one

The blazing midday sun baked down mercilessly upon the occupants of Rukongai, and yet the streets were lined with crowds of sweaty bodies all pressed together and eager to watch the procession of new recruits heading for the prestigious Shinigami Academy. An excited hum of voices filled the air, a few angry shouts rising above the general buzz as people tried to push their way to the front, only to be roughly shoved back into place. A fight or two had erupted as a result, the heat and the crowds working together to make people irritable, but at this point tempers had sizzled down in anticipation of the event that was moments away from taking place. Aizen Sousuke stood among the crowd, his black uniform setting him apart from the common folk. While the rest of the population fought amongst themselves for a decent spot, there was an empty space surrounding Sousuke, no one daring to brush up against him for fear of what the consequences might be. No one questioned why a Shinigami chose to stand with the filthy occupants of Soul Society's poorest district rather than march alongside his companions, but a few curious eyes turned his way for a brief moment before quickly looking away again. Breathing in the stench of sweaty bodies, Sousuke grimaced in disgust, having forgotten what Rukongai could be like in the years of his absence. Casting his gaze over the masses, he found himself once more imagining the changes he would bring about if he were ever to have the power.

When he had the power, he silently asserted to himself.

A sudden hush settled over the crowd, moving up from the left towards the right in a wave. In the distance, Sousuke could see the first of the Shinigami representatives appear on the dust road. Traipsing behind them would be the new, eager recruits. The procession reminded him of the time when he had been one of those eager-faced youths, preparing to step into the shoes of the legendary soul reapers, and how his raising of status had given him his first taste of power, awakening in him a ruthless craving for more – a craving that he had suspected was always there, but had been suppressed by his low situation. Naively, he had considered himself significantly higher up in the power pyramid, but the longer he spent in Seireitei, the more aware he became of the inadequacy the system in terms of how power was distributed. He may have been better off than when he had been living in Rukongai, but he was still too far down the chain to matter. There were too many voices for his liking, too many holes in the hierarchy, too many persons of inferior intelligence placed in positions superior to him.

Sousuke's reverie was interrupted when the man in front of him raised a child onto his shoulders, effectively blocking Sousuke's view while at the same time reminding him of the presence beside him – the only person brave enough to enter his space. Turning his attention to the little creature beside him, Sousuke was struck by how effortlessly it blended in with the rest of society. When compared to his neat and trim outward appearance, it was difficult to even state with certainty whether the mite was male or female. Yet female she was, and bonded to him through blood ties despite the detachment he felt when looking at her rough, wild appearance.

With mild amusement, Sousuke watched as the small, dark-haired girl at his side lifted herself onto the balls of her bare feet in a vain attempt to see past the people in front of her. A look of intense concentration mixed with frustration fixed itself onto her childish face as she subsequently gave up, reverting to finding some other means of seeing the street. While the other children were begging to be lifted up into the arms of a parent or guardian, Raina voiced no such desire, already knowing at her tender age that Sousuke disliked tremendously her usage of their blood bond as an excuse for being subject to any special treatment. Some small modicum of pride stirred in his chest at how quickly she had moulded herself to his wishes and desires, a flexibility that was most certainly entirely due to her age, but one against which he felt no disinclination of using to his liking. For as long as he cared to remember, Raina had been a part of his life – often unnoticed, but there nonetheless. Now he saw her as being potentially useful, his very own tool to use as he pleased. Sousuke's train of thought was once more broken by the actions of the child. Having firmly dismissed the idea of trying to see over the crowd, Raina resorted to kneeling on the dusty road, straining to spot the approaching procession of teens as they marched behind their soon to be superiors; yet from the way she quickly raised her upper body, Sousuke imagined that all she managed to glimpse through the forest of ankles and calves were several pairs of sandaled feet walking in a line on the otherwise empty road. With a grunt of frustration, the young girl leaned forward, searching for some way she could press through the throng and find a place near the front of the crowd. Before she could start crawling through the legs of the unfortunate man in front of her, Sousuke bent over and wrapped his large, firm hands around her small waist, effortlessly lifting her into the air and deftly seating her on his shoulders. Sousuke was quickly able to sense her uncertainty by the stiffening of her body and her sudden and complete silence. Turning his neck slightly, Sousuke addressed her concerns;

"I want you to watch carefully. Imprint the scene into your memory and make it your focus point in the years to come. I expect you to be in the group of new recruits in only a few short years. This is to be your goal, do you understand?"

His order, rather than making her uncomfortable, actually seemed to put her at ease, marked by the way her body relaxed and her leaning slightly forward to see as much of the procession as she could. She seemed too absorbed to remember to answer him, but Sousuke squeezed the delicate flesh of her thigh hard enough to remind her of his question, causing her to quickly respond in the affirmative sense.

"I have my own duties as a Shinigami," he continued, "and you know I cannot stay out here with you for long to monitor your progress. Still, you've received enough instruction from me to survive and continue improving on your own." Raina did not reply to this remark, but Sousuke let it slide this time, having concluded his speech.

The noise of the crowd suddenly swelled as the procession passed them by, and Sousuke watched, no longer with awe and longing as he had once done, but with the same calculating vision he sensed his younger sister employ in the aftermath of his order. Though he considered her too young and inexperienced to share his true intentions with, Sousuke knew his sister held no illusions as to her role.

With the procession having passed and disappearing into the distance, approaching the gates to the inner sanctum of Soul Society with vigour and excitement, Sousuke raised his hands once more to grasp her waist before he lowered her back to the ground. Before her feet could land though, he stopped, holding her close to his chest so he could speak to her without drawing attention from any of the surrounding people.

"You have the potential to be my greatest tool, Raina. Do not let me down."

Despite his fairly pleasant smile, Sousuke felt the shudder than ran through her body and was satisfied. She said nothing in reply, but he did not expect it. The moment her feet touched the ground, Sousuke was moving through the crowd away from her, not bothering to bid her farewell. For a brief moment, he contemplated glancing back at her, knowing full well she was watching him go. Perhaps he was being too hard on her, especially considering her age; but almost as quickly as the thought had come, it left. He did not feel bound by the morals and conventions that society forced down their throats. He had come to realise long ago that those things didn't matter when you found yourself at the bottom of the proverbial food-chain so to speak. Living in Rukongai before becoming a shinigami had taught him as much. Though the place disgusted him now, Sousuke knew he owed the development of his natural abilities to deceive and manipulate to the circumstances in which he grew up; and the longer he and Raina were separated, the more he saw those same abilities develop in her as a result of her having to rely on nothing but herself to survive.

The guilt at abandoning his sister never crossed his mind again.

The changing of seasons marked the passing of years, though despite this quite obvious outward change, very little else fell under the same effect. Time's ever-swinging scythe had little effect on the occupants of Soul Society, living outside the organising principles of the human world as they did. Whether three years had passed or ten since his last visit, Sousuke saw no difference in Rukongai upon his arrival. The shabby buildings and poorly constructed taverns seemed frozen in place, free from rot and decay, though not immune to destruction as a gaping hole in the side of a bar from a recent brawl testified. Sousuke examined each building on the narrow street in turn, not because he found them interesting, but because he needed something to look at as he silently passed the time. Dark grey clouds had steadily accumulated throughout the morning that day, and the arrival of the afternoon brought with it the promised rain. The torrential downpour meant the streets were empty of the usual bodies going about their daily business. Despite the fact that he was soaked to the bone, Sousuke smirked to himself as he quietly continued counting down in his mind. Raina's head start was almost up, and as he reached closer to zero, Sousuke started listening for any sounds that might rise above the noise of the water pounding against the wooden structures lining the streets, thus betraying her whereabouts. With her time up, Sousuke began tracking the faint but still traceable trail of energy she left behind. Though he had been pleased by the silence of her movements, he was disappointed by the unmistakable trail she had left.

Taking to the roofs to avoid the mud, Sousuke raced across the clay tiles, unperturbed by their slipperiness. He traced the zigzagging path his sister had taken which lead into the very heart of the settlement, where the shacks were cramped and crowded to such an extent that they offered numerous nooks and crannies in which a child of her size could hide. Sousuke shook his head in disappointment, his wet locks spraying forth their own mini shower of moisture. It might have been a good place to hide had she been more careful about suppressing her reiatsu as he had taught her. Pausing a moment, Sousuke sought to pinpoint the source of the energy trail; he was surprised, however, when he felt the trail suddenly go cold and disappear altogether. Stiffening, Sousuke scanned the empty streets below while he strained to locate his sister's familiar energy. It was a few seconds before his mind realised what had happened, and he could not help but emit a low, amused chuckle. He had underestimated her level of shrewdness; Raina had managed to lay a false trail and lead him on a wild goose chase while she subsequently slipped off somewhere else to hide.

"Very clever, Raina," he praised beneath his breath, but a second later he became aware of a soft pulse of reiatsu coming from somewhere in the woods just beyond the outskirts of the township. Had it been anyone else but him, they might have missed it; but Sousuke was particularly apt at picking up on others' presence, and he turned in the direction of his sister's energy. It did not take long before the shabbily built houses and shops began to thin out until abruptly he left the town entirely. The silence of the woods, save for the gentle patter of rain against the upper-most leaves, surrounded him almost immediately after his stepping into the area. Sousuke was grateful for the shelter provided by the tall trees, pausing a moment to remove the water from the lenses of his thick-rimmed glasses. He also used the opportunity to scan for the pulse of energy he had sensed earlier. This time around he was more satisfied with results of her suppression, but almost as quickly he pushed those feelings of satisfaction aside, unwilling to linger on the positives for too long. She would never learn if he praised her; her rapid progress was entirely due to his relentless pushing, and well he was pleased by it, he would never admit it to her.

It did not take long for Sousuke to find her. Taking advantage of the situation, he raced past her hiding spot, only to silently double back and scale the tree he knew her to be hiding in. His stealth paid off, and moments later he witnessed the leaves at his feet rustle with movement before a brown head poked out from beneath a layer of green foliage.

"Looking for something, Raina?"

Startled by the sudden and unexpected voice, Raina lost her balance. Sousuke watched as her body gave way beneath her, but she had just enough time to grab onto the branch with her hands, halting her sudden descent. She tilted her face up towards him, her eyes silently pleading, but she only managed a brief glimpse into his hard, dark eyes before her aching fingers gave in and gravity took its toll. Down she went, and though she tried to land as gently as possible, her small body still sustained a few bumps and bruises. From his elevated position, Sousuke stared at the crumpled heap below, waiting to evaluate her reaction to the fall. He did not tolerate weakness, especially in her. She knew this, and rather than show him her tears of pain, Raina remained motionless for a few moments, hiding her face in the crook of her arm. Smiling, Sousuke jumped down to stand before her. Lifting herself from the ground, Raina dusted off her dirty, scraped hands against her clothing, and when she finally raised her eyes to him, he noted from the hard glint in her opaque orbs that her pain had been transformed into righteous anger. A smug grin tugged at the corners of his mouth and he shook his head disappointedly. His reaction to her injuries stirred something in the child.

"You could have helped me," she snapped, trying to avoid wincing as she straightened her body. A small trickle of blood from her scraped knee dripped down the side of her leg, but she ignored it.

"You wouldn't have learned a lesson if I had," Sousuke pointed out calmly.

"And what lesson would that be?" she asked, struggling in vain to mask the bitterness in her voice.

"You should have been able to sense my presence behind you, but because you neglected to pay closer attention, you injured yourself. Unless you learn to pay closer attention, you will not survive. As you are now, any enemy could catch you off guard," he responded, unperturbed by her anger. The girl pushed out her lower lip in a childish display of her disappointment, a trait that could only be attributed to her youth; her gaze seemed to suggest that he should feel some modicum of responsibility towards protecting her, but Sousuke was beyond treating her as a child.

In the three years that had passed since he had put the goal of entering the Shinigami Academy into her head, Raina had grown a bit taller, though she was still much shorter than him. The plump curve of her cheeks gave her face a babyish quality that, in addition to her small stature, made her come across as a child of roughly 11 years of age. Time meant nothing in their world. It passed with little effect, so her actual age was lost on him. Yet there was a seriousness in her eyes that, when observed side by side with Sousuke, would easily highlight the many similarities despite the apparent physical difference in age. Both had the same angular features, hazelnut eyes and dark brown, wavy hair. Sousuke wore his hair short, with his fringe hanging low over his forehead. His messy hairstyle, coupled with his black-rimmed glasses gave him the look of someone quiet, bookish, and amiable. To the general public, this is exactly how he presented himself; only Raina knew that another, darker ego existed beneath that pleasant face.

Raina's hair was only a bit longer than his, almost touching her shoulders, but much wilder in appearance, mostly left untended. She normally looked the part of a Rukongai occupant, but Sousuke found that wetting her hair as in this instance, where the rain had thoroughly soaked her head, brought out that natural kink that somehow made her seem more presentable. As he continued to stare at her, a droplet of water dripped from her fringe, landing on her nose and making her twitch. She roughly wiped at the moisture with her forearm, determined not to break her gaze away from her brother. Reaching into the folds of his garb, he withdrew a small pouch and lightly tossed it to her.

"What's this?" she asked, catching it.

"Clean yourself up. We wouldn't want you drawing unnecessary attention."

She gingerly lowered herself to the ground, first-aid kit in hand, and set about cleaning her wounds. Sousuke moved towards the tree and sat down with his back leaning against it, watching as she worked.

"Do you understand your purpose, sister?"

His question prompted her to pause in her task and lift her gaze as she steeled her resolve, no doubt sensing the lecture that was to come.

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"To be useful to you."

"Correct." Sousuke removed his glasses and began slowly cleaning the lenses on his hakama. "But you still have a long way to go in terms of surviving a battle. What you do have, however, is a talent for remaining unseen." He paused now, narrowing his eyes slightly. She remained silent, her eyes taking on a strange quality; they appeared both empty and determined at once.

"You may be able to fool ordinary folk," he admitted with a light shrug of his shoulders, "but you cannot fool a Shinigami – yet."

Raina went back to work on her wounds, showing no signs that she was fully paying attention to his words. Her nonchalant attitude would have irritated him had he not been the one to teach it to her through example.

"I thought, perhaps, that you should put yourself to the test."

"What kind of test?"

Sousuke smiled, leaning his face towards hers. "Are you certain you feel up for it? This won't be easy." He was teasing her, feeling out her levels of confidence and wit. He had a way of testing people based on their responses. A quick response on her part would illustrate confidence, but a lack of intelligence, as no rational person would feel certain about something on which they have no details. Sousuke waited, anxious to know how she would respond.

"That depends on what you are proposing," she replied. Sousuke's eyes lit up with pleasure at her response. Though she was still young, he had always taught her the value of planning ahead and preparation. Her answer illustrated that she had considered this, and he felt she was one step closer to being as formidable as he intended.

"I want you to sneak into Seireitei."