(Yukima's pov)

Something's wrong lately. The whole thing about Rukia-chan is giving me a strange feeling. My gut is telling me there's more to it than it meets the eye. I told Dad about it, hoping that he would say or do something, but all I got was that I shouldn't worry about it and leave everything to him.

If I could not worry about it, then I wouldn't have this problem!

I know that Dad is doing something. I am well aware of it. He is much more busy as of late and looks a bit more tired. It's not noticeable at first glance, and I doubt this much would hinder him in any way, but it just shows that something's going on, and I can't just sit around doing nothing. I was raised better than this.

---

"Bya-chan!!!" I called my long-time friend, who looked annoyed, but I was annoyed at him this time as well, and I showed it by having my hands on his hips, which earned me a raised eyebrow from him.

"*Sigh* What do you want, Yukima Yuuki? I hope that you don't plan on just annoying me. I'm busy." Bya-chan said with a tired tone.

"First, I said to call me Yuki-chan. Second, I'm here to talk about Rukia-chan." I narrowed my eyes. "Why aren't you doing anything?" I accused him. "As her older brother, you should be trying to set her free, but from what I discovered, you aren't doing anything. What's up with that." 

We glared at each other as I was waiting for answers from my childhood friend. I know he isn't as heartless as he likes to show it, but if he says something stupid, I will need to beat some sense into him.

"I would say that you won't understand, but I doubt you'll leave me alone unless I tell you."

"You know me so well~." I smiled sweetly.

"When I adopted Rukia, I went against the whole house for it to be done. I even broke some rules. I promised Hisane that if we ever found her sister, I would adopt her into the Kuchiki family, but by doing that, I also promised Kuchiki elders to never break any rules again. Now that Rukia is a criminal, my hands are tied, and Hisana also understands it. I'm trying all within my power to help reduce Rukia's punishment, but I can't do much without breaking the rules. If I, as a noble, can't uphold rules, how can I expect others to follow them?"

...

...

...

Is he stupid? No, he must be. There is no other explanation.

"I knew that you could be stupid, but not this moronic." Byakuya was flabbergasted by what I just said. "You think that Hisana understands? She just feels too much indebted to you to ask you for more. Not only did you take her out of poverty, and took her as your wife, but you also helped her reunite with her sister. She also feels guilty because she didn't act like a wife until you found Rukia.

Not to mention that the whole 'never breaking the rules again' is stupid. I get it, it's a promise, and even Dad says how important promises are, but I'm not my dad, and I say if a promise makes you do something against your morals, then it's not worth it to uphold. You are Byakuya Kuchiki, so act like it.

I'll be planning how to save Rukia. If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

Having nothing more to say, I left, and after I left, Byakuya was staring at where I was standing until a small smile crept on his face.

"What an annoying and troublesome woman."

(3rd's pov)

For any unsuspecting Shinigami of a lower rank, seeing three captains drinking sake in a bar would be unsettling. After all, what would cause three captains to meet up? Was there some kind of emergency that wasn't disclosed to the public, or maybe they were preparing for a dangerous mission?

What they didn't know was that it was just a friendly meeting between fellow students. It was, of course, the trio of Ryoto, Kyoraku, and Ukitake.

They just changed the time of their usual meet-ups as two of them escaped their paperwork while the last one was more responsible and was already done with his work.

"I don't know if I should reprimand you or be impressed how both of you easily can avoid work." The white-haired man said as he took a sip of his drink.

His companions looked at each other and answered at the same time. "Years of practice."

"*Sigh* I feel bad for your lieutenants."

"Don't be so stuck up, Jushiro. You need to live a little. Even more so since you aren't sick any more thanks to this little guy." The captain, wearing a pink kimono over his haori, said as he roughed the hair of his kouhai sitting next to him.

"Stop calling me little. I'm the only one in this group with children so I would say that that I'm the one with the most experience in life. Not to mention that I am similar in height to both of you, with more muscle. Have you seen my abs? You can grind cheese on them!"

"Have you tried it?" Shunsui asked curiously with a raised eyebrow.

"... No, but we can right now. I'll just order some cheese snack and we'll do science."

"Please don't. You'll disturb the rest of the guests here." Ukitake asked Ryoto with a slightly strained smile. "We'll take your word for it, am I right, Shunsui?" The white-haired captain shot down his friend's attempt to do something funny. He was the responsible one in the group because if he wasn't, no one was.

"Changing the topic to the reason why we gathered here. What do you think about Kuchiki-san's case?" Jushiro turned somewhat solemn as he started talking about his subordinate, who was to be executed soon by the orders of Central 46. 

Ryoto took a sip of his sake and spoke with complete confidence. "It's a total sham. The punishment doesn't fit the crime. Rukia is sentenced for execution by Sokyoku, which is usually reserved for Captains, and while she committed a crime, we must think about the context in which said crime was committed, but as far as I know, it wasn't even interrogated. Not a single question was asked. That usually means that someone wants Rukia dead."

"Yes... just as expected of the captain of Squad 2, you are very well-informed. I don't like how it looks, and that's why I would be inclined to ask you two for help. I know that it's selfish of me, especially to Ryoto, who's done so much-"

"Stop with that. You know that if I had something against the idea, I would have said it, and it's not like I can just sit around doing nothing. In fact, there will be a big opportunity on the day of execution. You see when I went to grab Rukia from the world of the living, I met the kid she gave her powers to, and from my esteemed observation, I concluded that he would invade Soul Society to save her. You know, typical teenage stuff."

"... Not that we don't believe it, Ryoto, but how would a teenager come to Soul Society without dying... You stated in your report that while you robbed him of his powers, you didn't outright kill him, and we both know how you dislike the act of killing unless unavoidable." 

Both of Ryoto's senpais were right to feel skeptical, but they weren't prepared for Ryoto's answer.

"Kisuke will help him. He lives in the same city, after all."

That was a bomb and a half. If this was anyone else, they would possibly accuse Ryoto of treason for not sharing information about the criminal, but the strength of Yamamoto's students didn't only lie in their fighting power but also in their intellect.

"So you found the real traitor, and he is responsible for the recent events."

It was more of a statement than a question, and that surprised Ryoto.

"You knew?"

"We had our suspicions. Kisuke-kun never seemed like the type to do an obvious crime like that. He was smarter than that."

"I must apologize then. I underestimated both of you."

"If you did, then we did a good job at looking harmless. Now, what are you planning to do? Tell us who we should be on guard against?"

"Opposite, in fact. It's better if you don't know, but I can tell you that if any of the captains is found dead, then it's the traitor. For now, it is better to act as usual, so ignorance is preferable. Soon, big changes will happen, and Rukia's execution is in the center of all of it."

"You don't expect everyone to follow your lead. You may not be the only one who figured out that mysterious fellow, and if they do, then I imagine your whole plan is in tatter. And I may say that if you didn't do anything with the traitor, I imagine that he must be powerful."

"And smart. That's why I'm acting carefully. I can't account for everything. I have no doubt in my mind that at least 3 or 4 of my children are already gathering a group to help Rukia. They got too much of their father in them and can't sit still." 

Even though it seemed like Ryoto was annoyed, he smiled thinking about his kids, both adopted and not, but he didn't even separate them like that. His children are his children, and that's all.

---

END

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