It was a couple of days after my encounter with Momo before I realized it; I'd been taking short naps here and there around the soul society when I needed to. Despite how much I dreaded it, I needed to return to my room and rest because I was exhausted. Not to mention it was growing increasingly uncomfortable in my shihakusho. Still, I purposefully chose the long way to my barracks. I could only pray I wouldn't happen across my captain or anyone else.
Of course, my mood darkened the minute I stepped through the gate. Even after the care I took to relax, I was tensing up again. It was the dread, mostly. Forcing my nerves to stay steady, I breathed deeply. Not long after, I was sliding open the door to my room. Two flaming wolves were there to greet me.
"Chi? Tamashi?" I asked slowly. Often, I spoke with them, but they had yet to manifest themselves. Not since they were together as Seikatsu. Chi raised her hackles as she snarled at me, but it was Tamashi who spoke.
What are you doing, Kaiya? Seikatsu gave you a clear warning. Besides, you've not been taking very good care of yourself.
"Wh-what, I, no I didn't tell anybody anything, I was just trying to protect her," I tried to explain, knowing why they were angry. "He's not trustworthy, Gin told me—!"
You're not supposed to know that, remember? We know it's frightening, but you're putting yourself in just as much danger, if not more.
"But maybe I can stop people from getting hurt! I can be more discrete, I'm sure Momo will believe me!" My voice was nearly pleading. Chi snarled again before she spoke.
Enough. You have to protect yourself. If you end up hurt because of this I won't heal your injuries anymore.
"I'm sorry, I just," I sighed. They were right, but I didn't know if I could really stop myself. "I'm sorry," I repeated. The two of them rubbed against my legs before disappearing; returning to their blades. Sighing again, I changed from my uniform into a comfortable kimono.
"This is getting kinda' crazy," I mumbled, running my fingers through my hair. "All this emotional hell because of Captain, memories I'd nearly lost resurfacing, making me stressed and paranoid, it's all just so much. Maybe I should have nev—..."
"Kaiya!" Came an urgent cry from outside my door. Bolting upright, I leaped to my door and slid it open as quickly as I could.
"What's going on?" I asked, concerned. My eyes fell on none other than Renji and Izuru. At seeing Renji's relaxed poster, I slowly scowled. "This isn't an emergency, so, what? I just got back like ten minutes ago," I grumbled.
"Yeah, I know, we've been waiting for you," Renji snorted. I rolled my eyes.
"If you're still worried about me, you can relax! I'm fine," I barked, beginning to slide my door closed. His hand shot out and stopped it.
"No, we need you! We don't have enough players for a game," Came his hasty explanation. One of my eyebrows rose.
"Is it a drinking game, 'cause I don't really feel like it right now," I responded, shrugging. He gave an exasperated groan.
"Oh, come on! It's you or Rangiku, and you have way more control than she does when you're drunk," he pleaded. At the sound of her name, I snorted. Of course, the action was something I'd carried over from my previous life—I still didn't care for her much. Not that I knew her personally when I was a hollow. Rather than verbally respond, I crossed my arms, an eyebrow still arched. "Please?" Renji desperately added. With a glance to Izuru, I noticed he still looked sullen. Yet, there was a small pleading look to him as well.
"Fine," I sighed in frustration. "I'll come so you guys can play but I'm not getting drunk,"
"Good enough!" Renji cheered. "Now let's go!" The two of them led me away and to a building not far from my barracks.
I couldn't be bothered to change, so I followed them in my loungewear. It wasn't as though I was actively acting as Lieutenant anyway. We stepped onto the walkway just outside the door. Renji was sliding it open when Izuru stepped aside.
"I'll have to go and get the drinks," he told us, "I'll be right back,"
"Alright, hurry back," I responded. My arms had been crossed the entire time. My brother was gesturing for me to go inside.
"I have one more thing to do, too, so could you wait for us?" He asked. Again, I was rolling my eyes.
"I guess," I snorted as I stepped inside. As soon as I was over the threshold, Renji closed the door. There were cushions set up by a table in the center of the room, but nothing more. I noticed another door on the opposite side but thought nothing of it.
"They better not take forever," I grumbled as I sat on a cushion. Resting both of my elbows on the table, I supported my head in my hands. "This is probably better than stressing out at home though," I admitted to myself. Not long after, I heard shuffling along the walkway. Oddly enough, it was near the other door. I shrugged it off.
"Renji? Hurry up already! I'm getting bored!" I called in the direction I'd heard the sounds from. As I thought, the secondary door was the one that opened. In the same instant, someone was shoved inside, and the door was slid shut immediately afterward. My eyes snapped open wide as I took in who was just thrown toward me. His own surprised stare fell on me as well. Then, simultaneously, we were shouting.
"Hisagi?!"
"Tsuki?!"
"Dammit Renji! You open this door right now!" I snarled, slamming my fist against it. The moment Shuhei had been thrown inside, both doors were locked tight. "Izuru! Fucking open the door, you can't lock me in here!" I roared again. There wasn't a word from either of them. "Oh, come on!"
Meanwhile, without saying a word—or even glancing in my direction—Shuhei had sat on one of the cushions and folded his arms on top of the table. It seemed as though he was just going to wait it out. As I thought about it, it didn't seem like a bad idea; I could probably sleep. Slowly, I removed my fist from the door. Then, with a deep scowl, I rushed to snatch one of the cushions and tucked myself into the farthest corner of the room from Shuhei. I made sure my back was to him the entire time.
"We're not letting you out until the two of you talk!" Renji called. It was the first he'd actually spoken up. His taunting tone frustrated me even more. All I did was growl as I made myself comfortable. There was no way I would do that just because I was locked up. I didn't need to be in my own room to have the rest I needed.
"Whatever," I called back, closing my eyes. Thanks to my exhaustion, I fell asleep almost instantly.
There was a familiar laughter buzzing in my ears. My entire body was shaking; a response to the excruciating cold I was experiencing. I was whimpering, my fingers and toes completely numb. It felt as though I was on the verge of freezing to death. The laughter was soft, distant, but it continued. I couldn't place it, but I was certain it was one I'd heard before.
"I-it hurts," I gasped out. The numbness in my fingers was creeping up both of my arms. The laughter darkened, as if my pain was amusing. I couldn't figure out where I was, but I did know I was sitting. My breathing was ragged, each one a pain in my chest because of the extreme cold.
A sudden prick in my leg caused me to jolt. Apparently, I was restrained where I sat, because I could hardly move. As soon as it had come, the small pain was gone. The cold lingered, as did my shivering limbs. But, a new sensation was starting to grow. It was small at first, then began to grow at an incredible rate. My very veins began to feel as though they were on fire.
"Brace yourself," chuckled the familiar voice. It sounded right next to my ear—a taunting, evil sound. "This is really going to hurt~!" In the next instant, the burning sensation increased tenfold. The contrast between the extreme heat and the extreme cold was the most agonizing pain I had ever felt.
I woke up screaming, bolting upright and desperately looking in every direction. My cries of fear and agony began to subside when I realized the pain wasn't there and I was still in the Seireitei. As I calmed, my eyes fell on Shuhei. He was watching me with a mixture of shock and concern in his eyes; it was the first he'd actually looked at me. My earlier anger was long gone, and I didn't tear my gaze from him as I began to hug myself.
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. I was still breathing a little heavily.
"I, uh, it was a nightmare," I told him, rubbing my shoulders. "I've never had one like that before," I added, more to myself. His concern heightened as I moved my eyes to the floor, so much so that he began to scoot toward me, inch by inch.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He offered. Slowly running my fingers through my hair, I began to shake my head. The fear had faded, my mind was wandering back to the reason I was mad at him. Suddenly, it didn't seem worthy of anger. There were bigger things I was concerned with, and I didn't need any animosity toward my own friends. As I thought, I was clenching and unclenching my jaw. My pride was going to take a huge hit just so I could apologize.
"Shuhei," I started softly, "uh, I uh," he was watching me intently as I struggled. "I guess I uh,"
"You don't have to apologize," he suddenly said. Blinking, I gawked at him. My reaction made him laugh, but I was still dumbfounded.
"B-but I thought—!" I stammered. Shuhei was shrugging.
"I was frustrated at first, but I don't really care," he explained, "there's really no reason to be angry about it. Clearly you regret reacting the way you did, so it's fine with me. No hard feelings?" His hand was outstretched toward me. Glancing between his open palm and his friendly gaze, I slowly reached out and took his hand. Then, I yanked him toward me.
As I planned, he fell forward, not expecting the sudden jerk. Before he could right himself, I leaned in so my chest was against his. In the same motion, I lifted my chin and kissed him. It was short and sweet, not lasting longer than a few seconds. I pulled away just as quickly as I had moved forward.
"I'm sorry," I managed, sincere. "I shouldn't have reacted like that, that day," he was staring at me, bewildered. Then, he nodded slowly. Immediately after, he was leaning back toward me. I didn't back away, instead, I leaned into him and we shared another kiss. Another short one, we pulled away and watched each other for only a moment before our arms were wrapped around each other and our next kiss was heated. Several more followed.
"What time is it?" I managed to ask between them. He'd backed me against a wall, a hand tight around my waist.
"Late, Renji and Izuru left hours ago—while you were asleep," he responded, tucking his free hand into my hair.
"We could stay and—?"
"Way ahead of you," he cut me off. Chuckling, I wrapped my arms tighter around him as I kissed him again. I'd never realized it before, but he was incredibly attractive. One more night with him wouldn't hurt.
I needed some fun anyway.
At some point, the two of us had fallen asleep. When morning came, I was the first to wake—just like the time before. This time, however, I wasn't angry and felt no need to lash out at him as I had previously. Instead, I remained relaxed and waited for him to rouse from slumber as well. I was actually at peace, if only for those moments. The longer I was alone with my thoughts, the more my fear and stress began to surface.
I saved Momo, I hope, but what about everyone else? I can't just warn one person!
Shuhei's sudden stirring forced me to sit up. But, I didn't force him to wake—I allowed him to wake up on his own accord. As he did so, I began to put my kimono back on. As I pulled on a sleeve, his hand caught my wrist. Raising an eyebrow, I glanced at him curiously.
"Good morning," he finally said, softly. Before he spoke, he was gazing at me. Something was different in his eyes, I could tell.
"Good morning," I returned with a nod. "I don't think Renji and Izuru have come back yet," I added simply. He sat up, rolling his shoulders. The marks I'd left on him we're still clearly visible. It made me snicker. Despite feigning the casual air about myself, my worry was still weighing heavily on my chest.
"Did you want to go and have a drink or something?" Shuhei offered as he dressed himself. It sounded like a nice thought, but I'd been away from my company for several days.
"I'd like to, but I can't," I replied, "but I have to tell you something, okay? Something extremely important!" His casual expression shifted.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"It's going to sound really strange, but please hear me out!" His nod was all I needed. "You can't trust Captain Aizen. He's lying to everyone, every single one of you." My voice was nothing but serious.
Shuhei looked shocked and confused. Of course, I couldn't blame him with the facade that Aizen had put forth. But I knew the true Aizen. I still had enough memories to know he was not someone to trifle with. Despite my sincere warning, Shuhei looked at me like I was crazy.
"What do you mean? Captain Aizen is one of the kindest Shinigami in the Seireitei! Do you really think he would do something like that? Do you really think he can't be trusted?" My eyes told him my answer, but he still didn't seem convinced.
"You don't have to believe me, but please, for my sake, be wary of him. At the very least do your best to be cautious and alert from now on, I don't know what could happen," I begged him. As he gawked at me, he sighed.
"I guess I can do that much," he finally agreed. The relief was minimal, but it helped. "Do you know something about this, is that why you're saying these things?" He added suddenly.
"You just have to trust me," I quickly shut him down. Chi and Tamashi had already scolded me for simply warning Momo, I couldn't risk much more than that. "I have to go, let's hang out again, okay?"
After that, I fled from the room; the doors were no longer locked.
Even after my urgency to leave, I only returned to my barracks to change into my shihakusho. Rather than staying home, I found myself approaching the large gate of first company's barracks. It had dawned on me that warning individuals one at a time wouldn't be enough to make sure everyone was safe. It was far better to ask for an audience with the Captain General. If I could convince him to doubt Aizen's facade, then perhaps I could talk him into issuing a warning for the other captains and lieutenants. As I pushed open the gate, I noticed guards posted.
"I'd like to speak with Head Captain Yamamoto," I requested formally. One stepped away to alert the Captain General while the other stayed behind with me. Patiently, I waited without another word.
"Go on inside," the guard allowed gruffly, opening the door for me. With a nod, I stepped inside. I approached the Captain General, bowing as I greeted him. Then I sat on my knees and folded my hands in my lap.
"Lieutenant Tsuki, what is your business?" He asked, glancing at me.
"I'd like to request a warning for all Captains and Lieutenants, aside from Captain Aizen," I began, keeping my head low.
"A warning about what?" His eyes were piercing me then. "And why leave out the Captain of fifth company?"
"It's a warning about Captain Aizen, sir," I explained, "you don't have to believe me, but everyone should be warned at the very least!"
"What is it, get on with it," he demanded.
"Captain Aizen is up to no good! He's deceiving everyone in the Seireitei, he's not who he says he is, sir!" I know it was important, but the desperation in my voice was a lot even for this kind of situation. "I think bad things are going to happen soon, and he will be the root of it!"
"Lieutenant Tsuki, what grounds are you basing these accusations on? Have you ever witnessed Captain Aizen doing anything suspicious? Do you have any evidence or proof?" He asked, voice serious. Yamamoto had even so much as leaned closer to me. Despite how much I tried, there was nothing I could tell him without revealing myself in the process. Slowly, my face began to fall.
"I," I tried, but still couldn't come up with a single piece of proof, "I… don't," I sighed.
"Then you have no business here and you are wasting my time," He droned, "leave,"
"But he—!"
"Return to your company's barracks, Lieutenant Tsuki," Yamamoto demanded. With a short nod, I quickly rose to my feet and fled the room. Somehow, I managed to keep my tears from falling.
Dammit!
