him. His dark hair was shaved shorter on the sides with the top wild and gelled upwards. Both of their other arms were slung around their squamates. Kiba was mid-laugh, along with their other friends. Ashido's smile was there too as mirth danced in his own eyes. Their team that was lost to Hueco Mundo was framed by sturdy wood on the day they all placed for seats. It was right before they had gone out to the bar to celebrate their new seat positions. They looked full of joy as they celebrated together.

Ashido could not tear his eyes away from the image, wondering how she had found it. She had thought of everything that would benefit him from a survival standpoint and had only packed multifunctional items built for the harshness of the wilderness. It gave credit to her abilities as a tactician, but this, the framed image of his teammates amid their joy from a time when they were younger, gave credit to something else. She had given him the gift of remembering his friends in a state of happiness instead of the state that haunted his memories – their final moments. Ashido felt something well up in his chest as his gray eyes pored over the image. He had been worried that one day, time might actually make him forget what they looked like, that he might only see their last moments painted in his memories, but this gift would not allow that. It was not practical nor sensible to have out in the wilderness, but it meant more to him than anything else.

"Damn it! Kuchiki switch places with Kurosaki," a voice growled loudly outside his hideout, bringing Ashido from his thoughts. He was confident it was the white-haired captain's voice. He heard cursing and grumbling from who he thought was Ichigo as Rukia's softer voice gave an affirmative. "Yes, Captain Hitsugaya."

Ashido carefully wrapped the framed image up once more before rolling the bag back up and clasping it shut. He took one last look around his hideout – nay, his home for hundreds of years – before stepping back out.

"Where's Rukia?" Ashido asked with a frown as Ichigo nodded at him from his place a few steps away from the entrance.

"I got kicked off barrier duty. The midget is pretty skilled in kido, and Toshiro finds her more tolerable than the lot of us." Ichigo shrugged.

"That's because you were over there arguing with Ikkaku and Grimmjow instead of being helpful," a man pointed out as he came up to stand beside Ichigo. The man nodded at Ashido.

"Ishida Uryuu pleased to meet your acquaintance once again." Ashido stared back at the bespectacled man; his face unexpressive.

"You know, you could at least provide a civilized greeting in return," the black-haired man scoffed.

"Dude, lay off. The guy's been alone in the woods for hundreds of years with no human interactions. Give him a break," Ichigo rolled his eyes, giving the man a shove.

Uryuu rolled his eyes, smoothing out his white jacket. "For someone so lovely, Kuchiki-san has a habit of befriending odd sorts."

Ashido noted another man was making their way for the group. Odd sorts seemed accurate. Just who all had that little shinigami brought with her? Ashido could identify six spiritual pressures aside from Rukia's that were distinctly shinigami. Two that felt like arrancars, one that he could not identify belonging to Uryuu. Then, another seemed human marred with something else that belonged to the one approaching them now, and then whatever the hell this Ichigo kid was who felt like a mixed bag of everything listed.

"Chad, this is Ashido – Ashido, this is Chad," the strawberry blonde gestured as the man with a dark curtain of hair over his eyes lifted his hand in acknowledgment.

"You ready to get back to Soul Society?" Ichigo asked after a moment of silence as the three boys stared at Ashido. As it stood, Ashido had not been the most talkative of sorts even before his isolation, and it seemed the three men before him were not the chatty sort either.

Ashido answered after a moment, "I am not sure what to expect."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed slightly. "There's more, isn't there? Something is bothering you." Ashido contemplated if he would answer the boy at all. He didn't owe him an explanation or privy to any of his own thoughts. Still, the unsettled feeling in his stomach had not eased. Ashido voiced what was troubling him.

"My friends died here. Though there are no bodies to take back with us, it is difficult to leave knowing I will be leaving them behind in this place." Ashido stated evenly. The three men remained quiet before Ichigo spoke up finally – Ichigo's expression softened some.

"Did they die alone?"

"No," Ashido answered. "I was there."

"Then, they aren't staying here, are they? They'll go wherever you go," Ichigo answered simply. Ashido blinked. What did that mean?

"The midget's old lieutenant had this belief that one should never die alone, as your heart is left with your companions where it will live on. You should ask her about her division's beliefs on the heart, sometime," Ichigo encouraged as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "But, if you're worried about leaving them, just know you won't be. As long as you live, their heart lives on through you. Then, when you die, if you have someone with you, you pass yours and their hearts on to that person. So, your friends will only stay here if you die here alone." Ashido was not sure what to say to the boy's words as he pondered them over. Could it really be that simple? His friends would not be left here – they would go where he went? Would they finally return to Soul Society with him?

"Kuchiki, good work with the barriers. I'm glad someone is competent in kido," a voice barked to their left. The group's eyes shifted to the source to find the captain making his way towards them with Rukia a step behind him.

"Ah, thank you, Captain Hitsugaya," she replied with a nod the captain could not see. The captain eyed them with calculating eyes. Ashido appraised him just as much as he was appraising them as he sized the white-haired man up.

The man was taller than Uryuu and the same height as Ichigo though Chad had a few inches on both of them. Ashido found he had a few inches on Chad himself. The captain was powerful if his reiatsu was anything to go by, but Hitsugaya was not as broad as Ashido himself, and Ashido's own spiritual pressure was just as powerful. He wasn't sure why that fact made him happy as he wasn't sure he would have cared before this moment.

Gray and teal eyes locked together, assessing each other. Ashido felt pleased to feel Rukia shifting to stand closer to him instead of the captain; her uniform brushed against his arm. He was glad to note aside from her haircut; she had not changed that much in their year apart. She still just barely reached his mid-chest. She was deceptively delicate looking. He didn't look away from the teal eyes locked with his own even as Rukia settled in beside him. He was not fazed by the act of calculation or attempt at intimidation. There was very little that phased him. He did find some pleasure in the narrowing of teal eyes at the close proximity of the small shinigami had with him. Ashido still wasn't sure why he felt pleased over her, choosing to stand closer to him than this captain.

"The second team is almost here. Once they arrive, we will assess if they have any injuries or need time to rest. From there, both groups will combine as one. We will travel through the forest to the location the Garganta is set to open with my key. Once we get through, you will be given a full medical evaluation. Once cleared, you will have a meeting with the Head Captain and other captains."

"Why just the captains? Shouldn't the lieutenants get to be there as well? After all, five of them are on this mission," Ichigo frowned. Ashido did not miss the way Captain Hitsugaya's gaze finally broke from his and Ashido's stare down and glanced down at Rukia before meeting Ichigo's question.

"There will be a meeting with all officers present the following day. The extraction team will also be present to report on their mission at the second meeting."

Ichigo huffed, "Okay? So, why can't we do it in one go?"

"Because a lieutenant spoke out of turn at an officer's meeting, disobeyed Head Captain's direct orders, and formed a rogue extraction team comprised with another lieutenant. Then, planned out an illegal entry into Hueco Mundo, demanded an officers meeting, then politely told the Head Captain he could either give her permission or go fuck himself," the corner of one side of the captain's lips tugged upwards. "They felt it was best to have a separate meeting with Ashido first."

Ashido's gray eyes snapped down to Rukia, looking straight ahead, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. She was too short and standing too close to him for him to make out whatever expression was on her face. He could really only make out mussed hair. Had she really told the Head Captain he could go fuck himself for him?

Ichigo's brow furrowed as Uryuu spoke next. "Kuchiki-san did the right thing. Surely, they do not plan on punishing her for that?"

"Don't mistake my tone. I agree Kuchiki made the right decision, and I can assure you that the Head Captain doesn't plan on punishing her for it, nor would I support the decision if he did. But there will be a separate meeting with the captains only. I think they're all still reeling from the verbal lashing they received in both officers' meetings from a subordinate."

Ashido did not miss the way the captain's gaze swept down again to Rukia as Ichigo's and Uryuu's frowns furrowed even further. Ashido did not miss what the captain had not said. They wanted to speak and assess Ashido without any interference from Rukia. Logically, it was a fair concern that he could be a potential threat to Soul Society and that Rukia may not see that and be defensive of him. Ashido did not take it personally that they did not know what to make of him yet. It would not do for Soul Society's military organization to welcome him back with open arms without some sort of an assessment.

"Stay on alert in the meantime. If the second team's reiatsus fluctuate and need us, we will disperse immediately to their aide. In the meantime – "a tan hand slid forward gently, finding its way over Rukia's bloody temple as a green color emitted from the tan hand grazing her skin. Ashido felt her stiffen in surprise against his side as his hand snapped to the hilt of his zanpakuto, his body pressing closer to Rukia, his muscles coiled tightly ready to spring. Gray eyes glinted, meeting teal ones once more. "Try and conserve your energy until we depart. I would rather you not end up bleeding again, Kuchiki," the captain drawled, his hand lingering against her temple for a moment longer than necessary before removing it entirely from Rukia's face. A smirk worked its way onto the captain's face, his eyes never leaving the hardened color of steel. The calculating look in his eyes was replaced with one that looked like he had solved the puzzle as his smirk widened at Ashido. The captain withdrew from the small group.

"What the fuck was that?" Ichigo spluttered out his eyes, darting between Rukia and Ashido for answers over whatever had transpired to cause that behavior from the captain, breaking the group's tension. While Ashido's face didn't betray his emotions, he felt confused and as angry as Ichigo looked. Although Ashido wasn't sure if he was relieved or not to learn, that wasn't usually how the captain acted around Rukia if Ichigo, Chad, Uryuu, and Rukia's reactions to the event were any indication.

"I'm not sure?" murmured Rukia softly as she gingerly touched the side of her face. "He used healing kido on me, though."

"Yeah, I gathered that with the green light and everything. What did you get in a scrap with anyways to get that bad-looking boo-boo on your head?" Ichigo snorted as his brows knitted in concern.

Ashido wondered the same thing as Ichigo as he felt the woman shift.

"A tree."

"A tree?" Uryuu shot the woman a confused look. She sighed.

"I got separated from my team when we went through the Garganta. I think something went wrong because I heard Kurotsuchi gasping, and then the next thing I know, my head attacked every tree on the way down until I could get my footing."

"Damn," Ichigo let out a low whistle, "a fucking tree took out the shit-magnet."

"Stop saying that!" she hissed, lunging to place a well-aimed punch to the man's arm. He hissed in pain.

Uryuu sighed. "Ichigo, stop provoking Kuchiki-san."

"Me? She hit me, first!"

"You are an idiot; I hope you know. It's a miracle you haven't – "

Ashido watched as both men seemed to lose themselves in their argument. Rukia shifted to look up at Ashido, the frown on her face smoothing out into a well-composed expression.

"Have you decided yet?" she asked quietly. Ashido gave one sharp nod of confirmation. He heard her sharp intake of breath more than he saw it as she waited for his answer.

"Before we leave, would you come with me to visit their graves one last time?" he asked gray, meeting purple. He could see emotions filter through her eyes as she processed his request before they settled.

"Are you sure?" she asked softly, a delicate hand coming to rest softly on his forearm. Ashido wasn't sure if she asked if he was sure about leaving or if he was sure he wanted her to come with him to visit his friends one last time. So, he answered both questions.

"Yes, if you are by my side."

There was a moment of silence as her eyes searched his. She nodded her head in confirmation before glancing back at the two boys arguing, both oblivious to anyone else before her eyes shifted to Chad. The dark-haired man met their eyes with understanding.

"Chad, will you cover for us? We won't be very long." Rukia's voice asked. The man's eyes darted towards the direction where they could feel Captain Hitsugaya's spiritual pressure and the others before shifting back to Ashido and Rukia.

"Be safe."