Meifu's Gate: Final Graduation

Saigo no toki made mamoru kara...

This is the end of Meifu's Gate. The absolute, proper end of the Meifu story circuit and the story of Juu and Shun at Genryuusai's Academy.

Fourth Maki ended in the autumn/winter of the boy's final year. Instead of trying to write off their graduation in one quick epilogue chapter, I figured such a special event, which would determine the paths of all of the characters, ought to have a short "omake" of its own. Please note that this handful of chapters are an optional read - they chart the last week before Team Stupid graduate and the fuss and bustle over settling their futures - in particular, Juushirou's own destiny beyond the Academy walls. There are no random appearances by villains bent on mischief and mayhem, for which I apologise in advance. There are no life or death battles to contend with, and Keitarou and Eiraki will not appear in this omake. No complaints please.

Team Stupid have been loyally and warmly supported by so many epic reading peoples over the past two and a half years. Whilst it's natural that Juu and Shun should have people behind them, I've been really touched and honoured by the support offered to the OCs throughout the course of Meifu's Gate -in particular Ryuu, who continues to rule supreme at the top of the character poll. It's impossible for me to relate here individually all of the people or comments that have got Meifu to this point, because it would take up a chapter in itself and then FFnet would be shouting at me for filling a chapter space with a long author's note.

So instead, please allow me to pass on the following thoughts and feelings:

To the people who've been with me since the start, arigatou.

To the people who worried for and spoke up for characters in particular situations, arigatou

To the people who poked my grammar twitches, encouraged me to fix bad writing habits and hopefully improve my way of writing for the future, arigatou.

To the people who voted in the Meifu poll and got actively involved in discussing elements of the story and the characters, arigatou.

To the people who offered support via reviews during some of the harder RL stuffs over the last couple of years, and who understood when updates were late or review responses didn't happen, arigatou.

To the people who reviewed Meifu week after week, even when I was mean enough to leave horrible cliffhangers, arigatou.

For loving Juu and Shun enough to come with me on this very selfish little fan-journey of mine, arigatou.

For being Meifu people, arigatou.

And now, for the final time, Team Stupid and the ongoing cast of Meifu present...their final epilogue.

Meifu's Gate: Graduation.

冥府門・卒業

~One~

So, another year was coming to a close.

The old man rested his wizened hands against the seamed wood of the sill, gazing pensively down at the blossom scattered grounds below his window. In a few short weeks, the cycle would begin again, as new students would pour through the Academy's doors and more and more individuals from all levels of Seireitei's social hierarchy would begin to learn the ways of the shinigami. When the new term began, he knew that his focus would be with those young ones first and foremost – but for the time being, his mind was elsewhere.

In one week, his Senior Class would graduate and leave the Academy behind forever.

Genryuusai had always been protective of his students, and his wide network of contacts was infamous across all of Soul Society, for there was hardly a family of spiritual significance who had not had contact with him at some point in their lives. This year, though, he felt a particular twist of regret and anticipation as he thought about his departing students.

Of all that he had trained since the Academy opened its doors, these twelve had burned themselves brightly into his memories.

Two of them in particular.

His moustache twitched ruefully as he remembered the summons he had received just that morning from the Council of Elders to attend their next meeting. It would be for him to persuade them then that his suggestion was the right one. He had done all he could to prepare for it – but in Seireitei, it was always the Council who would have the final say.

That was the world he had fought to help create, and he would abide by the decisions of the Elders, whatever that decision might be.

"You seem very pensive this morning, Genryuusai-sama."

The door of the office slid back to reveal the school's Kidou instructor, Kazoe Ginji, a sheaf of papers in his hands. "I knocked three times but you didn't call me in – I trust it's all right for me to disturb you now? You did say you wanted these by the end of the afternoon."

"Ah, I'm sorry. I suppose I was lost in thought," Genryuusai offered his subordinate a rueful smile. "Does it seem foolish to you, Ginji, if I say I feel like a father sending unruly children off into the wilderness to fend for themselves? The Seniors are all a capable bunch, and I've watched other classes graduate year on year without feeling quite like this about them – but there's something about this particular group of students that makes me think it will be a while before we see their like again."

"In my case, I'll happily suffer several years together before I experience another student as infuriating to teach as Kyouraku Shunsui," Kazoe's eyes twinkled dryly behind his glasses, and he strode across the room, dropping the pile of papers down on the wooden desk. "Look at that. I don't know whether I should be pleased or annoyed that he turned in a paper like that for his final theory examination."

"Let me see," Genryuusai turned to the desk, scooping up the top paper and scanning his gaze over the first few lines of his student's work. As he reached the end of the first paragraph he chuckled, raising his gaze to meet his companion's in amusement.

"Shunsui is a law unto himself," he said sagely. "He'll ramble along at his own pace and to all intents and purposes you'll think he hasn't taken in a word of what you've said. Then he sits down to write a paper on it and you realise not only has he listened to everything, he's processed it and broken it down to a point far beyond what you were saying."

"I don't believe I taught him a damn thing over the last five years," Kazoe admitted, running his fingers through his hair. "You know, they had a two hour revision class on all of these theories two days before the final exam, and I caught the idiot playing some card game with Souryou between the desks. If they'd been juniors I'd have thrown them both out to stand in the hall – yet here Kyouraku is, with an answer that's word perfect and, dammit, I can't even knock him down for presentation."

"How did Souryou fare?" Genryuusai sifted through the papers pensively, and Kazoe sighed.

"As you might expect, he had a few gaps, but he's another one who's capable of flying by the seat of his hakama where necessary," he replied wearily. "Put together, they're a hopeless combination. You might approve of the way Senior Class has knitted together since Suzuno's death, but there are times I wish the two factions hadn't become quite so friendly with one another."

"Alliances are important in all stages of life," Genryuusai pointed out, "and for all his flaws, you can't say that Shunsui is prone to holding onto grudges. No, Ginji, I'd rather it was this way. Providing the students all managed a passing grade in Kidou, I'm content to know that they've improved in life skills along the way as well. I didn't know at the start of the year whether or not they'd overcome that boundary, but whilst it's obvious that Akira still would rather not acknowledge Juushirou as Anideshi, he's capable of dealing with that emotion in a more adult way than he may have done at the start. There have been some important, if heavy lessons learned by all of them this year - and in some ways, their having learned them gives me more comfort than any written exam response."

"I suppose so," Kazoe acknowledged. "The final Kidou papers were all passable, and I've worked out a rough grading for them. You might want to look over them yourself, being that they're such final grades – but I think you can safely say all twelve students have passed the Kidou element of their assessment."

"Enishi too?" Genryuusai glanced up, and Kazoe nodded his head.

"Surprisingly, he did quite a good paper, for him," he said, clear wonderment on his sharp features. "It's nothing like what that infuriating Kyouraku ape turned in, of course, and he did once use the wrong final kanji for Shakkahou, but it's a very solid submission for a young man who barely knows one end of a spell from the other."

"I think we can probably thank Ukitake for that," Genryuusai pulled Enishi's paper from the pile, glancing over it and then nodding. "I caught the two of them in the library around curfew a few nights before the exam, and I think Juushirou was drilling some last minute Kidou theory into Enishi's head."

"Well, whatever works. He's passed, so he'll graduate," Kazoe shrugged. "Like I said, no failures to report here. I trust that the other units have been as easily cleared? We're not holding anyone back a year, are we?"

"No, I don't believe so," Genryuusai set the papers aside. "I never did have any concern about these students passing, though. They are an exceptional group in many ways, and even if it makes for mischief at times, I'm proud of the way they've pulled together since the events of last autumn. If they maintain those bonds into their squad lives, Seireitei will benefit greatly from having them among the ranks."

"Genryuusai-sama, about Ukitake…"

Kazoe trailed off questioningly, and the old man sighed, nodding his head.

"I trust that his Kidou paper was as expected?"

"It was," Kazoe nodded, rifling through the documents and producing one from the pile. "Here it is. His answers were differently placed than Kyouraku's, but his score was overall the same. Have you heard anything more from the Council about that? I know you asked Kinnya-sama for help when he was here, but…"

"I have been called to Inner Seireitei to explain my case," Genryuusai said softly, taking the paper and reading over the neat columns of kanji with a thoughtful expression in his dark eyes. "Kinnya's backing is helpful – no, probably invaluable – but I cannot base my whole argument on his word alone. That boy's future will be made or broken in that meeting, Ginji. Mark my words on that."

"I think that's over-melodramatic," Kazoe chided, shaking his head. "Ukitake's strong and resourceful and a couple of squad Captains have already expressed interest in recruiting him. If your plans came to nothing, well, there would be options. Kinnya-sama's backing means that there's nothing blocking his way to the Gotei, and…"

"As capable as he would be at working his way up through a division, that boy is meant for more important things than rank and file recruiting to an existing Clan squad," Genryuusai cut across him. "I knew it when I first met him, and I know it now. For better or worse, from the very start that boy has been the catalyst and the figurehead for the Districts in bringing them to the Academy and into the Gotei world. I doubt there are many others in lower Seireitei with his spiritual ability. If I cannot convince the Council to accept him, Ginji, I will not convince them to accept anyone. If a boy who has such ability and intelligence as well as the backing of a Clan grandparent is not suitable, I dread to think who would be."

"If they agree based solely on Kinnya-sama's say-so, though, you won't have achieved what you set out to achieve, will you?" Kazoe asked astutely, and Genryuusai shook his head.

"That's why I intend to use it as a bargaining chip, but nothing more," he confessed. "Dealing with the Council is never easy when it relates to someone from the Districts…but we'll see. Until I've spoken to them, nothing is to be said to Juushirou himself about his future squad placement."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Kazoe looked doubtful. "Once results are posted on the main board, squad acceptances are bound to come in just as quickly. Several of the Seniors have informal offers pending and it will be a matter of procedure for those to be confirmed following the exam grades. If Ukitake has nothing put up…"

"I know, but it can't be helped," Genryuusai rubbed his long beard absently. "Without the word of the Council, I can tell him nothing at all. I can overrule some things, Kazoe, and the Gotei is of my devising, therefore I have a considerable amount of influence where it's concerned. In something like this, though, Council backing is necessary. Without it, the gesture is worthless. Ukitake deserves better than that – as your anxiety about him indicates very well."

"I don't like having favourites among my students," Kazoe admitted, "but I do believe in people with ability having a chance to shine."

"I agree," Genryuusai nodded. "This Academy has benefited him, but his being here has also benefited my argument that the Districts can provide shinigami candidates to rival Clan ones. With the ever increasing level of Hollows, the more students we take in the better for everyone."

He set Juushirou's test paper down with the others, offering his companion a smile.

"I will read and ratify your gradings this evening, so that the students will be put out of their misery tomorrow," he decided. "There is just one week left, Ginji. Let us hope it passes peacefully."

"We can hope," Kazoe said grimly, "but given the students in question, I suspect it will be anything but quiet."

"There's a rumour buzzing about that results are being posted tomorrow."

Shiba Sora dropped down in the middle of the Senior common room, settling herself more comfortably on the tatami mat floor and gazing around at her companions expectantly. "Kazoe was with Sensei in his office and I'm sure he had our test papers. That means Genryuusai-sensei's probably ratifying them this evening – and we'll know our fate tomorrow."

"Well, considering there's only a week left until graduation, I'd hope they'd bother to let us know how we did sooner or later," Shihouin Kai put in lazily from where he was lounging up against the window. "I know that grades don't necessarily matter for all of us beyond that, but I'd like to know where I finished. Neesama will be ready with the whip if I dropped lower than half-way in the final rankings, so I want to know whether I can greet her with ease when it comes to the ceremony, or whether I'll be hiding from her wrath instead."

"Graduating at any rank will do me," Houjou Enishi put in frankly from his corner of the room, sitting back to observe the shougi board in front of him with careful consideration before putting broad fingers to a piece, shunting it across the squares. "If I'm twelfth, I'll weep for joy. Any higher than that and I'll pass out with shock. So long as I scraped what I need, I'm happy. Numbers don't matter to me at all."

"Sensei'd do best not to rank you any higher than twelfth, then," his opponent, Kyouraku Shunsui reflected, amusement in his brown eyes. "If you fainted, you might squash a poor, unsuspecting first year and that would be a terrible way to start your new Gotei life."

"You're not worried about grading at all, then, Shunsui?" Sora eyed her classmate quizzically. "I would've thought there's the most pressure on you to do well, given that you'll be a squad Captain when all of this is over. It won't look too good if you drop marks again when it comes to the final ranking – not if you're getting the haori."

"Niisama expects me to pass, and since I've been to the bother of coming to class, I figure it would be nice if I did," Shunsui said casually, shrugging his shoulders. "Rank doesn't bother me. I let other people worry about that…life's too short."

He reached across lazily to nudge a shougi piece forward, offering Enishi a benign smile, and Enishi groaned, rubbing his temples.

"You could go easy on me," he protested good-naturedly. "You know that my brain's worn out from all that study, and besides, theoretical things really aren't my strength."

"You were the one who asked to play me," Shunsui pointed out. "Don't regret it once the game's begun, Enishi – you wanted me to take you seriously, and so I am."

"If you are, it's the first time," the room's other occupant set down his book, offering his companions an amused smile. "Shunsui, are you really risking breaking your losing streak? I thought you were trying to beat your last year's record in the most consecutive shougi defeats – have you given up on it?"

"Nope, not at all," Shunsui said cheerfully, whilst Enishi stared gloomily down at his pieces, trying to work out how to unravel himself from his mess. "Just, I already reached my target. Yesterday, Ryuu beat me three times in a row, which took me to a hundred and sixteen this year. Last year was a hundred and fourteen, so I'm already over by two."

"I wish I'd known that before I sat down to play," Enishi said good-humouredly, shaking his head. "It's no good, Kyouraku. I'm stumped. Your losing streak is broken – I'm out."

"Fair enough," Shunsui returned the grin with one of his own. "What about you, Juu? Are you game to play me at full strength once before we go out into the wilderness, or are you scared now you've seen me demolish Enishi's defences?"

"There's a challenge I can't walk away from," Juushirou's eyes twinkled, and he nodded, getting to his feet and coming to kneel on the floor opposite his friend. "If you promise to play properly this time, I'll play. I want to see whether I can beat you when you're not deliberately doing the opposite of what makes sense."

"All right, but like I said to Enishi, don't regret it once we've begun," Shunsui rolled up his sleeves, clearing the board and beginning to set it up for a fresh game. "I feel good about my skill tonight - the stars must be shining my way."

"Why the sudden desire to take it seriously, Kyouraku?" Kai asked quizzically. "You've made your reputation on the opposite - why change it when we've only a week left to go?"

"For that reason, maybe?" Shunsui looked pensive. "It's struck me how little time we have left to be like this. I thought it might be nice...just for once...to see whether I can beat you people or not. We won't have so much time to get together and hang out doing meaningless things like this when we graduate, and it's a sad thought."

"You'll find time to do nothing, I'm sure," Juushirou said astutely, reaching across to help set up the board. "You'll have a Vice Captain to send on your errands and all of that, won't you? I can't imagine you'll let yourself be swamped with paperwork, and I won't believe you'll suddenly find a hidden desire for hard graft the moment you put on the black and white Gotei uniform."

"If it's inside of me, it's a very well hidden desire," Shunsui snorted appreciatively. "Maybe I should say other desires take precedence - perhaps that's it. All right, Juu. You start. I'll let you have that at least."

"It doesn't concern me either way," Juushirou shrugged, extending a pale finger to move a piece. "You're right, though. What comes after we graduate is still a lot of a mystery, but we won't all be together any more. That much is for certain - it makes it seem a little bit lonely, knowing we'll be split up between different squads and, doubtless, at different ranks."

He looked rueful.

"Not all of us are going to go straight from here to Captaincy."

"Not my choice!" Shunsui held up his hands in mock-surrender. "Eighth squad has been dormant since the squads began because of finding a suitable candidate, and you know that they picked on me, it wasn't that I asked for it. I just...I don't feel I can let Niisama down, now. Enough has happened to make me realise it's important for me to do as he wants me to and take on the responsibility. There isn't really anyone else, and this year has taught me that especially."

"Juushirou will be recruited, that's beyond all doubt," Sora said matter-of-factly. "I don't know for sure, of course, so this is off the record, but I've heard that Okaasama even wrote to Sensei to enquire about what was happening to you after Graduation was past."

"Kyouki-sama did?" Juushirou stared at her in surprise, and Sora nodded.

"Apparently," she agreed. "I'm not sure what came of it beyond that, but since it's become known that there's no legitimate reason for you not to be recruited..."

"In other words, since Ojiisama signed those papers and paid those expenses to the Gotei," Juushirou sighed. "I wish he hadn't. I know why he did, but I still wish..."

"In a Clan world, sometimes the only way you can make changes is to start by playing by their rules," Shunsui pointed out. "Kinnya-sama probably understands better than any of us what's required of a shinigami. I'm sure he wouldn't have done anything that would call into question your ability, Juu."

"I know, and I appreciate having his support," Juushirou admitted. "Over the winter break, my family and I spent a good amount of time visiting his manor and I've realised that as frightening as he was that day in the storm, he's really a very kind person who cared a lot about my mother. He's lonely, and my siblings somewhat adopted him as Grandfather as well, once they realised he was so far from the Kuchiki court by choice and didn't intend on demanding Clan manners from them. I'm also a way for him to remember Hahaue and keep that memory alive as much as anything, so if he wants to help me, it's not like I feel I can refuse without hurting his feelings. If it's training, I don't mind, but money..."

He sighed.

"I don't want to spend my entire career reliant on Clan funding," he concluded heavily. "Maybe this time it'll be all right, but I hope it won't come up again. I'd like to prove myself."

"I imagine you have, if Kyouki-sama is interested in you," Shunsui grinned. "I suppose we'll see how that pans out. You and Sora might be squad-mates."

"I hope not," Sora pulled a graphic face. "No offence to you, Juushirou, but I don't want to be in a Shiba squad, if I can help it - neither Mother's nor my brother's. I want to branch out a little. It's boring, just staying in the same patterns and with the same related people the whole time. I don't want that - I don't think I ever did. There's not really a lot of chance that I won't get seconded to one or the other - but I'm holding out a faint hope that there'll be another option."

"Aneue said that the Council have come to an accord about setting up squad bases within Inner Seireitei, though," Kai reflected. "Otherwise, it means that the Captains of Ninth through Twelfth are out of the action, and whilst those squads aren't Council squads, they still ought to be closer on hand so that they can react quickly when it's needed. I'm not sure what that means for me, yet, since Onmitsukidou isn't going to be like other squads, but if you're going into the Gotei, you'll probably find yourself spending an amount of time in the heart of Seireitei's power base. Don't worry, either of you. I'm sure that leaving here won't be a final farewell for any of us. We'll still meet often enough to annoy each other."

"Here's hoping that's true," Enishi sat back against the wall of the chamber with a heavy sigh. "Are Kuchiki and Hirata still at the bath-house? They've been long enough."

"I don't know about Hirata, but Kuchiki was going to the office after," Kai said thoughtfully. "He told me not to bother waiting up for him. I think he has a message to send via Sensei's messenger to District Six."

"Another progress report to his father?" Juushirou glanced up in surprise, and Kai shrugged.

"I don't get involved in Kuchiki business," he said evenly. "It's not a good place for a Shihouin to be."

"I thought you two were friends now?" Sora questioned, and Kai nodded.

"I think...we are," he said cautiously. "It's easier, though, to dissolve the rivalries in a place like this. Ryuu and I have more or less come to understand each other's point of view, but although Guren-sama asked my brother's help in solving Ribari-sama's murder, the relations between Kuchiki and Shihouin haven't really thawed beyond that. I don't know...maybe we're too different and they never fully will. Still, I don't mind. I made up my mind in the first year not to be dictated to by my Clan if I could do the dictating, and this is one of those times."

"Well said," Enishi agreed approvingly. "As for Kuchiki sending messages home, it's not surprising, is it? Seiren-sama was pretty sick, all things considered. It's natural that Kuchiki'd want to keep in close contact."

"I thought he was doing better since the winter?" Juushirou asked, and Kai shrugged.

"I thought so too, but it's not like we've discussed it much since he came back to school," he said matter-of-factly. "As it is, he delayed his return so much that he really had to scramble over a couple of study units and I don't know whether that immense brain of his managed to absorb everything in time for final exams. He's spent a lot of time surrounded by textbooks this term – so asking pleasantries about kinsmen who hate me didn't seem appropriate."

"I hope tomorrow's results bring good news, then," Shunsui reflected, shifting his piece deftly across the shougi board. "You're sure that they'll be posted then, Sora-chan?"

"Sure as I can be, when it's a rumour," Sora rested her chin in her hands.

"Then I guess that's as much assurance as anything," Shunsui grinned. "It'll probably seem like an anticlimax, when we see our names up there in black and white."

"They'll be there for the last time, which is sad," Juushirou mused, moving his own piece to counter Shunsui's sly attack. "Don't think you can take me off guard that easily – I am watching, you know!"

"Squad placings might be posted too," Kai reflected. "I think it'll be interesting to see what happens with that most of all!"

It was almost midnight.

Hirata pulled his robe more tightly around his thin body, pausing to stare up at the moon that glittered brightly above his head. It was a chill evening, with cloud dotted across the sky and although the trees were already beginning to show their early blossoms, there was a nip in the air that reminded the young Clansman that winter had not long since gone.

He chewed down on his lip pensively.

Maybe in District Seven, winter never will go. Father and Mother have both dressed in mourning robes and the whole mood from home is sombre and uncertain since the news broke at the Council about Eiraki-chan's involvement in Ribari-sama's death. The Endou were beginning to recover, and then…this. I should have been able to put an end to it when I had the chance, Seizumi – I can't help thinking that my weakness is going to be the ruin of my family in the future.

You can't assume you know what future is to come, Hirata.

The hawk's words pierced through his thoughts, and Hirata was aware of a sudden hush in the breeze, as though it too had paused to listen to Tsumi no Fuuhi's voice.

Your parents do not blame you. The Council do not blame you. You won't move forward if you keep blaming yourself for missed chances in the past.

But Eiraki hasn't been found. Neither she nor Keitarou are anywhere the Council have looked – and if that's the case, Keitarou must also still be alive. As badly injured as he was when Kinnya-sama defeated him, he still, somehow, managed to live. He and Eiraki have managed to conceal themselves…and Eiraki…

You think about the baby, don't you?

How can I not? The infant is my niece or nephew, who will probably be taught from birth to hate everything that I hold dear.

He glanced at his hands.

Maybe to hate me…even kill me, given the last encounter. You should never leave a savage beast wounded, because the wounds can heal more quickly than the memories can fade. I should know that, living as an Endou.

It may yet become your fight again.

Seizumi's words were contemplative.

What was it your father said in his last letter? You should be prepared for whatever the Gotei offers you, and work hard for District Seven's sake?

Seventh Squad is under interdict still, because of Seimaru's crimes.

Hirata shook his head impatiently.

Until those ten years end, I don't know what my duty is. I can't be Captain of a squad that's outlawed, and I don't imagine anywhere else in Seireitei will want to recruit the Endou heir to work within their division.

You're considering leaving Seventh for a while, aren't you?

The hawk's eyes bored deep into his soul, and Hirata knew that it could read through to the very core of his being.

You intend to go hunting for them? Eiraki and Keitarou.

I had thought of it.

Hirata removed his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose wearily.

Would you oppose it, if that's what I chose to do?

I think you consider the weight of this sin your own, instead of allowing it to fall where it belongs.

Tsumi no Fuuhi was contemplative.

You believe you allowed it to happen and that somehow you didn't protect your sister enough. You know deep down, though, that this was all her own doing and nothing you could have done would have saved her. If you go looking for her – or for either of them – you will not save them. You can only kill them, and the child too. Are you all right with that?

I don't know.

Hirata slowly put his glasses back on his nose.

Killing Seimaru was easy, but killing Eiraki wouldn't be. Killing Keitarou would be a pleasure, but slaying a guileless infant is probably beyond me. I know what I ought to do, Seizumi…the question is whether I'll have the opportunity or courage to do it.

Your father might prefer you not to have either, you know.

He might.

Hirata acknowledged, turning back towards the school building.

If I'm heir to this Clan, though, sometimes I'll have to make my own decisions. I suppose we'll see whether this turns out to be the first step on that path.

"Hirata-kun!"

At the sound of the girl's voice, Hirata started, the tendrils of Tsumi no Fuuhi's presence slipping away from his concentration. He swung around, pale eyes opening wide in surprise as he recognised his classmate hurrying across the cobbles towards him.

"Edogawa-san?"

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?" Mitsuki fell into step with him, offering him a sheepish smile. "I was with Retsu-sama and only just got released. I didn't think there was anyone out here, but then I saw you, staring up at the sky as though you wanted to run away with the stars. Is something wrong? I thought you'd have heard me coming, but I guess you were very deep in thought."

"I was talking to Seizumi," Hirata reddened, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I wasn't really paying attention to anything else."

"Sei…zumi?" Mitsuki eyed him quizzically.

"My zanpakutou."

"Isn't its name Tsumi no Fuuhi?"

"Yes," Hirata agreed, "but it seems like such a…harsh name."

He smiled faintly.

"Sometimes I think I'm just trying to avoid the reality of being an Endou heir," he admitted frankly. "Once I leave here, though, that's the only thing I'll be."

"Are you afraid of it?" Mitsuki sent him a curious look, and Hirata shrugged.

"Difficult to answer," he responded. "I don't know what I'll be called on to do, yet…and whether I'm equal to it. Even if I am equal to it, though, that frightens me a little bit. Being equal to it may mean being Endou more thoroughly than I've allowed myself to be…time is ticking away, and I still have a lot of things to figure out."

"Eiraki-chan, huh?" Mitsuki offered him a sympathetic glance, and Hirata faltered, eying her disconcertedly.

"Am I that transparent?"

"No, but I'm trained to read people's auras," Mitsuki sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, it isn't really my business. I've thought about her a few times, though, too, since the day she came to kill Ryuu in the forest. She must be near her time now, mustn't she?"

"I imagine so," Hirata agreed morosely. "You don't need to worry about her, though, Edogawa-san. You were kind to her when she and Mother were exiled, and she repaid that kindness by shedding the blood of your kinsfolk. That's not forgivable…nobody expects you to forgive it."

"I haven't forgiven it," Mitsuki admitted. "As a Kuchiki, I can't forgive it. As a healer, though, it's natural to worry about someone when their health might need protection. It's hard to explain, but even feeling angry towards Eiraki-chan, if I was to find her now, in distress, I would help her."

"Like Amai-san helped Keitarou?"

"Maybe," Mitsuki acknowledged. "Sometimes it's a risk we take, when we go out to heal."

"Are you really going to Rukongai, Edogawa-san?" Hirata eyed his companion keenly, and Mitsuki looked pained, nodding her head.

"Shirogane-senpai spoke to Guren-sama on my behalf, now the Kuchiki court have accepted him as heir, and the papers have all been signed," she said softly. "So long as I've passed my final exams, I'm allowed to join up with Fourth Squad and Retsu-sama is very keen on dispatching me to Rukongai to help with their projects there. That's why she wanted to see me – she was going over some details about the dispatch in a couple of weeks from now. I won't pretend it doesn't scare me – but I know it's what I'm meant to do, so I'll do it."

"Mm," Hirata was silent for a moment, then, "Eiraki might be there, you know. Keitarou, too."

"I know," Mitsuki agreed. "What I said still stands, too. If I came across Eiraki in distress, I would help her. As a healer, that's my duty…even if it means delivering the child of someone who hurt people dear to me. I couldn't be a member of Fourth Squad if I wasn't willing to be objective. Justice comes later…healing comes first."

"I see," Hirata's expression became thoughtful. "It's more complicated than I thought, being a healer."

"No more so than being the heir to a Clan divided," Mitsuki said softly. "Whatever Eiraki did to me and mine, Hirata, I think the one hurting more is you."

Hirata looked startled, then he shrugged his shoulders.

"The Endou are fated to fight their kin, and probably always will be," he said resignedly. "It's all right, Edogawa-san."

He pursed his lips.

"What about Juushirou-kun?" he asked hesitantly. "When you go to Rukongai, won't you lose touch? Can you send letters back from there?"

"No," Mitsuki admitted, twisting her fingers together pensively. "Rukongai has sealed channels because of the risk of danger. The spiritual leaks in some sectors are so bad now that there are reports of numerous settlements being infected with rogue levels of reiryoku. People are fighting over dwindling water supplies already, but for those with reiryoku, the hunt for food is making some more ruthless than others. Without some interference from Seireitei, nothing will change there – but if we were to open the divide completely, it would mean that some of those dangerous corrupted spirits might break loose into Seireitei proper. Aside from Fourth's own specific emergency channels, there's no communication or link with this side of the divide. There won't be…any way for Juushirou and I to keep in touch when I go."

"Does he know that yet?" Hirata asked, and Mitsuki shrugged.

"Probably, he guesses it, even if he doesn't actively know it yet," she responded cautiously. "I'd like to talk to him about it myself, though, Hirata-kun…if you don't mind."

"I won't say anything. It's not my place," Hirata promised, and Mitsuki offered him a sad smile.

"Graduation brings difficult choices and sad partings for a lot of people," she mused, "but if those things make for a better world for more people, maybe they're the right things to do anyway. Juushirou and I both have things we need to accomplish, so we both know that graduation marks us parting. It's sad, but we'll push through it, because we have to."

"Me too," Hirata agreed, moving to pull back the door and gesturing for his companion to enter before him. "That is, assuming we all passed our examinations."

"Do you think anyone didn't?" Mitsuki looked startled, and Hirata shrugged.

"I hope not," he said cautiously, "but they were hard exams and you never know until results are posted what kind of score you might've got."

"Mm," Mitsuki pressed her lips together thoughtfully. "Well, I hope nobody has. Things like squad placements and so on will be announced and decided after results are put up on the board, and it would be sad if someone wasn't involved in that."

"In my case, I don't suppose there'll be any such thing," Hirata said ruefully, as they made their way along the hallway towards the Senior annexe. "Seventh squad is under interdict for another few years yet…so I'm more likely to go home and study about how to run the District than take up arms and fight Hollows. I'm not looking forward to it, but I don't see the Council overturning their verdict just because they're dealing with Father and I and not Grandfather and Seimaru."

"But surely, considering your record as a student here…"

"My record?" Hirata's eyes clouded. "Aside from the fact Endou have a long reputation for short memories where Council edicts are concerned, Edogawa-san, it isn't as though my hands aren't stained with blood. I killed Seimaru and there's probably nobody at Council level who doesn't know that. Sensei hasn't ever mentioned it since that winter in District Seven, but he knows, too. Fundamentally I'm still an Endou, and as a Clan, the Council believes we should be taught a lesson. Probably they're right - in any case, I won't contest it."

"I see," Mitsuki's pretty features became pensive. "It seems a shame, but I understand."

"The Academy has been my home from home for the last five years," Hirata added evenly. "In many ways it's become more of a home and the people here more of a family. I can't run away from my Clan, though, not now there's only a week left till we graduate. I hate that it's ending, but there's no other way of looking at it. Father needs me...so there it is."

"We've all really grown up, haven't we?" Mitsuki paused, putting a hand on the door of the senior common room and turning to look at her companion. Hirata nodded.

"I guess we have," he admitted with a sigh. "I suppose it's from hereon in that we'll find out exactly by how much."

Author's Note: Random factoids.

冥府門, the kanji that appears at the header of this story, is "Meifu's Gate" in Japanese (read as "Meifumon"). I think I've already explained before that Meifu is the world of the dead. Mon, as in Senkaimon, means gate or entrance. It's a fairly common Japanese kanji, that also features in famous historical "gateways" in Japan such as Rashoumon in Kyouto. I think the character looks a bit like the door of a saloon bar, though. :)

卒業 is the Japanese for graduation, "Sotsugyou". I have a fondness for this word simply because one of my favourite series is Sotsugyou M (also known as Graduation M), a series which is little known on account of it's lack of English translation. Hirata's appearance, particularly his big round spectacles was in part inspired by the Sotsugyou M character "Nakamoto Shou" (if you google it, you might find a picture - heck, you might find my website, but that's another matter) although he was just as much based on the bespectacled character that features in the manga image of Juushirou at school. In the anime, that character is given lighter coloured hair - but because of my bias for Nakamoto, Hirata's hair was dark and his eyes were blue.

The Japanese phrases at the start of each story also has a specific meaning. The one for this story means "Because I'll protect you till our final moment." You can guess for yourselves which character(s) that might be pertinent for as the omake goes on..;)