Ah, the famous heart speech:3 Good job with describing the scene- I always love seeing the mixture of Kaien's seriousness with his laid back attitude...Gah, he's just so sweet xD

wait, i thought back in the "save rukia" arc, they explained that all souls, unless they got destroyed by the soukyaku (sp?) would go back into the living world no matter what kinda...?

I love Kaien-dono's philosophy about the Heart, I love how heart-warming this philosophy is, and I love the classic quote that Kaien-dono always said, "Don't die alone alone", these little words are so simple yet so touching.

Yes, I liked this chapter- the Rukia who is uncertain of her place. It's different when she was in Rukongai, because she seemed more certain, more vibrant, more confident somehow, as a scrappy street urchin trying to stay one step ahead of death.

She's trying to figure out what her purpose is, what her definition of shinigami is, and Kaien is helping with that. I liked the details, how he shovels food in his mouth- things that make him seem more real. He's not a perfect image.

Cheers,

Truant