A/N: I've had to take a slower writing pace so that I could fit in work and rest and other things around this story, but don't worry, I'm going to get you guys to the wedding. The omake is for all of you that asked for more Byakuya reading Game of Thrones. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. At all.

Chapter 21: Unlikely allies

The surface of Jungetsu's pond was still cracked, but it seemed to Yuzu's eye that the cracks had healed a lot more since the last time she had come to visit. A week ago, the cracks had been deep scars, zigzagging their way across the surface. Now, they were shallow, almost like engravings than actual scars. The glass at their edges wasn't as smooth as the pond's surface, giving the whole scene a frosted look.

It was almost beautiful. It reminded her of pottery she had seen repaired with gold and silver, the repairs lending beauty to the scars instead of erasing them entirely. She wondered if even those little cracks would fade in time, or if they would always be there, a reminder of who she was and what she had once tried to do.

Her thoughts had been turning dark lately. That wasn't good, but it wasn't strange either, especially considering everything that had happened with Renteki.

It still wasn't the right move to have, so soon before her own wedding.

If you were not going to say it, I would have…Jungetsu said, offering Yuzu a fond smile as the words traced themselves on the pond's surface. Brooding ill becomes you.

"You heard all that?" Yuzu asked, giving the spirit a sheepish smile.

This is your mind, said Jungetsu. I hear all that occurs within it.

"Sometimes I forget that," Yuzu admitted.

That is only natural. It is in our nature to want to distance ourselves from our innermost selves.

Yuzu thought about commenting on that, decided against it. It was true, after all. In one way or another, it was difficult to accept oneself fully. It was why bankai was so powerful, and so rare. In order to achieve it, one had to have complete mastery over themselves.

And speaking of bankai…

"Jungetsu-chan," Yuzu said. "How do you feel…about bankai?"

Jungetsu didn't answer for a while, her mouth twisting into a frown. She lowered one hand to her lap, the other moving across herself in a sweeping motion.

You reveal much in the asking of the question.

Yuzu lowered her eyes to her own lap. Her hands, she realized, were clenched into fists, fingers digging into the fabric of her hakama. "Yes," she said. "I'm aware. But this is my mind. You already know what I'm thinking."

Yes, Jungetsu said. But in order for this to work, you have to be willing to admit it.

Yuzu exhaled, letting out the breath she was holding. "Byakuya's leaving in a few days. I'm worried."

About him?

"In a way," said Yuzu. "But Byakuya is more than capable of taking care of himself."

Then you worry about what may happen when he leaves. What may happen to those left behind.

Yuzu nodded. "I don't think this is over," she said. "And the timing is suspicious. I think Renteki is going to try something. Either of the Rentekis."

And you don't wish to be caught unawares. And so, you would open the white palace.

"If it comes to that," said Yuzu. "I just want to know if that's an option."

Jungetsu frowned. It may be possible…she said, after some time. I am healed, but I am not healed fully. There will be cost. The question, in the end, is if it is a cost you are willing to pay.

Yuzu nodded, drawing in a slow breath. It wasn't the answer she had been hoping for, but it was the answer she had been expecting. She bowed her head.

"Thank you for speaking with me, Jungetsu-chan," she said, starting to rise. "I'll visit again soon."

A word before you leave? Jungetsu asked, stopping her. Yuzu looked back at the surface of the pond. We are, all of us, bound to our desires. Yuzu. That does not exclude you. If you aim to use my power to ensnare others, ensure that you do not get caught in your own.

Yuzu let out the breath she was holding, nodding her head. "I'll…keep that in mind, Jungetsu-chan," she said. "Thank you."

Jungetsu nodded, bowing her head.

The world faded away into white.

When Yuzu opened her eyes, she was sitting in seiza on the floor of the vice-captain's quarters, half-packed boxes strewn around her. Jungetsu lay across her lap, sunlight reflecting over the blade. She looked down at her reflection in its flat, letting out a sigh.

All of us, bound to our desires…

"Renteki-san…confessed something to me," Yuzu had said, watching Byakuya carefully from where she stood in front of his desk. "He told me that his uncle asked him to create a scandal. He says he isn't going to go through with it anymore, that he was going to tell his uncle that himself. But he wanted me to know before he did anything."

Byakuya frowned at her, and Yuzu saw an echo of something that made her heart hurt. Suspicion. Like he knew that she wasn't telling him the whole story.

"Renteki Seijuro told you this of his own free will?" he asked.

Yuzu nodded. That part, at least, was true enough. If she kept the fact that Renteki Seijuro had actually made an attempt secret, it did little to change the overall outcome. "He seems to have been looking for excuses to be near me," she said. "Naturally, we talked a little during that time. I think that made it more difficult to go through with it."

Byakuya frowned at her, but nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised," he said.

The compliment surprised her, given the situation. Her face flushed in spite of herself.

"I don't think I did anything special, though!" she said. "I think talking to him made him see me as a person, and not just as a target. I think that made it difficult to continue."

"You…trust this change of heart then?" Byakuya asked. "Have you considered the possibility that this might, also, be part of the plan?"

"A false sense of security?" Yuzu asked. "The thought did cross my mind, but…what would be the point? We weren't likely to trust him, one way or another. But if Renteki-san went to talk to his uncle this morning, and his uncle's first move is to call you away from the Division."

"Yes," said Byakuya. "It's likely a trap. And one that leaves you here, alone with Renteki Seijuro."

Yuzu shook her head. "I don't think Renteki-san is part of this equation anymore."

Byakuya's brows arched. "You trust him?" he asked.

"I don't," said Yuzu, frowning. "I'm not that stupid. But I don't think Renteki-san is inherently a bad person. He got himself into this because his uncle promised to declare him his heir. That makes him self-serving and ambitious, but 'evil' is stretching it."

He didn't look convinced. "For the sake of argument," he said, "A self-serving person can still be turned to evil ends."

"Not as long as Renteki-san believes that siding with us is the better option," said Yuzu. "And at the moment, it is. He doesn't have to get his hands dirty."

"And we could very well deal with the problem of his uncle for him," said Byakuya. He considered this for a moment, before looking back at the paperwork on his desk. "This discussion gets us nowhere though. Our issue is with the wolf, not with the cub."

"You're still planning on accepting Renteki's invitation?" Yuzu asked.

"As informative as this conversation has been, I still have no legitimate reason to refuse," said Byakuya. He looked back at her. "I don't suppose you could find a reason to be with your family while I'm gone?"

"No," said Yuzu. "It's tempting, but no. What kind of precedent would I be setting if I ran away?"

Byakuya nodded. "I thought you would say that," he said. "Don't let yourself be caught alone with him. Or with anyone, for that matter. There's still plenty of time to manufacture a scandal…"

Yuzu breathed in deep as she stood, sliding Jungetsu safely back into its sheath. She tucked the sword back into her obi, looking around at the nearly empty room.

After taking another moment to collect herself, she stepped out into the Division to begin her day.

Byakuya wasn't in the office today. With Renteki Shuntaro's event in two days, he had taken the day off to handle preparations of his own. Yuzu didn't particularly mind the extra work—the Sixth ran like a well-oiled machine on most days, so it was no bother for her to run the Division for a day. She would have liked the company, though. Trying to arrange a wedding and a honeymoon while also trying to make sure that all the necessary work was completed before that and that her quarters had been cleared was stressful to do alone.

It still felt surreal, Yuzu thought, looking at her little desk calendar and making notes for the things she would like done during the week blocked off as 'vacation'. Like she was planning this schedule for someone else. But with the wedding just over a week away and tickets booked for a holiday in the living world, it was starting to feel more real. Her kimono was ready, the vice-captain's quarters half-empty. The menus had been done, the flower arrangements planned. The guest list had been completed and submitted ages ago, and gifts were already beginning to arrive at the Kuchiki Manor from various sources.

The only thing left to do was to actually get married.

And survive whatever Renteki was planning, of course. That was important as well.

Yuzu sighed, snapping her notebook shut. Her mind was wandering too much for her to focus on desk work in this empty office. She set aside everything that she was doing for later, standing up and walking out the door to do rounds of the Division.

As she'd predicted, there wasn't too much for her to actually do. The daily routine of shinigami life was in full swing, and Yuzu dropped in on training sessions, gave a few comments on a kido practice session, stopped to encourage those assigned to cleaning duty, and dropped in on those shinigami that were currently off-shift, many of them relaxing in the courtyards or the mess hall. Every group she dropped in on was appreciative of her input, but she felt that it was her presence they valued more. Certainly, she didn't have too much to contribute to what they were doing.

She was standing on a veranda overlooking an empty garden, wondering if she should get everyone together for a training exercise, when she spotted Kawamoto coming down the path, her vision obscured by the stack of heavy books that she was carrying. Yuzu's eyes widened.

"Do you need help with that, Kawamoto-san?" she asked.

Kawamoto jumped and nearly dropped the books. Yuzu reached out as the tower started to sway, but the young shinigami quickly found her balance, catching herself before the books could fall over.

"Fu-Fukutaicho!" she said. "I didn't see you there."

"Don't worry about it," said Yuzu, giving her a reassuring smile. "Do you need help with the books?"

Kawamoto's face flushed in embarrassment, although Yuzu could clearly see that she was straining to keep hold of the pile. "Ah, n-no! I can handle it. Thank you, fukutaicho."

"Are you sure?" Yuzu asked. "I'm not doing anything right now."

Kawamoto turned away from Yuzu, lowering her eyes to the ground. "I-I'm sure," she said. "We're just…cleaning the library. I can handle this. I can do this much."

"Kawamoto-san?" Yuzu asked, feeling a touch of concern.

"I'm fine!" Kawamoto said, her words coming out sharper than Yuzu expected, and, judging from the look on her face, sharper than Kawamoto had intended. The heat crept up to her face. "I'm sorry…" she mumbled. "But I'm fine. Please don't worry about me."

"Alright," Yuzu said, nodding at her. She took a step back, and without meaning to, she realized that she was speaking in the same sort of soft, wary tone that one might use to calm a frightened animal. "Alright, Kawamoto-san."

Kawamoto let out all her breath in a rush. She looked miserable standing there, shoulders slumped, eyes fixed on the ground. "Th-thank you," she said. She offered Yuzu as much of a bow as she could with the books in her arms. "Um…s-see you later."

Yuzu nodded, watching as Kawamoto walked off, the load in her arms swaying with each step. When the shinigami had disappeared around the corner, she let out a tired sigh, looking back at the garden.

There were so many things, she thought. So many pieces to all of this.

At some point, it was all going to fall apart.

The corridor she was standing in was mostly unused during daily operations. Yuzu really wasn't expecting anyone else to run into her there. So she was surprised when a shinigami appeared beside her, bowing respectfully.

"Sorry for the interruption, fukutaicho," he said. "You have a visitor."

"A visitor?" Yuzu asked, gesturing for him to straighten up. "Who?"

The person the shinigami named was the last person Yuzu had been expecting. Her eyes widened at his answer.

"Nishimori Azami-dono."

Azami was waiting in the administrative office when Yuzu arrived, examining the books on the shelves with her hands clasped behind her back. Yuzu let the office door close behind her, turning to face the woman.

"If you're looking for Byakuya, Azami-dono, I'm afraid he isn't here," she said.

"I know," Azami said, turning away from the bookshelves to face Yuzu. "I'm here to talk to you."

Yuzu studied Azami's expression, taking note the solemn look in her eye. She had the sense again, the same sense that she had when speaking to Renteki, that this was another one of those moments where there was more happening than was immediately clear. Her instincts urged caution, but if Azami had come all this way, Yuzu wasn't going to send her off without listening to what she had to say.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Yuzu asked.

Azami's eyes narrowed. She set the paperweight she had been examining back on the shelf.

"Neither of us are stupid, Yuzu-dono," Azami said. "And I find myself growing tired of politics. Can we speak freely here or not?"

Yuzu's eyes traveled to the office's windows, the shutters open wide to let in the summer air. Her eyes moved from there to the administrative office's thin wooden door. It wouldn't be difficult to eavesdrop on their conversation, if someone really wanted to. She'd like to think that her shinigami had a little more sense and respect than that, at least those that remained.

"This is about as free as it gets," Yuzu said, "Unless you'd rather meet somewhere else."

"That won't be necessary," Azami said. "I just came to warn you about Renteki Shuntaro."

Yuzu fought off the urge to laugh, because what was she doing this entire time if not worrying about Renteki Shuntaro. It would have been a bitter laugh, on the edge of hysterical, and some of that must have showed on her face, because Azami nodded her head.

"I can see the name is familiar," she said. "I take it there's already been an attempt at disrupting the wedding?"

"One," said Yuzu, thinking back to her conversation with Seijuro. "But we're both aware of the threat."

"Are you?" Azami asked, brows arching. Before Yuzu could respond, she turned around, facing her fully. "This meeting that Byakuya is attending. Do you know who will be there?"

Yuzu shook her head. "No," she said. "I assumed it would be similar to Lady Yosen's party."

Azami's lip curled into a frown, her eyes narrowing. "Sloppy," she said. "You should make it a point to know these things, or at least actively try to find them out. No, this will not be like Lady Yosen's party. That was an established event, with invitations sent out weeks beforehand. This party, it seems, will be attended by whatever subset of the peerage Lord Renteki was able to gather together on short notice. Including my lord father, who, despite considerable insult to our persons in recent history, has informed me that it might be prudent to pass this warning along. Think carefully. You've never been stupid."

Yuzu thought. It didn't take very long. The words that she needed were right there, buried in Azami's speech, and they quickly floated to the top of the mire in her mind.

Short notice.

"This gathering wasn't planned," she said. "It isn't just that Lord Renteki is using the party as an excuse to get Byakuya away from Seireitei. Getting Byakuya away from Seireitei is the only purpose of this party."

"Exactly," said Azami. "And it's even curiouser that, given the fact that you're getting married to Renteki-dono's lord in just over a week, that he hasn't also invited you. That said, Renteki-dono has made it clear that he isn't willing to accept you as his Lady, so the slight could be explained under those circumstances."

The thought had never occurred to Yuzu, that if Renteki had wanted to harm Byakuya, or to harm them both, he could have just as easily invited her to come to the gathering. The fact that Renteki had chosen not to suggested that he had his own reasons for wanting them kept apart.

She'd already suspected that Renteki would try to use this opportunity to move against her specifically. But having confirmation was chilling in and of itself. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with this information. If she acted on it too quickly, she might be wasting the only advantage she had in this game, the fact that Renteki was still not sure how much she knew.

"I'd keep my eyes open, if I were you," Azami said. "That's all I wanted to say."

"Thank you, Azami-dono," Yuzu said, nodding. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good," said Azami. "Now. I'm having a hard time deciding on my gift for this wedding. Do you have any suggestions?"

TO BE CONTINUED

Omake

It was a nice summer day. A quiet summer day, without wedding planning or worrying about the Renteki Clan's machinations. Given that it was also the Sixth's day off, it was even more of a rarity. Yuzu sat with her back against a tree in one of the Kuchiki Manor's gardens, enjoying the quiet intimacy—maintained by Maki, whose instructions kept any curious servants or gardeners away—of Byakuya resting his head on her lap while he read a book.

She ran her fingers idly through his hair, watching the koi swim through the nearby pond and occasionally giving the living world novel she had picked up for him curious glances to see where in the story he was. It was a translated novel with a brightly colored over, the title translating to The Vast Land of the Sword Storm.

She wasn't looking at him, but she could tell the exact moment when things in the story had taken a turn for the worst, because Byakuya went tense.

"Yuzu," he said, not looking up from his book.

"Yes?" Yuzu asked.

"Did we invite the Nishimori Clan to the wedding?"

Yuzu glanced at the page that the book was open to. "Red Wedding?" she guessed.

"They are not allowed to request changes in music," Byakuya said simply, flipping the page.