Hello, to anybody who still holds interest in this fic. I am aware that a very long time has passed since I had last updated, and despite my last author note, this update came after such a long time, due to some personal issues.

Speaking about the author note of my last chapter… I wish to make it clear to 'S' (who has most likely stopped reading the fic anyway) that my words of gratitude towards him/her were not sarcastic in any way – and even that his/her advice related to writing flashback scenes in the story were given thought.

That being said, I want to make it understood that from now on, flashback scenes will be marked in their beginning and end by this symbol '(…)' (triple dots between two normal parentheses), as well as them being written in Italic format.

The usual '[…]' (triple dots between square parentheses) symbol will still be used, as before, to mark a small time-skip or the ending of a scene.

Another round of thanks to 'devafiend' who pointed out a rather big mistake I made in chapter 8, where, due to a lack of proper organizing of the format, the first part was very confusing. It was not intended to be posted as such and I am not exactly sure why it got to be like that, but I went back and corrected the issue.

There will be a lot of things happening in this chapter, which is why it is about 50% longer than my usual ones for this story, so without any further ado, I give you Chapter 9.

Enjoy.


"Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of progress."

. . .

"She is an abomination! We simply cannot allow one of their kind to exist in Sereitei, especially given the recent events. I do not see what the debate is for. She must be put down."

"Counselor… must I remind you that we, as a race, are solely responsible for creating and collaborating with what you refer to now as abominations?"

"And look at where that got us. Even if you disconsider the events of the past, the fact remains that not more than three days ago, Sereitei was almost destroyed by a newly emerged army of Quincy. If it were not for our agents in the human world, Juha Bach's army might have even succeeded."

"Kuchiki Ginrei, as a former leader of the Kuchiki noble house, surely you must understand the need to enforce our laws during such troubled times."

Orihime stood at the center of the huge Central 46 Hall, between four dragon guards, listening to the argument going back and forth.

(…)

"What you are now cannot be undone, girl. I can only hope that you will find the strength to forgive my grandson one day."

"He saved my life…"

"Commendable as that may be, the way in which he did it has might have dire consequences on not only the two of you, but also the rest of Soul Society."

"Is that why they want to execute me? To erase the traces of his act?"

"It is one of the reasons." He paused, running two fingers across each side of his white mustache. "But they are also scared… and angry. The enemy almost destroyed our world in one decisive strike, and the threat of a second attack is looming over all our heads. They need a display of authority in order to assure Sereitei's inhabitants that we are still in control of the situation. They cannot move against my grandson, due to his rank - the loss of a noble leader and an Avatar during such a crisis would surely cause more even more instability."

"So I am to be the scapegoat."

"To control the masses, such tactics are often employed by leaders. I would go as far as to say that they are often necessary."

"Then why? Why would you bother trying to defend me?"

Ginrei broke eye contact for a moment, stroking his chin, and for the first time, Orihime saw the man smile.

"When Byakuya announced that he would marry Hisana, the rest of the nobles, including those of the Kuchiki house were outraged. Not only would such an act break the law, but it would also bring great shame to our house. I, myself was one of the many who criticized him for such a choice, yet despite the strong opposition, he went through with the marriage. Their happiness was short-lived, however, as Hisana was being slowly taken away from him by a sickness that was eating away at her body. The cause of her sickness had been the very poor life she had lived before meeting Byakuya, and wanting to spare her lost sister the same fate, Hisana had just one thing to ask of her husband before she passed away - to find her sister, Rukia, and bring her to Soul Society to keep under his protection."

Orihime's eyes widened, having finally understood the reason why Rukia was addressing Byakuya as an older brother, despite being a human.

"… Finding Rukia in the human world mark the second time Byakuya broke our sacred laws and caused more controversy, by adopting her within the family. At the same time, having fulfilled the dying wish of his beloved, he swore that he would never put our laws or Kuchiki pride above anything else again. "

"Please don't take this the wrong way, Ginrei-sama… I don't want to sound ungrateful towards your decision, but I still don't understand why you would speak for me in the hearing."

"My grandson is strong…and probably the best leader our family has ever had. He purposefully chose to step over our traditions in a way that makes his other transgressions against the Kuchiki House seem small by comparison… and all of this for you. I dare not say if he was right or wrong in saving your life under such conditions… But as a member of the Kuchiki family, it is my duty to protect not only Byakuya-sama… but also his chosen."

(…)

"The true repercussions of this event have only begun to manifest themselves. Dragons all over Sereitei have heard about this breach of our etiquette."

"Agreed." Came the hoarse voice of another man, from behind the paper wall inscribed with the number Seven. "How do you expect us to rebuild and organize our forces and our people, while she is living amongst us? For all we know, she might be in league with the rest of the Quincy."

"That is preposterous. You have all met the girl before the Quincy attack. Just as you sense the dragon blood in her veins now, you would have sensed it back then, if she were anything more than human at the time. Inoue Orihime was turned during the assault on Soul Society by none other than Kuchiki Byakuya. To accuse her of having affiliations with the Quincy is to accuse Byakuya-sama."

"It would not be the first time the noble lord gives us reason to doubt his allegiance to Sereitei's traditions and laws." The voice of an elderly woman echoed from behind Ginrei, hidden by a paper screen inscribed with the number Twelve.

Orihime could hear the entire court starting to whisper and fidget after the woman's remark. She turned to look at the man who turned her, sitting no more than a few meters away in silence.

"Now, now… regardless of Kuchiki Byakuya's past… misinterpretations of our law, I doubt there is anyone in this room who would want to point him out as an affiliate of the Quincy." The hall settled down. "The loyalty of Kuchiki Byakuya is not in question here. What I do wonder is why we are debating the sentence of the Quincy before us. I think we can all agree that, regardless of the method used to create her, she needs to be put down for the sake of maintaining order in Soul Society."

"Then let us not waste any more time on this farce of a trial. All in favor of Inoue Orihime's execution?"

Without exception, each member of the Central 46 Council raised the plaque inscribed with the symbol of approval. Ginrei turned to face the orange-haired girl. He looked at her long enough for her to see resignation in his gaze.

"It is settled then. Tomorrow, at the site of Sokyoku Hill, she will be executed with the rest of the Quincy we captured."

"That will not happen." Byakuya's voice startled Inoue.

"With all due respect, the decision is not yours to make, Lord Kuchiki." came the rather smug reply of a judge.

"I will not repeat myself. Although I will agree with the counselor's opinion about this trial being a farce – one that I have allowed to go on for far too long." Byakuya stepped forward, moving past his grandfather and the girl in front of him. "It is the sworn duty of the Central 46, to oversee judiciary matters in the name of the four great noble houses that represent the ruling body of Sereitei. The 40 counselors and 6 judges that compose it are carefully elected from within the ranks of said families and are well versed in all manners related to the laws of Sereitei. So deep was our trust in the council's wisdom that with time, it became the last word in authority, and even the nobles submitted to its judgement."

"The lesson in history is not needed in this hall, Kuchiki Byakuya. We are all aware of how this Council came to be."

"…however, you all seem to have forgotten one of the first and most important edicts of our society - It is against the law to threaten any of the four great noble houses. To do so is treason. "

"Such threats were never made. I fail to see how the verdict of this court has endangered your esteemed family."

Byakuya turned his head to catch Orihime with the corner of his eye.

"Inoue Orihime is carrying my child, and the heir to the Kuchiki clan. To threaten her would be to threaten the future of the Kuchiki house. As the head of the clan, I am well within my rights to defend my legacy, even against the decisions of Central 46."

The hall was in an uproar. After forcing herself to get over the sudden shock of Byakuya's words, Orihime saw the figures behind the labeled paper walls leaning towards each other and gesturing chaotically.

"We had not been made aware that Lord Kuchiki already fulfilled his… duty towards producing an heir with the young woman."

"Perhaps the council is in need of better informants." Byakuya paused, allowing the insult to sink in. "It is true that I have fed the girl my blood, but that has merely hastened the inevitable. The child growing within her would have caused the change, with time."

That, of course, was more or less a lie. While women bearing the offspring of dragons would start showing signs of powers attributed to a Quincy, this would only happen within the later stages of pregnancy and were on a much smaller scale compared to the aptitudes of one created by ingesting the dragon's blood. The powers would continue to develop after the child's birth, and would eventually attain the same magnitude but the dragons would dispose of them before such a thing would come to pass.

"Given… the newly presented information I see no other option than to invalidate this trial." The judge spoke between clenched teeth as the rest of the hall went quiet. "All in favor?"

[…]

"I heard you gave the Central 46 a taste of their own medicine."

"It was my belief that the trial happened behind closed doors."

"I did not think 300 years would be enough for you to forget who I am, exactly, Byakuya." The dark skinned woman grinned at the white dragon. Having once lead the Omnitsukido Corps – Sereitei's intelligence gathering squad – she still proved to hold intimate knowledge on Soul Society's inner workings, even after centuries spent in exile. "Then again, they were some very rocky years… I guess I can't really blame you if had other things on your mind." She watched him take a sip of tea from his cup, while remaining silent. "I'm… sorry about what happened to Hisana." More silence. There was a time when he would have smiled back when seeing her after a long time, or maybe get upset with her for making him recall a set of bad memories… but he had changed a lot more than the rumors described it.

"You speak of past years being tumultuous as if the present offers much peace and tranquility." Byakuya finally moved his gaze from overseeing the Kuchiki gardens to meeting Yoruichi's eyes.

"I guess our sins have finally caught up with us. You should have seen the rest of Juha Bach's army, Byakuya. The soldiers that got through to Sereitei were only a small fraction. If Kisuke wouldn't have found a way to sabotage the gate from their world to ours, we couldn't have held them all off." Yoruichi seemed to lose herself in thought for a brief moment "…and the worst part is that most of the enemy troops are still alive, on the other side. It will not take long for them to organize another offensive. "

"Central 46 seems to have understood the gravity of the situation as well - to allow you and Urahara Kisuke free passage through Sereitei is a testament to that. Two more Avatars in the battle to come…"

"Yamamoto-dono's death at the hands of Juha Bach destroyed our troops' morale. The old geezer was thought to be invincible. I guess we're here to make up as much as possible for his loss. I even hear that Kyoraku Shunsui was already voted to become Supreme Commander of the 13 Squads so as to maintain order."

Yoruichi's conversation partner seemed distraught and his apathetic demeanor towards the topic and her overall presence was starting to vex her.

"By the way, Byakuya… I did not know you could be such a convincing liar." She suddenly chose to take the discussion in a different direction in order to test just how thick the layer of ice was. "I was there when they got the two of you out of the Quincy prison. Whether in human form, cat form or true form, my sense of smell can't be fooled." A grin slowly crept on the woman's face as she pointed at her own nose. "I've been in the human world for long enough to recognize the specific scent a pregnant female gives off…"

Byakuya did not deem it necessary to reply and instead simply took another sip of tea.

"I don't presume to predict the future, but as things stand now, the girl will not be giving birth to any-" The feint sound of bells interrupted her trail of thoughts.

Two hell-butterflies made their way to the large veranda of Byakuya's office, where the two dragons were talking, seeming to dance elusively with one another before separating to transmit the message they had been tasked with delivering.

"We are summoned." Yoruichi held out her index finder up into the air, allowing the black insect that had been resting on it to take off again. "A special war assembly was invoked and they want all Avatars present. I guess it was to be expected."

She watched Byakuya release his butterfly and turn to leave the veranda.

[…]

By the time the two had arrived, discussions were already heated between the present Avatars and their lieutenants. Many of the ones gathered were still carrying injuries from the fight during the Quincy blitz attack – none more obvious than Kyoraku Shunsui's, who's appearance was now changed forever by the eye patch he would be forced to wear.

"Byakuya… Yoruichi-san… good of you to join us. With your arrival, we can truly begin addressing the issues of this meeting." the rest of the present dragons turned to face him. "And I would like to begin by thanking Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin Yoruichi for their efforts in the human world, during the Quincy attack on Sereitei."

"Come now, Shunsui… You have only been the Commander of the Gotei 13 for the past two days and already you sound so formal. It is unlike you to waste time on such things." The purple haired woman looked at Kisuke, who confirmed her words with a silent nod.

"Hn. I guess you're right. This kind of behavior was much more fitting for old man Yamamoto…" the room fell silent for a moment "Nanao-chan, please pass these down." He pushed a set of documents to the edge of his desk "These papers contain copies of Urahara-san's report on the Quincy forces currently stationed in the human world, as well as information related to the enemy's military hierarchy."

"Juha Bach is their leader and the one who orchestrated both the attack on Sereitei." Nanao's voice echoed through the large room as she handed over the reports.

"Wait. You mean the Juha Bach - the very first Dragon Knight?" Komamura dropped off the documents on the table in front of him.

"That's impossible. Even empowered by dragon blood, there is no way for a human to live that long." Soi Fong tried to skim quickly through the papers.

"We cannot say for sure if the original Juha Bach has discovered a way to prolong his life, or if the Quincy leader took on this alias to bolster the morale of his underlings. As of this moment, I do not want you to exclude any possibility when dealing with this enemy." Shunsui frowned in irritation. If he had learned anything from Yamamoto Genryusai, it was that the most important resource in a battle is information, and now, when he needed to mobilize an army against the Quincy war machine, he found that resource very scarce.

"His lieutenants call themselves Sternritters" Nanao saw it fit to resume her speech "and some of them have proven to be capable enough to engage in battle with Avatar level dragons. The truth is that, due to their strength, we were not able to gather accurate information about all 24 of these individuals, given how they overpowered and eliminated any dragons they came in contact with, including wounded survivors."

"The abilities, strengths and potential weaknesses of some of the Sternritters will be found in the last pages of the report." Shunsui took over the briefing "I want you all to study the data presented carefully. We will be fighting these Dragon Slayers again, and the loss of further dragons due to underestimating the enemy is completely unacceptable. With the already dwindling numbers of the dragons, this war might be the end of our race, even if won."

"Well…about that…" Kisuke approached Shunsui, handing him another document which the Amethyst Avatar took his time to read.

"This is…" he turned to look the former head of Sereitei's Reasearch Division in the eyes "Do you realize what you are asking of me?"

"Aizen's experiments during his reign of the hollow realm yielded some very interesting results."

"No. I will not condone such an allegiance."

"There is an old human saying, Lord Commander… Do not look a gift horse in the mouth. It means that you should not unappreciatively question a gift when it is given. Since Aizen's defeat, they have come to rule Hueco Mundo, and it's their belief that if our race gets exterminated by the Quincy, theirs will be next."

"I'm beginning to understand why the Central 46 reached the decision to exile you, Urahara Kisuke…" he watched the former Avatar frown at him. "You do realize they will ask for my head if I allow this."

"Is that not preferable to the extinction of our race…?"

[…]

The day had been long but the sun was showing its last rays from beneath the horizon as the White Avatar entered the Kuchiki grounds. Byakuya was looking forward to enjoying the comfort of a long bath, but as he passed the mansion's study, he sensed a familiar presence.

"Inoue…"

"Oh… you're back. I was informed that you had left to attend a meeting with the other Avatars and didn't know where to wait for your return." The girl seemed embarrassed at her predicament – a feeling which only intensified under Byakuya's questioning gaze.

"You wish to discuss something in particular?"

"I… Yes. About what you said during my trial…" she broke eye contact for a moment when she saw him frown, but found the courage to look him in the eyes again, after a moment "I wanted to thank you."

"You should not be thanking an individual for stating a lie."

"N-No. I meant… Thank you… for saving my life."

The girl was expecting a response, at least a short one, but the moment of uncomfortable silence that set it made her wonder if he was expecting her to say anything else, or if she should just leave the room and not bother him further.

"It is late, Inoue. You should get some rest." He turned to exit the room, but Orihime could have sworn she saw the hint of a smile on his features as he did so, which inadvertently brought a smile on her own face.

"Hai… Byakuya-sama."


Alright. That was it for this chapter.

For all the readers who dislike inconsistency in a story just as much as I do… related to Yoruichi and Byakuya's conversation… Yes, it has been studied and concluded that pregnant women give of different pheromones, and thus, with a strong enough sense of smell, it would be realistic for Yoruichi to 'smell Byakuya's lie' (intended pun).

Let me know what you thought of this chapter in terms of where the story is going and the quality in which it was delivered.

Enjoy your day.