Note: This took a lot longer than the others XD I was hit with a strange writer's block where I can't write the scenes properly because something's always off or missing in between. And I couldn't move to the scene I wanted because of it.

to J'aime Manga: Ichigo learning about the intricacies of Zanpakuto as more than a martial arts/sword discipline will be a challenge for me to write. He's stubborn to believe in ceremonies unless it fits his understanding of the world lol

to fatescrewedmeover: Ichigo and Tsukasa will have their moment lol

to giada: Kaien's 'heart' lesson isn't something I wanted to take out even in AUs. He's had so much impact on her in the manga and it's an element that I'll never remove from any AU (if I'm writing it) even if Kaien stays alive.

to LovelyFanGirl17: Thank you :D I try to write fast while I still have the time to do so.

to gadez: Yay! I haven't thought of what jobs the other masters have actually lol

to Starlight16: XD I'm glad the questions are answered now. Rukia's reasons for giving the (sealed) sword to Ichigo has been implied so far and most has to do with her simply wanting to get rid of it, but Sodeno's always managed to find it and send it back.

[][][][][]

Chapter 24: Light From A Broken Mirror

"Back so soon, Kurosaki-kun?" Urahara raises his eyebrow once he's opened the door and there is Ichigo right there.

Ichigo steps inside and closes the door behind him. "Rukia is going to fight Sodeno!"

Oh. That's… new.

"What?" Urahara blinks, genuinely confused. "How so?"

"She was there at the house earlier, I don't know how. But, Sodeno showed up and took my bamboo sword and there's a real blade inside it, like your cane. And it ended with Rukia and Sodeno agreeing to duel." Ichigo still hasn't moved from his spot, looking lost and very much like the boy he is. There is, however, something interesting in Ichigo's rambling.

If the blade of Sodeno's sword has been hidden in that bamboo all this time, it explains a few things about Ichigo's strength and speed. He doesn't know how the boy has gotten hold of it from Rukia, but that doesn't matter now. He's learned, unconsciously, to adjust to the weight of that metal while he's taking formal lessons in Kendo at the time. And when Urahara and Yoruichi have started teaching the boy, he's already much stronger and faster than any ordinary Kendo pupil.

Urahara is silently amazed at little accidents.

"Urahara!"

"Yes?" He blinks. He must've dozed off. "OH, it doesn't make sense for Rukia-san to duel Sodeno Shirayuki so soon especially when I've heard she hasn't trained for a few years now. What really happened?"

Ichigo blanches and mutters the explanation under his breath. Urahara has to lean closer to hear it. "He tried to kill me and she defended me."

Try as Urahara might, he can't understand what the master has in mind. "Is there something else?"

Ichigo frowns now, dissatisfied that Urahara can't seem to give him the answer. It takes a while, and Urahara remains patient as he leads the way towards the lounge. He wants to sit and give this some serious thought.

As predicted, Ichigo does trail after him. "Our duel is off! Rukia's taken my place!" This seems to shock Ichigo and he stops moving. Urahara has to turn back and push the boy along.

"That makes more sense. When is this duel?"

"I don't know but we have to stop it."

Urahara clears his throat. "I don't think you can. It's now between Rukia and Sodeno Shirayuki and you will have to respect that. There will be things, from now on, that will be different, Ichigo."

"That guy can kill Rukia," Ichigo says this very slowly. "Do you understand what I'm saying? He can kill her."

"Yes. He even has the right to, if he finds it necessary and she might even let him." Urahara raises his hand when Ichigo stands up from his seat. He motions for Ichigo to sit back down and he complies, albeit it will not take much to have him back up. "Again, some things will be different and all these things you'll learn from Zangetsu."

"But if I'm not dueling Sodeno…"

Urahara suddenly laughs. Of course, how can he forget what started all these? Ichigo stiffens at the burst of laughter as if insulted and Urahara has to rein in his amusement. "You'll also find out from Zangetsu."

"Well, where the hell is Zangetsu?" Ichigo stands up, ready to leave. So predictable.

"Go home and rest, Kurosaki-kun. You're no good to anybody half-asleep."

=====[][][][][]=====

The private lounge is silent with the occasional rustle of a page being turned. Toushiro is on a couch, reading a book. Hanazawa is on a different couch, also reading a book. Nishikado and Mimasaka both have magazines, the same latest issue of Playboy.

Soifon's given up frowning at them so instead, she's staring outside the window at the runway. They have to take a commercial flight out of Tokyo and into Hokkaido to prevent a repetition of what happened with the Hinamori family. Soifon is not too sure whether the terrorist is willing to sacrifice that many people or have heart enough to spare the innocent. She's leaning towards the first, unfortunately.

If the cause is that important, she is willing to sacrifice others as necessary also. It's simply how the Special Forces are trained, and why they produce the best soldiers and assassins. It's a harsh existence, but everyone understands that the mission is more important than the messenger. Nonetheless, sacrificing innocent lives is a different matter. She's not sure she's capable of that and she struggles to understand why there's someone out there who just might do that to get to the three of them.

If the motive is power, getting rid of the three of them is simply the first step. Their demise will prevent the succession, but only temporarily. The Main Houses are entire clans under each House, and a new family can always take over.

Her frown darkens, eyes idly observing the air and land traffic outside while she thinks things through. If they die, Byakuya will be next. The people love him, for some strange reason, so he will be able to stay if it's found necessary. And if Byakuya does meet his end, there is still the Prime Minister to hold things down until the Houses settle internal dispute on which family will take over. If the Prime Minister also dies…

Her thoughts are interrupted when the sliding doors open and both Madarama and Ayasegawa stand up from where they've been sleeping on different chairs earlier. She almost smirks in smug approval at their reaction speed. Special Forces. Her smirk disappears when she sees the people enter.

First, it's Rukia followed by Sodeno Shirayuki then Matsumoto who's stayed outside of the airport earlier to wait for the others. Domyouji steps in next, Suzumebachi and Hyourinmaru not too far behind.

"Cargo's already loaded. Just sit tight here and we'll be off soon," Hyourinmaru says.

"Soon," Soifon repeats. "We should've left hours ago. Hours. This morning in fact, and look at the time." She looks hard on Rukia who returns it with a scowl, but she averts her eyes and looks down. At least the Kuchiki knows it's her fault. But, Soifon bets it's not Rukia's idea, so she redirects her annoyance of this delay at Domyouji who crosses his arms.

"It hadn't been fun being cooped up in here the whole time, that's true," Mimasaka nods, eyes still reading the article in his Playboy magazine.

"The three of you don't need to be here. It's just Domyouji who we need to watch over, also." Suzumebachi closes the door behind her and steps up to the chair nearest Soifon. She props up her legs on the low table with a sigh. "I hate long drives."

"We're default companions of Tsukasa." Nishikado closes his magazine and smiles. "Besides, we wouldn't miss out on any excuse to leave school early."

"First Class passengers of Flight one-three-one can now board the plane at Gate fifteen," the speakers crackle out the voice of an attendant.

She might have preferred to travel by private jet but there are too many of them right now to fit, including the important cargo they must bring along inside the cabin. Soifon looks at Toushiro and he nods. They're both uncomfortable in traveling by plane with so many people. If anything goes wrong, there's nothing they can do during that hour long flight. Such enclosed space does not favor any of them.

Madarama, Ayasegawa and Matsumoto take point while the three masters fall back to take the tail, the rest of them in between. It's a blessing that the F4 are somewhat subdued as they walk through the short hall to the private bridge. It's necessary that no one knows they're in the plane, even as a rumor.

"Hey," Domyouji stops when he enters the cabin. Of course, everyone stops as well including the stewards who are all under the employ of the Domyouji.

"Yes, sir?"

"What're those boxes doing in here?" He points in particular at the scattered cases on the floor, in front of several seats. "Put it where they're supposed to be!"

The stewardess pales, hesitant to comply.

"Ignore him. This entire cabin is paid for," Soifon tells the stewardess and then moves to a seat.

"And yet I own the plane, so what I say goes," Domyouji insists.

"Ah, shut the hell up and sit down, Tsukasa." Rukia shoves him forward so she can pass. "You've already brought me in enough trouble as it is."

He sniggers and lets her pass. "You owe me, by the way."

Rukia rolls her eyes and makes sure to bump Tsukasa into an empty seat before she reaches hers.

That short exchange has brought the entire cabin to a stop once more. Something has changed in the last few hours and Soifon tries to figure out exactly what and when. Soifon's eyes trail after the heiress and looks down, noticing for the first time that there is a case by her feet also, like the rest of them.

=====[][][][][]=====

Once again, Eitoku has something to talk about among its students the following Monday. Those who have been invited in the ball are the current stars as they narrate the event with flair and drama, exaggerated with embellishments that come off more as fantasy to the avid listeners. The absence of the F4 and the nobles only leaves more empty space that people are happy to fill with stories to keep everyone's attention to themselves. All day this has gone on and though it's annoying, and makes Tsukushi worry some more about Kuchiki, she is glad that no one is talking about the embarrassing piano show.

Domyouji's sudden appearance at her house is a comfort, despite his usual rude comments. They will not be around for a while, he's said. And to not be afraid of his mother.

She isn't.

But, she isn't blind either. What has she gotten herself into? They're all very different from her and even though the F4 and the nobles seem to be a league of their own, and not like her classmates, it seems so impossible to find herself standing with them most of the time. It doesn't seem right. And yet, when they're together, she feels at ease. Not a sad ghost in a school that doesn't accept her.

Tsukushi looks down at her bag, already feeling the absence of a loud Domyouji and his friends and the riot with Kuchiki and her friends. She will miss them. School really will be different without them around. They seem to be the only normal people in this place.

She sighs and realizes too late that she should've been looking where she's going. A pretty girl falls over and Tsukushi drops her bag to help the girl up. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"Oh," the girl laughs uncomfortably and starts patting Tsukushi's hand, "I'm okay! I'm okay! Really. I should've been looking, I'm so sorry. It's my fault."

"No, really. It's my fault. Let me help you up," Tsukushi keeps a firm grip on the girl and does as she says. She pulls the girl back on her feet. "I was thinking too deep, I didn't see you. I'm really sorry."

"Ah, I wasn't looking too!" The girl smiles wide and bends to pick up the bag Tsukushi's forgotten about. "Here."

Tsukushi blinks and smiles, "Ah, thank you." The girl really is pretty with her auburn hair and the chest that suddenly reminds her of Matsumoto.

The girl looks behind Tsukushi, at Eitoku Academy. The only time people from the outside can see what's inside is during the start and end of the day when the gates are wide open to allow the cars in and out. The campus is located at the edge of Karakura City and the entire block is just the long driveway to the main building and courtyard. The high school itself is further back, and the university side even farther from here. It's very noticeable when there is an outsider. Getting lost simply isn't an excuse to idle outside the main gate. You have to go out of your way to get here.

"Are you looking for someone?" Tsukushi asks.

The girl blinks a few more times and then smiles back at Tsukushi. "Oh! I was just looking…. it looks so big there inside."

"Yes, it is." Tsukushi sighs, reminded once more at the empty space.

"I wanted to see," the girl sighs also, "well… uhm… I wanted to see how Rukia-san is. Do you know her?"

It's Tsukushi's turn to blink and she takes another look at this girl, and what she's wearing. She's also in uniform, and from a typical public high school in Karakura City. She has to wonder now who this girl is, and why she knows Kuchiki. "Sort of."

"What is she like?" the girl asks softly, eyes downcast as she stares at her fiddling fingers on her bag.

"I don't want to be rude…" Tsukushi starts and she isn't normally suspicious of others, but the recent news and stories about the nobles bring her no comfort, "but who are you?" And from what Domyouji's said, no one is supposed to know.

The girl blinks so much, Tsukushi thinks.

"Oh! I'm Inoue Orihime, pleased to meet you!"

"Uhm… Makino Tsukushi," Tsukushi tries to smile, not used to having someone as enthusiastic as this. This Inoue just switches between mellow and happy in a blink, although it isn't as flawless as she might believe. "You know Kuchiki-san?"

"She went to my school for a while," Inoue smiles.

That's something Tsukushi doesn't expect. She looks again at the uniform Inoue is wearing and tries to figure out how it's possible. Inoue might be Kuchiki's friend then, Tsukushi guesses.

"I see." Tsukushi returns the smile to reassure the girl that she means no harm. "Kuchiki-san really has a lot of surprises. I wouldn't have known she went to a public school, too." She chuckles at the memory of the mild and sweet girl who's first shown up in Eitoku Academy. "I should stop being surprised by her, but there's always something she'll do." She laughs again.

Inoue looks sad again and Tsukushi has to wonder if it's something she's said. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Ahaha, don't mind me," Inoue waves both her hands. "Rukia-san really is great and doing well in her new school it seems."

Tsukushi snorts. "Oh, they love her. They practically kiss the pavement she walks on and try so much to be like her. And Soifon-san, but that even looks more hilarious. If Domyouji is their king, Kuchiki-san is their queen. What she says matters and it's a good thing she butts heads with Domyouji. It kinda confuses the brainless followers that they're forced to think because to them, what Domyouji says also matters."

Inoue gasps all of a sudden. "Rukia-san has a king?"

Tsukushi stops short in her imaginative storytelling of the hilarity that is her school. "What?"

"There you are, Orihime! We've been looking all over!"

They both turn at the sound of the voice. There's a girl with short hair and a boy with orange hair, both wearing school uniforms also. Tsukushi blinks at them.

"Oh wow, what are you doing here?" Short Hair whistles as she peers inside the main gate. Tsukushi remembers her first day and she must've looked like that also, awe-struck with wonder. She turns her head to try and see Eitoku Academy as the beautiful fantasy that it used to be but she's been inside it too long to know the muck and dirt and nonsense the people in it tend to live by. How disillusioned she has been.

"I met Rukia-san's friend," Inoue tells them and points at Tsukushi.

The boy with the glare and the frown who's been staring at the school also suddenly snaps to attention and stares hard at Tsukushi. She swallows, a bit worried. The boy looks like bad news.

"Who're you?" He asks. Rude, too.

"And who're you?" Tsukushi scowls. She doesn't like being threatened.

"I asked first!"

Short Hair stands between them and pushes the boy away. "I'm sorry, he can be a jerk. I'm Arisawa Tatsuki and the rude guy is Kurosaki Ichigo. Nice to meet you. And I guess you've met Orihime, also."

"Yes and I'm Makino Tsukushi," she introduces herself again. "Why are you all here again?"

Arisawa and Kurosaki both look at Inoue, whose face burns red and she hides behind her long hair. Inoue stutters something incoherent that Tsukushi can't begin to follow, so she turns her attention back to the newcomers. "She said Kuchiki-san went to your school before."

"Yeah, for a few months before she suddenly left," Arisawa answers her. She rests both her hands on her hips, head tilted to the side with her eyes wandering elsewhere, seeing something else. "We just found out later she's here. She kinda got us worried for a while. She's such a loner, you know."

And here Tsukushi is the one who looks confused. "A loner?"

Inoue finally speaks again, "Rukia-san seems to be happy here. Makino-san said she is loved and a Queen, even has a King…" Her eyes stray towards the boy, and Tsukushi has to follow that sad gaze. What the hell is going on? The girl has it all something twisted. Tsukushi makes a face.

Tsukushi chooses to humor Inoue. She seems kind and shy, but not there too much. "For a king and queen, they argue a lot."

"She argues with him?" Kurosaki suddenly asks, a twitch visible on his right eye.

Such odd people. They react to weird things. "Yes? Is that strange? They're both kind of…violent." Here, Tsukushi snorts again as she remembers the cafeteria incident. Both Inoue and Arisawa look at her, doubt in their eyes. "You don't believe me. I thought she went to your school?"

A honk of a car interrupts them and they all turn to see. A white Jaguar stops in the middle of the road and a window pulls down, the passenger peers out and particularly at Tsukushi. She doesn't look familiar at all.

"Makino, don't bring your friends and troll around outside the school gate. This isn't a park." The girl scowls one last time and shoots a glare at everybody else before she hides behind her glass window once more.

Tsukushi glares at the back of the car as it drives away.

"That wouldn't be the last," Tsukushi sighs. "Sorry about that. Anyway, I should get going. If you want to talk, we should talk elsewhere."

"We'll walk you home," Kurosaki says. He's also glaring at what's left of the back of the car until it turns around the corner.

"Rukia-san is lady-like!" Inoue insists as they all tag along behind Tsukushi. "And is always polite and kind to everybody and very nice. She likes to be alone, too."

Tsukushi bursts into laughter. Although there is a grain of truth somewhere there, Kuchiki really is kind, but everything else makes her laugh. "I thought so, too. There was one guy who didn't believe it, and didn't leave her alone because of it. It seems so long ago." Tsukushi grins in memory. It does feel so long ago and again, she will miss all that noise and the security of having them around. Although she doesn't really need their protection --- She's Makino Tsukushi, after all. Tsukushi wonders what she is if the Eitoku court has its king and queen. She's no princess, definitely and no one treats her as such. The Royal Knight, then? She wants to be a knight. Yeah.

"Who's this guy?" Arisawa seems interested as she leans closer to Tsukushi.

Tsukushi turns with a grin, "Domyouji Tsukasa, King of Eitoku Land," and with great exaggeration, she bows with one hand to her heart, "And I am the Royal Knight to the King and Queen." When she straightens up, she's surprised to see their reactions. Inoue looks even sadder if that's possible. Arisawa is happy. Kurosaki is unreadable. "What?" Maybe she shouldn't have played out her thoughts. When will she ever learn to shut up?

"Nothing," Kurosaki mutters and he keeps walking at the far back of their small group.

Arisawa, on the other hand, hops forward. "Are you saying that this Domyouji fella and Rukia-san are together?" She turns her head to Orihime quickly and then back to Tsukushi, both eyebrows up.

"Er… no," Tsukushi recalls back to what she's said and tries to see where being together has come up. The king and queen story, perhaps? But, that bit is kind of true. "Eitoku is kind of a weird place. Domyouji's a bully who used to rule the entire school with his jerk ways."

All three stiffen at the mention of a bully who rules a school and Tsukushi waves her hands fast to stop them from thinking too far ahead, "But! But! He's not like that anymore. He still rules the school, but only because everyone else follows him anyway. And ever since Kuchiki-san's made her presence known, the rest of the school give her the same treatment. At first people were afraid of her, the same way people were afraid of Domyouji. They won't accept it out loud, but I think they consider each other as friends." She smiles when she finishes, hoping she's eased their doubts.

"Sounds like the makings of a couple to me," Arisawa shrugs and falls back to walk beside Inoue again. She slings an arm around Inoue's shoulders and whispers something to her, which causes the girl to duck her head lower and her face to redden.

"Is it?" Tsukushi truly wonders.

"As if," Kurosaki rolls his eyes from where he's at and only Tsukushi is able to see since she's facing them and walking backwards. "She wouldn't know the first thing about being a couple."

"And you do, Ichigo?" Arisawa glares back, her arm still around Inoue.

He stiffens and returns the glare, "Certainly more than her!"

Arisawa smirks. "Enlighten us, then."

"Well!" Kurosaki starts and stutters to a stop and looks away, scratching the back of his head. "How would I know? I don't care about stuff like that."

"So who're you to say you know more? Hah!"

Kurosaki's face turns red, in anger or embarrassment it's hard to tell. He says nothing more and looks away from Arisawa.

Inoue shrinks down to herself and Arisawa's grip on her shoulder tightens. Tsukushi almost trips on her steps, too engrossed in this drama between three strangers she's recently met. Wow, that Kurosaki is too dense if even Tsukushi notices Inoue first. But where does Kuchiki come into this play? She tilts her head and turns around to walk properly. She doesn't want to trip again.

Then it hits her.

Oh. She turns slightly, trying to look back at the three people behind her and in particular at the boy. He's said so little thus far. They've lapsed into a strained silence and Tsukushi wonders how to break it. She's not involved in them, but having them walk behind her sure is uncomfortable.

She's grateful to see a familiar street. "Thanks for walking me, but this is my street. I still have a job to go to, and that's the bakery over there." She smiles at them.

Kurosaki looks up at the name of the street, "Huh. This is my stop, too. I have to meet up with my new sensei." He turns to the two girls and waves a hand. "I'll keep up with Makino-san and see you guys tomorrow."

Arisawa still wears a scowl in her face but she waves goodbye nonetheless. Inoue smiles at them, at least. "We'll see you tomorrow, Kurosaki-kun. It's nice meeting you, Makino-san!"

Tsukushi bows to them politely before she turns towards the street, Kurosaki just beside her this time. The silence isn't as awkward now that the two girls are gone.

"Did she go to school today?"

She looks at Kurosaki curiously. She doesn't need to ask who 'she' is and now Tsukushi knows where, exactly, Kuchiki is in the tension earlier. "Are you and Kuchiki-san…?"

Kurosaki rears back all of a sudden, his face red, "No! Why do people keep assuming these things?!"

Well, in all honesty, that face reveals more than his words. Tsukushi's eyes just widen at the outburst. "I'm sorry for assuming? And no, she didn't. She and Domyouji and the others won't be back for a while." Ah, that slight pang again makes its presence known. She sighs.

"She's with this Domyouji?" Kurosaki's brows meet and Tsukushi can tell he's also assuming things, like he's accused her.

"No, they're not like that," she sighs again. "You don't need to worry."

He replies fast, "I'm not worried."

Kurosaki scowls at her but he stays beside her as they walk, taking the side nearer the road. Tsukushi can't help but wish Domyouji has that same chivalry in him but hah, wishful thinking. He might even ask her to lay down her coat over a puddle so his shoes won't have mud. What a funny thought. She really is the knight in this whole scenario, come to think.

She just smiles at him and leaves it alone.

=====[][][][][]=====

Ichigo enters the meat shop and is greeted by the stench of raw flesh. He wrinkles his nose at the smell, not entirely used to this kind of environment but his sense adjusts sooner than he's thought. By the time he reaches the counter where he sees Zangetsu, he's already used to it.

"Hey."

Zangetsu looks up from his small notebook and at Ichigo. They stare at each other for a long while until Ichigo's become uncomfortable at that unmoving stare and he begins to fidget. Zangetsu nods then, and walks over to the end of the counter to flip the table top over there. "Come in, Ichigo."

Ichigo follows after Zangetsu and they go in the back. Zangetsu picks up two white aprons from the wall and hands one to Ichigo. He also ties his long messy hair with a black rubber band before wearing the apron. Ichigo simply does the same, not sure what else to do.

"Take over the counter for me," Zangetsu tells one of the guys who's just walked out of another door. The guy nods and does as told, removing the dirty apron he has on before leaving for the main shop.

They enter the last door and Ichigo is immediately hit by the chill of being inside a fucking freezer. "Eh, Zangetsu, what are we doing in here?"

"Hm," Zangetsu says and walks through several rows of hanging pigs and cows and Ichigo isn't sure what the others are. Zangetsu tugs on a cow with its insides gaping open and unhooks it from the steel bar overhead, then slams it on a nearby trolley. "Let's go."

Still confused, Ichigo goes after his weird sensei and into another door. Here, there are other people chopping smaller meat into what Ichigo normally sees as packed goods. Zangetsu looks hard at Ichigo while holding on to two legs of the cow and he blinks, not sure what to do. When Zangetsu pointedly tilts his head in the direction of the hanging legs, Ichigo picks them up.

Together, they haul the thing onto a huge table. A random guy takes the trolley away while Zangetsu looks over the wall with a hanging display of knives of various sizes and shapes. In the mean time, Ichigo observes the rest of the people inside the room and they all seem comfortable at what they do. They idly chatter while slicing and dicing the meat on their cutting boards. Others aren't even looking at what their hands are doing.

The next he turns around, there's a large butcher knife in his face. He steps back away from it on instinct. "Show me what you can do. I'll be back in fifteen minutes and I want this," he points the knife at the thing on the table, "small enough for them to dice." Then he hands Ichigo the huge knife.

"Aren't we going to thaw it first?" Ichigo is no cook, but he at least knows a meat taken out fresh from the freezer is impossible to cut through.

"Thawing something this big will take more than fifteen minutes. I need to be back at the counter for now."

"But this is impossible!" Ichigo pokes the frozen flesh with a finger and it really feels too solid to him. "Fifteen minutes!"

Zangetsu closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He takes the knife from Ichigo, rolls the cow over so that it isn't so widely spread and slams the knife down in the middle, successfully cutting the whole body in half. He puts the knife back in Ichigo's suddenly cold hands and he isn't sure it's the cold from the freezer experience, or from seeing something thick and pretty solid get cut in half as if it's paper. The thing still has its spine in there!

"You have fifteen minutes." And then Zangetsu leaves him.

He looks at the others in the room, who are all staring at him.

"You heard the boss," one of them says with a smirk. "Get to work, kid."

=====[][][][][]=====

"Impressed?" Domyouji is in front of the antique mantelpiece in the living room. It's big enough to frame their entire group if they are to take a picture with it. The house they will be staying at is in a private island that belongs to the Domyouji located north of the Hokkaido mainland. A winter wonderland, the stewardess has mentioned during the flight last night. But when they first arrived, everyone looked about ready to get sick from the snowstorm to appreciate the beauty of the place and have ignored each other in favor of finding their rooms to sleep in. The rest of today has been dedicated to unpacking and it has taken all day for everyone to settle down. Now that there's nothing left to do, everyone is simply lounging around enjoying the weather and the warmth the house provides.

"Please," Rukia sighs, rubbing her hands together as she sits in front of the living fire. "My brother's scarf costs ten of your houses."

"Kuchiki's the last person you should show off to, Domyouji." Soifon smirks from where she's comfortably perched on the couch while Toushiro coughs from where he's seated, eyes carefully trained in the book he hasn't let go of since the night before.

Domyouji rolls his eyes and plops himself on the pillows on the floor, bumping against Hanazawa's sleeping form. Rukia pats Domyouji's head like she would a disgruntled pet and he slaps her hand away.

This is the most comfortable that the children have been and Shirayuki is hesitant to push Rukia into training these next few days. But if he allows her this respite, she will never get back in shape and this is the perfect environment to find her center. They are isolated and safe, and the climate is cold and heavy enough to handicap her. If she can move in this environment as comfortably as she does in a gym while doing her routine, she can catch up the lost three years in a matter of days.

"Rukia."

"Yes?" she lazily replies, already comforted by the warmth of the room. She turns her head towards him and understands. She gives nothing away, not a sigh of disappointment or a frown as she stands up and stretches.

He leaves the room and knows she's there, following. They enter the bedroom assigned to her and on her bed are two open cases that hold both their swords. His sword is already back in the original silver guard and hilt. It's easy enough to assemble that he's glad not to need a sword smith for it. The white-gold one that belongs to her is in the same case, a disgraced handle of a holy blade for the time being.

In the other case is the former Nejibana. Shirayuki's never asked for her approval to bring the sword yet he's brought it anyway. She will need one to train with and he will not let her use his spare. Three years is a long time to catch up on in a few days and the weight of an ordinary katana's blade is very different to that of the holy ones. They are heavier, with more layers of metal than the ones forged at present. Their blades have been meant to kill in a single strike, even if the original mark is missed. It has been forged with war in mind, and days upon days of nonstop fighting. It can withstand all the wear and tear from constant use and exposure to harsh elements.

Nejibana's sword hasn't been wielded for three years. And though it weighs differently from the one she will inherit from Shirayuki, it will be enough to learn from. Its weight is more than its metal and guard, and he knows it will be twice as hard to wield than the katana that has killed someone she loved.

She was very young then, but the love of a child is always pure and innocent. And it is because of that that he's honored her wish to be alone since then. That's a mistake he is willing to correct. He should have never left.

"Is this punishment?" she asks softly. He knows she's seen it in the plane, but wisely chose not to ask him about it.

"Is that what you believe?" Shirayuki waves a hand at the forgotten sword, "Without a name, it's only a piece of metal with an expensive scabbard." He doesn't believe in cushioning the truth with lies. "If this is what to become of my sword, you will never have it." She will die for it, too. Once a protégé, there is only one other way to honorably withdraw from a sacred pledge.

She stares at the familiar sheath without speaking. Memories run in his mind, the fight, the blood, the rite, the rain and her tears. They've both been there, and he's seen her at her worst and weakest. He wishes to see her at her best and strongest. And he knows it won't happen unless she stops blaming herself. The moment she is free of all that baggage, the sword will be as light as if it is part of her. Only then will she be ready to take back Sode no Shirayuki and she will be beautiful with it.

She runs her fingers on the length of the blue sheath, lingering on the guard that has been personalized to Shiba Kaien's preference. In a gallery inside the royal palace is where all the former guards are framed with a name and a picture. A hall of memories and promises fulfilled that have lasted for a millenium. Shiba Kaien's has been left empty as no one knows where the sword is, or to whom it has been passed. And until the sword is found and a protégé or new master has placed a new guard to collar it, Nejibana's place of honor will remain empty.

"Then let the legacy begin anew," she says after a long silence. She lifts the blue sheath that holds an old friend. "This is Youko." Her grip around the sheath tightens as she struggles through her emotions. He allows her a moment of privacy to commune with the one she's lost and leaves the room.

Now Nejibana can truly rest.

They may have to start a new tradition with Youko as the blade of honor. But there's time enough for that formality in the future. For now, it's a necessary step forward that she's taken.

And it's enough.

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to be continued...