I need to publish something because I've been unnaturally keeping this chapter in my drawers for months. I'm not truly satisfied with this chapter. But it's trying to tell a story. Happy new year to all who follow and read this story!
-40-
The King's Men
Reigo
Also known as Ego Urahara
5th member of the Zero Squad
Master of Science
He was a doctor of sciences who knew his job was not to find a cure to heal the system. He was only here to pose diagnostics.
Red light casting on his distinctively white hair a strange crimson hue, Ego Urahara tapped quickly on the golden keyboard of a Kaikoroku 3000. Sometimes he would adjust his rimless glasses on his straight nose. Sometimes, he'd twirled a pen between his fingers nervously. Sometimes, he'd play with the stool he was leaning on. There were a hundred screens mounted on the walls before him, each screen showing footage of events happening on the different planes of existence, like the battle in Karakura or the incursion of hollows in the Seireitei. Rewinding over and over, he was studying all of them carefully, having memorized every sequence down to the most insignificant detail. All the material had been extracted from the Gotei's database, for the most part, the rest was from his colleague Reisan's watchtower. He had hours and hours of tape to study. Meaning, he didn't have much time left to do so if he wanted to get to his first conclusions before the meeting in the Red Chamber.
Mind you, Ego had no interest in knowing why they were fighting. The reason was inconsequential; the zero squad never meddle in "petty mortals" affairs as their first rule. That was the Gotei's job. So, the reason this fight concerns him, among other events Kaikoroku managed to isolate, was because it had a profound impact on the architecture of the seven dimensions this past week. We're talking creations of vortexes and doors. We're talking about major earthquakes and fluctuations in the reality engine. We're talking about trouble for him in a nutshell.
See, in the grand scheme of things, it was all clear to him that there were people downstairs, coming and going, living their simple life, small puppets living and dying in a neat cycle, and there was the king above in charge of maintaining and micromanaging the lives of those dolls. And in the middle, there was the Zero squad, the mighty people in charge of taking care of the king, The people that make sure that for whatever reason the king was able to do his actual job. They couldn't care less somebody like Aizen wanted to take his place. He personally had nothing against Aizen Sousuke. He appreciated a man with ambition. He had been a dreamer too, at some point. But unfortunately, it was never about politics here. It was never Election day around here.
The thing writing codes and drawing the universe a farting asshole, basically making all the rules, was called the Spirit God, or the Queen Mother. It took the form of a precious gem with a unique shine, a fine piece of jewelry, with a stubborn mind of its own, that just happened to be the most potent source of creation in the Universe. Nobody knew where it came from and how two brothers came to own it. Who came first the gem or its wielders? How it all started was a total mystery. Of course, there were a couple of theories out there, even if all those theories were more myths and legends than factual truths. Ego had decided more than a thousand years ago, that it wasn't a subject of research worth investing energy in. The King himself didn't remember. The royal family kept no archives from that time. Finally, the only thing that matters was that only a few people till now had been able to harness the "Spirit God" power into doing what it was supposed to do, keeping together this goddamn universe. So, basically, you needed a powerful Kaiju to maintain the system. That was a given. No tiny mighty mortal soul could ever hold that thing... Now that the eldest brother was out of commission for good. They only had the King. He was the lynchpin. Ego didn't think the king's 'sons' were even deluded enough to think they could take over. Sure, that girl didn't. She was the smartest of the bunch, this one.
Now the King held onto so much power that in some ways he was rendered fragile by it, totally corrupted and blinded by it. This was the reality of their work. This world had always been on the verge of collapsing on itself. That went with the nature of life itself. This world likes to birth chaos and destruction from nothing, so the zero squad was always a little prepared for the shit to hit the fan. However, this time was different.
A couple of days ago, something happened. Their universe had started writing itself based on one new code, an undecipherable code... He called that a code but in truth, it was much more complicated than that. It was all too complex to be explained in casual sentences. For the simple sake of explaining, he will call it a code, a simple line of engineering code that had nothing to be there and that was inevitably expanding. It wasn't coming from the king. And because for the first time in ages, it wasn't coming from the king, Kaikoroku triggered the Red Protocol, summoning all the Zero squad Members to the palace. And Ego never had more than half a night of sleep since. This code was expanding, fracturing their reality little by little. Last time that happened, the brothers were fighting over the Spirit God, and it started the war between the two kingdoms. It grew into a giant pile of mess. A lot of souls died and went wasted. Dimensions collapsed. So, forgive him for being a little anxious about this.
He sat back on his stool with a sigh and rewound the tapes. There must have been something he wasn't seeing. Yet, he reviewed fourth time the levels of spiritual energy in Gamma Gosei happening both in the real world and in the Seireitei... They were surprisingly high rates for captains and lieutenants of the Gotei, but at the same time, not that surprising, nothing able to tear at the fabric of "planes of existence." He switched on Gin escaping the towers of regret. Well, it's not like the Gotei was what it was used to anyway, not with that ex-captain using "Asshuku kaijo," a demonic technique of the highest level, which allows the user to outsource and extract reishi from his immediate environnement. That guy, who Enkeikuroryu his butt in his inner world while stuck in the Senzaikyu, according to the database just days before, even snatched a couple of souls on his way out of jail like it was perfectly normal. Insane. It was insane, but at the same time, it was not that insane for him. Did that even make sense? Ichimaru Gin. "One man Silver" What a quaint name! Not much was known on that guy, apart from him having lived in Inuzuri, Rukongai at some point. Collecting images of the area, he paused on the picture of a lost stone monument covered with moss and ivy. He had been revered like a God there. He was a rather fine prospect. He was definitely what he would call an anomaly.
He looked at the expanding fluorescent code, snatched it from the screen with two fingers, and compared it with Gin's unique, flamboyant signature, another line of indecipherable code. Kaikoroku biped twice. It was incompatible. He wasn't the source. Brushing his wrinkly face, he frowned. He got back to the fight in Karakura. He must have missed something. He pulled on Keikosuki Ichinose's file again. He tried the same. Still incompatible.
The lights continued blinking. He was all too aware that people shared a few misconceptions about this place. Heaven was not a resting place. Yes, some of them, the lucky one, did rest on occasions. If you wanted Ego's opinion, the distribution of tasks was completely unfair around here. It was all nepotism and favoritism. His mind had never known rest in a millennium. He was constantly doing research, trying to better the system, or trying to find a cure to the decay of souls. He hadn't made it very far. Every soul...from mortals to Kaiju were bound to rot. It was embedded in the code as a fundamental rule. He blinked. Something was happening.
He thought he saw a shadow moving on the shore of the Onose River. He blinked twice. Rewind. It may have been just a simple glitch. He zoomed again. Yoruichi Shihouin was fighting above. That's when he saw it again — the glitch. Someone was standing over a body. Two melting silhouette fusing with the background. They were using Gōsuto seiza"Ghost Constellation" Shunpo technique. It was an expert level of shunpo where a user could completely fade with their background and become invisible. He zoomed again and again until he realized...The only face that appears albeit fleetingly was... Kuchiki Byakuya's before he disappeared again. Was it a glitch? Pause. Rewind. Kuchiki Byakuya was talking to someone. Someone else was using Gōsuto Seiza. Someone uncommonly strong and badass... Tilting his head on the right, he adjusted his binocle on his nose. Something was crawling on the shore. He blinked twice. What was that again? Did someone tamper the recording? No. Impossible. He checked again. The recording was fine. It was the reality engine. Someone messed up the ...reality engine. Impossible. Rewind again. Pause. He had just noticed it. He zoomed all he could on the blurry spot. Nothing. He was sure that something was happening on the shore while the shinigami and the lower hybrids fought on the bridge. Rewind before Byakuya before the shadow... He focused on the waves retiring from the bed in the river. He timed the retreat of the waves. Pause. For a fraction of a nanosecond, invisible to the naked eyes, he saw the waves retiring unnaturally in the wrong direction. Fuck. For a fraction of the second, he saw the fracture in the reality engine, everything turned critically red.
There it was. Something was emitting massive amounts of Gamma Gosei. It was lighting this place on fire. That being...knew about it. It was corrupting the entire area. It was like a leak of gas in the middle of a room full of lit candles. It was bound to trigger cataclysmic results. He opened his eyes again wide. Ulquiorra Schiffer released a Cero Oscuras. Rukia unleashed the third dance of a zanpakuto. Keikosuki Ichinose unleashed her Shikai. Byakuya used his Bankai's attack, Hakuteiken. It was like watching dominoes fall swiftly one by one, morbidly fascinating and Ego was glued to the screen. What's with all that reiatsu? What's with these people? He shifted in-camera thermic mod. He looked at the data the machine was gathering; the numbers were off-the-charts. What was happening downstairs?
The door opened slightly behind him, and a black man dressed lavishly in an extremely tight black bodysuit and brown cape entered the room. He stood there striking a pose like he was expecting to have his portrait taken at any time.
"Look, who decided to join us today?" Ego muttered.
"Yo! Already on the bridge working? That's so like you!"
Ego shrugged and mumbled something else, still very much engrossed in what he was looking at. He turned briefly to greet his colleague.
"Some of us never left the bridge."
The man paused his hands on his hips. Furuichi Shihouin was born with the swag of a king he knew.
"Don't tell me I'm early? I hate being early. Someone will think I'm sucking up and submitting to authority..."
"Meanwhile you're a rebel..."
"Perfectly. I'm going back to bed."
Ego finally blinked away from the screen and stared at his colleague bemused.
" You haven't changed a bit. You look the same."
Furuichi paused on his way out, looking over his shoulder.
"You have grown old."
"Is it glamour? The thing you're doing to your face? Is it one of your artifacts?"
"Nope, I am on this new diet, it's call "let me have your mother". You should definitely give it a try.
"Mother is dead. Working from time to time will not kill you, Reinana. It will certainly add a few winkle to your air debonair but won't hurt with the ladies I'm sure."
"Oh! Man! Reigo, Don't call me that like I have no identity! Let us not call ourselves by our boring moniker! I was born with a name and I intend to use it till the day I die! And Like hell, I just woke up to someone still trying to fuck up our good days. What else is new? Someone still believes it's our job to care! Big Surprise there too! Did you even find a cure to death?"
"If you stop scratching your balls for once and help me, maybe I'd stand a chance to."
"Go fuck yourself."
They stared at each other.
"In a nice way..."
Both men hugged each other warmly, patting each other's back.
"God, I miss you, you foul-mouthed loser!"
"I miss you too, you retarded asshole!"
"I just found something insane, Furuichi!"
"Is it your fucking science? I don't get it! I will never get it! I don't want get it! This world is all about magic and demons using magic..."
"Shut up and look. Don't you see?"
He put the graph results under his nose with insistence.
"What's with those curves?"
"I'm telling you… Insane."
"Where did you collect this insane data?"
"That's where it gets interesting."
"Karakura." Furuichi read aloud. "Nope, can't be. I mean, is it again one of the boys? Kids, these days!"
"Nope. They were asleep when it happened."
" Then, I'm not touching this!"
"I'm telling you this is real."
"It must be a glitch. "
"Furuichi…"
"There was not enough paper... maybe. Is this machine of yours even calibrated correctly? It's been a couple of centuries with barely any maintenance… We can't be so sure… "
"Stop joking…"
"I'm just skeptic. That's a lot of Gamma Gosei. I mean, that's a lot of raw power and shit for such a modest little neighborhood… It's not like the place is even on a proper map."
"Not so little, did you know Tadashi sent his girl there?"
"What?"
"Well, he didn't actually sent her there technically? Yama-jii did. One of them is a captain. His girls, I mean."
"Which one..."
"You're gonna love this. The clearly disabled one."
Furuichi shook his head disapprovingly.
"I thought she was dead."
Ego shrugged.
"Well, she is quite lively here as you can see. "
"It's kind of suspicious. But then again, you got your anomaly. She is it. Remember last time? Poor kid! We almost had to end her..."
" That's where it gets intense. She is not the source. Yet, Reiroku got a lot of explaining to do…"
Ego trailed off as he realized something.
"Actually I haven't heard from him in a while. That's odd. "
"After that incident, he was never quite the same. Poor old man!"
They both reflected in silence. Furuichi was finally the first to speak again, changing subject.
"It must have been a false alarm. A false positive is what you used to call it? We had a hundred of those before."
Scratching his head, the man with grey hair pushed his stool away from the screen and crossed his arms.
"Yup, but none of the previous alerts woke that guy up? So, we must assume it's something big. Furuichi, I found something..."
Furuichi turned and they share a long look.
"Something you're afraid to say..."
" I believe there's a glitch in the reality engine."
"What do you mean?"
"It's like a ghost. A ghost in the machine. There is something there, not supposed to be there, seemingly invisible to us."
"You're joking."
Ego turned to him with a frown. He didn't have much of a sense of humor to begin with.
"You're not joking. You never joke. Tell me my daughter is not involved, please."
Ego switched to Yoruichi fighting an Espada. Furuichi slapped his brow, extremely annoyed.
"She is involved. She is involved in some way. She is defending something. I don't know exactly to which extent. But the reality engine has been tampered with. It's like something tried to go under our radar specifically."
"Why is she even fighting? Ego, didn't the Gotei 13 deal with that Aizen guy?"
Ego shrugged.
"He was transferred in Muken a couple of weeks ago. The rest, I don't really care about."
"The hōgyoku?"
"It's been transferred with him. It's fused with him. It's Kakira's business now."
Furuichi shrugged.
"Is that child ready to take on such a task? I mean, the guy swallowed an hōgyoku."
Ego shrugged again.
"Not in my hands. Not my choice."
"See, I don't like this. I sense... I sense a headache."
"Told you, people, to wake up and deal with that guy. I even told you we could get rid of that artificial clone of mine in the meantime."
"Well, there was no deployment orders. Do you remember? Our bosses were taking a nap. I don't condone anything Kisuke does. But I trust Yoruichi and she trusts him."
"Yes, you said when I message you that Yoruichi will take care of it."
"Well, Yoruichi kinda did take care of it. Kisuke probably helped. It's not perfect, but it is what it is."
" You just said…"
"I mean, it's my child. What can I say? She would mess up I would still cover for a failure. Isn't that my fatherly duty?"
"You realize we're talking about things that actually go beyond family affairs, something you and almost everybody else seemed to put aside."
"You asked me first. Isn't it all about family? Why Reiroku's allowed to be protective with his and not me? You should be proud too. Kisuke did it."
"That sloppy good-for-nothing arrogant asshole is not my family!"
"That's not what I was getting at. Can't you be supportive for once!"
"Look at that chart again and tell me there is something to be supportive about. These guys will destroy the town if they continue going at it this way, and we won't find our leak anytime soon."
"I don't think it's that bad."
"She's got inhibitors…this one… Oh! And look at that."
Ego showed him a screenshot of Ichimaru annihilating a whole Garrison.
"Fuck, who's that guy?"
"Meet Ichimaru Gin. Ex-captain of the third division. Aizen's boy wonder. His right-hand man."
"That may explain why he is that strong. You believed he was experimented on?"
Gin opened his mouth and swallowed a bunch of particles. Furuichi almost chokes on his tongue.
"Did that just happened?"
Ego smiled crookedly.
"And the reality engine, you say?"
He nodded again.
"Yup, screwed... totally screwed, we're screwed. It's not even the worse."
"What's worse, then?"
"I don't know yet, but it's about to hit us like a storm, my friend."
The alarm started screeching again, startling them both. They stared at each other with concern, Ego mouthing a smug "I told you so."
"Uh! Oh!"
They both took turns staring at a screen in the center than at each other.
"Did you just see what I see? Now tell me again that it's a false positive. It's a delayed encrypted file but it's legit. Meaning that happened."
"Impossible. He is… He was the strongest of us. "
On the central screen, the last moments of Tadashi Ichinose before his secret office blew up replay over and over.
"Does he know?"
"Does he know what?" A deep baritone voice sounded behind them.
They turned to face Reiichi. They looked at each other nervously, eyes wide.
"Hi, Boss, is that you? You've been for how long?"
"Enough, what should I know?"
"It's Reiroku. He's…gone."
"Gone?"
"Yup. Gone. Gone. Dead."
"What do you mean, Dead? Where did that idiot go when I need everyone on deck?"
They looked at each other again.
"His soul marker has disappeared from all radars. He committed suicide and he is gone. What's happening downstairs exactly, Reiichi? Do you have an idea?"
They were expecting anger, but they were surprised to see Reiichi not even blinking. He slowly stepped toward them and silently stared at the screen with an unaffected air. He simply tilted his head. He was stunned. He was seldom surprised at anything these days.
"Huh?"
"Reiichi…"
The leader said nothing.
"You believe this is real? This guy was the best of us… I mean us... He is the oldest. Part of the old Guard. Yes...yes, he acted crazy and belligerent as of late. Still, he would never… do something like that. Must be a glitch…"Furuichi stuttered.
"In the reality engine." Ego went on.
"A lot of those these days…" Ego and Furuichi said, unsure.
It's like they were expecting Reiichi to confirm or deny what happened, but he could do neither.
"We need to start the conclave. Red Chamber. Now."
He disappeared immediately into thin air. Ego and Furuichi stared at each other worriedly.
Jūshirō Ukitake
Captain of the 13th division
Children's books bestseller writers
When you lived for as long as he had, you were bound to build a well of sins. Something you buried deep in the darkest part of your soul, away from the rest of the world, so you could conceal what was happening behind that smile.
Ukitake stared at Rukia's lying on her bed, still in a medically induced coma. He spent the last hour watching her sleep. Her health was improving, no doubt. Doctors were optimist; she will get the use of her hand back in a couple of months or so.
He watched the fight feed earlier with Byakuya on the screen of the conference room. While they both didn't exchange a word after that, he knew Byakuya noticed it also, the fact that Rukia had grown in such a short time way stronger than anyone had envisioned.
She was way ahead on her schedule, using high-level kido, unleashing point-blank attacks, blasting her hand, and rising to the challenge anyway. At some point, she just stopped a blast of cero with one hand. They all did exceptionally well. So, why was he so worried nonetheless?
He knew something else, something Byakuya probably didn't know, didn't even suspect, something he learned from the Commander himself when he was called in for an "aparté." They all fought with their limiters still on. What did it all mean? It means that his fourth seat annihilated an Arrancar much higher than Aaronniero's level with her limiter still on. Byakuya also fought with his limiter still on. Shane… Momo… They all did — the reason why it was still on. The reason was probably that Yamamoto wanted to test them.
Correction. He probably wanted to test just one of them. Maybe he had plans for Byakuya, Ukitake mused. When he heard a laugh coming from the garden, Jūshirō looked at the window as Momo Hinamori, and Ichinose Keikosuki crossed the yard, debating what should be on the menu tomorrow. Keikosuki said something about going all out with a thirteen-course meal since Kuchiki-taicho was hungry these days, something sophisticated but not too shallow, filling but refined. The fifth squad captain thought they would all benefit from stuffing their faces with food, watching the sunset in the garden. Momo didn't look enchanted with the idea. She reminded her captain they were at war still, and for that reason, they probably should use their time wisely and absorbed practical meal. Needless to say, Keikosuki wasn't happy and she said she never heard such heresy. Jushiro stared at Ichinose longer. She was glowing, her skin, her smile. It was as if she hadn't been in that fight. It contrasted so much with the ugly injuries he witnessed on the rest of them. Jūshirō frowned.
No.
It had been under his nose all this time.
He wasn't testing them. He was testing her. Not Byakuya. Yamamoto didn't allow Sasakibe to lift the limiters to test the limits of Ichinose Keikosuki?
No, that couldn't be it. He suddenly stepped away from the window and turned to face the result of that decision. Rukia was the ugly testament of what that choice meant. Ukitake frowned deep.
"I know what you did, Ukitake."
Ukitake stopped dead in his tracks and turned to his lieutenant.
"I expected you'd tell me yourself one day, but you never did. "
There were several things he should have told Kaien beforehand, but somehow, he knew just exactly what he was referring to. It sent a chill down his spine. He was surprised at Kaien's quiet demeanor and how unsettling it was to him.
"I…" Jūshirō hesitated.
"I don't want your charity."
"I never…"
"You, recommending me for that captaincy is not right."
"Kaien, I understand…"
"No, you don't."
"You are the perfect candidate."
"I've worked hard for all I have. We, Shibas, we worked hard, unlike any other Noble houses. We had a purpose."
It wasn't lost on Ukitake, Kaien chooses to remind him of his name.
"I didn't… I haven't… You have to understand…"
"It's not that I don't understand. I understand. I am your lieutenant, and I've come to know you really well, Jūshirō. I know you did all this because you thought Soul Society was in danger. You did this, thinking it was all you could do to avoid a disaster. You thought about the casualties when you did this. You outweigh the pros and the cons. You didn't just do it. It wasn't just a mistake. You did think about me. I could easily forgive you…"
"Kaien…"
"But I was just not important enough for the truth… So… you just went ahead…"
"You're wrong. You're so wrong about that."
Jūshirō's eyes were gleaming with unshed tears. He stood straight.
" You're wrong. Listen, I thought about everything, but I didn't allow myself to think about you. I couldn't. I am sorry, Kaien."
"I don't want your pity."
"That's not what I'm offering. You also know I wouldn't recommend you if I didn't believe you were able."
"I said I don't want your pity. You're my captain, and I swear to fight for you till the day I die. We, Shibas, we never go back on a promise."
"I had to do it. The rules…"
"I don't care about your rules. I don't care! You should have told me."
"Kaien…"
"My father committed Seppuku after he watched helplessly my mother take her own life. They wouldn't live with such dishonor. Our house was taken. Our title stripped. Our name was sullied because that guy selfishly chose that life. I know very well who's to blame for that. Yet…"
"Kaien…"
"Because of what you did, I lost you too. You are my captain. I admire you. I lost that. I cannot forgive you. I cannot get over this loss."
He took a step forward.
"You know I won't ever make it easy for you. I won't ever ask for a transfer. I don't want to be a captain. Let that kid, that genius, do it! I will never be like him. He doesn't deserve I fill his shoes for him. No, I will continue to be the best I can be by your side. I want you to look at my face every day knowing what you did, Jūshirō. I will live, will work hard and will laugh again. We will get along just like we always did. But it won't ever be the same."
Jūshirō nodded slowly, just standing there. Kaien finally crossed paths with him. They stood side by side, almost shoulder to shoulder, each staring in a different direction.
Ukitake didn't know what to say.
"We got a new recruit. I was coming to tell you… She is Kuchiki Byakuya's adopted sister. He asked that we keep an eye on her."
"She won't get any free pass with me; if she's not good enough, she will have to go back to her castle."
"Kaien…"
"Yeah…"
He remained silent.
"No, that will be all."
He didn't say what he meant to say.
"I was trying to stop a prophecy from… stop a war."
He didn't find enough energy to defend himself.
"Jūshirō, you're here?"
Ukitake came out of his reverie.
"I didn't expect to find you here."
Retsu said as she closed the door of Rukia's room behind her.
"Byakuya didn't tell you I was here?"
"He may have tried to say something, but I was so worried about him standing there, I may have insisted a little too strongly that he got back to his bed. Children."
His lips twitched into a smile. He imagines the kind of persuasion she must have used.
"We spent a critical number of hours on his lieutenant and him. I don't want it all to be for nothing."
"And Rukia…"
Jūshirō turned to Rukia, who was lying still in her bed. Retsu quickly examined Rukia's charts.
" She is going to be fine but you already knew that."
He simply smiled softly. Retsu frowned immediately.
"Why are you here?"
When he said nothing, she acquired the certitude that indeed something was totally wrong with him. He opened the door again, and she took it as a cue. She followed him quietly in the hallway, her hands behind her back.
"I heard by Sasakibe that the council was quite lively. But I wasn't expecting this kind of mood… Especially from you… You're always the optimist one."
His arm snaked uninvited around her waist as he ushered her in the closest empty room. He immediately let go and stood by the windows, turning his back on her.
" Ichinose's father had died." He whispered.
She raised an eyebrow, and there was a sudden chill in the room. He faced her at last. She was suddenly staring at the ground; her face plunged into darkness.
"I understand he was your friend."
She stared ahead silently. It was like she was a thousand miles away, maybe a thousand years back.
"Are you sure?" She said her voice unusually cold, deep, lethal.
"Yes, his death was witnessed by one of his daughters. He seemed to have committed suicide."
She snickered sardonically.
"Is this a sick joke?!"
She roared before she could stop herself, her hands on her mouth. She turned and howled in pain before she stood again.
"It cannot be true."
"Retsu…"
She stood up again, breathing deeply, her face back to its neutral expression. She stood up still as if nothing happened.
"I am sorry…Forgive me. It is quite unbelievable news. I wasn't expecting this, among other things."
"It must be difficult to conceive."
"He was the most determined among us with such an appetite for living. He loved living."
"Retsu…"
" It was a long time. We were young. We thought we were going to make a difference and change the world."
"You did…"
"At what price…"
"You did…"
"Not for the better…"
"That's not true. You slayed... a God."
"We did."
He shrugged. A tense silence ensued. The colors returned to her cheeks, and she nodded amiably. She smiled.
"The captain obviously wants to keep Keikosuki in the dark. So, he sends you, you the specialist of keeping things in the dark, I see."
He knew she didn't mean it that way, but it was like a slap on his face or a cold bucket of ice water, maybe.
"I follow orders. His orders."
"Yes, you do. Ukitake… That is only right. That is only natural. That is what we promised to do."
" I did what I had to do. I always do. Kaien understood it had nothing to do with him."
"We're not talking about Kaien."
"We're not talking about what happened more than a thousand years ago."
"He was your vice-captain. Of course, he understood."
"It was your duty. You did what was not possible."
She took a step back. Ukitake circled her slowly.
"I taught him everything I knew just like he taught me everything he knew. Kaien. He taught so much."
"He cared about you very much."
"There are days I doubt that was the case at the end to tell you the truth."
"Yes, it was, and you should free yourself of the guilt."
" I watched him die."
" He was already dying without his wife. Without the only family, he had left. Rukia even tried to save him."
"No, no, I killed him. I was the one who told on his beloved brother. I was the reason why the Shiba fell from grace. All of it seems to bite me in the face now and this whole thing with Ichigo… With Gin… With everyone… It's getting out of hand, Retsu."
"Ichigo… You confirmed his identity."
Jūshirō shook his head.
" You told him?"
"The father practically told on himself when he reappeared during the last war. But as if that was not enough a problem, the captain and the others, they believed Gin is part of the 1%."
She sneered. Oh, that still wasn't another joke?!
"You saw what happen when we tried to revive him. He is not an ordinary soul. He is one of them, of course."
She shrugged.
"I don't know what I saw."
"I didn't peg you for a coward."
"Careful, Jushiro." She said coldly.
"Retsu, you better than anyone knows what that means."
"No, I don't…"
"Byakuya should have died. The angels will rise in flocks. It will start and end with the fall of one of them. The rebellion will start where the earth meets the sky. It will start with evil freed into the world..."
She shook her head.
"I'm not going with you there. I'm not chasing mermaids with you!"
"Retsu! It's the last lines of the Hojō book they took. "
"Back then, this land was populated with demons and monsters. People, Innocent dead souls, feared for their lives daily, not knowing what will become of them at the end of the day. We thought we were gonna change the world. Yamamoto… Ichinose… We thought life would be simpler if we just had one king…" She whispered.
"It seemed so unfair at that time. So much suffering…We killed a king, so there was only one kingdom left. We thought we had a wise king… We thought it'd be for the best…"
"But they are monsters who do not look like monsters, I know. You... taught me that."
She nodded with a sly grin.
" He won't stand for a rebellion. You know he won't. It will be up to his loyal soldiers to quench it."
" Gin is at least 700 old and decidedly secretive. It's been a long time since one of them walk this earth with us, Retsu. I don't know what it means. I doubt Yamamoto really knows."
" Doesn't matter, really. So they want his strength… Well, We will have to hunt him down… That's what we do… We slay monsters, Jūshirō!"
"He is no monster! Who can be sure where the good side is anymore? Gin did it for her. He went after Aizen for her. Just like that guy! He loved her!"
"Yet, he broke the code! He knew the rules!"
"He was one of us!"
"But then he was one of them, he ascended, he made a promise and he knew the rules. They both knew. You did what was right. You didn't wish to destroy his family. You wanted to protect them. You tried to talk him out of it. Kaien knew you did everything you could… But we are the royal court's guard. An offense to the king can't be let go…"
"Do you really still believe that?"
"I know we had the best intentions…"
"The best intentions, who cares? I lost him anyway. It doesn't matter how in the end, Retsu. "
"Ukitake, it's alright to move on. That they had a good reason doesn't lessen the crime."
"You voted for his execution. Gin."
"I did…"
"Yet, you helped him when I asked you too."
"He made his bed. He should lie in it. It doesn't mean we are monsters. Just plain cold-blooded murderers. I'm sorry, Ukitake, you always want to see the good in people… The way you see them… The way you see me… It's enough of a gift already. But it's just that… Monsters are monsters…"
She smiled reassuringly.
"I haven't been down here in Karakura for decades. Knowing I made a choice back then… I almost lost another vice-captain today..."
"No one died. "
"Yet…No one died yet."
"You are too hard on yourself as usual."
"I am tired. I am really tired of this life, Retsu."
"Some days…"
"Are you always going to finish my sentence…"
"Kyouraku not being available at the moment, I will use the privilege. So, why are you so unhappy? The real reason?"
"This whole thing is like déjà vu."
"Again, why?"
"He likes her. Byakuya has a soft spot for her. Ichinose. It's all there... They all do this because of love, and why do I do this?"
"For the awesome wage…"
"Retsu…"
"We are dogs of war, you, me, and Shunsui… We've been doing this for a long time. It's not the same for them. Blood is all we know… Good for him if he can open his heart to the possibility. But we are at war. We will always be at war."
"The Sotaicho is ready to sacrifice us all. Maybe he has a good reason… He always has a good reason. Maybe all of this is for a good reason…"
"We cannot see it."
"We cannot. Doesn't mean it's not there."
He nodded with a smile. She smiled back tenderly as they faced each other.
"Can I see your scar tonight?"
She nodded slowly and started to undo her braid.
"He was such a good friend. He would cook and make us laugh. He'd make the best soup. Half of what I know he taught me. He loved life and women. Oh my! Did he love women? He was surrounded by them! They were his life! He loved his family so much! He was a good person. Damn, I wanted to fight him so much! It made my blood boil just imagining the scent of his blood on my sharp blade. I'd trade anything…"
"Retsu…"
She came out of her own trance and brushed his face softly with two fingers.
"It's war, Jushiro. We must enjoy it while we can."
Next Chapter: The hundred years war