Chapter XXXVII: Taking Risks
"Your condition will worsen. It is probable that you will lose all your current memories before you can start picking up new ones. I suspect that one of these days, you will wake up and know nothing about yourself or the people around you, and I don't have the ability to stop it from happening."
Captain Unohana's diagnosis hit hard, like taking a brick to the face. Akiye's impotency in the matter was near crippling for someone that had made a living of fixing broken things.
She was at a loss. She stayed in bed without a proper thought running through her mind; as if whatever purpose her existence served had been spent, and all that could be done was wait until the monotony drove her crazy. But it was in the negativity of those ideals that helped shape an answer to her situation.
Akiye had killed a man during her last blackout. Twelfth Division had taken the body in and Lieutenant Kurotsuchi would be performing an autopsy any second now to determine the cause of death (despite the obvious stab wound) and extract any residual reiatsu from the wound that might pinpoint the murderer. Naoto and Kaito had gone to solve the issue, intent on stealing the body before anyone so much as laid a hand on it, but Akiye had come to the immediate realization that she would be the only one capable of maneuvering through Twelfth Division without getting caught.
She had nothing to lose. Perhaps, it had been that sort of mentality had made her reckless, but she had honestly felt while lying on her back and watching shadows dance across the ceiling that her life had ended. It had been a selfish thought, but she didn't regret having it because it had been the easiest one to acknowledge from a pool of others.
Akiye left her bad after her last routine checkup. She gathered every roll of gauze in the room and found a bag Naoto had forgotten over the past week when he brought her new books. She stuffed all but one inside and started to search for any medical supplies she might find in handy. Although, she had not retained the knowledge for its usage, she found herself picking things up without conscious thought, almost as if her body knew what her mind had forgotten.
She removed her linen robe and started to wrap another layer of gauze over her wounds. Once done, she slipped into her shihakusho and waited on the perfect opportunity to leave Fourth Division unnoticed. She stayed at the entrance with the door partly opened and listened to the sounds drifting down the hallway. It wasn't until all noise seized that she moved forward and went straight for the nearest window.
She double-checked the outdoors, looking side to side, sinking to the floor when a couple members of the division passed by. She peered outside once more. The coast was clear.
She pulled one leg on the windowsill, flinching in pain as she climbed out. She sat down on the grassy floor underneath, holding her aching chest. She blinked and she saw spots in her vision. She was moving too quickly and she took a few minutes to rest huddled behind a clutter of bushes. She brushed away the sweat beading on her forehead, feeling the skin against the back of her palm was hot.
She pushed through the weakness and gathered herself up. She moved towards the gate where she waited another moment longer to sidle in with a group of exiting shinigami. She blended in well enough to get through without attracting any attention and broke away from the crowd, turning into a street that would take her to Twelfth Division.
Akiye ran the entire way, every muscle in her body screaming in pain. The bandages around her chest were soaked in blood and her head was swimming in a haze. Her spotted vision had worsened. She was seeing doubles and triples of everything, potentially hallucinating, but she eased the terrible pounding of her frightened heart with the thought of entering Captain Kurotsuchi's laboratory where she would surely find something to fix herself up.
She saw her brothers from afar, scoping Twelfth Division from the outside. The two were huddled together in the midst of planning their next move. Naoto could have gotten in and out of Twelfth Division without a hitch, Kaito was clumsier when nervous and by the looks of it, the blond man was in the middle of rambling—an evident sign of his caving under pressure.
She heard his voice reach her as she stepped closer to her brothers.
"We've never done anything like this without Akiye," Kaito rambled. "Can we even get away with doing something like this without Akiye's help? I don't think we can do this. Akiye should do what Inokuma Utae did and get the fuck out. I mean, she's the one that loses in this situation."
Naoto fought the urge to roll his eyes as he quietly asked the younger man to quiet down before his chattering compromises their position.
"You don't even have a plan, do you?" she asked, standing behind them.
The two jerked around, surprised to see her. Naoto stood quickly and rounded on her. "What is wrong with you?" he whispered harshly. "You are hurt! What are you thinking coming to this place in your condition? Look at you! You're so pale."
Kaito moved to her side, pressing the back of his hand to the side of her face. He frowned. "You shouldn't be here, you fucking idiot," he said. "You've got a fever."
"I can get you inside Captain Kurotsuchi's laboratory with ease," she said, breathing haggardly. "In and out. Undetected."
"We have our plan," said Naoto. "We can execute it on our own. We don't need you. Go back to Fourth Division before Captain Unohana comes to get you herself."
Akiye didn't plan to give in. "I started this mess," she said, her eyes fixed with Naoto's green ones. "I started it all because I wanted to protect you, Naoto."
The memory resurfacing in her head was too much for her to bear without turning away from Naoto, remembering him tortured by that group of bandits, humiliated and crumbling on the ground bruised and bloody without his dignity tasted like bile on her tongue. That moment had been the first time she felt something so powerful it took control of her. It had been born in her like a curse, a fury she had never experience in her life. It had been awful.
Watching Naoto suffer in the way that he had, having seen it hundreds of times in the brothel where she had been born and having to wait for when it would be her turn. And when it had happened…she had been too young. She had lost something—something she couldn't name and wouldn't get back.
"I started this because you were my brother and I've made mistakes that have dragged you both here," Akiye began, disturbed that she had forgotten so many things, but these painful memories had remained. "All I wanted was to get rid of them, that trash, so that you wouldn't have to see their stupid faces or hear them saying your name."
She had killed some of those men, but not all of them. Some she had belatedly realized were shinigami and she hadn't encountered them until after she had graduated the academy, learning that Naoto had remained the center of their vile games.
"You and Tokiwa were sacred to me. Otherworldly," she continued. She then gestured to herself and Kaito. "You saved us. You accepted us. You didn't care who we were or what was said. You wanted us…and nobody's ever wanted us before. Not for brothers or friends. But you and Tokiwa did, you took the time to get to know us. You did everything for us—"
"And for letting me achieve my dream without the experience of my past, you need to go back to Fourth Division and let me do this," Naoto said firmly.
Akiye sighed, defeated and exhausted.
"No," Kaito said. "We gotta do this as a family." At their flabbergasted expressions, the blond man continued, "We made the mistake together and our nightmares ain't over yet. We've still got Hotaka to deal with and he ain't gonna go down easily, so we gotta clean up our mess together and find a way to get rid of that curse." He focused his complete attention to Naoto. "Akiye can get us in and out. She doesn't even hafta do anything other than be our guide. We're both gonna be here, we can watch out for her."
Naoto cursed beneath his breath, pushing strands of his white hair from his head. "I'm going to keep your sword," he stated, looking at her warningly. "Understand? It's absolutely forbidden."
She shrugged, elated by her inclusion. "I wasn't going to need it anyway."
"So, what're ya planning ta do?" asked Kaito.
"I'm going to hack into the security system," she said simply.
"What?" Naoto snapped, starting to panic. "That's impossible. You're going to get us caught in an instant. That security system is Captain Kurotsuchi's life!"
"I've been a scientist for years and the one thing I really learned from it is that Captain Kurotsuchi's security system is shitty," she said proudly. "Even for his standards."
Akiye went on ahead of her brothers, ensuring she would signal them as soon as she disarmed the security system. She worried that by the time she reached her captain's laboratory it would be too late. She feared Seireitei was already made aware and she'd been classified as a dangerous person. Her imaginations distracted her a moment, but she recovered quickly and slipped into the Science Department without alerting any to her presence.
She had taken a risk in walking in as she would any other day, completely aware that she might not be as invisible as she hoped. So far, she managed to get by following small groups of wandering scientists after snagging a uniform for herself and tying her hair up. She paid close attention where she walked, knowing the building was full of cameras and completely aware that she wouldn't be able to avoid them all. She maneuvered her body differently wherever she turned, ensuring her back would always be turned to camera. There were so many black haired shinigami in the building any one of them would be suspect for the unholy act she was about to commit.
Akiye almost felt bad about hacking into Captain Kurotsuchi's shitty security system. She had so much respect for the man and held a lot of admiration for his work. She had learned so much from him. However, she couldn't risk discovery now. If she went down, her brothers would go down like dominos, surely taking the blame for what she had started. Frankly, there were too many things left for them to do together as a family with Tokiwa and she had Renji, whom she wanted to do things to, and she had that issue with Shuuhei to settle once and for all. She planned to get better to the point she'd be able to rejoin the Gotei 13 again to continue working under Captain Kurotsuchi.
All of that would be impossible if Lieutenant Kurotsuchi went through with the autopsy on the fellow scientist she killed during her blackout. She couldn't think of what would happen after that.
Akiye found an empty room with a wide screen monitor and pressed the button, switching it on. Before the screen blinked on, she input a code to go straight into the main system and circumvented the camera set to record as soon as it had flashed on from compiling any evidence. She watched several numbers and computer codes flash green on the black screen, scrolling up endlessly until it finally stopped requesting the password. She stared blankly at the screen, the next step escaping her hazy mind.
Focus, Akiye, you know this.
She was surprised to hear her zanpakutō calling out encouragements. Suisen rarely did so unless it involved a snarky "I-told-you-so" comment to complete his shaming.
Think about it. You can't forget what you already know.
She paused, holding her fingers over the keys underneath her hands. It struck her like a bolt of lightning. She typed in the password, having learned it after hacking into the system when Captain Kurotsuchi put her on surveillance duties as punishment for destroying one of his precious specimens.
She breezed past the rest of the work, even though she had compromised her position by staying longer than the intended ten minutes. She wasted too much time trying to find an empty monitor room, but that no longer mattered when a little focus went a long way now that the security system was disabled (all back-ups were replaced with yesterday's recorded footage). She covered her tracks by making it seem like the system malfunction as it would every blue moon and deleted any trace she might have left behind.
Akiye rushed out of the room and followed her way through the department again until she reached the back entrance. She gave her brothers the signal and the two came rushing to her side to hear the next half of her plan. She told them exactly what to do on the way to Kurotsuchi's lab and how to get in. She even gave Naoto a list of items to get for her once they made it in and warned them of Lieutenant Kurotsuchi's possible presence.
Naoto and Kaito moved on ahead, only to stop after realizing she had stayed at the door. She smiled at them. "I need to sit down," she said, keeping the tremors from reaching her voice. Her legs were shaking under the weight of her heavy body and she was certain she had reopened a part of her wound because the blood was trickling down her leg. "I'll meet you at home."
Her brothers were aware of her state and nodded, promising to bring the body home.
Akiye slumped against the entrance, releasing a heavy sigh. She closed her eyes for a second and reopened them to darkness. She was close to losing consciousness.
She forced herself to move, but the darkness was rushing to take her, and then, it did.
Akiye blinked widely, consciousness seeping back into her body in the form of a sharp pain clawing up her chest. She looked around herself at the spacious sitting room in her home. She concluded then that she had not dropped to the ground in weakness. She blacked out again and this time she felt infinitely more disoriented than usual. Her head was throbbing and her feet were swollen from having walked barefoot (though, she remembered having worn sandals). There were cuts in the soles of her feet and blood smudged on the polished floors. She touched her chest, her wounds were bandaged and her clothes had been changed.
She panicked.
Don't.
She searched the house frantically for her sword until she was surprised to find it under her desk. She sank down into a seat, holding it in her arms. She was breathing heavily, the aches in her body worsened, as did her condition with her careless movements.
I blacked out again. And the thought echoed in her head like an alarm.
You did nothing wrong.
She nodded, hearing voices drifting inside from the backyard. She recognized their owners as her brothers and tucked her sword away, putting up a front so they did not notice something was wrong. The fact that she blacked out terrified her. It wasn't supposed to happen anymore. It felt like if she closed her eyes to rest, she would wake up not knowing who she was. It was the last warning sign. She didn't need anyone to tell her. She knew it.
Akiye went out to meet her brothers and watched the two lugging the dead body inside the house. Naoto was lightly bruised and wounded. Kaito sported a nasty wound on his side, his shihakusho sodden with the blood coming from it, though he did not seem too affected by it. She worried to find them badly wounded, feared that in her sudden blackout one of them had been slain and that she would have no recollection of it. The emptiness of that notion saddened her, reminded her of her condition.
She did not dare make a mention of the blackout she just experienced, aware her brothers would become upset and forbid her further action, but she needed to know what happened during the gaps in her memory.
"Want me to help?" she asked casually.
"How does he fucking know?" demanded Kaito, looking to her for an answer she couldn't give.
She shrugged, pretending at indifference.
"That doesn't matter," Naoto said hastily. "We need a change of clothes and have to report to our stations—"
A loud knock disrupted their conversation.
Her brothers threw the dead carcass inside a closet, struggling as they tried to position the body in a way that allowed the door to close properly. It took a bit before they managed and then rushed into their respective bedrooms to clean up.
Akiye went to open it as Naoto ran out, half a shout too late as she unlocked and allowed a winded Renji into the house. He stormed past her so quickly that she did not think he realized she was present. She slid the door closed as Kaito appeared to join them. She took the opportunity to slither beside Naoto, wondering how long it would take for Renji to realize she was standing there staring up at him.
"I went to see Akiye," the red-haired lieutenant began, catching his breath with every word. "I was turned away. They said she's gone missing. Captain Kurotsuchi is sure she's the one that broke into his laboratory and broke everything—"
Renji paused mid-rant to gape at Akiye, completely taken aback by her presence among her brothers. "What are you doing out of Forth Division?" he demanded, his voice sounding a tad pitchy.
She gave a nervous laugh. "Captain Unohana let me out?"
"That's a blatant lie!"
"Well, you didn't ask that question expecting the truth, did you?" At his stunned expression, she added, "Oh? You did? Well, I'm sorry."
Naoto and Kaito exchanged a look and a shrug, staring on at the lieutenant disappointed that he had.
"You're too honest," Naoto criticized.
"Why are you fine with her hanging around here?" Renji snapped, trying to thrust the attention elsewhere.
Akiye winced when she laughed. "The last thing they can do is tell me what to do."
"Look at you, you're practically bleeding everywhere!" Renji complained, pointing at the blood pooling at her feet.
"No, that'd be me," Kaito announced, pointing at the untreated wound on his side. He didn't have the time to bandage it properly when he rushed to pull on a change of clothes that the bleeding made a mess of his clean shihakusho. "You see, I snagged it in a low tree branch."
"Who would believe that?" cried Renji.
"Have you seen the branch? It had swords for limbs," Akiye deadpanned.
The lieutenant looked about ready to experience cardiac arrest.
"Lieutenant Abarai, might I suggest taking a breather? Would you like some tea? Water? Perhaps, some privacy away from the foolish ones?" Naoto ushered the lieutenant into the closed off kitchen, gesturing to them to dispose of the corpse they had haphazardly hidden. "Come, we can Akiye to Fourth Division after you do."
"Why would I go back there?" Akiye called back. "He just said Captain Kurotsuchi thinks I broke into his laboratory!"
Naoto shot her a look that asked her to go along with the conversation.
"Fine, but I want to have a bath first and dinner! None of that healthy Fourth Division stuff!" Akiye added.
Kaito grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the closet where they stared down at the cold, dead body, exchanging looks.
"How did you two plan to get rid of the corpse?" asked Akiye.
Kaito shrugged. "Beats me."
"Burn it?"
"Burn it."
Naoto slid the door shut behind him, turning to Renji. He understood he was taking a huge risk in asking much from him considering their situation. "I need you to take Akiye out of Soul Society."
"What?" asked Renji, taken aback. "Why?"
"You said Captain Kurotsuchi is certain she was the one that broke into his laboratory," Naoto offered in explanation. "Well, she did. She also killed that man from her division."
Renji stared at him horrified.
"It was during a blackout. She had no conscious control over her actions. She did it, though she didn't mean to, and if she is found, she will be linked to every unexplained murder that has happened within Seireitei. She'll go straight to the loony bin or be executed. There's no knowing what will happen to her. Only that we don't have much time and you're the only person I trust might be able to get her out."
Renji steeled himself, grinding his teeth before he spoke, "I'm a lieutenant, Naoto. I can't ignore this, especially if she is responsible for the other unsolved murders in Seireitei, too." Despite his words, he looked to be fighting an internal war. "If this was caused by her blackouts, she won't be tried too harshly. It's a medical condition. Captain Unohana knows about it. She could vouch—"
Naoto did not plan to cut corners, he planned to do this the right way. He grabbed Renji by the shoulders and pressed the sharp end of his sword to his stomach. "I would rather spare Akiye the heartache," he said, intentionally harsh, "but if I need to kill you here to ensure her safety, I will. She'll get over you eventually and she'll learn to forgive me."
The redhead swallowed hard, aware that one move would cost him dearly. Naoto being a seated member of Soifon's Division meant he was superbly trained, but there was more in his eyes—a killer in the guise of an ordinary soldier. "I want to know the truth. About everything."
"You'll know it through Akiye," Naoto told him, finding his response agreeable. "Now, I need you to take her deep into Rukongai. There's a doorway to the Human World. It's a tear between the worlds. Akiye knows the way, have her guide you. You won't have trouble as long as you don't use your sword or any spiritual energy. Come back when you're done. I'll turn myself into you once I know Akiye is no longer in Soul Society."
"Why would you turn yourself in?"
"Because I'm the one that killed the others," Naoto confessed. He would shield Kaito and Akiye. Neither one would suffer the consequences that his despicable past brought on. This would be his burden to carry.
The door slid open noisily, drawing their eyes to the sight of Tokiwa, who stared at him appalled. Her body shook and Naoto believed he had contributed to her reaction because it was a horrible confession to make, but as she stepped into the kitchen, he saw an arm wind about her neck and a sword edge come to rest against her pale cheek.
Hotaka reared his blond head, smirking at the two when Kaito and Akiye rushed inside having sensed his presence. The blond man turned to the new additions as Naoto retracted his blade to prepare an attack against Hotaka to retrieve Tokiwa.
"I remember some of you owe me a few debts," Hotaka said, eyeing Kaito and Akiye in interest. He hoisted Tokiwa up slightly. "So, I'll be taking this one as down payment."
Tokiwa whimpered when the point of the sword pierced her flesh, but as they tried to make their move, she cried, "Stop!" Sobbing, with her eyes sealed shut and her hands gripping Hotaka's sword arm to keep him from plunging the sword through her face. "He'll kill me."
Naoto's chest seized, the breath in his lungs threatened to leave him, as nervous sweat beaded on his forehead. Hotaka would kill her. He wouldn't hesitate. In the end, he needed Akiye more than he needed the others present, as she knew Inokuma Utae's whereabouts; or rather he was certain she did.
Kaito and Akiye stared at Hotaka horrorstricken while struggling to hold onto their composure when standing face to face with their greatest nightmare. Hotaka had at different intervals in his life made of mess of Kaito and Akiye's lives, torturing them both in every sense of the word until they escaped them. They came into Naoto and Tokiwa's life broken and while they had had years of offering them all that Hotaka had deprived them of and showering them with love, neither one had forgotten. Their wounds hand not healed. The pain of them had lessened by several fragments only to be magnified in Hotaka's presence.
Tokiwa suddenly elbowed Hotaka in the stomach, attempting to escape him as she screamed for them all to run, and Naoto lunged at him. Hotaka grabbed Tokiwa by the hair and slammed her into the threshold of the door as he spun around to kick Naoto in the stomach, sending him crashing into the opposite wall.
Naoto watched Hotaka hoist his unconscious sister onto his shoulder through blurry eyes. Hotaka escaped before anyone had a chance to attack him and Kaito bolted after him, Akiye attempting to follow close behind when Renji caught hold of her. She cried frustratingly, fighting against his hold.
"Take her!" Naoto ordered, returning to his feet with the intention of pursuing his impulsive brother. "If you don't, Hotaka will come after her again. You cannot let him have her."
Akiye grabbed a hold of Naoto's arm. "Naoto, please. I have to go with you. I have to. Take me with you."
Naoto ignored her pleas, looking to the lieutenant. "You know where to go."
He fled, hearing the sound of Akiye's shouting as Renji dragged her out the back of the house to take her to safety. It killed him to hear the sound of her distress, but he put that behind him as he heard a voice echoing throughout the streets that informed Seireitei for all divisions to mobilize against a secret threat that lifted the ban on zanpakutō usage.
Naoto avoided overpopulated streets until he came to a sudden halt. A man clothed in black dropped down from the sky to intercept his path. Naoto recognized him immediately as one of his own comrades, a member of the Onmitsukidō, and knew the others would not be too far behind. He looked up all around him to see all of them dressed in black and waiting on an order when the sea of black parted, making way for their small captain.
The woman stood strong with her narrowed eyes staring down at him with disdain, as she spoke, "Kurogane Naoto, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Ninth Division lieutenant, Hisagi Shuuhei." She took a step forward. "Surrender yourself."
Naoto laughed. Fighting back would cost him his life, but he was willing to offer it. He imagined Hotaka pulled some strings to ensure Naoto remained unavailable to stop him and he was certain that if he were captured, he would be pinned with several murders and be asked to reveal Akiye's whereabouts.
He did not want to leave Kaito on his own, but he didn't have a choice. Good luck, little brother. He unsheathed his zanpakutō, deciding to fight his way through and hoped that that instant in the house had not been the last he saw of his siblings.
xl: I have some serious "end-of-the-story" jitters for this story. This explains the one year hiatus. I have not dropped it. I do have the last 4 chapters outlined, but I have not had the motivation to write them. I will do my best, however, since it is only 4 chapters, but I don't want to make any promises. I do hope that the next time I update, it will be in bulk.
I apologize for the hiatus!
To anyone that has recently picked this up, thank you so much for doing so. Also, thank you Aries01xD, Voice of the Shadow Realm, and to the Guest Reviewer for reviewing! I appreciate the feedback!
Thank you for reading!
Preview at my livejournal will be posted when I start writing the next chapter.