My brother's returning from Uni tomorrow for the night! Yay! You see, I actually get on with my brother; we're pretty similar in our weird sense of humour and joke around a lot about stuff. He'll probably just go out partying though and leave me behind :( oh well, at least I get to see him.

Chapter 36 : They know

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"He fondled my adopted daughter!"

"Yes, but he says your adopted daughter fondled him first"

This was starting to get old. After choosing to go check out the disturbance in Rukongai that Byakuya was assigned to Kya had happily followed him along to find these feuding men. She was beginning to regret her decision. They appeared to just be a couple of argumentative idiots that were fighting over some irrelevant matter. Kya had spent the past fifteen minutes trying to get one of them to apologise, but neither had budged. One was adamant that his precious daughter had been molested by some pervert. The other was adamant that he had done nothing but date a pretty girl that had asked him out.

Really, this should have been easy to settle.

"That's not the point! She's only fifty seven!"

"She's old enough to decide what she wants for herself!" the younger man shouted in return.

Kya glanced pleadingly at Byakuya, who had by now taken to sitting outside a small café while drinking tea. Honestly, he could at least try to help.

"She doesn't know what she wants!"

"Well she did last night!"

"What did you say?"

"You heard me!"

The older of the two rushed forwards with his fist clenched, wishing to knock the head off this man who had so cruelly deflowered his daughter. The younger man stood there and raised his fists, ready to counter the attack.

It never came.

Before the older man had a chance to get close to the younger, he had tripped and fallen flat on his face in the dust. Kya's foot was outstretched behind his crumpled body. It was the easiest way to stop him, after all.

"Ok, ok" she announced fully exhausted with the lame insults, "look, this is how I see it. You" she pointed at the man on the ground "are being way too overprotective! For god's sake, let her do what she wants! If you get too strict she's just going to rebel in the other direction anyway!"

The body in the dirt twitched.

"And you" Kya turned her finger to the smug looking man a few meters down the street, "should know better than just gallivanting off around the place with the woman without even considering the feelings of her parents!"

The smug look vanished and was replaced by shock at Kya's words.

"You're both as bad as each other! Now, why don't you just go talk to the girl and ask her what she wants? I'm sure it won't be for both of you to keep arguing like this!" Kya declared slightly angrily. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go and try to enjoy the rest of my day without having to sort out pointless fights!"

And she stormed off down the road, leaving the two men speechless. Well, one at least, the other might not have even been conscious.

"Well spoken" Kya continued to walk forwards in a huff while ignoring the other person.

"You really didn't need to do that though, we could have just left them there after seeing they weren't really the type for the Shinigami Academy" Kya stopped and glared at Byakuya, who had flash stepped in order to catch her up in the street.

"And leave them fighting like that while the poor daughter has to endure it?" she questioned. Byakuya didn't say anything. Kya sighed and the angry look in her eyes disappeared. "Sorry, it's just, people like that should just think a bit more before they act, it's not as if they're achieving anything by fighting non-stop, is it? That kind of stupidity just gets on my nerves"

"I know" Byakuya said gently.

They started walking again, this time Kya no longer stamping her feet in annoyance, and soon they were just wandering the streets peacefully, neither in a hurry to get anywhere.

Then Kya stopped.

Her eyes were glued to a fixed spot on the other side of the road and were wide in what seemed like nervousness. Byakuya glanced to where she was looking. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Then he remembered something and sighed.

"Don't move." Kya whispered to him while remaining perfectly still.

"It's nothing, Kya" Byakuya told her plainly, trying to get her to move.

"What do you mean it's nothing?" she hissed at him sideways still not moving. "It's a... a... a..."

"Dog?" he finished for her. The little brown dog sitting outside a shop on the other side of the road lifted its leg and scratched behind its ears.

"Yes, a vicious, blood-thirsty hound!" Kya's voice remained low and her eyes didn't leave the dangerous dog that was now licking itself.

"It'll be fine, just continue walking"

"It won't be fine!" Kya shushed, "They're plotting to kill us all, you know? You can see it in their eyes, the tyranny of someone planning to rip off your nose when you least expect it. Then you won't be able to smell and you won't take these beasts so lightly anymore, will you?"

Byakuya rolled his eyes before returning his attention to the mutt that was watching with great interest an ant move along the path before it.

"They're plotting. They sneak up on you in the middle of the night and clip your toe nails. They're dangerous, I tell you!" Kya's fierce whispers had Byakuya wondering if she was being serious or just taking the piss. The fear in her eyes though made him realise that she genuinely was terrified of the little puppy.

"And..." she lowered her voice further to avoid the creature from hearing them "... they know."

"They know what?" Byakuya asked while sighing again.

"Exactly"

"Have you been drinking?"

Kya leant sideways towards him and the tone in her voice when she next spoke told him she was not lying.

"...no"

"You know what? Maybe you're right. Actually, maybe that isn't even a dog, maybe it's a evil spirit that has disguised itself as a dog in order to take over Soul Society" Byakuya said mockingly. Kya didn't recognise the faint hint of sarcasm.

"I don't think so"

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After escaping from the life-threatening event which was seeing a ferocious monster of a hound, Kya had decided to go visit Matsumoto. She felt as if she had been neglecting her recently with the whole Byakuya thing. She had hung out with her less than usual and had only drunken with her once this week. That was far too few in both Kya's and Matsumoto's opinions. They should go out every night and have fun!

Kya was sitting opposite Matsumoto at the small table in the tenth division captain and lieutenant office. Hitsugaya had gotten thoroughly frustrated at the two women about half an hour ago and had stomped off to find somewhere quieter to finish his paperwork. Matsumoto didn't even bat an eyelid at his departure. It gave them time to talk about more pressing matters, after all.

"So how are things going with Byakuya? I'm so happy you're back together; you guys make such a cute couple!" she asked.

"Things are awesome at the moment" Kya replied just as excited at the prospect of a good girly chat.

"Really? That's so cool! Have you said the words yet?"

"Yes! It was so romantic and even though we'd said it before, it was like an entirely separate thing from then!"

Matsumoto squealed. Oh, the gossip. Well, possible gossip, Matsumoto wouldn't actually spread these facts, even if they were true, they were Kya's private things.

"To be honest, Kya, I was kind of thinking you guys wouldn't manage it. Byakuya was just so upset last time you left, I didn't think he would be able to forgive you. But here you are telling me you've already told the other you love them! It's fantastically great!"

"I know!" Kya shouted back happily in response. "Now... how are thing going for you?"

"Oh, you know, this and that" Matsumoto tried to dismiss the question. Kya didn't miss the tone in her voice.

"Still thinking about Ichimaru?" she asked suddenly turning serious.

"Of course not! That would be ridiculous!"

Kya gave Matsumoto a sympathetic look at the blatant lie. Matsumoto just looked down and sighed.

"Yes..." she admitted quietly.

"Just don't beat yourself up over it, it wasn't your fault" Kya tried to comfort her.

"Then why?" Matsumoto whispered in response. How had this happy girly chat turned into such a depressing talk so quickly?

"Because he didn't think it through thoroughly" she told her calmly.

Matsumoto looked up at Kya and she saw the hurt in her friend's eyes. How could Gin do that to her? It wasn't as if they weren't happy.

"How do you know?" Matsumoto asked Kya in a whisper.

"Because I did the same thing myself, remember"

"That was different; you had a reason to go"

"Maybe he did too"

"What reason?" Matsumoto said while sighing. Kya was just trying to comfort her and was avoiding telling her what she really thought; that Gin had been a stupid conspiring bastard that didn't deserve her thinking about him. How could she not though? He had saved her. She had loved him in return. It wasn't just something she could suddenly stop thinking about.

Kya couldn't answer that question. Truth was, she had no idea what Gin had been thinking when he had left. How could she console Matsumoto when she didn't know what had happened in the first place? She had been off in the real world in an underwater cave at the time, trying to complete a mission. It wasn't the best place to be to hear news of Seireitei.

Matsumoto's next word pierced Kya's heart with the unspoken sadness it conveyed.

"Exactly"

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Rf: Aww! Ginny! Why did you do such a horrible thing to poor little Rangiku?
Gin: It wasn't my fault!
Rf: You're pooey!
Gin: -sulk-
Rf: Anyway, I've been asked by someone about Kya's zanpaktou and what it is. It will come up in the story at some point; I'm just not sure when I'll first introduce it. There have been clues throughout the story of what it is, but they've been very subtle. I think the best clue was in this chapter, but it's not the most obvious thing that comes to mind, so you are now probably thinking the wrong thing. Mwahaha! Oh, the power!
Gin: -creepy smile returns-
Rf: Stop smiling and say it, you deserting ass!
Gin: -still smiling- Review?
Rf: Now back in the cupboard before Byakuya returns to shred you into nail clippings!
Gin: -sadly walks back into the cupboard and shuts the door-
Rf: And that serves you right!