Chapter Twelve: The Border Patrol
"This is the first time that I'll be able to visit the border camp,"
Kohaku pulled his supply bag onto his shoulder more comfortably, checking that Kyouka Raigen was securely fastened at his waist with a pensive smile. "I was happy when Taichou said I would be able to come today – I hope I haven't forgotten anything. The people there are people like me, and so I want to make sure I do a good job."
It was early in the morning and, with the rise of the sun had come the instruction for those involved in the border camp patrol to assemble in the main courtyard, ready for a quick and brisk exit as soon as breakfast was done. Each individual had been given a bag of supplies - food, medicines and other basic equipment - to take with them, for Juushirou had been conscious that it was an opportunity to help the individuals in the camp as well as interrogate them, and so as a result the Thirteenth was a hive of activity as officers hurried to be ready before Kirio arrived to announce departure. For the three selected recruits, also, it was an exciting new challenge, but for Kohaku, who had long since wanted to be able to reach out and help the people of the Rukon, it was a chance he had waited for and an opportunity he looked on with a similar level of eagerness and excitement as the trio of chosen newcomers.
"You do know that it isn't a matsuri visit?" Kohaku's companion, Thirteenth's Fourteenth seat, Furuta Masao asked now, a wry smile on his distinctive features. "It's all very well being excited to go to a new patrol spot, and I realise that you still haven't lost the novelty of visiting new places, but you're not going to go off in one of your dazes, are you? Kayashima warned me, when I told him you'd been allocated to this patrol with me - he said to whack you if you dared fall asleep on us."
"He said what?" Kohaku's eyes widened in dismay and indignation at this forthright response. "I'm not falling asleep or going off in a daze! I was just making an observation! It's odd for me, that's all - and you can't whack me, anyway! As of last ranking notice, I rank higher than you do! It would be considered insubordination!"
Furuta snorted, shaking his head in amusement. A down-to-earth, stocky individual with a broad, muscular frame and a shock of ungainly black hair that fell unevenly over his shoulders in a haphazard tail, even his kindest critic could not call Furuta handsome, but there was a warmth and friendliness in his aura that attracted people to him anyway. Furuta had graduated the Academy the year before Kayashima, and had spent eighteen months as a recruit on first arriving at Thirteenth. For this reason, he had been there when Kohaku had arrived, and had quickly joined Kayashima in his efforts to integrate and educate their confused new member. Furuta was not given to fanciful imaginings, and he was often entertained by Kohaku's daydreams, but he was also genuinely fond of his eccentric companion. Like Kayashima, he had shared quarters with Kohaku since the beginning, and it had been an easy friendship for the shy Kohaku to form, for Furuta was quick to hold out a hand in greeting, and slow to pull it back in anger. Though Kohaku had ranked up more quickly, Furuta bore him no resentment, and still steadfastly considered it his duty to keep an eye on the younger shinigami, irrespective of their changing positions in the Division - a fact that Kohaku was sometimes glad of, and sometimes found annoying. Even now, though Kayashima and Furuta were two of his closest friends and allies within the Division, he still resented their occasional attempt to nanny him as though he was still the new, naive trainee he had been five years before.
"I heard from Kayashima that rank didn't stop you cuffing him when he was teasing you in front of the new kids," Furuta reminded his friend lightly now, giving him a nudge with his elbow. "Don't be a hypocrite, or I'll have to tell him you tried the same line on me! Besides, you might have the numerical edge this time, but you're still younger'n me. You've a mad sword, so it's only natural you ranked up like you did - but it doesn't mean I don't remember your first few days and how much we all had to teach you about being a shinigami. You're like a kid brother to all of us still, Koku - and in that sense, whacking is perfectly acceptable. It's almost our duty, you know, to keep you on the same planet as the rest of us."
"Hmph," Kohaku folded his arms across his chest, his expression one of annoyance, and Furuta laughed.
"You take it too seriously," he scolded, patting his companion lightly on the head. "We're just looking out for you. Just like the Taichou told us to, when you were first sent in with all of us. You should be glad. It's all done out of good intent."
"That was when I was newly recruited," Kohaku pushed his friend's hand away, casting him a glare. "I've been a shinigami five years now, and I understand much more than I did. I don't need mollycoddling. Taichou wouldn't have sent me here if he thought I wouldn't be fine coming - so thanks, but no thanks! I'm fine, and you and Kayashima and the others need to stop looking at me like a lost puppy that needs guiding everywhere!"
"This wouldn't have anything to do with the fact we're taking fresh blood on this trip, would it?"
Furuta turned pensively to glance across the courtyard, where the three selected recruits – Shinobu, Hiroshi and Kawakami - were self-consciously adjusting their uniforms and packs in much the same way Kohaku had, hurrying to join with their seniors before the patrol left Thirteenth for the border divide. "I know Taichou assigned you and Kayashima to mentor them when they arrived – are you sure it's the Rukon people, and not the newbies you want to impress?"
"I don't know about impressing them," Kohaku looked pensive, a faint flush touching his cheeks at this blunt, perceptive observation. "I don't want them to ask any silly questions about me, maybe that's it? They seem all right, and none of them asked about my name or my past, yet, but that was because Kayashima gave them the impression that I'm Aizen by coincidence, not by connection to Keitarou. If possible, I'd like to keep it that way – and preserve the idea that I'm just another regular member who happened to come here like the rest of you did."
"A regular member, who raised his sword without any training and didn't even know what the sun and moon looked like till five years ago, let alone how to swing a weapon," Furuta looked amused. "You don't have to be anyone else than who you are, you know. The new kids will get that, when they know you better. Taichou made it clear when you joined up here that we were to accept you as you were, and that you shouldn't feel pressured to hide, like you had to in the Rukon. They're just brats, even if they are new graduates. If they bother you, whack them. You're entitled, now. Twelfth Seat is sub-patrol rank these days."
"A lot of people keep saying that, but I don't want to whack anyone," Kohaku sighed. "I don't really want to hide, either. I just want things to be as normal. I like it when people don't point out my differences, and so I'm going to do my best not to show any of them, at least till I have a better idea of how the new recruits will react."
"You said they seemed all right," Furuta cast the huddled trio of new members a thoughtful glance. "Anything else to add to that? It'd be nice to know what we're taking with us today, given that they're green and we're going to the edge of the Rukon."
"I don't really know any of them, except their names," Kohaku admitted. "Yatsubashi, Naniwa and…I don't know the girl. Kirio-san took the female recruits to settle them, and there wasn't a lot of time for personal interviews when we were doing the tour."
"Well, Sensei sent them to us, so they must be all right, I suppose," Furuta decided. "And it's not like the Thirteenth aren't good at bedding in newcomers. I think that since we managed to convert you into a half-decent ranked officer, they're probably going to be nothing at all to deal with."
"Hey!" Kohaku glowered at his friend. "I told you, lay off! It wasn't my fault I didn't know anything, and I know plenty more now, so pipe down! Even if you are older than I am, that joke has to get old sometime, surely?"
"Are you teasing him again, Furuta?" before Furuta could come up with a response, the amused voice of Thirteenth Division's seventh seat, Kira Hideharu broke through the conversation, and both men turned to face their senior officer, a wry smile on Furuta's lips.
"I'm sorry, Kira-san," he said repentantly. "S'just so easy, that's all. I don't mean anything bad by it. It's hard not to, when we all remember how lost he was at first."
"I'm not lost now, and I wish you'd stop it," Kohaku pulled a face. "Kira-san, how long will we stay at the border camp? I've not been sent there before, so I don't really know what the procedure is."
"We don't get to patrol there very often, so it's hardly surprising you don't know," Kira rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We don't have any authority to process or place applicants, though, so it's really just to check on their condition and speak to them, if we can. Take basic supplies, find out how they're coping and what can be done to improve the situation. It's a busier camp than anyone expected, and I think the Captain probably worries about the resources running out."
"Is that everyone?"
At the front of the group, Kirio quickly counted heads, nodding her approval. "Good. Then we can leave. We're going through the internal gate by Twelfth Division, because it will get us to the right part of District Three more quickly. Yatsubashi, Kawakami and Naniwa, I'm sure you've experienced these gates at the Academy, but make sure you don't stray. This is a busy and important mission this morning, and we've been entrusted with it by the Third's Captain, so we'll be making a full and detailed report."
"Yes, ma'am!" the three recruits hastily saluted, and Kira's lips twitched into a smile.
"It's nice to be eager from the off, isn't it?" he mused. "It's sort of nostalgic. I seem to remember being a bit like that, when I first came to Inner Seireitei."
The gate was not far from the Division entrance, an old Senkaimon that had once been a firm link with the Real World but which, following Keitarou's rebellion, had been recommissioned and programmed to act as an internal passageway to the various far reaches of wider Seireitei and Rukongai. Kirio opened it with her sword, gesturing for her companions to follow her inside, and before long they were stepping out into the grasslands of lower District Three, where trees were beginning to show the first signs of spring following the early thaw.
"That gate sure saves time in walking here. We'd spend a half day, even using shunpo," Furuta stretched his hands over his head, casting the gate an approving look. "I don't mind a good brisk walk, but if there's an alternative, I'm not objecting. We're almost at the border camp, too. These must be the coordinates that Third Division use when they send their supply runs."
"This is a pretty stretch of land, though," Kohaku cast a glance around him, gesturing to indicate the landscape. "Was this once Urahara land?"
"I think so," Kira nodded his head, as the group made their way slowly down through a patch of uneven land towards the wooden posts that indicated the boundary of the border camp from the Seireitei side. "I heard that Nagesu-sama carved it out from surplus Clan land to make sure he could keep a proper eye on it, and ensure people were properly settled."
"It's a lot nicer than the part of Rukongai I grew up in," Kohaku sighed. "There's a river not far away, and springs, so water surely isn't a problem. There are trees along the outsides, as well. Are they fruit trees?"
"A couple are, but I imagine they've become barren from the pressure," it was Furuta who answered this time, a frown on his face "Look at them. They're stripped bare, and you can see from the leaves that they're struggling to cope."
"Furuta?" Kira shot the other shinigami a confused look, and Furuta grinned.
"Back home, my family farm produce like that," he explained. "Fruit is our main source of income, and Pa always said that, if you push a tree to produce too much, it will stop producing altogether. In a place like this, of course it's going to be a problem. Too many people, and not enough trees."
"I hadn't thought of that," Kohaku admitted, and Furuta shrugged.
"Taichou's right in sending us here," he reflected. "We're District Shinigami. If anyone understands how to practically make ends meet, it's people in this squad. The Clans are fine, and all, and they're trying - but they rely on their tenants to provide them with harvests and such like. Thirteenth Division people know a lot more about properly surviving...and so I bet that's why Taichou offered to send us out here, so we can make a proper report to the Urahara, and they can act on it."
"I don't know much about making ends meet," Kohaku looked sad, and Kira grinned, clapping a warm hand down on the young man's thin shoulder.
"You're fine, so don't worry," he said reassuringly. "You have an entirely different kind of experience. And, Furuta's right in one sense. You might not know about harvests and crops and providing means, but you do know what it is to survive in difficult circumstances. You're more like the people here than any of us - and I'm sure that's why the Captain included you in this patrol. You know Rukongai - we've only patrolled there, and when we have, we've taken supplies. We've never had to try and eke out a life there."
"Mm," Kohaku's expression became thoughtful. "That's true, although most of that survival was down to Father. I don't know how he did the things he did, to keep us alive, but if he hadn't, we wouldn't have made it."
Kira and Furuta exchanged looks, and Furuta frowned.
"You shouldn't talk about Keitarou," he chided gently. "I know he was your Pa and all, but Koku...weren't you the one just telling me a moment ago you didn't want people making those connections? We've recruits with us, and sooner rather than later you need to put it behind you and move on."
"It is what it is," Kohaku shrugged his shoulders matter-of-factly. "Father was there and he gave us supplies. Without him, we'd not have lived. He understood things we didn't about the world outside. That's all."
"Well, for the time being, your experiences in the Rukon might relate to the individuals we're about to go see," Kira said quickly. "We're about at the entrance, and we've stopped dead, so we ought to catch up to the others. It's setting the new recruits a bad example if we're standing talking and we let ourselves get split up."
"Yes, sir," as one, Kohaku and Furuta acknowledged Kira's instruction, quickening their pace to join up with the other members of the patrol waiting ahead.
"I wondered if you were coming or not," as they rejoined their companions, Kirio sent them an amused grin. "Well? Before we go in, I have a quick briefing to pass on. We're not to encourage them to think that we have any power or authority to settle them inside Seireitei. We're not Clan, and we should be open with them about that. We've all brought supplies, and we'll distribute them where we can. Otherwise, Taichou wants a full report on conditions, so talk to people and find out what they think. Make sure they know that they won't get in trouble for speaking the truth. We're not interested in taking names and punishing those who complain - we only want to know what we can do - and, particularly, what Taichou can do - to push things forward in Inner Seireitei."
"Koku, you haven't been here before, have you?" Kirio's companion, the skinny figure of the division's Sixth Seat, Tsukabishi Tsunemori cast the younger officer a quizzical look, and Kohaku shook his head.
"No, it's my first time," he agreed. "Taichou said that because Ketsui-san was still in the Real World, it would be a nice experience for me to see the border camp, and he sent me to make up numbers. I'll do my best, Tsunemori-san. I promise."
"No doubt about that," Tsunemori offered him a faint smile, "but it's crowded, and there are some sad cases among the rest. You should be prepared for that, okay? We can't save them all today, but we're here to try and save them in the long run. Okay?"
"What Tsunemori-san is saying is, don't take their tragedy to heart too much," Kirio added gently. "I know you believe in saving Rukongai, and honestly, I do too - but it's a slow process. Can you stay detached?"
"I'll try," Kohaku's expression became serious. "I understand, Kirio-san. Tsunemori-san. I'm all right. I do want to help them - and I do identify a bit with them. It makes me realise I fell on my feet, coming here how I did - but part of that is realising that everything has to be done the proper way, or it doesn't mean anything. I'll be fine. Really. I'm glad I've been able to come here at last. It proves that Taichou isn't protecting me from it any more, and so I won't let you down."
"Then I guess we're going in?" Tsunemori cast Kirio a glance, and Kirio inclined her head.
"Try to keep within reiatsu reach of each other, and speak to as many people as possible," she agreed, raising her voice to include the three recruits, who Kira had been briefing during their exchange. "Weapons are forbidden; that includes kidou. We aren't here to enforce our authority on them. We want them to see us as friends, not foes. Understand? If a violent incident occurs, we withdraw. Clear?"
"Yes, ma'am," the other shinigami acknowledged her instruction with brisk nods, and, as a group, they headed down towards the gateway that led into the Border Camp.
Sealed on the outside by barrier kidou, the divide served two purposes. On the one hand, it kept out the threats and dangers of the outside, for there was no way for Hollows to enter the camp while the barrier was still in place. However, for the untrained souls within, there was also no way of leaving the camp to fend for themselves in the wider Seireitei area. Some had tried, but none had ever been able to penetrate the seal.
Because of the kidou seal, only shinigami with a reasonable level of kidou ability were deployed in this area. It was largely this reason that had led to Kirio being in charge of this patrol, for, although the Thirteenth's Vice Captain, Houjou Enishi, was also on patrol duty that afternoon, his dislike of kidou was legendary among his subordinate officers. Kohaku had heard many exaggerated rumours about Enishi's destructive prowess with the skill, and, while he did not know how true any of the stories were, he had quickly realised that there was a good reason for him not choosing to lead this particular mission.
The kidou barrier was also a part of why Tsunemori had been included, for, as the most proficient seated officer in the art among the Thirteenth's personnel, the responsibility fell to him to ensure that both Kohaku and Furuta, as well as the new recruits passed through the divide in safety. As a result of this pre-planning, all the shinigami entered the camp without a problem, and, as they did so, they realised that the residents had anticipated their coming. A large gathering of individuals in the middle of the camp's open area had massed to await them, and, as he scanned their expressions, Kohaku felt a pang of regret in his heart. They were hopeful, he realised - looking to the black and white shihakushou for their salvation, and yet, for now, the Thirteenth were powerless to intervene in their futures.
Still, there was no sense of animosity or aggression in their demeanour. Some of them were skinny, Kohaku noticed, their clothes ragged and their feet bare, but their eyes were not dull or lacking in life spirit. They were managing, he realised with relief, and, even if supplies were stretched, they were somehow making do.
But the Urahara normally come here. I suppose that they're diligent in making sure there's food.
The camp residents had surged forward at the Shinigami's arrival, but a few quick words from Kirio had dispersed them. Again, Kohaku had been amazed at the understanding of the refugees. He had assumed that they saw all shinigami as the same but, as Kirio had told them that this patrol had been sent by the Thirteenth, they had realised that there would be no processing of souls or resettlement today.
"They know that we're not Urahara," he murmured, and Furuta, to his left, nodded his head.
"They know that much, at least," he agreed. "I'm not sure they know one Clan from the other, but, while the Thirteenth doesn't come here as often as it could, it's known here that our Captain, while he cares about this place, has no land or power to resettle. We've brought supplies, before, and we're usually fine, because we're not unkind to them...but they know not to expect anything else. They know Taichou is District, and, therefore, not in a position to grant them places to live."
He shrugged his shoulders.
"They're not hostile to us, but we're not the shinigami they really want," he added reflectively. "Still, we've a job to do, so we'll do it. I'll go get the checklist from Tsukabishi-san. Try not to get too carried away by their stories, Koku. We don't want to forget you and leave you behind by mistake."
With which parting comment he disappeared into the bustling crowd, leaving his friend bristling once more with indignation.
Furuta always teases me like that. He's worse than Kayashima, I swear. They might just be looking out for me, but I'm not a kid, and I'm not as bad as I was when I first came to join the Thirteenth. I didn't come to the Division for people to constantly fuss over me. I came to do something useful with my spirit power, and even though I know they're my friends, I wish they'd understand that sometimes. I'm not stupid and when Taichou made me Twelfth Seat, I was really proud. At least he takes me seriously...at least he understands that I'm trying to push forward and be as good a shinigami as any of them. Just because I came from the Rukon, and didn't go to the Academy. It's not like that even matters, now. The Council passed me as fit to patrol as a proper shinigami before I had my first formal ranking, and it's not as though I was the only one. Izumi-chan went through the same test process, and they don't tease her like they tease me.
"Kohaku-san, this place isn't really Rukongai, is it?"
Hiroshi's question jerked him out of his reverie, and he turned, casting the quizzical recruit a guilty smile, shaking his head.
"It isn't. It's Seireitei land," he agreed. "It borders the Rukon, though, and the barrier on the Rukon side is not as strict. It's set to allow in Plus Souls and Shinigami, but to keep out Hollows, so that the residents here are kept safe while they wait for processing."
"There are a lot of people here," Shinobu commented, gazing around him. "I don't know what I imagined when Taichou said we were going to visit Rukon migrants. I suppose I didn't think about people in the Rukon with enough spirit power to need to live in Seireitei."
"But you were one, weren't you, Kohaku-san?" Hiroshi remembered, and Kohaku reddened, nodding.
"My situation was a little different," he said vaguely. "I was born there. I wasn't a Plus, and didn't come from the Real World originally. But Yatsubashi-kun is right – there are a lot of people with reiryoku on the other side of the Rukon divide."
"How does that happen, though?" Hiroshi frowned. "I remember when we did Soul Burial, we had it well drummed into us how to do it without letting any of our reiryoku leak. Sensei went over and over it until we could do it in our sleep. Why would Plus souls have reiryoku in the first place?"
"Lots of reasons," Furuta strode up to rejoin the conversation at that moment with the supply checklist poking out of his obi, and he grinned, resting a friendly hand on each of the two recruits' shoulders. "One is exposure to Hollows. Another is just that some Real World people have reiryoku from the start. Nobody really knows why."
"Plus, there were periods of violent fighting in the Rukon in the past," Kohaku said sadly. "Shinigami releasing reiryoku into the ether can pollute Pluses. I think a lot of these Pluses might be like that."
"Was that fighting because of Aizen Keitarou's experiments?" Shinobu asked thoughtfully, and Kohaku flinched, sending his junior a look of distress.
"Keitarou died five years ago," Furuta said matter-of-factly. "Whatever he did or didn't do, he hasn't been contributing to the problem since then. I think there are wider causes…Yatsubashi, did Koku say your name was?"
"Yes, sir. Yatsubashi Shinobu," Shinobu offered a faint smile. "I'm sorry. I come from District Seven, and, well, a lot of stuff happened there."
"A lot of stuff happened everywhere," Kohaku said bitterly. "Not just in Seventh District, and not just in Rukongai. Talking about Keitarou isn't appropriate in a place like this, anyway. We're here to help these people, not worry about rebels long since in their grave."
He cast Furuta a glance.
"I'm going to follow orders, and talk to some of the residents," he said evenly, sliding his supply bag off his shoulder and holding it out to his companion. "I'll leave you to make sure Naniwa-kun and Yatsubashi-kun know what they should do with supplies, since you've been here before. You have the checklist, and you know the procedure better than I do."
"Pulling rank on me now?" Furuta arched an eyebrow, but Kohaku sent him a bleak look, and his friend sighed, taking the proffered bag and adding it to his own.
"Fine. I don't mind," he relented. "You go make friends. I know you want to, and we won't hold you back. Naniwa and Yatsubashi, was it?" This last to the two recruits, who nodded. "I guess I should introduce myself properly, if I'm going to oversee you. I'm Furuta, and I'm Fourteenth Seat. Come with me and we'll go distribute what we have to the locals."
"Yes, sir!" the two recruits saluted, hurrying to follow their superior officer across the grass, and Kohaku let out his breath in a rush, forcing his heart to calm down.
There was nothing in the question, but I didn't like it, anyway. I needed to calm down and focus for a bit…thank you, Furuta, for understanding without too much explanation.
He wandered further into the camp, gazing around him as he did so at the makeshift shelters that, in some places were divided with sheets of faded cloth rather than proper wooden divides. He frowned, realising that this was a symptom of the overcrowding.
I hope our coming here can help these people move on. It feels wrong that I have so much, now, when people like this are still forced to struggle to make ends meet.
"Oniichan?"
A tug at the sleeve of his shihakushou pulled him out of his daydream, and he glanced down, meeting the apprehensive dark eyes of a young girl of maybe seven or eight. Like the others, she was roughly dressed, her dark hair messy and tousled over her shoulders, but her grip was tight and determined, and, at the look in her eyes, Kohaku hurriedly pushed away his own personal grievances, reminding himself that he was here for a reason, and this girl was a part of that reason.
He crouched down at the youngster's level, casting her a questioning look.
"What's up? Something wrong?" he asked, and the girl bit her lip, looking troubled. She shrugged her shoulders.
"You're from the Thirteenth," she said with a sigh. "I don't know anything 'bout shinigami, not really, but the Ojiisan said that the Thirteenth can't do anything about us being here. Is that true?"
"Mm," Kohaku felt another pang of sadness at the child's innocent question, and he slowly nodded. "In a sense, yes. We're not a Clan squad, and therefore our Captain doesn't have land to settle you. He worries about you, though - we all do. That's why we came. We brought supplies, and we want to try and help the people with land to understand what you all need."
"I see," the girl digested this, a serious expression on her young features. "In that case, Oniichan..." she faltered, then tugged slightly on his shihakushou again, casting a glance back towards a ramshackle shelter that lay just across the dusty pathway.
"I don't have a family," she said at length, "but here, I have an Oniichan who I love very much. He always looks after me, and is kind to me, and makes sure I have food. He's like my real Nii-chan now, and I love him. I want to stay with him, like a proper family, but he doesn't think we can. Will it be okay, do you think, to stay with him when we go to Seireitei?"
"I should think so," Kohaku nodded his head, surprised at the question. "I don't think anyone would try to split you up, not if you were a family."
"Good," the young girl let her breath out in a heavy sigh of relief. "My Nii-chan, he's nice to me, but he's not very good at looking after himself. He always helps everyone else, but he doesn't remember to help himself too. Sometimes he makes me worry about him, and he says sad things, like we won't be able to stay together, or that I'd be happier without him. I want to stay with him, though. I don't want him to be on his own..but he thinks that the shinigami wouldn't allow it, for us to stay together."
"Ah. It's like that, is it?" a smile touched Kohaku's lips, and he nodded. "I expect he's worried, because nobody really knows what will happen when you're settled. I think that nobody would try to split up people if they felt like family, though. Can I speak to him, too? I might be able to pass on a particular message about it, if I did."
"Mm," the girl's gaze flitted back towards the hut, and she shrugged her shoulders.
"He's...I think he's...asleep," she admitted, though there was a moment of hesitation in her answer, and Kohaku thought he heard a faint note of doubt in her voice. "He does a lot to help all of us – especially me, because we were both on our own, but sometimes he gives his food to other people. There's not a lot of food, Oniichan, though we try to share it and, well, Gorou-nii is...I don't think it's good for him, not having much food. He seems tired lately, and worried about stuff. I don't know what, but I know he's upset about something. I wondered if maybe it was about us being split up, so I wanted to ask...but living in Rukongai is hard, and so we have to go to Seireitei, and...well..."
She trailed off, and Kohaku sighed.
"I understand," he said softly. "Believe me, I do."
"Do you?" the girl eyed him doubtfully. "You're a shinigami. You already live in Seireitei. It's not the same there as Rukongai. Even here is better than Rukongai."
"I know," Kohaku assured her. "I grew up in Rukongai, too, you know. My parents were from Seireitei, but they were...working there, and so I grew up there too. I know what it's like, and why you wanted to leave. I wanted to leave, too. But here...at least here, you have your Nii-chan. And the Clans are working on land settlement. I know they are. We're here for that reason - so we can report to the Clan leaders about how you all are."
"You came from Rukongai?" the girl was startled, then, "Oniichan, what's your name?"
"Kohaku. And yours?"
"Homare," the girl dimpled, and she loosed her hold on the shihakushou, grasping his fingers in her tiny ones and squeezing them tightly. "I'm glad to meet you, Kohaku-oniichan. Please, will you tell your Captain that Gorou-nii isn't very happy, living here, and I'm worried about him? I'm always afraid that he's going to go away somehow and leave me behind. It's so hard, and...and...I worry, if something happened to him..."
She trailed off, and Kohaku nodded his head.
"I'll report on it to my patrol officer. I won't forget," he promised. "In the meantime, Gorou-san has you to take care of him, Homare-chan. Do your best, all right? He's a lucky person, having such an attentive little sister to look after him."
He glanced around him.
"Despite how many people there are, though, you're mostly managing for food?"
"We manage..." Homare seemed hesitant, loosing her hold on Kohaku's fingers and twisting her hands together absently. "I can't really talk about that. I promised Oniichan. It might be bad, if I did."
She cast Kohaku another grin, and then, before he could ask any more questions, she had skipped off in the direction of the shelter.
Kohaku got to his feet, gazing after her in confusion. For a moment, he realised, she had begun to trust him - but then, at the last minute, she had pulled away.
Something she didn't feel she could tell a shinigami in uniform. Not even one from Rukongai.
He let out a heavy sigh, glancing around him for any sign of his companions. He could not see them, but he knew that Kirio had instructed them to stay within easy reiatsu reach of one another. When he had first come to Seireitei, Kohaku had been easily swamped by all the spiritual signatures of his new companions, and it had taken some time for him to be able to shut off these extraneous signals, allowing him to interact normally with his peers without becoming overloaded. He had worked at at being able to pick up only the reiatsu signatures that he directly sought out, and the effort had paid off. It remained one of his most refined skills, and his proficiency in locating other shinigami far outstripped even some of his superior officers, and so he raised his senses, sending cautious spiritual feelers out into the morass of energy in search of the familiar presences of his fellows. As he did so, however, something else assailed his senses, and he opened his eyes wide in surprise and confusion.
It can't be...
Throwing his caution to the wind, he raised his barriers a little more, desperately trying to get a firm lock on the familiar yet impossible threads of reiatsu that had just accosted his senses. Too late he realised that he had relaxed his control too far, for a ghoulish apparition of gaunt, dead features began to take form within his head, opaque and sunken eyes boring deep into his subconscious. He swallowed hard, forcing the images away with some effort, and taking a deep breath into his lungs as he fought to regain his composure. He had learned long ago that it was harder to shut the flood gates once they were opened, and inwardly he berated himself for his moment of impulsive carelessness.
It was gone, now, but for a moment, it had been entirely real - a ghost haunting his senses, with a judgemental look in those empty dead eyes.
Otousama.
He took another deep breath, leaning up against the wall of a nearby shelter to gather his wits.
It's not possible. Otousama has been dead five years, but...for that moment...just a brief moment, I thought...
He swallowed again, aware of the bitter bile surging up towards his throat at the sensation.
For a moment, I thought he was here, watching me, with hate in his eyes.
"Koku?" Furuta's voice came through the haze of fear and confusion, and he turned, his earlier irritation with his friend forgotten in the relief of having someone real and tangible to reach out to. He grabbed Furuta by the arm, and his companion let out an exclamation of surprise, grasping him by the shoulders and giving him a little shake.
Hey! Koku! You said you weren't going off in a dreamworld, so snap out of it! Your eyes are huge and they don't look right - don't you dare space out on me!"
"I'm...I'm not. I'm okay," Kohaku forced words through his vocal chords, focusing all his attention on his friend's presence. With some relief, he realised that the two recruits were not with him, and he sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
"What happened?" Furuta had clearly realised that something major had occurred, for there was no sense of teasing in his tones now, consternation flooding his features instead. "Yatsubashi and Naniwa are busy helping Kira-san distributing supplies to the settlement elder, but I felt your reiatsu spike and came to see what was going on. Looks like I was right. Spit it out. Something or someone upset you?"
"I don't know," Kohaku was fast coming back to himself now, and he shot his companion a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry. It's crazy. It's not possible. I don't know what happened, but I'm...I'm okay now. Thank you. I'm really okay."
"Maybe you are, but you weren't, and you don't do that for no reason, not these days," Furuta was not to be dissuaded. "Come on. Out with it. What happened? You can tell me or you can tell Kirio-san - but if I were you, I'd start with me."
"You won't believe me. I don't believe me. It doesn't make sense."
"I've roomed with you for enough years. I'm well used to you not making sense." came Furuta's uncompromising response. "Me, Kayashima and the rest, we know you better'n anyone, so spit it out. I'm serious. You're worrying me, and it's not like you. Not these days."
Kohaku was silent for a moment, then he let out a heavy sigh.
"It's crazy," he said softly, "but for a moment, Furuta...just for a moment, I was sure...that Father was here. Here in the Border Camp, watching me."
"This time tomorrow, we'll be back in Inner Seireitei, and I can't pretend that I won't be glad."
Ketsui flopped back on the grass with a sigh, gazing up at the branches of the sakura tree that spread out in a green-specked arc above him, mottling the sky into a patchwork of blue and white. "Since we came down from the mountain, I haven't been able to relax. I keep remembering how it felt when that thing - whatever it was - grabbed at my leg. I know we can't just turn tail and flee at the first sight of whatever it is we're here to find, but even so..."
He shivered.
"I can't forget how it felt. Like something cold went right up through my bones."
"There's been a lot of cold going around," Naoko poked a stick at the small campfire she had been building, casting her companion a look of resignation. "I know you said that, and I'm not disbelieving you. I know what happened on the mountain and that we were both there. We didn't imagine it. But whatever it was doesn't seem interested in us at all. We've retreated back to the river bank, but nothing has happened here since then. Moreover, I don't feel like something is watching us any more. It's like we scared it off, not the other way around."
"The temperature isn't so chilly, either," Ketsui acknowledged. "We definitely didn't imagine anything, Naoko-san. I have the bruises to prove it, and I'm sure you do too. But explaining to the Taichou what happened on that mountain is going to take some creative vocabulary...and that's never been my strongest suit."
"That's one reason I said we shouldn't try and make an emergency return to Seireitei," Naoko flicked a finger at the fire, and a delicately controlled lick of red flame danced across the gathered pieces of dry wood, igniting them immediately. "We came here to investigate spiritual anomalies, and that was definitely in that category. Unfortunately, though, there wasn't much left of the mountain shrine to examine. Maybe we should've stayed up there longer - but I didn't know if it was still dangerous, and there are only two of us."
"I've been thinking about this, though," Ketsui hauled himself up into a sitting position, eying the fire with a look of envy. "Oh, I wish I could do that. I have no idea how you people make it so effortless. Magic is a weapon to me, and I've never been able to use it any other way."
"Like I said, extra training when we get back," Naoko teased lightly. "Come help me gut the fish, and I'll call us even."
"All right," Ketsui shuffled over to join her, pulling his utility blade from his belt and making to prepare the nearest of the two fish that they had caught in fast-flowing water not long before. "It was much easier to catch them this time, you know. We're not imagining that things are getting warmer. There's definitely been a thaw in the atmosphere."
"Mountains that explode tend to have hot bases, like I told you," Naoko said thoughtfully. "Whatever was inside was staying that natural warmth, but I guess it's going back to how it should be."
"Do you think it will flood?" Ketsui asked apprehensively, and Naoko sighed, shrugging her shoulders.
"It's possible, but it hasn't so far," she said cautiously. "I suppose it depends whether this river has its source in that same mountain, and whether the snow was all caused by what was in the ice, or whether it was just because the mountain was dormant and so formed naturally as a result of the altitude. The mountain shook, but the rocks didn't melt, so I'm not sure. I know you're thinking of the local people, Ketsui, but there's no immediate sign of danger here, and the villages are much further away, over that rise."
She indicated.
"If the river floods, its our campsite that will be flooded. Not their homes. Chances are that they originally chose settlement points based on old land layouts, and that kind of knowledge gets passed down through the generations."
"I suppose so," Ketsui grimaced. "I wouldn't like it, though, if we caused a natural disaster here. And Taichou would like it even less."
"True enough, but there's no sign of one yet," Naoko said pragmatically. "Anyhow, you were saying? You were thinking about what? Not my Kidou, I assume, nor the fish or villages. Something else?"
"About what was in that ice," Ketsui nodded. "Or rather, what wasn't in the ice."
"What wasn't...?" Naoko shot him a confused glance. "What do you mean?"
"Well, this is me piggybacking Izumi's logic," Ketsui scratched his head sheepishly, "but if you don't know what something is, it's sometimes easier to figure out what it isn't. Process of elimination often leaves you with a better answer."
"Sounds logical," Naoko finished gutting her fish, stabbing a stick through the middle of the unfortunate creature and dangling it over the fire. Ketsui winced at the brutal thrust, shaking his head.
"You really aren't an Unohana, are you?" he murmured, and Naoko shot him a wry smile.
"Pretty far from it now, but it's nicer not having to pretend to care about every living entity," she admitted. "Well? You were saying? Or do you need my help cooking fish, too?"
"No, I've got it," Ketsui assured her, impaling his own fish more carefully and following her example. "I'm hungry, and the fish is food, so I don't really think about it in that light."
He shrugged.
"In any case, thinking about Izumi's logic," he continued pensively, "we're talking about something that was sealed in ice. It's unlikely to be human, as people from the Real World can't survive in water and would freeze to death in ice. So we can rule out a local - even a faith healer or a shaman - can't we?"
"I would think so, since those are nothing more than human superstitions," Naoko said pragmatically. "Ghosts, spirits and all of that are our business, and the Real World just comes up with their own ways to explain it. I agree that no Real World human would be able to stand being encased in ice like that."
"Well, it was definitely alive, and it definitely moved," Ketsui reflected grimly. "I'm certain. While it's possible that the thawing or the earthquake gave that impression of movement, something definitely grabbed my shihakushou. And tore it," he brushed his free hand against the ripped fabric. "That's not something I imagined, so we can rule out it being some kind of corpse or human sacrifice."
"All right, providing you didn't just snag your clothing on a rock," Naoko pointed out. Ketsui shook his head.
"I'm sure," he said emphatically. "Something grabbed it. I'm certain."
"I know you are," Naoko said simply. "But you were the one who said we were going to process this with Ichimaru-san's logic. That means all possibilities, doesn't it? Even though I believe you, that's still a possibility."
"I suppose it is," Ketsui said reluctantly. "All right. But I am sure, Naoko-san."
"And you're not given to imagining things that aren't there, so I believe you," Naoko assured him. "Whatever it was, I didn't see it clearly, but it had the ability to escape us while we were out cold. If it were a corpse, it couldn't have escaped, so that adds credibility to your case. And escaping seems to have been its intent, since as I said, nothing has come here. Whether it grabbed you knowing you were there or whether it was an instinctive movement on waking isn't clear right now. It might be irrelevant that it grabbed you at all."
"But, as you just said, the fact it did proved it was alive," Ketsui reasoned. "Moreover, I saw its hands. They were fleshy. Like this," he held up his own free hand, "only paler. Probably from the cold. That means it probably wasn't some kind of Hollow. Hollows usually mutate, and hands aren't normally like our hands."
"Plus, a Hollow would've attacked unconscious shinigami. Especially if it had been dormant, and needed food," Naoko agreed. "The size of the shape in the ice didn't look right for a Hollow, either."
"Well, we're left with a few possibilities," Ketsui pulled his fish from the fire, examining it and then taking a bite. "Ah, I'm hungry. Thinking is hard work."
"Ichimaru-san would scold you for putting your stomach first," Naoko teased, and Ketsui nodded, swallowing his mouthful with a grin of acknowledgement.
"She would, but even if I'm rediscovering my Urahara roots, I'm still a man with an empty stomach and I still have reiryoku to feed," he said evenly. "And Real World food isn't ideal, but it'll do."
"You said possibilities," Naoko pursed her lips, checking her own fish and removing it from the fire, shaking it slightly to allow it to cool in the evening air. "One, I suppose, is some kind of Plus Soul. Maybe a person drowned and the body rotted and the soul remained?"
"Number two," Ketsui nodded, taking another mouthful of fish. "Some kind of experiment gone wrong. Like the creatures that attacked people here in the Real World five years ago."
"Swallow before you talk. That's revolting," Naoko scolded. "I don't need to see the fish being digested, too!"
"Sorry," Ketsui did as he was bidden. "In any case, Nagesu-sama investigated a mountain, didn't he, when Keitarou was still active? Keitarou had allies here who fought against members of the Fifth, Sixth and Third...if I remember right?"
"You're right," Naoko agreed. "One of them ripped the arm right off the Fifth's then Vice Captain, and ate it. That kind of thing lingers in the mind. And I think they did come out of a mountain. So it's not impossible this could be another of those kinds of creatures."
She frowned.
"If so, someone needs to find it and destroy it, as soon as they can," she added. "Whatever those experiments were, they appeared humanoid until shinigami antagonised them. That would be in keeping with the behaviour of this one - it fled, so far, but that doesn't mean it couldn't do harm if it was challenged."
"There is a third possibility, though," Ketsui finished his fish, tossing the greasy stick into the fire and watching it spit and hiss as it burned. "I don't really know how it would happen, but we are going through everything, so I'll mention it as well."
"A third possibility?" Naoko cast him a quizzical look, and Ketsui nodded.
"It could be a shinigami," he said simply. "A shinigami with spirit power, trapped in the Real World ice."
"I can't believe I'm actually here complaining about having nothing to do, but I'm afraid, Juu, it's reached the point where even I've had enough of rearranging my sake collection and teasing my recruits."
Shunsui let out a sigh of discontentment, settling himself more comfortably on Ugendou's office floor and leaning up against the panel wall.
"It really can't go on like this. If it does, Tetsuya's threatening to make me organise my paperwork properly. I swear he's been talking to Sora about how to best bully me - so I came here in search of sanctuary."
It was growing dark outside, the night moon glittering in the clear sky over Inner Seireitei. As the sun had set, so Shunsui had appeared at his friend's Division, sake in hand and a hopeful smile on his face. An old friend of Juushirou's Vice Captain as well, it had taken little persuasion for him to be admitted into the Captain's chamber and now they sat there, discussing Seireitei with a half-finished game of shougi covering Juushirou's work table, accompanied by empty sakazuki that glittered with the trace evidence of expensive Kyouraku alcohol.
"Shindou's taken well to the Vice Captain job, then," Juushirou's eyes twinkled with amusement at this plaintive remark, reaching across the table to nudge a shougi piece forward a few spaces. "I'm glad. I know that being your adjutant is a tough job - Sora was worried, when she was promoted to Ninth's Captaincy, that she was leaving him with a big headache."
"She said that?" Shunsui looked wounded, then, as Juushirou nodded, he smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe she's right. It's been an adjustment for both of us, if I'm truthful. Tetsuya's a good shinigami, and people back home in District Eight are very happy that Eighth Division now has a Kyouraku born Vice Captain - although if they could hear the gutter variety of his general yard vocabulary, they might be less impressed. Sora and I worked together seamlessly for a long time, though. Letting her go...that was a hard call on my part. But, I promised her I wouldn't hold her back in terms of her career. Ninth has recovered, slowly but surely, thanks to her influence. In the meantime, Tetsuya and I manage just fine. Eighth is quiet, and reasonably tidy, and I know that I can leave it in his care and run away here for a night tipple and a quiet game with an old friend."
"I'll drink to that," Juushirou lifted the almost empty sake bottle, tipping the contents carefully into Shunsui's sakazuki, before draining the remaining drops into his own. "I'm glad to see you happier, as well. I know it's been quiet, but it's not really a bad thing. There are factors still to settle, I know - but..."
He trailed off, eying Shunsui pensively, and Shunsui nodded.
"I haven't forgotten," he agreed simply. "I won't - it's not something that you forget. It's a bad thing, Juu, but taking life seems to do something to both me and my sword, something I can't really explain. After that fight we had in the snow, all those years ago, I summoned Katen Kyoukotsu for the first time. And this time...since Keitarou died...I don't know how to put my finger on it, but I know Katen Kyoukotsu has grown again. It's proof, I suppose, of the warrior blood I like to deny...but I'm all right. We've had peace, and so Keitarou's death is something I've put aside as the necessary cost of that peace."
"And, this term, you're the Captain Commander," Juushirou tipped his sakazuki in his friend's direction in a mock toast, before putting the vessel to his lips and draining it dry, setting it down on the sill beside them. "It's very impressive, really. Your kinsfolk must be proud."
"Don't," Shunsui grimaced, rolling his eyes. "I don't relish it. Don't tease me. Wait till it rolls around to your turn. It's no picnic. And, with things being quiet, it means mostly paperwork and that's all. Paperwork is my nemesis, so I'm not enjoying the duty. I wish Seireitei would appoint a permanent Captain Commander to take care of all of these things. Hard work isn't really my bag."
"I don't know. It might be fun," Juushirou reflected. "I don't mind work. It doesn't scare me the way it does you."
"You're not allergic. You just don't understand my suffering," Shunsui pouted, pretending to be put out, but then he laughed, emptying his own sakazuki of sake. "Well, maybe you're right. Either way, such is life and I can't do much about it."
"And it's not totally peaceful." Juushirou reminded him. "Rukongai has had some alarming reports, recently. There's the problem of settling the border camp's people, and I have Ketsui and Naoko still in the Real World, canvassing the unmapped area for spiritual anomalies. They might seem like run of the mill shinigami problems, but they still need to be addressed."
"True enough," Shunsui agreed, gazing at the shougi board with a critical eye. "I can't do a lot about Rukongai - it's not Eighth's rotation there. In terms of the border camp, I sent a message to my brother this morning asking about potential settlement sites within District Eight. I know that the old refugee camp around my Uncle's former land is empty, and, while it's still fairly wild and abandoned since the people left it, there's potential there to set up simple housing. The stream has recovered in the time it's been left empty, and none of the Kyouraku want the manor, on account of it's association with my Uncle's insurrection. I suggested to Nii-sama that the old abandoned village nearby could be rebuilt, and, maybe, extra provision could be put in place to take some of these people in. I hope he'll write back as soon as he can to tell me his thoughts...but he has said, in the past, that he supports what the border camp is there to do, so I think he'll consider it seriously."
"That would be a help," Juushirou looked pleased. "I sent a patrol there this morning, and I'm waiting on their report of conditions. If Eighth has an area of land in which some of them could be settled, it will take pressure off the border camp and, maybe, create room for more potential settlers. Thank you, Shunsui. I'm glad."
"For a project that belongs to the Urahara, you seem very personally involved in this," Shunsui remarked astutely, and Juushirou smiled sheepishly.
"It's not my project, and there's a lot I can't do, as I have no land to give," he admitted. "I have Koku, though, and so it's always there, in my mind. Keitarou could hide there because we, as shinigami, were not thorough enough in caring for people we are here to protect. Koku is a constant reminder of that duty and that failure - and so, whatever little I can do...and encourage others to do..."
He trailed off, and Shunsui's eyes twinkled in amusement.
"I suppose this sudden urgency for work has nothing to do with the fact a certain healing Shinigami is currently stationed deep in District Four and therefore out of your immediate fly zone?" he teased, and Juushirou reddened, a look of irritation entering his gaze. "Ah, you're reacting to it, which means that's part of the truth. You and Mitsuki are really star-crossed sometimes, you know. You just get a good hold on her and she's off again. I'd almost think Dai-senpai did it on purpose, to keep the both of you from any indiscreet little accidents of nature."
"Sometimes I worry about your brain," Juushirou sighed heavily, shaking his head. "Not everything is a scandal waiting to be read."
"No, but you and she are a lot more official in your relationship now, even if it is still, officially, unofficial," Shunsui said blithely, reaching across to move a shougi piece into place. "There. Your move. Which it probably is with her, too, if I'm honest. I understand that you can't easily marry her because it would tie the both of you down, but if she's always somewhere else..."
"I know, but it's her work, and I wouldn't change it," Juushirou recomposed himself, glancing at Shunsui's move with a grimace. "I hate sneaky moves like that. Talking to me about Mitsuki and using it to try and distract me won't work, you know. I know how you play this game."
"I wasn't, really," Shunsui sat back with a shrug. "I genuinely worry for the pair of you."
"Well, time is quality, not quantity," Juushirou said reflectively. "Whether Unohana-taichou is or isn't doing it on purpose, the fact is that Mitsuki is an officer she trusts. This hospital in Fourth may seem like a low-key way of getting her out of my vicinity, but it's really on the cutting edge of healing medicine. They're trying new techniques and working on incurable diseases. Mitsuki has an interest in such things, so when she was asked, of course she wanted to go. She's only been there six months and," he swept a shougi piece across the board, "unlike when she was in the Spiritless Zone, we can write."
"Incurable diseases, huh?" Shunsui's eyes took on a look of comprehension. "I see. That's almost romantic."
"Well, haibyou isn't on the roster, not yet," Juushirou offered a wry smile. "But who knows? Maybe one day."
"So I suppose then that I should put your interest in the border camp down to your other chronic ailment - idealism?" Shunsui asked. Juushirou looked amused.
"Perhaps," he owned. "I don't suppose that's going to be cured any time soon, but the potential of it excites me. I can't pretend otherwise."
"You see a longer term future in this, don't you?" Shunsui realised, and Juushirou nodded.
"Patches of Rukongai are unstable," he said pensively. "That's a sign, according to the research I've been doing, of an imbalance somewhere in the spiritual sphere. A gap, somewhere...I don't know where, but I remember that Sensei first began the Academy to try and combat that fact. You and I, we are products of that decision. Sora, Enishi, Naoko...and many others of us here are also Academy graduates, doing what we learned to do - but even that is not always going to be enough. The Clans weren't enough on their own, and even though the Districts now provide more shinigami than ever before, it's still..."
"Too little, too late?" Shunsui offered. Juushirou shrugged.
"Not too late, I hope," he said cautiously, "but meeting Koku did make me think, for the first time, that Rukongai might be a source that's as yet untapped. These people in the border camp, they are waiting for Seireitei registration. If they get that, then they will be legitimately citizens of the Districts. That means...well, it should mean..."
"Rukongai students attending the Academy," Shunsui let out a low whistle. "And you're right, of course. If that happens, then the Clans will be forced to consider whether any spiritually gifted individual from the Rukon should be admitted direct to the Academy, even without Seireitei citizenship. It's a whole new can of worms waiting to be opened."
"It is, but a good one, I think," Juushirou grimaced. "The trouble is, that might also be the reason some Clans are stalling on this settlement business. As soon as these people are registered citizens of a District, they become eligible to work, to marry, and, more importantly for our sake, to train to hold a zanpakutou at the Academy. Koku was allowed to stay here because of the fact that he was born in Rukongai, and no Plus soul is born in Rukongai. But, by the same token, no Plus Soul in Rukongai ought to have spirit power. If they do, it means they either had it in life, or they were contaminated in death, through careless soul burial. Some of that responsibility would fall on us as shinigami...in which case..."
"Mm, I see where you're going, and that this is obviously going to be your next long term crusade," Shunsui's eyes glittered with amusement. "It's all right, though. I don't disagree. The more shinigami, the bigger the squads, and the better that is for everyone. I wouldn't mind recruiting students from that background, if they had what it took - but I don't suppose it's me you're thinking you need to convince."
"No, you're fine," Juushirou agreed. "It's not really a crusade, Shunsui, but I believe in it. At least, as a very first step, I believe in these people getting settled and becoming citizens. Then, well, let's see where it goes from there. They're not obliged to join the Gotei, or to want to train - but if they did, and they showed promise, I'd like to think we would be ready to welcome them as recruits, since it sounds as though Rukongai needs the additional personnel."
"What about the Real World? When do Ketsui and Naoko come back?"
"Tomorrow, I hope," Juushirou said thoughtfully. "That's an entirely different kind of investigation, but I'm expecting them to have some insight into the spiritual anomalies. Thirteenth has a formal deployment to the Real World soon, and so it made sense to send them to scout. Plus, it got rid of Ketsui from Seireitei for a while. His brother's parole and everything...I didn't want him being distracted. Especially since Hirata told me the lad isn't allowed to come here...I don't know how Ketsui will react to that, although Kirio was most unhappy about it."
"Punishment beyond the sentence, huh," Shunsui observed, and Juushirou nodded. "Well, at least he's been granted it. It's a step forward, since I remember you saying he'd fallen to pieces, after his arrest."
"He was a complete stranger to me, then," Juushirou admitted sadly. "I still can't quite get my head around it, to be truthful. I'm grateful to Hirata's forebearance, though. He has no obligation to forgive the boy, but he seems willing to put it in the past and move on. Tenichi's unstable behaviour five years ago needed a firm hand to manage it, and, maybe, Kai's prison has done that. Seventh Division, probably, is the place to build on that framework, much as it pains me. I have reservations of course - he was my recruit and I was fond of him - but he's not my subordinate now. He won't come here, and I won't see him very often. I just have to impress on my Division members that those rules are also for Tenichi's sake."
"Well, if he redeems himself through loyal service to Hirata, his future isn't over," Shunsui said wisely. "He didn't kill anyone, even if he did do stupid things. It's up to him, now, and I'm glad you feel that way about it, too."
"I don't really have any other option," Juushirou said wryly. "It's a decision out of my hands."
"Taichou?"
Before Shunsui could respond to this, there was a light knock at the door, followed by a voice.
"Taichou, it's Kirio. I'm here to report on the border camp. Fukutaichou said you were in a meeting - is it inconvenient to come in?"
"A meeting, huh?" Shunsui gazed at the shougi board in amusement. "Enishi really is getting creative with his explanations, isn't he?"
"I'm sure it's my bad influence," Juushirou agreed with a grin. "Do you mind? I did ask her to come as soon as she returned."
"I don't. It won't hurt me to hear the report, too - given that I'm putting pressure on my brother for land," Shunsui shook his head, gesturing to the door. "Be my guest. I'm not here to disturb your hard work, Ukitake-taichou."
"If you're not, it's a first," Juushirou bantered, then, as Shunsui grimaced at him, he raised his voice.
"It's all right, Kirio. Come in. It's only Kyouraku-taichou with me, and we've finished discussing business for the time being."
"I didn't think we'd really begun discussing it, actually," Shunsui murmured, as the door slid back to reveal the Fourth seated officer, impeccably dressed despite her afternoon patrol. She was not alone, however, for in her shadow was the apprehensive figure of Thirteenth Division's Twelfth Seat, and, at the sight of him, Shunsui's humour died, his brows knitting together in consternation.
"Koku, too?"
"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir. Kyouraku-taichou," Kirio bowed her head apologetically towards both Captains. "I would have waited, when Fukutaichou said you had company, but, in light of our patrol...I felt..."
She glanced at Kohaku, who lowered his own head, tension clearly coursing through his young body.
"Koku has something he wanted to report to you," Kirio concluded softly. "Please, sir. It sounds strange to me, but hear him out."
"I'd like to hear both of you report, then, if you don't mind," Juushirou gestured for them to come in, indicating for Kirio to take a couple of spare cushions from the pile on which the two officers could kneel. "Shunsui...I mean Kyouraku-taichou is also curious to hear the status of the Camp, so anything you want to say to me can be said before him without hesitation."
"Yes, sir," Kirio did as she was bidden, ensuring Kohaku followed suit, and then cast her Captain a troubled look.
"First, sir, the border camp is busy and crowded, but the people are in reasonable health, considering. They have not lost their spirits, although it seems some of them struggle more for food than they should. Still, none of them are emaciated or starving. All of them are eager to leave and we have gathered statements from them. Kira is making a full written report of them for you now, sir, as he is the best at that kind of thing, and I know you want to submit our detailed findings to the Urahara."
"Yes, thank you," Juushirou nodded his head. "Kira's writing is neat and he lays things out clearly. I'll look forward to reviewing it when he's finished."
"He said he'd be done this evening, sir, and would ensure you had it before breakfast tomorrow," Kirio agreed. She glanced at Kohaku, and the younger officer twisted together his hands nervously.
"You said Koku had something to report too," Shunsui observed lightly. "Koku, would you rather I wasn't here? I realise that it might be harder to report to something in front of another Division's Captain. Especially me."
Kohaku jerked his head up, meeting Shunsui's gaze with a sad one of his own. He shook his head.
"No, sir," he said softly. "I don't mind, I just...don't know how to really explain it. It's as Kirio-san said - it makes no sense. Not even to me, and yet I'm sure I didn't make a mistake. The more I think about it, I'm sure."
"Then try and tell us what you need to," Juushirou said gently. "We're listening."
Kohaku took a deep breath.
"Yes, sir," he agreed hesitantly. "I was in the border camp. I spoke to a young girl. It was all...very normal. I liked being there, talking to people. She was worried about being separated from her brother, and I said that it would be okay, for them to stay together when they were settled. She said that she was worried he didn't have enough food, and then she went back to their shelter. We were ordered to stay in spiritual contact with each other, so I raised my senses to find Furuta, who had been with me just before...and when I did...I..."
He paused, swallowing hard, and Kirio reached across to reassuringly squeeze his arm.
"Take your time," she suggested, but Kohaku shook his head.
"It's important," he said firmly. "I'm sorry. Especially to you, Kyouraku-taichou. I know that...talking about this...might upset you, like it upset me. Even so, I'm sure, and you need to know. I sensed something in the border camp that shouldn't have been there. Something familiar. Someone familiar. My...my father."
"Keitarou?" Shunsui's eyes widened, and Juushirou's brows locked together in a confused frown.
"Koku, I don't understand. What do you mean, your father?"
"Otousama is dead," Kohaku spoke levelly, although there was a slight tremor in his voice. "I know that. He died five years ago. I forsaw it, and I've never doubted it. Nonetheless, he was in the border camp. And yet...the more I think about it, I know that he wasn't. Just...it seemed like it. That's all."
"I see," Juushirou paused, then shook his head. "No, I'm afraid I don't really. You can't explain more clearly than that? I don't doubt your word, but I don't know quite how to make sense of what you just said."
"Keitarou was in the border camp, but yet at the same time, you knew he wasn't?" Shunsui asked quietly, and Kohaku sent him a guilty look, nodding his head.
"When I felt the sensation, I tried to track it," he said sadly, "but when I did, all I could see was...was...my father. As a c...corpse. Staring at me. Like...he hated me. For betraying him."
He broke off, swallowing hard, and Juushirou sighed.
"All right," he said gently. "There's no reason for you to upset yourself - that's not what any of us want."
He glanced at Kirio.
"What do you know about this? Anything you can add?"
Kirio sighed, shrugging her shoulders.
"Furuta was with him when I got on the scene," she admitted. "Furuta reported that Koku had seemed not really himself, and that he'd had to shake him to snap him out of it. Koku told me, then, what he thought he'd seen. Furuta didn't think it was something he should talk about, especially with the recruits there, so I let it go until we got back and I had a chance to talk to them both about it privately. We decided then it needed to come to you. Furuta's a pragmatic officer, but he didn't think that Koku imagined it. I think he was worried about Koku - and so was I. He was very pale, Taichou. I thought he might faint."
"And how do you feel now, Koku?" Juushirou asked the young shinigami. Kohaku pulled a face.
"Unsettled," he admitted, "but I'm all right. It scared me, I admit it. After I saw that...I didn't try any more to find what it was that caused the sensation. I know that was irresponsible of me, sir. I should have done more investigating, and I'm sorry, but at the time, my mind was...distracted. I didn't really think, until we got back here."
"Nobody else sensed anything untoward in the camp, sir," Kirio added. "Just Koku."
"But Koku's spirit perception is extremely precise," Shunsui folded his arms across his chest in an appearance of nonchalance, but Juushirou knew that it was little more than a pretence. "It's more than possible he picked up something fleeting and faint - something that, normally, wouldn't be noticed, but was noticeable to him because it reminded him of his father."
"Something with similar reiatsu?" Juushirou asked, and Shunsui shrugged.
"I don't know," he admitted. "But after what happened five years ago, I learned not to doubt the things Koku says. If he sensed it, it was there. That's all."
"But Father is dead," Kohaku objected, and Shunsui nodded.
"He is," he agreed bleakly. "That's something neither of us will ever completely forget. No, it wasn't Keitarou in the camp - but something that made you think of him all the same."
He cast Kohaku a sad smile.
"Your father didn't hate you, though, when he died," he added gently. "I never told him that you led me to find him. I made him believe you were my hostage. He died without knowing your involvement with me or with anything that happened that day. Keitarou's ghost isn't haunting you, nor would he blame you. I took the responsibility for it all myself."
"It doesn't change my involvement, though," Kohaku had regained his composure now, and he bowed his head towards the older Captain apologetically. "Thank you, Kyouraku-taichou, but I know and have always known my own guilt. The image I saw wasn't Father's ghost, but my own feelings over what I did. Sensing his reiatsu made me remember, I think...what I felt that day, when he died. I thought I'd moved past it, but perhaps not. Because of that, I wasn't able to investigate, and so I didn't fully do my duty. If you want me to return there, Taichou," he added, turning to Juushirou, "I am willing to go. I asked Kirio-san, but she said that, because it was Third's jurisdiction..."
"No, we must wait, now for Nagesu-sama to return." Juushirou shook his head. "We must discuss it with him first, I'm afraid, as this is his project and his authority. More, Keitarou is buried on Urahara land, and, therefore, it becomes a matter involving his family."
He cast Kohaku a weary smile.
"I'll address it with him at the first opportunity," he promised. "In whatever way I can. For now, both of you are dismissed. Go get something to eat, and attend your evening duties."
"Yes, sir," Kirio got to her feet, and, after a moment, Kohaku followed suit, bowing his head properly towards both of the Captains. Then they were gone, and Juushirou and Shunsui exchanged looks.
"What do you think?" Juushirou asked, once the door had been closed and the two officers were out of earshot. Shunsui sighed, rubbing his brow.
"I think that Keitarou is a nightmare both Koku and I are trapped into for the rest of our natural lives," he said frankly. "That aside, I don't think he hallucinated. That's what you're asking, isn't it? Whether the stress of being there got to him...but I don't think so. It might not make sense, but we've learned before that things he says don't always. Even so, they're not things we should ignore."
"But Keitarou is dead and buried in District Three," Juushirou pointed out. Shunsui nodded.
"Yes, he is," he agreed. "I killed him myself, so there's no doubt. He's not stalking the border camp, Juu, I'm sure of that. But Koku is smart, and more importantly, perceptive. Whatever he picked up in that camp, it reminded him of Keitarou, and it created a disturbing image in his mind. He's probably right that that was his guilt, and it threw him from his purpose, preventing him from properly investigating the scene. That might have been the intention, or it might have been incidental - but when Nagesu-sama returns, I suggest you make it a priority to mention this to him. I don't think it would hurt to have the camp properly searched, just in case there's something we've overlooked."
Author's Note: Eighth Division
As with other Divisions, here's a refresher rundown on the key people in the current Eighth under Shunsui's command (he seems to have been a bit story-neglected up till now, but I haven't forgotten about him at all!)
Eighth Division
Captain: Kyouraku Shunsui
Vice Captain: Shindou Tetsuya. Appeared in Sukuse as the Third Seat. Of high birth but very down to earth and prone to swearing when things are amiss.
Fourth Seat: Nagasata Kaoru First appeared in Fourth Maki, as Shunsui's deshi. A District shinigami with a sunny temperament
Eighth Seat: Magaki Shizuka First appeared as a small child in Fourth Maki, and is the charge of Shunsui's illegitimate half sister, Riri. Shunsui greatly suspects she may be his daughter, but this is a closely kept secret. A great friend of Kotetsu Ketsui, in the Thirteenth Division.
Ninth Seat:Nakamura Hanako A strong willed shinigami of District birth, and with nomadic roots. A former schoolmate of Shunsui and Juushirou's, she greatly respects Shunsui after he helped her during a school camp trip and, while sharp tongued to most people, is generally respectful to her Captain. She does not get along with 13th Division's Shikibu Naoko.
Additional - if you think I've been playing musical chapters, you'd be right. I accidentally missed this chapter out and didn't realise until later. This is the proper Chapter 12, and the Return chapter is 13, which will be reuploaded next. My apologies for the confusion. We'll blame jetlag.