Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or anything that has to do with the Bleach franchise.
Saya was trying. That's all she could do. Every day she got out of bed, bathed, dressed, ate, and went about her daily routine. It wasn't that her daily routine had consisted of much, not having many duties. She mainly hid herself in the king's library reading whatever caught her fancy. She would dine with the king and his advisors and put on her fake smile for everyone. The only thing she ever looked forward to each day was the time that she spent with Souta in their favorite garden. He had taken to telling her stories of the times that they had spent together when they were younger.
In the past four months, it was only when she was with Souta that her smile was genuine.
Currently, Saya was making her way to the king's boardroom where she was to meet with him and his advisors. Having not been informed as to the reasons she was meeting with the cabinet, Saya was feeling anxious about the situation.
Keeping her eyes on the floor, Saya made her way to the middle of the room, knelt on the black satin pillow placed there, and bowed her head, waiting to be addressed.
The king cleared his throat before speaking. "Saya-naishinnou, we have invited you here today so that we could inform you of your duties. As a member of the imperial family, it is important that you take part in its affairs."
Saya lifted her head but kept her eyes low. "We would be honored to serve His Majesty."
"Saya-naishinnou, you will be in charge of consulting with members from Central 46 and helping them solve conflicts that occur within the Sereitei. Most of the time they will be able to come to conclusions themselves, but there are the rare instances in which they do not know the proper action to take. It is in these times that you will be looked upon in order to provide the answer and actions that must be carried out. Your word will be final."
"Hai. We our honored Your Majesty has given us such responsibility when we are unworthy. We will do our best to be useful to you." Saya bowed low.
"There is one more thing, Naishinnou-sama." Saya turned her head to the advisor who had just spoken. It was Lord Higa Iwao. As far as she could remember, Saya never held fond feelings towards this particular man. He was also one of the more severe members of the cabinet when it had come to her punishment. "You will begin meeting with potential suitors in order set up a proper marriage and heir to the position of Saya."
Saya's eyes narrowed slightly, but then she quickly hid any emotions she was feeling. If the advisors knew she was so against the idea of suitor, they would simply choose a husband and force her to marry without any consideration. At least they allowed her to meet the candidates and she would also have a say in who was chosen. Saya figured that her grandfather, knowing that she was in love with someone else, had been kind enough to stall this part of her punishment for as long as his advisors would allow. But he was still the king, and it was still required of her to produce an heir. She had been happy that they didn't force that part of her punishment on her so quickly, but now that it was facing her, Saya had wished they would put it off a little longer. It was going to be tricky situation.
"However we can be useful to His Majesty." Saya was glad that her tone had come out calm and serious versus bitter like her feelings.
After Saya had been told that two members of the Central 46 would be meeting with her later that day, she left the king's boardroom and prepared her own offices for visitors. Although her mind should have been on the meeting, all she could think about was the face that she would have to start dealing with unwanted suitors.
Hanryo, I wish that you were here with me. I could really use your help now.
Several hours passed and Saya waited in her office for the Central 46 ambassadors. She wore many layers of impressive kimonos and yukata, as was procedure when conducting these kinds of affairs, but found the fact she had to wear the impressive robes amusing. Amusing because the members of the Central 46 would be blindfolded and she would be wearing a headdress that covered her entire face. All the pomp of her wardrobe was really unnecessary, but expected.
Three quick knocks were heard on the door and Saya gave her permission for entrance. The two guests were a man and woman, both wearing the usual haori of the Central 46 and escorted by two guards each, flanking their sides.
"Naishinnou-sama, we present Lord Katou and Lady Miwa." Said one of the masked escorts.
"We are happy to receive the Lord and Lady, please be seated." Saya answered.
The guests bowed sat crossed-legged on satin pillows in front of Saya while she said on a slightly raised platform.
"We are honored to be in the presence of Naishinnou-sama." Lord Katou said.
"The same is said for our honored guests. You two must be very well respected to have been chosen as the ambassadors for you and your colleagues in the Central 46."
Lord Katou blushed slightly while Lady Miwa gave a satisfied smile.
"Please tell us what business you bring this day." Saya said, slightly intrigued by how easily the formality of everything came back to her. She also couldn't help but let her mind slip to one of Shunsui's first comments to her, about giving compliments.
Lady Miwa started by filling Saya in on what was happening in the Sereitei. It didn't seem like anything had changed much since the time that she'd been gone, not that anything drastic would happen anyway. The school was running the same as always, the same quarrels between squads.
"Very well. Central 46 seems to be doing a fine job of keeping everything in order within the Sereitei. Please give your comrades our best regards."
"Thank you, Naishinnou-sama. But there is one problem we don't have an answer to." It was Lord Katou that spoke.
Saya stayed silent, waiting to hear the problem. She was slightly perturbed that Lady Miwa had not mentioned anything in her general report, but then Saya figured that was her job. Miwa was going to tell her how good everything was and then it was Katou's job to discuss the problematic issues.
"It seems that two students have the same zanpakuto spirit."
Saya was glad her face was covered by a headdress and that they had blindfolds over their eyes. The look that passed over it had certainly been anything but elegant and royal.
"Did we hear you correctly, two students sharing the same zanpakuto? Surely you are mistaken. The zanpakuto is born directly of one's soul. It is impossible for one zanpakuto to have a contract with two different shinigami. Perhaps it's that their zanpakuto are similar?"
Lord Katou swallowed hard before addressing Saya again, nervous to contradict the princess. "We looked into that possibility already, Naishinnou-sama. What I said was the truth; it is the same zanpakuto spirit. We are unsure how to solve this problem."
"If it is a problem." Saya said flatly. Lord Katou patted his brow with a light cloth, clearly nervous about having upset Saya. However, she knew it was a problem. Since the zanpakuto is born directly of a shinigami's spirit, it is almost impossible for another's soul to be so alike that they would produce the same spirit. From what she knew, this situation had happened once before, where two shinigami shared the same zanpakuto. At first they looked at sharing the same sword as a bond, but their feelings soon changed as jealousy and resentment settled in. Any success gained by one soldier was hated by the other. Eventually, the two shinigami ended up destroying themselves and several innocent people in a battle to the death. They had been so blinded by desire to gain more power than the other, that destruction and domination was all they could think about.
"Who are these two shinigami?" Saya asked.
"They are students in the Academy, My Lady. Hitsugaya Toshiro and Kusaka Sojiro. Hitsugaya-san is very young, one of the rare geniuses that show up every few centuries and Kusaka is a talented student in his own right. They are classmates and good friends."
"We see. And the zanpakuto?"
"Hyorinmaru. He is a great ice dragon." Lord Katou said.
Saya gave an inward sigh before speaking once again. "Unfortunately, history shows us that two people cannot possess the same zanpakuto and coexist peacefully. The two students must fight each other. Whoever shows the greatest combat skill and dominance over their zanpakuto will be allowed to keep this Hyorinmaru."
"What about the one who loses?"
"It can only be death. The loser would surely want for revenge on the victor. If the loser is still alive, then the victor can never truly be satisfied with his own mastery over his zanpakuto. Two shinigami sharing the same zanpakuto cannot coexist. We believe we have said this already."
"Yes, of course Naishinnou-sama."
"Before you leave, we have a request." Saya had definitely seen the benefits to this position as soon as the king granted it to her. "All of the squads fill out paperwork about the goings on and overall conduct of their division, correct?"
"Hai."
"We would like a compiled file of each division's report every week. It is to include new members, deaths of current members, quarrels between members, quarrels between other squads, and any generalized problems occurring within squad. It would beneficial for us to have a general knowledge of the working and morale of the Sereitei so that our meetings are highly effective. Also, I may call on you if I have concerns of my own. We will send a messenger to retrieve the reports."
"Hai."
"That is all, you are dismissed. Thank you for your time and we will continue to look forward to working with Lord Katou and Lady Miwa." Saya sat back and smiled to herself after the Lord and Lady left. She took of her headdress and folded her hands across her stomach.
At least this way I will know what's going on in the Sereitei without breaking any of the rules of my punishment. Saya's smile turned into a wicked smirk. One must always know and have a thorough understanding of the rules so that they can bend them to their desire. Speaking of rules, there is another I must "bend." Souta-kun will help me with that one.
"Saya-sama, are you nervous about meeting the suitor?" Souta whispered. Saya was lying against his arm and had already informed him that a suitor would be coming within the next few days.
"Hai. I don't want to meet him at all."
"What will you do? I'm sure you're trying to think of a way to get out of this."
"You'd be right. I don't know how, though. I need to do this carefully. If I'm blatantly displeased with every courter that comes through here, the advisors will start to get suspicious and demand I choose one to marry, or worse, simply pick one out for me."
"You will have to get them to show their nasty side while in front of the king or advisors." Souta said, matter-of-factly. Saya knew that this was another reason why she had always adored Souta; he was always 100 percent on her side.
The two stared up from their spot in the garden and looked up at the moon. It was full and shining brightly from its spot in the sky.
"It's the same moon." Saya whispered.
"What is that?" Souta asked.
"Whenever I look at the moon, I think to myself that Juushiro is looking at the same one. Even though we are separated, we are still part of the same place. I know it doesn't make much sense, but it eases my pain to think that we are still connected in some way."
Souta squeezed Saya's hand tighter and leaned his head on top of hers. "You love him very much." It wasn't a question.
"Hai."
Several moments of silence passed before Souta spoke again. "At one time, I would have wished for the love you give to Ukitake-san to belong to me. All I wanted was Saya-sama's love."
Saya looked up at Souta who was staring at the moon. His eyes weren't sad, but filled with happiness. "Souta-kun?" She whispered.
"But then I didn't have you in my life anymore and I was alone with my thoughts and feelings for so long. I realized that I did have Saya-sama's love; that it was a special love she had only for me and no one else. I had taken for granted the love you showed me, always wanting more and for it to be a different kind of love.
"Now that I have you back in my life, I am satisfied. You still love me in a special way that you don't give to anyone else, even Ukitake-san. This is the Saya only for me, and nothing will ever change that. I will not be so selfish again; I will not take your love for me for granted."
Saya's eyes started to fill with tears that spilled over and ran down her cheeks. She knew it was hard for Souta to share these feelings, but so happy that he had. What he had said was true, the love she had for Souta was unique in its own way, and couldn't be broken. Although she would never feel for him in the way she felt about a lover, it was a strong and intimate sort of bond they shared.
Souta looked at Saya, took her face in his hands and brushed her tears away with his thumbs. "Please don't cry, Saya-sama. The only thing I want is your happiness. I'm sorry that I pulled you away from the happiness you built with Juushiro. I hope that you can find contentment here."
Saya smiled. "I will try harder. But please know I am happy with Souta-kun."
"Yes, I know. But it's important for Saya-sama to be happy no matter the situation.
Saya's smiled widened as she hugged Souta. "Hey Souta-kun, that reminds me... I was hoping you could help me with something?"
Souta cocked an eyebrow, his memory was well in tact and when Saya asked for help instead of simply telling you what she wanted done, it usually meant she was up to something that could potentially cause problems. "What is it?"
"Well, I was wondering if you would… play with me? It would make me very happy."
"What kind of play would this be?" Souta unconsciously scooted away from Saya who was wearing that devilish grin on her lips. He knew that meant she was up to no good.
"Maybe you could bring a couple of practice swords tomorrow night and we could meet in the clearing out in the woods instead?"
Souta's eyes went wide with realization. "Saya-sama, it's forbidden for you to train!"
"Who said I was training? We used to play like that all the time." Saya's smirk turned into a sweet smile while honey dripped from her tongue. "It'll be for fun, that's all."
Souta sighed, knowing that if they were found out it would be hard to convince anyone they were only playing. "Hai, whatever Saya-sama wishes."
Saya gave Souta a kiss on his temple. "Arigato, Souta-kun. It will be fun for us to play together, ne? We haven't in so long."
Souta just rubbed the back of his head and sighed again.
Dressed in the finest of silks with a royal headdress covering her hair and face, Saya waited as the young prince, the first one to come and court her; exited his carriage and made over. Saya already disliked him from fifty yards away. He walked with his nose in the air as if he were the greatest creation, and Saya was the lucky one to meet him. The smile he wore on his face wasn't in the least bit warm; instead, it was cocky and arrogant. Even his walk seemed to say, "Look at me, for I am the most magnificent creature you have ever laid eyes upon." His dark brown hair had been pinned to the top of his head, with a couple of long pieces falling down to frame his face. His face wasn't handsome, but Saya didn't think he was unfortunate looking by any means; simply someone she wasn't attracted to.
Once again Saya was grateful for the headdress, it was conveinient in covering her facial reactions. "Ne, Kamikaze? Look at this idiot, I bet the first thing he says is something vain." Saya flinched a little when she was met with silence on the other end. No matter how long it had been, she still hadn't gotten use to the silence that held the place of her beloved zanpakuto.
The prince bowed low. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my dear princess. When I heard that I might have the honor of marrying Naishinnou-sama, I thought to myself, 'With my good looks and her rumored beauty, we are surely to make the greatest pair.' I'm sure now that you've seen me in all of my glory, you couldn't disagree."
"We are pleased to meet you as well, Obata, Shusuke-sama." Saya was pleased that her tone came out polite and not disgusted to match her feelings. At least I won't have to "trick" him into to displaying his bad points; the royal cabinet will never accept a man like this.
Saya saw Souta fidget a little and assumed he was trying not to let any laughter escape, though couldn't be sure since he was in the traditional uniform of the guard, which masked the face.
Saya and Prince Obata were led to one of the many gardens for tea where he did nothing but talk about himself.
"I am a splendid marksman when it comes to a bow and arrow. My father and I have taken many hunting excursions from the time I was a young boy and it's not uncommon for me to bring home the most impressive game."
"You must be very proud of yourself." Saya answered back in a polite sounding tone.
"Oh yes, but I don't like to brag, you know."
Saya simply nodded.
"I really am good with a sword, all of my teachers have told me so. I have to admit, I go through so many teachers because I always become so much better than them. Honestly it's hard for me to come across anyone who can even match my skill, let alone surpass it." Obata said while brushing some dirt from his sleeve.
"Is that so? How impressive." Saya responded.
"Oh yes, but I don't like to brag, you know."
"Of course not. You are simply stating the facts." Saya said back. One of the cabinet members who had accompanied the pair, cleared his throat and gave Saya a warning glance in response to her comment.
"It's like I have magic fingers when I'm playing the lap harp. The music I've created had brought not only women, but men to tears as they are filled with overwhelming emotions created by my melodies."
Saya, who happened to be very talented with the lap harp, was having a hard time holding her tongue at this point. "Amazing. We are sure you are very talented."
"Oh yes, but I don't like to brag, you know."
Saya gave an audible sigh.
"Are you alright, Naisshinou-sama?" Prince Obata asked.
"Hai, it's just all this sun is getting to us and we feel a bit tired from today's excitement. Won't you please excuse us until dinner?"
"It is often overwhelming to meet new people. I, of course, don't have any problems with the sunshine, but I expect females to be more affected. They do have a weaker constitution, wouldn't you say? However, I wouldn't want such a sturdy sort of wife anyway. I look forward to seeing you at dinner, my lady."
Saya gave a small bow and made her way towards her room. Prince Obata turned to the Cabinet member. "I think this is going rather splendidly. I'm sure the princess is already in love with me, I can tell these things. Unfortunately, I've had to break many-a-maiden's heart in the past, but it is time I settle down. No one but the Imperial Princess will do for me anyhow."
The older gentleman simply smiled and nodded his head, fully aware of the fact that Saya couldn't be more unimpressed. He himself was wondering how such a floundering idiot was even allowed to meet with her.
Dinner was no better; Prince Obata went on and on about how magnificent and spectacular he was. Anyone who attempted to speak was quickly cut off by the verbose prince's spew of self-compliments.
"Ojii-sama, you're kidding me, right? You and your cabinet surely couldn't have honestly picked out such a horrible candidate." The two of them sat alone in her grandfather's private office. Saya crossed her arms and stared at her grandfather who was sitting across from her gazing into the fire. Although she had no desire for a husband, she felt somewhat humiliated that someone as superficial and irritating as Obata had been considered to be a proper match.
"Well, we had heard rumors that he was…"
"A conceited idiot?"
"… That he was a little on the confident side."
"That's an understatment." Saya mumbled while she turned her gaze into the fire as well.
"Saya. I know better than anyone the responsibilities that the future holds for you and your spouse. I will be sure that the future prince is suitable. The one here tonight is not."
Saya nodded, glad that her grandfather agreed with her. At least this time went her way, but she also knew that the King and his advisors were going to look more closely at the candidates, meaning it was going to get harder for Saya to wriggle her way out of marriage. They wouldn't make such a blatant miscalculation again. While making her way back to her own quarters, Saya wondered how long she was going to be able to put off the inevitable.
Obata-sama was sent away the next morning. "I'm not really surprised that the princess wouldn't choose someone like me. I am rather intimidating, what with my good looks, impeccable manners, and radiant personality. I'm sure someone in her position couldn't stand to be outshone by her mate. What a shame, she is missing out on the best thing she could have ever had." He said when climbing into his coach.
Saya watched and smiled as his carriage and entourage disappeared into the distance and was happy for the distraction that the weekly report from the Gotei thirteen would allow. For some reason, Saya was especially eager to read this week's report and couldn't shake the anxious feeling she had while waiting for the messenger to arrive.
"Souta-kun, I knew you would be quick about it. Arigatou." Saya said as she took the large stack of papers from his hands.
Souta bowed and made to leave when Saya stoppd him. "You don't have to go so soon, Souta-kun. Besides, I want you to tell me what you saw and heard when you entered the Sereitei today."
"I have nothing to report on that, Saya-sama. I went to Central 46 to retrieve the report and then immediately came back here. If you wanted me to make a detour than you should have said so."
"You're right, you're right." Saya said absently while flipping to the section of the report that held information from the thirteenth division. It was Saya's habit to read it first, then news from the eighth division before going on to read the rest in chronological order.
Souta shook his head but made himself comfortable in a plush armchair near the fireplace. He had just closed his eyes when he heard Saya gasp and a loud thud from something hitting the floor. Souta jumped up and saw that Saya was kneeling on the floor with her hands clasped over her mouth, eyes wide with emotion.
"Saya-sama, are you alright?" Souta knelt down beside her, bringing her into an embrace.
Saya shook her head no. "I can't believe it." She whispered.
Souta grabbed the report that had fallen on the floor and read it out loud.
"Division thirteen is reporting the death of Shiba, Kaien-fukutaicho; third seat Shiba, Miyako, and several unranked members.
"Shiba, Miyako-san was sent with other members on a reconnaissance mission to gain information about a hollow that had caused several deaths within the protection squads and Rukongai. During this mission, Miyako-san was possessed by the hollow and subsequently killed members of her own squad.
"In order to avenge the death of his wife and comrades, Shiba-fukutaicho went to defeat the hollow, but in the end, he too became possessed. Ukitake-taicho first attempted to separate the hollow from his subordinate, but when no solution presented itself, Ukitake-taicho was left with no other choice than to attack the hollow. During this time, he suffered a fit and the hollow attempted to kill unranked squad member, Kuchiki, Rukia-sama. She impaled the possessed fukutaicho with her sword, which ultimately lead to the death of Shiba and the hollow that had possessed him."
Souta turned to look at Saya who had tears running down her face. Although he had rarely seen her cry before she had lost her memory, tears fell easily from her eyes these days. It was a surprise to him though, Saya had told him about Kaien many times and how he had been the first to help her train to become a shinigami.
"Saya-sama, I'm so sorry." He said while he laid the report to the side and took her into another embrace.
"Souta-kun, what will I lose next?" She said between heavy sobs. Souta stroked Saya's hair as she cried into his shoulder.
"Saya-sama, do not be so selfish. It is not only you who has lost someone so important. Surely it is his family and Kuchiki-sama who suffer the most, and Ukitake-san too. They are the ones that have lost a brother; Kuchiki is the one that took his life; and Juushiro is the one who could not save him. Are they not heavily burdened by these events? Besides, do not think of it as losing something; instead rejoice in the happy memories you had made together. That is a better way to send off Shiba-san, ne?"
Saya nodded as Souta wiped the tears from her cheeks. "You're right, Souta-kun."
"Would you like to skip our 'playing' tonight?"
"No. Kaien would have wanted me to continue to do things as normal. It's just… hard."
"It's never easy to lose someone, Saya-sama."
With those words, Saya felt shamed, even though Souta hadn't said them to chastise her. It was just that she understood a little more clearly how upset Souta had been when he lost her.
Gomennasai! Forgive me for taking soooooooooooooooooo very long to update. I know it is very unlike me to take this long and I do apologize. I have been very very busy lately. Work is starting to pick up (which is good for me, but bad for my writing) and I haven't had a free weekend since I last updated this story. I'm not joking! I've been in or to a few weddings, my grandmother's 75th birthday party, early Halloween party, bridal showers, etc. etc. So please, I am sorry for the wait.
I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter though! I won't lie and say it was an easy chapter to write! I had to leave and come back to it, and change and redo so many parts that it seemed like it might never get done. Plus, at some point I lost the "feel" of the chapter and had to start almost from scratch again. (I'll chalk it up to the busy-ness lately!) I'm also sorry that I haven't been keeping up on any of the stories that I have alerted. I have several chapters to catch up on myself!
I do thank all of my readers who have posted reviews and tagged this as a favorite or put it on your alerts. Of course, I ask you to take a few seconds to post a reply.
P.S. the title of this chapter "Bouyuu" actually means "deceased friend"