Chapter 10 – Lost, Found and Framed

I opened my eyes slowly. This had been the second time I had been woken by a cold breeze and found myself in unfamiliar surroundings. I lay there on the frozen solid ground staring up at thick grey clouds, watching tiny white flakes float down from the sky.

I looked around without moving my head. It hadn't been snowing long, thankfully. Everything I could see was covered with a thin dusting of snow, like frosting on a cake, including my clothes judging by the feeling of wet wool against my skin.

"Where am I?" I asked myself croakily, slowly scanning the tree canopies above me. "Why am I in a forest?"

I continued to lie there staring up at the sky quite contentedly. This was my first snow since arriving in this world. It was, in a strange way, peaceful and beautiful to watch and quite fascinating. The temperature was surprisingly mild. If the snow hadn't been seeping into my clothes and making my skin itch I could have happily lay there all day.

I tried to think. Why was I there? Had I been on a job for someone? Was I traveling? But my brain was too fuzzy to make sense of anything.

Suddenly voices, heavy footfalls and the cracking of twigs came from somewhere to my right.

"Over there! There's someone here!" a woman called. Several people were approaching but I continued to look up at the sky.

"You! Girl!" a new male voice called in demand. "Identify yourself!"

I blinked and snapped out of my haze. I heaved myself up with difficulty, realizing that I ached all over as though I had done a lot of exercises, and I had a stiff neck and back from sleeping in the cold. All of the Soul Reapers had their swords pulled slightly out of their sheaths and were in a stance that said they were ready to attack or defend at any moment.

I eyed the shining metal for a moment hesitantly. "Kimiko Murasaki... Harumachi in district two-" I croaked and my breath poured out like fog in front of my face. I was about to explain that I didn't exactly know why I was here when the surrounding group of black-uniformed Soul Reapers gave a collective sigh of relief and clicked their swords back into position at their sides.

"That's a relief. Go and inform the family" the one who seemed to be in charge instructed. "We've been looking for you all night, kid"

"Looking for me? How did I get here? Why was I sleeping on the ground?" This guy was built like a brick wall, but not in the muscular sense. He wore a purple shirt underneath his black uniform, a golden chain around his neck and a Lieutenant's badge on his upper left arm. His hair was a light chestnut brown and was styled into a puffy Elvis doo and he looked like his favorite hobby was stuffing his face with junk food. He gave off the air of someone who demanded attention by flaunting their wealth.

He shrugged. "All we know is that you ran away from your village sometime last night and we've been searching for you ever since. You're gonna have to come with us. We need to ask you a few questions and then we'll get you back to your family when we're done." he looked at my clothing. It was ripped and frayed in places, as though it had gotten snagged on something while I was moving. My skin was grazed and dirty. "But we'll examine you and get you cleaned up first." He added as an afterthought, as though the state of my filthy clothes was more concerning.

I nodded in agreement but when I tried to stand I fell back down, my body numb from the cold.

The man helped me up and called for another officer to carry me, again as if he didn't want to dirty his own uniform. Another man hurried over to hoist me up onto his back and the group departed at a run.

"The office is quite a distance, it'll take some time to get there so just rest" One of the women that were accompanying us smiled. She didn't even need to tell me, I was out like a light bulb within minutes despite the pain and biting wind on my skin.

As I slept, the Soul Reapers discussed the fact that I was soaked in the same spiritual pressure that had been found at the site of the crime that I could no longer remember.

"She was definitely involved, no mistaking it." The Lieutenant said after the officers told him what they had found in their investigation during the morning.

Quite sometime later, I wasn't sure how long, I was being shaken awake by the Lieutenant. I had been placed down on a medical bed and nurses were entering the room to my right.

"Ah good, you're awake. We've brought you to the District One Rukon Treatment Centre on the edge of the Seireitei. Once you've been examined and cleaned up we'll take you in for questioning." he explained, his tone cold and business-like. One of the nurses gave me a hot water bottle and wrapped a blanket tight around my shoulders.

"I've requested that the Captain of Squad Four and the medical team comes to examine you as your evidence may very well be key to this investigation so we need you fit and healthy. Wait here for them." and with that, he and the nurses walked out and left me alone in the clean white treatment room.

I wrapped the blanket tighter around myself and wondered over to a chair at the corner of the room facing out of the window.

I looked out at the sprawling town below my second-floor window for a while, starting to warm up and attempting to remember anything as the snow got heavier and heavier. Even from inside this warm and comfy room the snow was still fascinating to watch.

The reason I was outside must be something to do with my plan to leave the village that night... I remember what Shin said... I thought, remembering how painful it had been to hear the truth. But the last thing I remember was sitting on the hill overlooking the town... It suddenly occurred to me that if I had left I probably wouldn't be able to return or face my family, so where would I go after this? Would Harumachi or the Soul Reapers have me punished for running away under curfew?

The door to the room opened slowly and my head flicked around.

My eyes widened as a tall and beautiful woman wearing a white captains cloak with shining black hair that was tied into thick braids underneath her chin entered the room, followed by a tall young man.

The woman smiled serenely at me and introduced herself. "Hello, I am Retsu Unohana, Captain of the Fourth squad and this is my Lieutenant, Seinosuke Yamada. We're here to get you examined" the man nodded and smiled as he was introduced.

"He-hello, I'm Kimiko Murasaki..." I said somewhat awkwardly. I wondered if I should bow or something. I had never met a captain face to face before. It was like meeting royalty.

Unohana smiled again. "Let's begin then. Seinosuke, if you wouldn't mind-"

"Of course, ma'am. I'll be patrolling the department if you need me" much to my relief he bowed and left the room closing the door behind him. I didn't really want to be examined by a man, I would have felt awkward and uncomfortable.

"Let's see." Unohana proceeded to take my weight and measurements, give her a few general check-ups on my hearing, eyesight, balance and etc. jotting notes down on a clipboard as she went.

"Well good news. You're fit and healthy. You are a little underweight and short for your age but that's due to your metabolism and hormones. Nothing that won't change as you get older. You've got a few scrapes and bruises which I can heal for you now. Other than that, I think a nice warm mug of soup will do you the world of good" she smiled again.

I sighed. "That's good, thank you." Unohana began to heal my small wounds with a pale green light emitting from her hands. I guessed that this was Unohana's Spirit energy, I could feel it around me like an invisible powerful heaviness to the atmosphere.

"Excuse me...Ma'am?" I asked hesitantly while Unohana was fixing a bloody scrape on my knee.

"I'm a little bit concerned about my brain..." I knew it sounded stupid and Unohana too looked a little taken aback.

"In what way do you mean?"

"It's just, I've had amnesia since I got here, and I lost all of my memories of my life in the World of the Living and now I've lost my memories of what happened to me last night... It's like those times never even happened... I'm worried that there is something wrong with me... Is this sort of thing normal?"

Now that I was finally near a professional I was hoping for real answers, not just people telling me that everything would be okay. I couldn't let an opportunity like this pass. If there was anything that could be done to fix the problem this woman would know it.

Unohana could hear the genuine concern in my voice and pondered the issue for a moment.

"It isn't unheard of for someone who has died to suffer from minor Amnesia when waking up as a Soul. But for it to reoccur like this. Usually, the memories would come back to them within a few months, a year at the most."

"I've been here nearly eight months now and I don't remember much... I have small blackouts that come with flashbacks occasionally... but nothing that makes sense to me"

"If that is the case" she wondered over to the door and popped her head out. "Seinosuke, some assistance please?" and the young man from before re-entered the room. "I'd like for you to help me run some tests Miss Murasaki's brain, she is suffering from an unusual form of Amnesia, or that is how it appears. I would like a second opinion on the matter, in case I miss something."

The two of them proceeded to do tests on me, though I wasn't hooked up to machines with pipes and wires. They simply held their hands on her head and began using that green light again.

I felt a little awkward like I was part of some weird ritual or something but I stayed calm and looked around the room, trying to keep still for them.

Neither of them spoke, they seemed to be in deep concentration.

I sat there waiting for something to happen or for one of them to say something for around twenty minutes and began to fidget uncomfortably, trying to move into a better position without disturbing them when all of a sudden the Lieutenant spoke.

"Captain-!"

"Yes, I know, I noticed it too"

My heart did a somersault. "What? What is it? Is something wrong?"

"It seems as though a powerful Memory Lock Kido has been placed on you," Unohana told me, lowering her hands. "Now that I have found the spell I can sense traces of the Spiritual Pressure on you, which means that the Kido spell was only performed very recently. I'm surprised I didn't sense it sooner"

"So that means someone has locked away my memory?"

"Yes. And only within the last day or so, which means this could be used as evidence. Excuse me, I must begin writing a report on this immediately."

"Wait! Is there no way to unlock it? Can I not get it back?"

"Perhaps if it were a weaker, lower level Kido, or if it had been performed by an amateur, but this seems to be Captain level. They've done a good job of it. I would be almost impossible to unlock without permanently damaging your brain and memories. The only thing that can be done is to wait for the Kido to weaken over time, though I'm not sure how long that would take... I'm sorry"

I shook my head and smiled. "It's okay, I didn't expect there to be a way to retrieve my lost memories instantly. But what about the memories I was losing before yesterday?"

Unohana nodded. "For that, I am not sure. There is no sign of any abnormalities other than this memory lock. I am going to assume that it is simply a case of trauma-based amnesia which is common in a lesser degree. Again, that would be something that comes back to you over time."

I could hide my disappointment. She gave me the exact same answer as everyone else and I had been hoping for more. "Thank you, Captain," I said gratefully nonetheless.

"Seinosuke, can you inform the patrol squad that we are finished and will get the results to them as soon as possible, and to come and collect Miss Murasaki immediately?"

"Yes Ma'am" he nodded.

"Thank you. You should be fine from here on Miss Murasaki. Good luck"

"Thank you very much!" I bowed. I was truly grateful for her help in putting my mind at rest. She had been everything I had imagined of a Captain and more. And with that Unohana smiled and left. Her Lieutenant held his hand out and a small black butterfly appeared out of nowhere, landed on it and then flew away again after a few seconds.

I looked at him questioningly.

"I've sent a message to the patrol squad to come and get you, they will take you to be questioned at their department just down the road, you should get some rest until they arrive" and he too left the room.

I lay down on the bed and waited, butterflies floating around in my stomach as my overactive imagination ran wild at the thought of being interrogated.

Horrible thoughts went through my mind, as they do when you're dreading something. I didn't know what I had done after leaving the village. What if I had done something bad? Was I a suspect? What if I was wrongly accused or sentenced for a crime I didn't commit? I did leave the village when it was under curfew after all... maybe that was a crime... I could have done anything after leaving that night, anything at all.

I sandwich slapped myself with both hands roughly. "Snap out of it! You've done nothing wrong!" I said though not entirely confident.

Soon after, the tall and fat Lieutenant from the patrol squad was back again. He escorted me out of the building and straight into a fancy looking horse-drawn carriage. The temperature had dropped considerably while I had been indoors, and the snow was now a few inches deep.

I really was captivated by the snow, continuing to stare out of the window as we made our way across the town, that is until I spotted something that made my eyes widen in surprise and my heart fluttered again.

I started to notice more and more teenagers walking around wearing the same type of Uniform, very similar to a Soul Reaper's uniform. A white shirt that had a logo on the breast pocket with a long, brightly colored strip along the length of their shoulders that matched the color of their Hakama trousers, blue for boys and red for girls. Most of the youths I spotted were carrying long grey bags on their backs, bags on their shoulders and books in their arms.

We turned a corner and I saw a gigantic white building with a white roof and high walls across the road to our left.

"Is that..."

"Hmm? That? Oh, that's the Shin-o Academy for Soul Reapers" the Lieutenant said off-hand, not bothered in the slightest.

"No way..." I was so close, so damn close to my dream! It was right there in front of me. I had wanted for so long to join the academy and become a real Soul Reaper, to get my own sword and use my power to help people... and now that I was so close I wanted nothing more than to leave this stupid carriage, forget about my interrogation and go and sign up.

The Lieutenant laughed as I continued to press my face against the window. I tried to crane my neck to get a good look through the entrance as we passed it, but it was gone quicker than it had come.

I had been close to it for only a few brief moments, but it had been within touching distance. Even though it was now out of sight, my ambition to join was now bigger than ever. I was determined that I would one day be one of those students, playing in the snow with my friends during lunch break.

I sat back down and thought about what I would do when I got back home. On the other hand, there was no guarantee I would even have a home to return to after running away like that. But I tried not to think about that.

We finally came to a halt outside of a similar building to the academy, though a lot smaller.

"We're here. This is the District One Rukon Investigation Department. Seeing as only Soul Reapers are authorized to enter the Seireitei we deal with all Rukon related investigations, crimes and questionings here." I silently nodded. Feeling my stomach do a stop-drop-and-roll maneuver.

As we entered, another young man approached us hurriedly. "Lieutenant, thank goodness. We must hurry, the time was moved up! Their inquest is due to begin any time soon; they need our evidence right away!"

"Whaaat? Already? The hell... they could have warned us! C'mon kid we need to get this over with"

I was escorted into a small and dark room with a number of uniformed officers waiting for me and they immediately began questioning me.

I explained one hundred percent truthfully about what I had overheard between my father and the Soul Reaper, what I knew about the problems in the Rukon with the deaths and disappearances, how I had felt about being lied to and how I wanted to help.

"And that's it. I remember planning to leave and after that… everything is just blank."

The lieutenant sat back in his chair and thought to himself. "Why would you just forget like that?"

"The woman who healed me says that a memory lock was put on my brain," I said, not entirely understanding what that meant due to having no knowledge of Soul Reaper powers. They gave me a disbelieving look. "I'm not lying! It's the truth! She said she would write a report and-" I began to desperately defend myself when the door was knocked and opened. A woman delivered a stack of papers to the Lieutenant and he sat in silence as he read.

It had been around twenty minutes since my investigation had begun and the Reapers were looking more and more agitated.

"Is that so..." he uttered to himself. I stared at him with narrowed eyes.

"You see? I was telling the truth."

He nodded and held up the file. "Somebody send this report and the rest of our evidence to the judges, I expect they are in for questioning about now." a man a red uniform flitted in out of nowhere, took the papers and scanned over them, then left without a word.

"Sorry but... Was someone caught?"

He hesitated. "Yes. They were caught late last night in the Seireitei and their trial is about to begin. This evidence will help a lot."

"Good, I'm glad."

Elsewhere, deep in the Central 46 courthouse deep within the Seireitei, Kisuke Urahara and Tessai Tsukabishi were frogmarched down a long corridor and into a courtroom, their hands shackled with planks of wood and chains behind their backs.

A narrow walkway led through tall rows of seats and down into a circular room. The door was shut behind them with a slam and a bright interrogation spotlight was turned on above them.

They could now see the towering rows of seats, where judges sat behind paper screens gazing down upon them.

There was silence for a moment and Urahara spoke up. "So, will someone tell us what's going on here?"

"No one granted you permission to speak. This is an inquest. You have been brought here for questioning and you will only speak to answer questions, is that understood, Squad Twelve Captain?"

Urahara didn't answer. Inquest? Am I being accused of something?

A voice came from his high right and he turned to the speaker who sounded like an elderly man. "Can you tell us your whereabouts last night?"

He didn't hesitate, he had nothing to hide. "District Six in West Fugai"

"Conducting hollowfication experiments?" he hinted as if he knew what Urahara could be hiding.

His eyes widened. "Wait! Hold on a minute! Who told you that?" He demanded in horror.

"As part of your research, you tested hollowfication on the Captain of Squads Three, Five, Seven and Nine as well as their Lieutenants." There was a pause where Urahara stared at the speaker in realization.

It was him, it was Aizen. He told them that, he framed me! Urahara thought.

"Who told you that!?"

"You don't deny it?"

"It was Lieutenant Aizen, wasn't it?" He snarled, his head bowed in anger. "We only went out there to rescue Shinji and the others, not to harm them!"

The main speaker laughed. "Your lies are beginning to sound more and more comical. Besides the Lieutenant of Squad Five never left his barracks last night. We have the sworn statements of one Captain and one hundred and twenty-four members. That makes it very hard to doubt."

"But he was... He was there last night... In Fugai! Not in the Seireitei!" Urahara shouted completely confused.

A man wearing a red and black uniform and a wooden hat dropped into out of thin air behind them. He knelt into a bow. Urahara turned to look at him. Tessai continued to look sternly forward. The man handed a stack of papers to the head judge who read them silently for a few minutes.

"Have new information," he announced to the room at large. "We searched the Squad Twelve barracks and found undeniable evidence of hollowfication experiments. Also, a suspected witness was found near Fugai this morning. The child had a Captain level Memory Lock Kido placed on her, which was unbreakable. She was also bathed in powerful Spiritual Pressure similar to that which was found at the scene of the crime."

The main speaker laughed. "Tessai Tsukabishi, Captain of the Kido corps is already being charged with using a number of forbidden Kido spells. I guess you thought you would clean up after yourselves and make sure the child couldn't remember what she had seen. Too bad she was found and questioned."

Tessai finally looked up and was about to speak.

"There was another? A child? I knew I sensed a small Spiritual Pressure, but I didn't have time to go and look for the owner of it! We never went near a child! It was Aizen! Sosuke Aizen has framed us!"

"Silence!" The man bellowed down at him. "We have heard enough. It is time to pass judgment. Kido Corps Commander Tessai Tsukabishi, for the crime of using numerous forbidden techniques you will be imprisoned in underground prison three. Captain Urahara of Squad Twelve, for conducting research on the banned phenomenon and in doing so to causing harm to fellow squad members you will be sentenced to an eternal ban to the World of the Living and will be stripped of all Spirit Energy." Urahara stared at the ground. Having nothing more to say. He could argue his case as much as he wanted but it wouldn't make a difference. This was the end... he might as well give up.

"Furthermore, the Captains and Lieutenants who were the victims of your evil and cruel experiments will be disposed of as hollows."

Urahara's head shot up in shock. "You can't! Wait a minute!"

Suddenly, the door to the court slammed open. A masked and capped silhouette stood in the doorway, backed with an intense white light for the outside. Urahara had forgotten how dark it was in here, even under the glare of all of these spotlights.

The person launched down into the court and broke the shackles that were holding Urahara and Tessai and knocked out the guard that had attempted to stop them.

The three of them escaped together down the long, brightly lit corridor, dodging the unconscious bodies on the floor and hearing shouts of "Guards! Guard! Is there anyone there?" And "Seize them!" from the courtroom behind them.

They ran in silence for a long time, out of Central 46 and away from the Seireitei until they were eventually high up in the mountains.

The one that had saved them finally stopped in front of them and removed their mask and cape.

"Yoruichi... I knew it... Thank you" Urahara sighed in relief, stretching his arms. Those shackles were tight and uncomfortable. He looked to his left and noticed that Shinji and the others were lying in an unconscious pile near them.

"I went ahead and bought all of them over here along with your new Gigai prototype..." She paused awkwardly. "You should have asked for my help last night you idiot." She snapped, looking away.

"I wouldn't have wanted you to get caught up in all of this, but in saving me like a fool you've gone and done it anyway. What will you do now?" Yoruichi did not answer. She stood there silently thinking.

"If I know you, you've already come up with a plan on how to get yourself out of this, am I right?"

He stared at her then smiled. "You saw right through me as usual. Tessai, please set up a time stop about Shinji and the others, and also step it up to a double- no triple barrier around this area. We're gonna make ten stealth Gigai's, two for us and eight of them. We will find a way to solve this problem, I promise. We will find a way to undo the hollowfication."

He paused. "Yoruichi, please go back to the Seireitei. The last thing I would want is for you to be exiled as well."

I was finally let out of my interrogation after being lectured for a good hour about my reckless actions. I had felt ashamed of myself as they told me how much danger I could have been in. They warned me never to do it again and to leave the heroics to the real Soul Reapers in future.

But I felt even worse when I left the room in the main atrium. Sitting across from me looking anxious and nervous... were my family. I froze as I saw Yuu's head snap up. Her head was in her hands and her legs were shaking as though she had been leaning on a nerve. Mother and Father sat either side of her with their arms draped over her shoulder.

Yuu stared at me, then got up. She walked over to me quickly. I smiled as she got closer expecting a hug, but Yuu's face scrunched in pain. Her hand comes flying upwards and she landed a slap clean across my left cheek with a resounding crack.

I stared at the wall for a moment, the tingling pain finally appearing after a moment's delay. I turned my head back to Yuu whose eyes were overflowing with tears.

"How could you do that to us!" she croaked. "How could you leave us like that, we were terrified!"

If the Soul Reapers lectures had made me feel guilty, it was nothing compared to this. I couldn't bring myself to look at Yuu who was beside herself with tears. Over her shoulder, Yoshino and Shinsetsu both looked close to tears themselves, but evidently holding them back.

"I'm... I'm sorry..."

"I don't care if you're sorry! Sorry doesn't change the fact that you did it! You could have gotten hurt or... or killed! Do you know how that would have made us feel? Did you not think of the consequences, did you!? Why were you so selfish!?" Yuu whaled.

The Soul Reapers around them seemed to take cover in the surrounding rooms, feeling a little bit awkward. Unexpectedly Yuu suddenly swung her arms around my shoulders and pulled me into the hug I had initially been hoping for.

"I really am sorry... I heard the truth about the deaths in the Rukon and thought you didn't care because you were hiding them from me... I didn't think you would care if I left or died…" I explained, my voice now cracking and my eyes welling up with tears.

"Idiot! You idiot!" Yuu held me at arm's length, shaking me lightly. "You're my little sister, you think I would ever forgive myself if anything happened to you!? I've had no one for so long and if you were suddenly gone too..." she trailed off, not wanting to think about it and crying still more violently.

Shinsetsu and Yoshino both got up and hugged us tightly.

"It's okay. It's over now. The whole Rukon problem is solved and everyone is safe. That is all that matters" Shin whispered down to them. I nodded, sobbing into Yuu's shoulder.